Behavioral approach and orbitofrontal cortical activity during decision-making in substance dependence.

PubMed

Yamamoto, Dorothy J; Banich, Marie T; Regner, Michael F; Sakai, Joseph T; Tanabe, Jody

2017-11-01

Behavioral approach, defined as behavior directed toward a reward or novel stimulus, when elevated, may increase one's vulnerability to substance use disorder. Behavioral approach has been associated with relatively greater left compared to right frontal activity; behavioral inhibition may be associated with relatively greater right compared to left frontal brain activity. We hypothesized that substance dependent individuals (SDI) would have higher behavioral approach than controls and greater prefrontal cortical activity during decision-making involving reward. We hypothesized that behavioral approach would correlate with left frontal activity during decision-making and that the correlation would be stronger in SDI than controls. 31 SDI and 21 controls completed the Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Approach System (BIS/BAS) scales and performed a decision-making task during fMRI. Orbitofrontal (OFC) and dorsolateral prefrontal activity were correlated with BIS and BAS scores. Compared to controls, SDI had higher BAS Fun Seeking scores (p<0.001) and worse decision-making performance (p=0.004). BAS Fun Seeking correlated with left OFC activity during decision-making across group (r=0.444, p<0.003). The correlation did not differ by group. There was no correlation between BIS and right frontal activity. Left OFC may play a role in reward-related decision-making in substance use disorder especially in individuals with high behavioral approach. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Physiological Response to Reward and Extinction Predicts Alcohol, Marijuana, and Cigarette Use Two Years Later

PubMed Central

Derefinko, Karen J.; Eisenlohr-Moul, Tory A.; Peters, Jessica R.; Roberts, Walter; Walsh, Erin C.; Milich, Richard; Lynam, Donald R.

2017-01-01

Background Physiological responses to reward and extinction are believed to represent the Behavioral Activation System (BAS) and Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) constructs of Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory and underlie externalizing behaviors, including substance use. However, little research has examined these relations directly. Methods We assessed individuals’ cardiac pre-ejection periods (PEP) and electrodermal responses (EDR) during reward and extinction trials through the “Number Elimination Game” paradigm. Responses represented BAS and BIS, respectively. We then examined whether these responses provided incremental utility in the prediction of future alcohol, marijuana, and cigarette use. Results Zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) regression models were used to examine the predictive utility of physiological BAS and BIS responses above and beyond previous substance use. Physiological responses accounted for incremental variance over previous use. Low BAS responses during reward predicted frequency of alcohol use at year 3. Low BAS responses during reward and extinction and high BIS responses during extinction predicted frequency of marijuana use at year 3. For cigarette use, low BAS response during extinction predicted use at year 3. Conclusions These findings suggest that the constructs of Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory, as assessed through physiology, contribute to the longitudinal maintenance of substance use. PMID:27306728

Competition in the Brain. The Contribution of EEG and fNIRS Modulation and Personality Effects in Social Ranking.

PubMed

Balconi, Michela; Vanutelli, Maria E

2016-01-01

In the present study, the social ranking perception in competition was explored. Brain response (alpha band oscillations, EEG; hemodynamic activity, O2Hb), as well as self-perception of social ranking, cognitive performance, and personality trait (Behavioral Activation System, BAS) were considered during a competitive joint-action. Subjects were required to develop a strategy to obtain a better outcome than a competitor (C) (in term of error rate, and response time, RT). A pre-feedback (without a specific feedback on the performance) and a post-feedback condition (which reinforced the improved performance) were provided. It was found that higher-BAS participants responded in greater measure to perceived higher cognitive performance (post-feedback condition), with increased left prefrontal activity, higher ranking perception, and a better real performance (reduced RTs). These results were explained in term of increased sense of self-efficacy and social position, probably based on higher-BAS sensitivity to reinforcing conditions. In addition, the hemispheric effect in favor of the left side characterized the competitive behavior, showing an imbalance for high-BAS in comparison to low-BAS in the case of a rewarding (post-feedback) context. Therefore, the present results confirmed the significance of BAS in modulating brain responsiveness, self-perceived social position, and real performance during an interpersonal competitive action which is considered highly relevant for social status.

Exploring a Paperless Business Administrative System (BAS) Implementation in a K-12 School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Issa, Marwan M.

2011-01-01

The primary purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how a paperless BAS can affect the overall performance of a school's administrative activities. The research included direct observation, survey questionnaires, document review, and both structured and unstructured interviews. The selected school, a K-12 charter school, was an ideal…

Affective Disruption from Social Rhythm and Behavioral Approach System (BAS) Sensitivities: A Test of the Integration of the Social Zeitgeber and BAS Theories of Bipolar Disorder.

PubMed

Boland, Elaine M; Stange, Jonathan P; Labelle, Denise R; Shapero, Benjamin G; Weiss, Rachel B; Abramson, Lyn Y; Alloy, Lauren B

2016-05-01

The Behavioral Approach System (BAS)/Reward Hypersensitivity Theory and the Social Zeitgeber Theory are two biopsychosocial theories of bipolar spectrum disorders (BSD) that may work together to explain affective dysregulation. The present study examined whether BAS sensitivity is associated with affective symptoms via a) increased social rhythm disruption in response to BAS-relevant life events, or b) greater exposure to BAS events leading to social rhythm disruption and subsequent symptoms. Results indicated that high BAS individuals were more likely to experience social rhythm disruption following BAS-relevant events. Social rhythm disruption mediated the association between BAS-relevant events and symptoms (hypothesis a). High BAS individuals experienced significantly more BAS-relevant events, which predicted greater social rhythm disruption, which predicted greater levels of affective symptoms (hypothesis b). Individuals at risk for BSD may be sensitive to BAS-relevant stimuli, experience more BAS-relevant events, and experience affective dysregulation due to the interplay of the BAS and circadian rhythms.

Lateralisation effect in comprehension of emotional facial expression: a comparison between EEG alpha band power and behavioural inhibition (BIS) and activation (BAS) systems.

PubMed

Balconi, Michela; Mazza, Guido

2010-05-01

Asymmetry in comprehension of facial expression of emotions was explored in the present study by analysing alpha band variation within the right and left cortical sides. Second, the behavioural activation system (BAS) and behavioural inhibition system (BIS) were considered as an explicative factor to verify the effect of a motivational/emotional variable on alpha activity. A total of 19 participants looked at an ample range of facial expressions of emotions (anger, fear, surprise, disgust, happiness, sadness, and neutral) in random order. The results demonstrated that anterior frontal sites were more active than central and parietal sites in response to facial stimuli. Moreover, right and left side responses varied as a function of emotional types, with an increased right frontal activity for negative, aversive emotions vs an increased left response for positive emotion. Finally, whereas higher BIS participants generated more right hemisphere activation for some negative emotions (such as fear, anger, surprise, and disgust), BAS participants were more responsive to positive emotion (happiness) within the left hemisphere. Motivational significance of facial expressions was considered to elucidate cortical differences in participants' responses to emotional types.

Reward sensitivity, decisional bias, and metacognitive deficits in cocaine drug addiction.

PubMed

Balconi, Michela; Finocchiaro, Roberta; Campanella, Salvatore

2014-01-01

The present research explored the effect of reward sensitivity bias and metacognitive deficits on substance use disorder (SUD) in the decision-making process. The behavioral activation system (BAS) was used as a predictive marker of dysfunctional behavior during the Iowa gambling task (IGT). We also tried to relate this motivational system bias to self-reported metacognitive measures (self-knowledge, strategic planning, flexibility, and efficacy) in the decision processes. Thirty-four SUD participants (cocaine dependent) and 39 participants in the control group underwent the IGT. The SUD group was associated with a poorer performance on the IGT and a dysfunctional metacognition ability (unrealistic representation). An increase in the reward sensitivity (higher BAS, BAS reward responsiveness, and BAS reward) was observed in the SUD group compared with the control group and explained (through a regression analysis) the main behavioral deficits. More generally, an increase in the BAS reward responsiveness may be considered a predictive measure of risk-taking and dysfunctional behavior, not only in pathological (SUD) individuals, but also in subclinical individuals (controls). We discuss the likely cognitive, brain, and neurotransmitter contributions to this phenomenon.

When Significant Others Suffer: German Validation of the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS)

PubMed Central

Hunger, Christina; Krause, Lena; Hilzinger, Rebecca; Ditzen, Beate; Schweitzer, Jochen

2016-01-01

There is a need of an economical, reliable, and valid instrument in the German-speaking countries to measure the burden of relatives who care for mentally ill persons. We translated the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS) and conducted a study investigating factor structure, psychometric quality and predictive validity. We used confirmative factor analyses (CFA, maximum-likelihood method) to examine the dimensionality of the German BAS in a sample of 215 relatives (72% women; M = 32 years, SD = 14, range: 18 to 77; 39% employed) of mentally ill persons (50% (ex-)partner or (best) friend; M = 32 years, SD = 13, range 8 to 64; main complaints were depression and/or anxiety). Cronbach’s α determined the internal consistency. We examined predictive validity using regression analyses including the BAS and validated scales of social systems functioning (Experience In Social Systems Questionnaire, EXIS.pers, EXIS.org) and psychopathology (Brief Symptom Inventory, BSI). Variables that might have influenced the dependent variables (e.g. age, gender, education, employment and civil status) were controlled by their introduction in the first step, and the BAS in the second step of the regression analyses. A model with four correlated factors (Disrupted Activities, Personal Distress, Time Perspective, Guilt) showed the best fit. With respect to the number of items included, the internal consistency was very good. The modified German BAS predicted relatives’ social systems functioning and psychopathology. The economical design makes the 19-item BAS promising for practice-oriented research, and for studies under time constraints. Strength, limitations and future directions are discussed. PMID:27764109

Affective Disruption from Social Rhythm and Behavioral Approach System (BAS) Sensitivities: A Test of the Integration of the Social Zeitgeber and BAS Theories of Bipolar Disorder

PubMed Central

Boland, Elaine M.; Stange, Jonathan P.; Labelle, Denise R.; Shapero, Benjamin G.; Weiss, Rachel B.; Abramson, Lyn Y.; Alloy, Lauren B.

2015-01-01

The Behavioral Approach System (BAS)/Reward Hypersensitivity Theory and the Social Zeitgeber Theory are two biopsychosocial theories of bipolar spectrum disorders (BSD) that may work together to explain affective dysregulation. The present study examined whether BAS sensitivity is associated with affective symptoms via a) increased social rhythm disruption in response to BAS-relevant life events, or b) greater exposure to BAS events leading to social rhythm disruption and subsequent symptoms. Results indicated that high BAS individuals were more likely to experience social rhythm disruption following BAS-relevant events. Social rhythm disruption mediated the association between BAS-relevant events and symptoms (hypothesis a). High BAS individuals experienced significantly more BAS-relevant events, which predicted greater social rhythm disruption, which predicted greater levels of affective symptoms (hypothesis b). Individuals at risk for BSD may be sensitive to BAS-relevant stimuli, experience more BAS-relevant events, and experience affective dysregulation due to the interplay of the BAS and circadian rhythms. PMID:27429864

Social Anxiety in Online and Real-Life Interaction and Their Associated Factors

PubMed Central

Yen, Ju-Yu; Yen, Cheng-Fang; Chen, Cheng-Sheng; Wang, Peng-Wei; Chang, Yi-Hsin

2012-01-01

Abstract Social anxiety was compared between online and real-life interaction in a sample of 2,348 college students. Severity of social anxiety in both real-life and online interaction was tested for associations with depression, Internet addiction, Internet activity type (gaming versus chatting), and scores on Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS)/Behavioral Activation System (BAS) scales. The results showed that social anxiety was lower when interacting online than when interacting offline. Depression, Internet addiction, and high BIS and BAS scores were associated with high social anxiety. The social anxiety decreased more in online interaction among subjects with high social anxiety, depression, BIS, and BAS. This result suggests that the Internet has good potential as an alternative medium for delivering interventions for social anxiety. Further, the effect of BIS on social anxiety is decreased in online interaction. More attention should be paid for BIS when the treatment for social anxiety is delivered online. PMID:22175853

Social anxiety in online and real-life interaction and their associated factors.

PubMed

Yen, Ju-Yu; Yen, Cheng-Fang; Chen, Cheng-Sheng; Wang, Peng-Wei; Chang, Yi-Hsin; Ko, Chih-Hung

2012-01-01

Social anxiety was compared between online and real-life interaction in a sample of 2,348 college students. Severity of social anxiety in both real-life and online interaction was tested for associations with depression, Internet addiction, Internet activity type (gaming versus chatting), and scores on Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS)/Behavioral Activation System (BAS) scales. The results showed that social anxiety was lower when interacting online than when interacting offline. Depression, Internet addiction, and high BIS and BAS scores were associated with high social anxiety. The social anxiety decreased more in online interaction among subjects with high social anxiety, depression, BIS, and BAS. This result suggests that the Internet has good potential as an alternative medium for delivering interventions for social anxiety. Further, the effect of BIS on social anxiety is decreased in online interaction. More attention should be paid for BIS when the treatment for social anxiety is delivered online.

Lactoferricin B Inhibits the Phosphorylation of the Two-Component System Response Regulators BasR and CreB*

PubMed Central

Ho, Yu-Hsuan; Sung, Tzu-Cheng; Chen, Chien-Sheng

2012-01-01

Natural antimicrobial peptides provide fundamental protection for multicellular organisms from microbes, such as Lactoferricin B (Lfcin B). Many studies have shown that Lfcin B penetrates the cell membrane and has intracellular activities. To elucidate the intracellular behavior of Lfcin B, we first used Escherichia coli K12 proteome chips to identify the intracellular targets of Lfcin B. The results showed that Lfcin B binds to two response regulators, BasR and CreB, of the two-component system. For further analysis, we conducted several in vitro and in vivo experiments and utilized bioinformatics methods. The electrophoretic mobility shift assays and kinase assays indicate that Lfcin B inhibits the phosphorylation of the response regulators (BasR and CreB) and their cognate sensor kinases (BasS and CreC). Antibacterial assays showed that Lfcin B reduced E. coli's tolerance to environmental stimuli, such as excessive ferric ions and minimal medium conditions. This is the first study to show that an antimicrobial peptide inhibits the growth of bacteria by influencing the phosphorylation of a two-component system directly. PMID:22138548

Lactoferricin B inhibits the phosphorylation of the two-component system response regulators BasR and CreB.

PubMed

Ho, Yu-Hsuan; Sung, Tzu-Cheng; Chen, Chien-Sheng

2012-04-01

Natural antimicrobial peptides provide fundamental protection for multicellular organisms from microbes, such as Lactoferricin B (Lfcin B). Many studies have shown that Lfcin B penetrates the cell membrane and has intracellular activities. To elucidate the intracellular behavior of Lfcin B, we first used Escherichia coli K12 proteome chips to identify the intracellular targets of Lfcin B. The results showed that Lfcin B binds to two response regulators, BasR and CreB, of the two-component system. For further analysis, we conducted several in vitro and in vivo experiments and utilized bioinformatics methods. The electrophoretic mobility shift assays and kinase assays indicate that Lfcin B inhibits the phosphorylation of the response regulators (BasR and CreB) and their cognate sensor kinases (BasS and CreC). Antibacterial assays showed that Lfcin B reduced E. coli's tolerance to environmental stimuli, such as excessive ferric ions and minimal medium conditions. This is the first study to show that an antimicrobial peptide inhibits the growth of bacteria by influencing the phosphorylation of a two-component system directly.

A model of BIS/BAS sensitivity, emotion regulation difficulties, and depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in relation to sleep quality.

PubMed

Markarian, Shaunt A; Pickett, Scott M; Deveson, Danielle F; Kanona, Brenda B

2013-11-30

Recent research has indicated that interactions between behavioral inhibition system (BIS)/behavioral activation system (BAS) sensitivity and emotion regulation (ER) difficulties increases risk for psychopathology. Considering sleep quality (SQ) has been linked to emotion regulation difficulties (ERD) and psychopathology, further investigation of a possible mechanism is needed. The current study examined associations between BIS/BAS sensitivity, ERD, and SQ to depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in an undergraduate sample (n=459). Positive relationships between BIS sensitivity and both ERD and stress symptoms, and negative relationships between BAS-reward sensitivity and both ERD and depression symptoms were observed. Furthermore, ERD were positively related to depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. Succeeding analyses revealed differential relationships between ERD and depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms among good quality and poor quality sleepers. The findings are discussed within the context of personality dimensions and self-regulatory mechanisms, along with implications for the treatment of depression, anxiety and sleep difficulties. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

FRN and P300 ERP effect modulation in response to feedback sensitivity: the contribution of punishment-reward system (BIS/BAS) and behaviour identification of action.

PubMed

Balconi, Michela; Crivelli, Davide

2010-02-01

Disruption of the sense of being effective and causally determinant in performing an action was explored in the present research by inducing an erroneous external spatial feedback in response to the subject's behaviour. ERPs were recorded from fifteen subjects when they were receiving mismatching/matching feedback information on direction. In addition, subjective sensitivity to the external cues was monitored by Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS) and Behavioural Activation System (BAS) measures, as well as Behaviour Identification process was tested by Behavior Identification Form (BIF). One negative ERP deflections of higher amplitude was revealed in concomitance to false feedback, peaking at about 210ms post-stimulus, more central-posteriorly localized. We supposed that it may represent feedback-error system of which activity might be reflected in FRN, deputed to monitor the unattended feedback furnished by an external system. Moreover, a P3b effect was also observed in great measure for false spatial feedback, more posteriorly (Pz) distributed. According to the context-updating hypothesis, the P3b may reflect the revision of the mental model of the context. BIS showed to be more sensitive to both veridical and false feedback that increased FRN, whereas higher-BAS and BAS-Reward measures revealed an increased proactive attitude to external feedback (higher P3b). Finally, low-level of action representation explained FRN amplitude more than high-level one.

A Theoretical Approach to Selection of a Biologically Active Substance in Ultra-Low Doses for Effective Action on a Biological System.

PubMed

Boldyreva, Liudmila Borisovna

2018-05-01

 An approach is offered to selecting a biologically active substance (BAS) in ultra-low dose for effective action on a biological system (BS). The technique is based on the assumption that BAS in ultra-low doses exerts action on BS by means of spin supercurrent emerging between the spin structure created by BAS, on the one hand, and the spin structure created by BS, on the other hand. According to modern quantum-mechanical concepts, these spin structures may be virtual particles pairs having precessing spin (that is, be essentially spin vortices in the physical vacuum) and created by the quantum entities that BAS and BS consist of. The action is effective provided there is equality of precession frequencies of spins in these spin structures.  In this work, some methods are considered for determining the precession frequencies of spins in virtual particles pairs: (1) determination of energy levels of quantum entities that BS and BAS consist of; (2) the use of spin-flip effect of the virtual particles pair spin, the effect being initiated by action of magnetic vector potential (the spin-flip effect takes place when the varied frequency of the magnetic vector potential equals the precession frequency of the spin); (3) determining the frequencies of photons effectively acting on BS.  It is shown that the effect of BAS in ultra-low doses on BS can be replaced by the effect of a beam of low-intensity photons, if the frequency of photons equals the precession frequency of spin in spin structures created by BS. Consequently, the color of bodies placed near a biological system is able to exert an effective action on the biological system: that is "color therapy" is possible. It is also supposed that the spin-flip effect may be used not only for determining the precession frequency of spin in spin structures created by BS but also for therapeutic action on biological systems. The Faculty of Homeopathy.

[Polyelectrolyte microcapsules as systems for delivery of biologically active substances].

PubMed

Borodina, T N; Rumsh, L D; Kunizhev, S M; Sukhorukov, G B; Vorozhtsov, G N; Fel'dman, B M; Markvicheva, E A

2007-01-01

Novel biodegradable microcapsules for delivery of biologically active substances (BAS) were prepared by layer-by-layer (LbL) adsorption of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes, namely sodium alginate (Alg) and poly-L-lysine (PLL). To immobilize these BAS, porous spherical CaCO3 microparticles were used as templates. The templates (cores) were coated with several layers of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes forming shell on a core surface. The core-shell microparticles were converted into hollow microcapsules by a core dissolution after an EDTA treatment. Mild conditions for microcapsule fabrication allow to perform an entrapment of various biomolecules while keeping their bioactivity. Biocompatibility and biodegradable capability of the polyelectrolytes give a possibility to use the microcapsules as the target delivery systems. Chymotrypsin (Chym) entrapped into the microcapsules was used as a model enzyme. The immobilized enzyme was found to keep about 86% of the activity compared to a native Chym. The obtained microcapsules were stable at an acidic medium while they could be easily decomposed by trypsin treatment at an slightly alkaline medium. Chym was shown to be active after being released from the microcapsules decomposed by trypsin treatment. Thus, the microcapsules prepared by the LbL - technique can be used for the development of new type of BAS delivery systems in humans and animals.

Evidences from Rewarding System, FRN and P300 Effect in Internet-Addiction in Young People SHORT TITLE: Rewarding System and EEG in Internet-Addiction

PubMed Central

Venturella, Irene; Finocchiaro, Roberta

2017-01-01

The present research explored rewarding bias and attentional deficits in Internet addiction (IA) based on the IAT (Internet Addiction Test) construct, during an attentional inhibitory task (Go/NoGo task). Event-related Potentials (ERPs) effects (Feedback Related Negativity (FRN) and P300) were monitored in concomitance with Behavioral Activation System (BAS) modulation. High-IAT young participants showed specific responses to IA-related cues (videos representing online gambling and videogames) in terms of cognitive performance (decreased Response Times, RTs; and Error Rates, ERs) and ERPs modulation (decreased FRN and increased P300). Consistent reward and attentional biases was adduced to explain the cognitive “gain” effect and the anomalous response in terms of both feedback behavior (FRN) and attentional (P300) mechanisms in high-IAT. In addition, BAS and BAS-Reward subscales measures were correlated with both IAT and ERPs variations. Therefore, high sensitivity to IAT may be considered as a marker of dysfunctional reward processing (reduction of monitoring) and cognitive control (higher attentional values) for specific IA-related cues. More generally, a direct relationship among reward-related behavior, Internet addiction and BAS attitude was suggested. PMID:28704978

Ideas that Work!. Retuning the Building Automation System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Parker, Steven

A building automation system (BAS) can save considerable energy by effectively and efficiently operating building energy systems (fans, pumps, chillers boilers, etc.), but only when the BAS is properly set up and operated. Tuning, or retuning, the BAS is a cost effective process worthy of your time and attention.

Activation of Constitutive Androstane Receptor (CAR) in Mice Results in Maintained Biliary Excretion of Bile Acids Despite a Marked Decrease of Bile Acids in Liver.

PubMed

Lickteig, Andrew J; Csanaky, Iván L; Pratt-Hyatt, Matthew; Klaassen, Curtis D

2016-06-01

Activation of Constitutive Androstane Receptor (CAR) protects against bile acid (BA)-induced liver injury. This study was performed to determine the effect of CAR activation on bile flow, BA profile, as well as expression of BA synthesis and transport genes. Synthetic CAR ligand 1,4-bis-[2-(3,5-dichloropyridyloxy)]benzene (TCPOBOP) was administered to mice for 4 days. BAs were quantified by UPLC-MS/MS (ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry). CAR activation decreases total BAs in livers of male (49%) and female mice (26%), largely attributable to decreases of the 12α-hydroxylated BA taurocholic acid (T-CA) (males (M) 65%, females (F) 45%). Bile flow in both sexes was increased by CAR activation, and the increases were BA-independent. CAR activation did not alter biliary excretion of total BAs, but overall BA composition changed. Excretion of muricholic (6-hydroxylated) BAs was increased in males (101%), and the 12α-OH proportion of biliary BAs was decreased in both males (37%) and females (28%). The decrease of T-CA in livers of males and females correlates with the decreased mRNA of the sterol 12α-hydroxylase Cyp8b1 in males (71%) and females (54%). As a response to restore BAs to physiologic concentrations in liver, mRNA of Cyp7a1 is upregulated following TCPOBOP (males 185%, females 132%). In ilea, mRNA of the negative feedback regulator Fgf15 was unaltered by CAR activation, indicating biliary BA excretion was sufficient to maintain concentrations of total BAs in the small intestine. In summary, the effects of CAR activation on BAs in male and female mice are quite similar, with a marked decrease in the major BA T-CA in the liver. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Toxicology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Activation of Constitutive Androstane Receptor (CAR) in Mice Results in Maintained Biliary Excretion of Bile Acids Despite a Marked Decrease of Bile Acids in Liver

PubMed Central

Lickteig, Andrew J.; Csanaky, Iván L.; Pratt-Hyatt, Matthew

2016-01-01

Activation of Constitutive Androstane Receptor (CAR) protects against bile acid (BA)-induced liver injury. This study was performed to determine the effect of CAR activation on bile flow, BA profile, as well as expression of BA synthesis and transport genes. Synthetic CAR ligand 1,4-bis-[2-(3,5-dichloropyridyloxy)]benzene (TCPOBOP) was administered to mice for 4 days. BAs were quantified by UPLC-MS/MS (ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry). CAR activation decreases total BAs in livers of male (49%) and female mice (26%), largely attributable to decreases of the 12α-hydroxylated BA taurocholic acid (T-CA) (males (M) 65%, females (F) 45%). Bile flow in both sexes was increased by CAR activation, and the increases were BA-independent. CAR activation did not alter biliary excretion of total BAs, but overall BA composition changed. Excretion of muricholic (6-hydroxylated) BAs was increased in males (101%), and the 12α-OH proportion of biliary BAs was decreased in both males (37%) and females (28%). The decrease of T-CA in livers of males and females correlates with the decreased mRNA of the sterol 12α-hydroxylase Cyp8b1 in males (71%) and females (54%). As a response to restore BAs to physiologic concentrations in liver, mRNA of Cyp7a1 is upregulated following TCPOBOP (males 185%, females 132%). In ilea, mRNA of the negative feedback regulator Fgf15 was unaltered by CAR activation, indicating biliary BA excretion was sufficient to maintain concentrations of total BAs in the small intestine. In summary, the effects of CAR activation on BAs in male and female mice are quite similar, with a marked decrease in the major BA T-CA in the liver. PMID:26984780

Effects of Mind-Body Training on Personality and Behavioral Activation and Inhibition System According to BDNF Val66Met Polymorphism.

PubMed

Jung, Ye-Ha; Lee, Ul Soon; Jang, Joon Hwan; Kang, Do-Hyung

2016-05-01

It has been known that mind-body training (MBT) can affect personality and behavior system as well as emotional well-being, but different effects of MBT on them has not been reported according to BDNF genetic polymorphism. Healthy subjects consisted of 64 subjects and the MBT group who practiced meditation regularly consisted of 72 practitioners. Participants completed neuroticism-extraversion-openness (NEO) Five-Factor Inventory and Behavioral Activation System/Behavioral Inhibition System (BAS/BIS) scales. All subjects were genotyped for the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism. In the same genotypes of the BDNF Val/Val+Val/Met group, MBT group showed the increased Extraversion (p=0.033) and the increased Openness to Experience (p=0.004) compared to the control group. Also, in the same Met/Met carriers, MBT group exhibited the increase of Extraversion (p=0.008), the reduction of Neuroticism (p=0.002), and the increase of Openness to Experience (p=0.008) compared to the control group. In the same genotypes of the BDNF Val/Val+Val/Met group, MBT group showed the decreased BAS-Reward Responsiveness (p=0.016) and the decrease of BIS (p=0.004) compared to the control group. In the BDNF Met/Met group, MBT group increased BAS-Fun Seeking (p=0.045) and decreased BIS (p=0.013) compared to the control group. MBT would differently contribute to NEO personality and BAS/BIS according to BDNF genetic polymorphism, compensating for different vulnerable traits based on each genotype.

Personality and emotion: test of Gray's personality theory by means of an fMRI study.

PubMed

Reuter, M; Stark, R; Hennig, J; Walter, B; Kirsch, P; Schienle, A; Vaitl, D

2004-06-01

Although it is known that there are fundamental personality differences in the behavioral responses to emotional stimuli, traits have scarcely been investigated in this context by means of functional imaging studies. To maximize the variance with respect to personality, the authors tested 12 control subjects and 12 subjects who had sadomasochistic experiences with respect to the relationship between J. A. Gray's (1970) personality dimensions, the behavioral approach system (BAS) and the behavioral inhibition system (BIS), and brain activity in regions of interest. The BIS was associated with activity in numerous brain areas in response to fear, disgust, and erotic visual stimuli, whereas few associations could he detected between the BAS and brain activity in response to disgust and erotic stimuli. ((c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved)

Reinforcement Sensitivity and Social Anxiety in Combat Veterans

PubMed Central

Kimbrel, Nathan A.; Meyer, Eric C.; DeBeer, Bryann B.; Mitchell, John T.; Kimbrel, Azure D.; Nelson-Gray, Rosemery O.; Morissette, Sandra B.

2017-01-01

Objective The present study tested the hypothesis that low behavioral approach system (BAS) sensitivity is associated with social anxiety in combat veterans. Method Self-report measures of reinforcement sensitivity, combat exposure, social interaction anxiety, and social observation anxiety were administered to 197 Iraq/Afghanistan combat veterans. Results As expected, combat exposure, behavioral inhibition system (BIS) sensitivity, and fight-flight-freeze system (FFFS) sensitivity were positively associated with both social interaction anxiety and social observation anxiety. In contrast, BAS sensitivity was negatively associated with social interaction anxiety only. An analysis of the BAS subscales revealed that the Reward Responsiveness subscale was the only BAS subscale associated with social interaction anxiety. BAS-Reward Responsiveness was also associated with social observation anxiety. Conclusion The findings from the present research provide further evidence that low BAS sensitivity may be associated with social anxiety over and above the effects of BIS and FFFS sensitivity. PMID:28966424

Reinforcement Sensitivity and Social Anxiety in Combat Veterans.

PubMed

Kimbrel, Nathan A; Meyer, Eric C; DeBeer, Bryann B; Mitchell, John T; Kimbrel, Azure D; Nelson-Gray, Rosemery O; Morissette, Sandra B

2016-08-01

The present study tested the hypothesis that low behavioral approach system (BAS) sensitivity is associated with social anxiety in combat veterans. Self-report measures of reinforcement sensitivity, combat exposure, social interaction anxiety, and social observation anxiety were administered to 197 Iraq/Afghanistan combat veterans. As expected, combat exposure, behavioral inhibition system (BIS) sensitivity, and fight-flight-freeze system (FFFS) sensitivity were positively associated with both social interaction anxiety and social observation anxiety. In contrast, BAS sensitivity was negatively associated with social interaction anxiety only. An analysis of the BAS subscales revealed that the Reward Responsiveness subscale was the only BAS subscale associated with social interaction anxiety. BAS-Reward Responsiveness was also associated with social observation anxiety. The findings from the present research provide further evidence that low BAS sensitivity may be associated with social anxiety over and above the effects of BIS and FFFS sensitivity.

Biogenic amines as freshness index of meat wrapped in a new active packaging system formulated with essential oils of Rosmarinus officinalis.

PubMed

Sirocchi, Veronica; Caprioli, Giovanni; Cecchini, Cinzia; Coman, Maria Magdalena; Cresci, Alberto; Maggi, Filippo; Papa, Fabrizio; Ricciutelli, Massimo; Vittori, Sauro; Sagratini, Gianni

2013-12-01

Biogenic amines (BAs) are considered as an important indicator of freshness and quality of food. In this work, a new active packaging (AP) system for meat that, incorporating essential oil of Rosmarinus officinalis at 4% (w/w), inhibits the increase of BAs and the bacteria involved into their production was developed. BAs were analyzed by a SPE-HPLC-DAD method during the storage time of meat (0-7 d, 4 °C). Results showed that, in each monitored day, Biogenic Amine Index (BAI) expressed in mg kg(-1) is lower in meat wrapped in AP with respect to that packed in polycoupled packaging (PP) (from 19% to 62%). A strong correlation was found between the inhibition of increase of putrescine, cadaverine, histamine and their bacteria producers such as Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas spp. and Brocothrix thermospacta. By exploiting antimicrobial and antioxidant action of essential oil of R. officinalis, the new APs contribute to increase the shelf life of fresh meat and to preserve its important nutrients.

Multicomponent Therapeutics of Berberine Alkaloids

PubMed Central

Luo, Jiaoyang; Yan, Dan; Yang, Meihua; Dong, Xiaoping; Xiao, Xiaohe

2013-01-01

Although berberine alkaloids (BAs) are reported to be with broad-spectrum antibacterial and antiviral activities, the interactions among BAs have not been elucidated. In the present study, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was chosen as a model organism, and modified broth microdilution was applied for the determination of the fluorescence absorption values to calculate the anti-MRSA activity of BAs. We have initiated four steps to seek the optimal combination of BAs that are (1) determining the anti-MRSA activity of single BA, (2) investigating the two-component combination to clarify the interactions among BAs by checkerboard assay, (3) investigating the multicomponent combination to determine the optimal ratio by quadratic rotation-orthogonal combination design, and (4) in vivo and in vitro validation of the optimal combination. The results showed that the interactions among BAs are related to their concentrations. The synergetic combinations included “berberine and epiberberine,” “jatrorrhizine and palmatine” and “jatrorrhizine and coptisine”; the antagonistic combinations included “coptisine and epiberberine”. The optimal combination was berberine : coptisine : jatrorrhizine : palmatine : epiberberine = 0.702 : 0.863 : 1 : 0.491 : 0.526, and the potency of the optimal combination on cyclophosphamide-immunocompromised mouse model was better than the natural combinations of herbs containing BAs. PMID:23634170

HYPNOTIZABILITY AND PAIN MODULATION: A Body-Mind Perspective.

PubMed

Varanini, Maurizio; Balocchi, Rita; Carli, Giancarlo; Paoletti, Giulia; Santarcangelo, Enrica L

2018-01-01

The study investigated whether the cardiac activity and cognitive-emotional traits sustained by the behavioral inhibition/activation system (BIS/BAS) may contribute to hypnotizability-related pain modulation. Nociceptive stimulation (cold-pressor test) was administered to healthy participants with high (highs) and low (lows) hypnotizability in the presence and absence of suggestions for analgesia. Results showed that heart rate increased abruptly at the beginning of nociceptive stimulation in all participants. Then, only in highs heart rate decreased for the entire duration of hand immersion. During stimulation with suggestions of analgesia, pain threshold negatively correlated with heart rate. BIS/BAS activity partially accounted for the observed hypnotizability-related differences in the relation between cardiac interoception and pain experience.

A tale of two diatheses: Temperament, BIS, and BAS as risk factors for mood disorder.

PubMed

Van Meter, Anna R; Youngstrom, Eric A

2015-07-15

Learning more about how biological traits, like temperament and sensitivity in the behavioral inhibition (BIS) and behavioral activation (BAS) systems, relate to mood pathology is consistent with the Research Domain Criteria initiative׳s goal of investigating mechanisms of risk. Korean young adults (n=128) and American young adults (n=630, of whom 23 has recent treatment for bipolar disorder, and 21for depression) completed self-report questionnaires, including the TEMPS-A, the BIS/BAS scales, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Hypomanic Checklist (HCL-32). Linear regression quantified relations between mood symptoms, sample characteristics, temperament, and BIS/BAS. Temperament styles explained 49% of the variance in BDI scores. BIS explained an additional 1% of the variance in BDI scores. BAS Fun and Reward (p<.01), in addition to cyclothymic and hyperthymic temperaments (p<.001) explained 21% of the variance in HCL-32 scores. Sample characteristics were not significant predictors in the full model. Differences in sample size, the cross-sectional study design, and lack of collateral report or behavioral measures of constructs are limitations. Affective temperament and BIS/BAS are complementary but distinct constructs. Affective temperament, particularly cyclothymic, may represent a stronger diathesis for mood pathology, and seems potent irrespective of culture or diagnosis. Assessing temperament may help overcome some challenges in diagnosing mood disorders. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Measuring the Cognitions, Emotions, and Motivation Associated With Avoidance Behaviors in the Context of Pain: Preliminary Development of the Negative Responsivity to Pain Scales.

PubMed

Jensen, Mark P; Ward, L Charles; Thorn, Beverly E; Ehde, Dawn M; Day, Melissa A

2017-04-01

We recently proposed a Behavioral Inhibition System-Behavioral Activation System (BIS-BAS) model to help explain the effects of pain treatments. In this model, treatments are hypothesized to operate primarily through their effects on the domains within 2 distinct neurophysiological systems that underlie approach (BAS) and avoidance (BIS) behaviors. Measures of the model's domains are needed to evaluate and modify the model. An item pool of negative responses to pain (NRP; hypothesized to be BIS related) and positive responses (PR; hypothesized to be BAS related) were administered to 395 undergraduates, 325 of whom endorsed recurrent pain. The items were administered to 176 of these individuals again 1 week later. Analyses were conducted to develop and validate scales assessing NRP and PR domains. Three NRP scales (Despondent Response to Pain, Fear of Pain, and Avoidant Response to Pain) and 2 PR scales (Happy/Hopeful Responses and Approach Response) emerged. Consistent with the model, the scales formed 2 relatively independent overarching domains. The scales also demonstrated excellent internal consistency, and associations with criterion variables supported their validity. However, whereas the NRP scales evidenced adequate test-retest stability, the 2 PR scales were not adequately stable. The study yielded 3 brief scales assessing NRP, which may be used to further evaluate the BIS-BAS model and to advance research elucidating the mechanisms of psychosocial pain treatments. The findings also provide general support for the BIS-BAS model, while also suggesting that some minor modifications in the model are warranted.

Do Losses Loom Larger for Children than Adults?

PubMed Central

Luking, Katherine R.; Pagliaccio, David; Luby, Joan L.; Barch, Deanna M.

2015-01-01

The large impact of loss of reward on behavior has been well documented in adult populations. However, whether responsiveness to loss relative to gain is similarly elevated in child versus adult populations remains unclear. It is also unclear whether relations between incentive behaviors and self-reported reward/punishment sensitivity are similar within different developmental stages. To investigate these questions, 7–10-year-old children (N=70) and young adults (N=70) completed the Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Activation System (BIS/BAS) Scale, along with two probabilistic incentive tasks assessing gain approach and loss avoidance behavior. BIS/BAS subscales were calculated per Pagliaccio, Luking et al. 2015, which established an age invariant model of the BIS/BAS. Bias towards responses more frequently followed by gain feedback and away from responses more frequently followed by loss feedback, approach and avoidance behavior respectively, were quantified via signal detection statistics. Gain approach behavior did not differ across age groups, however children exhibited significantly elevated loss avoidance relative to adults. Children also showed greater reductions in accuracy and slower reaction times specifically following loss feedback relative to adults. Interestingly, despite age group differences in loss avoidance behavior, relations between self-report measures and approach/avoidance behaviors were similar across age groups. Participants reporting elevated motivation (BAS Drive) showed both elevated gain approach and elevated loss avoidance, with both types of behavior predicting unique variance in BAS Drive. Results highlight the often-neglected developmental and motivational roles of responsiveness to loss of reward. PMID:26524484

Body weight status, eating behavior, sensitivity to reward/punishment, and gender: relationships and interdependencies

PubMed Central

Dietrich, Anja; Federbusch, Martin; Grellmann, Claudia; Villringer, Arno; Horstmann, Annette

2014-01-01

Behavioral and personality characteristics are factors that may jointly regulate body weight. This study explored the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and self-reported behavioral and personality measures. These measures included eating behavior (based on the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire; Stunkard and Messick, 1985), sensitivity to reward and punishment (based on the Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Activation System (BIS/BAS) scales) (Carver and White, 1994) and self-reported impulsivity (based on the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11; Patton et al., 1995). We found an inverted U-shaped relationship between restrained eating and BMI. This relationship was moderated by the level of disinhibited eating. Independent of eating behavior, BIS and BAS responsiveness were associated with BMI in a gender-specific manner with negative relationships for men and positive relationships for women. Together, eating behavior and BIS/BAS responsiveness accounted for a substantial proportion of BMI variance (men: ∼25%, women: ∼32%). A direct relationship between self-reported impulsivity and BMI was not observed. In summary, our results demonstrate a system of linear and non-linear relationships between the investigated factors and BMI. Moreover, body weight status was not only associated with eating behavior (cognitive restraint and disinhibition), but also with personality factors not inherently related to an eating context (BIS/BAS). Importantly, these relationships differ between men and women. PMID:25368586

Fun Seeking and Reward Responsiveness Moderate the Effect of the Behavioural Inhibition System on Coping-Motivated Problem Gambling.

PubMed

Keough, Matthew T; Wardell, Jeffrey D; Hendershot, Christian S; Bagby, R Michael; Quilty, Lena C

2017-09-01

Gray's Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) predicts that the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) may relate to coping-motivated problem gambling, given its central role in anxiety. Studies examining the BIS-problem gambling association, however, are mixed. The revised RST posits that the Behavioral Approach System (BAS) may moderate the effect of the BIS on coping-motivated problem gambling. A concurrently strong BAS may highlight the negatively reinforcing effects of gambling, which may strengthen coping motives and increase gambling-related harms. We examined these interactive effects to clarify the moderators and mediators of the negative reinforcement pathway to problem gambling. Data came from a larger investigation of problem gambling among individuals with mood disorders. All participants (N = 275) met criteria for a lifetime depressive or bipolar disorder. During a two-day assessment, participants completed a diagnostic assessment and self-reports. Mediated moderation path analysis showed positive indirect effects from the BIS to problem gambling via coping motives at high, but not at low, levels of BAS-Reward Responsiveness and BAS-Fun Seeking. Enhancement motives were also found to mediate the associations of BAS-Fun Seeking and BAS-Drive with problem gambling. Reward Responsiveness and Fun Seeking facets of the BAS may strengthen coping gambling motives within the mood disorders.

Exercising self-control increases relative left frontal cortical activation

PubMed Central

Crowell, Adrienne; Harmon-Jones, Eddie

2016-01-01

Self-control refers to the capacity to override or alter a predominant response tendency. The current experiment tested the hypothesis that exercising self-control temporarily increases approach motivation, as revealed by patterns of electrical activity in the prefrontal cortex. Participants completed a writing task that did vs did not require them to exercise self-control. Then they viewed pictures known to evoke positive, negative or neutral affect. We assessed electroencephalographic (EEG) activity while participants viewed the pictures, and participants reported their trait levels of behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and behavioral activation system (BAS) sensitivity at the end of the study. We found that exercising (vs not exercising) self-control increased relative left frontal cortical activity during picture viewing, particularly among individuals with relatively higher BAS than BIS, and particularly during positive picture viewing. A similar but weaker pattern emerged during negative picture viewing. The results suggest that exercising self-control temporarily increases approach motivation, which may help to explain the aftereffects of self-control (i.e. ego depletion). PMID:26341900

Individual differences in decision making: Drive and Reward Responsiveness affect strategic bargaining in economic games.

PubMed

Scheres, Anouk; Sanfey, Alan G

2006-10-18

In the growing body of literature on economic decision making, the main focus has typically been on explaining aggregate behavior, with little interest in individual differences despite considerable between-subject variability in decision responses. In this study, we were interested in asking to what degree individual differences in fundamental psychological processes can mediate economic decision-making behavior. Specifically, we studied a personality dimension that may influence economic decision-making, the Behavioral Activation System, (BAS) which is composed of three components: Reward Responsiveness, Drive, and Fun Seeking. In order to assess economic decision making, we utilized two commonly-used tasks, the Ultimatum Game and Dictator Game. Individual differences in BAS were measured by completion of the BIS/BAS Scales, and correlations between the BAS scales and monetary offers made in the two tasks were computed. We found that higher scores on BAS Drive and on BAS Reward Responsiveness were associated with a pattern of higher offers on the Ultimatum Game, lower offers on the Dictator Game, and a correspondingly larger discrepancy between Ultimatum Game and Dictator Game offers. These findings are consistent with an interpretation that high scores on Drive and Reward Responsiveness are associated with a strategy that first seeks to maximize the likelihood of reward, and then to maximize the amount of reward. More generally, these results suggest that there are additional factors other than empathy, fairness and selfishness that contribute to strategic decision-making.

First-principles prediction of stabilities and instabilities of compounds and alloys in the ternary B-As-P system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ektarawong, A.; Simak, S. I.; Alling, B.

2017-07-01

We examine the thermodynamic stability of compounds and alloys in the ternary B-As-P system theoretically using first-principles calculations. We demonstrate that the icosahedral B12As2 is the only stable compound in the binary B-As system, while the zinc-blende BAs is thermodynamically unstable with respect to B12As2 and the pure arsenic phase at 0 K, and increasingly so at higher temperature, suggesting that BAs may merely exist as a metastable phase. On the contrary, in the binary B-P system, both zinc-blende BP and icosahedral B12P2 are predicted to be stable. As for the binary As-P system, As1 -xPx disordered alloys are predicted at elevated temperature—for example, a disordered solid solution of up to ˜75 at.% As in black phosphorus as well as a small solubility of ˜1 at.% P in gray arsenic at T =750 K, together with the presence of miscibility gaps. The calculated large solubility of As in black phosphorus explains the experimental syntheses of black-phosphorus-type As1 -xPx alloys with tunable compositions, recently reported in the literature. We investigate the phase stabilities in the ternary B-As-P system and demonstrate a high tendency for a formation of alloys in the icosahedral B12(As1 -xPx )2 structure by intermixing of As and P atoms at the diatomic chain sites. The phase diagram displays noticeable mutual solubility of the icosahedral subpnictides in each other even at room temperature as well as a closure of a pseudobinary miscibility gap around 900 K. As for pseudobinary BAs1 -xPx alloys, only a tiny amount of BAs is predicted to be able to dissolve in BP to form the BAs1 -xPx disordered alloys at elevated temperature. For example, less than 5% of BAs can dissolve in BP at T =1000 K. The small solubility limit of BAs in BP is attributed to the thermodynamic instability of BAs with respect to B12As2 and As.

Maximizing Your Investment in Building Automation System Technology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Darnell, Charles

2001-01-01

Discusses how organizational issues and system standardization can be important factors that determine an institution's ability to fully exploit contemporary building automation systems (BAS). Further presented is management strategy for maximizing BAS investments. (GR)

Structural requirements of the human sodium-dependent bile acid transporter (hASBT): Role of 3- and 7-OH moieties on binding and translocation of bile acids

PubMed Central

González, Pablo M.; Lagos, Carlos F.; Ward, Weslyn C.; Polli, James E.

2014-01-01

Bile acids (BAs) are the end products of cholesterol metabolism. One of the critical steps in their biosynthesis involves the isomerization of the 3β-hydroxyl (-OH) group on the cholestane ring to the common 3α-configuration on BAs. BAs are actively recaptured from the small intestine by the human Apical Sodium-dependent Bile Acid Transporter (hASBT) with high affinity and capacity. Previous studies have suggested that no particular hydroxyl group on BAs is critical for binding or transport by hASBT, even though 3β-hydroxylated BAs were not examined. The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of the 3α-OH group on BAs binding and translocation by hASBT. Ten 3β-hydroxylated BAs (Iso-bile acids, iBAs) were synthesized, characterized, and subjected to hASBT inhibition and uptake studies. hASBT inhibition and uptake kinetics of iBAs were compared to that of native 3α-OH BAs. Glycine conjugates of native and isomeric BAs were subjected to molecular dynamics simulations in order to identify topological descriptors related to binding and translocation by hASBT. Iso-BAs bound to hASBT with lower affinity and exhibited reduced translocation than their respective 3α-epimers. Kinetic data suggests that, in contrast to native BAs where hASBT binding is the rate-limiting step, iBAs transport was rate-limited by translocation and not binding. Remarkably, 7-dehydroxylated iBAs were not hASBT substrates, highlighting the critical role of 7-OH group on BA translocation by hASBT, especially for iBAs. Conformational analysis of gly-iBAs and native BAs identified topological features for optimal binding as: concave steroidal nucleus, 3-OH “on-” or below-steroidal plane, 7-OH below-plane, and 12-OH moiety towards-plane. Our results emphasize the relevance of the 3α-OH group on BAs for proper hASBT binding and transport and revealed the critical role of 7-OH group on BA translocation, particularly in the absence of a 3α-OH group. Results have implications for BA prodrug design. PMID:24328955

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Peffer, Therese; Blumstein, Carl; Culler, David

The Project uses state-of-the-art computer science to extend the benefits of Building Automation Systems (BAS) typically found in large buildings (>100,000 square foot) to medium-sized commercial buildings (<50,000 sq ft). The BAS developed in this project, termed OpenBAS, uses an open-source and open software architecture platform, user interface, and plug-and-play control devices to facilitate adoption of energy efficiency strategies in the commercial building sector throughout the United States. At the heart of this “turn key” BAS is the platform with three types of controllers—thermostat, lighting controller, and general controller—that are easily “discovered” by the platform in a plug-and-play fashion. Themore » user interface showcases the platform and provides the control system set-up, system status display and means of automatically mapping the control points in the system.« less

Individual bile acids have differential effects on bile acid signaling in mice

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Song, Peizhen, E-mail: songacad@gmail.com; Rockwell, Cheryl E., E-mail: rockwelc@msu.edu; Cui, Julia Yue, E-mail: juliacui@uw.edu

2015-02-15

Bile acids (BAs) are known to regulate BA synthesis and transport by the farnesoid X receptor in the liver (FXR-SHP) and intestine (FXR-Fgf15). However, the relative importance of individual BAs in regulating these processes is not known. Therefore, mice were fed various doses of five individual BAs, including cholic acid (CA), chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA), deoxoycholic acid (DCA), lithocholic acid (LCA), and ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in their diets at various concentrations for one week to increase the concentration of one BA in the enterohepatic circulation. The mRNA of BA synthesis and transporting genes in liver and ileum were quantified. In themore » liver, the mRNA of SHP, which is the prototypical target gene of FXR, increased in mice fed all concentrations of BAs. In the ileum, the mRNA of the intestinal FXR target gene Fgf15 was increased at lower doses and to a higher extent by CA and DCA than by CDCA and LCA. Cyp7a1, the rate-limiting enzyme in BA synthesis, was decreased more by CA and DCA than CDCA and LCA. Cyp8b1, the enzyme that 12-hydroxylates BAs and is thus responsible for the synthesis of CA, was decreased much more by CA and DCA than CDCA and LCA. Surprisingly, neither a decrease in the conjugated BA uptake transporter (Ntcp) nor increase in BA efflux transporter (Bsep) was observed by FXR activation, but an increase in the cholesterol efflux transporter (Abcg5/Abcg8) was observed with FXR activation. Thus in conclusion, CA and DCA are more potent FXR activators than CDCA and LCA when fed to mice, and thus they are more effective in decreasing the expression of the rate limiting gene in BA synthesis Cyp7a1 and the 12-hydroxylation of BAs Cyp8b1, and are also more effective in increasing the expression of Abcg5/Abcg8, which is responsible for biliary cholesterol excretion. However, feeding BAs do not alter the mRNA or protein levels of Ntcp or Bsep, suggesting that the uptake or efflux of BAs is not regulated by FXR at physiological and pharmacological concentrations of BAs. - Highlights: • All four major bile acids in humans activate the FXR in liver and intestine. • These bile acids decreased the mRNA of the bile acid synthetic enzymes Cyp7a1 and Cyp8b1. • These BAs did not alter the mRNA or protein of the conjugated BA transporters (Ntcp and Bsep). • Cholic acid and deoxycholic acid are more potent activators of FXR than chenodeoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid.« less

[A study of temperament and personality in children diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)].

