Discovery of a New Retrograde Trans-Neptunian Object: Hint of a Common Orbital Plane for Low Semimajor Axis, High-inclination TNOs and Centaurs

Although the majority of Centaurs are thought to have originated in the scattered disk, with the high-inclination members coming from the Oort cloud, the origin of the high-inclination component of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) remains uncertain. We report the discovery of a retrograde TNO, which we nickname “Niku,” detected by the Pan-STARRS 1 Outer Solar System Survey. Our numerical integrations show that the orbital dynamics of Niku are very similar to that of 2008 KV42 (Drac), with a half-life of ˜500 Myr. Comparing similar high-inclination TNOs and Centaurs (q > 10 au, a <100 au, and i > 60°), we find that these objects exhibit a surprising clustering of ascending node, and occupy a common orbital plane. This orbital configuration has high statistical significance: 3.8-σ. An unknown mechanism is required to explain the observed clustering. This discovery may provide a pathway to investigating a possible reservoir of high-inclination objects.

got your dairy today? : 10 tips to help you eat and drink more fat-free or low-fat dairy foods

The Dairy Group includes milk, yogurt, cheese, and fortified soymilk. They provide calcium, vitamin D, potassium, protein, and other nutrients needed for good health throughout life. Choices should be lowfat or fat-free—to cut calories and saturated fat. How much is needed? Older children, teens, and adults need 3 cups* a day, while children 4 to 8 years old need 2½ cups, and children 2 to 3 years old need 2 cups.

Feature-based tracking of urethral motion in low-resolution trans-perineal ultrasound

This paper describes a novel algorithm for tracking the motion of the urethra from trans-perineal ultrasound. Our work is based on the structure-from-motion paradigm and therefore handles well structures with ill-defined and partially missing boundaries. The proposed approach is particularly well-suited for video sequences of low resolution and variable levels of blurriness introduced by anatomical motion of variable speed. Our tracking method identifies feature points on a frame by frame basis using the SURF detector/descriptor. Inter-frame correspondence is achieved using nearest-neighbor matching in the feature space. The motion is estimated using a non-linear bi-quadratic model, which adequately describes the deformable motion of the urethra. Experimental results are promising and show that our algorithm performs well when compared to manual tracking.

Feature-based tracking of urethral motion in low-resolution trans-perineal ultrasound

This paper describes a novel algorithm for tracking the motion of the urethra from trans-perineal ultrasound. Our work is based on the structure-from-motion paradigm and therefore handles well structures with ill-defined and partially missing boundaries. The proposed approach is particularly well-suited for video sequences of low resolution and variable levels of blurriness introduced by anatomical motion of variable speed. Our tracking method identifies feature points on a frame by frame basis using the SURF detector/descriptor. Inter-frame correspondence is achieved using nearest-neighbor matching in the feature space. The motion is estimated using a non-linear bi-quadratic model, which adequately describes the deformable motion of the urethra. Experimental results are promising and show that our algorithm performs well when compared to manual tracking.

Fat and thin adaptive HMM filters for vision based detection of moving targets

Computer vision is an attractive solution for uninhabited aerial vehicle (UAV) collision avoidance, due to the low weight, size and power requirements of hardware. A two-stage paradigm has emerged in the literature for detection and tracking of dim targets in images, comprising of spatial preprocessing, followed by temporal filtering. In this paper, we investigate a hidden Markov model (HMM) based temporal filtering approach. Specifically, we propose an adaptive HMM filter, in which the variance of model parameters is refined as the quality of the target estimate improves. Filters with high variance (fat filters) are used for target acquisition, and filters with low variance (thin filters) are used for target tracking. The adaptive filter is tested in simulation and with real data (video of a collision-course aircraft). Our test results demonstrate that our adaptive filtering approach has improved tracking performance, and provides an estimate of target heading not present in previous HMM filtering approaches.

