Efeitos da restrição energética sobre a apneia do sono, atividade simpática, estresse oxidativo, biomarcadores inflamatórios, função endotelial, adiposidade corporal, perfil metabólico e pressão arterial em pacientes obesos com apneia obstrutiva do sono

A intervenção nutricional para perda ponderal é uma das opções terapêuticas para a apneia obstrutiva do sono (AOS) em pacientes com excesso de adiposidade corporal. No entanto, os efeitos da restrição energética moderada, recomendada pelas diretrizes atuais para o tratamento da obesidade, sobre a AOS ainda não são conhecidos. Avaliar em indivíduos obesos com diagnóstico de AOS os efeitos da restrição energética moderada sobre a adiposidade corporal; gravidade da AOS; pressão arterial; atividade simpática; estresse oxidativo; biomarcadores inflamatórios; perfil metabólico e função endotelial. Ensaio clínico randomizado, com duração de 16 semanas, envolvendo 21 indivíduos obesos grau I ou II, apresentando idade entre 20-55 anos e índice de apneia/hipopneia (IAH) > 5 eventos/h. Os participantes foram randomizados em 2 grupos: 11 no grupo restrição energética (GRE) e 10 no grupo controle (GC). O GRE foi orientado a realizar restrição energética (-800 Kcal/dia) e o GC não modificou sua ingestão alimentar. No início e ao final do estudo, os participantes foram submetidos à avaliação do (a): AOS com o equipamento Watch-PAT 200 incluindo a determinação dos seguintes parâmetros de gravidade da AOS: IAH, saturação mínima de O2, número de dessaturações de O2>4%; adiposidade corporal (peso, % gordura corporal e circunferências da cintura, quadril e pescoço); pressão arterial (PA); atividade do sistema nervoso simpático (concentrações plasmáticas de catecolaminas); biomarcadores inflamatórios (proteína C reativa e adiponectina); estresse oxidativo (malondialdeído); metabolismo glicídico (glicose, insulina e HOMA-IR) e lipídico (colesterol total e frações e triglicerídeos); e função endotelial (índice de hiperemia reativa avaliado com o equipamento Endo-PAT 2000 e moléculas de adesão). A análise estatística foi realizada com o software STATA v. 10. O nível de significância estatística adotado foi p<0,05. Resultados: O GRE, em comparação com o GC, apresentou redução significativamente maior no peso corporal (-5,571,81 vs. 0,431,21kg, p<0,001) e nos demais parâmetros de adiposidade corporal; no IAH (-7,222,79 vs. 0,131,88 eventos/h, p=0,04); no número de dessaturações de O2>4% (-33,7015,57 vs. 1,807,85, p=0,04); nas concentrações plasmáticas de adrenalina (-12,703,00 vs. -1,303,90pg/mL, p=0,04); além de aumento significativamente maior na saturação mínima de O2 (4,601,55 vs. -0,601,42%,p=0,03). O GRE, em comparação com o GC, apresentou maior redução, porém sem alcançar significância estatística, na PA sistólica (-4,231,95 vs. 2,341,39mmHg, p=0,05), na concentração de insulina (-5,111,93 vs. -0,651,28U/mL, p=0,07) e no HOMA-IR (-1,150,49 vs. -0,080,33, p=0,09). Durante o período do estudo, as modificações na adiposidade corporal total e central apresentaram correlação significativa com as variações nos parâmetros de gravidade da AOS; na PA sistólica e diastólica; nas concentrações de insulina e no HOMA-IR, mesmo após ajuste para fatores de confundimento. As modificações na adiposidade corporal central apresentaram associação significativa com as variações nas concentrações de noradrenalina e adiponectina. As modificações nos parâmetros de gravidade da AOS apresentaram associação significativa com as variações nas concentrações séricas da proteína C reativa. Este estudo sugere que em pacientes obesos com AOS a restrição energética moderada é capaz de reduzir a adiposidade corporal total e central, os parâmetros de avaliação da gravidade da AOS e a atividade do sistema nervoso simpático.

