Smell you later - the repelling effect of secondary plant compounds against water voles and common voles

Fischer, D., Prokop, A., Wink, M., Mattes, H., Jacob, J

Umbilical cord blood testosterone and childhood internalizing and externalizing behavior: a prospective study

Extent: 8 p.Antenatal testosterone exposure influences fetal neurodevelopment and gender-role behavior in postnatal life and may contribute to differences in developmental psychopathology during childhood. We prospectively measured the associations between umbilical cord blood testosterone levels at birth and childhood behavioral development in both males and females from a large population based sample. The study comprised 430 females and 429 males from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study where umbilical cord blood had been collected. Total testosterone concentrations were determined by mass spectrometry and bioavailable testosterone (BioT) levels were calculated. At two, five, eight and ten years of age, the participants completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Linear regression models were used to analyse the relationship between BioT concentrations (in quartiles) and CBCL scores (total, internalizing, externalizing and selected syndrome). Boys had higher mean CBCL T-scores than girls across all ages of follow-up. There was no significant relationship between cord blood BioT quartiles and CBCL total, internalizing and externalizing T-scores at age two or five to ten combined. In the syndrome score analyses, higher BioT quartiles were associated with significantly lower scores for attention problems for boys at age five, eight and ten, and greater withdrawal symptoms in pre-school girls (age five). We did not identify a consistent relationship between antenatal testosterone exposure and total, internalizing or externalizing behavioral difficulties in childhood. Higher umbilical cord BioT levels were associated with lower scores for attention problems in boys up to 10 years and more withdrawn behavior in 5-year-old girls; however, these findings were not consistent across ages and require further investigation in a larger sample.Monique Robinson, Andrew J.O. Whitehouse, Peter Jacoby, Eugen Mattes, Michael G. Sawyer, Jeffrey A. Keelan and Martha Hicke

Extracellular matrix-modulated expression of human cell surface glycoproteins A42 and J143. Intrinsic and extrinsic signals determine antigenic phenotype.

Extracellular matrix (ECM)' plays an important regulatory role in cellular growth, migration, and differentiation (1-4). Pathologic processes such as tumor cell invasion and metastasis are also determined by cellular interactions with ECM (5, 6). Biochemical studies have identified collagens, fibronectin, laminin, proteoglycans, and several other proteins as major ECM components (1-3), and have shown that ECM composition varies between different normal and tumor tissues. The complexity and heterogeneity of ECM composition have hampered the molecular analysis of ECM-cell interactions . However, a range of phenotypic changes has been described for cultured cells after transfer from plastic surfaces to substrates coated with native ECM (7, 8) or with purified ECM components; ECM-induced phenotypic changes include enhanced substrate adhesiveness, cell spreading and migration, changes in cell morphology and proliferative activity, and expression of differentiated cellular functions (I-4). Some of these effects, e.g., increased substrate adhesion, may result directly from the binding of specialized cell surface structures to ECM molecules. Others are likely mediated by an active cellular response triggered by the interaction of ECM with cell surface receptors. Thus, ECM-derived signals (9) may activate a cascade of molecular changes within the cell and on the cell surface that account for the pleiotropic effects observed with ECM

Subtle changes in the flavour and texture of a drink enhance expectations of satiety

Background: The consumption of liquid calories has been implicated in the development of obesity and weight gain. Energy-containing drinks are often reported to have a weak satiety value: one explanation for this is that because of their fluid texture they are not expected to have much nutritional value. It is important to consider what features of these drinks can be manipulated to enhance their expected satiety value. Two studies investigated the perception of subtle changes in a drink’s viscosity, and the extent to which thick texture and creamy flavour contribute to the generation of satiety expectations. Participants in the first study rated the sensory characteristics of 16 fruit yogurt drinks of increasing viscosity. In study two, a new set of participants evaluated eight versions of the fruit yogurt drink, which varied in thick texture, creamy flavour and energy content, for sensory and hedonic characteristics and satiety expectations. Results: In study one, participants were able to perceive small changes in drink viscosity that were strongly related to the actual viscosity of the drinks. In study two, the thick versions of the drink were expected to be more filling and have a greater expected satiety value, independent of the drink’s actual energy content. A creamy flavour enhanced the extent to which the drink was expected to be filling, but did not affect its expected satiety. Conclusions: These results indicate that subtle manipulations of texture and creamy flavour can increase expectations that a fruit yogurt drink will be filling and suppress hunger, irrespective of the drink’s energy content. A thicker texture enhanced expectations of satiety to a greater extent than a creamier flavour, and may be one way to improve the anticipated satiating value of energy-containing beverages

