The Modern Day Rome? The Correlation between the Roman Republic and the United States of America

When America’s founding fathers sought to create their new nation, they turned to the reliability and practicality of the Roman Republic. While careful to not create a carbon copy of the Republic, the founders drew inspiration from Rome’s symbolism and everyday life, government, philosophy, military strategies, and religious tolerance. This paper will highlight the similarities that exist between the Roman Republic and the United States in the above mentioned five areas. Much of Rome’s example has outlived both Rome and the founding fathers in its effectiveness and viability. The Roman Republic may have fallen, but her influence lives on through the heartbeat of the United States of America

2'-fucosyllactose Supplementation Improves Gut-Brain Signaling and Diet-Induced Obese Phenotype and Changes the Gut Microbiota in High Fat-Fed Mice.

Obesity is characterized by fat accumulation, chronic inflammation and impaired satiety signaling, which may be due in part to gut microbial dysbiosis. Manipulations of the gut microbiota and its metabolites are attractive targets for obesity treatment. The predominant oligosaccharide found in human milk, acts as a prebiotic with beneficial effects on the host. However, little is known about the beneficial effects of 2'-FL in obesity. The aim of this study was to determine the beneficial effects of 2'-FL supplementation on the microbiota-gut-brain axis and the diet-induced obese phenotype in high fat (HF)-fed mice. Male C57/BL6 mice (n = 6/group; six weeks old) were counter-balanced into six weight-matched groups and fed either a low-fat (LF; 10% kcal as fat), HF (45% kcal as fat) or HF diet with 2'-FL (HF_2'-FL) at 1, 2, 5 and 10% (w/v) in drinking water for six weeks. General phenotypes (body weight, energy intake, fat and lean mass), cecal microbiome and metabolites, gut-brain signaling, intestinal permeability and inflammatory and lipid profiles were assessed. Only 10% 2'-FL, but not 1, 2 or 5%, decreased HF diet-induced increases in energy intake, fat mass and body weight gain. A supplementation of 10% 2'-FL changed the composition of cecal microbiota and metabolites compared to LF- and HF-fed mice with an increase in Parabacteroides abundance and lactate and pyruvate, respectively, whose metabolic effects corresponded to our study findings. In particular, 10% 2'-FL significantly reversed the HF diet-induced impairment of cholecystokinin-induced inhibition of food intake. Gene expressions of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and macrophage chemoattractant protein-1 in the cecum were significantly downregulated by 10% 2'-FL compared to the HF group. Furthermore, 10% 2'-FL suppressed HF diet-induced upregulation of hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, a transcription factor for adipogenesis, at the gene level. In conclusion, 10% 2'-FL led to compositional changes in gut microbiota and metabolites associated with improvements in metabolic profiles and gut-brain signaling in HF-fed mice. These findings support the use of 2'-FL for modulating the hyperphagic response to HF diets and improving the microbiota-gut-brain axis

City flight migration patterns in the East Midlands

This paper investigates migration to and from the Three Cities of Derby, Leicester and Nottingham. It investigates whether these cities lose more migrants than they gain from more rural parts of the city-regions and the extent to which these flows impact on the demographic profiles of the Three Cities

The reality paradox: Authenticity, fidelity, and the real in Battlefield 4

This article examines how the ‘Battlefield’ (EA Games) series of games generates authenticity in its soundtrack both through a meticulous approach to modelling the physical world and through the appropriation of audio characteristics from our, typically mediated, experience of conflict. It goes on to examine how we might reconcile such ‘authentic’ audio with the more ludic features of the soundtrack, required to support gameplay, that are typically presented as inauthentic. The absence of these sounds during narrative-based sequences and the acceptance of them without negative impact on immersion during gameplay implies that these inauthentic sounds appear not to disrupt the immersive qualities of the ‘authentic’ but only when clearly positioned as ego-ludic (heard only by the player, non-spatialized and synthetic in quality) and only within the context of challenge-based sequences of the game

Nontarget organism effects tests on eCry3.1Ab and their application to the ecological risk assessment for cultivation of Event 5307 maize

Event 5307 transgenic maize produces the novel insecticidal protein eCry3.1Ab, which is active against certain coleopteran pests such as Western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera). Laboratory tests with representative nontarget organisms (NTOs) were conducted to test the hypothesis of no adverse ecological effects of cultivating Event 5307 maize. Estimates of environmental eCry3.1Ab concentrations for each NTO were calculated from the concentrations of eCry3.1Ab produced by 5307 maize in relevant plant tissues. Nontarget organisms were exposed to diets containing eCry3.1Ab or diets comprising Event 5307 maize tissue and evaluated for effects compared to control groups. No statistically significant differences in survival were observed between the control group and the group exposed to eCry3.1Ab in any organism tested. Measured eCry3.1Ab concentrations in the laboratory studies were equal to or greater than the most conservative estimates of environmental exposure. The laboratory studies corroborate the hypothesis of negligible ecological risk from the cultivation of 5307 maize

Interaction of flying electromagnetic doughnut with nanostructures

We report on the electromagnetic properties of the single-cycle "flying doughnut" electromagnetic permutations in the context of their interactions with nanoscale objects, such as dielectric and plasmonic nanoparticles