1,449 research outputs found
Effects of synbiotic supplement on human gut microbiota, body composition and weight loss in obesity
Targeting gut microbiota with synbiotics (probiotic supplements containing prebiotic components) is emerging as a promising intervention in the comprehensive nutritional approach to reducing obesity. Weight loss resulting from low-carbohydrate high-protein diets can be significant but has also been linked to potentially negative health effects due to increased bacterial fermentation of undigested protein within the colon and subsequent changes in gut microbiota composition. Correcting obesity-induced disruption of gut microbiota with synbiotics can be more effective than supplementation with probiotics alone because prebiotic components of synbiotics support the growth and survival of positive bacteria therein. The purpose of this placebo-controlled intervention clinical trial was to evaluate the effects of a synbiotic supplement on the composition, richness and diversity of gut microbiota and associations of microbial species with body composition parameters and biomarkers of obesity in human subjects participating in a weight loss program. The probiotic component of the synbiotic used in the study contained Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium lactis, Bifidobacterium longum, and Bifidobacterium bifidum and the prebiotic component was a galactooligosaccharide mixture. The results showed no statistically significant differences in body composition (body mass, BMI, body fat mass, body fat percentage, body lean mass, and bone mineral content) between the placebo and synbiotic groups at the end of the clinical trial (3-month intervention, 20 human subjects participating in weight loss intervention based on a low-carbohydrate, high-protein, reduced energy diet). Synbiotic supplementation increased the abundance of gut bacteria associated with positive health effects, especially Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, and it also appeared to increase the gut microbiota richness. A decreasing trend in the gut microbiota diversity in the placebo and synbiotic groups was observed at the end of trial, which may imply the effect of the high-protein low-carbohydrate diet used in the weight loss program. Regression analysis performed to correlate abundance of species following supplementation with body composition parameters and biomarkers of obesity found an association between a decrease over time in blood glucose and an increase in Lactobacillus abundance, particularly in the synbiotic group. However, the decrease over time in body mass, BMI, waist circumstance, and body fat mass was associated with a decrease in Bifidobacterium abundance. The results obtained support the conclusion that synbiotic supplement used in this clinical trial modulates human gut microbiota by increasing abundance of potentially beneficial microbial species
The effects of the initial arterial tone on the pressure responses to phenylephrine
The
effect
of
the
elevated
arterial
tone
on
pressure
responses
to
stimulation
of
arterial
α
-
adrenoreceptors
by
phenylephrine
hydrochloride
was
studied
in
anesthetized
Wistar
rats.
Different
levels
of
the
arterial
tone
and,
hence
of
the
mean
arterial
pressure,
were
established
by
means
of
angiotensin
II
infusion
in
the
range
from
101
to
160
mmHg.
An
elevation
of
the
arterial
tone
led
to
a
significant
reduction
of
the
arterial
pressure
and
peripheral
resistance
rise
produced
by
phenylephrine.
The
degree
of
relative
reduction
of
the
increase
in
the
diastolic
pressure
exceeded
1.3
times
that
in
the
systolic
pressure.
The
shifts
of
cardiac
outputs
remained
unchanged.
After
cessation
of
angiotensin
II
infusion
the
restoration
of
the
arterial
pressure
took
place
almost
till
the
initial
level.
At
this
time
the
pressure
effects
of
phenylephrine
were
tended
to
recovery.
It
is
suggested
that
the
elevated
arterial
tone
attenuates
the
systemic
pressure
response
to
stimulation
of
arterial
α
-adrenoreceptors
by
a
vascular
mechanism
based
on
a
transmural
pressure
changes
evoked
by
the
constriction
of
the
arterial
vessels
Adaptive interpretation of gas well deliverability tests with generating data of the IPR curve
The paper considers topical issues of improving accuracy of estimated parameters given by data obtained from gas well deliverability tests, decreasing test time, and reducing gas emissions into the atmosphere. The aim of the research is to develop the method of adaptive interpretation of gas well deliverability tests with a resulting IPR curve and using a technique of generating data, which allows taking into account additional a priori information, improving accuracy of determining formation pressure and flow coefficients, reducing test time. The present research is based on the previous theoretical and practical findings in the spheres of gas well deliverability tests, systems analysis, system identification, function optimization and linear algebra. To test the method, the authors used the field data of deliverability tests of two wells, run in the Urengoy gas and condensate field, Tyumen Oblast. The authors suggest the method of adaptive interpretation of gas well deliverability tests with the resulting IPR curve and the possibility of generating data of bottomhole pressure and a flow rate at different test stages. The suggested method allows defining the estimates of the formation pressure and flow coefficients, optimal in terms of preassigned measures of quality, and setting the adequate number of test stages in the course of well testing. The case study of IPR curve data processing has indicated that adaptive interpretation provides more accurate estimates on the formation pressure and flow coefficients, as well as reduces the number of test stages
BLR kinematics and Black Hole Mass in Markarian 6
We present results of the optical spectral and photometric observations of
the nucleus of Markarian 6 made with the 2.6-m Shajn telescope at the Crimean
Astrophysical Observatory. The continuum and emission Balmer line intensities
varied more than by a factor of two during 1992-2008. The lag between the
continuum and Hbeta emission line flux variations is 21.1+-1.9 days. For the
Halpha line the lag is about 27 days but its uncertainty is much larger. We use
Monte-Carlo simulation of the random time series to check the effect of our
data sampling on the lag uncertainties and we compare our simulation results
with those obtained by random subset selection (RSS) method of Peterson et al.
