Plasma n-3 and n-6 fatty acids and inflammatory markers in Chinese vegetarians

Background: Polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) intake favorably affects chronic inflammatory-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease; however, the relationship between the PUFA and inflammatory factors in the healthy vegetarians were not clear. We aimed to investigate the plasma fatty acids status, and its association with plasma inflammatory factors in Chinese vegetarians and omnivores. Methods: A total of 89 male vegetarians and 106 male omnivores were participated the study. Plasma concentrations of inflammatory factors were detected by ELISA, and as standard methods fatty acids were extracted and determined by chromatography. Results: Compared with omnivores, vegetarians have significant higher interleukin-6 (IL-6), plasma n-6 PUFA, n-6/n-3, and 18:3n-3; while they have significant lower leukotriene B4 (LTB4), cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX2) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), 20:5n-3, 22:5n-3, 22:6n-3, and n-3 PUFA. In vegetarians, plasma 20:4n-6 was significant positively related to TNF-α. LTB4 was significantly positively related to plasma 22:6n-3, and negatively associated with n-6 PUFA. Conclusion: Vegetarians have higher plasma n-6 PUFA and IL-6, but lower LTB4, n-3 PUFA, 22:6n-3, COX2 and PGE2 levels. It would seem appropriate for vegetarians to increase their dietary n-3 PUFA, while reduce dietary n-6 PUFA and thus reduce the risk of chronic inflammatory-related diseases

Investigation of diverse bacteria encoding histidine decarboxylase gene in Sichuan-style sausages by culture-dependent techniques, polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, and high-throughput sequencing

The diverse bacteria encoding histidine decarboxylase gene during the fermentation of Sichuan-style sausages were investigated by culture-dependent techniques, polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE), and high-throughput sequencing. All microbial indicators exhibited the advantages of mixed starter culture and the stability of microecosystem was more in the inoculation group than in the control group. DGGE and selected band sequencing were used to investigate the bacterial diversity of these sausages. Weissella were the main lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in the initial fermentation stage, whereas Weissella and Lactobacillus were the dominant bacteria in the later fermentation stage. After sequence alignment analysis, Enterobacter aerogenes and Citrobacter freundi were the two main bacteria encoding histidine decarboxylase gene and could produce histamine. These findings facilitate the better understanding of bacteria producing histidine decarboxylase during sausage fermentation and provide a theoretical basis for the control of histamine-producing bacteria in the process of fermented sausage processing.Peer reviewe

Evolution of flat band and role of lattice relaxations in twisted bilayer graphene

Magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG) exhibits correlated phenomena such as superconductivity and Mott insulating state related to the weakly dispersing flat band near the Fermi energy. Beyond its moir\'e period, such flat band is expected to be sensitive to lattice relaxations. Thus, clarifying the evolution of the electronic structure with twist angle is critical for understanding the physics of MATBG. Here, we combine nanospot angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy to resolve the fine electronic structure of the flat band and remote bands, and their evolution with twist angles from 1.07$^\circ$ to 2.60$^\circ$. Near the magic angle, dispersion is characterized by a flat band near the Fermi energy with a strongly reduced bandwidth. Moreover, near 1.07$^\circ$, we observe a spectral weight transfer between remote bands at higher binding energy and extract the modulated interlayer spacing near the magic angle. Our work provides direct spectroscopic information on flat band physics and highlights the role of lattice relaxations.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures, Nature Materials, in pres

Acoustic attenuation spectroscopy and helium ion microscopy study of rehydration of dairy powder

Complete hydration is essential for the production of structured dairy products from powders. It is essential that the ingredients used hydrate completely. Determination of an end point of rehydration is non-trivial, but ultrasound-based methodologies have demonstrated potential in this area and are well suited to measuring bulk samples in situ. Here, acoustic attenuation spectroscopy (AAS) is used to monitor rehydration of skim milk powder, and recombined systems of micellar casein isolate with lactose and whey protein isolate. Dynamic light scattering, zeta-potential measurements and AAS as a function of pH characterise each component around its isoelectric point to assess its functionality. Scanning helium ion microscopy was used to image the dry powders, without any conductive coating, producing resolution equivalent to scanning electron microscopy, but with much larger focal lengths and fewer imaging artefacts. Imaging the powders provides information on particle size and morphology which can affect dissolution behaviour. Reconstituted skim milk powder and recombined samples were monitored showing there are changes occurring over several hours. Attenuation coefficients are shown to predict the end point of hydration. Model fitting is used to extract volume fractions and average particle sizes of large and small particle populations in recombined samples over time. AAS is demonstrated to be capable of tracking the dynamics in rehydrating dispersions over time. Physical parameters such as the volume fraction and particle size of the dispersed phase can be determined

Synthetic motion capture for interactive virtual worlds

grantor: University of TorontoThe numerical simulation of biomechanical models enables the behavioral animation of realistic artificial animals in virtual worlds. Unfortunately, even on high-end graphics workstations, the biomechanical simulation approach is at present computationally too demanding for the animation of numerous animals at interactive frame rates. We tackle this problem by replacing biomechanical animal models with fast kinematic replicas that reproduce the locomotion abilities of the original models with reasonable fidelity. Our technique is based on capturing motion data by systematically simulating the biomechanical models. We refer to it as synthetic motion capture, because of the similarity to natural motion capture applied to real animals. We compile the captured motion data into kinematic action repertoires that are sufficiently rich to support elaborate behavioral animation. Synthetic motion capture in conjunction with level-of-detail geometric modeling and object culling during rendering has enabled us to transform a system designed for the realistic, off-line biomechanical/behavioral animation of artificial fishes, into an interactive, stereoscopic, virtual undersea experience.M.Sc

Visualizing Holistic Person-Specific Dynamic Systems: A Case Example with Self-Efficacy and Self-Care Behavior in Emerging Adults with type 1 Diabetes

It is common to test bidirectional and dynamic associations between constructs to understand how they are intertwined and unfold over time. However, there are two primary limitations in the current literature. First, studies often report only the average effects of the dynamic associations assuming average findings can be generalized to all individuals in a certain population. Second, studies often interpret local coefficients such as autoregressive and cross-lagged coefficients in a separate manner. However, focusing solely on interpreting these statistics separately may not reveal holistic dynamic patterns as it is possible that the local and holistic dynamic patterns may not align with each other. Our paper aims to address these two limitations by introducing techniques to produce person-specific holistic dynamic patterns through a visualization approach so that the dynamic associations between constructs for each person can be directly observed and examined. We utilized a case example with 200 emerging adults diagnosed with type 1 diabetes to examine the dynamic associations between their diabetes self-efficacy and self-care behavior. We applied a dynamic structural equation modeling to generate person-specific local autoregressive and cross-lagged coefficients and used vector plots and eigenvalues to visualize person-specific holistic dynamic patterns

Integrating Multi-Modal Messages across Heterogeneous Networks.

We introduce a seamless messaging system for the management of personal messages. The aim of it is to intercept, filter, interpret, and deliver multi-modal messages (voice, fax, and/or e-mail messages). Messages are delivered to the recipient regardless of their target messaging device. Seamless messaging involves finding the person (if urgent) and delivering the information to them on their cellular phone, pager, laptop, nearest fax, telephone, or desktop computer. The system includes a set of personal agents that classify and act on incoming messages based on their content. The user specifies the classes and actions to the agent as a set of high-level rules. This allows the user to specify rules that are independent of the messaging system and target devices. A personal agent Secretary is responsible for mediating between the different messaging environments, the target devices, and other interacting applications (e.g., calendars, e-mail programs, etc.). The design of this Seamless M..