Body composition and appetite : fat-free mass (but not fat mass or BMI) is positively associated with self-determined meal size and daily energy intake in humans

The idea of body weight regulation implies that a biological mechanism exerts control over energy expenditure and food intake. This is a central tenet of energy homeostasis. However, the source and identity of the controlling mechanism have not been identified, although it is often presumed to be some long-acting signal related to body fat, such as leptin. Using a comprehensive experimental platform, we have investigated the relationship between biological and behavioural variables in two separate studies over a 12-week intervention period in obese adults (total n 92). All variables have been measured objectively and with a similar degree of scientific control and precision, including anthropometric factors, body composition, RMR and accumulative energy consumed at individual meals across the whole day. Results showed that meal size and daily energy intake (EI) were significantly correlated with fat-free mass (FFM, P values ,0·02–0·05) but not with fat mass (FM) or BMI (P values 0·11–0·45) (study 1, n 58). In study 2 (n 34), FFM (but not FM or BMI) predicted meal size and daily EI under two distinct dietary conditions (high-fat and low-fat). These data appear to indicate that, under these circumstances, some signal associated with lean mass (but not FM) exerts a determining effect over self-selected food consumption. This signal may be postulated to interact with a separate class of signals generated by FM. This finding may have implications for investigations of the molecular control of food intake and body weight and for the management of obesity.

Distributed low-power image processing in wireless sensor networks for intelligent video surveillance applications

Distributed Wireless Smart Camera (DWSC) network is a special type of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) that processes captured images in a distributed manner. While image processing on DWSCs sees a great potential for growth, with its applications possessing a vast practical application domain such as security surveillance and health care, it suffers from tremendous constraints. In addition to the limitations of conventional WSNs, image processing on DWSCs requires more computational power, bandwidth and energy that presents significant challenges for large scale deployments. This dissertation has developed a number of algorithms that are highly scalable, portable, energy efficient and performance efficient, with considerations of practical constraints imposed by the hardware and the nature of WSN. More specifically, these algorithms tackle the problems of multi-object tracking and localisation in distributed wireless smart camera net- works and optimal camera configuration determination. Addressing the first problem of multi-object tracking and localisation requires solving a large array of sub-problems. The sub-problems that are discussed in this dissertation are calibration of internal parameters, multi-camera calibration for localisation and object handover for tracking. These topics have been covered extensively in computer vision literatures, however new algorithms must be invented to accommodate the various constraints introduced and required by the DWSC platform. A technique has been developed for the automatic calibration of low-cost cameras which are assumed to be restricted in their freedom of movement to either pan or tilt movements. Camera internal parameters, including focal length, principal point, lens distortion parameter and the angle and axis of rotation, can be recovered from a minimum set of two images of the camera, provided that the axis of rotation between the two images goes through the camera's optical centre and is parallel to either the vertical (panning) or horizontal (tilting) axis of the image. For object localisation, a novel approach has been developed for the calibration of a network of non-overlapping DWSCs in terms of their ground plane homographies, which can then be used for localising objects. In the proposed approach, a robot travels through the camera network while updating its position in a global coordinate frame, which it broadcasts to the cameras. The cameras use this, along with the image plane location of the robot, to compute a mapping from their image planes to the global coordinate frame. This is combined with an occupancy map generated by the robot during the mapping process to localised objects moving within the network. In addition, to deal with the problem of object handover between DWSCs of non-overlapping fields of view, a highly-scalable, distributed protocol has been designed. Cameras that follow the proposed protocol transmit object descriptions to a selected set of neighbours that are determined using a predictive forwarding strategy. The received descriptions are then matched at the subsequent camera on the object's path using a probability maximisation process with locally generated descriptions. The second problem of camera placement emerges naturally when these pervasive devices are put into real use. The locations, orientations, lens types etc. of the cameras must be chosen in a way that the utility of the network is maximised (e.g. maximum coverage) while user requirements are met. To deal with this, a statistical formulation of the problem of determining optimal camera configurations has been introduced and a Trans-Dimensional Simulated Annealing (TDSA) algorithm has been proposed to effectively solve the problem.