PubMed

Bouvard, M; Sigel, L; Laurent, A

2012-10-01

The study of children's personality and its development has generated several theoretical models in psychology. In a developmental approach, Buss and Plomin elaborated a genetic model of temperament that involves four dimensions: emotionality (refers to the negative quality of the emotion and the intensity of the emotional reactions), activity (intensity and frequency of a person's energy output in motor movements and speech), sociability (search for social relationships and preference for activities with others) and shyness (behavioural inhibition and feelings of distress when in interaction with strangers). The psychobiological approach postulates a biological model of personality. Thus, in Gray's first model, there are two brain systems that explain behaviours: the Bbehavioural Activation System (BAS) related to impulsivity and the Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS) linked to anxiety. Finally, dispositional theories seek to identify functional units of the normal personality from the factorial approach. Accordingly, Barbaranelli et al. build a questionnaire, the big five questionnaire for children (BFQ-C), which is intended to estimate the emergence of five fundamental dimensions (energy/extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional instability and intellect/openness) in children from 8 to 18 years. The clinical study we will present concerns the personality of children suffering from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). STUDY 1: In a first study, we compared the ratings of 33 children with ADHD regarding their personality, as well as the ratings of their parents, over a one-year interval. The EAS questionnaire tapping into the genetic model put forth by Buss and Plomin evaluates four dimensions: emotionality, activity, sociability and shyness. The BIS/BAS scales for children correspond to Gray's first psychobiological model of personality. The BIS scale is unidimensional and the BAS scale is divided into three subscales (drive, fun-seeking and reward responsiveness). The answers collected from parents at the two moments of completion of the EAS were comparable and the correlations were all higher than 0.70. Concerning the children, there were no significant differences between the two time periods but the correlations were rather low. On the BIS/BAS scales, they varied from 0.22 (fun-seeking BAS scale) to 0.51 (BIS scale), whereas the obtained correlations on the EAS ranged from 0.32 (emotionality) to 0.58 (activity and shyness). Finally, to compare the answers of the children with their parents on the EAS questionnaire, we used a correlation coefficient test. For time 1, the correlations varied from 0.54 (emotionality) to 0.69 (sociability), and for time 2, they varied from 0.18 (sociability) to 0.50 (shyness). The concordance between the parents' and children' answers was thus higher than in a group from the general population. STUDY 2: In the second study, we compared the personality of children with ADHD (n=35) with a sample from the general population (n=35). The two groups of subjects were matched on age (mean: 12.7 years) and made comparable for gender. Participants with ADHD were comparable with control participants on the BIS, as well as on the reward responsiveness subscale of the BAS. Furthermore, participants with ADHD and controls were comparable concerning the tendency to avoid and the anxiety. However, as expected, those with ADHD obtained higher scores on two subscales of the BAS. Concerning the traits of temperament, participants with ADHD reported being more active and having greater emotionality than did control subjects. On the other hand, there were no group differences for the two other aspects of temperament (sociability and shyness). Finally, participants with ADHD obtained higher scores on the BFQ-C than did control participants. It is interesting to note that children with ADHD obtained higher scores on the extraversion scale of the BFQ-C and the activity scale of the EAS. Our findings parallel the existing literature concerning the neuroticism scale of the BFQ-C and the BAS, but not the agreeableness and conscientiousness scales of the BFQ-C. It is interesting to note that children have a less stable representation of their own temperament as compared to the evaluation of their parents. This study replicates the findings of previous research on adults with ADHD regarding neuroticism (emotional instability), but contrary to findings in adults with ADHD, children obtained elevated scores on the conscientiousness and agreeableness subscales. In accordance with our hypotheses, children with ADHD could be distinguished from control participants on the BAS, particularly for the drive and reward responsiveness subscales. Furthermore, they also obtained higher scores on the extraversion subscale of the BFQ-C and the on the EAS activity subscale. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Exercising self-control increases relative left frontal cortical activation.

PubMed

Schmeichel, Brandon J; Crowell, Adrienne; Harmon-Jones, Eddie

2016-02-01

Self-control refers to the capacity to override or alter a predominant response tendency. The current experiment tested the hypothesis that exercising self-control temporarily increases approach motivation, as revealed by patterns of electrical activity in the prefrontal cortex. Participants completed a writing task that did vs did not require them to exercise self-control. Then they viewed pictures known to evoke positive, negative or neutral affect. We assessed electroencephalographic (EEG) activity while participants viewed the pictures, and participants reported their trait levels of behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and behavioral activation system (BAS) sensitivity at the end of the study. We found that exercising (vs not exercising) self-control increased relative left frontal cortical activity during picture viewing, particularly among individuals with relatively higher BAS than BIS, and particularly during positive picture viewing. A similar but weaker pattern emerged during negative picture viewing. The results suggest that exercising self-control temporarily increases approach motivation, which may help to explain the aftereffects of self-control (i.e. ego depletion). © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Personality of young drivers in Oman: Relationship to risky driving behaviors and crash involvement among Sultan Qaboos University students.

PubMed

Al Azri, Mohammed; Al Reesi, Hamed; Al-Adawi, Samir; Al Maniri, Abdullah; Freeman, James

2017-02-17

Drivers' behaviors such as violations and errors have been demonstrated to predict crash involvement among young Omani drivers. However, there is a dearth of studies linking risky driving behaviors to the personality of young drivers. The aim of the present study was to assess such traits within a sample of young Omani drivers (as measured through the behavioral inhibition system [BIS] and the behavioral activation system [BAS]) and determine links with aberrant driving behaviors and self-reported crash involvement. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Sultan Qaboos University that targeted all licensed Omani's undergraduate students. A total of 529 randomly selected students completed the self-reported questionnaire that included an assessment of driving behaviors (e.g., Driver Behaviour Questionnaire, DBQ) as well as the BIS/BAS measures. A total of 237 participants (44.8%) reported involvement in at least one crash since being licensed. Young drivers with lower BIS-Anxiety scores and higher BAS-Fun Seeking tendencies as well as male drivers were more likely to report driving violations. Statistically significant gender differences were observed on all BIS and BAS subscales (except for BAS-Fun) and the DBQ subscales, because males reported higher trait scores. Though personality traits were related to aberrant driving behaviors at the bivariate level, the constructs were not predictive of engaging in violations or errors. Furthermore, consistent with previous research, a supplementary multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that only driving experience was predictive of crash involvement. The findings highlight that though personality traits influence self-reported driving styles (and differ between the genders), the relationship with crash involvement is not as clear. This article further outlines the key findings of the study in regards to understanding core psychological constructs that increase crash risk.

Biochemical and Structural Characterization of Bisubstrate Inhibitors of BasE, the Self-standing Non-Ribosomal Peptide Synthetase Adenylate-Forming Enzyme of Acinetobactin Synthesis†,‡

PubMed Central

Drake, Eric J.; Duckworth, Benjamin P.; Neres, João; Aldrich, Courtney C.; Gulick, Andrew M.

2010-01-01

The human pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii produces a siderophore called acinetobactin that is derived from one molecule each of threonine, histidine, and 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB). The activity of several non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) enzymes is used to combine the building blocks into the final molecule. The acinetobactin synthesis pathway initiates with a self-standing adenylation enzyme, BasE, that activates the DHB molecule and covalently transfers it to the pantetheine cofactor of an aryl-carrier protein of BasF, a strategy that is shared with many siderophore-producing NRPS clusters. In this reaction, DHB reacts with ATP to form the aryl adenylate and pyrophosphate. In a second partial reaction, the DHB is transferred to the carrier protein. Inhibitors of BasE and related enzymes have been identified that prevent growth of bacteria on iron-limiting media. Recently, a new inhibitor of BasE has been identified via high-throughput screening using a fluorescence polarization displacement assay. We present here biochemical and structural studies to examine the binding mode of this inhibitor. The kinetics of the wild-type BasE enzyme is shown and inhibition studies demonstrate that the new compound exhibits competitive inhibition against both ATP and 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate. Structural examination of BasE bound to this inhibitor illustrates a novel binding mode in which the phenyl moiety partially fills the enzyme pantetheine binding tunnel. Structures of rationally designed bisubstrate inhibitors are also presented. PMID:20853905

The Behavioral Approach System (BAS) Model of Vulnerability to Bipolar Disorder: Evidence of a Continuum in BAS Sensitivity across Adolescence.

PubMed

Liu, Richard T; Burke, Taylor A; Abramson, Lyn Y; Alloy, Lauren B

2017-11-04

Behavioral Approach System (BAS) sensitivity has been implicated in the development of a variety of different psychiatric disorders. Prominent among these in the empirical literature are bipolar spectrum disorders (BSDs). Given that adolescence represents a critical developmental stage of risk for the onset of BSDs, it is important to clarify the latent structure of BAS sensitivity in this period of development. A statistical approach especially well-suited for delineating the latent structure of BAS sensitivity is taxometric analysis, which is designed to evaluate whether the latent structure of a construct is taxonic (i.e., categorical) or dimensional (i.e., continuous) in nature. The current study applied three mathematically non-redundant taxometric procedures (i.e., MAMBAC, MAXEIG, and L-Mode) to a large community sample of adolescents (n = 12,494) who completed two separate measures of BAS sensitivity: the BIS/BAS Scales Carver and White (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 319-333. 1994) and the Sensitivity to Reward and Sensitivity to Punishment Questionnaire (Torrubia et al. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 837-862. 2001). Given the significant developmental changes in reward sensitivity that occur across adolescence, the current investigation aimed to provide a fine-grained evaluation of the data by performing taxometric analyses at an age-by-age level (14-19 years; n for each age ≥ 883). Results derived from taxometric procedures, across all ages tested, were highly consistent, providing strong evidence that BAS sensitivity is best conceptualized as dimensional in nature. Thus, the findings suggest that BAS-related vulnerability to BSDs exists along a continuum of severity, with no natural cut-point qualitatively differentiating high- and low-risk adolescents. Clinical and research implications for the assessment of BSD-related vulnerability are discussed.

Technological Factors Affecting Biogenic Amine Content in Foods: A Review

PubMed Central

Gardini, Fausto; Özogul, Yesim; Suzzi, Giovanna; Tabanelli, Giulia; Özogul, Fatih

2016-01-01

Biogenic amines (BAs) are molecules, which can be present in foods and, due to their toxicity, can cause adverse effects on the consumers. BAs are generally produced by microbial decarboxylation of amino acids in food products. The most significant BAs occurring in foods are histamine, tyramine, putrescine, cadaverine, tryptamine, 2-phenylethylamine, spermine, spermidine, and agmatine. The importance of preventing the excessive accumulation of BAs in foods is related to their impact on human health and food quality. Quality criteria in connection with the presence of BAs in food and food products are necessary from a toxicological point of view. This is particularly important in fermented foods in which the massive microbial proliferation required for obtaining specific products is often relater with BAs accumulation. In this review, up-to-date information and recent discoveries about technological factors affecting BA content in foods are reviewed. Specifically, BA forming-microorganism and decarboxylation activity, genetic and metabolic organization of decarboxylases, risk associated to BAs (histamine, tyramine toxicity, and other BAs), environmental factors influencing BA formation (temperature, salt concentration, and pH). In addition, the technological factors for controlling BA production (use of starter culture, technological additives, effects of packaging, other non-thermal treatments, metabolizing BA by microorganisms, effects of pressure treatments on BA formation and antimicrobial substances) are addressed. PMID:27570519

Technological Factors Affecting Biogenic Amine Content in Foods: A Review.

PubMed

Gardini, Fausto; Özogul, Yesim; Suzzi, Giovanna; Tabanelli, Giulia; Özogul, Fatih

2016-01-01

Biogenic amines (BAs) are molecules, which can be present in foods and, due to their toxicity, can cause adverse effects on the consumers. BAs are generally produced by microbial decarboxylation of amino acids in food products. The most significant BAs occurring in foods are histamine, tyramine, putrescine, cadaverine, tryptamine, 2-phenylethylamine, spermine, spermidine, and agmatine. The importance of preventing the excessive accumulation of BAs in foods is related to their impact on human health and food quality. Quality criteria in connection with the presence of BAs in food and food products are necessary from a toxicological point of view. This is particularly important in fermented foods in which the massive microbial proliferation required for obtaining specific products is often relater with BAs accumulation. In this review, up-to-date information and recent discoveries about technological factors affecting BA content in foods are reviewed. Specifically, BA forming-microorganism and decarboxylation activity, genetic and metabolic organization of decarboxylases, risk associated to BAs (histamine, tyramine toxicity, and other BAs), environmental factors influencing BA formation (temperature, salt concentration, and pH). In addition, the technological factors for controlling BA production (use of starter culture, technological additives, effects of packaging, other non-thermal treatments, metabolizing BA by microorganisms, effects of pressure treatments on BA formation and antimicrobial substances) are addressed.

The Influence of Forward and Backward Associative Strength on False Memories for Encoding Context

PubMed Central

Arndt, Jason

2016-01-01

Two experiments examined the effects of Forward Associative Strength (FAS) and Backward Associative Strength (FAS) on false recollection of unstudied lure items. Themes were constructed such that four associates were strongly related to a lure item in terms of FAS or BAS and four associates were weakly related to a lure item in terms of FAS or BAS. Further, when FAS was manipulated, BAS was controlled across strong and weak associates, while FAS was controlled across strong and weak associates when BAS was manipulated. Strong associates were presented in one font while weak associates were presented in a second font. At test, lure items were disproportionately attributed to the source used to present lures’ strong associates compared to lures’ weak associates, both when BAS was manipulated and when FAS was manipulated. This outcome demonstrates that both BAS and FAS influence lure item false recollection, which favors global-matching models’ explanation of false recollection over the explanation offered by spreading-activation theories. PMID:25312499

Bas-Relief Modeling from Normal Images with Intuitive Styles.

PubMed

Ji, Zhongping; Ma, Weiyin; Sun, Xianfang

2014-05-01

Traditional 3D model-based bas-relief modeling methods are often limited to model-dependent and monotonic relief styles. This paper presents a novel method for digital bas-relief modeling with intuitive style control. Given a composite normal image, the problem discussed in this paper involves generating a discontinuity-free depth field with high compression of depth data while preserving or even enhancing fine details. In our framework, several layers of normal images are composed into a single normal image. The original normal image on each layer is usually generated from 3D models or through other techniques as described in this paper. The bas-relief style is controlled by choosing a parameter and setting a targeted height for them. Bas-relief modeling and stylization are achieved simultaneously by solving a sparse linear system. Different from previous work, our method can be used to freely design bas-reliefs in normal image space instead of in object space, which makes it possible to use any popular image editing tools for bas-relief modeling. Experiments with a wide range of 3D models and scenes show that our method can effectively generate digital bas-reliefs.

Multicenter validation of a bedside antisaccade task as a measure of executive function

PubMed Central

Hellmuth, J.; Mirsky, J.; Heuer, H.W.; Matlin, A.; Jafari, A.; Garbutt, S.; Widmeyer, M.; Berhel, A.; Sinha, L.; Miller, B.L.; Kramer, J.H.

2012-01-01

Objective: To create and validate a simple, standardized version of the antisaccade (AS) task that requires no specialized equipment for use as a measure of executive function in multicenter clinical studies. Methods: The bedside AS (BAS) task consisted of 40 pseudorandomized AS trials presented on a laptop computer. BAS performance was compared with AS performance measured using an infrared eye tracker in normal elders (NE) and individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia (n = 33). The neuropsychological domain specificity of the BAS was then determined in a cohort of NE, MCI, and dementia (n = 103) at UCSF, and the BAS was validated as a measure of executive function in a 6-center cohort (n = 397) of normal adults and patients with a variety of brain diseases. Results: Performance on the BAS and laboratory AS task was strongly correlated and BAS performance was most strongly associated with neuropsychological measures of executive function. Even after controlling for disease severity and processing speed, BAS performance was associated with multiple assessments of executive function, most strongly the informant-based Frontal Systems Behavior Scale. Conclusions: The BAS is a simple, valid measure of executive function in aging and neurologic disease. PMID:22573640

Effect of Oryzalin and 1,1-Dimethylpiperidinium Chloride on Cotton and Tomato Roots Infected with the Root-knot Nematode, Meloidogyne incognita

PubMed Central

Orum, T. V.; Bartels, P. G.; McClure, M. A.

1979-01-01

Oryzalin (3,5-dinitro-N4,N4-dipropyl-sulfanilamide) and BAS 083 (l,l-dimethylpiperdinium chloride) reduced root-knot infection in tomato roots when respectively applied as a soil drench at 20 ppm and 10,000 ppm. Oryzalin reduced knot counts with various intervals between treatment and inoculation. BAS 083 reduced knot counts only when applied before inoculation. Oryzalin was shown not to be a contact nematicide, and BAS 083 was only a weak one. Neither compound reduced penetration by infective larvae. Postinfection reduction in knot counts by Oryzalin and BAS 083 resulted, in part, from activation of natural defense mechanisms of the host. Giant-cell development in cotton roots inoculated with nematodes was inhibited by Oryzalin. Lateral root development was inhibited by BAS 083. PMID:19305533

Chapter 19: HVAC Controls (DDC/EMS/BAS) Evaluation Protocol. The Uniform Methods Project: Methods for Determining Energy Efficiency Savings for Specific Measures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kurnik, Charles W.; Romberger, Jeff

The HVAC Controls Evaluation Protocol is designed to address evaluation issues for direct digital controls/energy management systems/building automation systems (DDC/EMS/BAS) that are installed to control heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment in commercial and institutional buildings. (This chapter refers to the DDC/EMS/BAS measure as HVAC controls.) This protocol may also be applicable to industrial facilities such as clean rooms and labs, which have either significant HVAC equipment or spaces requiring special environmental conditions.

Individual differences in drivers' cognitive processing of road safety messages.

PubMed

Kaye, Sherrie-Anne; White, Melanie J; Lewis, Ioni M

2013-01-01

Using Gray and McNaughton's (2000) revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (r-RST), we examined the influence of personality on processing of words presented in gain-framed and loss-framed anti-speeding messages and how the processing biases associated with personality influenced message acceptance. The r-RST predicts that the nervous system regulates personality and that behaviour is dependent upon the activation of the behavioural activation system (BAS), activated by reward cues and the fight-flight-freeze system (FFFS), activated by punishment cues. According to r-RST, individuals differ in the sensitivities of their BAS and FFFS (i.e., weak to strong), which in turn leads to stable patterns of behaviour in the presence of rewards and punishments, respectively. It was hypothesised that individual differences in personality (i.e., strength of the BAS and the FFFS) would influence the degree of both message processing (as measured by reaction time to previously viewed message words) and message acceptance (measured three ways by perceived message effectiveness, behavioural intentions, and attitudes). Specifically, it was anticipated that, individuals with a stronger BAS would process the words presented in the gain-frame messages faster than those with a weaker BAS and individuals with a stronger FFFS would process the words presented in the loss-frame messages faster than those with a weaker FFFS. Further, it was expected that greater processing (faster reaction times) would be associated with greater acceptance for that message. Driver licence holding students (N=108) were recruited to view one of four anti-speeding messages (i.e., social gain-frame, social loss-frame, physical gain-frame, and physical loss-frame). A computerised lexical decision task assessed participants' subsequent reaction times to message words, as an indicator of the extent of processing of the previously viewed message. Self-report measures assessed personality and the three message acceptance measures. As predicted, the degree of initial processing of the content of the social gain-framed message mediated the relationship between the reward sensitive trait and message effectiveness. Initial processing of the physical loss-framed message partially mediated the relationship between the punishment sensitive trait and both message effectiveness and behavioural intention ratings. These results show that reward sensitivity and punishment sensitivity traits influence cognitive processing of gain-framed and loss-framed message content, respectively, and subsequently, message effectiveness and behavioural intention ratings. Specifically, a range of road safety messages (i.e., gain-frame and loss-frame messages) could be designed which align with the processing biases associated with personality and which would target those individuals who are sensitive to rewards and those who are sensitive to punishments. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The mechanism of enterohepatic circulation in the formation of gallstone disease.

PubMed

Cai, Jian-Shan; Chen, Jin-Hong

2014-11-01

Bile acids entering into enterohepatic circulating are primary acids synthesized from cholesterol in hepatocyte. They are secreted actively across canalicular membrane and carried in bile to gallbladder, where they are concentrated during digestion. About 95% BAs are actively taken up from the lumen of terminal ileum efficiently, leaving only approximately 5% (or approximately 0.5 g/d) in colon, and a fraction of bile acids are passively reabsorbed after a series of modifications in the human large intestine including deconjugation and oxidation of hydroxy groups. Bile salts hydrolysis and hydroxy group dehydrogenation reactions are performed by a broad spectrum of intestinal anaerobic bacteria. Next, hepatocyte reabsorbs bile acids from sinusoidal blood, which are carried to liver through portal vein via a series of transporters. Bile acids (BAs) transporters are critical for maintenance of the enterohepatic BAs circulation, where BAs exert their multiple physiological functions including stimulation of bile flow, intestinal absorption of lipophilic nutrients, solubilization, and excretion of cholesterol. Tight regulation of BA transporters via nuclear receptors (NRs) is necessary to maintain proper BA homeostasis. In conclusion, disturbances of enterohepatic circulation may account for pathogenesis of gallstones diseases, including BAs transporters and their regulatory NRs and the metabolism of intestinal bacterias, etc.

Personality correlates of individual differences in the recruitment of cognitive mechanisms when rewards are at stake.

PubMed

Heritage, Allan J; Long, Laura J; Woodman, Geoffrey F; Zald, David H

2018-02-01

Individuals differ greatly in their sensitivity to rewards and punishments. In the extreme, these differences are implicated in a range of psychiatric disorders from addiction to depression. However, it is unclear how these differences influence the recruitment of attention, working memory, and long-term memory when responding to potential rewards. Here, we used a rewarded memory-guided visual search task and ERPs to examine the influence of individual differences in self-reported reward/punishment sensitivity, as measured by the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS)/Behavioral Activation System (BAS) scales, on the recruitment of cognitive mechanisms in conditions of potential reward. Select subscales of the BAS, including the fun seeking and reward responsiveness scales, showed unique relationships with context updating to reward cues and working memory maintenance of potentially rewarded stimuli. In contrast, BIS scores showed unique relationships with deployment of attention at different points in the task. These results suggest that sensitivity to rewards (i.e., BAS) and to punishment (i.e., BIS) may play an important role in the recruitment of specific and distinct cognitive mechanisms in conditions of potential rewards. © 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

BAS Brings Continuous Savings to Nebraska School District.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Energy Management Technology, 1985

1985-01-01

Discusses advantages of a building automation system (BAS) used for monitoring and controlling 16 buildings (1,000,000 square feet). Problems solved and savings occurred with air handlers, indoor pool, minerals in boilers, and service tunnels. The system included numerous advantages for operators and paid for itself in 15 months. (DH)

Trait behavioral approach sensitivity (BAS) relates to early (<150 ms) electrocortical responses to appetitive stimuli.

PubMed

Gable, Philip A; Harmon-Jones, Eddie

2013-10-01

Much past research has focused on how traits related to the behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and avoidance motivation influence the almost obligatory attentional processing of aversive stimuli as measured as early as 100 ms into stimulus processing. These results fit with the functional importance assigned to the negativity bias. But do traits related to the behavioral approach system (BAS) influence attentional processing with similar rapidity? The present study addressed this unanswered question by testing whether trait BAS relates to event-related potentials (ERP) involved in rapid motivated attentional processing to appetitive stimuli. Results indicated that individual differences in BAS were correlated with larger ERP amplitudes as early as 100 ms into the processing of appetitive pictures. These results provide the first evidence linking trait approach motivational tendencies to very early stages of motivated attentional processing.

A single-dose, randomized, cross-over, two-way, open-label study for comparing the absorption of boswellic acids and its lecithin formulation.

PubMed

Riva, Antonella; Morazzoni, Paolo; Artaria, Christian; Allegrini, Pietro; Meins, Jürgen; Savio, Daniele; Appendino, Giovanni; Schubert-Zsilavecz, Manfred; Abdel-Tawab, Mona

2016-11-15

The oral administration of the gum resin extracts of Indian frankincense (Boswellia serrata Roxb. ex Colebr) results in very low plasma concentrations of boswellic acids (BAs), being far below the pharmacologically active concentrations required in vitro for anti-inflammatory activity. For that reason the use of Indian frankincense in clinical practice and pharmaceutical development has substantially lagged behind. Recently the application of new formulation technologies resulted in a formulation of frankincense extract with lecithin, which revealed improved absorption and tissue penetration of BAs in a rodent study, leading for the first time to plasma concentrations of BAs in the range of their anti-inflammatory activity. In order to verify these encouraging results in humans, the absorption of a standardized Boswellia serrata extract (BE) and its lecithin formulation (CSP) was comparatively investigated in healthy volunteers. According to a randomized cross-over design with two treatments, two sequences and two periods, 12 volunteers alternatively received the lecithin-formulated Boswellia extract (CSP) or the non-formulated Boswellia extract (BE) at a dosage of 2×250mg capsules. The plasma concentrations of the six major BAs (KBA, AKBA, βBA, αBA, AβBA, AαBA) were determined using LC/MS. With the exception of KBA, a significantly higher (both in terms of weight-to-weight and molar comparison) and quicker absorption of BAs from the lecithin formulation was observed, leading to C max in the range required for the interaction with their molecular targets. These findings pave the way to further studies evaluating the clinical potential of BAs, and verify the beneficial effect of lecithin formulation to improve the absorption of poorly soluble phytochemicals. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.

Mastitis Modifies the Biogenic Amines Profile in Human Milk, with Significant Changes in the Presence of Histamine, Putrescine and Spermine

PubMed Central

Perez, Marta; Ladero, Victor; Redruello, Begoña; del Rio, Beatriz; Fernandez, Leonides; Rodriguez, Juan Miguel; Martín, Mª Cruz; Fernandez, María; Alvarez, Miguel A.

2016-01-01

Biogenic amines (BAs) are low molecular weight nitrogenous organic compounds with different biological activities. Putrescine, spermidine and spermine are essential for the development of the gut and immune system of newborns, and are all found in human milk. Little is known, however, about the role of histamine, tyramine or cadaverine in breast milk. Nor is it known whether mastitis alters the BA composition of milk. The BA profile of human milk, and the influence of mastitis on BA concentrations, were therefore investigated. Putrescine, spermidine and spermine were the main BAs detected. In mastitis-affected milk, the concentrations of putrescine, spermine and histamine were higher. PMID:27584695

Evaluation of the sensitivity and fading characteristics of an image plate system for x-ray diagnostics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meadowcroft, A. L.; Bentley, C. D.; Stott, E. N.

2008-11-01

Image plates (IPs) are a reusable recording media capable of detecting ionizing radiation, used to diagnose x-ray emission from laser-plasma experiments. Due to their superior performance characteristics in x-ray applications [C. C. Bradford, W. W. Peppler, and J. T. Dobbins III, Med. Phys. 26, 27 (1999) and J. Digit. Imaging. 12, 54 (1999)], the Fuji Biological Analysis System (BAS) IPs are fielded on x-ray diagnostics for the HELEN laser by the Plasma Physics Department at AWE. The sensitivities of the Fuji BAS IPs have been absolutely calibrated for absolute measurements of x-ray intensity in the energy range of 0-100 keV. In addition, the Fuji BAS IP fading as a function of time was investigated. We report on the characterization of three Fuji BAS IP responses to x-rays using a radioactive source, and discrete x-ray line energies generated by the Excalibur soft x-ray facility and the Defense Radiological Standards Centre filter-fluorescer hard x-ray system at AWE.

Interactive effects of reward sensitivity and residential fast-food restaurant exposure on fast-food consumption.

PubMed

Paquet, Catherine; Daniel, Mark; Knäuper, Bärbel; Gauvin, Lise; Kestens, Yan; Dubé, Laurette

2010-03-01

Local fast-food environments have been increasingly linked to obesity and related outcomes. Individuals who are more sensitive to reward-related cues might be more responsive to such environments. This study aimed to assess the moderating role of sensitivity to reward on the relation between residential fast-food restaurant exposure and fast-food consumption. Four hundred fifteen individuals (49.6% men; mean age: 34.7 y) were sampled from 7 Montreal census tracts stratified by socioeconomic status and French/English language. The frequency of fast-food restaurant visits in the previous week was self-reported. Sensitivity to reward was self-reported by using the Behavioral Activation System (BAS) scale. Fast-food restaurant exposure within 500 m of the participants' residence was determined by using a Geographic Information System. Main and interactive effects of the BAS and fast-food restaurant exposure on fast-food consumption were tested with logistic regression models that accounted for clustering of observations and participants' age, sex, education, and household income. Regression results showed a significant interaction between BAS and fast-food restaurant exposure (P < 0.001). Analysis of BAS tertiles indicated that the association between neighborhood fast-food restaurant exposure and consumption was positive for the highest tertile (odds ratio: 1.49; 95% CI: 1.20, 1.84; P < 0.001) but null for the intermediate (odds ratio: 1.03; 95% CI: 0.80, 1.34; P = 0.81) and lowest (odds ratio: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.51, 1.37; P = 0.49) tertiles. Reward-sensitive individuals may be more responsive to unhealthful cues in their immediate environment.

Interactive Effects of the BIS and the BAS on Trajectories of Alcohol Misuse after University Graduation.

PubMed

Keough, Matthew T; O'Connor, Roisin M

2015-01-01

Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory predicts that those with a strong behavioral inhibition system (BIS) likely experience considerable anxiety and uncertainty during the transition out of university. Accordingly, they may continue to drink heavily to cope during this time (a period associated with normative reductions in heavy drinking), but only if they also have a strong behavioral approach system (BAS) to enhance the anxiolytic effects of drinking. The purpose of this study was to test this hypothesis. Participants completed online measures prior to and at 3-month intervals over the course of the year following graduation. As hypothesized, results showed that an elevated BIS predicted impeded maturing out, but only when the impulsivity facet of BAS was also elevated. In contrast, a strong BIS predicted rapid maturing out if BAS impulsivity was weak. Study findings advance our understanding of BIS-related alcohol misuse trajectories in young adulthood and provide direction for clinical interventions.

Validation of a motivation-based typology of angry aggression among antisocial youths in Norway.

PubMed

Bjørnebekk, Gunnar; Howard, Rick

2012-01-01

This article describes the validation of the Angry Aggression Scales (AAS), the Behavior Inhibition System and the Behavior Activation System (BIS/BAS) scales, the reactive aggression and proactive power scales in relation to a Norwegian sample of 101 antisocial youths with conduct problems (64 boys, 37 girls, mean age 15 ± 1.3 years) and 101 prosocial controls matched on age, gender, education, ethnicity, and school district. Maximum likelihood exploratory factor analyses with oblique rotation were performed on AAS, BIS/BAS, reactive aggression and proactive power scales as well as computation of Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega. Tests for normality and homogeneity of variance were acceptable. Factor analyses of AAS and the proactive/reactive aggression scales suggested a hierarchical structure comprising a single higher-order angry aggression (AA) factor and four and two lower-order factors, respectively. Moreover, results suggested one BIS factor and a single higher-order BAS factor with three lower-order factors related to drive, fun-seeking and reward responsiveness. To compare scores of antisocial youths with controls, t-tests on the mean scale scores were computed. Results confirmed that antisocial youths were different from controls on the above-mentioned scales. Consistent with the idea that anger is associated with approach motivation, AAS scores correlated with behavioral activation, but only explosive/reactive and vengeful/ruminative AA correlated with behavioral inhibition. Results generally validated the quadruple typology of aggression and violence proposed by Howard (2009). Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Hypocholesterolemic effect of emodin by simultaneous determination of in vitro and in vivo bile salts binding.

PubMed

Wang, Jiaoying; Ji, Jun; Song, Zijing; Zhang, Wenjun; He, Xin; Li, Fei; Zhang, Chunfeng; Guo, Changrun; Wang, Chongzhi; Yuan, Chunsu

2016-04-01

Emodin is an active anthraquinone derivative from Rheum palmatum and some other Chinese herbs and it is traditionally used for treating a variety of diseases. In this study, we investigated the hypocholesterolemic effects and mechanism of emodin on hypercholesterolemia rats. In vitro, capability of emodin binding to sodium deoxycholate which is one kind of bile salts (BAs) was evaluated by detection of surplus content of sodium deoxycholate. In vivo, hypocholesterolemic effects were assessed by determining total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level of serum and TC, TG level of the liver. Oil red O staining was employed to determine lipid droplet of the liver. The mechanism was explored by BAs in feces, the liver and small intestine. Furthermore, cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) activity was measured to evaluate cholesterol's transforming to BAs. The results indicated that TC level of emodin group apparently decreased comparing with model group (p<0.05). Emodin could bind to BAs both in vivo (p<0.05) and in vitro. CYP7A1 activity in emodin group apparently increased comparing with model group (p<0.05). Data suggested that emodin had the potential value for treatment of hypercholesterolemia. The underlying mechanism is probably associated with binding capability to BAs and subsequent increasing expression of CYP7A1. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analyzing Movements Development and Evaluation of the Body Awareness Scale Movement Quality (BAS MQ).

PubMed

Sundén, A; Ekdahl, C; Horstman, V; Gyllensten, A L

2016-06-01

Limitations in everyday movements, physical activities are/or pain are the main reasons for seeking help from a physiotherapist. The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Body Awareness Scale Movement Quality (BAS MQ) focusing on factor structure, validity and reliability and to explore whether BAS MQ could discriminate between healthy individuals and patients. BAS MQ assesses both limitations and resources concerning functional ability and quality of movements. The total sample in the study (n = 172) consisted of individuals with hip osteoarthritis (OA) (n = 132), individuals with psychiatric disorders (n = 33) and healthy individuals (n = 7). A factor analysis of the BAS MQ was performed for the total group. Inter-rater reliability was tested in a group of individuals with hip OA (n = 24). Concurrent validity was tested in a group of individuals with hip OA (n = 89). The Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) and the Hip Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS) were chosen in the validation process. The factor analysis revealed three factors that together explained 60.8% of the total variance of BAS MQ. The inter-rater reliability was considered good or very good with a kappa value of 0.61. Significant correlations between BAS MQ and SF-36, HOOS and 6MWT in the subjects with hip OA confirmed the validity. The BAS MQ was able to discriminate between healthy individuals and individuals with physical and psychiatric limitations. Results of the study revealed that BAS MQ has a satisfactory factor structure. The inter-rater reliability and validity were acceptable in a group of individuals with hip OA. BAS MQ could be a useful assessment tool for physiotherapists when evaluating the quality of everyday movements in different patient groups. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Relations of Motivational Traits with Workplace Deviance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diefendorff, James M.; Mehta, Kajal

2007-01-01

The authors developed and tested new theoretical relations between approach and avoidance motivational traits and deviant work behaviors. Approach motivation was divided into 3 traits: personal mastery (i.e., desire to achieve), competitive excellence (i.e., desire to perform better than others), and behavioral activation system (BAS) sensitivity…

A Short Measure of the Revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory - RSQ17.

PubMed

Čolović, Petar; Smederevac, Snežana; Oljača, Milan; Nikolašević, Željka; Mitrović, Dušanka

2018-04-03

The need for a research and practical tool, such as a short, reliable, and valid personality assessment test, suggests researchers to create shortened versions of original instruments. Reinforcement sensitivity questionnaire (RSQ) was created in line with some basic premises of revised Reinforcement sensitivity theory, which proposes three motivational and emotional systems: Behavioral inhibition system (BIS), responsible for scanning environment for potential threats, Behavioral activation system (BAS), responsible for aproaching behavior, and the Fight/Flight/Freeze system (FFFS), responsible for behavior in the present threat. RSQ comprises five scales: BIS, BAS, Fight, Flight, and Freeze. The aim of this study was to develop a short version of RSQ, which would be beneficial to both research and practical purposes. Item response theory analyses were used for item selection. The study comprised two samples of participants, whereby Sample 1 (N = 837, 34.6% male, aged 18 - 82, M = 31.63, SD = 13.54) served as the derivation sample, while Sample 2 (818 participants, 43.6% male, 18-75 years, M = 29.65, SD = 12.52) served as validation sample. Factorial validity of the short RSQ was examined on both Sample 1 and Sample 2. Convergent and divergent validity of the short RSQ was examined using RST-PQ, Jackson-5, BIS/BAS scales, and Big Five Inventory. The results point to satisfactory internal consistency, factorial validity, and construct validity of the short RSQ, suggesting that it is an adequate measure for research settings or other contexts which require the use of short personality questionnaires.

Resting-State Brain and the FTO Obesity Risk Allele: Default Mode, Sensorimotor, and Salience Network Connectivity Underlying Different Somatosensory Integration and Reward Processing between Genotypes.

PubMed

Olivo, Gaia; Wiemerslage, Lyle; Nilsson, Emil K; Solstrand Dahlberg, Linda; Larsen, Anna L; Olaya Búcaro, Marcela; Gustafsson, Veronica P; Titova, Olga E; Bandstein, Marcus; Larsson, Elna-Marie; Benedict, Christian; Brooks, Samantha J; Schiöth, Helgi B

2016-01-01

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene are linked to obesity, but how these SNPs influence resting-state neural activation is unknown. Few brain-imaging studies have investigated the influence of obesity-related SNPs on neural activity, and no study has investigated resting-state connectivity patterns. We tested connectivity within three, main resting-state networks: default mode (DMN), sensorimotor (SMN), and salience network (SN) in 30 male participants, grouped based on genotype for the rs9939609 FTO SNP, as well as punishment and reward sensitivity measured by the Behavioral Inhibition (BIS) and Behavioral Activation System (BAS) questionnaires. Because obesity is associated with anomalies in both systems, we calculated a BIS/BAS ratio (BBr) accounting for features of both scores. A prominence of BIS over BAS (higher BBr) resulted in increased connectivity in frontal and paralimbic regions. These alterations were more evident in the obesity-associated AA genotype, where a high BBr was also associated with increased SN connectivity in dopaminergic circuitries, and in a subnetwork involved in somatosensory integration regarding food. Participants with AA genotype and high BBr, compared to corresponding participants in the TT genotype, also showed greater DMN connectivity in regions involved in the processing of food cues, and in the SMN for regions involved in visceral perception and reward-based learning. These findings suggest that neural connectivity patterns influence the sensitivity toward punishment and reward more closely in the AA carriers, predisposing them to developing obesity. Our work explains a complex interaction between genetics, neural patterns, and behavioral measures in determining the risk for obesity and may help develop individually-tailored strategies for obesity prevention.

Resting-State Brain and the FTO Obesity Risk Allele: Default Mode, Sensorimotor, and Salience Network Connectivity Underlying Different Somatosensory Integration and Reward Processing between Genotypes

PubMed Central

Olivo, Gaia; Wiemerslage, Lyle; Nilsson, Emil K.; Solstrand Dahlberg, Linda; Larsen, Anna L.; Olaya Búcaro, Marcela; Gustafsson, Veronica P.; Titova, Olga E.; Bandstein, Marcus; Larsson, Elna-Marie; Benedict, Christian; Brooks, Samantha J.; Schiöth, Helgi B.

2016-01-01

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene are linked to obesity, but how these SNPs influence resting-state neural activation is unknown. Few brain-imaging studies have investigated the influence of obesity-related SNPs on neural activity, and no study has investigated resting-state connectivity patterns. We tested connectivity within three, main resting-state networks: default mode (DMN), sensorimotor (SMN), and salience network (SN) in 30 male participants, grouped based on genotype for the rs9939609 FTO SNP, as well as punishment and reward sensitivity measured by the Behavioral Inhibition (BIS) and Behavioral Activation System (BAS) questionnaires. Because obesity is associated with anomalies in both systems, we calculated a BIS/BAS ratio (BBr) accounting for features of both scores. A prominence of BIS over BAS (higher BBr) resulted in increased connectivity in frontal and paralimbic regions. These alterations were more evident in the obesity-associated AA genotype, where a high BBr was also associated with increased SN connectivity in dopaminergic circuitries, and in a subnetwork involved in somatosensory integration regarding food. Participants with AA genotype and high BBr, compared to corresponding participants in the TT genotype, also showed greater DMN connectivity in regions involved in the processing of food cues, and in the SMN for regions involved in visceral perception and reward-based learning. These findings suggest that neural connectivity patterns influence the sensitivity toward punishment and reward more closely in the AA carriers, predisposing them to developing obesity. Our work explains a complex interaction between genetics, neural patterns, and behavioral measures in determining the risk for obesity and may help develop individually-tailored strategies for obesity prevention. PMID:26924971

[Multimodal document management in radiotherapy].

PubMed

Fahrner, H; Kirrmann, S; Röhner, F; Schmucker, M; Hall, M; Heinemann, F

2013-12-01

After incorporating treatment planning and the organisational model of treatment planning in the operating schedule system (BAS, "Betriebsablaufsystem"), complete document qualities were embedded in the digital environment. The aim of this project was to integrate all documents independent of their source (paper-bound or digital) and to make content from the BAS available in a structured manner. As many workflow steps as possible should be automated, e.g. assigning a document to a patient in the BAS. Additionally it must be guaranteed that at all times it could be traced who, when, how and from which source documents were imported into the departmental system. Furthermore work procedures should be changed that the documentation conducted either directly in the departmental system or from external systems can be incorporated digitally and paper document can be completely avoided (e.g. documents such as treatment certificate, treatment plans or documentation). It was a further aim, if possible, to automate the removal of paper documents from the departmental work flow, or even to make such paper documents superfluous. In this way patient letters for follow-up appointments should automatically generated from the BAS. Similarly patient record extracts in the form of PDF files should be enabled, e.g. for controlling purposes. The available document qualities were analysed in detail by a multidisciplinary working group (BAS-AG) and after this examination and assessment of the possibility of modelling in our departmental workflow (BAS) they were transcribed into a flow diagram. The gathered specifications were implemented in a test environment by the clinical and administrative IT group of the department of radiation oncology and subsequent to a detailed analysis introduced into clinical routine. The department has succeeded under the conditions of the aforementioned criteria to embed all relevant documents in the departmental workflow via continuous processes. Since the completion of the concepts and the implementation in our test environment 15,000 documents were introduced into the departmental workflow following routine approval. Furthermore approximately 5000 appointment letters for patient aftercare per year were automatically generated by the BAS. In addition patient record extracts in the form of PDF files for the medical services of the healthcare insurer can be generated.

Evaluation of the sensitivity and fading characteristics of an image plate system for x-ray diagnostics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Meadowcroft, A. L.; Bentley, C. D.; Stott, E. N.

2008-11-15

Image plates (IPs) are a reusable recording media capable of detecting ionizing radiation, used to diagnose x-ray emission from laser-plasma experiments. Due to their superior performance characteristics in x-ray applications [C. C. Bradford, W. W. Peppler, and J. T. Dobbins III, Med. Phys. 26, 27 (1999) and J. Digit. Imaging. 12, 54 (1999)], the Fuji Biological Analysis System (BAS) IPs are fielded on x-ray diagnostics for the HELEN laser by the Plasma Physics Department at AWE. The sensitivities of the Fuji BAS IPs have been absolutely calibrated for absolute measurements of x-ray intensity in the energy range of 0-100 keV.more » In addition, the Fuji BAS IP fading as a function of time was investigated. We report on the characterization of three Fuji BAS IP responses to x-rays using a radioactive source, and discrete x-ray line energies generated by the Excalibur soft x-ray facility and the Defense Radiological Standards Centre filter-fluorescer hard x-ray system at AWE.« less

Neural Processing of Calories in Brain Reward Areas Can be Modulated by Reward Sensitivity

PubMed Central

van Rijn, Inge; Griffioen-Roose, Sanne; de Graaf, Cees; Smeets, Paul A. M.

2016-01-01

A food's reward value is dependent on its caloric content. Furthermore, a food's acute reward value also depends on hunger state. The drive to obtain rewards (reward sensitivity), however, differs between individuals. Here, we assessed the association between brain responses to calories in the mouth and trait reward sensitivity in different hunger states. Firstly, we assessed this in data from a functional neuroimaging study (van Rijn et al., 2015), in which participants (n = 30) tasted simple solutions of a non-caloric sweetener with or without a non-sweet carbohydrate (maltodextrin) during hunger and satiety. Secondly, we expanded these analyses to regular drinks by assessing the same relationship in data from a study in which soft drinks sweetened with either sucrose or a non-caloric sweetener were administered during hunger (n = 18) (Griffioen-Roose et al., 2013). First, taste activation by the non-caloric solution/soft drink was subtracted from that by the caloric solution/soft drink to eliminate sweetness effects and retain activation induced by calories. Subsequently, this difference in taste activation was correlated with reward sensitivity as measured with the BAS drive subscale of the Behavioral Activation System (BAS) questionnaire. When participants were hungry and tasted calories from the simple solution, brain activation in the right ventral striatum (caudate), right amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex (bilaterally) correlated negatively with BAS drive scores. In contrast, when participants were satiated, taste responses correlated positively with BAS drive scores in the left caudate. These results were not replicated for soft drinks. Thus, neural responses to oral calories from maltodextrin were modulated by reward sensitivity in reward-related brain areas. This was not the case for sucrose. This may be due to the direct detection of maltodextrin, but not sucrose in the oral cavity. Also, in a familiar beverage, detection of calories per se may be overruled by a conditioned response to its flavor. In conclusion, the brain reward response to calories from a long chain starch sugar (maltodextrin) varies with trait reward sensitivity. The absence of this effect in a familiar beverage warrants further research into its relevance for real life ingestive behavior. PMID:26834598

Revising the BIS/BAS to Study Development: Measurement Invariance and Normative Effects of Age and Sex from Childhood through Adulthood

PubMed Central

Pagliaccio, David; Luking, Katherine R.; Anokhin, Andrey P.; Gotlib, Ian H.; Hayden, Elizabeth P.; Olino, Thomas M.; Peng, Chun-Zi; Hajcak, Greg; Barch, Deanna M.

2015-01-01

Carver and White's Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Activation System (BIS/BAS) Scale has been a useful tool for studying individual differences in reward/punishment sensitivity; however, its factor structure and invariance across development have not been well tested. In the current study, we examined the factor structure of the BIS/BAS Scale across five age groups: 6-10-year-old children (N=229), 11-13-year-old early adolescents (N=311), 14-16-year-old late adolescents (N=353), 18-22-year-old young adults (N=844), and 30-45-year-old adults (N=471). Given poor fit of the standard four-factor model (BIS, Reward Responsivity, Drive, Fun Seeking) in the literature, we conducted exploratory factor analyses in half of the participants and identified problematic items across age groups. The four-factor model showed poor fit in our sample whereas removing the BAS Fun Seeking subscale and problematic items from the remaining subscales improved fit in confirmatory factor analyses conducted with the second half of the participants. The revised model showed strict invariance across age groups and by sex, indicating consistent factor structure, item loadings, thresholds, and unique/residual variances. Additionally, in our cross-sectional data, we observed non-linear relations between age and subscale scores, where scores tended to be higher in young adulthood than childhood and later adulthood. Furthermore, sex differences emerged across development; adolescent and adult females had higher BIS scores than males in this age range, whereas sex differences were not observed in childhood. These differences may help us to understand the rise in internalizing psychopathology in adolescence, particularly in females. Future developmental studies are warranted to examine the impact of rewording problematic items. PMID:26302106

Behavioral approach and avoidance in schizophrenia: an evaluation of motivational profiles.

PubMed

Felice Reddy, L; Green, Michael F; Rizzo, Shemra; Sugar, Catherine A; Blanchard, Jack J; Gur, Raquel E; Kring, Ann M; Horan, William P

2014-10-01

Schizophrenia is associated with motivational deficits that interfere with a wide range of goal directed activities. Despite their clinical importance, our current understanding of these motivational impairments is limited. Furthermore, different types of motivational problems are commonly seen among individuals within the broad diagnosis of schizophrenia. The goal of the current study was to examine whether clinically meaningful subgroups could be identified based on approach and avoidance motivational tendencies. We measured these tendencies in 151 individuals with schizophrenia. Although prior studies demonstrate elevated BIS sensitivity in schizophrenia at the overall group level, none have explored various combinations of BIS/BAS sensitivities within this disorder. Cluster analyses yielded five subgroups with different combinations of low, moderate, or high BIS and BAS. The subgroups had interpretable differences in clinically rated negative symptoms and self-reported anhedonia/socio-emotional attitudes, which were not detectable with the more commonly used linear BIS/BAS scores. Two of the subgroups had significantly elevated negative symptoms but different approach/avoidance profiles: one was characterized by markedly low BIS, low BAS and an overall lack of social approach motivation; the other had markedly high BIS but moderate BAS and elevated social avoidance motivation. The two subgroups with relatively good clinical functioning showed patterns of BAS greater than BIS. Our findings indicate that there are distinct motivational pathways that can lead to asociality in schizophrenia and highlight the value of considering profiles based on combined patterns of BIS and BAS in schizophrenia. Published by Elsevier B.V.

