493 research outputs found
Salsalate treatment improves glycemia without altering adipose tissue in nondiabetic obese hispanics.
ObjectiveSalsalate treatment has well-known effects on improving glycemia, and the objective of this study was to examine whether the mechanism of this effect was related to changes in adipose tissue.MethodsA randomized double-blind and placebo-controlled trial in obese Hispanics (18-35 years) was conducted. The intervention consisted of 4 g day(-1) of salsalate (n = 11) versus placebo (n = 13) for 4 weeks. Outcome measures included glycemia, adiposity, ectopic fat, and adipose tissue gene expression and inflammation.ResultsIn those receiving salsalate, plasma fasting glucose decreased by 3.4% (P < 0.01), free fatty acids decreased by 42.5% (P = 0.06), and adiponectin increased by 27.7% (P < 0.01). Salsalate increased insulin AUC by 38% (P = 0.01) and HOMA-B by 47.2% (P < 0.01) while estimates of insulin sensitivity/resistance were unaffected. These metabolic improvements occurred without changes in total, abdominal, visceral, or liver fat. Plasma markers of inflammation/immune activation were unchanged following salsalate. Salsalate had no effects on adipose tissue including adipocyte size, presence of crown-like structures, or gene expression of adipokines, immune cell markers, or cytokines downstream of NF-κB with the exception of downregulation of IL-1β (P < 0.01).ConclusionsFindings suggest that metabolic improvements in response to salsalate occurred without alterations in adiposity, ectopic fat, or adipose tissue gene expression and inflammation
Antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on anisotropic triangular lattice in the presence of magnetic field
We use Schwinger boson mean field theory to study the antiferromagnetic
spin-1/2 Heisenberg model on an anisotropic triangular lattice in the presence
of a uniform external magnetic field. We calculate the field dependence of the
spin incommensurability in the ordered spin spiral phase, and compare the
results to the recent experiments in CsCuCl by Coldea et al. (Phys.
Rev. Lett. 86, 1335 (2001)).Comment: 4 pages with 4 figures include
R-matrix Quantization of the Elliptic Ruijsenaars--Schneider model
It is shown that the classical L-operator algebra of the elliptic
Ruijsenaars-Schneider model can be realized as a subalgebra of the algebra of
functions on the cotangent bundle over the centrally extended current group in
two dimensions. It is governed by two dynamical r and -matrices
satisfying a closed system of equations. The corresponding quantum R and
-matrices are found as solutions to quantum analogs of these
equations. We present the quantum L-operator algebra and show that the system
of equations on R and arises as the compatibility condition for
this algebra. It turns out that the R-matrix is twist-equivalent to the Felder
elliptic R^F-matrix with playing the role of the twist. The
simplest representation of the quantum L-operator algebra corresponding to the
elliptic Ruijsenaars-Schneider model is obtained. The connection of the quantum
L-operator algebra to the fundamental relation RLL=LLR with Belavin's elliptic
R matrix is established. As a byproduct of our construction, we find a new
N-parameter elliptic solution to the classical Yang-Baxter equation.Comment: latex, 29 pages, some misprints are corrected and the meromorphic
version of the quantum L-operator algebra is discusse
Merging late Holocene molecular organic and foraminiferal-based geochemical records of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico
Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2011. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Paleoceanography 26 (2011): PA1209, doi:10.1029/2010PA002000.A molecular organic geochemical proxy (TEX86) for sea surface temperature (SST) is compared with a foraminifera-based SST proxy (Mg/Ca) in a decadal-resolution marine sedimentary record spanning the last 1000 years from the Gulf of Mexico. We assess the relative strengths of the organic and inorganic paleoceanographic techniques for reconstructing high-resolution SST variability during recent climate events, including the Little Ice Age (LIA) and the Medieval Warm Period (MWP). SST estimates based on the molecular organic proxy TEX86 show a similar magnitude and pattern of SST variability to foraminiferal Mg/Ca-SST estimates but with some important differences. For instance, both proxies show a cooling (1°C–2°C) of Gulf of Mexico SSTs during the LIA. During the MWP, however, Mg/Ca-SSTs are similar to near-modern SSTs, while TEX86 indicates SSTs that were cooler than modern. Using the respective SST calibrations for each proxy results in TEX86-SST estimates that are 2°C–4°C warmer than Mg/Ca-SST throughout the 1000 year record. We interpret the TEX86-SST as a summer-weighted SST signal from the upper mixed layer, whereas the Mg/Ca-SST better reflects the mean annual SST. Downcore differences in the SST estimates between the two proxies (ΔT = TEX86 − Mg/Ca) are interpreted in the context of varying seasonality and/or changing water column temperature gradients.This work was supported,
in part, by the National Science Foundation under grants OCE‐0318361
and OCE‐0903017
Midlife and Late-Life Vascular Risk Factors and White Matter Microstructural Integrity: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Neurocognitive Study.