Postprandial total and HMW adiponectin following a high-fat meal in lean, obese and diabetic men

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Recent work suggests that macronutrients are pro-inflammatory and promote oxidative stress. Reports of postprandial regulation of total adiponectin have been mixed, and there is limited information regarding postprandial changes in high molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of a standardised high-fat meal on metabolic variables, adiponectin (total and HMW), and markers of inflammation and oxidative stress in: (i) lean, (ii) obese non-diabetic and (iii) men with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). SUBJECTS/METHODS: Male subjects: lean (n=10), obese (n=10) and T2DM (n=10) were studied for 6 h following both a high-fat meal and water control. Metabolic variables (glucose, insulin, triglycerides), inflammatory markers (interleukin-6 (IL6), tumour necrosis factor (TNF)α, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), nuclear factor (NF)κB expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (p65)), indicators of oxidative stress (oxidised low density lipoprotein (oxLDL), protein carbonyl) and adiponectin (total and HMW) were measured. RESULTS: No significant changes in TNFα, p65, oxLDL or protein carbonyl concentrations were observed. Overall, postprandial IL6 decreased in subjects with T2DM but increased in lean subjects, whereas hsCRP decreased in the lean cohort and increased in obese subjects. There was no overall postprandial change in total or HMW adiponectin in any group. Total adiponectin concentrations changed over time following the water control, and the response was significantly different in lean subjects compared with subjects with T2DM (P=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: No consistent significant postprandial inflammation, oxidative stress or regulation of adiponectin was observed in this study. Findings from the water control suggest differential basal regulation of total adiponectin in T2DM compared with lean controls.

Low-temperature growth of large area, vertically aligned carbon nanotubes for field emission applications

Large area, highly uniform vertically aligned carbon nanotips (VACNTP) and other nanostructures have been grown on silicon (100) substrates with Ni catalyst in the low-temperature, low-frequency, high-density inductively coupled plasmas (ICP) of methane-hydrogen-argon gas mixtures. The control strategies for the morphology, crystalline structure and chemical states of the resulting nanostructures by varying the growth conditions are proposed. XRD and Roman analyses confirm that the nanotips are well graphitized, which is favorable for the field emission applications.

Enhanced preference for high-fat foods following a simulated night shift

Objectives Shift workers are prone to obesity and associated co-morbidities such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Sleep restriction associated with shift work results in dramatic endocrine and metabolic effects that predispose shift workers to these adverse health consequences. While sleep restriction has been associated with increased caloric intake, food preference may also play a key role in weight gain associated with shift work. This study examined the impact of an overnight simulated night shift on food preference. Methods Sixteen participants [mean 20.1, standard deviation (SD) 1.4 years; 8 women] underwent a simulated night shift and control condition in a counterbalanced order. On the following morning, participants were provided an opportunity for breakfast that included high- and low-fat food options (mean 64.8% and 6.4% fat, respectively). Results Participants ate significantly more high-fat breakfast items after the simulated night shift than after the control condition [167.3, standard error of the mean (SEM 28.7) g versus 211.4 (SEM 35.6) g; P=0.012]. The preference for high-fat food was apparent among the majority of individuals following the simulated night shift (81%), but not for the control condition (31%). Shift work and control conditions did not differ, however, in the total amount of food or calories consumed. Conclusions A simulated night shift leads to preference for high-fat food during a subsequent breakfast opportunity. These results suggest that food choice may contribute to weight-related chronic health problems commonly seen among night shift workers.

Comparing fat oxidation in an exercise test with moderate-intensity interval training

This study compared fat oxidation rate from a graded exercise test (GXT) with a moderate-intensity interval training session (MIIT) in obese men. Twelve sedentary obese males (age 29 ± 4.1 years; BMI 29.1 ± 2.4 kg·m-2; fat mass 31.7 ± 4.4 %body mass) completed two exercise sessions: GXT to determine maximal fat oxidation (MFO) and maximal aerobic power (VO2max), and an interval cycling session during which respiratory gases were measured. The 30-min MIIT involved 5-min repetitions of workloads 20% below and 20% above the MFO intensity. VO2max was 31.8 ± 5.5 ml·kg-1·min-1 and all participants achieved ≥ 3 of the designated VO2max test criteria. The MFO identified during the GXT was not significantly different compared with the average fat oxidation rate in the MIIT session. During the MIIT session, fat oxidation rate increased with time; the highest rate (0.18 ± 0.11 g·min- 1) in minute 25 was significantly higher than the rate at minute 5 and 15 (p ≤ 0.01 and 0.05 respectively). In this cohort with low aerobic fitness, fat oxidation during the MIIT session was comparable with the MFO determined during a GXT. Future research may consider if the varying workload in moderate-intensity interval training helps adherence to exercise without compromising fat oxidation.