PEGylated Self-Assembled Nano-Bacitracin A: Probing the Antibacterial Mechanism and Real-Time Tracing of Target Delivery in Vivo.

PubMed

Hong, Wei; Zhao, Yining; Guo, Yuru; Huang, Chengcheng; Qiu, Peng; Zhu, Jia; Chu, Chun; Shi, Hong; Liu, Mingchun

2018-04-04

Although nano-self-assemblies of hydrophobic-modified bacitracin A with poly(d,l-lactic- co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) (nano-BA PLGA ) have demonstrated promising antibacterial activities, the application of nano-BA PLGA was severely compromised by low water solubility. In this study, a series of PEGylated PLGA copolymers were selected to conjugate with the N-terminus of bacitracin A to construct PEGylated self-assembled nano-BAs and to further develop nano-self-assemblies of bacitracin A with strong antibacterial potency and high solubility. Compared with nano-BA PLGA , all PEGylated nano-BAs, except nano-BA 5k , exhibited strong antibacterial efficiency against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria by inducing loss of cytoplasmic membrane potential, membrane permeabilization, and leakage of calcein from artificial cell membranes. Studies elucidating the underlying mechanism of PEGylated nano-BAs against Gram-negative bacteria indicated that the strong hydrophobic and van der Waals interactions between PLGA and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) could bind, neutralize, and disassociate LPS, facilitating cellular uptake of the nanoparticles, which could destabilize the membrane, resulting in cell death. Moreover, PEGylated nano-BAs (nano-BA 12k ) with a longer PLGA block were expected to occupy a higher local density of BA mass on the surface and result in stronger hydrophobic and van der Waals interactions with LPS, which were responsible for the enhanced antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and emerging antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacteria, respectively. In vivo imaging verified that PEGylated nano-BAs exhibited higher inflammatory tissue distribution and longer circulation time than nano-BA PLGA . Therefore, although PEGylation did not affect antibacterial activity, it is necessary for target delivery and resistance to clearance of the observed PEGylated nano-BAs. In vivo, nano-BA 12k also showed the highest therapeutic index against infection burden in a mouse thigh infection model among the tested formulations, which showed good correlation with the in vitro results. In conclusion, nano-BA 12k showed high efficacy in the treatment of invasive infections. This new approach of constructing nanoantibiotics by modification of commercially available antibiotics with PEGylated copolymers is safe, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly.

Biogenic Amines in Raw and Processed Seafood

PubMed Central

Visciano, Pierina; Schirone, Maria; Tofalo, Rosanna; Suzzi, Giovanna

2012-01-01

The presence of biogenic amines (BAs) in raw and processed seafood, associated with either time/temperature conditions or food technologies is discussed in the present paper from a safety and prevention point of view. In particular, storage temperature, handling practices, presence of microbial populations with decarboxylase activity and availability of free amino acids are considered the most important factors affecting the production of BAs in raw seafood. On the other hand, some food technological treatments such as salting, ripening, fermentation, or marination can increase the levels of BAs in processed seafood. The consumption of high amount of BAs, above all histamine, can result in food borne poisoning which is a worldwide problem. The European Regulation established as maximum limits for histamine, in fishery products from fish species associated with high histidine amounts, values ranging from 100 to 200 mg/kg, while for products which have undergone enzyme maturation treatment in brine, the aforementioned limits rise to 200 and 400 mg/kg. Preventive measures and emerging methods aiming at controlling the production of BAs are also reported for potential application in seafood industries. PMID:22675321

Ca2+-associated triphasic pH changes in mitochondria during brown adipocyte activation.

PubMed

Hou, Yanyan; Kitaguchi, Tetsuya; Kriszt, Rókus; Tseng, Yu-Hua; Raghunath, Michael; Suzuki, Madoka

2017-08-01

Brown adipocytes (BAs) are endowed with a high metabolic capacity for energy expenditure due to their high mitochondria content. While mitochondrial pH is dynamically regulated in response to stimulation and, in return, affects various metabolic processes, how mitochondrial pH is regulated during adrenergic stimulation-induced thermogenesis is unknown. We aimed to reveal the spatial and temporal dynamics of mitochondrial pH in stimulated BAs and the mechanisms behind the dynamic pH changes. A mitochondrial targeted pH-sensitive protein, mito-pHluorin, was constructed and transfected to BAs. Transfected BAs were stimulated by an adrenergic agonist, isoproterenol. The pH changes in mitochondria were characterized by dual-color imaging with indicators that monitor mitochondrial membrane potential and heat production. The mechanisms of pH changes were studied by examining the involvement of electron transport chain (ETC) activity and Ca 2+ profiles in mitochondria and the intracellular Ca 2+ store, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). A triphasic mitochondrial pH change in BAs upon adrenergic stimulation was revealed. In comparison to a thermosensitive dye, we reveal that phases 1 and 2 of the pH increase precede thermogenesis, while phase 3, characterized by a pH decrease, occurs during thermogenesis. The mechanism of pH increase is partially related to ETC. In addition, the pH increase occurs concurrently with an increase in mitochondrial Ca 2+ . This Ca 2+ increase is contributed to by an influx from the ER, and it is further involved in mitochondrial pH regulation. We demonstrate that an increase in mitochondrial pH is implicated as an early event in adrenergically stimulated BAs. We further suggest that this pH increase may play a role in the potentiation of thermogenesis.

Influence of trait behavioral inhibition and behavioral approach motivation systems on the LPP and frontal asymmetry to anger pictures.

PubMed

Gable, Philip A; Poole, Bryan D

2014-02-01

Behavioral approach and avoidance are fundamental to the experience of emotion and motivation, but the motivational system associated with anger is not well established. Some theories posit that approach motivational processes underlie anger, whereas others posit that avoidance motivational processes underlie anger. The current experiment sought to address whether traits related to behavioral approach or avoidance influence responses to anger stimuli using multiple measures: ERP, electroencephalographic (EEG) α-asymmetry and self-report. After completing the behavioral inhibition system/behavioral approach system (BIS/BAS) scales, participants viewed anger pictures and neutral pictures. BAS predicted larger late positive potentials (LPPs) to anger pictures, but not to neutral pictures. In addition, BAS predicted greater left-frontal asymmetry to anger pictures. Moreover, larger LPPs to anger pictures related to greater left-frontal EEG asymmetry during anger pictures. These results suggest that trait approach motivation relates to neurophysiological responses of anger.

Influence of trait behavioral inhibition and behavioral approach motivation systems on the LPP and frontal asymmetry to anger pictures

PubMed Central

Poole, Bryan D.

2014-01-01

Behavioral approach and avoidance are fundamental to the experience of emotion and motivation, but the motivational system associated with anger is not well established. Some theories posit that approach motivational processes underlie anger, whereas others posit that avoidance motivational processes underlie anger. The current experiment sought to address whether traits related to behavioral approach or avoidance influence responses to anger stimuli using multiple measures: ERP, electroencephalographic (EEG) α-asymmetry and self-report. After completing the behavioral inhibition system/behavioral approach system (BIS/BAS) scales, participants viewed anger pictures and neutral pictures. BAS predicted larger late positive potentials (LPPs) to anger pictures, but not to neutral pictures. In addition, BAS predicted greater left-frontal asymmetry to anger pictures. Moreover, larger LPPs to anger pictures related to greater left-frontal EEG asymmetry during anger pictures. These results suggest that trait approach motivation relates to neurophysiological responses of anger. PMID:23175676

Approach and withdrawal motivation in schizophrenia: an examination of frontal brain asymmetric activity.

PubMed

Horan, William P; Wynn, Jonathan K; Mathis, Ian; Miller, Gregory A; Green, Michael F

2014-01-01

Although motivational disturbances are common in schizophrenia, their neurophysiological and psychological basis is poorly understood. This electroencephalography (EEG) study examined the well-established motivational direction model of asymmetric frontal brain activity in schizophrenia. According to this model, relative left frontal activity in the resting EEG reflects enhanced approach motivation tendencies, whereas relative right frontal activity reflects enhanced withdrawal motivation tendencies. Twenty-five schizophrenia outpatients and 25 healthy controls completed resting EEG assessments of frontal asymmetry in the alpha frequency band (8-12 Hz), as well as a self-report measure of behavioral activation and inhibition system (BIS/BAS) sensitivity. Patients showed an atypical pattern of differences from controls. On the EEG measure patients failed to show the left lateralized activity that was present in controls, suggesting diminished approach motivation. On the self-report measure, patients reported higher BIS sensitivity than controls, which is typically interpreted as heightened withdrawal motivation. EEG asymmetry scores did not significantly correlate with BIS/BAS scores or with clinical symptom ratings among patients. The overall pattern suggests a motivational disturbance in schizophrenia characterized by elements of both diminished approach and elevated withdrawal tendencies.

Progression along the Bipolar Spectrum: A Longitudinal Study of Predictors of Conversion from Bipolar Spectrum Conditions to Bipolar I and II Disorders

PubMed Central

Alloy, Lauren B.; Urošević, Snežana; Abramson, Lyn Y.; Jager-Hyman, Shari; Nusslock, Robin; Whitehouse, Wayne G.; Hogan, Michael

2011-01-01

Little longitudinal research has examined progression to more severe bipolar disorders in individuals with “soft” bipolar spectrum conditions. We examine rates and predictors of progression to bipolar I and II diagnoses in a non-patient sample of college-age participants (n = 201) with high General Behavior Inventory scores and childhood or adolescent onset of “soft” bipolar spectrum disorders followed longitudinally for 4.5 years from the Longitudinal Investigation of Bipolar Spectrum (LIBS) project. Of 57 individuals with initial cyclothymia or bipolar disorder not otherwise specified (BiNOS) diagnoses, 42.1% progressed to a bipolar II diagnosis and 10.5% progressed to a bipolar I diagnosis. Of 144 individuals with initial bipolar II diagnoses, 17.4% progressed to a bipolar I diagnosis. Consistent with hypotheses derived from the clinical literature and the Behavioral Approach System (BAS) model of bipolar disorder, and controlling for relevant variables (length of follow-up, initial depressive and hypomanic symptoms, treatment-seeking, and family history), high BAS sensitivity (especially BAS Fun Seeking) predicted a greater likelihood of progression to bipolar II disorder, whereas early age of onset and high impulsivity predicted a greater likelihood of progression to bipolar I (high BAS sensitivity and Fun-Seeking also predicted progression to bipolar I when family history was not controlled). The interaction of high BAS and high Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) sensitivities also predicted greater likelihood of progression to bipolar I. We discuss implications of the findings for the bipolar spectrum concept, the BAS model of bipolar disorder, and early intervention efforts. PMID:21668080

Scientific foundation of regulating ionizing radiation: application of metrics for evaluation of regulatory science information.

PubMed

Moghissi, A Alan; Gerraa, Vikrham Kumar; McBride, Dennis K; Swetnam, Michael

2014-11-01

This paper starts by describing the historical evolution of assessment of biologic effects of ionizing radiation leading to the linear non-threshold (LNT) system currently used to regulate exposure to ionizing radiation. The paper describes briefly the concept of Best Available Science (BAS) and Metrics for Evaluation of Scientific Claims (MESC) derived for BAS. It identifies three phases of regulatory science consisting of the initial phase, when the regulators had to develop regulations without having the needed scientific information; the exploratory phase, when relevant tools were developed; and the standard operating phase, when the tools were applied to regulations. Subsequently, an attempt is made to apply the BAS/MESC system to various stages of LNT. This paper then compares the exposure limits imposed by regulatory agencies and also compares them with naturally occurring radiation at several cities. Controversies about LNT are addressed, including judgments of the U.S. National Academies and their French counterpart. The paper concludes that, based on the BAS/MESC system, there is no disagreement between the two academies on the scientific foundation of LNT; instead, the disagreement is based on their judgment or speculation.

The Surgical Personality: Does Surgery Resident Motivation Predict Attrition?

PubMed

Symer, Matthew M; Abelson, Jonathan S; Yeo, Heather L; Sosa, Julie A; Rosenthal, M Zachary

2018-05-01

There is limited understanding of the wide variation in attrition rates among general surgery residencies. We used the validated Behavior Inhibitory System/Behavior Approach System (BIS/BAS) instrument to compare motivational traits among residents who did and not complete surgical training. All US general surgery categorical interns in the class of 2007-2008 were surveyed with a validated motivational trait assessment tool. American Board of Surgery records from 2008-2016 were used to determine who completed training. Motivation, an aspect of personality, was assessed with the BIS/BAS, which correlates with an individual's tendency to approach pleasant stimuli (BAS) or avoid negative stimuli (BIS). Subscale mean scores were compared with regard to the primary end point, attrition. Eight hundred and one (76.5%) interns completed the survey and had matching records. Six hundred and forty-five (80.5%) completed training. Men had lower scores than women in the BAS Drive subscale (12.0 vs 12.5; p < 0.002), BAS Reward Response subscale (17.2 vs 17.7; p < 0.01), and BIS scale (19.3 vs 20.9; p < 0.01). The BAS Reward Response scores differed based on program type (academic 17.3 vs community 17.6 vs military 16.6; p < 0.0027). There were no differences based on program size (BIS average, small program 19.9 vs large program 19.7; p = 0.43). There were also no differences in BIS/BAS subscale scores based on residency completion status (BIS mean: completed 19.9 vs dropped out 20.1; p = 0.51). Surgery residents are characterized by a strong drive and persistence toward their goals. However, residents who drop out do not differ from those who complete training in their motivational personality traits. Copyright © 2018 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Temperament and risk for exercise dependence: results of a pilot study in female patients with eating disorders compared to elite athletes.

PubMed

Müller, Astrid; Claes, Laurence; Wos, Katharina; Kerling, Arno; Wünsch-Leiteritz, Wally; Cook, Brian; de Zwaan, Martina

2015-01-01

The present pilot study investigated the relationship between temperament and the risk for exercise dependence (EXD). A total of 32 female patients with eating disorders (potentially at risk for secondary EXD) and 29 female elite athletes without eating disturbances (potentially at risk for primary EXD) answered the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q), the Exercise Dependence Scale-German version (EDS-G), the Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Activation System (BIS/BAS) scales, and the effortful control subscale of the Adult Temperament Questionnaire (ATQ-EC). There were significant positive correlations of the EDS-G with the BIS in women with an eating disorder and with the BAS in elite athletes. No significant association was found between the EDS-G and effortful control. The results indicate that the risk for EXD is associated with avoidance tendencies in women with eating disorders and with approach tendencies in elite athletes. Implications for secondary and primary EXD are discussed. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Sensitivity to reward is associated with snack and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in adolescents.

PubMed

De Cock, Nathalie; Van Lippevelde, Wendy; Vervoort, Leentje; Vangeel, Jolien; Maes, Lea; Eggermont, Steven; Braet, Caroline; Lachat, Carl; Huybregts, Lieven; Goossens, Lien; Beullens, Kathleen; Kolsteren, Patrick; Van Camp, John

2016-06-01

High intake of palatable foods, such as energy-dense snacks and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), is common among adolescents. An individual's sensitivity to reward (SR) may influence these intakes. The main objective of this study was to investigate the association between SR and both snack and SSB intake among adolescents. A representative cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1104 14- to 16-year-olds (mean age = 14.7 ± 0.8 years; 50.9 % boys; 18.0 % overweight) in Flanders. Daily intakes were measured by a food frequency questionnaire. SR was assessed using the behavioral activation system (BAS) scales. Multilevel regression analyses (two level: adolescent school) were conducted using STATA version 13. BAS drive was positively associated with daily intakes of SSBs (13.79 %, p < 0.01), unhealthy snacks (5.42 %, p < 0.001), and energy and nutrients derived from SSBs (p < 0.001) and snacks (p < 0.01). BAS reward responsiveness (RR) was only positively associated with intake of unhealthy snacks (3.85 %, p < 0.05), healthy snacks (6.41 %, p < 0.05), and fat (4.05 %, p < 0.01) and Na (3.89 %, p < 0.05) from snacks. Interaction effects of gender and BAS RR (p < 0.05) were found. Significant positive associations between BAS RR and daily intakes of energy from snacks (6.48 %, p < 0.01) and fat from snacks (7.22 %, p < 0.001) were found only for girls. SR was associated with snack and SSB consumption in adolescents, especially in girls. These findings suggest that SR should be taken into account when designing interventions to improve the snack and SSB intake of adolescents.

Computer-aided discovery of biological activity spectra for anti-aging and anti-cancer olive oil oleuropeins.

PubMed

Corominas-Faja, Bruna; Santangelo, Elvira; Cuyàs, Elisabet; Micol, Vicente; Joven, Jorge; Ariza, Xavier; Segura-Carretero, Antonio; García, Jordi; Menendez, Javier A

2014-09-01

Aging is associated with common conditions, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer's disease. The type of multi-targeted pharmacological approach necessary to address a complex multifaceted disease such as aging might take advantage of pleiotropic natural polyphenols affecting a wide variety of biological processes. We have recently postulated that the secoiridoids oleuropein aglycone (OA) and decarboxymethyl oleuropein aglycone (DOA), two complex polyphenols present in health-promoting extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), might constitute a new family of plant-produced gerosuppressant agents. This paper describes an analysis of the biological activity spectra (BAS) of OA and DOA using PASS (Prediction of Activity Spectra for Substances) software. PASS can predict thousands of biological activities, as the BAS of a compound is an intrinsic property that is largely dependent on the compound's structure and reflects pharmacological effects, physiological and biochemical mechanisms of action, and specific toxicities. Using Pharmaexpert, a tool that analyzes the PASS-predicted BAS of substances based on thousands of "mechanism-effect" and "effect-mechanism" relationships, we illuminate hypothesis-generating pharmacological effects, mechanisms of action, and targets that might underlie the anti-aging/anti-cancer activities of the gerosuppressant EVOO oleuropeins.

Behavioral and Neural Inhibitory Control Moderates the Effects of Reward Sensitivity on Adolescent Substance Use

PubMed Central

Kim-Spoon, Jungmeen; Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Holmes, Christopher; Lee, Jacob; Chiu, Pearl; King-Casas, Brooks

2016-01-01

The developmental period of adolescence is characterized by increasing incidence of health risk behaviors, including experimenting with drugs and alcohol. We examined how inhibitory control interacts with reward and punishment sensitivity to predict substance use severity and age of onset among early adolescents. The sample was comprised of 157 early adolescents (13-14 years of age, 52% male). Composite scores for behavioral activation system (BAS), behavioral inhibition system (BIS), and substance use severity and onset were computed using adolescents’ questionnaire data, and inhibitory control was assessed based on adolescents’ behavioral performance and brain imaging during the Multiple Source Interference Task (MSIT). Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that for both behavioral performance and neural activity indicators of inhibitory control, high levels of BAS predicted earlier onset of substance use among adolescents with low inhibitory control—but not among adolescents with high inhibitory control. BIS was not related to substance use severity and onset among adolescents. The results support the theoretically hypothesized moderating role of inhibitory control and its associated frontal cortex functioning, and offer new insights into the identification of adolescents with neurobehavioral vulnerabilities to developing maladaptive substance use behaviors. PMID:27580969

Multi-dimensional correlates of Internet addiction symptoms in adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

PubMed

Chou, Wen-Jiun; Liu, Tai-Ling; Yang, Pinchen; Yen, Cheng-Fang; Hu, Huei-Fan

2015-01-30

This study examined the associations of the severity of Internet addiction symptoms with reinforcement sensitivity, family factors, Internet activities, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms among adolescents in Taiwan diagnosed with ADHD. A total of 287 adolescents diagnosed with ADHD and aged between 11 and 18 years participated in this study. Their levels of Internet addiction symptoms, ADHD symptoms, reinforcement sensitivity, family factors, and various Internet activities in which the participants engaged were assessed. The correlates of the severities of Internet addiction symptoms were determined using multiple regression analyses. The results indicated that low satisfaction with family relationships was the strongest factor predicting severe Internet addiction symptoms, followed by using instant messaging, watching movies, high Behavioral Approach System (BAS) fun seeking, and high Behavioral Inhibition System scores. Meanwhile, low paternal occupational SES, low BAS drive, and online gaming were also significantly associated with severe Internet addiction symptoms. Multiple factors are significantly associated with the severity of Internet addiction symptoms among adolescents with ADHD. Clinicians, educational professionals, and parents of adolescents with ADHD should monitor the Internet use of adolescents who exhibit the factors identified in this study. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Performance assessment of imaging plates for the JHR transfer Neutron Imaging System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simon, E.; Guimbal, P. AB(; )

2018-01-01

The underwater Neutron Imaging System to be installed in the Jules Horowitz Reactor (JHR-NIS) is based on a transfer method using a neutron activated beta-emitter like Dysprosium. The information stored in the converter is to be offline transferred on a specific imaging system, still to be defined. Solutions are currently under investigation for the JHR-NIS in order to anticipate the disappearance of radiographic films commonly used in these applications. We report here the performance assessment of Computed Radiography imagers (Imaging Plates) performed at LLB/Orphée (CEA Saclay). Several imaging plate types are studied, in one hand in the configuration involving an intimate contact with an activated dysprosium foil converter: Fuji BAS-TR, Fuji UR-1 and Carestream Flex XL Blue imaging plates, and in the other hand by using a prototypal imaging plate doped with dysprosium and thus not needing any contact with a separate converter foil. The results for these imaging plates are compared with those obtained with gadolinium doped imaging plate used in direct neutron imaging (Fuji BAS-ND). The detection performances of the different imagers are compared regarding resolution and noise. The many advantages of using imaging plates over radiographic films (high sensitivity, linear response, high dynamic range) could palliate its lower intrinsic resolution.

A Comparison of Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory Measures: Unique Associations With Social Interaction Anxiety and Social Observation Anxiety.

PubMed

Kramer, Sam L; Rodriguez, Benjamin F

2018-07-01

Evidence suggests that the behavior inhibition system (BIS) and fight-flight-freeze system play a role in the individual differences seen in social anxiety disorder; however, findings concerning the role of the behavior approach system (BAS) have been mixed. To date, the role of revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) subsystems underlying social anxiety has been measured with scales designed for the original RST. This study examined how the BIS, BAS, and fight, flight, freeze components of the fight-flight-freeze system uniquely relate to social interaction anxiety and social observation anxiety using both a measure specifically designed for the revised RST and a commonly used original RST measure. Comparison of regression analyses with the Jackson-5 and the commonly used BIS/BAS Scales revealed important differences in the relationships between RST subsystems and social anxiety depending on how RST was assessed. Limitations and future directions for revised RST measurement are discussed.

Gas-pressure chemical vapor transport growth of millimeter-sized c-BAs single crystals with moderate thermal conductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xing, Jie; Glaser, Evan R.; Song, Bai; Culbertson, James C.; Freitas, Jaime A.; Duncan, Ryan A.; Nelson, Keith A.; Chen, Gang; Ni, Ni

2018-06-01

We have grown c-BAs single crystals up to 1000 μm size by the chemical vapor transport (CVT) technique using combined As and I2 transport agents with the As:I ratio of 1:3 under gas pressures of up to 35 atm. Raman spectroscopy revealed a very sharp (˜2.4 cm-1) P1 phonon mode and an interesting splitting behavior of P1 from detailed polarization studies. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) experiments revealed no evidence for EPR active growth-related defects under the experimental resolution. Finally, a moderate thermal conductivity value of ˜132 W/m-K was obtained using a transient thermal grating technique. These results suggest that although the high As gas vapor pressure environment in CVT growth can increase the transport rate of c-BAs significantly, it may not be efficient in reducing the defects and enhancing the thermal conductivity in c-BAs significantly.

A wide diversity of bacteria from the human gut produces and degrades biogenic amines.

PubMed

Pugin, Benoit; Barcik, Weronika; Westermann, Patrick; Heider, Anja; Wawrzyniak, Marcin; Hellings, Peter; Akdis, Cezmi A; O'Mahony, Liam

2017-01-01

Background : Biogenic amines (BAs) are metabolites produced by the decarboxylation of amino acids with significant physiological functions in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. BAs can be produced by bacteria in fermented foods, but little is known concerning the potential for microbes within the human gut microbiota to produce or degrade BAs. Objective : To isolate and identify BA-producing and BA-degrading microbes from the human gastrointestinal tract. Design : Fecal samples from human volunteers were screened on multiple growth media, under multiple growth conditions. Bacterial species were identified using 16S rRNA sequencing and BA production or degradation was assessed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography. Results : In total, 74 BA-producing or BA-degrading strains were isolated from the human gut. These isolates belong to the genera Bifidobacterium , Clostridium , Enterococcus , Lactobacillus , Pediococcus , Streptococcus , Enterobacter , Escherichia , Klebsiella , Morganella and Proteus . While differences in production or degradation of specific BAs were observed at the strain level, our results suggest that these metabolic activities are widely spread across different taxa present within the human gut microbiota. Conclusions : The isolation and identification of microbes from the human gut with BA-producing and BA-degrading metabolic activity is an important first step in developing a better understanding of how these metabolites influence health and disease.

Entrapped Single Tungstate Site in Zeolite for Cooperative Catalysis of Olefin Metathesis with Brønsted Acid Site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhao, Pu; Ye, Lin; Sun, Zhenyu

Industrial olefin metathesis catalysts generally suffer from low reaction rates and require harsh reaction conditions for moderate activities. This is due to their inability to prevent metathesis active sites (MAS) from aggregation and their intrinsic poor adsorption and activation of olefin molecules. Here, isolated tungstate species as single molecular MAS is immobilized inside zeolite pores by Bronsted acid sites (BAS) on the inner surface. It is demonstrated for the first time that unoccupied BAS in atomic proximity to MAS enhance olefin adsorption and greatly facilitate the formation of metallocycle intermediates in a stereospecific manner. Thus, effective cooperative catalysis takes placemore » over the BAS-MAS pair. In consequence, for the cross-metathesis of ethene and trans-2-butene to propene, under the same mild reaction conditions, the propene production rate over WOx/USY is ca. 7,300 times that over the industrial WO3/SiO2 based catalyst. A propene yield up to 79% (80% selectivity) without observable deactivation was obtained over WOx/USY for a wide range of reaction conditions.« less

BAS-drive trait modulates dorsomedial striatum activity during reward response-outcome associations.

PubMed

Costumero, Víctor; Barrós-Loscertales, Alfonso; Fuentes, Paola; Rosell-Negre, Patricia; Bustamante, Juan Carlos; Ávila, César

2016-09-01

According to the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory, behavioral studies have found that individuals with stronger reward sensitivity easily detect cues of reward and establish faster associations between instrumental responses and reward. Neuroimaging studies have shown that processing anticipatory cues of reward is accompanied by stronger ventral striatum activity in individuals with stronger reward sensitivity. Even though establishing response-outcome contingencies has been consistently associated with dorsal striatum, individual differences in this process are poorly understood. Here, we aimed to study the relation between reward sensitivity and brain activity while processing response-reward contingencies. Forty-five participants completed the BIS/BAS questionnaire and performed a gambling task paradigm in which they received monetary rewards or punishments. Overall, our task replicated previous results that have related processing high reward outcomes with activation of striatum and medial frontal areas, whereas processing high punishment outcomes was associated with stronger activity in insula and middle cingulate. As expected, the individual differences in the activity of dorsomedial striatum correlated positively with BAS-Drive. Our results agree with previous studies that have related the dorsomedial striatum with instrumental performance, and suggest that the individual differences in this area may form part of the neural substrate responsible for modulating instrumental conditioning by reward sensitivity.

Full scale implementation of the nutrient limited BAS process at Södra Cell Värö.

PubMed

Malmqvist, A; Berggren, B; Sjölin, C; Welander, T; Heuts, L; Fransén, A; Ling, D

2004-01-01

A combination of the suspended carrier biofilm process and the activated sludge process (biofilm-activated sludge--BAS) has been shown to be very successful for the treatment of different types of pulp and paper mill effluents. The robust biofilm pre-treatment in combination with activated sludge results in a stable, compact and highly efficient process. Recent findings have shown that nutrient limited operation of the biofilm process greatly improves the sludge characteristics in the following activated sludge stage, while minimising sludge production and effluent discharge of nutrients. The nutrient limited BAS process was implemented at full scale at the Södra Cell Värö kraft mill and taken into operation in July 2002. After start-up and optimisation over about 5 months, the process meets all effluent discharge limits. The removal of COD is close to 70% and the removal of EDTA greater than 90%. Typical effluent concentrations of suspended solids and nutrients during stable operations have been 20-30 mg/L TSS, 0.3-0.5 mg/L phosphorus and 3-5 mg/L nitrogen. The sludge production was 0.09 kgSS/kg COD removed and the sludge volume index was 50-100 mL/g.

The relations of motivational traits with workplace deviance.

PubMed

Diefendorff, James M; Mehta, Kajal

2007-07-01

The authors developed and tested new theoretical relations between approach and avoidance motivational traits and deviant work behaviors. Approach motivation was divided into 3 traits: personal mastery (i.e., desire to achieve), competitive excellence (i.e., desire to perform better than others), and behavioral activation system (BAS) sensitivity (i.e., responsiveness to rewards). Avoidance motivation, which reflects one's sensitivity to negative stimuli and the desire to escape such stimuli, was conceptualized as a unitary construct. Using structural equation modeling, the authors examined the relations of these 4 motivational traits with interpersonal and organizational deviance in a sample of primarily part-time employees. For the approach motivation traits, results showed that personal mastery was negatively related to interpersonal and organizational deviance, BAS sensitivity was positively related to interpersonal and organizational deviance, and competitive excellence was unrelated to both types of workplace deviance. Finally, avoidance motivation was positively related to organizational deviance and interacted with organizational constraints to predict interpersonal deviance.

Green tea flavour determinants and their changes over manufacturing processes.

PubMed

Han, Zhuo-Xiao; Rana, Mohammad M; Liu, Guo-Feng; Gao, Ming-Jun; Li, Da-Xiang; Wu, Fu-Guang; Li, Xin-Bao; Wan, Xiao-Chun; Wei, Shu

2016-12-01

Flavour determinants in tea infusions and their changes during manufacturing processes were studied using Camellia sinensis cultivars 'Bai-Sang Cha' ('BAS') possessing significant floral scents and 'Fuding-Dabai Cha' ('FUD') with common green tea odour. Metabolite profiling based on odour activity threshold revealed that 'BAS' contained higher levels of the active odorants β-ionone, linalool and its two oxides, geraniol, epoxylinalool, decanal and taste determinant catechins than 'FUD' (p<0.05). Enhanced transcription of some terpenoid and catechin biosynthetic genes in 'BAS' suggested genetically enhanced production of those flavour compounds. Due to manufacturing processes, the levels of linalool and geraniol decreased whereas those of β-ionone, linalool oxides, indole and cis-jasmone increased. Compared with pan-fire treatment, steam treatment reduced the levels of catechins and proportion of geraniol, linalool and its derivatives, consequently, reducing catechin-related astringency and monoterpenol-related floral scent. Our study suggests that flavour determinant targeted modulation could be made through genotype and manufacturing improvements. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cytosol-nucleus traffic and colocalization with FXR of conjugated bile acids in rat hepatocytes.

PubMed

Monte, Maria J; Rosales, Ruben; Macias, Rocio I R; Iannota, Valeria; Martinez-Fernandez, Almudena; Romero, Marta R; Hofmann, Alan F; Marin, Jose J G

2008-07-01

Bile acids (BAs) are natural ligands of nuclear receptors, in particular farnesoid X receptor (FXR). Whether, in addition to protein-mediated cytosolic-nuclear BA translocation, other mechanisms are involved in the access of BAs to nuclear FXR was investigated. When rat hepatocytes were incubated with radiolabeled taurocholic acid, taurodeoxycholic acid, taurochenodeoxycholic acid, and tauroursodeoxycholic acid, their nuclear accumulation was proportional to their intracellular levels. With the use of flow cytometry analysis, the accumulation by nuclei isolated from rat liver cells was found to differ for several fluorescent compounds of similar molecular weight and different charge, including fluorescein-tagged BAs [cholylglycyl amidofluorescein (CGamF), ursodeoxycholylglycyl amidofluorescein, or chenodeoxycholylglycyl amidofluorescein]. When we varied nuclear volume by incubation with different sucrose concentrations, a similar relationship between nuclear volume and content of FITC and 4-kDa FITC-dextran was found. In contrast, this relationship was markedly lower for CGamF. Confocal microscopy studies revealed that fluorescein-tagged BAs, but also FITC or 10-kDa FITC-dextran were found in the nuclear envelope and concentrated in regions where DNA was less densely packed. In contrast to the cytosolic subcellular localization of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha, FXR and nucleolin (a marker of transcriptional active chromatin) were also localized by immunoreactivity in these intranuclear regions. In conclusion, although intranuclear levels of small organic molecules including conjugated BAs depend on their concentrations in the extranuclear space, the existence of certain molecular selectivity (not strictly dependent on molecular weight or charge) suggests that, in addition to simple diffusional exchange, other mechanisms may be also involved in determining their overall nuclear content in regions where these compounds coincide and may interact with nuclear receptors such as FXR.

Enabling VOLTTRON: Energy Management of Commercial Buildings at the University of Maryland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebhojiaye, Itohan Omisi

Buildings waste approximately 30% of energy they consume due to inefficient HVAC and lighting operation. Building Automation Systems (BAS) can aid in reducing such wasted energy, but 90% of U.S. commercial buildings lack a BAS due to their high capital costs. This thesis demonstrates how VOLTTRON, an open source operating system developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, was used to disable the mechanical cooling of a rooftop unit (RTU) during unoccupied hours, on a building without a BAS. With cooling off, the RTU's electricity dropped from 18 kW to 7kW. These results indicate 450 to 550 can be saved on the monthly electric bill of the building during the summer, compared to when the RTU operated in cooling mode continuously. The installation cost of the equipment that enabled the RTU to be controlled via VOLTTRON was $6,400, thus the project has a payback period of 13 months.

On the differentiation of N2 components in an appetitive choice task: evidence for the revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory.

PubMed

Leue, Anja; Chavanon, Mira-Lynn; Wacker, Jan; Stemmler, Gerhard

2009-11-01

Task- and personality-related modulations of the N2 were probed within the framework of the revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST). Using an appetitive choice task, we investigated 58 students with extreme scores on the behavioral inhibition system and behavioral approach system (BIS/BAS) scales. The baseline-to-peak N2 amplitude was sensitive to the strength of decision conflict and demonstrated RST-related personality differences. In addition to the baseline N2 amplitude, temporal PCA results suggested two N2 components accounting for a laterality effect and capturing different N2 patterns for BIS/BAS groups with increasing conflict level. Evidence for RST-related personality differences was obtained for baseline-to-peak N2 and tPCA components in the present task. The results support the RST prediction that BAS sensitivity modulates conflict processing and confirm the cognitive-motivational conflict concept of RST.

Impacts of motivational valence on the error-related negativity elicited by full and partial errors.

PubMed

Maruo, Yuya; Schacht, Annekathrin; Sommer, Werner; Masaki, Hiroaki

2016-02-01

Affect and motivation influence the error-related negativity (ERN) elicited by full errors; however, it is unknown whether they also influence ERNs to correct responses accompanied by covert incorrect response activation (partial errors). Here we compared a neutral condition with conditions, where correct responses were rewarded or where incorrect responses were punished with gains and losses of small amounts of money, respectively. Data analysis distinguished ERNs elicited by full and partial errors. In the reward and punishment conditions, ERN amplitudes to both full and partial errors were larger than in the neutral condition, confirming participants' sensitivity to the significance of errors. We also investigated the relationships between ERN amplitudes and the behavioral inhibition and activation systems (BIS/BAS). Regardless of reward/punishment condition, participants scoring higher on BAS showed smaller ERN amplitudes in full error trials. These findings provide further evidence that the ERN is related to motivational valence and that similar relationships hold for both full and partial errors. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Experience in the use of anti-colibacillus and Proteus lactoglobulin as a supplement to milk products in diet therapy at a specialized childrens' collective].

PubMed

Soboleva, S V; Zlatnik, E Ia; Mineeva, L D; Kaplin, M M; Shamanova, G P

1989-01-01

A new biologically active supplement (BAS) for infant food was tested at an Infant's Home. BAS-IG contains lactoglobulin, an immune preparation against colibacillus and Proteus. During the primary examination of the infants in the Infant's Home intestinal dysbacteriosis was revealed in 100% of the infants, clinical signs of dysbacteriosis were detected in 88.4% of the infants. Two successive courses of feeding the infants with products enriched with the new supplement resulted in a significant improvement of the microflora composition in them and in normalizing their clinical condition. At the same time positive changes in a number of immunological factors were recorded. The authors have recommended using BAS-IG for correction of dysbacteriosis in children at Infant's Homes.

Inhibition of ice recrystallization and cryoprotective activity of wheat proteins in liver and pancreatic cells

PubMed Central

Chow‐Shi‐Yée, Mélanie; Briard, Jennie G.; Grondin, Mélanie; Averill‐Bates, Diana A.

2016-01-01

Abstract Efficient cryopreservation of cells at ultralow temperatures requires the use of substances that help maintain viability and metabolic functions post‐thaw. We are developing new technology where plant proteins are used to substitute the commonly‐used, but relatively toxic chemical dimethyl sulfoxide. Recombinant forms of four structurally diverse wheat proteins, TaIRI‐2 (ice recrystallization inhibition), TaBAS1 (2‐Cys peroxiredoxin), WCS120 (dehydrin), and TaENO (enolase) can efficiently cryopreserve hepatocytes and insulin‐secreting INS832/13 cells. This study shows that TaIRI‐2 and TaENO are internalized during the freeze–thaw process, while TaBAS1 and WCS120 remain at the extracellular level. Possible antifreeze activity of the four proteins was assessed. The “splat cooling” method for quantifying ice recrystallization inhibition activity (a property that characterizes antifreeze proteins) revealed that TaIRI‐2 and TaENO are more potent than TaBAS1 and WCS120. Because of their ability to inhibit ice recrystallization, the wheat recombinant proteins TaIRI‐2 and TaENO are promising candidates and could prove useful to improve cryopreservation protocols for hepatocytes and insulin‐secreting cells, and possibly other cell types. TaENO does not have typical ice‐binding domains, and the TargetFreeze tool did not predict an antifreeze capacity, suggesting the existence of nontypical antifreeze domains. The fact that TaBAS1 is an efficient cryoprotectant but does not show antifreeze activity indicates a different mechanism of action. The cryoprotective properties conferred by WCS120 depend on biochemical properties that remain to be determined. Overall, our results show that the proteins' efficiencies vary between cell types, and confirm that a combination of different protection mechanisms is needed to successfully cryopreserve mammalian cells. PMID:26889747

Inhibition of ice recrystallization and cryoprotective activity of wheat proteins in liver and pancreatic cells.

PubMed

Chow-Shi-Yée, Mélanie; Briard, Jennie G; Grondin, Mélanie; Averill-Bates, Diana A; Ben, Robert N; Ouellet, François

2016-05-01

Efficient cryopreservation of cells at ultralow temperatures requires the use of substances that help maintain viability and metabolic functions post-thaw. We are developing new technology where plant proteins are used to substitute the commonly-used, but relatively toxic chemical dimethyl sulfoxide. Recombinant forms of four structurally diverse wheat proteins, TaIRI-2 (ice recrystallization inhibition), TaBAS1 (2-Cys peroxiredoxin), WCS120 (dehydrin), and TaENO (enolase) can efficiently cryopreserve hepatocytes and insulin-secreting INS832/13 cells. This study shows that TaIRI-2 and TaENO are internalized during the freeze-thaw process, while TaBAS1 and WCS120 remain at the extracellular level. Possible antifreeze activity of the four proteins was assessed. The "splat cooling" method for quantifying ice recrystallization inhibition activity (a property that characterizes antifreeze proteins) revealed that TaIRI-2 and TaENO are more potent than TaBAS1 and WCS120. Because of their ability to inhibit ice recrystallization, the wheat recombinant proteins TaIRI-2 and TaENO are promising candidates and could prove useful to improve cryopreservation protocols for hepatocytes and insulin-secreting cells, and possibly other cell types. TaENO does not have typical ice-binding domains, and the TargetFreeze tool did not predict an antifreeze capacity, suggesting the existence of nontypical antifreeze domains. The fact that TaBAS1 is an efficient cryoprotectant but does not show antifreeze activity indicates a different mechanism of action. The cryoprotective properties conferred by WCS120 depend on biochemical properties that remain to be determined. Overall, our results show that the proteins' efficiencies vary between cell types, and confirm that a combination of different protection mechanisms is needed to successfully cryopreserve mammalian cells. © 2016 The Protein Society.

Calibration of Fuji BAS-SR type imaging plate as high spatial resolution x-ray radiography recorder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Ji; Zheng, Jianhua; Zhang, Xing; Chen, Li; Wei, Minxi

2017-05-01

Image Plates as x-ray recorder have advantages including reusable, high dynamic range, large active area, and so on. In this work, Fuji BAS-SR type image plate combined with BAS-5000 scanner is calibrated. The fade rates of Image Plates has been measured using x-ray diffractometric in different room temperature; the spectral response of Image Plates has been measured using 241Am radioactive sealed source and fitting with linear model; the spatial resolution of Image Plates has been measured using micro-focus x-ray tube. The results show that Image Plates has an exponent decade curve and double absorption edge response curve. The spatial resolution of Image Plates with 25μ/50μ scanner resolution is 6.5lp/mm, 11.9lp/mm respectively and gold grid radiography is collected with 80lp/mm spatial resolution using SR-type Image Plates. BAS-SR type Image Plates can do high spatial resolution and quantitative radiographic works. It can be widely used in High energy density physics (HEDP), inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and laboratory astronomy physics.

Synchronization and Inter-Layer Interactions of Noise-Driven Neural Networks

PubMed Central

Yuniati, Anis; Mai, Te-Lun; Chen, Chi-Ming

2017-01-01

In this study, we used the Hodgkin-Huxley (HH) model of neurons to investigate the phase diagram of a developing single-layer neural network and that of a network consisting of two weakly coupled neural layers. These networks are noise driven and learn through the spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) or the inverse STDP rules. We described how these networks transited from a non-synchronous background activity state (BAS) to a synchronous firing state (SFS) by varying the network connectivity and the learning efficacy. In particular, we studied the interaction between a SFS layer and a BAS layer, and investigated how synchronous firing dynamics was induced in the BAS layer. We further investigated the effect of the inter-layer interaction on a BAS to SFS repair mechanism by considering three types of neuron positioning (random, grid, and lognormal distributions) and two types of inter-layer connections (random and preferential connections). Among these scenarios, we concluded that the repair mechanism has the largest effect for a network with the lognormal neuron positioning and the preferential inter-layer connections. PMID:28197088

Synchronization and Inter-Layer Interactions of Noise-Driven Neural Networks.

PubMed

Yuniati, Anis; Mai, Te-Lun; Chen, Chi-Ming

2017-01-01

In this study, we used the Hodgkin-Huxley (HH) model of neurons to investigate the phase diagram of a developing single-layer neural network and that of a network consisting of two weakly coupled neural layers. These networks are noise driven and learn through the spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) or the inverse STDP rules. We described how these networks transited from a non-synchronous background activity state (BAS) to a synchronous firing state (SFS) by varying the network connectivity and the learning efficacy. In particular, we studied the interaction between a SFS layer and a BAS layer, and investigated how synchronous firing dynamics was induced in the BAS layer. We further investigated the effect of the inter-layer interaction on a BAS to SFS repair mechanism by considering three types of neuron positioning (random, grid, and lognormal distributions) and two types of inter-layer connections (random and preferential connections). Among these scenarios, we concluded that the repair mechanism has the largest effect for a network with the lognormal neuron positioning and the preferential inter-layer connections.

Endovascular Embolization of Bronchial Artery Originating from the Upper Portion of Aortic Arch in Patients with Massive Hemoptysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jiang, Sen, E-mail: jasfly77@vip.163.com; Sun, Xi-Wen, E-mail: xwsun@citiz.net; Yu, Dong, E-mail: yudong_mail@126.com

2013-05-15

PurposeOur experience with endovascular embolization (EVE) of the bronchial artery (BA) originating from the upper portion of the aortic arch (AA) in six patients is described.MethodsAltogether, 818 patients with hemoptysis underwent multidetector row computed tomography angiography (MDCTA) before EVE or AA angiography during EVE. Aberrant BAs originating from the upper portion of the AA were the source of massive hemoptysis in six patients (0.73 %). MDCT angiograms and/or Digital subtraction angiograms were retrospectively reviewed. Selective catheterization and embolization were performed.ResultsThe ostia of the BAs were located on the superior surface of the AA between the brachiocephalic trunk and left common carotidmore » artery in three patients, the junction of the aorta and medial surface of the left subclavian artery in two, and the posterior wall of the upper portion of the AA in one. The six BAs comprised two common trunks, three single right sides, and one single left side. The targeted vessels were successfully catheterized and embolized by a coaxial microcatheter system using polyvinyl alcohol particles. Other pathologic BAs and nonbronchial systemic arteries also were embolized. Bleeding was immediately controlled in all patients with no recurrence of hemoptysis. No procedure-related complications occurred.ConclusionsApplication of EVE of anomalous origin of BAs in patients with hemoptysis is important, as demonstrated in the six reported patients. MDCTA before EVE or AA angiography during EVE is critical to avoid missing a rare aberrant BA originating from the upper portion of the AA.« less

Sex modulates approach systems and impulsivity in substance dependence.

PubMed

Perry, Robert I; Krmpotich, Theodore; Thompson, Laetitia L; Mikulich-Gilbertson, Susan K; Banich, Marie T; Tanabe, Jody

2013-11-01

Personality traits such as pathological engagement in approach behaviors, high levels of impulsivity and heightened negative affect are consistently observed in substance dependent individuals (SDI). The clinical course of addiction has been shown to differ between sexes. For example, women increase their rates of consumption of some drugs of abuse more quickly than men. Despite the potential influence of personality and sex on features of addiction, few studies have investigated the interaction of these factors in substance dependence. Fifty-one SDI (26 males, 25 females) and 66 controls (41 males, 25 females) completed the Behavioral Inhibition/Behavioral Activation System (BIS/BAS) Scales, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS-X). Data were analyzed with 2×2 ANCOVAs testing for main effects of group, sex and group by sex interactions, adjusting for education level. Significant group by sex interactions were observed for BAS scores [F(1,116)=7.03, p<.01] and Barratt Motor Impulsiveness [F(1,116)=6.11, p<.02] with female SDI showing the highest approach tendencies and impulsivity followed by male SDI, male controls, and finally female controls. SDI scored higher on negative affect [F(1,116)=25.23, p<.001] than controls. Behavioral Inhibition System scores were higher in women than men [F(1,116)=14.03, p<.001]. Higher BAS and motor impulsivity in SDI women relative to SDI men and control women suggest that personality traits that have been previously associated with drug use may be modulated by sex. These factors may contribute to differences in the disease course observed in male compared to female drug users. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Physical Activity in Bariatric Surgery Patients: Does Temperament Matter?

PubMed

Gruner-Labitzke, Kerstin; Claes, Laurence; Bartsch, Merle; Schulze, Mareike; Langenberg, Svenja; Köhler, Hinrich; Marschollek, Michael; de Zwaan, Martina; Müller, Astrid

2017-07-01

Our aim was to investigate if physical activity (PA) in bariatric surgery patients is related to temperament. Preoperative (n = 70) and post-operative (n = 73) patients were categorized as being physically 'active' versus 'inactive' on the basis of objective PA monitoring. Assessment included the behavioural inhibition system (BIS)/behavioural activation system (BAS) scales, the effortful control (EC) subscale of the Adult Temperament Questionnaire-Short Form, a numeric pain rating scale and measures for depressive and eating disorder symptoms. 'Active' did not differ from 'inactive' patients with regard to temperament (BIS, BAS, and EC). Regressions with PA grouping as dependent variable (adjusted for age, gender, body mass index (BMI), depressive or eating disorder symptoms, or pain intensity) indicated an association between lower BMI and more PA in the preoperative and the post-operative group. In the post-operative group, in addition to lower BMI, also lower age and higher BIS reactivity contributed to more PA. Furthermore, there was a significant interaction between BMI and BIS suggesting that low BMI was only associated with more PA in post-operative patients with high BIS. The results indicate that temperament per se does not contribute to the level of PA in bariatric surgery patients. However, in post-operative patients, lower BMI was associated with a higher likelihood of being physically active particularly in patients with anxious temperament. These preliminary findings need further investigation within longitudinal studies. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

Serotonin Control of Thermotaxis Memory Behavior in Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

PubMed Central

Guo, Yuling; Wang, Daoyong; Li, Chaojun; Wang, Dayong

2013-01-01

Caenorhabditis elegans is as an ideal model system for the study of mechanisms underlying learning and memory. In the present study, we employed C. elegans assay system of thermotaxis memory to investigate the possible role of serotonin neurotransmitter in memory control. Our data showed that both mutations of tph-1, bas-1, and cat-4 genes, required for serotonin synthesis, and mutations of mod-5 gene, encoding a serotonin reuptake transporter, resulted in deficits in thermotaxis memory behavior. Exogenous treatment with serotonin effectively recovered the deficits in thermotaxis memory of tph-1 and bas-1 mutants to the level of wild-type N2. Neuron-specific activity assay of TPH-1 suggests that serotonin might regulate the thermotaxis memory behavior by release from the ADF sensory neurons. Ablation of ADF sensory neurons by expressing a cell-death activator gene egl-1 decreased the thermotaxis memory, whereas activation of ADF neurons by expression of a constitutively active protein kinase C homologue (pkc-1(gf)) increased the thermotaxis memory and rescued the deficits in thermotaxis memory in tph-1 mutants. Moreover, serotonin released from the ADF sensory neurons might act through the G-protein-coupled serotonin receptors of SER-4 and SER-7 to regulate the thermotaxis memory behavior. Genetic analysis implies that serotonin might further target the insulin signaling pathway to regulate the thermotaxis memory behavior. Thus, our results suggest the possible crucial role of serotonin and ADF sensory neurons in thermotaxis memory control in C. elegans. PMID:24223727

Is compulsive buying related to materialism, depression or temperament? Findings from a sample of treatment-seeking patients with CB.

