Effect of anti-gut inflammatory agent on insulin resistance and lipid profile of mice fed different diets

Purpose: To further explore the effect of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) treatment on lipid levels in mice fed different diets.Methods: Groups of 9 - 10 mice each were randomly assigned to 6 different diets, low-fat diet (LFD) with or without 5-ASA, high-fat diet (HFD) with or without 5-ASA, and high-fat high-cholesterol diet (HFC) with or without 5-ASA for 12 weeks.Results: There were changes in gut microbiota of 5-ASA-treated mice, although gut permeability was similar between treated and non-treated groups. The level of fasting blood glucose, fasting plasma insulin and the curve of glucose tolerance test (GTT) in mice fed LFD, HFD or HFC diet were not affected by 5-ASA treatment. Although plasma lipid levels were similar between 5-ASA consuming and non-5-ASA groups in mice fed LFD and HFD, improved lipid profile was seen in mice that received HFC+5-ASA when compared with mice fed only HFC.Conclusion: These results indicate that targeting gut inflammation and dysbiosis with 5-ASA neither improves gut barrier nor insulin resistance (IR). Thus, results from therapies for metabolic disorder based on anti-gut inflammation should be interpreted with caution.</p

Crashworthiness design of density-graded cellular metals

AbstractCrashworthiness of cellular metals with a linear density gradient was analyzed by using cell-based finite element models and shock models. Mechanisms of energy absorption and deformation of graded cellular metals were explored by shock wave propagation analysis. Results show that a positive density gradient is a good choice for protecting the impacting object because it can meet the crashworthiness requirements of high energy absorption, stable impact resistance and low peak stress

Dynamic response of elastic beam to a moving pulse: finite element analysis of critical velocity

Dynamic behaviour of a semi-infinite elastic beam subjected to a moving single sinusoidal pulse was investigated by using finite element method associated with dimensionless analysis. The typical features of the equivalent stress and beam deflection were presented. It is found that the average value of maximal equivalent stress in the beam reaches its maximum value when the velocity of moving pulse is closed to a critical velocity. The critical velocity decreases as the pulse duration increases. The material, structural and load parameters influencing the critical velocity were analysed. An empirical formula of the critical velocity with respect to the speed of elastic wave, the gyration radius of the cross-section and the pulse duration was obtained

Análise de elasticidade para sistemas agrícolas da planície do norte da China baseada em um modelo dinâmico de sistema

Este trabalho se refere a um estudo de caso da teoria de elasticidade para entender sistemas agrícolas na província de Luancheng na planície do norte da China. Foi construído um modelo de sistema dinâmico acoplado a subsistemas agrícolas sociais, econômicos e ecológicos para a província de Luancheng com um intervalo de tempo de um mês. O modelo inclui cinco componentes principais: recursos hídricos, rentabilidade, irrigação, produção agrícola e área. O lençol freático simulado, a área e a produção de trigo, a área e produção de milho e a transferência de mão de obra refletiram a tendência geral dos resultados observados com coeficientes de determinação maiores que 0.88. A elasticidade dos sistemas agrícolas, indicada pela rentabilidade e segurança alimentar, foi explorada para a província de Luancheng, que mostrou que inicialmente os investimentos em agricultura tiveram sua elasticidade aumentada rapidamente. Entretanto, com a degradação dos recursos e o aumento do investimento agrícola, o custo da produção agrícola tornou-se muito alto para obtenção de lucro. O aumento de população aumenta o risco de segurança alimentar. Como resultado, a elasticidade dos sistemas agrícolas decresceu gradualmente. A província de Luancheng encontra-se agora na fase conservativa do ciclo de adaptação. Ajustes parciais deveriam ser implementados para impulsionar sua elasticidade e promover o desenvolvimento contínuo dos sistemas agrícolas.This paper presents a case study of resilience theory to understand agricultural systems in the Luancheng County of the North China Plain. A dynanic system model coupled with social, economic and ecological subsystems of agriculture for the Luancheng County was constructed with a time step of one month. The model includes five main components, water resources, profitability, irrigation, crop yield and area. The simulated groundwater table, wheat area and yield, maize area and yield, and rural labor transfer reflected the general trend of the observed data, with calculated determination coefficients higher than 0.88. Resilience of agricultural systems, as indicated by agricultural profitability and food security, were explored for the Luancheng County. Initially, investments in agriculture increased its resilience rapidly. However, with the degradation of resources and the increases in agricultural investment, the cost of agricultural production became too high to gain profit. The rise in population increases the risk of food security. As a result, the resilience of agricultural systems decreased gradually. The Luancheng County is now in the conservation phase of the adaptive cycle. Partial adjustments should be introduced to enhance its resilience and promote the continuing development of the agricultural systems

Retraction:5-aminosalicylic acid improves lipid profile in mice fed a high-fat cholesterol diet through its dual effects on intestinal PPARγ and PPARα (PLoS ONE (2018) 13,1 (e0191485) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0191485)

After publication of this work [1], PLOS ONE was notified of several concerns: · The second and third authors (DK, MH) were not aware of and did not approve this submission to PLOS ONE;MH passed away in 2016, before this manuscript was submitted to PLOS ONE. Incorrect email addresses for these authors were provided to the journal when the manuscript was submitted. · Questions were raised as to whether the corresponding author had appropriate permissions to publish the data, and whether author contributions had been accurately reported. · The research reported in Figs 1±3 and the qPCR data for PPARα and PPARγ were reported in a previously published article [2] that was not cited or discussed in [1]. In light of these concerns, the authors and PLOS ONE Editors retract this article [1]. ZW, DK, and ZB agreed with the retraction

一种基于模糊成像机理的QR码图像快速盲复原方法.

A fast blind restoration method of QR code images was proposed based on a blurred imaging mechanism. On the basis of the research on the centroid invariance of the blurred imaging diffuse light spots, the circular finder pattern is designed. When the image is blurred, the centroid of the pattern and the position of the QR code symbol can be quickly detected by methods such as connected components. Moreover, combined with step edge characteristics, gradient and intensity characteristics, edge detection technology, and optical imaging mechanism, the defocus radius of the blurred QR code image can be quickly and accurately estimated. Furthermore, the Wiener filter is applied to restore the QR code image quickly and effectively. Compared with the other algorithms, the proposed method has improved deblurring results in both structural similarity and peak signal-to-noise ratio, especially in the recovery speed. The average recovery time is 0.329 2 s. Experimental results show that this method can estimate the defocus radius with high accuracy and can quickly realize the blind restoration of QR code images. It has the advantages of rapidity and robustness, which are convenient for embedded hardware implementation and suitable for barcode identification-related industrial Internet of Things application scenarios