Intake, growth and carcass characteristics of lambs consuming low digestible hay and cereal grain

The influence of barley and oat grain supplements on hay dry matter intake (DMI), carcass components gain and meat quality in lambs fed a low quality basal diet was examined. Thirty five crossbred wether lambs (9 months of age) were divided into four groups. After adaptation to a basal diet of 85% oat hay and 15% lucerne hay for one week, an initial group of 11 was slaughtered. The weights of carcass components and digesta-free empty body weight (EBW) of this group was used to estimate the weight of carcass components of the other three experimental groups at the start of the experiment. The remaining three groups were randomly assigned to pens and fed ad libitum the basal diet alone (basal), basal with 300 g air dry barley grain (barley), basal with 300 g air dry oat grain (oat). Supplements were fed twice weekly (i.e., 900 g on Tuesday and 1200 g on Friday). After 13 weeks of feeding, animals were slaughtered and, at 24 h post-mortem meat quality and subcutaneous fat colour were measured. Samples of longissimus muscle were collected for determination of sarcomere length and meat tenderness. Hay DMI was reduced (P<0.01) by both barley and oat supplements. Lambs fed barley or oat had a higher and moderate digestibility of DM, and a higher intake of CP (P<0.05) and ME (P<0.01) than basal lambs. Final live weight of barley and oat lambs was higher (P<0.05) than basal, but this was not reflected in EBW or hot carcass weight. Lambs fed barley or oat had increases in protein (P<0.01) and water (P<0.001) in the carcass, but fat gain was not changed (P>0.05). There were no differences in eye muscle area or fat depth (total muscle and adipose tissue depth at 12th rib, 110 mm from midline; GR) among groups. The increased levels of protein and water components in the carcass of barley and oat fed lambs, associated with improved muscle production, were small and did not alter (P>0.05) any of the carcass/meat quality attributes compared to lambs fed a low quality forage diet. Feeding barley or oat grain at 0.9–1% of live weight daily to lambs consuming poor quality hay may not substantially improve carcass quality, but may be useful in maintaining body condition of lambs through the dry season for slaughter out of season

Immediate, cumulative and residual effects of short- and long-term low plane of nutrition on milk protein and casein composition

Immediate and residual effects of two lengths of low plane of nutrition (PON) on the synthesis of milk protein and protein fractions were studied at the Mutdapilly Research Station, in south-east Queensland. Thirty-six multiparous Holstein-Friesian cows, between 46 and 102 days in milk (DIM) initially, were used in a completely randomised design experiment with three treatments. All cows were fed on a basal diet of ryegrass pasture (7.0 kg DM/cow.day), barley-sorghum concentrate mix (2.7 kg DM/cow.day) and a canola meal-mineral mix (1.3 kg DM/cow.day). To increase PON, 5.0 kg DM/cow.day supplemental maize and forage sorghum silage was added to the basal diet. The three treatments were (C) high PON (basal diet + supplemental silage); (L9) low PON (basal diet only) for a period of 9 weeks; and (L3) low PON (basal diet only) for a period of 3 weeks. The experiment comprised three periods (1) covariate – high PON, all groups (5 weeks), (2) period of low PON for either 3 weeks (L3) or 9 weeks (L9), and (3) period of high PON (all groups) to assess ability of cows to recover any production lost as a result of treatments (5 weeks). The low PON treatment periods for L3 and L9 were end-aligned so that all treatment groups began Period 3 together. Although there was a significant effect of L9 on yields of milk, protein, fat and lactose, and concentrations of true protein, whey protein and urea, these were not significantly different from L3. There were no residual effects of L3 or L9 on protein concentration or nitrogen distribution after 5 weeks of realimentation. There was no significant effect of low PON for 3 or 9 weeks on casein concentration or composition.