Algorithm to calculate a large number of roots of the cross-product of Bessel functions

This paper describes an algorithm to calculate a large number of roots of the cross-product of Bessel functions and of their first derivatives. The algorithm initially finds the roots of the zeroth order using an auxiliary function that exhibits the same roots as the original cross-products but with better behavior for numerical root search with the Newton-Raphson algorithm. In order to find the roots for higher orders, the algorithm follows a pyramidal scheme using the interlacing property of the cross-product of Bessel functions. The algorithm shows globally convergent behavior for a large range of values of the argument and of the order of the Bessel functions. The roots can be computed to any precision, limited only by the computer implementation, and the convergence is attained in six iterations per root in average, showing a much better performance than previous works for the calculation of these roots

Effect of digitally modulated signals on Multipactor breakdown

This paper studies the effect of digitally modulated signals on the evolution of the multipaction phenomenon. Multipactor is numerically analyzed in a parallel plates waveguide for a variety of common digital modulation techniques. Breakdown power thresholds and the temporal evolution of the particle population are computed. Results demonstrate that the phenomenon may be remarkably affected depending on the applied modulation scheme

Effects of appetite, BMI, food form and flavor on mastication: almonds as a test food,”

Objectives: To investigate the effects of appetitive sensations, body mass index (BMI) and physical/sensory properties of food (almonds) on masticatory indices and resultant pre-swallowing particle sizes. Subjects/Methods: Twelve lean (BMI ¼ 22.270.3) and 12 obese (BMI ¼ 34.370.6) adults. After collecting appetitive ratings, electromyographic recordings were used to assess participants' microstructure of eating for five almond products (raw, dry unsalted roasted, natural sliced, roasted salted and honey roasted) under fasted and satiated conditions. Duplicate samples were masticated to the point of deglutition and then were expectorated and size sorted. Results: No statistically significant effects of BMI were detected for any of the mastication measures. Maximum and mean bite forces were greater under the fasted condition. Sliced almonds required lower bite force than did the other almond varieties. The pre-swallowing particle sizes were significantly greater for the sliced almonds than all other varieties. Both the number of chews and mastication time were negatively correlated with particle size. There were no significant effects of almond form or flavor on particle size. Conclusions: These results do not support differences in masticatory performance between lean and obese individuals, nor effects of sensory properties. Instead, the physical form of foods as well as an individuals' appetitive state may have a greater influence on masticatory behavior. The health implications of these observations warrant further investigation

Analyzing Corona breakdown with a finite element-based electromagnetic solver

This paper demonstrates how an already developed finite element code for solving electromagnetic problems can be manipulated and simply extended so as to investigate complicated corona breakdowns. A safe criterion based on the eigenvalue analysis is used in order to predict the maximum electric field that a structure can withstand without suffering from a corona breakdown. Comparison with other semi-analytical techniques developed by researchers solely focusing on high power phenomena verifies the results of the developed algorithm

Antagonism of miR-328 Increases the Antimicrobial Function of Macrophages and Neutrophils and Rapid Clearance of Non-typeable Haemophilus Influenzae (NTHi) from Infected Lung

© 2015 Tay et al. Pathogenic bacterial infections of the lung are life threatening and underpin chronic lung diseases. Current treatments are often ineffective potentially due to increasing antibiotic resistance and impairment of innate immunity by disease processes and steroid therapy. Manipulation miRNA directly regulating anti-microbial machinery of the innate immune system may boost host defence responses. Here we demonstrate that miR-328 is a key element of the host response to pulmonary infection with non-typeable haemophilus influenzae and pharmacological inhibition in mouse and human macrophages augments phagocytosis, the production of reactive oxygen species, and microbicidal activity. Moreover, inhibition of miR-328 in respiratory models of infection, steroid-induced immunosuppression, and smoke-induced emphysema enhances bacterial clearance. Thus, miRNA pathways can be targeted in the lung to enhance host defence against a clinically relevant microbial infection and offer a potential new anti-microbial approach for the treatment of respiratory diseases