Economic and labour market impacts: Tier 1

Report on the economic and labour market impacts of Tier 1 entrepreneur and investor migrants to the UK

Review of Literature: Effects of Exercise on Bone Mineral Density During Lactation in Overweight/ Obese Postpartum Women

The purpose of this project was to conduct a review of the literature on the effects of exercise on bone mineral density during lactation in lactating overweight/ obese postpartum women

The Effects of 16-Week Exercising Program on Inflammatory Markers in Human Milk

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of a 16-week exercise program on inflammatory cytokines in human milk. The human milk samples were collected from 2003-2010 during two postpartum breastfeeding exercise interventions, the Breastfeeding for Healthy Infants and Postpartum (Be HIP) and Be HIP Too

A role for antizyme inhibitor in cell proliferation

Acknowledgments We thank Ewa Dahlberg and Lena Thiman for expert technical help with cell culturing and HPLC, respectively. The authors acknowledge financial support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology—SFRH/BD/46364/2008 (PhD fellowship to T. M. S.), the Gunnar Nilssons Cancer Foundation, the Mrs Berta Kamprad Foundation and the Per-Eric and Ulla Schyberg Foundation. Heather Wallace was supported by a visiting scholarship from Lund University. We are grateful for the generous supply of AzI antibody and pcDNA3.1-AzI from Dr. Senya Matsufuji and Dr. Yasuku Murakami (Tokyo, Japan), and Dr. Leif Andersson (Helsinki, Finland), respectively.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Open AccessArticle Sex Differences in the Effect of Alcohol Drinking on Myelinated Axons in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex of Adolescent Rats

Cognitive deficits associated with teenage drinking may be due to disrupted myelination of prefrontal circuits. To better understand how alcohol affects myelination, male and female Wistar rats (n = 7–9/sex/treatment) underwent two weeks of intermittent operant self-administration of sweetened alcohol or sweetened water early in adolescence (postnatal days 28–42) and we tested for macro- and microstructural changes to myelin. We previously reported data from the males of this study showing that alcohol drinking reduced myelinated fiber density in layers II–V of the anterior cingulate division of the medial prefrontal cortex (Cg1); herein, we show that myelinated fiber density was not significantly altered by alcohol in females. Alcohol drinking patterns were similar in both sexes, but males were in a pre-pubertal state for a larger proportion of the alcohol exposure period, which may have contributed to the differential effects on myelinated fiber density. To gain more insight into how alcohol impacts myelinated axons, brain sections from a subset of these animals (n = 6/sex/treatment) were used for microstructural analyses of the nodes of Ranvier. Confocal analysis of nodal domains, flanked by immunofluorescent-labeled contactin-associated protein (Caspr) clusters, indicated that alcohol drinking reduced nodal length-to-width ratios in layers II/III of the Cg1 in both sexes. Despite sex differences in the underlying cause (larger diameter axons after alcohol in males vs. shorter nodal lengths after alcohol in females), reduced nodal ratios could have important implications for the speed and integrity of neural transmission along these axons in both males and females. Alcohol-induced changes to myelinated axonal populations in the Cg1 may contribute to long-lasting changes in prefrontal function associated with early onset drinking

Variance fluctuations in nonstationary time series: a comparative study of music genres

An important problem in physics concerns the analysis of audio time series generated by transduced acoustic phenomena. Here, we develop a new method to quantify the scaling properties of the local variance of nonstationary time series. We apply this technique to analyze audio signals obtained from selected genres of music. We find quantitative differences in the correlation properties of high art music, popular music, and dance music. We discuss the relevance of these objective findings in relation to the subjective experience of music.Comment: 13 pages, 4 fig

Avocado and Flaxseed Oleogels: the prospect of a healthy saturated fat substitute