Bubble Behavior in a Taylor Vortex

We present an experimental study on the behavior of bubbles captured in a Taylor vortex. The gap between a rotating inner cylinder and a stationary outer cylinder is filled with a Newtonian mineral oil. Beyond a critical rotation speed (ω[subscript c]), Taylor vortices appear in this system. Small air bubbles are introduced into the gap through a needle connected to a syringe pump. These are then captured in the cores of the vortices (core bubble) and in the outflow regions along the inner cylinder (wall bubble). The flow field is measured with a two-dimensional particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) system. The motion of the bubbles is monitored by using a high speed video camera. It has been found that, if the core bubbles are all of the same size, a bubble ring forms at the center of the vortex such that bubbles are azimuthally uniformly distributed. There is a saturation number (N[subscript s]) of bubbles in the ring, such that the addition of one more bubble leads eventually to a coalescence and a subsequent complicated evolution. Ns increases with increasing rotation speed and decreasing bubble size. For bubbles of non-uniform size, small bubbles and large bubbles in nearly the same orbit can be observed to cross due to their different circulating speeds. The wall bubbles, however, do not become uniformly distributed, but instead form short bubble-chains which might eventually evolve into large bubbles. The motion of droplets and particles in a Taylor vortex was also investigated. As with bubbles, droplets and particles align into a ring structure at low rotation speeds, but the saturation number is much smaller. Moreover, at high rotation speeds, droplets and particles exhibit a characteristic periodic oscillation in the axial, radial and tangential directions due to their inertia. In addition, experiments with non-spherical particles show that they behave rather similarly. This study provides a better understanding of particulate behavior in vortex flow structures.

Vortices in superconductors with a columnar defect: Finite size effects

In the present work we investigate the behavior of a vortex in a long superconducting cylinder near to a columnar defect at the center. The derivations of the local magnetic field distribution and the Gibbs free energy will be carried out for a cylinder and a cavity of arbitrary sizes. From the general expressions, it is considered two particular limits: one in which the radius of the cavity is very small but the radius of the superconducting cylinder is kept finite; and one in which the radius of the superconducting cylinder is taken very large (infinite) but the radius of the cavity is kept finite. In both cases the maximum number of vortices which are allowed in the cavity is determined. In addition, the surface barrier field for flux entrance into the cavity is calculated. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Equilibrium constants and free energies in unfolding of proteins in urea solutions

A novel thermodynamic approach to the reversible unfolding of proteins in aqueous urea solutions has been developed based on the premise that urea ligands are bound cooperatively to the macromolecule. When successive stoichiometric binding constants have values larger than expected from statistical effects, an equation for moles of bound urea can be derived that contains imaginary terms. For a very steep unfolding curve, one can then show that the fraction of protein unfolded, B̄, depends on the square of the urea concentration, U, and is given by \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} \begin{equation*}\bar {B}=\frac{{\mathit{A}}^{{\mathit{2}}}_{{\mathit{1}}}{\mathit{e}}^{{\mathrm{{\lambda}}}n\bar {B}}{\mathit{U}}^{{\mathit{2}}}}{{\mathrm{1\hspace{.167em}+\hspace{.167em}}}{\mathit{A}}^{{\mathrm{2}}}_{{\mathrm{1}}}{\mathit{e}}^{{\mathrm{{\lambda}}}\bar {B}}{\mathit{U}}^{{\mathrm{2}}}}{\mathrm{.}}\end{equation*}\end{document} A12 is the binding constant as B̄→ 0, and λ is a parameter that reflects the augmentation in affinities of protein for urea as the moles bound increases to the saturation number, n. This equation provides an analytic expression that reproduces the unfolding curve with good precision, suggests a simple linear graphical procedure for evaluating A12 and λ, and leads to the appropriate standard free energy changes. The calculated ΔG° values reflect the coupling of urea binding with unfolding of the protein. Some possible implications of this analysis to protein folding in vivo are described.

