New insights into the mechanism of low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in obesity

Obesity, a significant risk factor for various chronic diseases, is universally related to dyslipidemia mainly represented by decreasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), which plays an indispensible role in development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the mechanisms underlying obesity and low HDL-C have not been fully elucidated. Previous studies have focused on the alteration of HDL catabolism in circulation following elevated triglyceride (TG). But recent findings suggested that liver and fat tissue played pivotal role in obesity related low HDL-C. Some new molecular pathways like microRNA have also been proposed in the regulation of HDL metabolism in obesity. This article will review recent advances in understanding of the potential mechanism of low HDL-C in obesity

A Case Study of BIM Application in a Public Construction Project Management Unit in Vietnam: Lessons Learned and Organizational Changes

Public construction projects in Vietnam are managed by project management units (PMUs). A PMU should consist of the board of directors, a project office, functional and project executive departments. Functional departments are in charge of investor’s responsibilities, while project executive departments are in charge of project execution. This paper discusses the practice of BIM adoption in a case study of a PMU (SPMB) in a public project. Lessons learned include the fact that, while BIM could provide certain benefits to the project, it also extended the project's duration and increased project costs. The SPMB, previously departmentalized by project phases, has changed its organizational structure by establishing a task group made up of professionals from various project executive departments, leading directly by the SPMB leaders, to address BIM issues, though only some basic uses of BIM have been applied. The functions of the project executive departments have also been adjusted due to the application of a new procurement form and the emergence of new processes, and the requirements for a new type of capability (BIM). Subsequently, other elements of the organizational design have been changed accordingly. The lessons learned contribute to the current understanding that PMUs need substantially organizational restructuring for BIM implementation effectively and efficiently while also well-prepared for negative impacts

Hawking radiation-quasinormal modes correspondence for large AdS black holes

It is well-known that the non-strictly thermal character of the Hawking radiation spectrum generates a natural correspondence between Hawking radiation and black hole quasinormal modes. This main issue has been analyzed in the framework of Schwarzschild black holes, Kerr black holes and nonextremal Reissner-Nordstrom black holes. In this paper, by introducing the effective temperature, we reanalysis the non-strictly thermal character of large AdS black holes. The results show that the effective mass corresponding to the effective temperature is approximatively the average one in any dimension. And the other effective quantities can also be obtained. Based on the known forms of frequency in quasinormal modes, we reanalysis the asymptotic frequencies of the large AdS black hole in three and five dimensions. Then we get the formulas of the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy and the horizon's area quantization with functions of the quantum "overtone" number $n$.Comment: 6 page

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF SHRIMP CULTURE IN THE MANGROVE AREAS OF VIETNAM

Joint Research on Environmental Science and Technology for the Eart

The contribution of free radicals in paracetamol degradation by UV/NaClO

UV/Chlorine is an emerging advanced oxidation process which forms several reactive species including •OH, •Cl, •OCl. This study investigated the contribution of three main free radicals: •OH, •Cl, •OCl on Paracetamol degradation under different conditions. Benzoic acid (BA), Nitro benzene (NB) and DMOB were used as probe compounds. The second rate constant of •OH, •Cl, •OCl with PRC were determined: 4.19 (±0.15) ×109 M-1s-1; 3.71 1010 M-1s-1; 3.532×109 M-1s-1, respectively. The formation of free radicals depends on pH. In particular, at pH 5: the contribution of •OH and     (-•OCl, •Cl) are 45 %, 41 %, respectively, at pH 8.5, the contribution of free radicals increases up to 63 %. Keywords. Paracetamol, UV/Chlorine process, reactive species

Influence of vitamin D supplementation on plasma lipid profiles: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Observational studies have shown that low serum levels of vitamin D have been associated with an atherogenic lipid profile. However, the intervention studies gave divergent results. We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials that evaluated the effects of vitamin D supplementation on blood lipids. A systematic literature search was conducted via MEDLINE, Cochrane library, and EMBASE for randomized controlled clinical trials assessing the effects of vitamin D supplementation on lipids. The mean change in total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglycerides (TG) from baseline was treated as a continuous variable. In all, 12 clinical trials consisting of 1346 participants were included in the analysis. The pooled estimate of effect for vitamin D supplementation on LDL-C was 3.23 mg/dl (95% confidence interval, 0.55 to 5.90 mg/dl). No statistically significant effects for vitamin D supplementation were observed for TC, HDL-C and TG (differences in means were 1.52 mg/dl (-1.42 to 4.46 mg/dl), -0.14 mg/dl (-0.99 to 0.71 mg/dl) and -1.92 mg/dl (-7.72 to 3.88 mg/dl) respectively). The lipid modulating effects of vitamin D supplementation should be further investigated though large-scale, randomized trials with adequate doses which can effectively elevated the active form of vitamin D in plasma and with proper population which has hyperlipemia as an inclusion criterion

Thermoresistance of p-Type 4H–SiC Integrated MEMS Devices for High-Temperature Sensing

There is an increasing demand for the development and integration of multifunctional sensing modules into power electronic devices that can operate in high temperature environments. Here, the authors demonstrate the tunable thermoresistance of p‐type 4H–SiC for a wide temperature range from the room temperature to above 800 K with integrated flow sensing functionality into a single power electronic chip. The electrical resistance of p‐type 4H–SiC is found to exponentially decrease with increasing temperature to a threshold temperature of 536 K. The temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) shows a large and negative value from −2100 to −7600 ppm K−1, corresponding to a thermal index of 625 K. From the threshold temperature of 536–846 K, the electrical resistance shows excellent linearity with a positive TCR value of 900 ppm K−1. The authors successfully demonstrate the integration of p–4H–SiC flow sensing functionality with a high sensitivity of 1.035 μA(m s−1)−0.5 mW−1. These insights in the electrical transport of p–4H–SiC aid to improve the performance of p–4H–SiC integrated temperature and flow sensing systems, as well as the design consideration and integration of thermal sensors into 4H–SiC power electronic systems operating at high temperatures of up to 846 K