Purinergic receptors in adipose tissue as potential targets in metabolic disorders

Extracellular nucleosides and nucleotides, such as adenosine and adenosine triphosphate (ATP), are involved in many physiological and pathological processes in adipose tissue (AT). It is becoming accepted that, in addition to the well-established sympathetic and hormonal system, purinergic receptors contribute significantly to regulation of adipocyte functions. Several receptor subtypes for both adenosine (P1) and ATP (P2X and P2Y) have been characterized in white adipocytes (WA) and brown adipocytes (BA). The effects mediated by adenosine and ATP on adipocytes are multiple and often differing, depending on specific receptors activated. Using a variety of agonists, antagonists and transgenic animals it has been demonstrated that adenosine and P2 receptors are involved in lipolysis, lipogenesis, adipokines secretion, glucose uptake, adipogenesis, cell proliferation, inflammation, and other processes. Given their central role in regulating many AT functions, purinergic receptors are considered potential therapeutic targets in different pathological conditions, such as obesity and type-2 diabetes. To achieve this goal, specific and potent P1 and P2 receptors activators and inhibitors are being developed and show promising results. However, more insight is needed into the function of P2 receptors in brown and beige adipocytes and their potential role in thermogenesis. This review aims at summarizing current knowledge on the patho-/physiological role of P1, P2X, and P2Y receptors in WA and BA and their potential exploitation for pharmacological intervention. Furthermore, we analyze impact of purinergic signaling in AT – in health and metabolic diseases

The use of digital image correlation in the biomechanical area: a review

This paper offers an overview of the potentialities and limitations of digital image correlation (DIC) as a technique for measuring displacements and strain in biomechanical applications. This review is mainly intended for biomechanists who are not yet familiar with DIC. This review includes over 150 papers and covers different dimensional scales, from the microscopic level (tissue level) up to macroscopic one (organ level). As DIC involves a high degree of computation, and of operator- dependent decisions, reliability of displacement and strain measurements by means of DIC cannot be taken for granted. Methodological problems and existing solutions are summarized and compared, whilst open issues are addressed. Topics addressed include: preparation methods for the speckle pattern on different tissues; software settings; systematic and random error associated with DIC measurement. Applications to hard and soft tissues at different dimensional scales are described and analyzed in terms of strengths and limitations. The potentialities and limitations of DIC are highlighted, also in comparison with other experimental techniques (strain gauges, other optical techniques, digital volume correlation) and numerical methods (finite element analysis), where synergies and complementarities are discussed. In order to provide an overview accessible to different scientists working in the field of biomechanics, this paper intentionally does not report details of the algorithms and codes used in the different studies

Online Monitoring of Transformer Oil Breakdown Voltage: Applying laboratory BDV test results to transformer operation in real-time

The standard oil BDV test is performed on oil samples removed from the transformer and is representative only for the oil condition during the laboratory test due to changes in the oil sample’s relative humidity between the time of sampling and the time of the test. The water content in oil is continuously changing during transformer operation due to moisture migrating to and from the cellulose. Furthermore, an oil temperature gradient exists inside the transformer from top to bottom, and variations in loading and active cooling during operation dynamically change the oil’s relative humidity, and thus change the BDV depending on internal location and time. To provide an accurate assessment of oil dielectric condition under a range of operating conditions, an online estimation for the oil BDV is needed. In this paper, an online BDV calculation methodology is proposed

Analysing laboratory results for transformer oil breakdown voltage

The article proposes a method to interpret the results of the Breakdown Voltage (BDV) test performed on transformer mineral oil, which is highly influenced by the relative humidity of the oil sample. Generally, the temperature of the oil at the moment of sampling is different from that at the moment the test is performed in the laboratory. While this temperature difference does not affect the absolute amount of water (ppm) in the oil sample, relative humidity is affected, and, as a result, the final BDV result is affected, producing misleading results. In this article, a method to incorporate the water content and the oil sampling temperature is proposed in order to improve the interpretation of the results and avoid false diagnostic oil condition assessments. The method results have been validated by multiple testing laboratories and by using real field data

Online Monitoring of Transformer Oil Breakdown Voltage: Applying laboratory BDV test results to transformer operation in real-time

The standard oil BDV test is performed on oil samples removed from the transformer and is representative only for the oil condition during the laboratory test due to changes in the oil sample’s relative humidity between the time of sampling and the time of the test. The water content in oil is continuously changing during transformer operation due to moisture migrating to and from the cellulose. Furthermore, an oil temperature gradient exists inside the transformer from top to bottom, and variations in loading and active cooling during operation dynamically change the oil’s relative humidity, and thus change the BDV depending on internal location and time. To provide an accurate assessment of oil dielectric condition under a range of operating conditions, an online estimation for the oil BDV is needed. In this paper, an online BDV calculation methodology is proposed

Analysing laboratory results for transformer oil breakdown voltage

The article proposes a method to interpret the results of the Breakdown Voltage (BDV) test performed on transformer mineral oil, which is highly influenced by the relative humidity of the oil sample. Generally, the temperature of the oil at the moment of sampling is different from that at the moment the test is performed in the laboratory. While this temperature difference does not affect the absolute amount of water (ppm) in the oil sample, relative humidity is affected, and, as a result, the final BDV result is affected, producing misleading results. In this article, a method to incorporate the water content and the oil sampling temperature is proposed in order to improve the interpretation of the results and avoid false diagnostic oil condition assessments. The method results have been validated by multiple testing laboratories and by using real field data

Nephrology@Point of Care: A New Journal for Hands-On Clinicians

Stenosis and thrombosis are common causes of prosthetic vascular access (pVA) failure. The role of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) surveillance is widely debated. The aim of this paper is to present a new real-time application designed for AVF surveillance called SPIDER. Surgical staff and hemodialysis nurses are responsible for data entry. SPIDER automatically analyses data and generates alerts in case of abnormal trends. Surgical evaluation and duplex Doppler ultrasonography are then immediately performed to confirm presence of stenosis or other possible pVA defects. Surgery can be performed if required. A preliminary analysis of results will be completed at 12 months after the program begins and subsequently after 24 months. Primary assisted patency will be compared with historical using multivariate analysis. Expected results are an improvement in primary assisted pVA patency and reduction of hospitalizations. Simultaneous management of a high number of patients can become difficult due to the large amount of data required for surveillance. We want to demonstrate whether a real-time automated system could help to prevent thrombosis and graft loss

Social Conduct Scale (SCS) : a psychometric investigation

The social conduct of an individual comprises all the interpersonal behaviors that he or she exhibits in the social contexts he or she is exposed to. The Social Conduct Scale (SCS) is a self-report instrument developed to provide researchers and clinicians with information on prosocial, antisocial and oppositional-defiant tendencies of Portuguese-speaking children and adolescents. In the present study, we conducted an analysis of the criterion validity of the SCS by comparing the scores obtained from a large population-based sample (N = 1,172) against an offender (N = 129), a scholar (N = 31), and a clinic-referred (N = 24) sample of adolescents with marked previous conduct problems. As expected, antisocial youths had significantly higher means on antisocial behaviors and lower means on prosocial tendencies when compared to the population-based sample. Overall, findings supported the hypothesized criterion validity of the SCS. The instrument might play a role as a helpful resource for researchers, clinicians and practitioners interested in assessing the social conduct of Brazilian children and adolescents