LRP5 regulates human body fat distribution by modulating adipose progenitor biology in a dose- and depot-specific fashion

Summary Common variants in WNT pathway genes have been associated with bone mass and fat distribution, the latter predicting diabetes and cardiovascular disease risk. Rare mutations in the WNT co-receptors LRP5 and LRP6 are similarly associated with bone and cardiometabolic disorders. We investigated the role of LRP5 in human adipose tissue. Subjects with gain-of-function LRP5 mutations and high bone mass had enhanced lower-body fat accumulation. Reciprocally, a low bone mineral density-associated common LRP5 allele correlated with increased abdominal adiposity. Ex vivo LRP5 expression was higher in abdominal versus gluteal adipocyte progenitors. Equivalent knockdown of LRP5 in both progenitor types dose-dependently impaired β-catenin signaling and led to distinct biological outcomes: diminished gluteal and enhanced abdominal adipogenesis. These data highlight how depot differences in WNT/β-catenin pathway activity modulate human fat distribution via effects on adipocyte progenitor biology. They also identify LRP5 as a potential pharmacologic target for the treatment of cardiometabolic disorders. © 2015 The Authors.

Liver fat in the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes

Introduction: The epidemic of obesity has been accompanied by an increase in the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, not all obese subjects develop these metabolic abnormalities. Hepatic fat accumulation is related to hepatic insulin resistance, which in turn leads to hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and a low HDL cholesterol con-centration. The present studies aimed to investigate 1) how intrahepatic as compared to intramyocellular fat is related to insulin resistance in these tissues and to the metabolic syndrome (Study I); 2) the amount of liver fat in subjects with and without the metabolic syndrome, and which clinically available markers best reflect liver fat content (Study II); 3) the effect of liver fat on insulin clearance (Study III); 4) whether type 2 diabetic patients have more liver fat than age-, gender-, and BMI-matched non-diabetic subjects (Study IV); 5) how type 2 diabetic patients using exceptionally high doses of insulin respond to addition of a PPARγ agonist (Study V). Subjects and methods: The study groups consisted of 45 (Study I), 271 (Study II), and 80 (Study III) non-diabetic subjects, and of 70 type 2 diabetic patients and 70 matched control subjects (Study IV). In Study V, a total of 14 poorly controlled type 2 diabetic patients treated with high doses of insulin were studied before and after rosiglitazone treatment (8 mg/day) for 8 months. In all studies, liver fat content was measured by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and sub-cutaneous and intra-abdominal fat content by MRI. In addition, circulating markers of insulin resistance and serum liver enzyme concentrations were determined. Hepatic (i.v. insulin infusion rate 0.3 mU/kg∙min combined with [3-3H]glucose, Studies I, III, and V) and muscle (1.0 mU/kg min, Study I) insulin sensitivities were measured by the euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp technique. Results: Fat accumulation in the liver rather than in skeletal muscle was associated with features of insulin resistance, i.e. increased fasting serum (fS) triglycerides and decreased fS-HDL cholesterol, and with hyperinsulinemia and low adiponectin concentrations (Study I). Liver fat content was 4-fold higher in subjects with as compared to those without the metabolic syndrome, independent of age, gender, and BMI. FS-C-peptide was the best correlate of liver fat (Study II). Increased liver fat was associated with both impaired insulin clearance and hepatic insulin resistance independent of age, gender, and BMI (Study III). Type 2 diabetic patients had 80% more liver fat than age-, weight-, and gender-matched non-diabetic subjects. At any given liver fat content, S-ALT underestimated liver fat in the type 2 diabetic patients as compared to the non-diabetic subjects (Study IV). In Study V, hepatic insulin sensitivity increased and glycemic control improved significantly during rosiglitazone treatment. This was associated with lowering of liver fat (on the average by 46%) and insulin requirements (40%). Conclusions: Liver fat is increased both in the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes independent of age, gender, and BMI. A fatty liver is associated with both hepatic insulin resistance and impaired insulin clearance. Rosi-glitazone may be particularly effective in type 2 diabetic patients who are poorly controlled despite using high insulin doses.