Oleogelation is a novel technique that represents the forming of liquid oils into a gel-like structure by entrapping the liquid phase into a thermo-reversible and three-dimensional gel network. There has been a great interest in Oleogelation in many areas like pharmaceutics, food, and cosmetics. Oleogels are used to reduce the saturated and trans fatty acids in foods, making them healthier. The consumption of saturated and trans fatty acids increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases (Pehlivanoglu, Demirci, Toker, 2017). Avocado oil is high in oleic monounsaturated fatty acids and substantial amounts of health beneficial phytochemicals, such as vitamins and phytosterols. Avocado oil is rich in omega fatty acids that are good for human health, especially in preventing cardiovascular diseases (Wang et al., 2018). Safflower oil (SFO) from the seeds of Carthamus tinctorius L (Yenice variety) is colorless and flavorless and rich in linoleic acid (about 76% of total fat, a polyunsaturated FA) (He M, Armentano LE. 2011). Waxes are the most efficient oleogelators because of their ability to start crystallization at lower concentrations, easy to find, and they are natural. According to the FDA, waxes have been proven to be a good oleogelator, are natural, and have been recognized to have GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status (FDA,2018). Many types of oils and waxes can be used. For a successful oleogel, it is essential to find the right oil binding capacity (Patel et al., 2014). Three types of waxes were utilized; rice bran wax (4 and 8%), and carnauba, and candelilla wax (3 and 6%). The wax can affect the taste and texture of the food. It is essential to find the right ratio of wax to oil because a higher amount of wax will result in a strong and brittle gel. Otherwise, a small amount of wax will not create a stable gel. The objective of this study was to find the minimum amount of waxes to add in avocado oil and flaxseed oil to produce a stable oleogels useful for the food industry. The stability of the oleogel was analyzed with Oil Binding Capacity (OBC) Method and the visualization method at two different conditions (room temperature and 35 ºC) during two different times (Day 1 and Day 7). The fatty acid composition of the oils was evaluated by gas chromatography (Florence et al., 2012). Candelilla wax has the most significant oil binding capacity, and it is also the most stable, even at higher temperatures. Carnauba wax is slightly stable but only with 8% wax. Rice bran wax was not stable at all with 3% wax at room and oven temperature. It had the lowest oil binding capacity out of all three waxes. Higher amounts of wax improve the oil binding capacity

Werewere Liking, Vicky Tsikplonou e Adama Lucie Bacco: mulheres artistas se apropriando do teatro de animação para empoderar mulheres na África Ocidental

In this article, researcher Denyer problematizes the role of women in West African puppetry based on the trajectories and interviews with African artists Liking, Tsikplonou and Bacco. She reports and analyzes their practices in the African puppetry groups Ki-Yi Puppets & Dances, Evago and Bouam, respectively, showing that these women created new ways of thinking about puppet theater in Africa. According to Denyer, they have created post-traditional figures in puppetry who overturn cultural expectations and raise awareness of issues such as health, education and social prejudices during their performances.No artigo, a pesquisadora Denyer problematiza o papel das mulheres no teatro de animação da África Ocidental a partir das trajetórias e de entrevistas com as artistas africanas Liking, Tsikplonou e Bacco. Relata e analisa suas práticas nos grupos de teatro africanos Ki-Yi Puppets & Dances, Evago e Bouam, respectivamente, evidenciando que estas mulheres criaram novas formas de pensar o teatro de animação na África. Afirma que elas criaram figuras pós-tradicionais no teatro de formas animadas que subvertem as expectativas culturais e conscientizam o público para temas como saúde, educação e preconceitos sociais durante os espetáculos

How Changes in Extracellular Matrix Mechanics and Gene Expression Variability Might Combine to Drive Cancer Progression

Changes in extracellular matrix (ECM) structure or mechanics can actively drive cancer progression; however, the underlying mechanism remains unknown. Here we explore whether this process could be mediated by changes in cell shape that lead to increases in genetic noise, given that both factors have been independently shown to alter gene expression and induce cell fate switching. We do this using a computer simulation model that explores the impact of physical changes in the tissue microenvironment under conditions in which physical deformation of cells increases gene expression variability among genetically identical cells. The model reveals that cancerous tissue growth can be driven by physical changes in the microenvironment: when increases in cell shape variability due to growth-dependent increases in cell packing density enhance gene expression variation, heterogeneous autonomous growth and further structural disorganization can result, thereby driving cancer progression via positive feedback. The model parameters that led to this prediction are consistent with experimental measurements of mammary tissues that spontaneously undergo cancer progression in transgenic C3(1)-SV40Tag female mice, which exhibit enhanced stiffness of mammary ducts, as well as progressive increases in variability of cell-cell relations and associated cell shape changes. These results demonstrate the potential for physical changes in the tissue microenvironment (e.g., altered ECM mechanics) to induce a cancerous phenotype or accelerate cancer progression in a clonal population through local changes in cell geometry and increased phenotypic variability, even in the absence of gene mutation