BACKGROUND: Diffusion tensor imaging measures of white matter (WM) microstructural integrity appear to provide earlier indication of WM injury than WM hyperintensities; however, risk factors for poor WM microstructural integrity have not been established. Our study quantifies the association between vascular risk factors in midlife and late life with measures of late-life WM microstructural integrity.
METHODS AND RESULTS: We used data from 1851 participants in ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study) who completed 3-T magnetic resonance imaging, including diffusion tensor imaging, as part of the ARIC Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS). We quantified the association among lipids, glucose, and blood pressure from the baseline ARIC visit (1987-1989, ages 44-65, midlife) and visit 5 of ARIC (2011-2013, ages 67-90, late life, concurrent with ARIC-NCS) with regional and overall WM mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy obtained at ARIC visit 5 for ARIC participants. We also considered whether these associations were independent of or modified by WM hyperintensity volumes. We found that elevated blood pressure in midlife and late life and elevated glucose in midlife, but not late life, were associated with worse late-life WM microstructural integrity. These associations were independent of the degree of WM hyperintensity, and the association between glucose and WM microstructural integrity appeared stronger for those with the least WM hyperintensity. There was little support for an adverse association between lipids and WM microstructural integrity.
CONCLUSIONS: Hypertension in both midlife and late life and elevated glucose in midlife are related to worse WM microstructural integrity in late life
Classes of fast and specific search mechanisms for proteins on DNA
Problems of search and recognition appear over different scales in biological
systems. In this review we focus on the challenges posed by interactions
between proteins, in particular transcription factors, and DNA and possible
mechanisms which allow for a fast and selective target location. Initially we
argue that DNA-binding proteins can be classified, broadly, into three distinct
classes which we illustrate using experimental data. Each class calls for a
different search process and we discuss the possible application of different
search mechanisms proposed over the years to each class. The main thrust of
this review is a new mechanism which is based on barrier discrimination. We
introduce the model and analyze in detail its consequences. It is shown that
this mechanism applies to all classes of transcription factors and can lead to
a fast and specific search. Moreover, it is shown that the mechanism has
interesting transient features which allow for stability at the target despite
rapid binding and unbinding of the transcription factor from the target.Comment: 65 pages, 23 figure
Arabs and Atheism: Religious Discussions in the Arab Twittersphere
Most previous research on online discussions of atheism has focused on
atheism within a Christian context. In contrast, discussions about atheism in
the Arab world and from Islamic background are relatively poorly studied. An
added complication is that open atheism is against the law in some Arab
countries, which may further restrict atheist activity on social media. In this
work, we explore atheistic discussion in the Arab Twittersphere. We identify
four relevant categories of Twitter users according to the content they post:
atheistic, theistic, tanweeri (religious renewal), and other. We characterise
the typical content posted by these four sets of users and their social
networks, paying particular attention to the topics discussed and the
interaction among them. Our findings have implication for the study of
religious and spiritual discourse on social media and provide a better
cross-cultural understanding of relevant aspects.Comment: Accepted as a full paper at Socinfo 2019. Please cite the Socinfo
version. In Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Social
Informatics (SocInfo 2019
抗ヒスタミン薬ケトチフェンの連日投与による体内時計位相調節
富山大学・富生命博甲第90号・AHMAD ALSAWAF・2017/03/23Sleep and Biological Rhythms,2016.1,14(1),117-120,doi: 10.1007/s41105-015-0021-yに掲載。富山大学201
Ninth and Tenth Order Virial Coefficients for Hard Spheres in D Dimensions
We evaluate the virial coefficients B_k for k<=10 for hard spheres in
dimensions D=2,...,8. Virial coefficients with k even are found to be negative
when D>=5. This provides strong evidence that the leading singularity for the
virial series lies away from the positive real axis when D>=5. Further analysis
provides evidence that negative virial coefficients will be seen for some k>10
for D=4, and there is a distinct possibility that negative virial coefficients
will also eventually occur for D=3.Comment: 33 pages, 12 figure
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