Effects of the mediterranean diet on the components of metabolic syndrome

Metabolic syndrome, also as known as Syndrome X or Insulin Resistance Syndrome, is a complex health problem featuring visceral obesity (the main diagnostic criterion), insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and high blood pressure. Currently, this health condition has gained a momentum globally while raising concerns among health-related communities. The World Health Organization, American Heart Association and International Diabetes Federation have formulated diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome. Diet and nutrition can influence this syndrome: for example, the Western diet is associated with increased risk of metabolic syndrome, whereas the Nordic and Mediterranean diets and the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension are potentially beneficial. The Mediterranean diet can affect the components of metabolic syndrome due to its high dietary fiber, omega 3 and 9 fatty acids, complex carbohydrates, antioxidants, minerals, vitamins and bioactive substances, such as polyphenols. These nutrients and bioactive substances can combat obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension and diabetes mellitus. The mechanisms by which they do so are generally related to oxidative stress, inflammation (the most common risk factors for metabolic syndrome) and gastrointestinal function. The literature also shows examples of positive effects of the Mediterranean diet on the metabolic syndrome. In this review of the literature, we shed light on the effects, mechanisms and dynamic relationship between the Mediterranean diet and metabolic syndrome

Probabilistic inequality constraints in stochastic optimal control theory

AbstractThere are many optimal control problems in which it is necessary or desirable to constrain the range of values of state variables. When stochastic inputs are involved, these inequality constraint problems are particularly difficult. Sometimes the constraints must be modeled as hard constraints which can never be violated, and other times it is more natural to prescribe a probability that the constraints will not be violated. This paper treats general problems of the latter type, in which probabilistic inequality constraints are imposed on the state variables or on combinations of state and control variables. A related class of problems in which the state is required to reach a target set with a prescribed probability is handled by the same methods. It is shown that the solutions to these problems can be obtained by solving a comparatively simple bilinear deterministic control problem

Sleep Is a Refreshing Process: An fNIRS Study

Sleep is a very critical process that constitutes up to one third of daytime of a healthy adult. It is known to be an active period where body and brain is refreshed for the next day. It is both part of a larger cycle, i.e., circadian rhythm, and has subcsycles in it, i.e., sleep stages. Although hemodynamics of these stages have been investigated especially in the last two decades, there are still points in the hemodynamics to be illuminated especially in terms of refreshment. This study aims to investigate refreshing property of sleep in terms of sleep stages using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) for measuring prefrontal cortex (PFC) hemodynamics. Nine healthy subjects slept in sleep laboratories, monitored by polysomnography and fNIRS before, during, and after night sleep. REM stage had lower oxyhemoglobin (HbO) and total hemoglobin (HbT) than the other sleep stages and wakefulness. Deoxyhemoglobin (HbR) did not differ between any stages. All sleep stages and wakefulness stage at the end of the sleep had higher HbO and lower HbR than the beginning of the sleep. HbT levels did not differ between the beginning and the end of the sleep for any stages. During REM sleep, PFC seems to get lower blood supply, possibly due to increased demand in other brain regions. Regardless of the stage, PFC has higher oxygenation toward the end of sleep, indicating refreshment. Overall, our brain seems to be on duty during sleep throughout the night for “cleaning” and “refreshing” itself. Hemodynamic changes from the beginning to end of sleep might be the indicator of this work. Thus, accordingly REM stage seems to be at a central point for this work

83 W, 3.1 MHz, square-shaped, 1 ns-pulsed all-fiber-integrated laser for micromachining

Cataloged from PDF version of article.We demonstrate an all-fiber-integrated laser based on off-the-shelf components producing square-shaped, 1 ns-long pulses at 1.03 mu m wavelength with 3.1 MHz repetition rate and 83 W of average power. The master-oscillator power-amplifier system is seeded by a fiber oscillator utilizing a nonlinear optical loop mirror and producing incompressible pulses. A simple technique is employed to demonstrate that the pulses indeed have a random chirp. We propose that the long pulse duration should result in more efficient material removal relative to picosecond pulses, while being short enough to minimize heat effects, relative to nanosecond pulses commonly used in micromachining. Micromachining of Ti surfaces using 0.1 ns, 1 ns and 100 ns pulses supports these expectations. (C) 2011 Optical Society of Americ