Ion charge number and flux saturation effects in the corona of a laser-irradiated pellet

The quasisteady structure of the corona of a laser-irradiated pellet is completely determined for arbitrary Z, (ion charge number} and re/ra (ratio of critical and ablation radii), and for heat-flux saturation factor/above approximately 0.04. The ion-to-electron temperature ratio at rc grows sensibly with Z,; all other quantities depend weakly and nonmonotonically on Z,. For rc /ra close to unity, and all Z, of interest (Z, < 47}, the flow is subsonic at rc. For a given laser power W, flux saturation may decrease (low/) or increase (high/) the ablation pressure Pa relative to the value obtained when saturation is not considered; in some cases a decrease in/with W fixed increases Pa. For intermediate^ ~0.1), Pa cc (W/r* )2/3 p\n\pc = critical density), independently of rc/ra; for/~0.6, Pa «s larger by a factor of about [rc/raf13. For rjra > 1.2 roughly, the mass ablation rate is C{Z,) [{m/kZ.f^Kr^Pl) l,\ independent of pc and/, and barely dependent on Z,(m, is ion mass; k, Boltzmann's constant; K, conductivity coefficient; and C, a tabulated function).

Soil carbon saturation: Linking concept and measurable carbon pools

The soil C saturation concept suggests a limit to whole soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation determined by inherent physicochemical characteristics of four soil C pools: unprotected, physically protected, chemically protected, and biochemically protected. Previous attempts to quantify soil C sequestration capacity have focused primarily on silt and clay protection and largely ignored the effects of soil structural protection and biochemical protection. We assessed two contrasting models of SOC accumulation, one with no saturation limit (i.e., linear first-order model) and one with an explicit soil C saturation limit (i.e., C saturation model). We isolated soil fractions corresponding to the C pools (i.e., free particulate organic matter POM], microaggregate-associated C, silt- and clay-associated C, and non-hydrolyzable C) from eight long-term agroecosystern experiments across the United States and Canada. Due to the composite nature of the physically protected C pool, we firactioned it into mineral- vs. POM-associated C. Within each site, the number of fractions fitting the C saturation model was directly related to maximum SOC content, suggesting that a broad range in SOC content is necessary to evaluate fraction C saturation. The two sites with the greatest SOC range showed C saturation behavior in the chemically, biochemically, and some mineral-associated fractions of the physically protected pool. The unprotected pool and the aggregate-protected POM showed linear, nonsaturating behavior. Evidence of C saturation of chemically and biochemically protected SOC pools was observed at sites far from their theoretical C saturation level, while saturation of aggregate-protected fractions occurred in soils closer to their C saturation level.

Engine performance characteristics for biodiesels of different degrees of saturation and carbon chain lengths

This experimental study examines the effect on performance and emission outputs of a compression ignition engine operating on biodiesels of varying carbon chain length and the degree of unsaturation. A well-instrumented, heavy-duty, multi-cylinder, common-rail, turbo-charged diesel engine was used to ensure that the results contribute in a realistic way to the ongoing debate about the impact of biofuels. Comparative measurements are reported for engine performance as well as the emissions of NOx, particle number and size distribution, and the concentration of the reactive oxygen species (which provide a measure of the toxicity of emitted particles). It is shown that the biodiesels used in this study produce lower mean effective pressure, somewhat proportionally with their lower calorific values; however, the molecular structure has been shown to have little impact on the performance of the engine. The peak in-cylinder pressure is lower for the biodiesels that produce a smaller number of emitted particles, compared to fossil diesel, but the concentration of the reactive oxygen species is significantly higher because of oxygen in the fuels. The differences in the physicochemical properties amongst the biofuels and the fossil diesel significantly affect the engine combustion and emission characteristics. Saturated short chain length fatty acid methyl esters are found to enhance combustion efficiency, reduce NOx and particle number concentration, but results in high levels of fuel consumption.

