Effects of dietary fat modification on insulin sensitivity and on other risk factors of the metabolic syndrome—LIPGENE: a European randomized dietary intervention study

Background:Excessive energy intake and obesity lead to the metabolic syndrome (MetS). Dietary saturated fatty acids (SFAs) may be particularly detrimental on insulin sensitivity (SI) and on other components of the MetS. Objective:This study determined the relative efficacy of reducing dietary SFA, by isoenergetic alteration of the quality and quantity of dietary fat, on risk factors associated with MetS. Design:A free-living, single-blinded dietary intervention study. Subjects and Methods:MetS subjects (n=417) from eight European countries completed the randomized dietary intervention study with four isoenergetic diets distinct in fat quantity and quality: high-SFA; high-monounsaturated fatty acids and two low-fat, high-complex carbohydrate (LFHCC) diets, supplemented with long chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC n-3 PUFAs) (1.2 g per day) or placebo for 12 weeks. SI estimated from an intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) was the primary outcome measure. Lipid and inflammatory markers associated with MetS were also determined. Results:In weight-stable subjects, reducing dietary SFA intake had no effect on SI, total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration, inflammation or blood pressure in the entire cohort. The LFHCC n-3 PUFA diet reduced plasma triacylglycerol (TAG) and non-esterified fatty acid concentrations (P<0.01), particularly in men. Conclusion:There was no effect of reducing SFA on SI in weight-stable obese MetS subjects. LC n-3 PUFA supplementation, in association with a low-fat diet, improved TAG-related MetS risk profiles.

Sea-breeze modification of the growth of a marine internal boundary layer

A numerical mesoscale model is used to make a high-resolution simulation of the marine boundary layer in the Persian Gulf, during conditions of offshore flow from Saudi Arabia. A marine internal boundary layer (MIBL) and a sea-breeze circulation (SBC) are found to co-exist. The sea breeze develops in the mid-afternoon, at which time its front is displaced several tens of kilometres offshore. Between the coast and the sea-breeze system, the MIBL that occurs is consistent with a picture described in the existing literature. However, the MIBL is perturbed by the SBC, the boundary layer deepening significantly seaward of the sea-breeze front. Our analysis suggests that this strong, localized deepening is not a direct consequence of frontal uplift, but rather that the immediate cause is the retardation of the prevailing, low-level offshore wind by the SBC. The simulated boundary-layer development can be accounted for by using a simple 1D Lagrangian model of growth driven by the surface heat flux. This model is obtained as a straightforward modification of an established MIBL analytic growth model.

Mechanisms of femtosecond laser-induced refractive index modification of poly(methyl methacrylate)

The mechanisms of refractive index change in poly(methyl methacrylate) by frequency doubled femtosecond laser pulses are investigated. It is demonstrated that positive refractive index modificaton can be caused by a combination of depolymerization and crosslinking.

Modification of cell wall properties in lettuce improves shelf life

It is proposed that post-harvest longevity and appearance of salad crops is closely linked to pre-harvest leaf morphology (cell and leaf size) and biophysical structure (leaf strength). Transgenic lettuce plants (Lactuca sativa cv. Valeria) were produced in which the production of the cell wall-modifying enzyme xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XTH) was down-regulated by antisense inhibition. Independently transformed lines were shown to have multiple members of the LsXTH gene family down-regulated in mature leaves of 6-week-old plants and during the course of shelf life. Consequently, xyloglucan endotransglucosylase (XET) enzyme activity and action were down-regulated in the cell walls of these leaves and it was established that leaf area and fresh weight were decreased while leaf strength was increased in the transgenic lines. Membrane permeability was reduced towards the end of shelf life in the transgenic lines relative to the controls and bacteria were evident inside the leaves of control plants only. Most importantly, an extended shelf-life of transgenic lines was observed relative to the non-transgenic control plants. These data illustrate the potential for engineering cell wall traits for improving quality and longevity of salad crops using either genetic modification directly, or by using markers associated with XTH genes to inform a commercial breeding programme.

Smoothed histogram modification for image processing

The technique of constructing a transformation, or regrading, of a discrete data set such that the histogram of the transformed data matches a given reference histogram is commonly known as histogram modification. The technique is widely used for image enhancement and normalization. A method which has been previously derived for producing such a regrading is shown to be “best” in the sense that it minimizes the error between the cumulative histogram of the transformed data and that of the given reference function, over all single-valued, monotone, discrete transformations of the data. Techniques for smoothed regrading, which provide a means of balancing the error in matching a given reference histogram against the information lost with respect to a linear transformation are also examined. The smoothed regradings are shown to optimize certain cost functionals. Numerical algorithms for generating the smoothed regradings, which are simple and efficient to implement, are described, and practical applications to the processing of LANDSAT image data are discussed.