PubMed

Müller, Astrid; Claes, Laurence; Georgiadou, Ekaterini; Möllenkamp, Maike; Voth, Eva M; Faber, Ron J; Mitchell, James E; de Zwaan, Martina

2014-04-30

The aim of the present work was to examine the influence of reactive and regulatory temperament on compulsive buying (CB) in a sample of 102 patients (79 women, 23 men) with clinical CB. All participants answered the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS), the Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral Activation System Scales (BIS/BAS), and the Effortful Control subscale (ATQ-EC) of the Adult Temperament Questionnaire-Short Form. Based on previous studies demonstrating that depression and materialism are linked with CB, in addition, the Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale (PHQ-9) and the Materialistic Values Scale (MVS) were administered. CBS scores were significantly correlated with the MVS, PHQ-9, and BAS scores. The findings of the hierarchical regression analysis, however, indicated that in the present sample of treatment-seeking patients the only significant association was found between CB and depression. The results highlight the prominent role of depression in CB. There is a need for longitudinal studies in order to answer the question whether depression is the cause or the consequence of CB. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into highly functional classical brown adipocytes.

PubMed

Nishio, Miwako; Saeki, Kumiko

2014-01-01

We describe a detailed method for directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells, including human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), into functional classical brown adipocytes (BAs) under serum-free and feeder-free conditions. It is a two-tiered culture system, based on very simple techniques, a floating culture and a subsequent adherent culture. It does not require gene transfer. The entire process can be carried out in about 10 days. The key point is the usage of our special hematopoietic cytokine cocktail. Almost all the differentiated cells express uncoupling protein 1, a BA-selective marker, as determined by immunostaining. The differentiated cells show characteristics of classical BA as assessed by morphology and gene/protein expression. Moreover, the expression of myoblast marker genes is transiently induced during the floating culture step. hESC/hiPSC-derived BAs show significantly higher oxygen consumption rates (OCRs) than white adipocytes generated from human mesenchymal stem cell. They also show responsiveness to adrenergic stimuli, with about twofold upregulation in OCR by β-adrenergic receptor (β-AR) agonist treatments. hESC/hiPSC-derived BAs exert in vivo calorigenic activities in response to β-AR agonist treatments as assessed by thermography. Finally, lipid and glucose metabolisms are significantly improved in hESC/hiPSC-derived BA-transplanted mice. Our system provides a highly feasible way to produce functional classical BA bearing metabolism-improving capacities from hESC/hiPSC under a feeder-free and serum-free condition without gene transfer. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reactive and regulative temperament in patients with compulsive buying and non-clinical controls measured by self-report and performance-based tasks.

PubMed

Voth, Eva M; Claes, Laurence; Georgiadou, Ekaterini; Selle, Janine; Trotzke, Patrick; Brand, Matthias; de Zwaan, Martina; Müller, Astrid

2014-10-01

To examine reactive and regulative temperament in patients with compulsive buying (CB) by means of self-report measures and performance-based tasks and to explore the relationship between both measurement approaches. The study included 31 treatment-seeking patients with CB (25 women, 6 men) and an age and gender matched non-clinical control group without CB (CG). All participants answered the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS). Reactive temperament was assessed using the Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Activation System Scales (BIS/BAS) and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Regulative temperament was measured using the Effortful Control subscale of the Adult Temperament Questionnaire (ATQ-EC) and a computerized version of the Stroop Task. To control the results for depression, the Patient Health Questionnaire-Depression Scale (PHQ-9) was administered. Crude group comparisons revealed higher BIS and BAS scores, poorer IGT performance and lower ATQ-EC scores in the CB-group compared to the CG. The groups did not differ in their performance on the Stroop task. After controlling for depressive symptoms that were significantly higher in the CB-group, only the group differences in BAS reactivity remained significant. No significant associations were found between questionnaires and performance-based tasks. Overall, the findings indicate that CB in the present clinical sample of treatment-seeking patients was mainly associated with higher approach tendencies and more depressive symptoms. The lacking correlation between self-reports and performance-based tasks is in line with prior research and suggests that both methodologies tap into different aspects of temperament. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ursodeoxycholic Acid but Not Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid Inhibits Proliferation and Differentiation of Human Subcutaneous Adipocytes

PubMed Central

Mališová, Lucia; Kováčová, Zuzana; Koc, Michal; Kračmerová, Jana; Štich, Vladimír; Rossmeislová, Lenka

2013-01-01

Stress of endoplasmic reticulum (ERS) is one of the molecular triggers of adipocyte dysfunction and chronic low inflammation accompanying obesity. ERS can be alleviated by chemical chaperones from the family of bile acids (BAs). Thus, two BAs currently used to treat cholestasis, ursodeoxycholic and tauroursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA and TUDCA), could potentially lessen adverse metabolic effects of obesity. Nevertheless, BAs effects on human adipose cells are mostly unknown. They could regulate gene expression through pathways different from their chaperone function, namely through activation of farnesoid X receptor (FXR) and TGR5, G-coupled receptor. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze effects of UDCA and TUDCA on human preadipocytes and differentiated adipocytes derived from paired samples of two distinct subcutaneous adipose tissue depots, abdominal and gluteal. While TUDCA did not alter proliferation of cells from either depot, UDCA exerted strong anti-proliferative effect. In differentiated adipocytes, acute exposition to neither TUDCA nor UDCA was able to reduce effect of ERS stressor tunicamycin. However, exposure of cells to UDCA during whole differentiation process decreased expression of ERS markers. At the same time however, UDCA profoundly inhibited adipogenic conversion of cells. UDCA abolished expression of PPARγ and lipogenic enzymes already in the early phases of adipogenesis. This anti-adipogenic effect of UDCA was not dependent on FXR or TGR5 activation, but could be related to ability of UDCA to sustain the activation of ERK1/2 previously linked with PPARγ inactivation. Finally, neither BAs did lower expression of chemokines inducible by TLR4 pathway, when UDCA enhanced their expression in gluteal adipocytes. Therefore while TUDCA has neutral effect on human preadipocytes and adipocytes, the therapeutic use of UDCA different from treating cholestatic diseases should be considered with caution because UDCA alters functions of human adipose cells. PMID:24312631

Activation of PPARα decreases bile acids in livers of female mice while maintaining bile flow and biliary bile acid excretion.

PubMed

Zhang, Youcai; Lickteig, Andrew J; Csanaky, Iván L; Klaassen, Curtis D

2018-01-01

Fibrates are hypolipidemic drugs that act as activators of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα). In both humans and rodents, females were reported to be less responsive to fibrates than males. Previous studies on fibrates and PPARα usually involved male mice, but little has been done in females. The present study aimed to provide the first comprehensive analysis of the effects of clofibrate (CLOF) and PPARα on bile acid (BA) homeostasis in female mice. Study in WT male mice showed that a 4-day CLOF treatment increased liver weight, bile flow, and biliary BA excretion, but decreased total BAs in both serum and liver. In contrast, WT female mice were less susceptible to these CLOF-mediated responses observed in males. In WT female mice, CLOF decreased total BAs in the liver, but had little effect on the mRNAs of hepatic BA-related genes. Next, a comparative analysis between WT and PPARα-null female mice showed that lack of PPARα in female mice decreased total BAs in serum, but had little effect on total BAs in liver or bile. However, lack of PPARα in female mice increased mRNAs of BA synthetic enzymes (Cyp7a1, Cyp8b1, Cyp27a1, and Cyp7b1) and transporters (Ntcp, Oatp1a1, Oatp1b2, and Mrp3). Furthermore, the increase of Cyp7a1 in PPARα-null female mice was associated with an increase in liver Fxr-Shp-Lrh-1 signaling. In conclusion, female mice are resistant to CLOF-mediated effects on BA metabolism observed in males, which could be attributed to PPARα-mediated suppression in females on genes involved in BA synthesis and transport. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Synthesis, construction, and evaluation of self-assembled nano-bacitracin A as an efficient antibacterial agent in vitro and in vivo

PubMed Central

Hong, Wei; Gao, Xiang; Qiu, Peng; Yang, Jie; Qiao, Mingxi; Shi, Hong; Zhang, Dexian; Tian, Chunlian; Niu, Shengli; Liu, Mingchun

2017-01-01

Bacitracin A (BA) is an excellent polypeptide antibiotic that is active against gram-positive bacteria without triggering multidrug resistance. However, BA is inactive against gram-negative bacteria because of its inability to cross the outer membrane of these cells, and it has strong nephrotoxicity, thus limiting its clinical applications. Nanoantibiotics can effectively localize antibiotics to the periplasmic space of bacteria while decreasing the adverse effects of antibiotics. In this study, biodegradable hydrophobic copolymers of poly (d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) were attached to the N-termini of BA to design a novel class of self-assembled nano-bacitracin A (nano-BAs), and their potential as antibacterial agents was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Nano-BAs had a core-shell structure with a mean diameter <150 nm. Impressively, nano-BAs had strong antibacterial properties against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, and the distribution of antibacterial activity as a function of PLGA block length was skewed toward longer PLGA chains. No cytotoxicity against HK-2 cells or human red blood cells (hRBCs) was observed in vitro, suggesting good biocompatibility. A high local density of BA mass on the surface promoted endocytotic cellular uptake, and hydrophobic interactions between the PLGA block and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) facilitated the uptake of nano-BAs, thereby leading to greater antibacterial activities. In addition, Nano-BA5K was found to be effective in vivo, and it served as an anti-infective agent for wound healing. Collectively, this study provides a cost-effective means of developing self-assembling nano-polypeptide antibiotic candidates with a broader antibacterial spectrum and a lower toxicity than commercially available peptide antibiotics, owing to their modification with biodegradable copolymers. PMID:28721045

Synthesis, construction, and evaluation of self-assembled nano-bacitracin A as an efficient antibacterial agent in vitro and in vivo.

PubMed

Hong, Wei; Gao, Xiang; Qiu, Peng; Yang, Jie; Qiao, Mingxi; Shi, Hong; Zhang, Dexian; Tian, Chunlian; Niu, Shengli; Liu, Mingchun

2017-01-01

Bacitracin A (BA) is an excellent polypeptide antibiotic that is active against gram-positive bacteria without triggering multidrug resistance. However, BA is inactive against gram-negative bacteria because of its inability to cross the outer membrane of these cells, and it has strong nephrotoxicity, thus limiting its clinical applications. Nanoantibiotics can effectively localize antibiotics to the periplasmic space of bacteria while decreasing the adverse effects of antibiotics. In this study, biodegradable hydrophobic copolymers of poly (d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) were attached to the N-termini of BA to design a novel class of self-assembled nano-bacitracin A (nano-BAs), and their potential as antibacterial agents was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Nano-BAs had a core-shell structure with a mean diameter <150 nm. Impressively, nano-BAs had strong antibacterial properties against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, and the distribution of antibacterial activity as a function of PLGA block length was skewed toward longer PLGA chains. No cytotoxicity against HK-2 cells or human red blood cells (hRBCs) was observed in vitro, suggesting good biocompatibility. A high local density of BA mass on the surface promoted endocytotic cellular uptake, and hydrophobic interactions between the PLGA block and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) facilitated the uptake of nano-BAs, thereby leading to greater antibacterial activities. In addition, Nano-BA 5K was found to be effective in vivo, and it served as an anti-infective agent for wound healing. Collectively, this study provides a cost-effective means of developing self-assembling nano-polypeptide antibiotic candidates with a broader antibacterial spectrum and a lower toxicity than commercially available peptide antibiotics, owing to their modification with biodegradable copolymers.

The Role of Motivation in Cognitive Reappraisal for Depressed Patients

PubMed Central

Wang, Xiaoxia; Zhou, Xiaoyan; Dai, Qin; Ji, Bing; Feng, Zhengzhi

2017-01-01

Background: People engage in emotion regulation in service of motive goals (typically, to approach a desired emotional goal or avoid an undesired emotional goal). However, how motives (goals) in emotion regulation operate to shape the regulation of emotion is rarely known. Furthermore, the modulatory role of motivation in the impaired reappraisal capacity and neural abnormalities typical of depressed patients is not clear. Our hypothesis was that (1) approach and avoidance motivation may modulate emotion regulation and the underlying neural substrates; (2) approach/avoidance motivation may modulate emotion regulation neural abnormalities in depressed patients. Methods: Twelve drug-free depressed patients and fifteen matched healthy controls reappraised emotional pictures with approach/avoidant strategies and self-rated their emotional intensities during fMRI scans. Approach/avoidance motivation was measured using Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral Activation System (BIS/BAS) Scale. We conducted whole-brain analyses and correlation analyses of regions of interest to identify alterations in regulatory prefrontal-amygdala circuits which were modulated by motivation. Results: Depressed patients had a higher level of BIS and lower levels of BAS-reward responsiveness and BAS-drive. BIS scores were positively correlated with depressive severity. We found the main effect of motivation as well as the interactive effect of motivation and group on the neural correlates of emotion regulation. Specifically, hypoactivation of IFG underlying the group differences in the motivation-related neural correlates during reappraisal may be partially explained by the interaction between group and reappraisal. Consistent with our prediction, dlPFC and vmPFC was differentially between groups which were modulated by motivation. Specifically, the avoidance motivation of depressed patients could predict the right dlPFC activation during decreasing positive emotion, while the approach motivation of normal individuals could predict the right vmPFC activation during decreasing negative emotion. Notably, striatal regions were observed when examining the neural substrates underlying the main effect of motivation (lentiform nucleus) and the interactive effect between motivation and group (midbrain). Conclusions: Our findings highlight the modulatory role of approach and avoidance motivation in cognitive reappraisal, which is dysfunctional in depressed patients. The results could enlighten the CBT directed at modifying the motivation deficits in cognitive regulation of emotion. PMID:29163097

The Role of Motivation in Cognitive Reappraisal for Depressed Patients.

PubMed

Wang, Xiaoxia; Zhou, Xiaoyan; Dai, Qin; Ji, Bing; Feng, Zhengzhi

2017-01-01

Background: People engage in emotion regulation in service of motive goals (typically, to approach a desired emotional goal or avoid an undesired emotional goal). However, how motives (goals) in emotion regulation operate to shape the regulation of emotion is rarely known. Furthermore, the modulatory role of motivation in the impaired reappraisal capacity and neural abnormalities typical of depressed patients is not clear. Our hypothesis was that (1) approach and avoidance motivation may modulate emotion regulation and the underlying neural substrates; (2) approach/avoidance motivation may modulate emotion regulation neural abnormalities in depressed patients. Methods: Twelve drug-free depressed patients and fifteen matched healthy controls reappraised emotional pictures with approach/avoidant strategies and self-rated their emotional intensities during fMRI scans. Approach/avoidance motivation was measured using Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral Activation System (BIS/BAS) Scale. We conducted whole-brain analyses and correlation analyses of regions of interest to identify alterations in regulatory prefrontal-amygdala circuits which were modulated by motivation. Results: Depressed patients had a higher level of BIS and lower levels of BAS-reward responsiveness and BAS-drive. BIS scores were positively correlated with depressive severity. We found the main effect of motivation as well as the interactive effect of motivation and group on the neural correlates of emotion regulation. Specifically, hypoactivation of IFG underlying the group differences in the motivation-related neural correlates during reappraisal may be partially explained by the interaction between group and reappraisal. Consistent with our prediction, dlPFC and vmPFC was differentially between groups which were modulated by motivation. Specifically, the avoidance motivation of depressed patients could predict the right dlPFC activation during decreasing positive emotion, while the approach motivation of normal individuals could predict the right vmPFC activation during decreasing negative emotion. Notably, striatal regions were observed when examining the neural substrates underlying the main effect of motivation (lentiform nucleus) and the interactive effect between motivation and group (midbrain). Conclusions: Our findings highlight the modulatory role of approach and avoidance motivation in cognitive reappraisal, which is dysfunctional in depressed patients. The results could enlighten the CBT directed at modifying the motivation deficits in cognitive regulation of emotion.

Art in Aquatic Education: Materials and Methods.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whann, Maryann Smeyda

1983-01-01

Described are activities which utilize marine science subjects. These include: assemblage, bas-relief, batik, collage, mobile, montage, paper-mache, and play-dough activities. Includes a list of general suggestions for teachers using aquatic art activities in the classroom. (JN)

Branchial anomalies in children: A report of 105 surgical cases.

PubMed

Li, Wanpeng; Xu, Hongming; Zhao, Liming; Li, Xiaoyan

2018-01-01

Branchial anomalies (BAs) account for 20% of all congenital masses in children. We sought to review the incidence of involvement of individual anomalies, diagnostic methods, surgical treatment, and complications of BAs in children. In addition, we also classified our study and analyzed a congenital lower neck cutaneous fistula near the sternoclavicular joint that was thought to be the skin-side remnant of the fourth BAs. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 105 children who were referred to our hospital from June 2009 to December 2016 for the treatment of BAs. In this series, there were 51 males and 54 females. The age at the time of operation varied from 19 days to 13 years, and the mean age was 4.5 years. A total of 33 (31.4%) cases presented with first BAs, 13 (12.4%) presented with second BAs, and 59 (56.2%) presented with third and fourth BAs, including 6 cases of congenital lower neck cutaneous fistula. Fistulectomy under general anesthesia was performed on all of them. For postoperative complications, 2 cases had temporary facial paralysis, 1 case had permanent facial paralysis, 4 cases had temporary recurrent laryngeal nerve injury. Recurrence occurred in 2 patients with first BAs after medium follow-up time of 3.6 years (6 months-8 years). BAs are common congenital head and neck lesions in children, and there are four distinct types (first, second, third and fourth anomalies). The incidence of third and fourth BAs in Asia maybe higher when compared with literature reports, second BAs seem rare in this population, but more research is needed to confirm this perspective. Diagnosis is not difficult with a proper knowledge of the anatomy of the BAs. The surgical procedures should be tailored depending on the various types, and complete excision of the fistula is the key to prevent recurrence. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

BAsE-Seq: a method for obtaining long viral haplotypes from short sequence reads.

PubMed

Hong, Lewis Z; Hong, Shuzhen; Wong, Han Teng; Aw, Pauline P K; Cheng, Yan; Wilm, Andreas; de Sessions, Paola F; Lim, Seng Gee; Nagarajan, Niranjan; Hibberd, Martin L; Quake, Stephen R; Burkholder, William F

2014-01-01

We present a method for obtaining long haplotypes, of over 3 kb in length, using a short-read sequencer, Barcode-directed Assembly for Extra-long Sequences (BAsE-Seq). BAsE-Seq relies on transposing a template-specific barcode onto random segments of the template molecule and assembling the barcoded short reads into complete haplotypes. We applied BAsE-Seq on mixed clones of hepatitis B virus and accurately identified haplotypes occurring at frequencies greater than or equal to 0.4%, with >99.9% specificity. Applying BAsE-Seq to a clinical sample, we obtained over 9,000 viral haplotypes, which provided an unprecedented view of hepatitis B virus population structure during chronic infection. BAsE-Seq is readily applicable for monitoring quasispecies evolution in viral diseases.

Anticipatory pleasure and approach motivation in schizophrenia-like negative symptoms.

PubMed

Engel, Maike; Fritzsche, Anja; Lincoln, Tania M

2013-12-15

Previous research of negative symptoms in schizophrenia has emphasized an anticipatory pleasure deficit, yet the relationship of this deficit to patients' motivation in everyday life is poorly understood. This study tested the link between anticipatory pleasure and two broad motivational systems that are said to regulate the intensity of approach and avoidance behavior, the Behavioral Inhibition system (BIS) and the Behavioral Activation System (BAS). It was hypothesized that high vulnerability for negative symptoms would be associated with low reward responsiveness and that this association will be mediated by the amount of anticipated pleasure. Students (n=171) with varying vulnerability for negative symptoms (assessed by the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences) completed questionnaires regarding (a) anticipatory and consummatory pleasure, and (b) responsiveness to threat and reward. As hypothesized, anticipatory pleasure correlated significantly negatively with subclinical negative symptoms (r=-0.21) and significantly positively with BAS (r=0.55). Furthermore, evidence for a partial mediation effect was found. The findings support the notion of a close association between negative symptoms, the ability to anticipate pleasure and approach motivation that is evident even in healthy persons. It is suggested that the behavioral deficits immanent to negative symptoms reflect difficulties in the ability to translate emotions into motivation. © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Encapsulation of boswellic acid with β- and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin: Synthesis, characterization, in vitro drug release and molecular modelling studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tambe, Amruta; Pandita, Nancy; Kharkar, Prashant; Sahu, Niteshkumar

2018-02-01

Boswellic acids (BAs) are a group of pentacyclic triterpenes present in gum-resin of Boswellia serrata. They are well known for their anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic, immunomodulatory and anti-tumor activity, but they have poor aqueous solubility and limited bioavailability. In order to enhance their aqueous solubility, inclusion complexes of BAs with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) were synthesized and their drug release profiles were studied. Molecular associations of β-CD and HP-β-CD with BAs were investigated by phase solubility studies. The stability constants were found to be 380.2 and 145.9 M-1 for BA: β-CD and BA: HP-β-CD inclusion complexes, respectively with AN- type curve. BA: β-CD and BA: HP-β-CD inclusion complexes were synthesized using kneading (KN), co-precipitation (CP) and solvent evaporation (SE) methods in 1:1 as well as 1:2 ratios. Further these were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometry, Powder X-ray Diffraction (P-XRD) and Differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) analysis. FTIR analysis showed shifting of frequencies in complexes as compared to CDs and BAs. P-XRD data obtained for BA: β-CD complexes synthesized by CP and SE methods showed amorphous pattern. Also, DSC analysis showed a change in thermal behaviour for synthesized complexes. In vitro drug release studies of BA: β-CD complexes showed enhanced release with 1:2 complexes than 1:1 complexes at pH 1.2 and pH 6.8. Similarly, drug release enhancement was observed more with BA: HP-β-CD complexes in 1:2 ratio than 1:1. To understand the interaction of BAs with CD cavity molecular modelling studies were performed which favored 1:2 complex formation over 1:1 complexes. The study thus highlights that CDs can be used for solubility and dissolution enhancement of BAs.

Integrated Science and Logistical Planning to Support Big Questions in Antarctic Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaughan, D. G.; Stockings, T. M.

2015-12-01

Each year, British Antarctic Survey (BAS) supports an extensive programme of science at five Antarctic and sub-Antarctic stations, ranging from the tiny Bird Island Research Station at 54°S in the South Atlantic, to the massive, and fully re-locatable, Halley Research Station on Brunt Ice Shelf at 75°S. The BAS logistics hub, Rothera Research Station on the Antarctic Peninsula supports deployment of deep-field and airborne field campaigns through much of the Antarctic continent, and an innovative new UK polar research vessel is under design, and planned to enter service in the Southern Ocean in 2019. BAS's core science programme covering all aspects of physical, biological and geological science is delivered by our own science teams, but every year many other UK scientists and overseas collaborators also access BAS's Antarctic logistics to support their own programmes. As an integrated science and logistics provider, BAS is continuously reviewing its capabilities and operational procedures to ensure that the future long-term requirements of science are optimally supported. Current trends are towards providing the capacity for heavier remote operations and larger-scale field camps, increasing use of autonomous ocean and airborne platforms, and increasing opportunities to provide turnkey solutions for low-cost experimental deployments. This talk will review of expected trends in Antarctic science and the opportunities to conduct science in Antarctica. It will outline the anticipated logistic developments required to support future stakeholder-led and strategically-directed science programmes, and the long-term ambitions of our science communities indentified in several recent horizon-scanning activities.

Procedures manual for compressed air diving (scuba mode).

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1980-01-01

The Virginia Department of Highways and Transportation conducts underwater inspection, maintenance, and salvage activities as part of its routine operations. These activities are carried out by divers from the private sector working on a contract bas...

Evaluating the biological activity of oil-polluted soils using a complex index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kabirov, R. R.; Kireeva, N. A.; Kabirov, T. R.; Dubovik, I. Ye.; Yakupova, A. B.; Safiullina, L. M.

2012-02-01

A complex index characterizing the biological activity of soils (BAS) is suggested. It is based on an estimate of the level of activity of catalase; the number of heterotrophic and hydrocarbon oxidizing microorganisms, microscopic fungi, algae, and cyanobacteria; and the degree of development of higher plants and insects in the studied soil. The data on using the BAS coefficient for evaluating the efficiency of rehabilitation measures for oil-polluted soils are given. Such measures included introducing the following biological preparations: Lenoil based on a natural consortium of microorganisms Bacillus brevis and Arthrobacter sp.; the Azolen biofertilizer with complex action based on Azotobacter vinelandii; the Belvitamil biopreparation, which is the active silt of pulp and paper production; and a ready-mixed industrial association of aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms that contains hydrocarbon oxidizing microorganisms of the Arthrobacter, Bacillus, Candida, Desulfovibrio, and Pseudomonas genera.

The Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes-Stuttering (POSHA-S) and Bipolar Adjective Scale (BAS): aspects of validity.

PubMed

St Louis, Kenneth O; Williams, Mandy J; Ware, Mercedes B; Guendouzi, Jacqueline; Reichel, Isabella K

2014-01-01

In order to estimate instrument validity, attitudes toward stuttering measured by the newly developed Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes-Stuttering (POSHA-S) and the Woods and Williams (1976) semantic differential scale (referred to herein as the Bipolar Adjective Scale [BAS]) are compared in college students on one occasion as well as before and after coursework on fluency disorders. Undergraduate and graduate students (n=321) from four universities filled out online versions of the POSHA-S and BAS. Two-thirds were speech-language pathology (SLP) majors; one-third were students in other majors. A subset of the SLP students (n=35) filled out the two instruments again after 8-13 weeks of coursework on fluency disorders. Correlations between all ratings of the POSHA-S and BAS were run for the 321 students. Only 26% of the correlations were statistically significant (R ≥ ± 0.129), and the large majority of these reflected small relationships. POSHA-S ratings were correlated with up to 77% of the items of the BAS while BAS items were correlated with up to 45% of the POSHA-S ratings. After coursework on stuttering, students' attitudes improved on both instruments, but more on the POSHA-S than the BAS. Greater evidence of discriminant validity than convergent validity characterized the POSHA-S and BAS. Both measures showed improved attitudes after fluency disorders coursework, but more so for the POSHA-S, confirming previous reports of construct validity. The POSHA-S taps relevant constructs not included in the BAS, which provide advantages for intracultural, international, and other comparisons of public attitudes toward stuttering. The reader will be able to: (1) describe differentiating characteristics of the POSHA-S and BAS as measures of public attitudes toward stuttering, (2) describe the overlap and lack of overlap in the constructs measured by POSHA-S and BAS, (3) describe discriminant versus convergent validity and (4) describe advantages of the POSHA-S and BAS in various types of comparative studies of stuttering attitudes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Determinants of orofacial clefting II: Effects of 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine on gene methylation during development of the first branchial arch.

PubMed

Seelan, Ratnam S; Mukhopadhyay, Partha; Warner, Dennis R; Smolenkova, Irina A; Pisano, M Michele; Greene, Robert M

2017-01-01

Defects in development of the secondary palate, which arise from the embryonic first branchial arch (1-BA), can cause cleft palate (CP). Administration of 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine (AzaD), a demethylating agent, to pregnant mice on gestational day 9.5 resulted in complete penetrance of CP in fetuses. Several genes critical for normal palatogenesis were found to be upregulated in 1-BA, 12h after AzaD exposure. MethylCap-Seq (MCS) analysis identified several differentially methylated regions (DMRs) in DNA extracted from AzaD-exposed 1-BAs. Hypomethylated DMRs did not correlate with the upregulation of genes in AzaD-exposed 1-BAs. However, most DMRs were associated with endogenous retroviral elements. Expression analyses suggested that interferon signaling was activated in AzaD-exposed 1-BAs. Our data, thus, suggest that a 12-h in utero AzaD exposure demethylates and activates endogenous retroviral elements in the 1-BA, thereby triggering an interferon-mediated response. This may result in the dysregulation of key signaling pathways during palatogenesis, causing CP. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Nuclear receptor FXR, bile acids and liver damage: Introducing the progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis with FXR mutations.

PubMed

Cariello, Marica; Piccinin, Elena; Garcia-Irigoyen, Oihane; Sabbà, Carlo; Moschetta, Antonio

2018-04-01

The nuclear receptor farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is the master regulator of bile acids (BAs) homeostasis since it transcriptionally drives modulation of BA synthesis, influx, efflux, and detoxification along the enterohepatic axis. Due to its crucial role, FXR alterations are involved in the progression of a plethora of BAs associated inflammatory disorders in the liver and in the gut. The involvement of the FXR pathway in cholestasis development and management has been elucidated so far with a direct role of FXR activating therapy in this condition. However, the recent identification of a new type of genetic progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC) linked to FXR mutations has strengthen also the bona fide beneficial effects of target therapies that by-pass FXR activation, directly promoting the action of its target, namely the enterokine FGF19, in the repression of hepatic BAs synthesis with reduction of total BA levels in the liver and serum, accomplishing one of the major goals in cholestasis. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Cholangiocytes in Health and Diseaseedited by Jesus Banales, Marco Marzioni and Peter Jansen. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chromatin boundaries in budding yeast: the nuclear pore connection.

PubMed

Ishii, Kojiro; Arib, Ghislaine; Lin, Clayton; Van Houwe, Griet; Laemmli, Ulrich K

2002-05-31

Chromatin boundary activities (BAs) were identified in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by genetic screening. Such BAs bound to sites flanking a reporter gene establish a nonsilenced domain within the silent mating-type locus HML. Interestingly, various proteins involved in nuclear-cytoplasmic traffic, such as exportins Cse1p, Mex67p, and Los1p, exhibit a robust BA. Genetic studies, immunolocalization, live imaging, and chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments show that these transport proteins block spreading of heterochromatin by physical tethering of the HML locus to the Nup2p receptor of the nuclear pore complex. Genetic deletion of NUP2 abolishes the BA of all transport proteins, while direct targeting of Nup2p to the bracketing DNA elements restores activity. The data demonstrate that physical tethering of genomic loci to the NPC can dramatically alter their epigenetic activity.

Bile duct anastomotic stricture after pediatric living donor liver transplantation.

PubMed

Chok, Kenneth S H; Chan, See Ching; Chan, Kwong Leung; Sharr, William W; Tam, Paul K H; Fan, Sheung Tat; Lo, Chung Mau

2012-07-01

Hepaticojejunostomy is a well-accepted method, whereas duct-to-duct anastomosis is gaining popularity for bile duct reconstruction in pediatric living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). Biliary complications, especially biliary anastomotic stricture (BAS), are not clearly defined. The aim of the present study is to determine the rate of BAS and its associated risk factors. The study included 78 pediatric patients (<18 years old) who underwent LDLT during the period from end of September 1993 to end of November 2010. The diagnosis of BAS was based on clinical, biochemical, histologic, and radiologic results. All patients received left-side grafts. Thirteen patients (16.7%) developed BAS after LDLT. Among them, 3 patients (23.1%) had duct-to-duct anastomosis during LDLT. The median follow-up period for the BAS group and the non-BAS group was 57.8 and 79.5 months, respectively (P = .683). Ten of the patients with BAS required percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage with or without dilatation for treating the stricture. Multivariable analysis showed that hepatic artery thrombosis and duct-to-duct anastomosis were 2 risk factors associated with BAS. In pediatric LDLT, hepaticojejunostomy is the preferred method for bile duct reconstruction, but more large-scale research needs to be done to reconfirm this result. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Factor structure and psychometric properties of a Spanish translation of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2).

PubMed

Swami, Viren; García, Antonio Alías; Barron, David

2017-09-01

We examined the psychometric properties of a Spanish translation of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) in a community sample of 411 women and 389 men in Almería, Spain. Participants completed the 10-item BAS-2 along with measures of appearance evaluation, body areas satisfaction, self-esteem, life satisfaction, and self-reported body mass index (BMI). Exploratory factor analyses with one split-half subsample revealed that BAS-2 scores had a one-dimensional factor structure in women and men. Confirmatory factor analysis with a second split-half subsample showed the one-dimensional factor structure had acceptable fit and was invariant across sex. There were no significant sex differences in BAS-2 scores. BAS-2 scores were significantly and positively correlated with appearance evaluation, body areas satisfaction, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. Body appreciation was significantly and negatively correlated with BMI in men, but associations in women were only significant in the second subsample. Results suggest that the Spanish BAS-2 has adequate psychometric properties. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Dutch translation and validation of the Body Appreciation Scale-2: An investigation with female university students in the Netherlands.

PubMed

Alleva, Jessica M; Martijn, Carolien; Veldhuis, Jolanda; Tylka, Tracy L

2016-12-01

This paper describes a Dutch translation and validation of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2; Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015a), an instrument for assessing key components of positive body image. Dutch-speaking female university students (N=310, M age =21.31, SD=3.04) completed the Dutch BAS-2. To assess its construct validity, participants also completed measures of appearance satisfaction, functionality satisfaction, self-objectification, self-esteem, and optimistic life orientation. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a one-dimensional factor structure of the Dutch BAS-2, substantiating the BAS-2 factor structure found in samples of U.S., Chinese, and Iranian university students and community adults. Dutch BAS-2 scores also demonstrated good internal consistency (α=.90), convergent validity, and incremental validity. In addition, lower body mass indices were associated with higher Dutch BAS-2 scores. The present findings support the cross-cultural equivalence of the BAS-2 and thus its promise in enabling research on positive body image in diverse cultural contexts. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Streamflow generation in humid West Africa: the role of Bas-fonds investigated with a physically based model of the Critical Zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hector, B.; Cohard, J. M.; Séguis, L.

2015-12-01

In West Africa, the drought initiated in the 70's-80's together with intense land-use change due to increasing food demand produced very contrasted responses on water budgets of the critical zone (CZ) depending on the lithological and pedological contexts. In Sahel, streamflow increased, mostly due to increasing hortonian runoff from soil crusting, and so did groundwater storage. On the contrary, in the more humid southern Sudanian area, streamflow decreased and no clear signal has been observed concerning water storage in this hard-rock basement area. There, Bas-fonds are fundamental landscape features. They are seasonally water-logged valley bottoms from which first order streams originate, mostly composed of baseflow. They are a key feature for understanding streamflow generation processes. They also carry an important agronomic potential due to their moisture and nutrient availability. The role of Bas-fond in streamflow generation processes is investigated using a physically-based coupled model of the CZ, ParFlow-CLM at catchment scale (10km²). The model is evaluated against classical hydrological measurements (water table, soil moisture, streamflow, fluxes), acquired in the AMMA-CATCH observing system for the West African monsoon, but also hybrid gravity data which measure integrated water storage changes. The bas-fond system is shown to be composed of two components with different time scales. The slow component is characterized by the seasonal and interannual amplitude of the permanent water table, which is disconnected from streams, fed by direct recharge and lowered by evapotranspiration, mostly from riparian areas. The fast component is characterized by thresholds in storage and perched and permanent water tables surrounding the bas-fond during the wet season, which are linked with baseflow generation. This is a first step toward integrating these features into larger scale modeling of the critical zone for evaluating the effect of precipitation intensification and land use changes scenarios in the area.

Quantification of 15 bile acids in lake charr feces by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

USGS Publications Warehouse

Li, Ke; Buchinger, Tyler J.; Bussy, Ugo; Fissette, Skye D.; Johnson, Nicholas; Li, Weiming

2015-01-01

Many fishes are hypothesized to use bile acids (BAs) as chemical cues, yet quantification of BAs in biological samples and the required methods remain limited. Here, we present an UHPLC–MS/MS method for simultaneous, sensitive, and rapid quantification of 15 BAs, including free, taurine, and glycine conjugated BAs, and application of the method to fecal samples from lake charr (Salvelinus namaycush). The analytes were separated on a C18 column with acetonitrile–water (containing 7.5 mM ammonium acetate and 0.1% formic acid) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.25 mL/min for 12 min. BAs were monitored with a negative electrospray triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (Xevo TQ-S™). Calibration curves of 15 BAs were linear over the concentration range of 1.00–5,000 ng/mL. Validation revealed that the method was specific, accurate, and precise. The method was applied to quantitative analysis of feces extract of fry lake charr and the food they were eating. The concentrations of analytes CA, TCDCA, TCA, and CDCA were 242.3, 81.2, 60.7, and 36.2 ng/mg, respectively. However, other taurine conjugated BAs, TUDCA, TDCA, and THDCA, were not detected in feces of lake charr. Interestingly, TCA and TCDCA were detected at high concentrations in food pellets, at 71.9 and 38.2 ng/mg, respectively. Application of the method to feces samples from lake charr supported a role of BAs as chemical cues, and will enhance further investigation of BAs as chemical cues in other fish species.

R2PL 2005 - Proceedings of the First International Workshop on Reengineering towards Product Lines

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-03-01

thinking. Other domain engineer- ing approaches are FODA [6] and FORM [7]. Typically these approaches are based on the analysis of high-level...November 1998. [6] Kyo C. Kang, Sholom G. Cohen, James A. Hess, William E. Novak, and A. Spencer Peterson. Feature-oriented do- main analysis ( FODA ... Analysis � by Bas Graaf, Bas Cornelissen, and Leon Moonen. © 2006 by Bas Graaf, Bas Cornelissen, and Leon Moonen. �Identifying Domain-Specific

Profiling of urinary bile acids in piglets by a combination of enzymatic deconjugation and targeted LC-MRM-MS[S

PubMed Central

Fang, Nianbai; Yu, Shanggong; Adams, Sean H.; Ronis, Martin J. J.; Badger, Thomas M.

2016-01-01

We present a method using a combination of enzymatic deconjugation and targeted LC-multiple reaction monitoring (MRM)-MS analysis for analyzing all common bile acids (BAs) in piglet urine, and in particular, for detecting conjugated BAs either in the absence of their standards, or when present in low concentrations. Initially, before enzymatic deconjugation, 19 unconjugated BAs (FBAs) were detected where the total concentration of the detected FBAs was 9.90 μmol/l. Sixty-seven conjugated BAs were identified by LC-MRM-MS analysis before and after enzymatic deconjugation. Four enzymatic assays were used to deconjugate the BA conjugates. FBAs in urine after cholylglycine hydrolase/sulfatase treatment were 33.40 μmol/l, indicating the urinary BAs were comprised of 29.75% FBAs and 70.25% conjugated BAs in single and multiple conjugated forms. For the conjugates in single form, released FBAs from cholylglycine hydrolase deconjugation indicated that the conjugates with amino acids were 14.54% of urinary BAs, 16.27% glycosidic conjugates were found by β-glucuronidase treatment, and sulfatase with glucuronidase inhibitor treatment liberated FBAs that constituted 16.67% of urinary BAs. Notably, chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) was initially detected only in trace amounts in urine, but was found at significant levels after the enzymatic assays above. These results support that CDCA is a precursor of γ-muricholic acid in BA biosynthesis in piglets. PMID:27538824

Gambling behavior in Parkinson's Disease: Impulsivity, reward mechanism and cortical brain oscillations.

PubMed

Balconi, Michela; Angioletti, Laura; Siri, Chiara; Meucci, Nicoletta; Pezzoli, Gianni

2018-03-20

Psychopathological components, such as reward sensitivity and impulsivity, and dopaminergic treatment are crucial characteristics related to the development of Pathological Gambling (PG) in Parkinson's Disease (PD). The aim of the present study is to investigate the differences in decision-making in PD patients with or without PG considering both neurophysiological and behavioral aspects. The IOWA Gambling Task (IGT) and electroencephalographic (EEG) activity were considered to elucidate the decision and post-feedback processes in PG. The sample included fifty-two PD patients, divided in three groups: 17 PD patients with active gambling behavior (PD Gamblers, PDG); 15 PD patients who remitted from PG (PD Non-Gamblers, PDNG); and a Control Group (CG) composed by 20 patients with PD only. EEG and IGT performance were recorded during decision and post-feedback phase. Results showed worse performance and an increase of the low frequency bands in the frontal area for the PDG group compared to the other two groups. In addition, higher BAS (Behavioral Activation System) and BIS-11 (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale) personality components were correlated to groups' behavioral response. These results show an anomalous behavioral (IGT) and cortical response of PDG patients related to their inability to use adequate control mechanisms during a decision-making task where reward mechanisms (BAS) and impulsivity (BIS-11) are relevant. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prone position improves lung mechanical behavior and enhances gas exchange efficiency in mechanically ventilated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.

PubMed

Mentzelopoulos, Spyros D; Zakynthinos, Spyros G; Roussos, Charris; Tzoufi, Maria J; Michalopoulos, Argyris S

2003-06-01

Pronation might favorably affect respiratory system (rs) mechanics and function in volume-controlled, mode-ventilated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. We studied 10 COPD patients, initially positioned supine (baseline supine [supine(BAS)]) and then randomly and consecutively changed to protocol supine (supine(PROT)), semirecumbent, and prone positions. Rs mechanics and inspiratory work (W(I)) were assessed at baseline (0.6 L) (all postures) and sigh (1.2 L) (supine(BAS) excluded) tidal volume (V(T)) with rapid airway occlusion during constant-flow inflation. Hemodynamics and gas exchange were assessed in all postures. There were no complications. Prone positioning resulted in (a) increased dynamic-static chest wall (cw) elastance (at both V(Ts)) and improved oxygenation versus supine(BAS), supine(PROT), and semirecumbent, (b) decreased additional lung (L) resistance-elastance versus supine(PROT) and semirecumbent at sigh V(T), (c) decreased L-static elastance (at both V(Ts)) and improved CO(2) elimination versus supine(BAS) and supine(PROT), and (d) improved oxygenation versus all other postures. Semirecumbent positioning increased mainly additional cw-resistance versus supine(BAS) and supine(PROT) at baseline. V(T) W(I)-sub-component changes were consistent with changes in rs, cw, and L mechanical properties. Total rs-W(I) and hemodynamics were unaffected by posture change. After pronation, five patients were repositioned supine (supine(POSTPRO)). In supine(POSTPRO), static rs-L elastance were lower, and oxygenation was still improved versus supine(BAS). Pronation of mechanically ventilated COPD patients exhibits applicability and effectiveness and improves oxygenation and sigh-L mechanics versus semirecumbent ("gold standard") positioning. By assessing respiratory mechanics, inspiratory work, hemodynamics, and gas exchange, we showed that prone positioning of mechanically ventilated chronic obstructed pulmonary disease patients improves oxygenation and lung mechanics during sigh versus semirecumbent positioning. Furthermore, certain pronation-related benefits versus preprone-supine positioning (reduced lung elastance and improved oxygenation) are maintained in the postprone supine position.

[Experience with the use of the bio-active stent coated with titanium nitric oxide compared with zotarolimus-eluting stent: experience of a unit medical high specialty].

PubMed

Garcia-Gutierrez, Juan C; Palacios-Rodríguez, Juan M; Cordova-Correa, Horacio G; Becerra-Laguna, Carlos A; López-López, Hugo A; Salinas Aragón, Miguel A; García-Bonilla, Jorge

2016-01-01

The use of coronary stents in coronary angioplasty has evolved dramatically in its design, type materials, polymers, and a variety of drugs, the use of coronary stents covered nitric oxide have shown satisfactory results in practice, however compared to the results reported drug-eluting stents, there is little information. The aim of this study was to compare clinical outcomes of a stainless steel stent Bioactive nitric oxide coated titanium (BAS) and a drug-eluting stent zotarolimus (DES) in daily clinical practice. A retrospective, analytical, descriptive and comparative study aimed at evaluating the safety and efficacy of two devices with different characteristics in our population. The primary endpoints were: death, acute infarction (AMI), and re intervention injury Treated (RLT). A total of 759 patients were included in the study which was performed angioplasty to a single vessel. Were divided into two arms 382 with DES and 377 patients with BAS, the one year follow up was carried in 95%. After this follow-up period, primary points (cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, TLR and stent thrombosis) for arm DES vs BAS; 9.5% vs 8.5% P=NS but with shorter periods of dual antiplatelet therapy for arm BAS 6.9±4.1 vs 11.1±2.5 months DES P=.0001. The results were independent of the clinical syndrome of presentation. After one year of follow no statistically significant difference in major clinical events, there was a trend in favour of BAS vs SM with respect to revascularization of the target lesion without reaching statistical significance. Copyright © 2015 Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez. Published by Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

Probiotics and Probiotic Metabolic Product Improved Intestinal Function and Ameliorated LPS-Induced Injury in Rats.

PubMed

Deng, Bo; Wu, Jie; Li, Xiaohui; Men, Xiaoming; Xu, Ziwei

2017-11-01

In the present study, we sought to determine the effects of Bacillus subtilis (BAS) and Bacillus licheniformis (BAL) in rats after lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute intestinal inflammation. We also determined whether the B. subtilis metabolic product (BASM) is as effective as the live-cell probiotic. 60 male SD rats were randomly assigned to five groups and administered a diet containing 0.05% B. licheniformis (BAL group), 0.05% B. subtilis (BAS group), 0.5% B. subtilis metabolic product (BASM group), or a basic diet (PC group and NC group) for 40 days. On day 40, BAL, BAS, BASM, and NC groups were injected with 4 mg/kg body weight LPS. 4 h later, all rats were anesthetized and sacrificed. The results showed that the administration of B. licheniformis and B. subtilis improved intestinal function as evidenced by histology, increased enzyme activity, and mucosal thickness. They also increased the number of intraepithelial lymphocytes and decreased mucosal myeloperoxidase activity and plasma TNF-α. In addition, the cecal content of B. subtilis-treated rats had significantly increased microbial diversity, decreased numbers of Firmicutes, and increased numbers of Bacteroidetes as compared to rats fed basic diets. Similar to BAS group, the cecal content of B. licheniformis-treated rats decreased the number of Firmicutes. Administration of B. subtilis metabolic product had similar effects on intestinal function, inflammation response, and microbial diversity as B. subtilis but these effects were attenuated. In conclusion, administration of probiotic strains B. licheniformis or B. subtilis improved intestinal function, ameliorated the inflammation response, and modulated microflora after LPS-induced acute inflammation in rats. Non-living cells also exerted probiotic properties but live cells tended to function better.

Wake and Sleep EEG in Patients With Huntington Disease: An eLORETA Study and Review of the Literature.

PubMed

Piano, Carla; Mazzucchi, Edoardo; Bentivoglio, Anna Rita; Losurdo, Anna; Calandra Buonaura, Giovanna; Imperatori, Claudio; Cortelli, Pietro; Della Marca, Giacomo

2017-01-01

The aim of the study was to evaluate the EEG modifications in patients with Huntington disease (HD) compared with controls, by means of the exact LOw REsolution Tomography (eLORETA) software. We evaluated EEG changes during wake, non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Moreover, we reviewed the literature concerning EEG modifications in HD. Twenty-three consecutive adult patients affected by HD were enrolled, 14 women and 9 men, mean age was 57.0 ± 12.4 years. Control subjects were healthy volunteers (mean age 58.2 ± 14.6 years). EEG and polygraphic recordings were performed during wake (before sleep) and during sleep. Sources of EEG activities were determined using the eLORETA software. In wake EEG, significant differences between patients and controls were detected in the delta frequency band (threshold T = ±4.606; P < .01) in the Brodmann areas (BAs) 3, 4, and 6 bilaterally. In NREM sleep, HD patients showed increased alpha power (T = ±4.516; P < .01) in BAs 4 and 6 bilaterally; decreased theta power (T = ±4.516; P < .01) in the BAs 23, 29, and 30; and decreased beta power (T = ±4.516; P < .01) in the left BA 30. During REM, HD patients presented decreased theta and alpha power (threshold T = ±4.640; P < .01) in the BAs 23, 29, 30, and 31 bilaterally. In conclusion, EEG data suggest a motor cortex dysfunction during wake and sleep in HD patients, which correlates with the clinical and polysomnographic evidence of increased motor activity during wake and NREM, and nearly absent motor abnormalities in REM. © EEG and Clinical Neuroscience Society (ECNS) 2016.

Balloon atrial septostomy in pulmonary arterial hypertension: effect on survival and associated outcomes.

PubMed

Chiu, Joanne S; Zuckerman, Warren A; Turner, Mariel E; Richmond, Marc E; Kerstein, Diane; Krishnan, Usha; Torres, Alejandro; Vincent, Julie A; Rosenzweig, Erika B

2015-03-01

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive disease that, without early identification and treatment, may lead to right heart failure, multi-organ dysfunction and early death. In severe PAH, in addition to maximal medical therapy, balloon atrial septostomy (BAS) may be used for palliation and as a bridge to lung transplantation. We present our contemporary institutional experience utilizing BAS in adult and pediatric patients with severe PAH. We performed a retrospective analysis of 46 BASs performed in 32 patients with PAH from 2002 to 2013. Data obtained included vital status, functional class, medications, hemodynamic measurements from right heart catheterizations and biomarkers. Lung transplantation-free and repeat-BAS-free survival was analyzed. Median age at BAS was 23 (range 1 to 56) years. The most common indications were symptomatic right heart failure (21 of 46 patients) and pre-syncope/syncope (19 of 46 patients); 69% of patients were WHO Functional Class III or IV pre-BAS. There were no procedural complications or deaths. There were no significant differences in biomarkers or hemodynamic findings between pre-BAS and 1 year or latest follow-up. Seven patients were successfully bridged to lung transplantation. Lung transplantation-free and repeat-BAS-free survival at 30 days, 1 year and 5 years was 87%, 61% and 32%, respectively. In our experienced center, BAS was shown to be safe in patients with severe PAH on maximal medical management, with no procedural deaths or complications. BAS was safely used as a bridge to lung transplantation or to alleviate right heart failure symptoms and/or syncope. Other potential benefits for end-organ function and overall survival remain to be determined. Copyright © 2015 International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Perioperative management for open balloon atrial septostomy immediately after caesarean section in a baby with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and intact atrial septum].