Interactive Museum

This project aims to initiate an effort for WPI to design and implement its own campus museum. A university museum should mean more than showing paintings or antiquated artifacts. In this manner this paper includes museum and exhibit ideas for WPI, which we believe would generate awareness and excitement to students, faculty, and visitors through interactive and involved concepts. Additionally, we will design attention-grabbing installations for presentation to the Worcester Art Museum. These exhibit ideas will combine art and technology to add a contemporary edge to the museum, attracting college students in the area. An adjacent goal of this Interactive Qualifying Project is to create an interactive exhibition for placement on the WPI campus

Spectral Pattern Analysis of Propofol Induced Spindle Oscillations in the Presence of Auditory Stimulations

This study’s primary objective is to analyze human EEG spindle oscillations during propofol-induced anesthesia and to address possible activation sources. Such an analysis also has a secondary role of investigating the short- term spectral patterns and their functional role

All-fiber low-noise high-power femtosecond Yb-fiber amplifier system seeded by an all normal dispersion fiber oscillator

Cataloged from PDF version of article.We report an all-fiber, high-power, low-noise ampli-fier system seeded by an all-normal-dispersion-mode-locked Ybdoped fiber laser oscillator. Up to 10.6 W of average power is obtained at a repetition rate of 43 MHz with diffraction-limited beam quality. Amplified pulses are dechirped to sub-160-fs duration in a grating compressor. It is to our knowledge the first high-power source of femtosecond pulses with completely fiber-integrated amplification comprising commercially available components. Longterm stability is excellent. Short-term stability is characterized and an integrated laser intensity noise of <0.2% is reported. We also conclude that all-normal dispersion fiber oscillators are low-noise sources, suitable as seed for fiber amplifiers. Detailed numerical modeling of both pulse generation in the oscillator and propagation in the amplifier provide very good agreement with the experiments and allow us to identify its limitations

IRIS Hand: Smart Robotic Prosthesis

This project involved the design and development of an operational first prototype for the IRIS platform – an anthropomorphic robotic hand capable of autonomously determining the shape of an object and selecting the most appropriate method for grabbing said object. Autonomy of the device is achieved through the use of a unique control system which takes input from sensors embedded in the hand to determine the shape of an object, the position of each finger, grip strength, and the quality of grip. The intended use for this technology is in the medical field as a prosthesis. The advantage of our system as a prosthesis is that its autonomous functions allow the user to access a wide variety of functionality more quickly and easily than similar, commercially available products

Texturing of titanium (Ti6Al4V) medical implant surfaces with MHz-repetition-rate femtosecond and picosecond Yb-doped fiber lasers

Cataloged from PDF version of article.We propose and demonstrate the use of short pulsed fiber lasers in surface texturing using MHz-repetition-rate, microjoule- and sub-microjoule-energy pulses. Texturing of titanium-based (Ti6Al4V) dental implant surfaces is achieved using femtosecond, picosecond and (for comparison) nanosecond pulses with the aim of controlling attachment of human cells onto the surface. Femtosecond and picosecond pulses yield similar results in the creation of micron-scale textures with greatly reduced or no thermal heat effects, whereas nanosecond pulses result in strong thermal effects. Various surface textures are created with excellent uniformity and repeatability on a desired portion of the surface. The effects of the surface texturing on the attachment and proliferation of cells are characterized under cell culture conditions. Our data indicate that picosecond-pulsed laser modification can be utilized effectively in low-cost laser surface engineering of medical implants, where different areas on the surface can be made cell-attachment friendly or hostile through the use of different patterns. (C) 2011 Optical Society of Americ