A Proton Magnetic Resonance Study of Rotational Motion of NH3 Group in Solids

The variations in PMR line parameters of taurine [NH; CH2CH2so; J and E-aminocaproic acid [NH; (CH2)5Coo-1 were studied in a wide temperature region. They were explained in terms of rotational motion of NH; group. The energy barriers hindering such a motion were calculated, and they are V 0 = 5.0 kcal mo1e-1 for taurine, and V0 = 9.0 kcal mo1e-1 for E-aminocaproic acid. The influence of hydrogen bond length N - H . . . O and position of NH; group in a molecule upon the extent of hindering, were shown

A Proton Magnetic Resonance Study of Rotational Motion of NH3 Group in Solids

The variations in PMR line parameters of taurine [NH; CH2CH2so; J and E-aminocaproic acid [NH; (CH2)5Coo-1 were studied in a wide temperature region. They were explained in terms of rotational motion of NH; group. The energy barriers hindering such a motion were calculated, and they are V 0 = 5.0 kcal mo1e-1 for taurine, and V0 = 9.0 kcal mo1e-1 for E-aminocaproic acid. The influence of hydrogen bond length N - H . . . O and position of NH; group in a molecule upon the extent of hindering, were shown

Low-cost exercise interventions improve long-term cardiometabolic health independently of a family history of type 2 diabetes : a randomized parallel group trial

Introduction To investigate the effect of an exercise prescription and a 1-year supervised exercise intervention, and the modifying effect of the family history of type 2 diabetes (FH), on long-term cardiometabolic health. Research design and methods For this prospective randomized trial, we recruited non-diabetic participants with poor fitness (n=1072, 30-70 years). Participants were randomly assigned with stratification for FH either in the exercise prescription group (PG, n=144) or the supervised exercise group (EG, n=146) group and compared with a matched control group from the same population study (CON, n=782). The PG and EG received exercise prescriptions. In addition, the EG attended supervised exercise sessions two times a week for 60 min for 12 months. Cardiometabolic risk factors were measured at baseline, 1 year, 5 years, and 6 years. The CON group received no intervention and was measured at baseline and 6 years. Results The EG reduced their body weight, waist circumference, diastolic blood pressure, and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) but not physical fitness (p=0.074) or insulin or glucose regulation (p>0.1) compared with the PG at 1 year and 5 years (p Conclusions Low-cost physical activity programs have long-term beneficial effects on cardiometabolic health regardless of the FH of diabetes. Given the feasibility and low cost of these programs, they should be advocated to promote cardiometabolic health.Peer reviewe

The Dynamics of Ca2+ Ions within the Solvation Shell of Calbindin D9k

The encounter of a Ca2+ ion with a protein and its subsequent binding to specific binding sites is an intricate process that cannot be fully elucidated from experimental observations. We have applied Molecular Dynamics to study this process with atomistic details, using Calbindin D9k (CaB) as a model protein. The simulations show that in most of the time the Ca2+ ion spends within the Debye radius of CaB, it is being detained at the 1st and 2nd solvation shells. While being detained near the protein, the diffusion coefficient of the ion is significantly reduced. However, due to the relatively long period of detainment, the ion can scan an appreciable surface of the protein. The enhanced propagation of the ion on the surface has a functional role: significantly increasing the ability of the ion to scan the protein's surface before being dispersed to the bulk. The contribution of this mechanism to Ca2+ binding becomes significant at low ion concentrations, where the intervals between successive encounters with the protein are getting longer. The efficiency of the surface diffusion is affected by the distribution of charges on the protein's surface. Comparison of the Ca2+ binding dynamics in CaB and its E60D mutant reveals that in the wild type (WT) protein the carboxylate of E60 function as a preferred landing-site for the Ca2+ arriving from the bulk, followed by delivering it to the final binding site. Replacement of the glutamate by aspartate significantly reduced the ability to transfer Ca2+ ions from D60 to the final binding site, explaining the observed decrement in the affinity of the mutated protein to Ca2+

Ultrasensitive mass sensor fully integrated with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor circuitry

Nanomechanical resonators have been monolithically integrated on preprocessed complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor(CMOS) chips. Fabricatedresonatorsystems have been designed to have resonance frequencies up to 1.5 MHz. The systems have been characterized in ambient air and vacuum conditions and display ultrasensitive mass detection in air. A mass sensitivity of 4ag/Hz has been determined in air by placing a single glycerine drop, having a measured weight of 57 fg, at the apex of a cantilever and subsequently measuring a frequency shift of 14.8 kHz. CMOS integration enables electrostatic excitation, capacitive detection, and amplification of the resonance signal directly on the chip

Perinatal Risk Factors for Diabetes in Later Life

OBJECTIVE—Low birth weight is consistently associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in adulthood, but the individual contributions from poor fetal growth and preterm birth are not known. We therefore investigated the significance of these two factors separately

Genome-wide trans-ancestry meta-analysis provides insight into the genetic architecture of type 2 diabetes susceptibility.

To further understanding of the genetic basis of type 2 diabetes (T2D) susceptibility, we aggregated published meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies (GWAS), including 26,488 cases and 83,964 controls of European, east Asian, south Asian and Mexican and Mexican American ancestry. We observed a significant excess in the directional consistency of T2D risk alleles across ancestry groups, even at SNPs demonstrating only weak evidence of association. By following up the strongest signals of association from the trans-ethnic meta-analysis in an additional 21,491 cases and 55,647 controls of European ancestry, we identified seven new T2D susceptibility loci. Furthermore, we observed considerable improvements in the fine-mapping resolution of common variant association signals at several T2D susceptibility loci. These observations highlight the benefits of trans-ethnic GWAS for the discovery and characterization of complex trait loci and emphasize an exciting opportunity to extend insight into the genetic architecture and pathogenesis of human diseases across populations of diverse ancestry

A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study: Will Anxiety Disorders Increase Subsequent Cancer Risk?

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate a possible association between malignancy and anxiety disorders (AD) in Taiwan. METHODS: We employed data from the National Health Insurance system of Taiwan. The AD cohort contained 24,066 patients with each patient randomly frequency matched according to age and sex with 4 individuals from the general population without AD. Cox's proportional hazard regression analysis was conducted to estimate the influence of AD on the risk of cancer. RESULTS: Among patients with AD, the overall risk of developing cancer was only 1% higher than among subjects without AD, and the difference was not significant (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.01, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 0.95-1.07). With regard to individual types of cancer, the risk of developing prostate cancer among male patients with AD was significantly higher (HR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.02-1.71). On the other hand, the risk of cervical cancer among female patients with AD was marginally significantly lower than among female subjects without AD (HR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.51-1.03). LIMITATIONS: One major limitation is the lack of information regarding the life style or behavior of patients in the NHI database, such as smoking and alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the failure to identify a relationship between AD and the overall risk of cancer, we found that Taiwanese patients with AD had a higher risk of developing prostate cancer and a lower risk of developing cervical cancer