PubMed

Yokoi, Nagisa; Toda, Yuichiro; Suzuki, Satoshi; Kanazawa, Tomoyuki; Suemori, Tomohiko; Shimizu, Kazuyoshi; Iwasaki, Tatsuo; Morita, Kiyoshi

2010-10-01

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) with intact atrial septum (IAS) is an extreme type of single ventricle physiology among congenital heart diseases, in which a baby cannot supply oxygenated blood into systemic circulation without alternative pathway. We report the case of the neonate undergoing open balloon atrial septostomy (BAS) and bilateral pulmonary artery banding (PAB) soon after scheduled caesarean sections (C/S). A 35-year-old female was pregnant and fetal echocardiography at 32 weeks revealed one of the twins as HLHS/IAS. Severe hypoxia soon after birth was suspected. Thus, scheduled C/S followed by open BAS was planned. At 36 weeks of gestation, the mother was anesthetized with spinal bupivacaine and the female baby with HLHS/IAS was delivered. After diagnosed definitely by pediatric cardiologists, her trachea was intubated by anesthegiologists and umbilical catheters were placed by neonatologists. Then the baby was transferred to neighboring operating theater for BAS 68 minutes after the birth, while her Sp(O2) was maintained around 75-85% through serial procedures. Open BAS and PAB were performed under general anesthesia without any hemodynamic instability or severe hypoxia. Cooperation among anesthegiologists, neonatologists, pediatric cardiologists, and cardiac surgeons is mandatory in order to successfully complete such a rushed procedure.

Evaluating the psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Body Appreciation Scale-2.

PubMed

Razmus, Magdalena; Razmus, Wiktor

2017-12-01

This study aimed to investigate the factor structure and psychometric properties of a Polish version of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2; Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015). Data were collected from 721 individuals residing in various regions of Poland. There were two subsamples (n=336, age M=34.95, SD=10.83; and n=385, age M=35.38, SD=10.83). Both principal-axis and confirmatory factor analyses supported the one-dimensional structure of BAS-2 scores. Moreover, full scalar invariance of the BAS-2 in Poland across sex was demonstrated. Scores on the Polish BAS-2 had adequate internal consistency. Convergent validity was demonstrated through significant correlations between BAS-2 scores and variables related to body image (body and appearance self-conscious emotions), well-being (self-esteem, positive affect, and positive orientation), and body mass index. These results indicate that the Polish BAS-2 is an appropriate and psychometrically-sound measure of body appreciation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Metabolic Profile of Obeticholic Acid and Endogenous Bile Acids in Rats with Decompensated Liver Cirrhosis

PubMed Central

Aldini, R; Camborata, C; Spinozzi, S; Franco, P; Cont, M; D'Errico, A; Vasuri, F; Degiovanni, A; Maroni, L; Adorini, L

2017-01-01

Obeticholic acid (OCA) is a semisynthetic bile acid (BA) analog and potent farnesoid X receptor agonist approved to treat cholestasis. We evaluated the biodistribution and metabolism of OCA administered to carbon tetrachloride‐induced cirrhotic rats. This was to ascertain if plasma and hepatic concentrations of OCA are potentially more harmful than those of endogenous BAs. After administration of OCA (30 mg/kg), we used liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry to measure OCA, its metabolites, and BAs at different timepoints in various organs and fluids. Plasma and hepatic concentrations of OCA and BAs were higher in cirrhotic rats than in controls. OCA and endogenous BAs had similar metabolic pathways in cirrhotic rats, although OCA hepatic and intestinal clearance were lower than in controls. BAs' qualitative and quantitative compositions were not modified by a single administration of OCA. In all the matrices studied, OCA concentrations were significantly lower than those of endogenous BAs, potentially much more cytotoxic. PMID:28411380

Reciprocal interactions between bile acids and gut microbiota in human liver diseases.

PubMed

Ikegami, Tadashi; Honda, Akira

2018-01-01

The gut microbiota (GM) play a central role in their host's metabolism of bile acids (BAs) by regulating deconjugation, dehydroxylation, dehydrogenation, and epimerization reactions to generate unconjugated free BAs and secondary BAs. These BAs generated by the GM are potent signaling molecules that interact with BA receptors, such as the farnesoid X receptor and Takeda G-protein-coupled receptor 5. Each BA has a differential affinity to these receptors; therefore, alterations in BA composition by GM could modify the intensity of receptor signaling. Bile acids also act as antimicrobial agents by damaging bacterial membranes and as detergents by altering intracellular macromolecular structures. Therefore, BAs and the GM reciprocally control each other's compositions. In this review, we discuss the latest findings on the mutual effects of BAs and GM on each other; we also describe their roles in the pathophysiology of liver disease progression and potential therapeutic applications of targeting this cross-talk. © 2017 The Japan Society of Hepatology.

Cortical network reorganization guided by sensory input features.

PubMed

Kilgard, Michael P; Pandya, Pritesh K; Engineer, Navzer D; Moucha, Raluca

2002-12-01

Sensory experience alters the functional organization of cortical networks. Previous studies using behavioral training motivated by aversive or rewarding stimuli have demonstrated that cortical plasticity is specific to salient inputs in the sensory environment. Sensory experience associated with electrical activation of the basal forebrain (BasF) generates similar input specific plasticity. By directly engaging plasticity mechanisms and avoiding extensive behavioral training, BasF stimulation makes it possible to efficiently explore how specific sensory features contribute to cortical plasticity. This review summarizes our observations that cortical networks employ a variety of strategies to improve the representation of the sensory environment. Different combinations of receptive-field, temporal, and spectrotemporal plasticity were generated in primary auditory cortex neurons depending on the pitch, modulation rate, and order of sounds paired with BasF stimulation. Simple tones led to map expansion, while modulated tones altered the maximum cortical following rate. Exposure to complex acoustic sequences led to the development of combination-sensitive responses. This remodeling of cortical response characteristics may reflect changes in intrinsic cellular mechanisms, synaptic efficacy, and local neuronal connectivity. The intricate relationship between the pattern of sensory activation and cortical plasticity suggests that network-level rules alter the functional organization of the cortex to generate the most behaviorally useful representation of the sensory environment.

The human microbiome and bile acid metabolism: dysbiosis, dysmetabolism, disease and intervention.

PubMed

Jones, Mitchell L; Martoni, Christopher J; Ganopolsky, Jorge G; Labbé, Alain; Prakash, Satya

2014-04-01

Recent evidence indicates that the human gut microbiome plays a significant role in health and disease. Dysbiosis, defined as a pathological imbalance in a microbial community, is becoming increasingly appreciated as a 'central environmental factor' that is both associated with complex phenotypes and affected by host genetics, diet and antibiotic use. More recently, a link has been established between the dysmetabolism of bile acids (BAs) in the gut to dysbiosis. BAs, which are transformed by the gut microbiota, have been shown to regulate intestinal homeostasis and are recognized as signaling molecules in a wide range of metabolic processes. This review will examine the connection between BA metabolism as it relates to the gut microbiome and its implication in health and disease. A disrupted gut microbiome, including a reduction of bile salt hydrolase (BSH)-active bacteria, can significantly impair the metabolism of BAs and may result in an inability to maintain glucose homeostasis as well as normal cholesterol breakdown and excretion. To better understand the link between dysbiosis, BA dysmetabolism and chronic degenerative disease, large-scale metagenomic sequencing studies, metatranscriptomics, metaproteomics and metabolomics should continue to catalog functional diversity in the gastrointestinal tract of both healthy and diseased populations. Further, BSH-active probiotics should continue to be explored as treatment options to help restore metabolic levels.

Profiling of urinary bile acids in piglets by a combination of enzymatic deconjugation and targeted LC-MRM-MS.

PubMed

Fang, Nianbai; Yu, Shanggong; Adams, Sean H; Ronis, Martin J J; Badger, Thomas M

2016-10-01

We present a method using a combination of enzymatic deconjugation and targeted LC-multiple reaction monitoring (MRM)-MS analysis for analyzing all common bile acids (BAs) in piglet urine, and in particular, for detecting conjugated BAs either in the absence of their standards, or when present in low concentrations. Initially, before enzymatic deconjugation, 19 unconjugated BAs (FBAs) were detected where the total concentration of the detected FBAs was 9.90 μmol/l. Sixty-seven conjugated BAs were identified by LC-MRM-MS analysis before and after enzymatic deconjugation. Four enzymatic assays were used to deconjugate the BA conjugates. FBAs in urine after cholylglycine hydrolase/sulfatase treatment were 33.40 μmol/l, indicating the urinary BAs were comprised of 29.75% FBAs and 70.25% conjugated BAs in single and multiple conjugated forms. For the conjugates in single form, released FBAs from cholylglycine hydrolase deconjugation indicated that the conjugates with amino acids were 14.54% of urinary BAs, 16.27% glycosidic conjugates were found by β-glucuronidase treatment, and sulfatase with glucuronidase inhibitor treatment liberated FBAs that constituted 16.67% of urinary BAs. Notably, chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) was initially detected only in trace amounts in urine, but was found at significant levels after the enzymatic assays above. These results support that CDCA is a precursor of γ-muricholic acid in BA biosynthesis in piglets. Copyright © 2016 by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Exercising control over bipolar disorder.

PubMed

Malhi, Gin S; Byrow, Yulisha

2016-11-01

Following extensive research exercise has emerged as an effective treatment for major depressive disorder, and it is now a recognised therapy alongside other interventions. In contrast, there is a paucity of research examining the therapeutic effects of exercise for those with bipolar disorder. Given that dysfunctional reward processing is central to bipolar disorder, research suggests that exercise can perhaps be framed as a reward-related event that may have the potential to precipitate a manic episode. The behavioural activation system (BAS) is a neurobehavioural system that is associated with responding to reward and provides an appropriate framework to theoretically examine and better understand the effects of exercise treatment on bipolar disorder. This article discusses recent research findings and provides an overview of the extant literature related to the neurobiological underpinnings of BAS and exercise as they relate to bipolar disorder. This is important clinically because depending on mood state in bipolar disorder, we postulate that exercise could be either beneficial or deleterious with positive or negative effects on the illness. Clearly, this complicates the evaluation of exercise as a potential treatment in terms of identifying its optimal characteristics in this population. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

The role of backward associative strength in false recognition of DRM lists with multiple critical words.

PubMed

Beato, María S; Arndt, Jason

2017-08-01

Memory is a reconstruction of the past and is prone to errors. One of the most widely-used paradigms to examine false memory is the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm. In this paradigm, participants studied words associatively related to a non-presented critical word. In a subsequent memory test critical words are often falsely recalled and/or recognized. In the present study, we examined the influence of backward associative strength (BAS) on false recognition using DRM lists with multiple critical words. In forty-eight English DRM lists, we manipulated BAS while controlling forward associative strength (FAS). Lists included four words (e.g., prison, convict, suspect, fugitive) simultaneously associated with two critical words (e.g., CRIMINAL, JAIL). The results indicated that true recognition was similar in high-BAS and low-BAS lists, while false recognition was greater in high-BAS lists than in low-BAS lists. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between false recognition and the probability of a resonant connection between the studied words and their associates. These findings suggest that BAS and resonant connections influence false recognition, and extend prior research using DRM lists associated with a single critical word to studies of DRM lists associated with multiple critical words.

The relationship between brain behavioral systems and the characteristics of the five factor model of personality with aggression among Iranian students.

PubMed

Komasi, Saeid; Saeidi, Mozhgan; Soroush, Ali; Zakiei, Ali

2016-07-01

Aggression is one of the negative components of emotion and it is usually considered to be the outcome of the activity of the Behavioral Inhibition and the Behavioral Activation System (BIS/BAS): components which can be considered as predisposing factors for personality differences. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between brain behavioral systems and the characteristics of the five factor model of personality with aggression among students. The present study has a correlation descriptive design. The research population included all of the Razi University students in the academic year of 2012-2013. The sampling was carried out with a random stratified method and 360 people (308 female and 52 male) were studied according to a table of Morgan. The study instruments were Buss and Perry Aggression Questionnaire, NEO Personality Inventory (Short Form), and Carver and White scale for BAS/BIS. Finally, SPSS20 was utilized to analyze the data using Pearson correlation, regression analysis, and canonical correlation. The data showed a significant positive relationship between the neurosis and agreeableness personality factors with aggression; but there is a significant negative relationship between the extroversion, openness, and conscientiousness personality factors with aggression. Furthermore, there is a significant positive relationship between all the components of brain behavioral systems (impulsivity, novelty seeking, sensitivity, tender) and aggression. The results of regression analysis indicated the personality characteristics and the brain behavioral systems which can predict 29 percent of the changes to aggression, simultaneously. According to a predictable level of aggressiveness by the personality characteristics and brain behavioral systems, it is possible to identify the personality characteristics and template patterns of brain behavioral systems for the students which be presented to them as a necessary training in order to control and manage of anger and aggression. © 2016 KUMS, All rights reserved.

Reduction of biogenic amines in sufu by ethanol addition during ripening stage

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The aim of this study was to investigate the contents of biogenic amines (BAs) in different types of sufu samples obtained from different producers, and also the possible effect of addition of ethanol on reducing the levels of BAs during sufu ripening. The levels of BAs in sufu samples were analyze...

Metabolic Profile of Obeticholic Acid and Endogenous Bile Acids in Rats with Decompensated Liver Cirrhosis.

PubMed

Roda, A; Aldini, R; Camborata, C; Spinozzi, S; Franco, P; Cont, M; D'Errico, A; Vasuri, F; Degiovanni, A; Maroni, L; Adorini, L

2017-07-01

Obeticholic acid (OCA) is a semisynthetic bile acid (BA) analog and potent farnesoid X receptor agonist approved to treat cholestasis. We evaluated the biodistribution and metabolism of OCA administered to carbon tetrachloride-induced cirrhotic rats. This was to ascertain if plasma and hepatic concentrations of OCA are potentially more harmful than those of endogenous BAs. After administration of OCA (30 mg/kg), we used liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to measure OCA, its metabolites, and BAs at different timepoints in various organs and fluids. Plasma and hepatic concentrations of OCA and BAs were higher in cirrhotic rats than in controls. OCA and endogenous BAs had similar metabolic pathways in cirrhotic rats, although OCA hepatic and intestinal clearance were lower than in controls. BAs' qualitative and quantitative compositions were not modified by a single administration of OCA. In all the matrices studied, OCA concentrations were significantly lower than those of endogenous BAs, potentially much more cytotoxic. © 2017 The Authors. Clinical and Translational Science published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

An examination of the factor structure and sex invariance of a French translation of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 in university students.

PubMed

Kertechian, Sevag; Swami, Viren

2017-06-01

The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a measure of positive body image that has been found that have a one-dimensional factor structure in a number of different cultural groups. Here, we examined the factor structure and sex-based measurement invariance of a French translation of the BAS-2. A total of 652 university students (age M=21.33, SD=3.18) completed a newly-translated French version of the BAS-2. Exploratory factor analyses with a randomly selected split-half subsample revealed that the BAS-2 had a one-dimensional factor structure in both sexes. Confirmatory factor analyses with a second split-half subsample indicated that the one-dimensional factor structure had adequate fit following modifications and was invariant across sex. French BAS-2 scores had adequate internal consistency and men had significantly higher body appreciation than women (ds=.16-.23). These results provide preliminary support for the factorial validity of the French BAS-2. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Factor structure and psychometric properties of a Romanian translation of the Body Appreciation Scale-2.

PubMed

Swami, Viren; Tudorel, Otilia; Goian, Cosmin; Barron, David; Vintila, Mona

2017-12-01

We examined the psychometric properties of a Romanian translation of the 10-item Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2). A total of 453 university students from Romania completed the BAS-2, along with measures of disordered eating, self-esteem, satisfaction with life, and subjective happiness. In addition, a separate sample of university students (N=109) completed only the BAS-2 at two time-points three weeks apart. Principal-axis factor analysis indicated that BAS-2 scores had a one-dimensional factor structure in both women and men. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that this factor structure had adequate fit, but invariance across sex was not supported. Further analyses indicated that BAS-2 scores evidenced internal consistency, convergent validity, and test-retest reliability in both women and men. These results suggest that BAS-2 scores reduce to one dimension in Romanian adults, but the lack of sex invariance may indicate that the same latent construct is not being measured in women and men. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Seeded growth of boron arsenide single crystals with high thermal conductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Fei; Song, Bai; Lv, Bing; Sun, Jingying; Huyan, Shuyuan; Wu, Qi; Mao, Jun; Ni, Yizhou; Ding, Zhiwei; Huberman, Samuel; Liu, Te-Huan; Chen, Gang; Chen, Shuo; Chu, Ching-Wu; Ren, Zhifeng

2018-01-01

Materials with high thermal conductivities are crucial to effectively cooling high-power-density electronic and optoelectronic devices. Recently, zinc-blende boron arsenide (BAs) has been predicted to have a very high thermal conductivity of over 2000 W m-1 K-1 at room temperature by first-principles calculations, rendering it a close competitor for diamond which holds the highest thermal conductivity among bulk materials. Experimental demonstration, however, has proved extremely challenging, especially in the preparation of large high quality single crystals. Although BAs crystals have been previously grown by chemical vapor transport (CVT), the growth process relies on spontaneous nucleation and results in small crystals with multiple grains and various defects. Here, we report a controllable CVT synthesis of large single BAs crystals (400-600 μm) by using carefully selected tiny BAs single crystals as seeds. We have obtained BAs single crystals with a thermal conductivity of 351 ± 21 W m-1 K-1 at room temperature, which is almost twice as conductive as previously reported BAs crystals. Further improvement along this direction is very likely.

New constraints on the geochronology and Sm-Nd isotopic characteristics of Bas-Drâa mafic dykes, Anti-Atlas of Morocco

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El Bahat, Abdelhakim; Ikenne, Moha; Cousens, Brian; Söderlund, Ulf; Ernst, Richard; Klausen, Martin B.; Youbi, Nasrrddine

2017-03-01

The Precambrian inliers of the Anti-Atlas belt across the southern part of Morocco contain numerous mafic dyke and sill swarms, which are thought to represent the erosional remnants of Proterozoic Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs). As part of an extended research campaign to date and characterize these LIPs, two amphiboles from one dyke within the Bas-Drâa inlier (western Anti-Atlas) yielded consistent 40Ar-39Ar ages of 611 Ma ± 1.3; i.e., evidence of magmatic activity during the Ediacaran (635-542 Ma). Furthermore, Nd isotope ratios and model ages identifies four groups of dykes within the Bas-Drâa inlier, all of which were derived from a previously enriched mantle reservoir with very low 143Nd/144Nd ratios (0.51065-0.51170) and corresponding εNd(t) values (-16.44 to -2.45). Such low Nd-ratios arguably reflect either a contribution of crustal components, such as the Paleoproterozoïc schisto-granitic basement, or metasomatic modification of the sub-continental lithospheric mantle.

Crystallization Kinetics of Barium and Strontium Aluminosilicate Glasses of Feldspar Composition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hyatt, Mark J.; Bansal, Narottam P.

1994-01-01

Crystallization kinetics of BaO.Al2O3.2SiO2 (BAS) and SrO.Al2O3.2SiO2 (SAS) glasses in bulk and powder forms have been studied by non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The crystal growth activation energies were evaluated to be 473 and 451 kJ/mol for bulk samples and 560 and 534 kJ/mol for powder specimens in BAS and SAS glasses, respectively. Development of crystalline phases on thermal treatments of glasses at various temperatures has been followed by powder x-ray diffraction. Powder samples crystallized at lower temperatures than the bulk and the crystallization temperature was lower for SAS glass than BAS. Crystallization in both glasses appeared to be surface nucleated. The high temperature phase hexacelsian, MAl2Si2O8 (M = Ba or Sr), crystallized first by nucleating preferentially on the glass surface. Also, monoclinic celsian does not nucleate directly in the glass, but is formed at higher temperatures from the transformation of the metastable hexagonal phase. In SAS the transformation to monoclinic celsian occurred rapidly after 1 h at 1100 C. In contrast, in BAS this transformation is sluggish and difficult and did not go to completion even after 10 h heat treatment at 1400 C. The crystal growth morphologies in the glasses have been observed by optical microscopy. Some of the physical properties of the two glasses are also reported.

Incidence of hemorrhagic stroke in black Caribbean, black African, and white populations: the South London stroke register, 1995-2004.

PubMed

Smeeton, Nigel C; Heuschmann, Peter U; Rudd, Anthony G; McEvoy, Andrew W; Kitchen, Neil D; Sarker, Shah Jalal; Wolfe, Charles D A

2007-12-01

Data are lacking on the differences in hemorrhagic stroke incidence between black Caribbean (BC), black African (BA), and white ethnic groups. We estimated the incidence for primary intracerebral hemorrhage (PICH) and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and the associated risk factors for BCs, BAs, and whites. First-ever stroke patients were drawn from a prospective community stroke register based in a multiethnic population in South London with 9% BCs, 15% BAs, and 63% whites. Incidence rates were standardized to European and world populations and adjusted for age and sex. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) relative to whites were calculated by Poisson regression. Between 1995 and 2004, 566 incident stroke patients were registered: 395 PICHs and 171 SAHs. For PICH, age- and sex-adjusted IRRs were higher in BAs (IRR, 2.80; 95% CI, 2.00 to 3.91) than in BCs (IRR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.99) and were particularly pronounced for patients age 0 to 64 years: IRR=3.95 (95% CI, 2.65 to 5.87) in BAs and 2.38 (95% CI, 1.50 to 3.80) in BCs. For those <65 years, prestroke hypertension was more prevalent in BAs and BCs (P=0.049). For SAH, the IRR was higher in BCs (IRR; 1.62; 95% CI, 1.05 to 2.48) than in BAs (IRR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.43 to 1.46). The higher incidence of PICH observed in BCs and BAs could be explained by prestroke hypertension being more common among young blacks. The different incidences of SAH in BCs and BAs suggest that the baseline risk of stroke for distinct black ethnic groups is not homogeneous.

Bas-relief map using texture analysis with application to live enhancement of ultrasound images.

PubMed

Du, Huarui; Ma, Rui; Wang, Xiaoying; Zhang, Jue; Fang, Jing

2015-05-01

For ultrasound imaging, speckle is one of the most important factors in the degradation of contrast resolution because it masks meaningful texture and has the potential to interfere with diagnosis. It is expected that researchers would explore appropriate ways to reduce the speckle noise, to find the edges of structures and enhance weak borders between different organs in ultrasound imaging. Inspired by the principle of differential interference contrast microscopy, a "bas-relief map" is proposed that depicts the texture structure of ultrasound images. Based on a bas-relief map, an adaptive bas-relief filter was developed for ultrafast despeckling. Subsequently, an edge map was introduced to enhance the edges of images in real time. The holistic bas-relief map approach has been used experimentally with synthetic phantoms and digital ultrasound B-scan images of liver, kidney and gallbladder. Based on the visual inspection and the performance metrics of the despeckled images, it was found that the bas-relief map approach is capable of effectively reducing the speckle while significantly enhancing contrast and tissue boundaries for ultrasonic images, and its speckle reduction ability is comparable to that of Kuan, Lee and Frost filters. Meanwhile, the proposed technique could preserve more intra-region details compared with the popular speckle reducing anisotropic diffusion technique and more effectively enhance edges. In addition, the adaptive bas-relief filter was much less time consuming than the Kuan, Lee and Frost filter and speckle reducing anisotropic diffusion techniques. The bas-relief map strategy is effective for speckle reduction and live enhancement of ultrasound images, and can provide a valuable tool for clinical diagnosis. Copyright © 2015 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Anti-obesity and anti-hyperglycemic effects of the dietary citrus limonoid nomilin in mice fed a high-fat diet.

PubMed

Ono, Eri; Inoue, Jun; Hashidume, Tsutomu; Shimizu, Makoto; Sato, Ryuichiro

2011-07-08

TGR5 is a member of the G protein-coupled receptor family and is activated by bile acids (BAs). TGR5 is thought to be a promising drug target for metabolic diseases because the activation of TGR5 prevents obesity and hyperglycemia in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). In the present study, we identified a naturally occurring limonoid, nomilin, as an activator of TGR5. Unlike BAs, nomilin did not exhibit the farnesoid X receptor ligand activity. Although the nomilin derivative obacunone was capable of activating TGR5, limonin (the most abundant limonoid in citrus seeds) was not a TGR5 activator. When male C57BL/6J mice fed a HFD for 9 weeks were further fed a HFD either alone or supplemented with 0.2%w/w nomilin for 77 days, nomilin-treated mice had lower body weight, serum glucose, serum insulin, and enhanced glucose tolerance. Our results suggest a novel biological function of nomilin as an agent having anti-obesity and anti-hyperglycemic effects that are likely to be mediated through the activation of TGR5. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the Impact of Storage Conditions on the Biogenic Amines Profile in Opened Wine Bottles.

PubMed

Płotka-Wasylka, Justyna; Simeonov, Vasil; Namieśnik, Jacek

2018-05-09

A survey of biogenic amine (BA) profiles in opened wine bottles has been established to monitor the level of biogenic amines (BAs) in opened bottles against time and other conditions. Bottles of red and white wine were submitted to different temperatures, stopper type (screw cap, cork), and use of vacuum devices. A total of six wines made from a variety of grapes were obtained from vineyards from regions across Poland. Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (DLLME-GC-MS) procedure for BAs determination was validated and applied for wine sample analysis. The total content of BAs from the set of immediately opened wine samples ranged from 442 to 929 µg/L for white wines, and 669 to 2244 µg/L for red wines. The most abundant BAs in the analysed wines were histamine and putrescine. Considering the commercial availability of the analysed wines, there was no relationship between the presence of BAs in a given wine and their availability on the market. However, it was observed and confirmed by chemometric analysis that the different storage conditions employed in this experiment affect not only the BAs profile, but also the pH.

Development of a rapid method for the automatic classification of biological agents' fluorescence spectral signatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carestia, Mariachiara; Pizzoferrato, Roberto; Gelfusa, Michela; Cenciarelli, Orlando; Ludovici, Gian Marco; Gabriele, Jessica; Malizia, Andrea; Murari, Andrea; Vega, Jesus; Gaudio, Pasquale

2015-11-01

Biosecurity and biosafety are key concerns of modern society. Although nanomaterials are improving the capacities of point detectors, standoff detection still appears to be an open issue. Laser-induced fluorescence of biological agents (BAs) has proved to be one of the most promising optical techniques to achieve early standoff detection, but its strengths and weaknesses are still to be fully investigated. In particular, different BAs tend to have similar fluorescence spectra due to the ubiquity of biological endogenous fluorophores producing a signal in the UV range, making data analysis extremely challenging. The Universal Multi Event Locator (UMEL), a general method based on support vector regression, is commonly used to identify characteristic structures in arrays of data. In the first part of this work, we investigate fluorescence emission spectra of different simulants of BAs and apply UMEL for their automatic classification. In the second part of this work, we elaborate a strategy for the application of UMEL to the discrimination of different BAs' simulants spectra. Through this strategy, it has been possible to discriminate between these BAs' simulants despite the high similarity of their fluorescence spectra. These preliminary results support the use of SVR methods to classify BAs' spectral signatures.

Alterations in antioxidant defense system of workers chronically exposed to arsenic, cadmium and mercury from coal flying ash.

PubMed

Zeneli, Lulzim; Sekovanić, Ankica; Ajvazi, Majlinda; Kurti, Leonard; Daci, Nexhat

2016-02-01

Humans are exposed to different stress factors that are responsible for over-production of reactive oxygen species. Exposure to heavy metals is one of these factors. The aim of the study was to analyze the effect of chronic exposure to heavy metals through coal flying ash on the efficiency of antioxidative defensive mechanisms, represented by the activity of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and ascorbic acid. Nonessential elements such as arsenic and mercury levels showed a significant increase (p > 0.001) in the power plant workers rather than in the control subjects. There were no significant differences of blood cadmium between power plant workers and control subjects. We found a significant positive correlation (p < 0.05) between BAs/SZn (r = 0.211), BAs/BSe (r = 0.287), BCd/SCu (r = 0.32) and BHg/BSe (r = 0.263) in the plant workers. Red blood cell antioxidant enzymes and plasma ascorbic acid were significantly lower in power plants workers than in the control group (p < 0.002). We can conclude that levels of mercury, arsenic and cadmium in blood, despite their concentration within the reference values, significantly affect plasma ascorbic acid concentration, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activity, which are able to increase the risk of oxidative stress.

Constraining Basal Conditions across the Amundsen Sea Embayment of West Antarctica using a Synthesis of the PASIN and HiCARS Radar Sounding Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hilger, A. M.; Schroeder, D. M.; Corr, H. F. J.; Blankenship, D. D.; Paden, J. D.

2017-12-01

Recent observational studies and models have shown that ocean forcing, bed topography, and basal conditions are major controls of the behavior of the Amundsen Sea Embayment of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. This region contains Thwaites Glacier and Pine Island Glacier, the two most rapidly changing glaciers in Antarctica. Because they are adjacent, interactions between these two glaciers could potentially cause further destabilization as either glacier retreats. Accordingly, it is important to understand the basal conditions on the Thwaites-Pine Island boundary in order to accurately model the present and future behavior of these glaciers. Previous airborne geophysical surveys in this area have provided dense radar sounding coverage using multiple radar sounding systems, including the UTIG HiCARS system and the BAS PASIN system used in the 2004 AGASEA survey. Because the boundary region between Thwaites and Pine Island Glacier is at the respective boundaries of the UTIG and BAS surveys, accurate characterization of the basal conditions requires a synthesis of the data produced by the BAS and HiCARS systems. To this end, we present estimates of bed reflectivity spanning both glacier catchments. These estimates were produced using empirically determined attenuation rates. To improve the consistency of these attenuation rates, we fit across a two-dimensional area, rather than a one-dimensional line as in previous work. These estimates also include cross-calibration to account for the radar sounding systems' differing power and center frequency. This will provide the first cross-survey map of basal reflectivity spanning the entire Amundsen Sea Embayment.

Xenobiotic Nuclear Receptor Signaling Determines Molecular Pathogenesis of Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis.

PubMed

Kim, Kang Ho; Choi, Jong Min; Li, Feng; Arizpe, Armando; Wooton-Kee, Clavia Ruth; Anakk, Sayeepriyadarshini; Jung, Sung Yun; Finegold, Milton J; Moore, David D

2018-06-01

Progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC) is a genetically heterogeneous disorder of bile flow disruption due to abnormal canalicular transport or impaired bile acid (BA) metabolism, causing excess BA accumulation and liver failure. We previously reported an intrahepatic cholestasis mouse model based on loss of function of both farnesoid X receptor (FXR; NR1H4) and a small heterodimer partner (SHP; NR0B2) [double knockout (DKO)], which has strong similarities to human PFIC5. We compared the pathogenesis of DKO livers with that of another intrahepatic cholestasis model, Bsep-/-, which represents human PFIC2. Both models exhibit severe hepatomegaly and hepatic BA accumulation, but DKO showed greater circulating BA and liver injury, and Bsep-/- had milder phenotypes. Molecular profiling of BAs uncovered specific enrichment of cholic acid (CA)-derived BAs in DKO livers but chenodeoxycholate-derived BAs in Bsep-/- livers. Transcriptomic and proteomic analysis revealed specific activation of CA synthesis and alternative basolateral BA transport in DKO but increased chenodeoxycholic acid synthesis and canalicular transport in Bsep-/-. The constitutive androstane receptor (CAR)/pregnane X receptor (PXR)-CYP2B/CYP2C axis is activated in DKO livers but not in other cholestasis models. Loss of this axis in Fxr:Shp:Car:Pxr quadruple knockouts blocked Cyp2b/Cyp2c gene induction, impaired bilirubin conjugation/elimination, and increased liver injury. Differential CYP2B expression in DKO and Bsep-/- was recapitulated in human PFIC5 and PFIC2 livers. In conclusion, loss of FXR/SHP results in distinct molecular pathogenesis and CAR/PXR activation, which promotes Cyp2b/Cyp2c gene transcription and bilirubin clearance. CAR/PXR activation was not observed in Bsep-/- mice or PFIC2 patients. These findings provide a deeper understanding of the heterogeneity of intrahepatic cholestasis.

Defects in Gallbladder Emptying and Bile Acid Homeostasis in Mice With Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator Deficiencies

PubMed Central

Debray, Dominique; Rainteau, Dominique; Barbu, Véronique; Rouahi, Myriam; Mourabit, Haquima El; Lerondel, Stéphanie; Rey, Colette; Humbert, Lydie; Wendum, Dominique; Cottart, Charles-Henry; Dawson, Paul; Chignard, Nicolas; Housset, Chantal

2013-01-01

Background & Aims Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) have poorly defined defects in biliary function. We evaluated the effects of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) deficiency on the enterohepatic disposition of bile acids (BAs). Methods Bile secretion and BA homeostasis were investigated in Cftrtm1Unc (Cftr−/−) and CftrΔF508 (ΔF508) mice. Results Cftr−/− and ΔF508 mice did not grow to normal size, but did not have liver abnormalities. The gallbladders of Cftr−/− mice were enlarged and had defects in emptying, based on99mtechnetiummebrofenin scintigraphy or post-prandial variationsn gallbladder volume; gallbladder contraction in response to cholecystokinin-8 was normal. Cftr−/− mice had abnormal gallbladder bile and duodenal acidity, and overexpressed the vasoactive intestinal peptide—a myorelaxant factor for the gallbladder. The BA pool was larger in Cftr−/− than wild-type mice, although there were no differences in fecal loss of BAs. Amounts of secondary BAs in portal blood, liver, and bile of Cftr−/− mice were much lower than normal. Expression of genes that are induced by BAs, including fibroblast growth factor-15 and BA transporters, was lower in the ileum but higher in the gallbladders of Cftr−/− mice, compared with wild-type mice, whereas enzymes that synthesize BA were down-regulated in livers of Cftr−/− mice. This indicates that BAs underwent a cholecystohepatic shunt, which was confirmed using cholyl-(Ne-NBD)-lysine as a tracer. In Cftr−/− mice, cholecystectomy reversed most changes in gene expression and partially restored circulating levels of secondary BAs. The ΔF508 mice overexpressed vasoactive intestinal peptide and had defects in gallbladder emptying and in levels of secondary BAs, but these features were less severe than in Cftr−/− mice. Conclusions Cftr−/− and CftrΔF508 mice have defects in gallbladder emptying that disrupt enterohepatic circulation of BAs. These defects create a shunt pathway that restricts the amount of toxic secondary BAs that enter the liver. PMID:22370478

Differential Hedonic Experience and Behavioral Activation in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

PubMed Central

Tso, Ivy F.; Grove, Tyler B.; Taylor, Stephan F.

2014-01-01

The Kraepelinian distinction between schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BP) emphasizes affective and volitional impairment in the former, but data directly comparing the two disorders for hedonic experience are scarce. This study examined whether hedonic experience and behavioral activation may be useful phenotypes distinguishing SZ and BP. Participants were 39 SZ and 24 BP patients without current mood episode matched for demographics and negative affect, along with 36 healthy controls (HC). They completed the Chapman Physical and Social Anhedonia Scales, Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS), and Behavioral Activation Scale (BAS). SZ and BP showed equally elevated levels of self-report negative affect and trait anhedonia compared to HC. However, SZ reported significantly lower pleasure experience (TEPS) and behavioral activation (BAS) than BP, who did not differ from HC. SZ and BP showed differential patterns of relationships between the hedonic experience and behavioral activation measures. Overall, the results suggest that reduced hedonic experience and behavioral activation may be effective phenotypes distinguishing SZ from BP even when affective symptoms are minimal. However, hedonic experience differences between SZ and BP are sensitive to measurement strategy, calling for further research on the nature of anhedonia and its relation to motivation in these disorders. PMID:24999173

Electroacoustic analysis, design, and implementation of a small balanced armature speaker.

PubMed

Bai, Mingsian R; You, Bo-Cheng; Lo, Yi-Yang

2014-11-01

This paper presents a new design and implementation of a balanced armature speaker (BAS), which is composed of permanent magnetic circuits, a moving armature, and a coil. The armature rocks about a pivot with the coil at one end and the permanent magnet on another. A magnetic circuit analysis is conducted for the designed BAS to formulate the force factor, which is required for modeling the coupling between the electrical and mechanical systems. In addition, an electromechanoacoustical analogous circuit is established for the BAS, which bears the same structure as the moving coil loudspeaker, except that the force factor is different. A hybrid model, which combines the lumped parameter model in the electrical and acoustical domains with a finite element model in the mechanical domain, is developed to model the high-frequency response because of the high-order modes of the membrane, the drive rod, and the armature. The electroacoustic analysis is experimentally verified. The results indicate that the sound pressure response that is simulated using the hybrid model is in superior agreement with the measured response to that simulated using the lumped parameter model.

Cerebral oximetry monitoring in the management of severe hypoxaemia associated with transposition of the great arteries with balloon atrial septostomy.

PubMed

Pérez Moreno, J C; Nájera Losada, D C; Sanabria Carretero, P; Paredes Lacave, Á; Benito Bartolomé, F

2018-05-01

Transposition of the great arteries (D-TGA) is one of the most common congenital heart diseases requiring neonatal surgical intervention. In the desperately ill neonate with TGA and the resultant hypoxaemia, acidemia, and congestive heart failure, improvement is often obtained with balloon atrial septostomy (BAS). Current methods employed to evaluate oxygen delivery and tissue consumption are frequently nonspecific. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) allows a continuous non-invasive measurement of tissue oxygenation which reflects perfusion status in real time. Because little is known about the direct effect of BAS on the neonatal brain and on cerebral oxygenation, we measured the effectiveness of BAS in two patients with D-TGA using NIRS before and after BAS. We concluded BAS improves cerebral oxygen saturation in neonates with D-TGA. Copyright © 2017 Sociedad Española de Anestesiología, Reanimación y Terapéutica del Dolor. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Electromembrane extraction of biogenic amines in food samples by a microfluidic-chip system followed by dabsyl derivatization prior to high performance liquid chromatography analysis.

PubMed

Zarghampour, Fereshteh; Yamini, Yadollah; Baharfar, Mahroo; Faraji, Mohammad

2018-06-29

In the present research, an on-chip electromembrane extraction coupled with high performance liquid chromatography was developed for monitoring the trace levels of biogenic amines (BAs), including histamine, tryptamine, putrescine, cadaverine and spermidine in food samples. A porous polypropylene sheet membrane impregnated with an organic solvent was placed between the two parts of the chip device to separate the channels. Two platinum electrodes were mounted at the bottom of these channels, which were connected to a power supply, providing the electrical driving force for migration of ionized analytes from the sample solution through the porous sheet membrane into the acceptor phase. BAs were extracted from 2 mL aqueous sample solutions at neutral pH into 50 μL of acidified (HCl 90 mM) acceptor solution. Supported liquid membrane including NPOE containing 10% DEHP was used to ensure efficient extraction. Low voltage of 40 V was applied over the SLMs during extraction time. The influences of fundamental parameters affecting the transport of BAs were optimized. Under the optimized conditions, the relative standard deviations based on four replicate measurements were less than 8.0% and limit of detections were in range of 3.0-8.0 μg L -1 . Finally, the method was successfully applied to determinate BAs in the food samples and satisfactory results (recovery > 95.6) were obtained. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ubiquitous Creation of Bas-Relief Surfaces with Depth-of-Field Effects Using Smartphones.

PubMed

Sohn, Bong-Soo

2017-03-11

This paper describes a new method to automatically generate digital bas-reliefs with depth-of-field effects from general scenes. Most previous methods for bas-relief generation take input in the form of 3D models. However, obtaining 3D models of real scenes or objects is often difficult, inaccurate, and time-consuming. From this motivation, we developed a method that takes as input a set of photographs that can be quickly and ubiquitously captured by ordinary smartphone cameras. A depth map is computed from the input photographs. The value range of the depth map is compressed and used as a base map representing the overall shape of the bas-relief. However, the resulting base map contains little information on details of the scene. Thus, we construct a detail map using pixel values of the input image to express the details. The base and detail maps are blended to generate a new depth map that reflects both overall depth and scene detail information. This map is selectively blurred to simulate the depth-of-field effects. The final depth map is converted to a bas-relief surface mesh. Experimental results show that our method generates a realistic bas-relief surface of general scenes with no expensive manual processing.

Ubiquitous Creation of Bas-Relief Surfaces with Depth-of-Field Effects Using Smartphones

PubMed Central

Sohn, Bong-Soo

2017-01-01

This paper describes a new method to automatically generate digital bas-reliefs with depth-of-field effects from general scenes. Most previous methods for bas-relief generation take input in the form of 3D models. However, obtaining 3D models of real scenes or objects is often difficult, inaccurate, and time-consuming. From this motivation, we developed a method that takes as input a set of photographs that can be quickly and ubiquitously captured by ordinary smartphone cameras. A depth map is computed from the input photographs. The value range of the depth map is compressed and used as a base map representing the overall shape of the bas-relief. However, the resulting base map contains little information on details of the scene. Thus, we construct a detail map using pixel values of the input image to express the details. The base and detail maps are blended to generate a new depth map that reflects both overall depth and scene detail information. This map is selectively blurred to simulate the depth-of-field effects. The final depth map is converted to a bas-relief surface mesh. Experimental results show that our method generates a realistic bas-relief surface of general scenes with no expensive manual processing. PMID:28287487

DOPA Decarboxylase Modulates Tau Toxicity.

PubMed

Kow, Rebecca L; Sikkema, Carl; Wheeler, Jeanna M; Wilkinson, Charles W; Kraemer, Brian C

2018-03-01

The microtubule-associated protein tau accumulates into toxic aggregates in multiple neurodegenerative diseases. We found previously that loss of D 2 -family dopamine receptors ameliorated tauopathy in multiple models including a Caenorhabditis elegans model of tauopathy. To better understand how loss of D 2 -family dopamine receptors can ameliorate tau toxicity, we screened a collection of C. elegans mutations in dopamine-related genes (n = 45) for changes in tau transgene-induced behavioral defects. These included many genes responsible for dopamine synthesis, metabolism, and signaling downstream of the D 2 receptors. We identified one dopamine synthesis gene, DOPA decarboxylase (DDC), as a suppressor of tau toxicity in tau transgenic worms. Loss of the C. elegans DDC gene, bas-1, ameliorated the behavioral deficits of tau transgenic worms, reduced phosphorylated and detergent-insoluble tau accumulation, and reduced tau-mediated neuron loss. Loss of function in other genes in the dopamine and serotonin synthesis pathways did not alter tau-induced toxicity; however, their function is required for the suppression of tau toxicity by bas-1. Additional loss of D 2 -family dopamine receptors did not synergize with bas-1 suppression of tauopathy phenotypes. Loss of the DDC bas-1 reduced tau-induced toxicity in a C. elegans model of tauopathy, while loss of no other dopamine or serotonin synthesis genes tested had this effect. Because loss of activity upstream of DDC could reduce suppression of tau by DDC, this suggests the possibility that loss of DDC suppresses tau via the combined accumulation of dopamine precursor levodopa and serotonin precursor 5-hydroxytryptophan. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Reporter-free potentiometric sensing of boronic acids and their reactions by using quaternary ammonium salt-functionalized polymeric liquid membranes.

PubMed

Wang, Xuewei; Yue, Dengfeng; Lv, Enguang; Wu, Lei; Qin, Wei

2014-02-18

The tremendous applications of boronic acids (BAs) in chemical sensing, medical chemistry, molecular assembly, and organic synthesis lead to an urgent demand for developing effective sensing methods for BAs. This paper reports a facile and sensitive potentiometric sensor scheme for heterogeneous detection of BAs based on their unexpected potential responses on quaternary ammonium salt-doped polymeric liquid membranes. (11)B NMR data reveal that a quaternary ammonium chloride can trigger the hydrolysis of an electrically neutral BA in an aprotic solvent. Using the quaternary ammonium salt as the receptor, the BA molecules can be extracted from the sample solution into the polymeric membrane phase and undergo the concomitant hydrolysis. Such salt-triggered hydrolysis generates H(+) ions, which can be coejected into the aqueous phase with the counterions (e.g., Cl(-)) owing to their high hydrophilicities. The perturbation on the ionic partition at the sample-membrane interface changes the phase boundary potential and thus enables the potentiometric sensing of BAs. In contrast to other transduction methods for BAs, for which labeled or separate reporters are exclusively required, the present heterogeneous sensing scheme allows the direct detection of BAs without using any reporter molecules. This technique shows superior detection limits for BAs (e.g., 1.0 × 10(-6) M for phenylboronic acid) as compared to previously reported methods based on colorimetry, fluorimetry, and mass spectrometry. The proposed sensing strategy has also been successfully applied to potentiometric indication of the BA reactions with hydrogen peroxide and saccharides, which allows indirect and sensitive detection of these important species.

Altered Reward Reactivity as a Behavioural Endophenotype in Eating Disorders: A Pilot Investigation in Twins.

PubMed

Kanakam, Natalie; Krug, Isabel; Collier, David; Treasure, Janet

2017-05-01

Altered reward reactivity is a potential risk endophenotype for eating disorders (EDs). The aim of this study was to examine reward reactivity in female twins with EDs and compare it with a twin control group. A sample of 112 twins [n = 51 met lifetime DSM-IV ED criteria (anorexia nervosa n = 26; bulimic disorders n = 24), n = 19 unaffected cotwins and n = 42 control twins] was administered measures assessing reward reactivity, including the Game of Dice Task, the Behavioural Inhibition/Activation (BIS/BAS) Scales and the Appetitive Motivation Scale (AMS). Within pair, correlations for monozygotic and dizygotic twins were calculated and generalised estimating equations compared probands with non-ED cotwins and controls. The BAS and the AMS were reduced in EDs and negatively associated with restrictive symptoms. In addition, monozygotic twins pairs demonstrated significant within pair similarity for the BAS and AMS. Conversely, there was less evidence to support the BIS or risky decision-making as measured by the Game of Dice Task as an endophenotype in EDs. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

Optical visualisation of thermogenesis in stimulated single-cell brown adipocytes.

PubMed

Kriszt, Rókus; Arai, Satoshi; Itoh, Hideki; Lee, Michelle H; Goralczyk, Anna G; Ang, Xiu Min; Cypess, Aaron M; White, Andrew P; Shamsi, Farnaz; Xue, Ruidan; Lee, Jung Yeol; Lee, Sung-Chan; Hou, Yanyan; Kitaguchi, Tetsuya; Sudhaharan, Thankiah; Ishiwata, Shin'ichi; Lane, E Birgitte; Chang, Young-Tae; Tseng, Yu-Hua; Suzuki, Madoka; Raghunath, Michael

2017-05-03

The identification of brown adipose deposits in adults has led to significant interest in targeting this metabolically active tissue for treatment of obesity and diabetes. Improved methods for the direct measurement of heat production as the signature function of brown adipocytes (BAs), particularly at the single cell level, would be of substantial benefit to these ongoing efforts. Here, we report the first application of a small molecule-type thermosensitive fluorescent dye, ERthermAC, to monitor thermogenesis in BAs derived from murine brown fat precursors and in human brown fat cells differentiated from human neck brown preadipocytes. ERthermAC accumulated in the endoplasmic reticulum of BAs and displayed a marked change in fluorescence intensity in response to adrenergic stimulation of cells, which corresponded to temperature change. ERthermAC fluorescence intensity profiles were congruent with mitochondrial depolarisation events visualised by the JC-1 probe. Moreover, the averaged fluorescence intensity changes across a population of cells correlated well with dynamic changes such as thermal power, oxygen consumption, and extracellular acidification rates. These findings suggest ERthermAC as a promising new tool for studying thermogenic function in brown adipocytes of both murine and human origins.

Small Hydropower in Latvia and Intellectualization of its Operating Systems / Par Mazo HIDROENERĢĒTIKU LATVIJĀ un TĀS Staciju VADĪBAS SISTĒMAS INTELEKTUALIZĀCIJU

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahnitko, A.; Gerhards, J.; Linkevics, O.; Varfolomejeva, R.; Umbrasko, I.