Stability and throughput analysis of unslotted CDMA-ALOHA with finite number of users and code sharing

We consider a system comprising a finite number of nodes, with infinite packet buffers, that use unslotted ALOHA with Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) to share a channel for transmitting packetised data. We propose a simple model for packet transmission and retransmission at each node, and show that saturation throughput in this model yields a sufficient condition for the stability of the packet buffers; we interpret this as the capacity of the access method. We calculate and compare the capacities of CDMA-ALOHA (with and without code sharing) and TDMA-ALOHA; we also consider carrier sensing and collision detection versions of these protocols. In each case, saturation throughput can be obtained via analysis pf a continuous time Markov chain. Our results show how saturation throughput degrades with code-sharing. Finally, we also present some simulation results for mean packet delay. Our work is motivated by optical CDMA in which "chips" can be optically generated, and hence the achievable chip rate can exceed the achievable TDMA bit rate which is limited by electronics. Code sharing may be useful in the optical CDMA context as it reduces the number of optical correlators at the receivers. Our throughput results help to quantify by how much the CDMA chip rate should exceed the TDMA bit rate so that CDMA-ALOHA yields better capacity than TDMA-ALOHA.

Influence of initial degree of saturation on swell pressures of compacted Barmer bentonite specimens

Densely compacted bentonite or bentonite-sand mixture has been identified as suitable buffer in deep geological repositories as its exceptionally high swelling capacity enables tight contact between the waste canister and surrounding rock. The degree of saturation of the compacted bentonite buffer can increase upon ingress of groundwater from the surrounding rock mass or decrease from evaporation due to high temperature (50-210 degrees C) derived from the waste canister. Available studies indicate that the influence of initial moisture content or degree of saturation on the swell pressure or swell potential of compacted bentonites is unclear. Some studies suggest that initial degree of saturation has an influence, while others suggest that it does not have bearing on the swell pressure of compacted bentonites. This paper examines the influence of initial degree of saturation in montmorillonite voids (termed,S-r,S-MF) on swell pressure of compacted Barmer bentonite-sand mixtures (dry density range: 1.4-2 Mg/m(3)) from micro-structural considerations. The experimental results bring out that, constant dry density specimens that developed similar number of hydration layers upon wetting developed comparable swell pressures and were unaffected by variations in initial S-r,S-MF values. Comparatively, constant dry density specimens that developed dis-similar number of hydration layers upon wetting established different swell pressures and were responsive to variations in initial S-r,S-MF. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Can the nuclear symmetry potential at supra-saturation densities be negative?

In the framework of an isospin-dependent Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (IBUU) transport model, for the central Au-197 + Au-197 reaction at an incident beam energy of 400 MeV/nucleon, the effect of nuclear symmetry potential at supra-saturation densities on the preequilibrium clusters emission is studied. It is found that for the positive symmetry potential at supra-saturation densities the neutron-to-proton ratio of lighter clusters with mass number A less than or similar to 3 [(n/p)(A less than or similar to 3)] is larger than that of the heavier clusters with mass number A > 3 [(n/p)(A>3)], whereas for the negative symmetry potential at supra-saturation densities the (n/p)(A less than or similar to 3) is smaller than the (n/p)(A>3). This may be considered as a probe of the negative symmetry potential at supra-saturation densities.

Remote sensing of assimilation number for marine phytoplankton

Estimating primary production at large spatial scales is key to our understanding of the global carbon cycle. Algorithms to estimate primary production are well established and have been used in many studies with success. One of the key parameters in these algorithms is the chlorophyll-normalised production rate under light saturation (referred to as the light saturation parameter or the assimilation number). It is known to depend on temperature, light history and nutrient conditions, but assigning a magnitude to it at particular space-time points is difficult. In this paper, we explore two models to estimate the assimilation number at the global scale from remotely-sensed data that combine methods to estimate the carbon-to-chlorophyll ratio and the maximum growth rate of phytoplankton. The inputs to the algorithms are the surface concentration of chlorophyll, seasurface temperature, photosynthetically-active radiation af the surface of the sea, sea surface nutrient concentration and mixed-layer depth. A large database of in situ estimates of the assimilation number is used to develop the models and provide elements of validation. The comparisons with in situ observations are promising and global maps of assimilation number are produced.