(1998). The lag in the high-velocity wings are shorter than in the line core in
accordance with the virial motions. However, the lag is slightly larger in the
blue wing than in the red wing. This is a signature of the infall gas motion.
Probably the BLR kinematic in the Mrk 6 nucleus is a combination of the
Keplerian and infall motions. The velocity-delay dependence is similar for
individual observational seasons. The measurements of the Hbeta line width in
combination with the reverberation lag permits us to determine the black hole
mass, M_BH=(1.8+-0.2)x10^8 M_sun. This result is consistent with the AGN
scaling relationships between the BLR radius and the optical continuum
luminosity (R_BLR is proportional to L^0.5) as well as with the black-hole
mass-luminosity relationship (M_BH-L) under the Eddington luminosity ratio for
Mrk 6 to be L_bol/L_Edd ~ 0.01.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Functional Tetrahedron Equation
We describe a scheme of constructing classical integrable models in
2+1-dimensional discrete space-time, based on the functional tetrahedron
equation - equation that makes manifest the symmetries of a model in local
form. We construct a very general "block-matrix model" together with its
algebro-geometric solutions, study its various particular cases, and also
present a remarkably simple scheme of quantization for one of those cases.Comment: LaTeX, 16 page
Variability of Fe II Emission Features in the Seyfert 1 Galaxy NGC 5548
We study the low-contrast Fe II emission blends in the ultraviolet
(1250--2200A) and optical (4000--6000A) spectra of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC
5548 and show that these features vary in flux and that these variations are
correlated with those of the optical continuum. The amplitude of variability of
the optical Fe II emission is 50% - 75% that of Hbeta and the ultraviolet Fe II
emission varies with an even larger amplitude than Hbeta. However, accurate
measurement of the flux in these blends proves to be very difficult even using
excellent Fe II templates to fit the spectra. We are able to constrain only
weakly the optical Fe II emission-line response timescale to a value less than
several weeks; this upper limit exceeds all the reliably measured emission-line
lags in this source so it is not particularly meaningful. Nevertheless, the
fact that the optical Fe II and continuum flux variations are correlated
indicates that line fluorescence in a photoionized plasma, rather than
collisional excitation, is responsible for the Fe II emission. The iron
emission templates are available upon request.Comment: 34 pages including 12 figures and 2 tables. Accepted for publication
by ApJ (tentatively in vol. 626 June 10, 2005
Proton isotropy boundaries as measured on mid- and low-altitude satellites
Polar CAMMICE MICS proton pitch angle distributions with energies of 31-80 keV were analyzed to determine the locations where anisotropic pitch angle distributions (perpendicular flux dominating) change to isotropic distributions. We compared the positions of these mid-altitude isotropic distribution boundaries (IDB) for different activity conditions with low-altitude isotropic boundaries (IB) observed by NOAA&nbsp;12. Although the obtained statistical properties of IDBs were quite similar to those of IBs, a small difference in latitudes, most pronounced on the nightside and dayside, was found. We selected several events during which simultaneous observations in the same local time sector were available from Polar at mid-altitudes, and NOAA or DMSP at low-altitudes. Magnetic field mapping using the Tsyganenko T01 model with the observed solar wind input parameters showed that the low- and mid-altitude isotropization boundaries were closely located, which leads us to suggest that the Polar IDB and low-altitude IBs are related. Furthermore, we introduced a procedure to control the difference between the observed and model magnetic field to reduce the large scatter in the mapping. We showed that the isotropic distribution boundary (IDB) lies in the region where <i>R<sub>c</sub></i>/&rho;~6, that is at the boundary of the region where the non-adiabatic pitch angle scattering is strong enough. We therefore conclude that the scattering in the large field line curvature regions in the nightside current sheet is the main mechanism producing isotropization for the main portion of proton population in the tail current sheet. This mechanism controls the observed positions of both IB and IDB boundaries. Thus, this tail region can be probed, in its turn, with observations of these isotropy boundaries.<p> <b>Keywords.</b> Magnetospheric physics (Energetic particles, Precipitating; Magnetospheric configuration and dynamics; Magnetotail
Influence of temperature gradients on tunnel junction thermometry below 1 K: cooling and electron-phonon coupling
We have studied thermal gradients in thin Cu and AlMn wires, both
experimentally and theoretically. In the experiments, the wires were Joule
heated non-uniformly at sub-Kelvin temperatures, and the resulting temperature
gradients were measured using normal metal-insulator-superconducting tunnel
junctions. The data clearly shows that even in reasonably well conducting thin
wires with a short (m) non-heated portion, significant temperature
differences can form. In most cases, the measurements agree well with a model
which includes electron-phonon interaction and electronic thermal conductivity
by the Wiedemann-Franz law.Comment: J. Low Temp. Phys. in pres
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