2013-12-01

The authors estimate the potential for power generation from water resources of small and medium-sized rivers, which are abundant in Latvia. They propose the algorithm for optimal operation of a small-scale hydropower plant (SHPP) at the chosen optimality criterion in view of the plant's participation in the market. The choice of SHPP optimization algorithm is made based on two mathematical programming methods - dynamic and generalized reduced gradient ones. Approbation of the algorithm is illustrated by an example of optimized SHPP operation. Darbā analizētas tradicionālo un pieejamo vietējo atjaunojamo energoresursu - mazo un vidējo upju hidroresursa izmantošanas iespējas Latvijas enerģētikā. Tiek sniegts faktiskais materiāls šajā jautājumā, kas iegūts, balstoties uz oficiālos avotos publicētiem citu autoru iepriekš veiktajiem pētījumiem. Tiek atzīmēts, ka teritoriju, kas atrodas mazo upju tuvumā un nav ietvertas centralizētās elektroapgādes sistēmā, saimnieciskā apgūšana rada apstākļus patērētāju stimulēšanai izmantot autonomus vietējos energoresursus, ieskaitot hidroenerģiju, izmantojošas mazas jaudas energoiekārtas. Atjaunojamās enerģijas tehnoloģiju un iekārtu pastāvīga attīstība un pilnveidošanās veicinās mazo upju plūsmas izmantošanas elektroenerģijas ražošanas efektivitātes paaugstināšanos. Mūsdienu enerģētikas attīstības koncepcija, kas balstīta uz viedo tīklu (smart grids) izveidi, ļauj paaugstināt mazās hidroenerģētikas darbības efektivitāti, integrējot to elektroenerģētiskajā sistēmā. Mazo hidroelektrostaciju (MHES) darbības vadības sistēmas intelektualizācijas pamatā jābūt kompleksam algoritmam un programmām, kas ļauj tiešsaistes (online) režīmā nodrošināt izdevīgu MHES darbības grafiku (režīmu) maksimālā ienākuma gūšanai, balstoties uz zināmu elektroenerģijas cenas prognozi attiecīgajam laika periodam (diennaktij). MHES darbības optimizācijas algoritma, kas pēc būtības ir tās vadības pamats, izstrāde tiek veikta, balstoties uz klasiskās matemātiskas programmēšanas metodes - dinamiskās programmēšanas metodi un vispārināto reducēto gradienta metodi. Izstrādājot programmu kodus, kas realizē autonomā režīmā strādājošas MHES optimizācijas algoritmu, nepieciešams izmantot speciālas aprēķinu procedūras, kas ir adaptīvas pret konkrētiem MHES ūdens spiediena ierobežojumiem. Algoritma aprobācija veikta uz konkrētas MHES režīma optimizācijas piemēra.

Experimentally Determined Phase Diagram for the Barium Sulfide-Copper(I) Sulfide System Above 873 K (600 °C)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stinn, Caspar; Nose, Katsuhiro; Okabe, Toru; Allanore, Antoine

2017-12-01

The phase diagram of the barium sulfide-copper(I) sulfide system was investigated above 873 K (600 °C) using a custom-built differential thermal analysis (DTA) apparatus. The melting point of barium sulfide was determined utilizing a floating zone furnace. Four new compounds, Ba2Cu14S9, Ba2Cu2S3, Ba5Cu4S7, and Ba9Cu2S10, were identified through quench experiments analyzed with wavelength dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (WDS) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS). A miscibility gap was observed between 72 and 92 mol pct BaS using both DTA experiments and in situ melts observation in a floating zone furnace. A monotectic was observed at 94.5 mol pct BaS and 1288 K (1015 °C).

Vapor-Phase Hydrodeoxygenation of Guaiacol to Aromatics over Pt/HBeta: Identification of the Role of Acid Sites and Metal Sites on the Reaction Pathway

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nie, Lei; Peng, Bo; Zhu, Xinli

Hydrodeoxygenation of guaiacol, a phenolic compound derived from lignin fraction of biomass, over a Pt/HBeta catalyst at 350 °C and atmospheric pressure produces benzene, toluene, xylenes, and C9+ aromatics with yield of 42%, 29%, 12%, and 5%, respectively. Reaction pathways for conversion of two functional groups (hydroxyl and methoxyl) over the bifunctional catalyst were studied. Both guaiacol and intermediate products (catechol and cyclopentanone) were fed onto zeolite HBeta and Pt/SiO2 to identify the individual role of acid site and metal site. Acid sites (mainly Brønsted acid site, BAS) catalyze transalkylation and dehydroxylation reactions in sequence, producing phenol, cresols and xylenolsmore » as the major products at high conversion. Pt sites catalyze demethylation reaction resulting in catechol as the primary product, which can either be deoxygenated to phenol followed by phenol to benzene, or decarbonylated to cyclopentanone and further to butane. The close proximity of Pt and BAS in bifunctional Pt/HBeta enables both transalkylation and deoxygenation reactions with inhibited demethylation and decarbonylation reactions, producing aromatics as major final products with a total yield > 85%. Both activity and stability of bifunctional Pt/HBeta during hydrodeoxygenation of guaiacol is improved compared to HBeta and Pt/SiO2. The addition of water to the feed further improves the activity and stability via hydrolysis of O-CH3 bond of guaiacol on BAS and removing coke around Pt.« less

Parallel Molecular Distributed Detection With Brownian Motion.

PubMed

Rogers, Uri; Koh, Min-Sung

2016-12-01

This paper explores the in vivo distributed detection of an undesired biological agent's (BAs) biomarkers by a group of biological sized nanomachines in an aqueous medium under drift. The term distributed, indicates that the system information relative to the BAs presence is dispersed across the collection of nanomachines, where each nanomachine possesses limited communication, computation, and movement capabilities. Using Brownian motion with drift, a probabilistic detection and optimal data fusion framework, coined molecular distributed detection, will be introduced that combines theory from both molecular communication and distributed detection. Using the optimal data fusion framework as a guide, simulation indicates that a sub-optimal fusion method exists, allowing for a significant reduction in implementation complexity while retaining BA detection accuracy.

SUBMERSED AQUATIC VEGETATION MAPPING USING HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGERY

EPA Science Inventory

Submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) beds are an important resources for aquatic life and
wildfowl in the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay region. SAV habitat is threatened in part by nitrogen loadings from human activities. Monitoring and assessing this resource using field bas...

Soy-based UV resistant polyurethane pultruded composites.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-02-01

Aliphatic polyurethane (PU) nanocomposites were synthesized using organically modified nanoclays. X-Ray diffraction results : confirmed good exfoliation of nanoclay particles in the PU resin system. With the addition of just 1% of nanoclay in the bas...

Noncoplanar Beam Angle Class Solutions to Replace Time-Consuming Patient-Specific Beam Angle Optimization in Robotic Prostate Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rossi, Linda, E-mail: l.rossi@erasmusmc.nl; Breedveld, Sebastiaan; Aluwini, Shafak

Purpose: To investigate development of a recipe for the creation of a beam angle class solution (CS) for noncoplanar prostate stereotactic body radiation therapy to replace time-consuming individualized beam angle selection (iBAS) without significant loss in plan quality, using the in-house “Erasmus-iCycle” optimizer for fully automated beam profile optimization and iBAS. Methods and Materials: For 30 patients, Erasmus-iCycle was first used to generate 15-, 20-, and 25-beam iBAS plans for a CyberKnife equipped with a multileaf collimator. With these plans, 6 recipes for creation of beam angle CSs were investigated. Plans of 10 patients were used to create CSs based on themore » recipes, and the other 20 to independently test them. For these tests, Erasmus-iCycle was also used to generate intensity modulated radiation therapy plans for the fixed CS beam setups. Results: Of the tested recipes for CS creation, only 1 resulted in 15-, 20-, and 25-beam noncoplanar CSs without plan deterioration compared with iBAS. For the patient group, mean differences in rectum D{sub 1cc}, V{sub 60GyEq}, V{sub 40GyEq}, and D{sub mean} between 25-beam CS plans and 25-beam plans generated with iBAS were 0.2 ± 0.4 Gy, 0.1% ± 0.2%, 0.2% ± 0.3%, and 0.1 ± 0.2 Gy, respectively. Differences between 15- and 20-beam CS and iBAS plans were also negligible. Plan quality for CS plans relative to iBAS plans was also preserved when narrower planning target volume margins were arranged and when planning target volume dose inhomogeneity was decreased. Using a CS instead of iBAS reduced the computation time by a factor of 14 to 25, mainly depending on beam number, without loss in plan quality. Conclusions: A recipe for creation of robust beam angle CSs for robotic prostate stereotactic body radiation therapy has been developed. Compared with iBAS, computation times decreased by a factor 14 to 25. The use of a CS may avoid long planning times without losses in plan quality.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fu, Zidong Donna; Klaassen, Curtis D., E-mail: cklaasse@kumc.edu

Previous studies showed glucose and insulin signaling can regulate bile acid (BA) metabolism during fasting or feeding. However, limited knowledge is available on the effect of calorie restriction (CR), a well-known anti-aging intervention, on BA homeostasis. To address this, the present study utilized a “dose–response” model of CR, where male C57BL/6 mice were fed 0, 15, 30, or 40% CR diets for one month, followed by BA profiling in various compartments of the enterohepatic circulation by UPLC-MS/MS technique. This study showed that 40% CR increased the BA pool size (162%) as well as total BAs in serum, gallbladder, and smallmore » intestinal contents. In addition, CR “dose-dependently” increased the concentrations of tauro-cholic acid (TCA) and many secondary BAs (produced by intestinal bacteria) in serum, such as tauro-deoxycholic acid (TDCA), DCA, lithocholic acid, ω-muricholic acid (ωMCA), and hyodeoxycholic acid. Notably, 40% CR increased TDCA by over 1000% (serum, liver, and gallbladder). Interestingly, 40% CR increased the proportion of 12α-hydroxylated BAs (CA and DCA), which correlated with improved glucose tolerance and lipid parameters. The CR-induced increase in BAs correlated with increased expression of BA-synthetic (Cyp7a1) and conjugating enzymes (BAL), and the ileal BA-binding protein (Ibabp). These results suggest that CR increases BAs in male mice possibly through orchestrated increases in BA synthesis and conjugation in liver as well as intracellular transport in ileum. - Highlights: • Dose response effects of short-term CR on BA homeostasis in male mice. • CR increased the BA pool size and many individual BAs. • CR altered BA composition (increased proportion of 12α-hydroxylated BAs). • Increased mRNAs of BA enzymes in liver (Cyp7a1 and BAL) and ileal BA binding protein.« less

Octopamine and Dopamine differentially modulate the nicotine-induced calcium response in Drosophila Mushroom Body Kenyon Cells.

PubMed

Leyton, V; Goles, N I; Fuenzalida-Uribe, N; Campusano, J M

2014-02-07

In Drosophila associative olfactory learning, an odor, the conditioned stimulus (CS), is paired to an unconditioned stimulus (US). The CS and US information arrive at the Mushroom Bodies (MB), a Drosophila brain region that processes the information to generate new memories. It has been shown that olfactory information is conveyed through cholinergic inputs that activate nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in the MB, while the US is coded by biogenic amine (BA) systems that innervate the MB. In this regard, the MB acts as a coincidence detector. A better understanding of the properties of the responses gated by nicotinic and BA receptors is required to get insights on the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for memory formation. In recent years, information has become available on the properties of the responses induced by nAChR activation in Kenyon Cells (KCs), the main neuronal MB population. However, very little information exists on the responses induced by aminergic systems in fly MB. Here we have evaluated some of the properties of the calcium responses gated by Dopamine (DA) and Octopamine (Oct) in identified KCs in culture. We report that exposure to BAs induces a fast but rather modest increase in intracellular calcium levels in cultured KCs. The responses to Oct and DA are fully blocked by a VGCC blocker, while they are differentially modulated by cAMP. Moreover, co-application of BAs and nicotine has different effects on intracellular calcium levels: while DA and nicotine effects are additive, Oct and nicotine induce a synergistic increase in calcium levels. These results suggest that a differential modulation of nicotine-induced calcium increase by DA and Oct could contribute to the events leading to learning and memory in flies. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multistatic Array Sampling Scheme for Fast Near-Field Image Reconstruction

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-01-01

reconstruction. The array topology samples the scene on a regular grid of phase centers, using a tiling of Boundary Arrays (BAs). Following a simple correction...hardware. Fig. 1 depicts the multistatic array topology. As seen, the topology is a tiled arrangement of Boundary Arrays (BAs). The BA is a well-known...sparse array layout comprised of two linear transmit arrays, and two linear receive arrays [6]. A slightly different tiled arrangement of BAs was used

Design of BAs-AlN monolayered honeycomb heterojunction structures: A first-principles study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Camacho-Mojica, Dulce C.; López-Urías, Florentino

2016-04-01

BAs and AlN are semiconductor materials with an indirect and direct gap respectively in the bulk phase. Recently, electronic calculations have demonstrated that a single-layer or few layers of BAs and AlN exhibit a graphite-like structure with interesting electronic properties. In this work, infinite sheets single-layer heterojunction structures based on alternated strips with honeycomb BAs and AlN layers are investigated using first-principles density functional theory calculations. Optimized geometries, density of states, band-gaps, formation energies, and wave functions are studied for different strip widths joined along zigzag and armchair edges. Results in optimized heterojunction geometries revealed that BAs narrow strips exhibit a corrugation effect due to a lattice mismatch. It was found that zigzag heterojunctions are more energetically favored than armchair heterojunctions. Furthermore, the formation energy presents a maximum at the point where the heterojunction becomes a planar structure. Electronic charge density results yielded a more ionic behavior in Alsbnd N bonds than the Bsbnd As bonds in accordance with monolayer results. It was observed that the conduction band minimum for both heterojunctions exhibit confined states located mainly at the entire AlN strips whereas the valence band maximum exhibits confined states located mainly at BAs strips. We expect that the present investigation will motivate more experimental and theoretical studies on new layered materials made of III-V semiconductors.

Eversion Technique to Prevent Biliary Stricture After Living Donor Liver Transplantation in the Universal Minimal Hilar Dissection Era.

PubMed

Ikegami, Toru; Shimagaki, Tomonari; Kawasaki, Junji; Yoshizumi, Tomoharu; Uchiyama, Hideaki; Harada, Noboru; Harimoto, Norifumi; Itoh, Shinji; Soejima, Yuji; Maehara, Yoshihiko

2017-01-01

Biliary anastomosis stricture (BAS) is still among the major concerns after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), even after the technical refinements including the universal use of the blood flow-preserving hilar dissection technique. The aim of this study is to investigate what are still the factors for BAS after LDLT. An analysis of 279 adult-to-adult LDLT grafts (left lobe, n = 161; right lobe, n = 118) with duct-to-duct biliary reconstruction, since the universal application of minimal hilar dissection technique and gradual introduction of eversion technique, was performed. There were 39 patients with BAS. Univariate analysis showed that a right lobe graft (P = 0.008), multiple bile ducts (P < 0.001), ductoplasty (P < 0.001), not using the eversion technique (P = 0.004) and fewer biliary stents than bile duct orifices (P = 0.002) were among the factors associated with BAS. The 1-year and 5-year BAS survival rates were 17.7% and 21.2% in the noneversion group (n = 134), and 6.2% and 7.9% in the eversion group (n = 145), respectively (P = 0.002). The perioperative factors including graft biliary anatomy were not different between everted (n = 134) and noneverted (n = 145) patients. The application of eversion technique under minimal hilar dissection technique could be a key for preventing BAS in duct-to-duct biliary reconstruction in LDLT.

Ab initio study of the effect of vacancies on the thermal conductivity of boron arsenide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Protik, Nakib Haider; Carrete, Jesús; Katcho, Nebil A.; Mingo, Natalio; Broido, David

2016-07-01

Using a first principles theoretical approach, we show that vacancies give anomalously strong suppression of the lattice thermal conductivity κ of cubic Boron arsenide (BAs), which has recently been predicted to have an exceptionally high κ . This effect is tied to the unusually large phonon lifetimes in BAs and results in a stronger reduction in the BAs κ than occurs in diamond. The large changes in bonding around vacancies cannot be accurately captured using standard perturbative methods and are instead treated here using an ab initio Green function approach. As and B vacancies are found to have similar effects on κ . In contrast, we show that commonly used mass disorder models for vacancies fail for large mass ratio compounds such as BAs, incorrectly predicting much stronger (weaker) phonon scattering when the vacancy is on the heavy (light) atom site. The quantitative treatment given here contributes to fundamental understanding of the effect of point defects on thermal transport in solids and provides guidance to synthesis efforts to grow high quality BAs.

Determination of biogenic amine profiles in conventional and organic cocoa-based products.

PubMed

Restuccia, Donatella; Spizzirri, U Gianfranco; Puoci, Francesco; Picci, Nevio

2015-01-01

Cocoa contains many compounds such as biogenic amines (BAs), known to influence consumer health. Spermidine, spermidine, putrescine, histamine, tyramine, β-phenylethylamine, cadaverine and serotonine have been found in several cocoa-based products using HPLC with UV detection after derivatisation with dansyl-chloride. Once optimised in terms of linearity, percentage recovery, LOD, LOQ and repeatability, this method was applied to real samples. Total concentrations of BAs ranged from 5.7 to 79.0 µg g(-)(1) with wide variations depending on the type of sample. BAs present in all samples were in decreasing order: histamine (1.9-38.1 µg g(-)(1)) and tyramine (1.7-31.7 µg g(-)(1)), while putrescine (0.9-32.7 µg g(-)(1)), spermidine (1.0-9.7 µg g(-)(1)) and spermidine (0.6-9.3 µg g(-)(1)) were present in most of the samples. Cadaverine, serotonine and β-phenylethylamine were present in a few samples at much lower concentrations. Organic samples always contained much lower levels of BAs than their conventional counterparts and, generally speaking, the highest amounts of BAs were found in the most processed products.

Bas-relief generation using adaptive histogram equalization.

PubMed

Sun, Xianfang; Rosin, Paul L; Martin, Ralph R; Langbein, Frank C

2009-01-01

An algorithm is presented to automatically generate bas-reliefs based on adaptive histogram equalization (AHE), starting from an input height field. A mesh model may alternatively be provided, in which case a height field is first created via orthogonal or perspective projection. The height field is regularly gridded and treated as an image, enabling a modified AHE method to be used to generate a bas-relief with a user-chosen height range. We modify the original image-contrast-enhancement AHE method to use gradient weights also to enhance the shape features of the bas-relief. To effectively compress the height field, we limit the height-dependent scaling factors used to compute relative height variations in the output from height variations in the input; this prevents any height differences from having too great effect. Results of AHE over different neighborhood sizes are averaged to preserve information at different scales in the resulting bas-relief. Compared to previous approaches, the proposed algorithm is simple and yet largely preserves original shape features. Experiments show that our results are, in general, comparable to and in some cases better than the best previously published methods.

Bullying Victimization and Perpetration and Their Correlates in Adolescents Clinically Diagnosed With ADHD.

PubMed

Chou, Wen-Jiun; Liu, Tai-Ling; Yang, Pinchen; Yen, Cheng-Fang; Hu, Huei-Fan

2018-01-01

To examine the prevalence rates of bullying involvement and their correlates in adolescents diagnosed with ADHD in Taiwan. Bullying involvement, family and ADHD characteristics, the levels of behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and behavioral approach system (BAS), and psychiatric comorbidity were assessed in 287 adolescents with ADHD. The multiple regression analysis was used to examine the correlate of bullying victimization and perpetration. The prevalence rates of the pure victims, pure perpetrators, and victim-perpetrators were 14.6%, 8.4%, and 5.6%, respectively. Young age, a high BIS score, autism spectrum disorders, and low satisfaction with family relationships were associated with severe bullying victimization. A high score of fun seeking on the BAS and low satisfaction with family relationships were associated with severe bullying perpetration. A high proportion of adolescents with ADHD are involved in bullying. Multiple factors are associated with bullying involvement in adolescents with ADHD.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Krishnan, Venkat; Cole, Wesley

Power sector capacity expansion models (CEMs) have a broad range of spatial resolutions. This paper uses the Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) model, a long-term national scale electric sector CEM, to evaluate the value of high spatial resolution for CEMs. ReEDS models the United States with 134 load balancing areas (BAs) and captures the variability in existing generation parameters, future technology costs, performance, and resource availability using very high spatial resolution data, especially for wind and solar modeled at 356 resource regions. In this paper we perform planning studies at three different spatial resolutions--native resolution (134 BAs), state-level, and NERCmore » region level--and evaluate how results change under different levels of spatial aggregation in terms of renewable capacity deployment and location, associated transmission builds, and system costs. The results are used to ascertain the value of high geographically resolved models in terms of their impact on relative competitiveness among renewable energy resources.« less

Multispectral analysis of biological agents to implement a quick tool for stand-off biological detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carestia, M.; Pizzoferrato, R.; Lungaroni, M.; Gabriele, J.; Ludovici, G. M.; Cenciarelli, O.; Gelfusa, M.; Murari, A.; Malizia, A.; Gaudio, P.

2015-10-01

With the aim of identifying an approach to exploit the differences in the fluorescence signatures of biological agents BAs, we have investigated the response of some BAs simulants to a set of different excitation wavelengths in the UV spectral range (i.e. 266, 273, 280, 300, 340, 355 nm). Our preliminary results on bacterial spores and vegetative forms, dispersed in water, showed that the differences in the fluorescence spectra can be enhanced, and more easily revealed, by using different excitation wavelengths. Specifically, the photo luminescence (PL) spectra coming from different species of Bacillus, in the form of spores (used as simulants of Bacillus anthracis), show significant differences under excitation at all the wavelengths, with slightly larger differences at 300, 340, 355 nm. On the other hand, the vegetative forms of two Bacillus species, did not show any appreciable difference, i.e. the PL spectra are virtually identical, for the excitation wavelengths of 266, 273, 280 nm. Conversely, small yet appreciable difference appear at 300, 340, 355 nm. Finally, large difference appear between the spore and the vegetative form of each species at all the wavelengths, with slightly larger variations at 300, 340, 355 nm. Together, these preliminary results support the hypothesis that a multi-wavelength approach could be used to improve the sensitivity and specificity of UV-LIF based BAs detection systems. The second step of this work concerns the application of a Support Vector Regression (SVR) method, as evaluated in our previous work to define a methodology for the setup of a multispectral database for the stand-off detection of BAs.

Hal Is a Bacillus anthracis Heme Acquisition Protein

PubMed Central

Balderas, Miriam A.; Nobles, Christopher L.; Honsa, Erin S.; Alicki, Embriette R.

2012-01-01

The metal iron is a limiting nutrient for bacteria during infection. Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax and a potential weapon of bioterrorism, grows rapidly in mammalian hosts, which suggests that it efficiently attains iron during infection. Recent studies have uncovered both heme (isd) and siderophore-mediated (asb) iron transport pathways in this pathogen. Whereas deletion of the asb genes results in reduced virulence, the loss of three surface components from isd had no effect, thereby leaving open the question of what additional factors in B. anthracis are responsible for iron uptake from the most abundant iron source for mammals, heme. Here, we describe the first functional characterization of bas0520, a gene recently implicated in anthrax disease progression. bas0520 encodes a single near-iron transporter (NEAT) domain and several leucine-rich repeats. The NEAT domain binds heme, despite lacking a stabilizing tyrosine common to the NEAT superfamily of hemoproteins. The NEAT domain also binds hemoglobin and can acquire heme from hemoglobin in solution. Finally, deletion of bas0520 resulted in bacilli unable to grow efficiently on heme or hemoglobin as an iron source and yielded the most significant phenotype relative to that for other putative heme uptake systems, a result that suggests that this protein plays a prominent role in the replication of B. anthracis in hematogenous environments. Thus, we have assigned the name of Hal (heme-acquisition leucine-rich repeat protein) to BAS0520. These studies advance our understanding of heme acquisition by this dangerous pathogen and justify efforts to determine the mechanistic function of this novel protein for vaccine or inhibitor development. PMID:22865843

Investigation of antioxidant capacity of the extracts of bilberry (VACCINUM MYRTILLIS L.) by voltammetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vtorushina, A. N.; Nikonova, E. D.

2016-02-01

This paper deals with the urgent issue of the search of new drugs based on plant raw materials that have an influence on various stages of oxidation processes occurring in the human body. The aim of this paper is to determine the antioxidant activity of the bilberry extracts that are used in the medicine practice by a cathodic voltammetry method. We consider the influence of water and alcohol bilberry extracts on the process of oxygen electroreduction. From these extracts the most activity relation to the process of cathodic oxygen reduction showed alcohol (40%) bilberry extract. It was also stated that the alcohol extract of bilberry has a greater antioxidant activity than other known antioxidants such as ascorbic acid, glucose, dihydroquercetin. Thus, after consideration of a number of plant objects, we showed the possibility of applying the method of cathodic voltammetry for the determination of total antioxidant activity of plant material and identifying and highlighting the most perspective sources of biologically active substances (BAS), as well as the ability of identifying extractants that fully extract BAS from plant raw materials. The activity data of extracts of plant raw materials gives an opportunity of establishing an effective yield phytopreparation based on bilberry that has an antioxidant effect.

National Water-Quality Assessment Program - Western Lake Michigan Drainage Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Setmire, J.O.

1991-01-01

A major component of the program is study-unit investigations, which comprise the princ ipal bui lding blocks of the program on which national-level asses ment activities a re based . The 60 study-unit in vestigations that make up the program are hydrologic systems that include parts of most major river bas ins and a qui fer systems. These study units cover areas of I ,200 to more than 65 ,000 square mi les and incorporate about 60 to 70 percent of the Nation's water use and popul ation e rved by public water supply. In 1991 , the Western Lake Michigan drainage basin was among the fir st 20 NA WQA study unit selected for study under the full -scale implementation plan.

Stress state and movement potential of the Kar-e-Bas fault zone, Fars, Iran

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarkarinejad, Khalil; Zafarmand, Bahareh

2017-08-01

The Kar-e-Bas or Mengharak basement-inverted fault is comprised of six segments in the Zagros foreland folded belt of Iran. In the Fars region, this fault zone associated with the Kazerun, Sabz-Pushan and Sarvestan faults serves as a lateral transfer zone that accommodates the change in shortening direction from the western central to the eastern Zagros. This study evaluates the recent tectonic stress regime of the Kar-e-Bas fault zone based on inversion of earthquake focal mechanism data, and quantifies the fault movement potential of this zone based on the relationship between fault geometric characteristics and recent tectonic stress regimes. The trend and plunge of σ 1 and σ 3 are S25°W/04°-N31°E/05° and S65°E/04°-N60°W/10°, respectively, with a stress ratio of Φ = 0.83. These results are consistent with the collision direction of the Afro-Arabian continent and the Iranian microcontinent. The near horizontal plunge of maximum and minimum principle stresses and the value of stress ratio Φ indicate that the state of stress is nearly strike-slip dominated with little relative difference between the value of two principal stresses, σ 1 and σ 2. The obliquity of the maximum compressional stress into the fault trend reveals a typical stress partitioning of thrust and strike-slip motion in the Kar-e-Bas fault zone. Analysis of the movement potential of this fault zone shows that its northern segment has a higher potential of fault activity (0.99). The negligible difference between the fault-plane dips of the segments indicates that their strike is a controlling factor in the changes in movement potential.

TGR5 signalling inhibits the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines by in vitro differentiated inflammatory and intestinal macrophages in Crohn's disease

PubMed Central

Yoneno, Kazuaki; Hisamatsu, Tadakazu; Shimamura, Katsuyoshi; Kamada, Nobuhiko; Ichikawa, Riko; Kitazume, Mina T; Mori, Maiko; Uo, Michihide; Namikawa, Yuka; Matsuoka, Katsuyoshi; Sato, Toshiro; Koganei, Kazutaka; Sugita, Akira; Kanai, Takanori; Hibi, Toshifumi

2013-01-01

Bile acids (BAs) play important roles not only in lipid metabolism, but also in signal transduction. TGR5, a transmembrane receptor of BAs, is an immunomodulative factor, but its detailed mechanism remains unclear. Here, we aimed to delineate how BAs operate in immunological responses via the TGR5 pathway in human mononuclear cell lineages. We examined TGR5 expression in human peripheral blood monocytes, several types of in vitro differentiated macrophages (Mϕs) and dendritic cells. Mϕs differentiated with macrophage colony-stimulating factor and interferon-γ (Mγ-Mϕs), which are similar to the human intestinal lamina propria CD14+ Mϕs that contribute to Crohn's disease (CD) pathogenesis by production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, highly expressed TGR5 compared with any other type of differentiated Mϕ and dendritic cells. We also showed that a TGR5 agonist and two types of BAs, deoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid, could inhibit tumour necrosis factor-α production in Mγ-Mϕs stimulated by commensal bacterial antigen or lipopolysaccharide. This inhibitory effect was mediated by the TGR5–cAMP pathway to induce phosphorylation of c-Fos that regulated nuclear factor-κB p65 activation. Next, we analysed TGR5 levels in lamina propria mononuclear cells (LPMCs) obtained from the intestinal mucosa of patients with CD. Compared with non-inflammatory bowel disease, inflamed CD LPMCs contained more TGR5 transcripts. Among LPMCs, isolated CD14+ intestinal Mϕs from patients with CD expressed TGR5. In isolated intestinal CD14+ Mϕs, a TGR5 agonist could inhibit tumour necrosis factor-α production. These results indicate that TGR5 signalling may have the potential to modulate immune responses in inflammatory bowel disease. PMID:23566200

Aneugenic effects of benzoxazinones in cultured human cells.

PubMed

Arroyo, Elena; Chinchilla, Nuria; Molinillo, José M G; Macias, Francisco A; Astola, Antonio; Ortiz, Manuela; Valdivia, Manuel M

2010-01-01

Benzoxazinones (BAs) are natural products that are present in Gramineae and represent part of the plant defence system against pests. In recent years, sprouts of maize, wheat and rye have been used for the production of dietary supplements. We have investigated the potential genotoxic activities of a diverse range of synthetic derivatives of the most abundant natural BA, namely DIBOA (2,4-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one), proposed for use as a potential herbicide. We have tested 18 synthetic BAs for potential effects in cultured HeLa cells. We found significantly higher micronucleus (MN) induction over the background level, with the solvent DMSO used as an internal control. Concentration-dependent effects were found between 1nM and 20nM for all the synthetic compounds studied. Immunostaining with an anticentromere antibody showed that >80% of MN induced gave a centromere-positive signal. Similarly, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis with alphoid centromere probes showed a positive hybridization signal, indicating that all compounds analyzed are aneugenic. Chemical modification of the N in the heterocyclic aromatic amine served us to suggest a relationship between the structure and the aneugenic effects of the compounds analyzed. Our findings indicate that benzoxazinoids could be potential genotoxins for human cells. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Extraction Efficiency of Different Solvents and LC-UV Determination of Biogenic Amines in Tea Leaves and Infusions

PubMed Central

Spizzirri, U. Gianfranco; Picci, Nevio

2016-01-01

Biogenic amines (BAs), that is, spermine, spermidine, putrescine, histamine, tyramine, β-phenylethylamine, cadaverine, and serotonin, have been determined in several samples of tea leaves, tea infusions, and tea drinks by LC-UV method after derivatization with dansyl chloride. Different extraction solvents have been tested and TCA 5% showed better analytical performances in terms of linearity, recovery percentages, LOD, LOQ, and repeatability than HCl 0.1 M and HClO4 0.1 M and was finally exploited for the quantitative determination of BAs in all samples. In tea leaves total BAs concentration ranged from 2.23 μg g−1 to 11.24 μg g−1 and PUT (1.05–2.25 μg g−1) and SPD (1.01–1.95 μg g−1) were always present, while SER (nd–1.56 μg g−1), HIS (nd–2.44 μg g−1), and SPM (nd–1.64 μg g−1) were detected more rarely. CAD and PHE were determined in few samples at much lower concentrations while none of the samples contained TYR. Tea infusions showed the same trend with total BAs concentrations never exceeding 80.7 μg L−1. Black teas showed higher amounts of BAs than green teas and organic and decaffeinated samples always contained much lower BAs levels than their conventional counterparts. PMID:27555979

High acidity unilamellar zeolite MCM-56 and its pillared and delaminated derivatives.

PubMed

Gil, Barbara; Makowski, Wacław; Marszalek, Bartosz; Roth, Wieslaw J; Kubu, Martin; Čejka, Jiři; Olejniczak, Zbigniew

2014-07-21

The unilamellar form of zeolite MWW, MCM-56, which is obtained by direct hydrothermal synthesis has been studied with regard to acidity and porosity in its original and post-synthesis modified pillared and delaminated forms. The acidity measured by FTIR was found to be only slightly lower than the highly active 3-D MWW forms, MCM-22 and MCM-49. Pivalonitrile adsorption, which is a measure of spatial openness, showed 50% accessibility vs. <30% for MCM-22/49. It highlights the potential of MCM-56 as a layered material with increased access to acid sites because it does not entail laborious post-synthesis modification. Swelling, pillaring and delamination of MCM-56 are facile but result in a reduction in the number of Brønsted acid sites (BAS) while increasing accessibility to pivalonitrile. The delamination procedure involving sonication and acidification of the highly basic mother liquor produces the most visible increase in surface area and access to all BAS. The accompanying doubling of the solid yield and the decrease in absolute number of BAS suggest significant precipitation of dissolved silica generated during swelling and sonication in high pH medium. The viability of separating surfactant covered layers upon sonication with the consequence of exposing hydrophobic hydrocarbon tails to aqueous environment is addressed.

Anatomical and functional assemblies of brain BOLD oscillations

PubMed Central

Baria, Alexis T.; Baliki, Marwan N.; Parrish, Todd; Apkarian, A. Vania

2011-01-01

Brain oscillatory activity has long been thought to have spatial properties, the details of which are unresolved. Here we examine spatial organizational rules for the human brain oscillatory activity as measured by blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD). Resting state BOLD signal was transformed into frequency space (Welch’s method), averaged across subjects, and its spatial distribution studied as a function of four frequency bands, spanning the full bandwidth of BOLD. The brain showed anatomically constrained distribution of power for each frequency band. This result was replicated on a repository dataset of 195 subjects. Next, we examined larger-scale organization by parceling the neocortex into regions approximating Brodmann Areas (BAs). This indicated that BAs of simple function/connectivity (unimodal), vs. complex properties (transmodal), are dominated by low frequency BOLD oscillations, and within the visual ventral stream we observe a graded shift of power to higher frequency bands for BAs further removed from the primary visual cortex (increased complexity), linking frequency properties of BOLD to hodology. Additionally, BOLD oscillation properties for the default mode network demonstrated that it is composed of distinct frequency dependent regions. When the same analysis was performed on a visual-motor task, frequency-dependent global and voxel-wise shifts in BOLD oscillations could be detected at brain sites mostly outside those identified with general linear modeling. Thus, analysis of BOLD oscillations in full bandwidth uncovers novel brain organizational rules, linking anatomical structures and functional networks to characteristic BOLD oscillations. The approach also identifies changes in brain intrinsic properties in relation to responses to external inputs. PMID:21613505

Imaging plates calibration to X-rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Curcio, A.; Andreoli, P.; Cipriani, M.; Claps, G.; Consoli, F.; Cristofari, G.; De Angelis, R.; Giulietti, D.; Ingenito, F.; Pacella, D.

2016-05-01

The growing interest for the Imaging Plates, due to their high sensitivity range and versatility, has induced, in the last years, to detailed characterizations of their response function in different energy ranges and kind of radiation/particles. A calibration of the Imaging Plates BAS-MS, BAS-SR, BAS-TR has been performed at the ENEA-Frascati labs by exploiting the X-ray fluorescence of different targets (Ca, Cu, Pb, Mo, I, Ta) and the radioactivity of a BaCs source, in order to cover the X-ray range between few keV to 80 keV.

[The influence of vegetable biologically active food additives on men's health].

PubMed

Rakhmanov, R S; Grishin, D B; Gruzdeva, A E; Fandeev, V A

2002-01-01

The young people of draft age often have breach of a the dietary, that guite often is accompanied by decrease resistance and adaptation of opportunities. Application vegetative BAS to food (the beet with selderej) separately or especially together with liquid biphidiumbacterin gives good therapeutic effect.

The role of tyramine and octopamine in the regulation of reproduction in queenless worker honeybees

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In honey bees, workers under queenless condition compete for reproduction and establish reproductive dominance hierarchy. Ovary activation is generally accompanied by the expression of queen-like pheromones. Biogenic amines (BAs), in particular dopamine, are believed to be involved in this process b...

Reward anticipation revisited- evidence from an fMRI study in euthymic bipolar I patients and healthy first-degree relatives.

PubMed

Kollmann, Bianca; Scholz, Vanessa; Linke, Julia; Kirsch, Peter; Wessa, Michèle

2017-09-01

Symptomatic phases in bipolar disorder (BD) are hypothesized to result from a hypersensitive behavioral activation system (BAS) being sensitive to potential rewards. However, studies on the neuronal underpinnings of reward anticipation in BD are scarce with contradictory findings and possibly confounded by effects of dopaminergic medication, necessitating further research on dysfunctional motivation in BD. Moreover, its role as vulnerability marker for BD is unclear. Functional imaging was conducted in 16 euthymic BD-I patients free from dopaminergic medication and 19 healthy first-degree relatives using a monetary incentive delay task and compared to parallelized control groups. Further, reward proneness, using the BIS/BAS questionnaire, and its relationship to neural reward anticipation was investigated. BD-I patients displayed greater anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) activity during reward anticipation and higher BIS total scores compared to controls, with a positive relationship between the two measures. There were no neural or self-report group differences between relatives and controls. Due to the experimental design, the role of the ACC during receipt of reward remains unknown, sample sizes were rather small, and patients were not naïve to dopaminergic drugs, making an exclusion of medication effects on findings impossible. Our findings give new insights on reward anticipation in BD. BD-I patients rated themselves as more risk avoidant and showed larger recruitment of the ACC rather than ventral striatum compared to controls during reward anticipation, possibly to down-regulate hyperactive limbic reward regions. This activation seems to be a consequence of rather than a vulnerability marker for the disorder. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Self-reported impulsivity in Huntington's disease patients and relationship to executive dysfunction and reward responsiveness.

PubMed

Johnson, Patricia L; Potts, Geoffrey F; Sanchez-Ramos, Juan; Cimino, Cynthia R

2017-09-01

Few studies have directly investigated impulsivity in Huntington's disease (HD) despite known changes in dopaminergic and frontal functioning, changes that have been associated with impulsivity in other disorders and in the normal population. This study sought to further categorize impulsivity in HD through examining differences in self-reported impulsivity between community controls and HD patients, the relationship between executive dysfunction and impulsivity, and the relationship of a reward/punishment behavioral inhibition task in relation to these self-report measures. It was expected that HD patients would report higher impulsivity and executive dysfunction and that these measures would relate to a reward/punishment behavioral inhibition task. The Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS-11) and Behavioral Inhibition/Behavioral Activation Scale (BIS/BAS) were completed, and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and a reward-based flanker task with punishing and rewarding conditions were administered to 22 HD patients and 14 control participants. HD patients reported higher trait impulsivity (BIS-11) and executive dysfunction (Frontal Systems Behavior Scale, FrSBE) but not increased impulsivity on the BIS/BAS relative to controls. Higher BIS-11 scores were related to increased self-reported executive dysfunction and the attention/working memory factor of the MMSE. On a reward/punishment behavioral inhibition task, BAS was uniquely related to increased accuracy on rewarding trials of the flanker task, but was not related to punishing trials in HD patients. The relationships found suggest that trait impulsivity is reported higher in HD and may not be driven by altered reward evaluation and the appetitive nature of stimuli but rather by increased executive dysfunction and lack of sensitivity to punishment. Impulsivity in HD may represent a combination of trait impulsivity, altered dopaminergic circuitry, and executive dysfunction. Understanding impulsivity in HD is important as it is related to increased risk to the patient and difficult behaviors for the caregiver, and sheds light on the disease process.

Inhibition of microsomal prostaglandin E2 synthase-1 as a molecular basis for the anti-inflammatory actions of boswellic acids from frankincense

PubMed Central

Siemoneit, U; Koeberle, A; Rossi, A; Dehm, F; Verhoff, M; Reckel, S; Maier, TJ; Jauch, J; Northoff, H; Bernhard, F; Doetsch, V; Sautebin, L; Werz, O

2011-01-01

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Frankincense, the gum resin derived from Boswellia species, showed anti-inflammatory efficacy in animal models and in pilot clinical studies. Boswellic acids (BAs) are assumed to be responsible for these effects but their anti-inflammatory efficacy in vivo and their molecular modes of action are incompletely understood. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH A protein fishing approach using immobilized BA and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy were used to reveal microsomal prostaglandin E2 synthase-1 (mPGES1) as a BA-interacting protein. Cell-free and cell-based assays were applied to confirm the functional interference of BAs with mPGES1. Carrageenan-induced mouse paw oedema and rat pleurisy models were utilized to demonstrate the efficacy of defined BAs in vivo. KEY RESULTS Human mPGES1 from A549 cells or in vitro-translated human enzyme selectively bound to BA affinity matrices and SPR spectroscopy confirmed these interactions. BAs reversibly suppressed the transformation of prostaglandin (PG)H2 to PGE2 mediated by mPGES1 (IC50 = 3–10 µM). Also, in intact A549 cells, BAs selectively inhibited PGE2 generation and, in human whole blood, β-BA reduced lipopolysaccharide-induced PGE2 biosynthesis without affecting formation of the COX-derived metabolites 6-keto PGF1α and thromboxane B2. Intraperitoneal or oral administration of β-BA (1 mg·kg−1) suppressed rat pleurisy, accompanied by impaired levels of PGE2 and β-BA (1 mg·kg−1, given i.p.) also reduced mouse paw oedema, both induced by carrageenan. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Suppression of PGE2 formation by BAs via interference with mPGES1 contribute to the anti-inflammatory effectiveness of BAs and of frankincense, and may constitute a biochemical basis for their anti-inflammatory properties. PMID:20840544

Inhibition of microsomal prostaglandin E2 synthase-1 as a molecular basis for the anti-inflammatory actions of boswellic acids from frankincense.

PubMed

Siemoneit, U; Koeberle, A; Rossi, A; Dehm, F; Verhoff, M; Reckel, S; Maier, T J; Jauch, J; Northoff, H; Bernhard, F; Doetsch, V; Sautebin, L; Werz, O

2011-01-01

Frankincense, the gum resin derived from Boswellia species, showed anti-inflammatory efficacy in animal models and in pilot clinical studies. Boswellic acids (BAs) are assumed to be responsible for these effects but their anti-inflammatory efficacy in vivo and their molecular modes of action are incompletely understood. A protein fishing approach using immobilized BA and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy were used to reveal microsomal prostaglandin E(2) synthase-1 (mPGES1) as a BA-interacting protein. Cell-free and cell-based assays were applied to confirm the functional interference of BAs with mPGES1. Carrageenan-induced mouse paw oedema and rat pleurisy models were utilized to demonstrate the efficacy of defined BAs in vivo. Human mPGES1 from A549 cells or in vitro-translated human enzyme selectively bound to BA affinity matrices and SPR spectroscopy confirmed these interactions. BAs reversibly suppressed the transformation of prostaglandin (PG)H(2) to PGE(2) mediated by mPGES1 (IC(50) = 3-10 µM). Also, in intact A549 cells, BAs selectively inhibited PGE(2) generation and, in human whole blood, β-BA reduced lipopolysaccharide-induced PGE(2) biosynthesis without affecting formation of the COX-derived metabolites 6-keto PGF(1α) and thromboxane B(2) . Intraperitoneal or oral administration of β-BA (1 mg·kg(-1) ) suppressed rat pleurisy, accompanied by impaired levels of PGE(2) and β-BA (1 mg·kg(-1) , given i.p.) also reduced mouse paw oedema, both induced by carrageenan. Suppression of PGE(2) formation by BAs via interference with mPGES1 contribute to the anti-inflammatory effectiveness of BAs and of frankincense, and may constitute a biochemical basis for their anti-inflammatory properties. © 2010 The Authors. British Journal of Pharmacology © 2010 The British Pharmacological Society.

North exterior elevation of Pope Quadrangle. Note the bas relief ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

North exterior elevation of Pope Quadrangle. Note the bas relief sculpture over the doorway, which includes the school motto, Aspirando et Perseverando. - Avon Old Farms School, 500 Avon Old Farms Road, Avon, Hartford County, CT

Brønsted acid sites based on penta-coordinated aluminum species

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zichun; Jiang, Yijiao; Lafon, Olivier; Trébosc, Julien; Duk Kim, Kyung; Stampfl, Catherine; Baiker, Alfons; Amoureux, Jean-Paul; Huang, Jun

2016-12-01

Zeolites and amorphous silica-alumina (ASA), which both provide Brønsted acid sites (BASs), are the most extensively used solid acid catalysts in the chemical industry. It is widely believed that BASs consist only of tetra-coordinated aluminum sites (AlIV) with bridging OH groups in zeolites or nearby silanols on ASA surfaces. Here we report the direct observation in ASA of a new type of BAS based on penta-coordinated aluminum species (AlV) by 27Al-{1H} dipolar-mediated correlation two-dimensional NMR experiments at high magnetic field under magic-angle spinning. Both BAS-AlIV and -AlV show a similar acidity to protonate probe molecular ammonia. The quantitative evaluation of 1H and 27Al sites demonstrates that BAS-AlV co-exists with BAS-AlIV rather than replaces it, which opens new avenues for strongly enhancing the acidity of these popular solid acids.

Hypothesis testing on the fractal structure of behavioral sequences: the Bayesian assessment of scaling methodology.

PubMed

Moscoso del Prado Martín, Fermín

2013-12-01

I introduce the Bayesian assessment of scaling (BAS), a simple but powerful Bayesian hypothesis contrast methodology that can be used to test hypotheses on the scaling regime exhibited by a sequence of behavioral data. Rather than comparing parametric models, as typically done in previous approaches, the BAS offers a direct, nonparametric way to test whether a time series exhibits fractal scaling. The BAS provides a simpler and faster test than do previous methods, and the code for making the required computations is provided. The method also enables testing of finely specified hypotheses on the scaling indices, something that was not possible with the previously available methods. I then present 4 simulation studies showing that the BAS methodology outperforms the other methods used in the psychological literature. I conclude with a discussion of methodological issues on fractal analyses in experimental psychology. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Insights into the Biogenic Amine Metabolic Landscape during Industrial Semidry Chinese Rice Wine Fermentation.

PubMed

Xia, Xiaole; Zhang, Qingwen; Zhang, Bin; Zhang, Wuji; Wang, Wu

2016-10-05

Inspired by concerns about food safety, the metabolic landscape of biogenic amines (BAs) was elucidated during industrial semidry Chinese rice wine fermentation. The main fermentation process represented the largest contribution to BA formation, which corresponded to 69.1% (54.3 mg/L). Principal component analysis revealed that total acid and ethanol were strongly correlated with BAs, indicating that BA formation favored acidic and stressful conditions. Other than putrescine (PUT), spermidine (SPD), and spermine (SPM), 5 BAs exhibited strong relationships with the precursor amino acids (R 2 > 0.85). PUT was mainly decarboxylated from arginine (89.6%) whereas SPD (100%) and SPM (83.1%) were obtained from ornithine. Interestingly, some SPD could convert back to PUT (24.3%). All 8 BAs showed good relationships with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) (R 2 around 0.75). Moreover, among the five main LAB genera, Lactobacillus had a positive correlation with BA formation.

The microstructural characterization of an in situ grown Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} whisker-reinforced BAS glass-ceramic matrix composite

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yu, Feng; Ortiz-Longo, C.R.; White, K.W.

The microstructure of barium aluminum silicate (BAS)/silicon nitride in situ whisker reinforced ceramic matrix composite was examined by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, electron diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis. Although the authors can not conclusively exclude the presence of orthorhombic BAS, hexagonal BAS and both {alpha}-Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} and {beta}-Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} were identified in this material. The {beta}-Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} whiskers nucleate and grow in random directions in the nearly continuous matrix of metastable hexacelsian. The crystallization process of the glass phase can be taken almost to completion but a small proportion of residual glass phase is present atmore » the interface and grains-junction. Both whisker-like and equiaxed {beta}-Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} exist in this material.« less

Analysis Methodology for Balancing Authority Cooperation in High Penetration of Variable Generation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Makarov, Yuri V.; Etingov, Pavel V.; Zhou, Ning

2010-02-01

With the rapidly growing penetration level of wind and solar generation, the challenges of managing variability and the uncertainty of intermittent renewable generation become more and more significant. The problem of power variability and uncertainty gets exacerbated when each balancing authority (BA) works locally and separately to balance its own subsystem. The virtual BA concept means various forms of collaboration between individual BAs must manage power variability and uncertainty. The virtual BA will have a wide area control capability in managing its operational balancing requirements in different time frames. This coordination results in the improvement of efficiency and reliability ofmore » power system operation while facilitating the high level integration of green, intermittent energy resources. Several strategies for virtual BA implementation, such as ACE diversity interchange (ADI), wind only BA, BA consolidation, dynamic scheduling, regulation and load following sharing, extreme event impact study are discussed in this report. The objective of such strategies is to allow individual BAs within a large power grid to help each other deal with power variability. Innovative methods have been developed to simulate the balancing operation of BAs. These methods evaluate the BA operation through a number of metrics — such as capacity, ramp rate, ramp duration, energy and cycling requirements — to evaluate the performances of different virtual BA strategies. The report builds a systematic framework for evaluating BA consolidation and coordination. Results for case studies show that significant economic and reliability benefits can be gained. The merits and limitation of each virtual BA strategy are investigated. The report provides guidelines for the power industry to evaluate the coordination or consolidation method. The application of the developed strategies in cooperation with several regional BAs is in progress for several off-spring projects.« less

Long-term outcomes in patients diagnosed with bile-acid diarrhoea.

PubMed

Lin, Simeng; Sanders, David S; Gleeson, Joseph T; Osborne, Christopher; Messham, Louise; Kurien, Matthew

2016-02-01

Bile-acid diarrhoea (BAD) is a recognized cause of chronic diarrhoea; however, its detection remains suboptimal. Currently, there is a paucity of follow-up studies evaluating BAD. This work evaluates the natural history of BAD by examining individuals diagnosed with BAD [7 days of Se-homocholic acid taurine (SeHCAT) retention<10%] and determining the use of and response to bile-acid sequestrants (BAS). Of the 515 patients, 40% (207/515) who underwent an SeHCAT test at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals (2001-2012) for chronic diarrhoea had BAD. Of the 207 (51%) patients, 107 were diagnosed between 2001 and 2009. In accordance with the guidelines, all of these patients were commenced on BAS. In March 2013, these individuals were reassessed either in the clinic or over the telephone as part of a local service evaluation project. Comparisons were made of both pretreatment and post-treatment variables using a Wilcoxon rank test. Of the 107 patients, 54% (58/107) were followed up, with a median time since diagnosis of 6 years. Among them, 38% were still using BAS at follow-up, with 28% using alternative antidiarrhoeals. The median stool frequency decreased from seven stools per day to three (P=0.0008) in those using BAS. The 34% of patients not receiving treatment had no change in their daily bowel frequency. The main reason for discontinuing treatment was poor tolerability of the BAS (colestyramine/colestipol). Our findings indicate that BAD is a chronic condition that best improves with BAS. Consideration should be given to therapeutic options that have a better tolerability profile.