The Search for Super-saturation in Chromospheric Emission

We investigate if the super-saturation phenomenon observed at X-ray wavelengths for the corona exists in the chromosphere for rapidly rotating late-type stars. Moderate resolution optical spectra of fast-rotating EUV- and X-ray-selected late-type stars were obtained. Stars in a Per were observed in the northern hemisphere with the Isaac Newton 2.5 m telescope and Intermediate Dispersion Spectrograph. Selected objects from IC 2391 and IC 2602 were observed in the southern hemisphere with the Blanco 4 m telescope and R-C spectrograph at CTIO. Ca II H and K fluxes were measured for all stars in our sample. We find the saturation level for Ca II K at log (L CaK/L bol) = -4.08. The Ca II K flux does not show a decrease as a function of increased rotational velocity or smaller Rossby number as observed in the X-ray. This lack of "super-saturation" supports the idea of coronal stripping as the cause of saturation and super-saturation in stellar chromospheres and coronae, but the detailed underlying mechanism is still under investigation.

Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) population increases in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland: evidence for habitat saturation?

Across North America, Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) populations appear to be recovering following bans of DDT. A limited number of studies from across North America have recorded a surplus of nonbreeding adult Bald Eagles in dense populations when optimal habitat and food become limited. Placentia Bay, Newfoundland is one of these. The area has one of the highest densities of Bald Eagles in eastern North America, and has recently experienced an increase in the proportion of nonbreeding adults within the population. We tested whether the observed Bald Eagle population trends in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland during the breeding seasons 1990-2009 are due to habitat saturation. We found no significant differences in habitat or food resource characteristics between occupied territories and pseudo-absence data or between nest sites with high vs. low nest activity/occupancy rates. Therefore there is no evidence for habitat saturation for Bald Eagles in Placentia Bay and alternative hypotheses for the high proportion of nonbreeding adults should be considered. The Newfoundland population provides an interesting case for examination because it did not historically appear to be affected by pollution. An understanding of Bald Eagle population dynamics in a relatively pristine area with a high density can be informative for restoration and conservation of Bald Eagle populations elsewhere.

Maximum number of flux lines inside columnar defects

We set new limits for the maximum number of fluxons trapped inside columnar defects, for both cases of metallic and insulated cores. We show that the saturation limit predicted by the Mkrtchyan and Shmidt theory is just a first approximation to our results, because it does not consider the presence of the remaining flux lines exterior to the defects.

Chronic Intermittent Hypoxia Depresses Afferent Neurotransmission in NTS Neurons by a Reduction in the Number of Active Synapses

Long-term synaptic plasticity has been recently described in brainstem areas associated to visceral afferent sensory integration. Chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH), an animal model for studying obstructive sleep apnea in humans, depresses the afferent neurotransmission in nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) neurons, which affect respiratory and autonomic regulation. Here we identified the synaptic mechanisms of CIH-induced depression of the afferent neurotransmission in NTS neurons in juvenile rats. We verified that CIH reduced the amplitude of both NMDA and non-NMDA glutamatergic excitatory currents (eEPSCs) evoked by tractus solitarii stimulation (TS-eEPSC) of second-order neurons in the NTS. No changes were observed in release probability, evidenced by absence of any CIH-elicited effects on short-term depression and failures in EPSCs evoked in low calcium. CIH also produced no changes in TS-eEPSC quantal size, since the amplitudes of both low calcium-evoked EPSCs and asynchronous TS-eEPSCs (evoked in the presence of Sr2+) were unchanged. Using single TS afferent fiber stimulation in slices from control and CIH rats we clearly show that CIH reduced the quantal content of the TS-eEPSCs without affecting the quantal size or release probability, suggesting a reduction in the number of active synapses as the mechanism of CIH induced TS-eEPSC depression. In accordance with this concept, the input-output relationship of stimulus intensity and TS-eEPSC amplitude shows an early saturation in CIH animals. These findings open new perspectives for a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the synaptic plasticity in the brainstem sensory neurons under challenges such as those produced by CIH in experimental and pathological conditions.