Modification of enrofloxacin treatment regimens for poultry experimentally infected with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium DT104 to minimize selection of resistance

We hypothesized that higher doses of fluoroquinolones for a shorter duration could maintain efficacy (as measured by reduction in bacterial count) while reducing selection in chickens of bacteria with reduced susceptibility. Chicks were infected with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium DT104 and treated 1 week later with enrofloxacin at the recommended dose for 5 days (water dose adjusted to give 10 mg/kg of body weight of birds or equivalence, i.e., water at 50 ppm) or at 2.5 or 5 times the recommended dose for 2 days or 1 day, respectively. The dose was delivered continuously (ppm) or pulsed in the water (mg/kg) or by gavage (mg/kg). In vitro in sera, increasing concentrations of 0.5 to 8 mu g/ml enrofloxacin correlated with increased activity. In vivo, the efficacy of the 1-day treatment was significantly less than that of the 2- and 5-day treatments. The 2-day treatments showed efficacy similar to that of the 5-day treatment in all but one repeat treatment group and significantly (P < 0.01) reduced the Salmonella counts. Dosing at 2.5x the recommended dose and pulsed dosing both increased the peak antibiotic concentrations in cecal contents, liver, lung, and sera as determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography. There was limited evidence that shorter treatment regimens (in particular the 1-day regimen) selected for fewer strains with reduced susceptibility. In conclusion, the 2-day treatment would overall require a shorter withholding time than the 5-day treatment and, in view of the increased peak antibiotic concentrations, may give rise to improved efficacy, in particular for treating respiratory and systemic infections. However, it would be necessary to validate the 2-day regimen in a field situation and in particular against respiratory and systemic infections to validate or refute this hypothesis.

Biased interpretation in perfectionism and its modification

Perfectionism is a transdiagnostic construct associated with a range of diagnoses, including depression, eating disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder. Treatments that directly target perfectionist cognitions have been shown to successfully reduce associated pathologies. However, the way in which they do this is not clear. We set out to assess the role of one candidate mechanism of action, namely the cognitive process of interpretation of ambiguity. In one experiment we looked for associations between biased interpretation and perfectionism. In a second, we manipulated interpretations, thereby providing a strong test of their aetiological significance. Results from the first experiment confirmed the presence of biased interpretation in perfectionism and demonstrated that these are highly specific to perfection relevant information, rather than reflecting general negativity. The second experiment succeeded in manipulating these perfection relevant interpretations and demonstrated that one consequence of doing so is a change in perfectionist behaviour. Together, these data experimentally demonstrate that biased interpretation of perfection relevant ambiguity contributes to the maintenance of perfectionism, but that it is also possible to reverse this. Clinical implications include the identification of one likely mechanism of therapeutic change within existing treatments, as well as identification of an appropriate evidence based focus for future treatment development. Targeting underlying functional mechanisms, such as biased interpretation, has the potential to offer transdiagnostic benefits.

On the (un)-ambiguity of adjectival modification in Spanish determiner phrases: informing debates on the mental representations of L2 syntax.

This study contributes to a central debate within contemporary generative second language (L2) theorizing: the extent to which adult learners are (un)able to acquire new functional features that result in a L2 grammar that is mentally structured like the native target (see White, 2003). The adult acquisition of L2 nominal phi-features is explored, with focus on the syntactic and semantic reflexes in the related domain of adjective placement in two experimental groups: English-speaking intermediate (n = 21) and advanced (n = 24) learners of Spanish, as compared to a native-speaker control group (n = 15). Results show that, on some of the tasks, the intermediate L2 learners appear to have acquired the syntactic properties of the Spanish determiner phrase but, on other tasks, to show some delay with the semantic reflexes of prenominal and postnominal adjectives. Crucially, however, our data demonstrate full convergence by all advanced learners and thus provide evidence in contra the predictions of representational deficit accounts (e.g., Hawkins & Chan, 1997; Hawkins & Franceschina, 2004; Hawkins & Hattori, 2006).

Observing the in situ chiral modification of Ni nanoparticles using scanning transmission X-ray microspectroscopy

Enantioselective heterogeneous hydrogenation of Cdouble bond; length as m-dashO bonds is of great potential importance in the synthesis of chirally pure products for the pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries. One of the most widely studied examples of such a reaction is the hydrogenation of β-ketoesters and β-diketoesters over Ni-based catalysts in the presence of a chiral modifier. Here we use scanning transmission X-ray microscopy combined with near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (STXM/NEXAFS) to investigate the adsorption of the chiral modifier, namely (R,R)-tartaric acid, onto individual nickel nanoparticles. The C K-edge spectra strongly suggest that tartaric acid deposited onto the nanoparticle surfaces from aqueous solutions undergoes a keto-enol tautomerisation. Furthermore, we are able to interrogate the Ni L2,3-edge resonances of individual metal nanoparticles which, combined with X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns showed them to consist of a pure nickel phase rather than the more thermodynamically stable bulk nickel oxide. Importantly, there appears to be no “particle size effect” on the adsorption mode of the tartaric acid in the particle size range ~ 90–~ 300 nm.