Bile acid malabsorption in persistent diarrhoea.

PubMed

Smith, M J; Cherian, P; Raju, G S; Dawson, B F; Mahon, S; Bardhan, K D

2000-01-01

We have investigated bile acid malabsorption (BAM), and its response to treatment, in patients seen in this district general hospital with chronic continuous or recurrent diarrhoea. Seven-day retention of 75-SeHCAT was measured (normal: > 10%). Patients were initially given conventional therapy (prednisolone +/- ASA drugs in Crohn's disease, and antidiarrhoeals in the others). If this therapy failed, bile acid sequestrants (BAS) were prescribed. The definition of successful response was based on the patient's perception of sustained improvement. The 304 patients were categorised as follows: Group 1: Crohn's disease patients with ileal resection, in clinical remission (n = 37). Group 2: Crohn's disease, unoperated and in clinical remission (n = 44). Group 3: vagotomy and pyloroplasty, with/without cholecystectomy (n = 26). Group 4: diarrhoea predominant 'irritable bowel syndrome' (IBS) (n = 197). BAM was found in 97% (36/37), 54% (24/44) and 58% (15/26) of patients in groups 1, 2 and 3 respectively. One third (65/197) of patients with IBS had BAM. The outcome of treatment was available in 96 patients with BAM: of the patients with ileal resection 32% responded to antidiarrhoeals, 60% to BAS. Of the unoperated Crohn's patients 55% responded to disease-specific therapy, 40% to BAS. Of the gastric surgery patients 18% responded to conventional treatment, 64% to BAS. Of the IBS patients 15% of responded to conventional therapy, 70% to BAS. This observational study indicates that BAM is common in patients with chronic diarrhoea, and is frequently found in IBS. The results of open treatment suggest that, where antidiarrhoeal drugs fail in such patients, BAS are often effective.

Bile acids modulate signaling by functional perturbation of plasma membrane domains.

PubMed

Zhou, Yong; Maxwell, Kelsey N; Sezgin, Erdinc; Lu, Maryia; Liang, Hong; Hancock, John F; Dial, Elizabeth J; Lichtenberger, Lenard M; Levental, Ilya

2013-12-13

Eukaryotic cell membranes are organized into functional lipid and protein domains, the most widely studied being membrane rafts. Although rafts have been associated with numerous plasma membrane functions, the mechanisms by which these domains themselves are regulated remain undefined. Bile acids (BAs), whose primary function is the solubilization of dietary lipids for digestion and absorption, can affect cells by interacting directly with membranes. To investigate whether these interactions affected domain organization in biological membranes, we assayed the effects of BAs on biomimetic synthetic liposomes, isolated plasma membranes, and live cells. At cytotoxic concentrations, BAs dissolved synthetic and cell-derived membranes and disrupted live cell plasma membranes, implicating plasma membrane damage as the mechanism for BA cellular toxicity. At subtoxic concentrations, BAs dramatically stabilized domain separation in Giant Plasma Membrane Vesicles without affecting protein partitioning between coexisting domains. Domain stabilization was the result of BA binding to and disordering the nonraft domain, thus promoting separation by enhancing domain immiscibility. Consistent with the physical changes observed in synthetic and isolated biological membranes, BAs reorganized intact cell membranes, as evaluated by the spatial distribution of membrane-anchored Ras isoforms. Nanoclustering of K-Ras, related to nonraft membrane domains, was enhanced in intact plasma membranes, whereas the organization of H-Ras was unaffected. BA-induced changes in Ras lateral segregation potentiated EGF-induced signaling through MAPK, confirming the ability of BAs to influence cell signal transduction by altering the physical properties of the plasma membrane. These observations suggest general, membrane-mediated mechanisms by which biological amphiphiles can produce their cellular effects.

Rapid determination of biogenic amines in cooked beef using hyperspectral imaging with sparse representation algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Dong; Lu, Anxiang; Ren, Dong; Wang, Jihua

2017-11-01

This study explored the feasibility of rapid detection of biogenic amines (BAs) in cooked beef during the storage process using hyperspectral imaging technique combined with sparse representation (SR) algorithm. The hyperspectral images of samples were collected in the two spectral ranges of 400-1000 nm and 1000-1800 nm, separately. The spectral data were reduced dimensionality by SR and principal component analysis (PCA) algorithms, and then integrated the least square support vector machine (LS-SVM) to build the SR-LS-SVM and PC-LS-SVM models for the prediction of BAs values in cooked beef. The results showed that the SR-LS-SVM model exhibited the best predictive ability with determination coefficients (RP2) of 0.943 and root mean square errors (RMSEP) of 1.206 in the range of 400-1000 nm of prediction set. The SR and PCA algorithms were further combined to establish the best SR-PC-LS-SVM model for BAs prediction, which had high RP2of 0.969 and low RMSEP of 1.039 in the region of 400-1000 nm. The visual map of the BAs was generated using the best SR-PC-LS-SVM model with imaging process algorithms, which could be used to observe the changes of BAs in cooked beef more intuitively. The study demonstrated that hyperspectral imaging technique combined with sparse representation were able to detect effectively the BAs values in cooked beef during storage and the built SR-PC-LS-SVM model had a potential for rapid and accurate determination of freshness indexes in other meat and meat products.

Four-phonon scattering significantly reduces intrinsic thermal conductivity of solids

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Feng, Tianli; Lindsay, Lucas R.; Ruan, Xiulin

We rigorously calculate intrinsic phonon thermal resistance from four-phonon scattering processesusing rst principles Boltzmann transport methods. Fundamental questions concerning the role ofhigher order scattering at high temperature and in systems with otherwise weak intrinsic scatteringare answered. Using diamond and silicon as benchmark materials, the predicted thermal conductiv-ity including intrinsic four-phonon resistance gives signicantly better agreement with measurementsat high temperatures than previous rst principles calculations. In the predicted ultrahigh thermalconductivity material, zincblende BAs, four-phonon scattering is strikingly strong when comparedto three-phonon processes, even at room temperature, as the latter have an extremely limited phasespace for scattering. Including four-phonon thermal resistance reducesmore » the predicted thermal con-ductivity of BAs from 2200 W/m-K to 1400 W/m-K.« less

Four-phonon scattering significantly reduces intrinsic thermal conductivity of solids

DOE PAGES

Feng, Tianli; Lindsay, Lucas R.; Ruan, Xiulin

2017-10-27

We rigorously calculate intrinsic phonon thermal resistance from four-phonon scattering processesusing rst principles Boltzmann transport methods. Fundamental questions concerning the role ofhigher order scattering at high temperature and in systems with otherwise weak intrinsic scatteringare answered. Using diamond and silicon as benchmark materials, the predicted thermal conductiv-ity including intrinsic four-phonon resistance gives signicantly better agreement with measurementsat high temperatures than previous rst principles calculations. In the predicted ultrahigh thermalconductivity material, zincblende BAs, four-phonon scattering is strikingly strong when comparedto three-phonon processes, even at room temperature, as the latter have an extremely limited phasespace for scattering. Including four-phonon thermal resistance reducesmore » the predicted thermal con-ductivity of BAs from 2200 W/m-K to 1400 W/m-K.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Katipamula, Srinivas; Gowri, Krishnan; Hernandez, George

This paper describes one such reference process that can be deployed to provide continuous automated conditioned-based maintenance management for buildings that have BIM, a building automation system (BAS) and a computerized maintenance management software (CMMS) systems. The process can be deployed using an open source transactional network platform, VOLTTRON™, designed for distributed sensing and controls and supports both energy efficiency and grid services.

Factors Influencing Military Affiliation Intentions of First Term Army Enlisted.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-12-01

were: Demographic: Biographical data Ten u r e Cognitive/Affective Orientation: Factors designed to assess respondents’ feelings about aspects of...Compensation and Benefits ............. Basic pay, BAQ, BAS, Special pays bonuses, valuation of benefits, VEAP participation Military Retirement System ...Preferred retirement pay sched- ule, expected YOS/Paygrade under alternative systems Civilian Labor Force Experience ............ Hours

Development and validation of a solid-phase extraction method coupled with HPLC-UV detection for the determination of biogenic amines in Chinese rice wine.

PubMed

Zhang, Ying; Li, Yan; Zhu, Xiao-Juan; Li, Min; Chen, Hao-Yu; Lv, Xiao-Ling; Zhang, Jian

2017-07-01

A reliable and accurate method for the determination of seven biogenic amines (BAs) was developed and validated with Chinese rice wine samples. The BAs were derivatised with dansyl chloride, cleaned up using solid-phase extraction (SPE) and separated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with ultraviolet (UV) detection. The optimised derivatisation reaction, conducted at pH 9.6 and 60°C for 30 min, ensured baseline separation and peak symmetry for each BA. SPE clean-up using Oasis MCX cartridges yielded good recovery rates for all BAs and effectively reduced matrix effects. The developed method shows good linearity with determination coefficients of more than 0.9989 over a concentration range of 0.1-100 mg l -1 . The limits of detection (LODs) for the investigated BAs ranged from 2.07 to 5.56 µg l -1 . The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranged from 0.86% to 3.81% and from 2.13% to 3.82%, respectively. Spiking experiments showed that the overall recovery rates ranged from 85% to 113%. Thus, the proposed method was demonstrated as being suitable for simultaneous detection, with accurate and precise quantification, of BAs in Chinese rice wine.

The evaluation of trifloxystrobin in protection of Calendula officinalis (Pot marigold) against Erysiphe cichoracearum DC.

PubMed

Kurzawińska, H; Duda-Surman, J

2006-01-01

The aim of the two-years field's examinations was the evaluation of the fungicide Zato 50 WG (biologically active substances BAS--trifloxystrobin 50%) in protection of Calendula officinalis (Pot marigold) against Erysiphe cichoracearum. Mentioned fungicide was applied at three concentrations: 0.1, 0.15 and 0.2%. As the standard fungicide Amistar 250 SC (biologically active substances BAS - azoxystrobin 250 g/dm3) was used. In every year of research work the four protective treatments were carried out. The estimation of infestation degree of Calendula officinalis leafs by the Erysiphe cichoracearum was made 5 times. Before each treatment four analysis were done, whereas the last analysis--the fifth one was executed after 10 days from the last protective spraying. According to the results, it was found that investigated preparations significant reduced the mean infestation degree of Calendula officinalis leafs by the Erysiphe cichoracearum compared to the control. The results pointed, that in protection of the mentioned plant by the powdery mildew the 0.2% dose of Zato 50WG showed the best suitability.

The Atlantic Meridional Transect: Spatially Extensive Calibration and Validation of Optical Properties and Remotely Sensed Measurements of Ocean Colour

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aiken, James; Hooker, Stanford

1997-01-01

Twice a year, the Royal Research Ship (RRS) James Clark Ross (JCR) steams a meridional transect of the atlantic Ocean between Grimsly (UK) and Stanley (Falkland Islands) with a port call in Montevideo (Uruguay), as part of the annual research activities of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). In September, the JCR sails from the UK, and the following April it makes the return trip. The ship is operated by the BAS for the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). The Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) Program exploits the passage of the JCR from approximately 50 deg. N to 50 deg. S with a primary objective to investigate physical and biological processes, as well as to measure the mesi-to-basin-scale bio-optical properties of the atlantic Ocean. The calibration and validation of remotely sensed observations of ocean colour is an inherent objective of these studies: first, by relating in situ measurements of water leaving radiance to satellite measurement, and second, by measuring the bio-optically active constituents of the water.

Field evaluation of alternative and cost efficient bridge approach slabs.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-11-01

Based on a recent study on cost efficient alternative bridge approach slab (BAS) designs (Thiagarajan et al. 2010) has recommended : three new BAS designs for possible implementation by MoDOT namely a) 20 feet cast-inplace slab with sleeper slab (CIP...

Evaluating the Value of High Spatial Resolution in National Capacity Expansion Models using ReEDS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Krishnan, Venkat; Cole, Wesley

2016-11-14

Power sector capacity expansion models (CEMs) have a broad range of spatial resolutions. This paper uses the Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) model, a long-term national scale electric sector CEM, to evaluate the value of high spatial resolution for CEMs. ReEDS models the United States with 134 load balancing areas (BAs) and captures the variability in existing generation parameters, future technology costs, performance, and resource availability using very high spatial resolution data, especially for wind and solar modeled at 356 resource regions. In this paper we perform planning studies at three different spatial resolutions--native resolution (134 BAs), state-level, and NERCmore » region level--and evaluate how results change under different levels of spatial aggregation in terms of renewable capacity deployment and location, associated transmission builds, and system costs. The results are used to ascertain the value of high geographically resolved models in terms of their impact on relative competitiveness among renewable energy resources.« less

Train the trainer? A randomized controlled trial of a multi-tiered oral health education programme in community-based residential services for adults with intellectual disability.

PubMed

Mac Giolla Phadraig, Caoimhin; Guerin, Suzanne; Nunn, June

2013-04-01

To assess the impact of a multi-tiered oral health education programme on care staff caring for people with intellectual disability (ID). Postal questionnaires were sent to all care staff of a community-based residential care service for adults, randomly assigned to control and intervention groups. A specifically developed training programme was delivered to residential staff nominees, who then trained all staff within the intervention group. The control group received no training. Post-test questionnaires were sent to both groups. Paired-samples t-test was used to compare oral health-related knowledge (K) and behaviour, attitude and self-efficacy (BAS) scores. Of the initial 219 respondents, 154 (response rate between 40% and 35.8%, with attrition rate of 29.7% from baseline to repeat) returned completed questionnaires at post-test (M=8.5 months, range=6.5-11 months). Control and intervention groups were comparable for general training, employment and demographic variables. In the intervention group, mean Knowledge Index score rose from K=7.2 to K=7.9 (P<0.001) and mean BAS scale score rose from BAS=4.7 to BAS=5.4 (P<0.001). There was no statistically significant increase in mean scores from test (K=7.0, BAS=4.7) to post-test (K=7.2, BAS=4.9) for the control group. Mean scores regarding knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy and reported behaviour increased significantly at 8.5 months in staff where training was provided. The results indicate that a multi-tiered training programme improved knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy and reported behaviour amongst staff caring for people with ID. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

The prevalence, distribution, and clinical outcomes of electrocardiographic repolarization patterns in male athletes of African/Afro-Caribbean origin.

PubMed

Papadakis, Michael; Carre, Francois; Kervio, Gaelle; Rawlins, John; Panoulas, Vasileios F; Chandra, Navin; Basavarajaiah, Sandeep; Carby, Lorna; Fonseca, Tiago; Sharma, Sanjay

2011-09-01

Athletic training in male black athletes (BAs) is associated with marked ECG repolarization changes that overlap with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Differentiating between the two entities is prudent since BAs exhibit a higher prevalence of exercise-related sudden death from HCM compared with white athletes (WAs). Between 1996 and 2010, 904 BAs underwent serial cardiac evaluations including ECG and echocardiography. Athletes exhibiting T-wave inversions were investigated further for HCM. Results were compared with 1819 WAs, 119 black controls (BCs), and 52 black HCM patients. Athletes were followed up for 69.7 ± 29.6 months. T-wave inversions were present in 82.7% HCM patients, 22.8% BAs, 10.1% BCs, and 3.7% WAs. In athletes, the major determinant of T-wave inversions was black ethnicity. T-wave inversions in BAs (12.7%) were predominantly confined to contiguous anterior leads (V1-V4). Only 4.1% of BAs exhibited T-wave inversions in the lateral leads. In contrast, both BCs and HCM patients exhibited lower prevalence of T-wave inversions in leads V1-V4 (4.2 and 3.8%, respectively) with most T-wave inversions in HCM patients (76.9%) involving the lateral leads. During follow-up one BA survived cardiac arrest and two athletes (one BA, one WA) were diagnosed with HCM. All three exhibited T-wave inversions in the lateral leads. T-wave inversions in leads V1-V4 appear to represent an ethnic variant of 'athlete's heart'. Conversely, T-wave inversions in the lateral leads may represent the initial expression of underlying cardiomyopathy and merit further evaluation and regular surveillance.

Forms of n-3 (ALA, C18:3n-3 or DHA, C22:6n-3) Fatty Acids Affect Carcass Yield, Blood Lipids, Muscle n-3 Fatty Acids and Liver Gene Expression in Lambs.

PubMed

Ponnampalam, Eric N; Lewandowski, Paul A; Fahri, Fahri T; Burnett, Viv F; Dunshea, Frank R; Plozza, Tim; Jacobs, Joe L

2015-11-01

The effects of supplementing diets with n-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on plasma metabolites, carcass yield, muscle n-3 fatty acids and liver messenger RNA (mRNA) in lambs were investigated. Lambs (n = 120) were stratified to 12 groups based on body weight (35 ± 3.1 kg), and within groups randomly allocated to four dietary treatments: basal diet (BAS), BAS with 10.7 % flaxseed supplement (Flax), BAS with 1.8 % algae supplement (DHA), BAS with Flax and DHA (FlaxDHA). Lambs were fed for 56 days. Blood samples were collected on day 0 and day 56, and plasma analysed for insulin and lipids. Lambs were slaughtered, and carcass traits measured. At 30 min and 24 h, liver and muscle samples, respectively, were collected for determination of mRNA (FADS1, FADS2, CPT1A, ACOX1) and fatty acid composition. Lambs fed Flax had higher plasma triacylglycerol, body weight, body fat and carcass yield compared with the BAS group (P < 0.001). DHA supplementation increased carcass yield and muscle DHA while lowering plasma insulin compared with the BAS diet (P < 0.01). Flax treatment increased (P < 0.001) muscle ALA concentration, while DHA treatment increased (P < 0.001) muscle DHA concentration. Liver mRNA FADS2 was higher and CPT1A lower in the DHA group (P < 0.05). The FlaxDHA diet had additive effects, including higher FADS1 and ACOX1 mRNA than for the Flax or DHA diet. In summary, supplementation with ALA or DHA modulated plasma metabolites, muscle DHA, body fat and liver gene expression differently.

Role of Acinetobactin-Mediated Iron Acquisition Functions in the Interaction of Acinetobacter baumannii Strain ATCC 19606T with Human Lung Epithelial Cells, Galleria mellonella Caterpillars, and Mice

PubMed Central

Gaddy, Jennifer A.; Arivett, Brock A.; McConnell, Michael J.; López-Rojas, Rafael; Pachón, Jerónimo

2012-01-01

Acinetobacter baumannii, which causes serious infections in immunocompromised patients, expresses high-affinity iron acquisition functions needed for growth under iron-limiting laboratory conditions. In this study, we determined that the initial interaction of the ATCC 19606T type strain with A549 human alveolar epithelial cells is independent of the production of BasD and BauA, proteins needed for acinetobactin biosynthesis and transport, respectively. In contrast, these proteins are required for this strain to persist within epithelial cells and cause their apoptotic death. Infection assays using Galleria mellonella larvae showed that impairment of acinetobactin biosynthesis and transport functions significantly reduces the ability of ATCC 19606T cells to persist and kill this host, a defect that was corrected by adding inorganic iron to the inocula. The results obtained with these ex vivo and in vivo approaches were validated using a mouse sepsis model, which showed that expression of the acinetobactin-mediated iron acquisition system is critical for ATCC 19606T to establish an infection and kill this vertebrate host. These observations demonstrate that the virulence of the ATCC 19606T strain depends on the expression of a fully active acinetobactin-mediated system. Interestingly, the three models also showed that impairment of BasD production results in an intermediate virulence phenotype compared to those of the parental strain and the BauA mutant. This observation suggests that acinetobactin intermediates or precursors play a virulence role, although their contribution to iron acquisition is less relevant than that of mature acinetobactin. PMID:22232188

Dysregulated hepatic bile acids collaboratively promote liver carcinogenesis

PubMed Central

Xie, Guoxiang; Wang, Xiaoning; Huang, Fengjie; Zhao, Aihua; Chen, Wenlian; Yan, Jingyu; Zhang, Yunjing; Lei, Sha; Ge, Kun; Zheng, Xiaojiao; Liu, Jiajian; Su, Mingming; Liu, Ping; Jia, Wei

2017-01-01

Dysregulated bile acids (BAs) are closely associated with liver diseases and attributed to altered gut microbiota. Here, we show that the intrahepatic retention of hydrophobic BAs including deoxycholate (DCA), taurocholate (TCA), taurochenodeoxycholate (TCDCA), and taurolithocholate (TLCA) were substantially increased in a streptozotocin and high fat diet (HFD) induced nonalcoholic steatohepatitis-hepatocellular carcinoma (NASH-HCC) mouse model. Additionally chronic HFD-fed mice spontaneously developed liver tumors with significantly increased hepatic BA levels. Enhancing intestinal excretion of hydrophobic BAs in the NASH-HCC model mice by a 2% cholestyramine feeding significantly prevented HCC development. The gut microbiota alterations were closely correlated with altered BA levels in liver and feces. HFD-induced inflammation inhibited key BA transporters, resulting in sustained increases in intrahepatic BA concentrations. Our study also showed a significantly increased cell proliferation in BA treated normal human hepatic cell lines and a down-regulated expression of tumor suppressor gene CEBPα in TCDCA treated HepG2 cell line, suggesting that several hydrophobic BAs may collaboratively promote liver carcinogenesis. PMID:27273788

Generalized Chirp Scaling Combined with Baseband Azimuth Scaling Algorithm for Large Bandwidth Sliding Spotlight SAR Imaging

PubMed Central

Yi, Tianzhu; He, Zhihua; He, Feng; Dong, Zhen; Wu, Manqing

2017-01-01

This paper presents an efficient and precise imaging algorithm for the large bandwidth sliding spotlight synthetic aperture radar (SAR). The existing sub-aperture processing method based on the baseband azimuth scaling (BAS) algorithm cannot cope with the high order phase coupling along the range and azimuth dimensions. This coupling problem causes defocusing along the range and azimuth dimensions. This paper proposes a generalized chirp scaling (GCS)-BAS processing algorithm, which is based on the GCS algorithm. It successfully mitigates the deep focus along the range dimension of a sub-aperture of the large bandwidth sliding spotlight SAR, as well as high order phase coupling along the range and azimuth dimensions. Additionally, the azimuth focusing can be achieved by this azimuth scaling method. Simulation results demonstrate the ability of the GCS-BAS algorithm to process the large bandwidth sliding spotlight SAR data. It is proven that great improvements of the focus depth and imaging accuracy are obtained via the GCS-BAS algorithm. PMID:28555057

Effects of Processing Conditions During Manufacture on Retronasal-Aroma Compounds from a Milk Coffee Drink.

PubMed

Ikeda, Michio; Akiyama, Masayuki; Hirano, Yuta; Miyazi, Kazuhiro; Kono, Masaya; Imayoshi, Yuriko; Iwabuchi, Hisakatsu; Onodera, Takeshi; Toko, Kiyoshi

2018-03-01

To develop a ready-to-drink (RTD) milk coffee retaining the original coffee flavor, the effects of processing conditions during manufacture on retronasal-arma (RA) compounds from the milk coffee were investigated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using an RA simulator (RAS). Thirteen of 46 detected compounds in the RAS effluent (RAS compounds) decreased significantly following pH adjustment of coffee (from pH 5.1 to 6.8) and 5 compounds increased. RAS compounds from coffee tended to decrease through the pH adjustment and subsequent sterilization. Significantly higher amounts of 13 RAS compounds were released from the milk coffee produced using a blending-after-sterilization (BAS) process without the pH adjustment than from that using a blending-before-sterilization (BBS) process with the pH adjustment. In BAS-processed milk coffee, significantly lower amounts of 8 high-volatility compounds and 1H-pyrrole were released from coffee containing infusion-sterilized (INF) milk than from coffee containing plate-sterilized (PLT) milk, whereas 3 low-volatility compounds were released significantly more from coffee using PLT milk. Principal component analysis revealed that the effect of the manufacturing process (BAS, BBS, or homemade (blending unsterilized coffee without pH adjustment with sterilized milk)) on milk coffee volatiles was larger than that of the sterilization method (INF or PLT) for milk, and that the sterilization method could result in different RAS volatile characteristics in BAS and homemade processes. In conclusion, a BAS process was found to be superior to a BBS process for the manufacture of an RTD milk coffee that retains volatile characteristics similar to that of a homemade milk coffee. Ready-to-drink (RTD) milk coffee manufactured using the conventional blending-before-sterilization process does not retain its original coffee flavor due to pH adjustment of the coffee during the process. The new blending-after-sterilization (BAS) process enabled the production of RTD milk coffee whose volatiles are closer to that of homemade milk coffee, as demonstrated by the results of RAS-GC-MS analysis. The BAS process has already been applied to the manufacture of RTD milk coffees in Japan. © 2018 Institute of Food Technologists®.

Accelerated iterative beam angle selection in IMRT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bangert, Mark, E-mail: m.bangert@dkfz.de; Unkelbach, Jan

2016-03-15

Purpose: Iterative methods for beam angle selection (BAS) for intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) planning sequentially construct a beneficial ensemble of beam directions. In a naïve implementation, the nth beam is selected by adding beam orientations one-by-one from a discrete set of candidates to an existing ensemble of (n − 1) beams. The best beam orientation is identified in a time consuming process by solving the fluence map optimization (FMO) problem for every candidate beam and selecting the beam that yields the largest improvement to the objective function value. This paper evaluates two alternative methods to accelerate iterative BAS based onmore » surrogates for the FMO objective function value. Methods: We suggest to select candidate beams not based on the FMO objective function value after convergence but (1) based on the objective function value after five FMO iterations of a gradient based algorithm and (2) based on a projected gradient of the FMO problem in the first iteration. The performance of the objective function surrogates is evaluated based on the resulting objective function values and dose statistics in a treatment planning study comprising three intracranial, three pancreas, and three prostate cases. Furthermore, iterative BAS is evaluated for an application in which a small number of noncoplanar beams complement a set of coplanar beam orientations. This scenario is of practical interest as noncoplanar setups may require additional attention of the treatment personnel for every couch rotation. Results: Iterative BAS relying on objective function surrogates yields similar results compared to naïve BAS with regard to the objective function values and dose statistics. At the same time, early stopping of the FMO and using the projected gradient during the first iteration enable reductions in computation time by approximately one to two orders of magnitude. With regard to the clinical delivery of noncoplanar IMRT treatments, we could show that optimized beam ensembles using only a few noncoplanar beam orientations often approach the plan quality of fully noncoplanar ensembles. Conclusions: We conclude that iterative BAS in combination with objective function surrogates can be a viable option to implement automated BAS at clinically acceptable computation times.« less

Accelerated iterative beam angle selection in IMRT.

PubMed

Bangert, Mark; Unkelbach, Jan

2016-03-01

Iterative methods for beam angle selection (BAS) for intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) planning sequentially construct a beneficial ensemble of beam directions. In a naïve implementation, the nth beam is selected by adding beam orientations one-by-one from a discrete set of candidates to an existing ensemble of (n - 1) beams. The best beam orientation is identified in a time consuming process by solving the fluence map optimization (FMO) problem for every candidate beam and selecting the beam that yields the largest improvement to the objective function value. This paper evaluates two alternative methods to accelerate iterative BAS based on surrogates for the FMO objective function value. We suggest to select candidate beams not based on the FMO objective function value after convergence but (1) based on the objective function value after five FMO iterations of a gradient based algorithm and (2) based on a projected gradient of the FMO problem in the first iteration. The performance of the objective function surrogates is evaluated based on the resulting objective function values and dose statistics in a treatment planning study comprising three intracranial, three pancreas, and three prostate cases. Furthermore, iterative BAS is evaluated for an application in which a small number of noncoplanar beams complement a set of coplanar beam orientations. This scenario is of practical interest as noncoplanar setups may require additional attention of the treatment personnel for every couch rotation. Iterative BAS relying on objective function surrogates yields similar results compared to naïve BAS with regard to the objective function values and dose statistics. At the same time, early stopping of the FMO and using the projected gradient during the first iteration enable reductions in computation time by approximately one to two orders of magnitude. With regard to the clinical delivery of noncoplanar IMRT treatments, we could show that optimized beam ensembles using only a few noncoplanar beam orientations often approach the plan quality of fully noncoplanar ensembles. We conclude that iterative BAS in combination with objective function surrogates can be a viable option to implement automated BAS at clinically acceptable computation times.

Longitudinal Changes in Behavioral Approach System Sensitivity and Brain Structures Involved in Reward Processing during Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Urosevic, Snezana; Collins, Paul; Muetzel, Ryan; Lim, Kelvin; Luciana, Monica

2012-01-01

Adolescence is a period of radical normative changes and increased risk for substance use, mood disorders, and physical injury. Researchers have proposed that increases in reward sensitivity (i.e., sensitivity of the behavioral approach system [BAS]) and/or increases in reactivity to all emotional stimuli (i.e., reward and threat sensitivities)…

40Ar/39Ar and unspiked 40K-40Ar dating of upper Pleistocene volcanic activity in the Bas-Vivarais (Ardèche, France)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sasco, Romain; Guillou, Hervé; Nomade, Sébastien; Scao, Vincent; Maury, René C.; Kissel, Catherine; Wandres, Camille

2017-07-01

Fifteen basanitic and tephritic flows from Bas-Vivarais, the youngest volcanic field in the French Massif Central together with the Chaîne des Puys, were dated by 40Ar/39Ar and 40K-40Ar on separated groundmass, and studied for paleomagnetism. An almost systematic discrepancy between the two types of ages is observed, the 40K-40Ar method providing ages up to 8.5 times the 40Ar/39Ar ones. Microscopic observations and geochemical analyses lead us to conclude that most of the K-Ar ages measured on Bas-Vivarais samples are in error due to extraneous argon originating from contamination by xenocrysts from disintegrated crustal and mantle xenoliths. However, 40Ar/39Ar experiments do not evidence any excess argon, suggesting two possibilities: 1, the extraneous argon contribution was eliminated during the pre-degassing of the samples at 600 °C prior to the step heating experiments, 2 - K-Ar ages may be older because larger quantities of xenocrysts, potential carriers of extraneous argon were involved in the K-Ar experiments than in the 40Ar/39Ar ones. 40Ar/39Ar ages are thus little or not affected by contamination and provide reliable ages for the studied volcanoes. Combined 40Ar/39Ar datings and magnetic directions for each flow point out to three successive stages in the volcanic evolution of Bas-Vivarais. Stage 1, limited to the northern part of the field, has a mean age of 187.3 ± 19.0 ka. In its southern part, Stages 2 and 3 emplaced magmas at 31.1 ± 3.9 ka and 23.9 ± 8.1 ka, respectively. These two last stages are consistent with available 14C dates but not with previous thermoluminescence data.

Structural, electronic, mechanical, thermal and optical properties of B(P,As)1-xNx; (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1) alloys and hardness of B(P,As) under compression using DFT calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viswanathan, E.; Sundareswari, M.; Jayalakshmi, D. S.; Manjula, M.; Krishnaveni, S.

2017-09-01

First principles calculations are carried out in order to analyze the structural, electronic, mechanical, thermal and optical properties of BP and BAs compounds by ternary alloying with nitrogen namely B(P,As)1-xNx (x = 0.25, 0.5, 0.75) alloys at ambient condition. Thereby we report the mechanical and thermal properties of B(P,As)1-xNx (x = 0.25, 0.5, 0.75) alloys namely bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young's modulus, hardness, ductile-brittle nature, elastic wave velocity, Debye temperature, melting point, etc.; optical properties of B(P)1-xNx (x = 0.25, 0.5, 0.75) and B(As)1-xNx (x = 0.25, 0.75) alloys namely the dielectric function of real and imaginary part, refractive index, extinction coefficient and reflectivity and the hardness profile of the parent compounds BP and BAs under compression. The charge density plot, density of states histograms and band structures are plotted and discussed for all the ternary alloys of the present study. The calculated results agree very well with the available literature. Analysis of the present study reveals that the ternary alloy combinations namely BP.25N.75 and BAs.25N.75 could be superhard materials; hardness of BP and BAs increases with compression.

77 FR 72815 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-06

... (GNIS). The BAS universe and mailing materials vary depending both upon the needs of the Census Bureau... decennial census. There are less than 40,000 governments in the universe each year. In all other years, the BAS reporting universe includes all legally defined federally recognized American Indian and Alaska...

Bridge approach slabs for Missouri DOT field evaluation of alternative and cost efficient bridge approach slabs.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-05-01

Based on a recent study on cost efficient alternative bridge approach slab (BAS) designs (Thiagarajan et : al. 2010) has recommended three new BAS designs for possible implementation by MoDOT namely a) 20 feet cast-inplace : slab with sleeper slab (C...

Business Administration Scale for Family Child Care, BAS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Talan, Teri N.; Bloom, Paula Jorde

2009-01-01

The "BAS for Family Child Care" is the first valid and reliable tool for measuring and improving the overall quality of business and professional practices in family child care settings. It is applicable for multiple uses, including program self-improvement, technical assistance and monitoring, training, research and evaluation, and public…

Business Administration Scale for Family Child Care (BAS). Second Edition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Talan, Teri N.; Bloom, Paula Jorde

2018-01-01

The "Business Administration Scale for Family Child Care" (BAS) is the first valid and reliable tool for measuring and improving the overall quality of business and professional practices in family child care settings. It is applicable for multiple uses, including program self-improvement, technical assistance and monitoring, training,…

77 FR 50677 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Boundary and Annexation Survey

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-22

..., preparing population estimates, and supporting other statistical programs of the Census Bureau, and the... survey. The typical BAS package contains: 1. Introductory letter from the Director of the Census Bureau... Census Bureau. The typical Digital BAS package contains: 1. Introductory letter from the Director of the...

Advanced Concept for Creation of Security Holograms / PROGRESĪVĀ Koncepcija AIZSARDZĪBAS Hologrammas Izveidei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bulanovs, A.; Gerbreders, S.

2013-12-01

A new concept is proposed for digital hologram production along with the relevant techniques developed in our laboratory. The main idea of the concept is to maximally separate the calculation of hologram from its optical recording on the light-sensitive media. A special file format containing information on each holographic pixel is created at the stage of calculation. The file is a device-independent by structure, and can be employed for recording a hologram using any of the existing techniques (dot-matrix, optical matrix lithography, e-beam lithography). An optical lithography device is applied to calculate the images for a spatial light modulator at the stage of hologram recording in accordance with the data from the file and in conformity with the hardware features of the device. The proposed method was tested and successfully used to record security holograms. For commercial use a software package and an optical recording system have been developed. Šajā rakstā tiek apskatītas koncepcijas un metodes, kuras tiek izmantotas drošības hologrammu ražošanai mūsu laboratorijā. Koncepcijas galvenā ideja ir hologrammas aprēķina posmu maksimālais sadalījums no hologrammu optiskā ieraksta uz gaismas jūtīgām vidēm. Hologrammas aprēķina posmā tiek izveidots īpaša formāta fails, kas satur pilnu informāciju par katru hologrāfisko pikseli. Pēc struktūras fails ir neatkarīgs no ierīces un to var izmantot hologrammas ierakstam pēc jebkuras no esošajām tehnoloģijām. Hologrammas ieraksta posmā optiskā litogrāfijas iekārta pēc faila datiem veic SLM (Spatial Light Modulator) attēla aprēķinu, ievērojot iekārtas darbības īpatnības. Piedāvātā metode ir pārbaudīta un veiksmīgi tiek izmantota drošības hologrammu ierakstam. Izstrādāta programmu pakete un optiskā ieraksta iekārta komerciālai izmantošanai.

Neurophenomenology of an Altered State of Consciousness: An fMRI Case Study.

PubMed

Modestino, Edward J

2016-01-01

A research participant came to our lab with self-proclaimed, ecstatic, Kundalini meditative experiences. Using neurophenomenology and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we were able to identify brain activation in the left prefrontal cortex [primarily in left Brodmann׳s areas (BAs) 46 and 10, but also extending into BAs 11, 47, and 45] associated with this experience. The Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory provided evidence that this was a perceived altered state of consciousness. Additionally, the Physio-Kundalini Syndrome Index strongly suggested that what he was experiencing was indeed Kundalini. The feelings of joy, happiness and the left prefrontal brain region found in this study are consistent with many published neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies of meditation. This case study suggests that using first-person subjective experience within a phenomenological reduction process can be combined with neuroimaging to divulge objective brain regions associated with such experiences. Furthermore, this provides evidence that at least in this participant, the Kundalini experience is associated with brain activation in the left prefrontal cortex. Future research is needed to confirm these results in a large group study, perhaps contrasting brain activation of those who experience spontaneously emerging Kundalini with trained Kundalini practitioners. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Functional segregation of the inferior frontal gyrus for syntactic processes: a functional magnetic-resonance imaging study.

PubMed

Uchiyama, Yuji; Toyoda, Hiroshi; Honda, Manabu; Yoshida, Haruyo; Kochiyama, Takanori; Ebe, Kazutoshi; Sadato, Norihiro

2008-07-01

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging in 18 normal volunteers to determine whether there is separate representation of syntactic, semantic, and verbal working memory processing in the left inferior frontal gyrus (GFi). We compared a sentence comprehension task with a short-term memory maintenance task to identify syntactic and semantic processing regions. To investigate the effects of syntactic and verbal working memory load while minimizing the differences in semantic processes, we used comprehension tasks with garden-path (GP) sentences, which require re-parsing, and non-garden-path (NGP) sentences. Compared with the short-term memory task, sentence comprehension activated the left GFi, including Brodmann areas (BAs) 44, 45, and 47, and the left superior temporal gyrus. In GP versus NGP sentences, there was greater activity in the left BAs 44, 45, and 46 extending to the left anterior insula, the pre-supplementary motor area, and the right cerebellum. In the left GFi, verbal working memory activity was located more dorsally (BA 44/45), semantic processing was located more ventrally (BA 47), and syntactic processing was located in between (BA 45). These findings indicate a close relationship between semantic and syntactic processes, and suggest that BA 45 might link verbal working memory and semantic processing via syntactic unification processes.

Use of the British Ability Scales for Assessing Australian Children with Learning Difficulties.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boland, L.; And Others

1988-01-01

Four studies involving 172 Australian children (133 males and 39 females) were conducted to investigate the usefulness of the British Ability Scales (BAS) as an alternative to the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R). The BAS was found to be a suitable alternative to the WISC-R. (SLD)

Digital relief generation from 3D models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Meili; Sun, Yu; Zhang, Hongming; Qian, Kun; Chang, Jian; He, Dongjian

2016-09-01

It is difficult to extend image-based relief generation to high-relief generation, as the images contain insufficient height information. To generate reliefs from three-dimensional (3D) models, it is necessary to extract the height fields from the model, but this can only generate bas-reliefs. To overcome this problem, an efficient method is proposed to generate bas-reliefs and high-reliefs directly from 3D meshes. To produce relief features that are visually appropriate, the 3D meshes are first scaled. 3D unsharp masking is used to enhance the visual features in the 3D mesh, and average smoothing and Laplacian smoothing are implemented to achieve better smoothing results. A nonlinear variable scaling scheme is then employed to generate the final bas-reliefs and high-reliefs. Using the proposed method, relief models can be generated from arbitrary viewing positions with different gestures and combinations of multiple 3D models. The generated relief models can be printed by 3D printers. The proposed method provides a means of generating both high-reliefs and bas-reliefs in an efficient and effective way under the appropriate scaling factors.

Synthesis of the 3-sulfates of N-acetylcysteine conjugated bile acids (BA-NACs) and their transient formation from BA-NACs and subsequent hydrolysis by a rat liver cytosolic fraction as shown by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Mitamura, Kuniko; Sakai, Toshihiro; Nakai, Risa; Wakamiya, Tateaki; Iida, Takashi; Hofmann, Alan F; Ikegawa, Shigeo

2011-06-01

Previous work from this laboratory has reported the chemical synthesis of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) conjugates of natural bile acids (BAs) and shown that such novel conjugates can be formed in vivo in rats to which NAC has been administered. The subsequent fate of such novel conjugates is not known. One possible biotransformation is sulfation, a major pathway for BAs N-acylamidates in patients with cholestatic liver disease. Here, we report the chemical synthesis of the 3-sulfates of the S-acyl NAC conjugates of five natural BAs (cholic, chenodeoxycholic, deoxycholic, ursodeoxycholic, and lithocholic). We also measured the sulfation of N-acetylcysteine-natural bile acid (BA-NAC) conjugates when they were incubated with a rat liver cytosolic fraction. The chemical structures of the BA-NAC 3-sulfates were confirmed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance, as well as by means of electrospray ionization-linear ion trap mass spectrometry with negative-ion detection. Upon collision-induced dissociation of singly and doubly charged deprotonated molecules, structurally informative product ions were observed. Using a triple-stage quadrupole instrument, selected reaction monitoring analyses by monitoring characteristic transition ions allowed the achievement of a highly sensitive and specific assay. When BA-NACs were incubated with a rat liver cytosolic fraction to which 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphosulfate was added, sulfation occurred, but the dominant reaction was hydrolysis of the S-acyl linkage to form the unconjugated BAs. Subsequent sulfation occurred at C-3 on the unconjugated BAs that had been formed from the BA-NACs. Such sulfation was proportional to the hydrophobicity of the unconjugated bile acid. Thus, NAC conjugates of BAs as well as their C-3 sulfates if formed in vivo are rapidly hydrolyzed by cytosolic enzymes.

An interventionist adherence scale for a specialized brief negotiation interview focused on treatment engagement for opioid use disorders.

PubMed

Pantalon, Michael V; Dziura, James; Li, Fang-Yong; Owens, Patricia H; O'Connor, Patrick G; D'Onofrio, Gail

2017-01-01

No psychometrically validated instrument for evaluating the extent to which interventionists correctly implement brief interventions designed to motivate treatment engagement for opioid use disorders has been reported in the literature. The objective of this study was to develop and examine the psychometric properties of the Brief Negotiation Interview (BNI) Adherence Scale for Opioid Use Disorders (BAS-O). In the context of a randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of 3 models of emergency department care for opioid use disorders, the authors developed and subsequently examined the psychometric properties of the BAS-O, a 38-item scale that required raters to answer whether or not ("Yes" or "No") each of the critical actions of the BNI was correctly implemented by the research interventionist. BAS-O items pertained to the BNI's 4 steps: (1) Raise the Subject, (2) Provide Feedback, (3) Enhance Motivation, and (4) Negotiate and Advise. A total of 215 audio-recorded BNI and 88 control encounters were rated by 3 trained raters who were independent of the study team and blind to study hypotheses, treatment, and assignment. The results indicated the BAS-O has fair to excellent psychometric properties, in terms of good internal consistency, excellent interrater reliability, discriminant validity, and construct validity, and fair predictive validity. A 13-item, 2-factor solution accounted for nearly 80% of the variance, where factor 1 addressed "Autonomy and Planning" (7 items) and factor 2 addressed "Motivation and Problems" (6 items). However, predictive validity was found for only one of the BAS-O factor items (i.e., Telling patients that treatment will address a range of issues related to their opioid use disorder). This study suggests that the BAS-O is a psychometrically valid measure of adherence to the specialized BNI for motivating treatment engagement in patients with opioid use disorders, thus providing a brief (13-item), objective method of evaluating BNI skill performance.

False Negative Rates of a Macrofoam-Swab Sampling Method with Low Surface Concentrations of Two Bacillus anthracis Surrogates via Real-Time PCR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hutchison, Janine R.; Piepel, Gregory F.; Amidan, Brett G.

Surface sampling for Bacillus anthracis spores has traditionally relied on detection via bacterial cultivation methods. Although effective, this approach does not provide the level of organism specificity that can be gained through molecular techniques. False negative rates (FNR) and limits of detection (LOD) were determined for two B. anthracis surrogates with modified rapid viability-polymerase chain reaction (mRV-PCR) following macrofoam-swab sampling. This study was conducted in parallel with a previously reported study that analyzed spores using a plate-culture method. B. anthracis Sterne (BAS) or B. atrophaeus Nakamura (BG) spores were deposited onto four surface materials (glass, stainless steel, vinyl tile, andmore » plastic) at nine target concentrations (2 to 500 spores/coupon; 0.078 to 19.375 colony-forming units [CFU] per cm2). Mean FNR values for mRV-PCR analysis ranged from 0 to 0.917 for BAS and 0 to 0.875 for BG and increased as spore concentration decreased (over the concentrations investigated) for each surface material. FNRs based on mRV-PCR data were not statistically different for BAS and BG, but were significantly lower for glass than for vinyl tile. FNRs also tended to be lower for the mRV-PCR method compared to the culture method. The mRV-PCR LOD95 was lowest for glass (0.429 CFU/cm2 with BAS and 0.341 CFU/cm2 with BG) and highest for vinyl tile (0.919 CFU/cm2 with BAS and 0.917 CFU/cm2 with BG). These mRV-PCR LOD95 values were lower than the culture values (BAS: 0.678 to 1.023 CFU/cm2 and BG: 0.820 to 1.489 CFU/cm2). The FNR and LOD95 values reported in this work provide guidance for environmental sampling of Bacillus spores at low concentrations.« less

False Negative Rates of a Macrofoam-Swab Sampling Method with Low Surface Concentrations of Two Bacillus anthracis Surrogates via Real-Time PCR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hutchison, Janine R.; Piepel, Gregory F.; Amidan, Brett G.

Surface sampling for Bacillus anthracis spores has traditionally relied on detection via bacterial cultivation methods. Although effective, this approach does not provide the level of organism specificity that can be gained through molecular techniques. False negative rates (FNR) and limits of detection (LOD) were determined for two B. anthracis surrogates with modified rapid viability-polymerase chain reaction (mRV-PCR) following macrofoam-swab sampling. This study was conducted in parallel with a previously reported study that analyzed spores using a plate-culture method. B. anthracis Sterne (BAS) or B. atrophaeus Nakamura (BG) spores were deposited onto four surface materials (glass, stainless steel, vinyl tile, andmore » plastic) at nine target concentrations (2 to 500 spores/coupon; 0.078 to 19.375 colony-forming units [CFU] per cm²). Mean FNR values for mRV-PCR analysis ranged from 0 to 0.917 for BAS and 0 to 0.875 for BG and increased as spore concentration decreased (over the concentrations investigated) for each surface material. FNRs based on mRV-PCR data were not statistically different for BAS and BG, but were significantly lower for glass than for vinyl tile. FNRs also tended to be lower for the mRV-PCR method compared to the culture method. The mRV-PCR LOD₉₅ was lowest for glass (0.429 CFU/cm² with BAS and 0.341 CFU/cm² with BG) and highest for vinyl tile (0.919 CFU/cm² with BAS and 0.917 CFU/cm² with BG). These mRV-PCR LOD₉₅ values were lower than the culture values (BAS: 0.678 to 1.023 CFU/cm² and BG: 0.820 to 1.489 CFU/cm²). The FNR and LOD₉₅ values reported in this work provide guidance for environmental sampling of Bacillus spores at low concentrations.« less

Building Energy Management Open Source Software

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rahman, Saifur

Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy in November 2013, a Building Energy Management Open Source Software (BEMOSS) platform was engineered to improve sensing and control of equipment in small- and medium-sized commercial buildings. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), small- (5,000 square feet or smaller) and medium-sized (between 5,001 to 50,000 square feet) commercial buildings constitute about 95% of all commercial buildings in the U.S. These buildings typically do not have Building Automation Systems (BAS) to monitor and control building operation. While commercial BAS solutions exist, including those from Siemens, Honeywell, Johnsons Controls and many more, they aremore » not cost effective in the context of small- and medium-sized commercial buildings, and typically work with specific controller products from the same company. BEMOSS targets small and medium-sized commercial buildings to address this gap.« less

Multicentre prospective survey of SeHCAT provision and practice in the UK.

PubMed

Summers, Jennifer A; Peacock, Janet; Coker, Bolaji; McMillan, Viktoria; Ofuya, Mercy; Lewis, Cornelius; Keevil, Stephen; Logan, Robert; McLaughlin, John; Reid, Fiona

2016-01-01

A clinical diagnosis of bile acid malabsorption (BAM) can be confirmed using SeHCAT (tauroselcholic ((75)selenium) acid), a radiolabelled synthetic bile acid. However, while BAM can be the cause of chronic diarrhoea, it is often overlooked as a potential diagnosis. Therefore, we investigated the use of SeHCAT for diagnosis of BAM in UK hospitals. A multicentre survey was conducted capturing centre and patient-level information detailing patient care-pathways, clinical history, SeHCAT results, treatment with bile acid sequestrants (BAS), and follow-up in clinics. Eligible data from 38 centres and 1036 patients were entered into a validated management system. SeHCAT protocol varied between centres, with no standardised patient positioning, and differing referral systems. Surveyed patients had a mean age of 50 years and predominantly women (65%). The mean SeHCAT retention score for all patients was 19% (95% CI 17.8% to 20.3%). However, this differed with suspected BAM type: type 1: 9% (95% CI 6.3% to 11.4%), type 2: 21% (95% CI 19.2% to 23.0%) and type 3: 22% (95% CI 19.6% to 24.2%). Centre-defined 'abnormal' and 'borderline' results represented over 50% of the survey population. BAS treatment was prescribed to only 73% of patients with abnormal results. The study identified a lack of consistent cut-off/threshold values, with differing centre criteria for defining an 'abnormal' SeHCAT result. BAS prescription was not related in a simple way to the SeHCAT result, nor to the centre-defined result, highlighting a lack of clear patient care-pathways. There is a clear need for a future diagnostic accuracy study and a better understanding of optimal management pathways.

Multicentre prospective survey of SeHCAT provision and practice in the UK

PubMed Central

Peacock, Janet; Coker, Bolaji; McMillan, Viktoria; Ofuya, Mercy; Lewis, Cornelius; Keevil, Stephen; Logan, Robert; McLaughlin, John; Reid, Fiona

2016-01-01

Objective A clinical diagnosis of bile acid malabsorption (BAM) can be confirmed using SeHCAT (tauroselcholic (75selenium) acid), a radiolabelled synthetic bile acid. However, while BAM can be the cause of chronic diarrhoea, it is often overlooked as a potential diagnosis. Therefore, we investigated the use of SeHCAT for diagnosis of BAM in UK hospitals. Design A multicentre survey was conducted capturing centre and patient-level information detailing patient care-pathways, clinical history, SeHCAT results, treatment with bile acid sequestrants (BAS), and follow-up in clinics. Eligible data from 38 centres and 1036 patients were entered into a validated management system. Results SeHCAT protocol varied between centres, with no standardised patient positioning, and differing referral systems. Surveyed patients had a mean age of 50 years and predominantly women (65%). The mean SeHCAT retention score for all patients was 19% (95% CI 17.8% to 20.3%). However, this differed with suspected BAM type: type 1: 9% (95% CI 6.3% to 11.4%), type 2: 21% (95% CI 19.2% to 23.0%) and type 3: 22% (95% CI 19.6% to 24.2%). Centre-defined ‘abnormal’ and ‘borderline’ results represented over 50% of the survey population. BAS treatment was prescribed to only 73% of patients with abnormal results. Conclusions The study identified a lack of consistent cut-off/threshold values, with differing centre criteria for defining an ‘abnormal’ SeHCAT result. BAS prescription was not related in a simple way to the SeHCAT result, nor to the centre-defined result, highlighting a lack of clear patient care-pathways. There is a clear need for a future diagnostic accuracy study and a better understanding of optimal management pathways. PMID:27252882

Profiling of Amino Acids and Their Derivatives Biogenic Amines Before and After Antipsychotic Treatment in First-Episode Psychosis.

PubMed

Leppik, Liisa; Kriisa, Kärt; Koido, Kati; Koch, Kadri; Kajalaid, Kärolin; Haring, Liina; Vasar, Eero; Zilmer, Mihkel

2018-01-01

Schizophrenia (SCH) is a heterogeneous disorder, deriving from a potential multitude of etiopathogenetic factors. During the past few years there has been an increasing interest in the role of circulating amino acids (AAs) and biogenic amines (BAs) in the pathophysiology of SCH. In the present study, we aimed to provide an insight into the potential role of alterations in levels of AAs and BAs as well as examine their more specific metabolic shifts in relation to early stage of SCH. We measured 21 AAs and 17 BAs in serum samples of patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP) before and after 7-month antipsychotic treatment in comparison to control subjects (CSs). According to multivariate analysis, antipsychotic-naïve FEP patients had significantly higher levels of taurine and spermine, whereas values of proline (Pro), alpha-aminoadipic acid (alpha-AAA), kynurenine (Kyn), valine (Val), tyrosine (Tyr), citrulline (Citr), tryptophan (Trp), and histidine (His) were diminished compared to CSs. Increased levels of taurine and spermine, as well as reduced levels of alpha-AAA and Kyn probably reflect the compromised function of N -methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in patients. The decreased levels of Pro (AA modulating the function of glutamate decarboxylase) likely reflect the imbalanced function of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system in the brain of FEP patients. The alterations in ratio between Tyr and phenylalanine (Phe) can be taken as a sign of compromised function of dopaminergic system. These metabolic shifts were reinstated by 7-month antipsychotic treatment. Serum metabolic profiles can be regarded as important indicators to investigate clinical course of SCH and treatment response.

Proceedings of the VI Serbian-Bulgarian Astronomical Conference, May 7 - 11 2008, Belgrade, Serbia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dimitrijević, M. S.; Tsvetkov, M.; Popović, L. C.; Golev, V.

2009-07-01

The Sixth Serbian-Bulgarian Astronomical Conference was organized by Belgrade Astronomical Observatory, and held in Belgrade, in the building of Mathematical Faculty in Jagiceva Street, from 75th to 11th May 2008. Co-organizers were Mathematical Faculty, Astronomical Society "Rudjer Boskovic", Institute of Astronomy of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), Space Research Institute of BAS and Department of Astronomy of the University of Sofia. Co-chairmen of the Scientific Organizing Committee were Milan Dimitrijevic and Milcho Tsvetkov and Co-vice chairmen Luka C. Popovic and Valeri Golev. Chair of the Local Organizing Committee was Andjelka Kovacevic. The conference [was] attended by 58 participants. From Serbia were 36, from Belgrade Astronomical Observatory, Mathematical Faculty, Faculty of Sciences from Nis, Institute of Physics from Zemum, High School for pedagogues of occupational studies from Aleksinac, Faculty of Sciences from Kragujevac, Mathematical Institute of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Astronomical Society "Rudjer Boskovic" and Astronomical Society "Magellanic Cloud." From Bulgaria were present 17 colleagues: Svetlana Boeva, Ana Borisova, Momchil Dechev, Peter Duchlev, Lostadinka Koleva, Georgi Petrov, Vasil Popov, Konstatin Stavrev, Katya Ysvetkova and Milcho Tsvetkov from Institute of Astronomy of BAS, Rumen Bogdanovski and Krasmimira Ianova from Space Research Institute of BAS, Georgi R. Ivanov, Georgi Petrov and Grigor Nikolov from Department of Astronomy, Sofia University "St Kliment Ohridski,", Yavor Chapanov from Central Laboratory for Geodesy of BAS and Petya Pavlova from Technical University of Sofia, Branch Plovdiv. Besides participants from Serbia and Bulgaria the Conference [was] attended [by] Vlado Milicevic from Canada, Jan Vondrak from Czech Republic, Aytap Sezer from Turkey and Tetyana Sergeeva and Alexandr Sergeev from Ukraine. On the Conference were presented 13 invited lectures, 22 short talks and 35 posters, in total 70 contributions. In these proceedings are 47 papers, 10 invited lectures, 12 contributed papers and 25 poster papers. Within the frame of cultural program in the library of Astronomical Observatory was organized a multimedia evening "Astronomy, Poetry and Art." Moderator was Andjelka Kovacevic. Poetry with cosmical inspiration was presented by Milan S. Dimitrijevic, Milcho Tsvetkov, Natasha Stanic, Tetyana Sergeeva, Jan Vondrak and Katya Tsvetkova with musical accompaniment by Zoran Simic and Edi Bon. Also a video presentation of paintings of Zoran Simic, inspired by the Universe accompanied by him by guitar was performed. An excursion to the excavations of the Roman colony Viminacium was organized for the participants. The Sixth Serbian-Bulgarian Astronomical Conference was fruitful and important for the further development of collaboration, common activities and planning of the joint scientific investigations and projects.

Measuring Progressions: Assessment Structures Underlying a Learning Progression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Mark

2009-01-01

This article describes some of the underlying conceptualizations that have gone into the work of the BEAR Center in the development of learning progressions. The core of all of these developments has been the construct map, which is the first building block in the BEAR Assessment System (BAS). After introducing the concept of a learning…

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Krishnan, Venkat; Cole, Wesley

This poster is based on the paper of the same name, presented at the IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting, July18, 2016. Power sector capacity expansion models (CEMs) have a broad range of spatial resolutions. This paper uses the Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) model, a long-term national scale electric sector CEM, to evaluate the value of high spatial resolution for CEMs. ReEDS models the United States with 134 load balancing areas (BAs) and captures the variability in existing generation parameters, future technology costs, performance, and resource availability using very high spatial resolution data, especially for wind and solarmore » modeled at 356 resource regions. In this paper we perform planning studies at three different spatial resolutions - native resolution (134 BAs), state-level, and NERC region level - and evaluate how results change under different levels of spatial aggregation in terms of renewable capacity deployment and location, associated transmission builds, and system costs. The results are used to ascertain the value of high geographically resolved models in terms of their impact on relative competitiveness among renewable energy resources.« less

Leader/Follower Behaviour Using the SIFT Algorithm for Object Recognition

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-06-01

opérations de convoiement plus complexes qui utiliseraient une vision artificielle basée sur la détection d’un chef. Les travaux futurs : Étant donné la...Systems: A Virtual Trailer Link Model, In Proceedings of IEEE/RSJ Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. [4] Hong, P., Sahli, H., Colon, E., and... Intelligent Robots and Systems. [6] Nguyen, H., Kogut, G., Barua, R., and Burmeister, A. (2004), A Segway RMP-based Robotic Transport System, In In

Influence of biologically-active substances on {sup 137}Cs and heavy metals uptake by Barley plant

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kruglov, Stanislav; Filipas, Alexander

2007-07-01

Available in abstract form only. Full text of publication follows: When solving the problem of contaminated agricultural lands rehabilitation, most of attention is concentrated on the effective means which allow the obtaining of ecologically safe production. The minimization of radionuclides and heavy metals (HM) content in farm products on the basis of their migration characteristics in agro-landscapes and with the regard for different factors influencing contaminants behavior in the soil-plant system is of great significance. Our investigation has shown that the effect of biologically active substances (BAS) using for seeds treatment on {sup 137}Cs transfer to barley grown on Cdmore » contaminated soil was dependent on their properties and dosage, characteristics of soil contamination and biological peculiarities of plants, including stage of plants development. Seeds treatment by plant growth regulator Zircon resulted in a significant increase in {sup 137}Cs activity in harvest (40- 50%), increase in K concentration and significant reduction in Ca concentration. Increased Cd content in soil reduced {sup 137}Cs transfer to barley plants by 30-60% (p<0,05) and Zircon application further reduced its concentration. Ambiol and El also reduced {sup 137}Cs uptake by roots and Cd and Pb phyto-toxicity. The experimental data do not make it possible to link the BAS effect on inhibition of {sup 137}Cs absorption by plants directly with their influence on HM phyto-toxicity. The dependence of Concentration Ratio of {sup 137}Cs on the Ambiol and El dose was not proportional and the most significant decrease in the radionuclide uptake by plants was reported with the use of dose showing the most pronounced stimulating effect on the barley growth and development. The pre-sowing seed treatment with Ambiol increased Pb absorption by 35-50% and, on the contrary, decreased Cd uptake by plants by 30-40%. (authors)« less

Biological oxidation of hydrogen sulfide in mineral media using a biofilm airlift suspension reactor.

PubMed

Moghanloo, G M Mojarrad; Fatehifar, E; Saedy, S; Aghaeifar, Z; Abbasnezhad, H

2010-11-01

Hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) removal in mineral media using Thiobacillus thioparus TK-1 in a biofilm airlift suspension reactor (BAS) was investigated to evaluate the relationship between biofilm formation and changes in inlet loading rates. Aqueous sodium sulfide was fed as the substrate into the continuous BAS-reactor. The reactor was operated at a constant temperature of 30 degrees C and a pH of 7, the optimal temperature and pH for biomass growth. The startup of the reactor was performed with basalt carrier material. Optimal treatment performance was obtained at a loading rate of 4.8 mol S(2-) m(-3) h(-1) at a conversion efficiency as high as 100%. The main product of H(2)S oxidation in the BAS-reactor was sulfate because of high oxygen concentrations in the airlift reactor. The maximum sulfide oxidation rate was 6.7 mol S(2-) m(-3) h(-1) at a hydraulic residence time of 3.3 h in the mineral medium. The data showed that the BAS-reactor with this microorganism can be used for sulfide removal from industrial effluent. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing movement quality in persons with severe mental illness - Reliability and validity of the Body Awareness Scale Movement Quality and Experience.

PubMed

Hedlund, Lena; Gyllensten, Amanda Lundvik; Waldegren, Tomas; Hansson, Lars

2016-05-01

Motor disturbances and disturbed self-recognition are common features that affect mobility in persons with schizophrenia spectrum disorder and bipolar disorder. Physiotherapists in Scandinavia assess and treat movement difficulties in persons with severe mental illness. The Body Awareness Scale Movement Quality and Experience (BAS MQ-E) is a new and shortened version of the commonly used Body Awareness Scale-Health (BAS-H). The purpose of this study was to investigate the inter-rater reliability and the concurrent validity of BAS MQ-E in persons with severe mental illness. The concurrent validity was examined by investigating the relationships between neurological soft signs, alexithymia, fatigue, anxiety, and mastery. Sixty-two persons with severe mental illness participated in the study. The results showed a satisfactory inter-rater reliability (n = 53) and a concurrent validity (n = 62) with neurological soft signs, especially cognitive and perceptual based signs. There was also a concurrent validity linked to physical fatigue and aspects of alexithymia. The scores of BAS MQ-E were in general higher for persons with schizophrenia compared to persons with other diagnoses within the schizophrenia spectrum disorders and bipolar disorder. The clinical implications are presented in the discussion.

Promiscuous plasmid replication in thermophiles: Use of a novel hyperthermophilic replicon for genetic manipulation of Clostridium thermocellum at its optimum growth temperature

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Groom, Joseph; Chung, Daehwan; Olson, Daniel G.

2016-01-29

Clostridium thermocellum is a leading candidate for the consolidated bioprocessing of lignocellulosic biomass for the production of fuels and chemicals. A limitation to the engineering of this strain is the availability of stable replicating plasmid vectors for homologous and heterologous expression of genes that provide improved and/or novel pathways for fuel production. Current vectors relay on replicons from mesophilic bacteria and are not stable at the optimum growth temperature of C. thermocellum. To develop more thermostable genetic tools for C. thermocellum, we constructed vectors based on the hyperthermophilic Caldicellulosiruptor bescii replicon pBAS2. Autonomously replicating shuttle vectors based on pBAS2 reproduciblymore » transformed C. thermocellum at 60 °C and were maintained in multiple copy. Promoters, selectable markers and plasmid replication proteins from C. bescii were functional in C. thermocellum. Phylogenetic analyses of the proteins contained on pBAS2 revealed that the replication initiation protein RepL is unique among thermophiles. Lastly, these results suggest that pBAS2 may be a broadly useful replicon for other thermophilic Firmicutes.« less

Vaginal biogenic amines: biomarkers of bacterial vaginosis or precursors to vaginal dysbiosis?

PubMed Central

Nelson, Tiffanie M.; Borgogna, Joanna-Lynn C.; Brotman, Rebecca M.; Ravel, Jacques; Walk, Seth T.; Yeoman, Carl J.

2015-01-01

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vaginal disorder among reproductive age women. One clinical indicator of BV is a “fishy” odor. This odor has been associated with increases in several biogenic amines (BAs) that may serve as important biomarkers. Within the vagina, BA production has been linked to various vaginal taxa, yet their genetic capability to synthesize BAs is unknown. Using a bioinformatics approach, we show that relatively few vaginal taxa are predicted to be capable of producing BAs. Many of these taxa (Dialister, Prevotella, Parvimonas, Megasphaera, Peptostreptococcus, and Veillonella spp.) are more abundant in the vaginal microbial community state type (CST) IV, which is depleted in lactobacilli. Several of the major Lactobacillus species (L. crispatus, L. jensenii, and L. gasseri) were identified as possessing gene sequences for proteins predicted to be capable of putrescine production. Finally, we show in a small cross sectional study of 37 women that the BAs putrescine, cadaverine and tyramine are significantly higher in CST IV over CSTs I and III. These data support the hypothesis that BA production is conducted by few vaginal taxa and may be important to the outgrowth of BV-associated (vaginal dysbiosis) vaginal bacteria. PMID:26483694

Vaginal biogenic amines: biomarkers of bacterial vaginosis or precursors to vaginal dysbiosis?

PubMed

Nelson, Tiffanie M; Borgogna, Joanna-Lynn C; Brotman, Rebecca M; Ravel, Jacques; Walk, Seth T; Yeoman, Carl J

2015-01-01

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vaginal disorder among reproductive age women. One clinical indicator of BV is a "fishy" odor. This odor has been associated with increases in several biogenic amines (BAs) that may serve as important biomarkers. Within the vagina, BA production has been linked to various vaginal taxa, yet their genetic capability to synthesize BAs is unknown. Using a bioinformatics approach, we show that relatively few vaginal taxa are predicted to be capable of producing BAs. Many of these taxa (Dialister, Prevotella, Parvimonas, Megasphaera, Peptostreptococcus, and Veillonella spp.) are more abundant in the vaginal microbial community state type (CST) IV, which is depleted in lactobacilli. Several of the major Lactobacillus species (L. crispatus, L. jensenii, and L. gasseri) were identified as possessing gene sequences for proteins predicted to be capable of putrescine production. Finally, we show in a small cross sectional study of 37 women that the BAs putrescine, cadaverine and tyramine are significantly higher in CST IV over CSTs I and III. These data support the hypothesis that BA production is conducted by few vaginal taxa and may be important to the outgrowth of BV-associated (vaginal dysbiosis) vaginal bacteria.

Immunosuppressive therapy for kidney transplantation in children and adolescents: systematic review and economic evaluation.

PubMed Central

Haasova, Marcela; Snowsill, Tristan; Jones-Hughes, Tracey; Crathorne, Louise; Cooper, Chris; Varley-Campbell, Jo; Mujica-Mota, Ruben; Coelho, Helen; Huxley, Nicola; Lowe, Jenny; Dudley, Jan; Marks, Stephen; Hyde, Chris; Bond, Mary; Anderson, Rob

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND End-stage renal disease is a long-term irreversible decline in kidney function requiring kidney transplantation, haemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. The preferred option is kidney transplantation followed by induction and maintenance immunosuppressive therapy to reduce the risk of kidney rejection and prolong graft survival. OBJECTIVES To systematically review and update the evidence for the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of basiliximab (BAS) (Simulect,(®) Novartis Pharmaceuticals) and rabbit antihuman thymocyte immunoglobulin (Thymoglobuline,(®) Sanofi) as induction therapy and immediate-release tacrolimus [Adoport(®) (Sandoz); Capexion(®) (Mylan); Modigraf(®) (Astellas Pharma); Perixis(®) (Accord Healthcare); Prograf(®) (Astellas Pharma); Tacni(®) (Teva); Vivadex(®) (Dexcel Pharma)], prolonged-release tacrolimus (Advagraf,(®) Astellas Pharma); belatacept (BEL) (Nulojix,(®) Bristol-Myers Squibb), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) [Arzip(®) (Zentiva), CellCept(®) (Roche Products), Myfenax(®) (Teva), generic MMF is manufactured by Accord Healthcare, Actavis, Arrow Pharmaceuticals, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Mylan, Sandoz and Wockhardt], mycophenolate sodium, sirolimus (Rapamune,(®) Pfizer) and everolimus (Certican,(®) Novartis Pharmaceuticals) as maintenance therapy in children and adolescents undergoing renal transplantation. DATA SOURCES Clinical effectiveness searches were conducted to 7 January 2015 in MEDLINE (via Ovid), EMBASE (via Ovid), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (via Wiley Online Library) and Web of Science [via Institute for Scientific Information (ISI)], Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects and Health Technology Assessment (HTA) (The Cochrane Library via Wiley Online Library) and Health Management Information Consortium (via Ovid). Cost-effectiveness searches were conducted to 15 January 2015 using a costs or economic literature search filter in MEDLINE (via Ovid), EMBASE (via Ovid), NHS Economic Evaluation Databases (via Wiley Online Library), Web of Science (via ISI), Health Economic Evaluations Database (via Wiley Online Library) and EconLit (via EBSCOhost). REVIEW METHODS Titles and abstracts were screened according to predefined inclusion criteria, as were full texts of identified studies. Included studies were extracted and quality appraised. Data were meta-analysed when appropriate. A new discrete time state transition economic model (semi-Markov) was developed; graft function, and incidences of acute rejection and new-onset diabetes mellitus were used to extrapolate graft survival. Recipients were assumed to be in one of three health states: functioning graft, graft loss or death. RESULTS Three randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and four non-RCTs were included. The RCTs only evaluated BAS and tacrolimus (TAC). No statistically significant differences in key outcomes were found between BAS and placebo/no induction. Statistically significantly higher graft function (p < 0.01) and less biopsy-proven acute rejection (odds ratio 0.29, 95% confidence interval 0.15 to 0.57) was found between TAC and ciclosporin (CSA). Only one cost-effectiveness study was identified, which informed NICE guidance TA99. BAS [with TAC and azathioprine (AZA)] was predicted to be cost-effective at £20,000-30,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) versus no induction (BAS was dominant). BAS (with CSA and MMF) was not predicted to be cost-effective at £20,000-30,000 per QALY versus no induction (BAS was dominated). TAC (with AZA) was predicted to be cost-effective at £20,000-30,000 per QALY versus CSA (TAC was dominant). A model based on adult evidence suggests that at a cost-effectiveness threshold of £20,000-30,000 per QALY, BAS and TAC are cost-effective in all considered combinations; MMF was also cost-effective with CSA but not TAC. LIMITATIONS The RCT evidence is very limited; analyses comparing all interventions need to rely on adult evidence. CONCLUSIONS TAC is likely to be cost-effective (vs. CSA, in combination with AZA) at £20,000-30,000 per QALY. Analysis based on one RCT found BAS to be dominant, but analysis based on another RCT found BAS to be dominated. BAS plus TAC and AZA was predicted to be cost-effective at £20,000-30,000 per QALY when all regimens were compared using extrapolated adult evidence. High-quality primary effectiveness research is needed. The UK Renal Registry could form the basis for a prospective primary study. STUDY REGISTRATION This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42014013544. FUNDING The National Institute for Health Research HTA programme. PMID:27557331

Immunosuppressive therapy for kidney transplantation in children and adolescents: systematic review and economic evaluation.

PubMed

Haasova, Marcela; Snowsill, Tristan; Jones-Hughes, Tracey; Crathorne, Louise; Cooper, Chris; Varley-Campbell, Jo; Mujica-Mota, Ruben; Coelho, Helen; Huxley, Nicola; Lowe, Jenny; Dudley, Jan; Marks, Stephen; Hyde, Chris; Bond, Mary; Anderson, Rob

2016-08-01

End-stage renal disease is a long-term irreversible decline in kidney function requiring kidney transplantation, haemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. The preferred option is kidney transplantation followed by induction and maintenance immunosuppressive therapy to reduce the risk of kidney rejection and prolong graft survival. To systematically review and update the evidence for the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of basiliximab (BAS) (Simulect,(®) Novartis Pharmaceuticals) and rabbit antihuman thymocyte immunoglobulin (Thymoglobuline,(®) Sanofi) as induction therapy and immediate-release tacrolimus [Adoport(®) (Sandoz); Capexion(®) (Mylan); Modigraf(®) (Astellas Pharma); Perixis(®) (Accord Healthcare); Prograf(®) (Astellas Pharma); Tacni(®) (Teva); Vivadex(®) (Dexcel Pharma)], prolonged-release tacrolimus (Advagraf,(®) Astellas Pharma); belatacept (BEL) (Nulojix,(®) Bristol-Myers Squibb), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) [Arzip(®) (Zentiva), CellCept(®) (Roche Products), Myfenax(®) (Teva), generic MMF is manufactured by Accord Healthcare, Actavis, Arrow Pharmaceuticals, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Mylan, Sandoz and Wockhardt], mycophenolate sodium, sirolimus (Rapamune,(®) Pfizer) and everolimus (Certican,(®) Novartis Pharmaceuticals) as maintenance therapy in children and adolescents undergoing renal transplantation. Clinical effectiveness searches were conducted to 7 January 2015 in MEDLINE (via Ovid), EMBASE (via Ovid), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (via Wiley Online Library) and Web of Science [via Institute for Scientific Information (ISI)], Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects and Health Technology Assessment (HTA) (The Cochrane Library via Wiley Online Library) and Health Management Information Consortium (via Ovid). Cost-effectiveness searches were conducted to 15 January 2015 using a costs or economic literature search filter in MEDLINE (via Ovid), EMBASE (via Ovid), NHS Economic Evaluation Databases (via Wiley Online Library), Web of Science (via ISI), Health Economic Evaluations Database (via Wiley Online Library) and EconLit (via EBSCOhost). Titles and abstracts were screened according to predefined inclusion criteria, as were full texts of identified studies. Included studies were extracted and quality appraised. Data were meta-analysed when appropriate. A new discrete time state transition economic model (semi-Markov) was developed; graft function, and incidences of acute rejection and new-onset diabetes mellitus were used to extrapolate graft survival. Recipients were assumed to be in one of three health states: functioning graft, graft loss or death. Three randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and four non-RCTs were included. The RCTs only evaluated BAS and tacrolimus (TAC). No statistically significant differences in key outcomes were found between BAS and placebo/no induction. Statistically significantly higher graft function (p < 0.01) and less biopsy-proven acute rejection (odds ratio 0.29, 95% confidence interval 0.15 to 0.57) was found between TAC and ciclosporin (CSA). Only one cost-effectiveness study was identified, which informed NICE guidance TA99. BAS [with TAC and azathioprine (AZA)] was predicted to be cost-effective at £20,000-30,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) versus no induction (BAS was dominant). BAS (with CSA and MMF) was not predicted to be cost-effective at £20,000-30,000 per QALY versus no induction (BAS was dominated). TAC (with AZA) was predicted to be cost-effective at £20,000-30,000 per QALY versus CSA (TAC was dominant). A model based on adult evidence suggests that at a cost-effectiveness threshold of £20,000-30,000 per QALY, BAS and TAC are cost-effective in all considered combinations; MMF was also cost-effective with CSA but not TAC. The RCT evidence is very limited; analyses comparing all interventions need to rely on adult evidence. TAC is likely to be cost-effective (vs. CSA, in combination with AZA) at £20,000-30,000 per QALY. Analysis based on one RCT found BAS to be dominant, but analysis based on another RCT found BAS to be dominated. BAS plus TAC and AZA was predicted to be cost-effective at £20,000-30,000 per QALY when all regimens were compared using extrapolated adult evidence. High-quality primary effectiveness research is needed. The UK Renal Registry could form the basis for a prospective primary study. This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42014013544. The National Institute for Health Research HTA programme.

High-Resolution Global Analysis of the Influences of Bas1 and Ino4 Transcription Factors on Meiotic DNA Break Distributions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

PubMed Central

Zhu, Xuan; Keeney, Scott

2015-01-01

Meiotic recombination initiates with DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) made by Spo11. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, many DSBs occur in “hotspots” coinciding with nucleosome-depleted gene promoters. Transcription factors (TFs) stimulate DSB formation in some hotspots, but TF roles are complex and variable between locations. Until now, available data for TF effects on global DSB patterns were of low spatial resolution and confined to a single TF. Here, we examine at high resolution the contributions of two TFs to genome-wide DSB distributions: Bas1, which was known to regulate DSB activity at some loci, and Ino4, for which some binding sites were known to be within strong DSB hotspots. We examined fine-scale DSB distributions in TF mutant strains by deep sequencing oligonucleotides that remain covalently bound to Spo11 as a byproduct of DSB formation, mapped Bas1 and Ino4 binding sites in meiotic cells, evaluated chromatin structure around DSB hotspots, and measured changes in global messenger RNA levels. Our findings show that binding of these TFs has essentially no predictive power for DSB hotspot activity and definitively support the hypothesis that TF control of DSB numbers is context dependent and frequently indirect. TFs often affected the fine-scale distributions of DSBs within hotspots, and when seen, these effects paralleled effects on local chromatin structure. In contrast, changes in DSB frequencies in hotspots did not correlate with quantitative measures of chromatin accessibility, histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation, or transcript levels. We also ruled out hotspot competition as a major source of indirect TF effects on DSB distributions. Thus, counter to prevailing models, roles of these TFs on DSB hotspot strength cannot be simply explained via chromatin “openness,” histone modification, or compensatory interactions between adjacent hotspots. PMID:26245832

A checklist of plant and animal species at Los Alamos National Laboratory and surrounding areas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hinojosa, H.

Past and current members of the Biology Team (BT) of the Ecology Group have completed biological assessments (BAs) for all of the land that comprises Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Within these assessments are lists of plant and animal species with the potential to exist on LANL lands and the surrounding areas. To compile these lists, BT members examined earlier published and unpublished reports, surveys, and data bases that pertained to the biota of this area or to areas that are similar. The species lists that are contained herein are compilations of the lists from these BAs, other lists thatmore » were a part of the initial research for the performance of these BAs, and more recent surveys.« less

The value of surrogate markers to monitor cholesterol absorption, synthesis and bioconversion to bile acids under lipid lowering therapies.

PubMed

Stellaard, Frans; von Bergmann, Klaus; Sudhop, Thomas; Lütjohann, Dieter

2017-05-01

Regulation of cholesterol (Chol) homeostasis is controlled by three main fluxes, i.e. intestinal absorption, de novo synthesis (ChS) and catabolism, predominantly as bile acid synthesis (BAS). High serum total Chol and LDL-Chol concentrations in particular are considered risk factors and markers for the development of atherosclerosis. Pharmaceutical treatments to lower serum Chol have focused on reducing absorption or ChS and increasing BAS. Monitoring of these three parameters is complex involving isotope techniques, cholesterol balance experiments and advanced mass spectrometry based analysis methods. Surrogate markers were explored that require only one single fasting blood sample collection. These markers were validated in specific, mostly physiological conditions and during statin treatment to inhibit ChS. They were also applied under cholesterol absorption restriction, but were not validated in this condition. We retrospectively evaluated the use of serum campesterol (Camp), sitosterol (Sit) and cholestanol (Cholol) as markers for cholesterol absorption, lathosterol (Lath) as marker for ChS and 7α-hydroxycholesterol (7α-OH-Ch) and 27-hydroxycholesterol (27-OH-Ch) as markers for BAS under conditions of Chol absorption restriction. Additionally, their values were corrected for Chol concentration (R_sterol or oxysterols). Thirty-seven healthy male omnivore subjects were studied under treatments with placebo (PLAC), ezetimibe (EZE) to inhibit cholesterol absorption, simvastatin (SIMVA) to reduce cholesterol synthesis and a combination of both (EZE+SIMVA). Results were compared to those obtained in 18 pure vegetarian subjects (vegans) whose dietary Chol intake is extremely low. Relative or fractional Chol absorption (FrChA) was measured with the continuous feeding stable isotope procedure, ChS and BAS with the cholesterol balance method. The daily Chol intake (DICh) was inventoried and the daily Chol absorption (DACh) calculated. Monitoring cholesterol absorption, R_Camp, R_Sit and R_Cholol responded sensitively to changes in FrChA. R_Camp correlated well with FrChA in all omnivore treatment groups and in the vegan group. R_Camp confirmed reduced FrChA under EZE treatment and reduced DACh in the vegan subjects. R_Sit and R_Cholol did not accurately reflect FrChA or DACh in all situations. Monitoring endogenous cholesterol synthesis, R_Lath correlated with ChS in the vegan group, but in none of the omnivore treatment groups. R_Lath confirmed increased ChS under EZE treatment and was reduced under SIMVA treatment, while ChS was not. An increased ChS under EZE+SIMVA treatment could not be confirmed with R_Lath. R_Lath responded very insensitively to a change in ChS. Monitoring BAS, R_7α-OH-Ch but not R_27-OH-Ch correlated with BAS during PLAC, EZE and SIMVA treatments. In line with BAS, R_7α-OH-Ch did not differ in any of the omnivore treatment groups. R_7α-OH-Ch responded insensitively to a change in BAS. Under Chol absorption restriction, serum R_Camp is a sensitive and valid marker to monitor FrChA in a population with a normal DICh. Also, major changes in DACh can be detected in vegans. Serum R_Lath does not reflect ChS measured with the cholesterol balance method during EZE treatment. This result initiates the question whether the measured ChS reflects pure de novo synthesis. Serum R_7α-OH-Ch appears to be a valid but insensitive marker for BAS. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A support vector machine approach to the automatic identification of fluorescence spectra emitted by biological agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gelfusa, M.; Murari, A.; Lungaroni, M.; Malizia, A.; Parracino, S.; Peluso, E.; Cenciarelli, O.; Carestia, M.; Pizzoferrato, R.; Vega, J.; Gaudio, P.

2016-10-01

Two of the major new concerns of modern societies are biosecurity and biosafety. Several biological agents (BAs) such as toxins, bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites are able to cause damage to living systems either humans, animals or plants. Optical techniques, in particular LIght Detection And Ranging (LIDAR), based on the transmission of laser pulses and analysis of the return signals, can be successfully applied to monitoring the release of biological agents into the atmosphere. It is well known that most of biological agents tend to emit specific fluorescence spectra, which in principle allow their detection and identification, if excited by light of the appropriate wavelength. For these reasons, the detection of the UVLight Induced Fluorescence (UV-LIF) emitted by BAs is particularly promising. On the other hand, the stand-off detection of BAs poses a series of challenging issues; one of the most severe is the automatic discrimination between various agents which emit very similar fluorescence spectra. In this paper, a new data analysis method, based on a combination of advanced filtering techniques and Support Vector Machines, is described. The proposed approach covers all the aspects of the data analysis process, from filtering and denoising to automatic recognition of the agents. A systematic series of numerical tests has been performed to assess the potential and limits of the proposed methodology. The first investigations of experimental data have already given very encouraging results.

Metformin impacts cecal bile acid profiles in mice.

PubMed

Sillner, Nina; Walker, Alesia; Koch, Wendelin; Witting, Michael; Schmitt-Kopplin, Philippe

2018-04-15

Bile acids (BAs) are major components of bile synthesized from cholesterol and take part in the digestion of dietary lipids, as well as having signaling functions. They undergo extensive microbial metabolism inside the gastrointestinal tract. Here, we present a method of ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography coupled to ion trap mass spectrometry for quantification of 45 BAs in mouse cecum. The system was validated in regard to sensitivity with limits of detection and quantification (0.6-24.9 nM), interday accuracy (102.4%), interday precision (15.2%), recovery rate (74.7%), matrix effect (98.2%) and carry-over effect (<1.1%). Afterwards, we applied our method to investigate the effect of metformin on BA profiles. Diabetic mice were treated with metformin for 1 day or 14 days. One day of treatment resulted in a significant increase of total BA concentration (2.7-fold increase; db/db metformin 5.32 μmol/g, db/db control mice 1.95 μmol/g), most notable in levels of 7-oxodeoxycholic, 3-dehydrocholic and cholic acid. We observed only minor impact on BA metabolism after 14 days of metformin treatment, compared to the single treatment. Furthermore, healthy wild type mice had elevated concentrations of allocholic and ω-muricholic acid compared to diabetic mice. Our method proved the applicability of profiling BAs in cecum to investigate intestinal BA metabolism in diabetes and pharmacological applications. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Consumer Evaluation of Cash Food Systems: Shaw Air Force Base

DTIC Science & Technology

1974-12-01

consumer attitudes of a food system at Shaw Air Force Base in which all customers received a monetary food allowance and paid for food in the dining...AEPORT NUMBER r GOVT ACCESSION NO. ’· RECIPIENT’S CATALOG NUMBER 75-77-FSL •• TITLE (and Subtitle) S. TYPE OF REPORT & PERIOO COVERED CONSUMER ...KEY WORDS (ConHnuo on reveree side lf neceseary and Identify by block nwnber) Feeding Feeding Systems Consumer Acceptance BAS/A LA CARTE Food

Modelling Public Security Operations: Evaluation of the Holistic Security Ecosystem (HSE) Proof-of-Concept

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-12-01

base pour construire de telles simulations et pourrait être adaptée à d’autres expériences à un coût relativement bas. Perspectives : Les leçons...systems (such as culture , [ Culture ]). This seven-dimensional framework advocates that systems be viewed from the physical, individual, functional...structural, normative, social, and informational dimensions. The human factors include modelling stress, trust, risk factors, and cultural factors

Psychometrically Improved, Abbreviated Versions of Three Classic Measures of Impulsivity and Self-Control

PubMed Central

Morean, Meghan E.; DeMartini, Kelly S.; Leeman, Robert F.; Pearlson, Godfrey D.; Anticevic, Alan; Krishnan-Sarin, Suchitra; Krystal, John H.; O’Malley, Stephanie S.

2014-01-01

Self-reported impulsivity confers risk factor for substance abuse. However, the psychometric properties of many self-report impulsivity measures have been questioned, thereby undermining the interpretability of study findings using these measures. To better understand these measurement limitations and to suggest a path to assessing self-reported impulsivity with greater psychometric stability, we conducted a comprehensive psychometric evaluation of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11), the Behavioral Inhibition and Activation Scales (BIS/BAS), and the Brief Self Control Scale (BSCS) using data from 1,449 individuals who participated in substance use research. For each measure, we evaluated: 1) latent factor structure, 2) measurement invariance, 3) test-criterion relationships between the measures, and 4) test-criterion relations with drinking and smoking outcomes. Notably, we could not replicate the originally published latent structure for the BIS, BIS/BAS, or BSCS or any previously published alternative factor structures (English language). Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, we identified psychometrically improved, abbreviated versions of each measure (i.e., 8-item, 2 factor BIS-11 [RMSEA = .06, CFI = .95]; 13-item, 4 factor BIS/BAS [RMSEA = .04, CFI = .96]; 7-item, 2 factor BSCS [RMSEA = .05, CFI = .96]). These versions evidenced: 1) stable, replicable factor structures, 2) scalar measurement invariance, ensuring our ability to make statistically interpretable comparisons across subgroups of interest (e.g., sex, race, drinking/smoking status), and 3) test-criterion relationships with each other and with drinking/smoking. This study provides strong support for using these psychometrically improved impulsivity measures, which improve data quality directly through better scale properties and indirectly through reducing response burden. PMID:24885848

Diagnosing Autism in Adults with Intellectual Disability: Validation of the DiBAS-R in an Independent Sample

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heinrich, Manuel; Böhm, Julia; Sappok, Tanja

2018-01-01

The study assessed the diagnostic validity of the diagnostic behavioral assessment for autism spectrum disorders-revised (DiBAS-R; 19-item screening scale based on ratings by caregivers) in a clinical sample of 381 adults with ID. Analysis revealed a sensitivity of 0.82 and a specificity of 0.67 in the overall sample (70.3% agreement). Sensitivity…

Folic Acid and Creatine as Therapeutic Approaches to Lower Blood Arsenic: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Peters, Brandilyn A; Hall, Megan N; Liu, Xinhua; Parvez, Faruque; Sanchez, Tiffany R; van Geen, Alexander; Mey, Jacob L; Siddique, Abu B; Shahriar, Hasan; Uddin, Mohammad Nasir; Islam, Tariqul; Balac, Olgica; Ilievski, Vesna; Factor-Litvak, Pam; Graziano, Joseph H; Gamble, Mary V

2015-12-01

The World Health Organization estimates that > 140 million people worldwide are exposed to arsenic (As)-contaminated drinking water. As undergoes biologic methylation, which facilitates renal As elimination. In folate-deficient individuals, this process is augmented by folic acid (FA) supplementation, thereby lowering blood As (bAs). Creatinine concentrations in urine are a robust predictor of As methylation patterns. Although the reasons for this are unclear, creatine synthesis is a major consumer of methyl donors, and this synthesis is down-regulated by dietary/supplemental creatine. Our aim was to determine whether 400 or 800 μg FA and/or creatine supplementation lowers bAs in an As-exposed Bangladeshi population. We conducted a clinical trial in which 622 participants were randomized to receive 400 μg FA, 800 μg FA, 3 g creatine, 3 g creatine+400 μg FA, or placebo daily. All participants received an As-removal filter on enrollment, and were followed for 24 weeks. After the 12th week, half of the two FA groups were switched to placebo to evaluate post-treatment bAs patterns. Linear models with repeated measures indicated that the decline in ln(bAs) from baseline in the 800-μg FA group exceeded that of the placebo group (weeks 1-12: β= -0.09, 95% CI: -0.18, -0.01; weeks 13-24: FA continued: β= -0.12, 95% CI: -0.24, -0.00; FA switched to placebo: β= -0.14, 95% CI: -0.26, -0.02). There was no rebound in bAs related to cessation of FA supplementation. Declines in bAs observed in the remaining treatment arms were not significantly different from those of the placebo group. In this mixed folate-deficient/replete study population, 12- and 24-week treatment with 800 μg (but not 400 μg) FA lowered bAs to a greater extent than placebo; this was sustained 12 weeks after FA cessation. In future studies, we will evaluate whether FA and/or creatine altered As methylation profiles.

MALDI Mass Spectral Imaging of Bile Acids Observed as Deprotonated Molecules and Proton-Bound Dimers from Mouse Liver Sections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rzagalinski, Ignacy; Hainz, Nadine; Meier, Carola; Tschernig, Thomas; Volmer, Dietrich A.

2018-02-01

Bile acids (BAs) play two vital roles in living organisms, as they are involved in (1) the secretion of cholesterol from liver, and (2) the lipid digestion/absorption in the intestine. Abnormal bile acid synthesis or secretion can lead to severe liver disorders. Even though there is extensive literature on the mass spectrometric determination of BAs in biofluids and tissue homogenates, there are no reports on the spatial distribution in the biliary network of the liver. Here, we demonstrate the application of high mass resolution/mass accuracy matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)-Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) to MS imaging (MSI) of BAs at high spatial resolutions (pixel size, 25 μm). The results show chemical heterogeneity of the mouse liver sections with a number of branching biliary and blood ducts. In addition to ion signals from deprotonation of the BA molecules, MALDI-MSI generated several further intense signals at larger m/z for the BAs. These signals were spatially co-localized with the deprotonated molecules and easily misinterpreted as additional products of BA biotransformations. In-depth analysis of accurate mass shifts and additional electrospray ionization and MALDI-FTICR experiments, however, confirmed them as proton-bound dimers. Interestingly, dimers of bile acids, but also unusual mixed dimers of different taurine-conjugated bile acids and free taurine, were identified. Since formation of these complexes will negatively influence signal intensities of the desired [M - H]- ions and significantly complicate mass spectral interpretations, two simple broadband techniques were proposed for non-selective dissociation of dimers that lead to increased signals for the deprotonated BAs. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Karayigit, A.I.; Bulut, Y.; Karayigit, G.

A total of 48 samples, feed coals (FCs), fly ashes (FAs) and bottom ashes (BAs), which were systematically collected once a week over an eight-week period from boiler units, B1-4 with 660 MW and B5-6 with 330 MW capacity from Soma power plant, have been evaluated for major and trace elements (Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ti, S, As, B, Ba, Be, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Cs, Ga, Ge, Hf, Hg, Li, Mo, Nb, Ni, P, Pb, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, Sn, Sr, Ta, Th, Tl, U, V, Y, Zn, Zr, and REEs) to get information onmore » behavior during coal combustion. This study indicates that some elements such as Hg, Bi, Cd, As, Pb, Ge, Tl, Sn, Zn, Sb, B show enrichments in FAs relative to the BAs in both group boiler units. In addition to these, Cs, Lu, Tm, and Ga in Units B1-4 and S in Units B5-6 also have enrichments in FAs. Elements showing enrichments in BAs in both group boiler units are Ta, Mn, Nb. In addition to these, Se, Ca, Mg, Na, Fe in Units B1-4 and Cu in Units B5-6 also have enrichments in BAs. The remaining elements investigated in this study have no clear segregation between FAs and BAs. Mass balance calculations with the two methods show that some elements, S, Ta, Hg, Se, Zn, Na, Ca in Units B1-4, and Hg, S, Ta, Se, P in Units B5-6, have volatile behavior during coal combustion in the Soma power plant. This study also implies that some elements, Sb and Tb in Units B1-4 and Sb in Units B5-6, have relatively high retention effects in the combustion residues from the Soma power plant.« less

False-negative rate, limit of detection and recovery efficiency performance of a validated macrofoam-swab sampling method for low surface concentrations of Bacillus anthracis Sterne and Bacillus atrophaeus spores

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Piepel, G. F.; Deatherage Kaiser, B. L.; Amidan, B. G.

The performance of a macrofoam-swab sampling method was evaluated using Bacillus anthracis Sterne (BAS) and Bacillus atrophaeus Nakamura (BG) spores applied at nine low target amounts (2-500 spores) to positive-control plates and test coupons (2 in × 2 in) of four surface materials (glass, stainless steel, vinyl tile, and plastic). Test results from cultured samples were used to evaluate the effects of surrogate, surface concentration, and surface material on recovery efficiency (RE), false negative rate (FNR), and limit of detection. For RE, surrogate and surface material had statistically significant effects, but concentration did not. Mean REs were the lowest formore » vinyl tile (50.8% with BAS and 40.2% with BG) and the highest for glass (92.8% with BAS and 71.4% with BG). FNR values ranged from 0 to 0.833 for BAS and 0 to 0.806 for BG; values increased as concentration decreased in the range tested (0.078 to 19.375 CFU/cm2). Surface material also had a statistically significant effect. A FNR-concentration curve was fit for each combination of surrogate and surface material. For both surrogates, the FNR curves tended to be the lowest for glass and highest for vinyl title. The FNR curves for BG tended to be higher than for BAS at lower concentrations, especially for glass. Results using a modified Rapid Viability-Polymerase Chain Reaction (mRV-PCR) analysis method were also obtained. The mRV-PCR results and comparisons to the culture results will be discussed in a subsequent article.« less

Recovery Efficiency, False Negative Rate, and Limit of Detection Performance of a Validated Macrofoam-Swab Sampling Method with Low Surface Concentrations of Two Bacillus anthracis Surrogates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Piepel, Gregory F.; Hutchison, Janine R.; Kaiser, Brooke L. D.

The performance of a macrofoam-swab sampling method was evaluated using Bacillus anthracis Sterne (BAS) and Bacillus atrophaeus Nakamura (BG) spores applied at nine low target amounts (2-500 spores) to positive-control plates and test coupons (2 in × 2 in) of four surface materials (glass, stainless steel, vinyl tile, and plastic). Test results from cultured samples were used to evaluate the effects of surrogate, surface concentration, and surface material on recovery efficiency (RE), false negative rate (FNR), and limit of detection. For RE, surrogate and surface material had statistically significant effects, but concentration did not. Mean REs were the lowest formore » vinyl tile (50.8% with BAS, 40.2% with BG) and the highest for glass (92.8% with BAS, 71.4% with BG). FNR values ranged from 0 to 0.833 for BAS and 0 to 0.806 for BG, with values increasing as concentration decreased in the range tested (0.078 to 19.375 CFU/cm2, where CFU denotes ‘colony forming units’). Surface material also had a statistically significant effect. A FNR-concentration curve was fit for each combination of surrogate and surface material. For both surrogates, the FNR curves tended to be the lowest for glass and highest for vinyl title. The FNR curves for BG tended to be higher than for BAS at lower concentrations, especially for glass. Results using a modified Rapid Viability-Polymerase Chain Reaction (mRV-PCR) analysis method were also obtained. The mRV-PCR results and comparisons to the culture results are discussed in a separate report.« less

Recovery Efficiency, False Negative Rate, and Limit of Detection Performance of a Validated Macrofoam-Swab Sampling Method with Low Surface Concentrations of Two Bacillus anthracis Surrogates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Piepel, Gregory F.; Hutchison, Janine R.; Deatherage Kaiser, Brooke L

The performance of a macrofoam-swab sampling method was evaluated using Bacillus anthracis Sterne (BAS) and Bacillus atrophaeus Nakamura (BG) spores applied at nine low target amounts (2-500 spores) to positive-control plates and test coupons (2 in. × 2 in.) of four surface materials (glass, stainless steel, vinyl tile, and plastic). Test results from cultured samples were used to evaluate the effects of surrogate, surface concentration, and surface material on recovery efficiency (RE), false negative rate (FNR), and limit of detection. For RE, surrogate and surface material had statistically significant effects, but concentration did not. Mean REs were the lowest formore » vinyl tile (50.8% with BAS, 40.2% with BG) and the highest for glass (92.8% with BAS, 71.4% with BG). FNR values ranged from 0 to 0.833 for BAS and 0 to 0.806 for BG, with values increasing as concentration decreased in the range tested (0.078 to 19.375 CFU/cm 2, where CFU denotes ‘colony forming units’). Surface material also had a statistically significant effect. A FNR-concentration curve was fit for each combination of surrogate and surface material. For both surrogates, the FNR curves tended to be the lowest for glass and highest for vinyl title. The FNR curves for BG tended to be higher than for BAS at lower concentrations, especially for glass. Results using a modified Rapid Viability-Polymerase Chain Reaction (mRV-PCR) analysis method were also obtained. The mRV-PCR results and comparisons to the culture results will be discussed in a subsequent report.« less

Associations of Acculturation With Self-Report and Objective Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors Among Latinas.

PubMed

Perez, Lilian G; Chavez, Adrian; Marquez, David X; Soto, Sandra C; Haughton, Jessica; Arredondo, Elva M

2017-06-01

Less than 50% of Latinas meet physical activity (PA) recommendations. Acculturation is a complex cultural phenomenon that may influence health behaviors, but associations between acculturation and Latinas' activity and sedentary levels are unclear. To examine associations of acculturation with Latinas' domain-specific and total PA as well as sedentary time. We analyzed baseline data collected between 2011 and 2013 among 410 Latinas (18-65 years) from a PA promotion intervention in San Diego, CA ( Fe en Acción/ Faith in Action). Participants wore an accelerometer to assess moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and sedentary time and completed a survey assessing domain-specific PA, sociodemographics, and acculturation as measured by length of residence in the United States and the Bidimensional Acculturation Scale (BAS) for Hispanics. Higher acculturation was defined as longer residence in the United States or being either assimilated or bicultural as per scores on the Hispanic and Anglo domains of the BAS. Based on weekly averages from the accelerometer, Latinas spent 103 minutes in MVPA and 76% of total activity in sedentary time. Only 32% met MVPA recommendations via self-reported leisure-time and transportation PA. Longer residence in the United States was inversely associated with reporting any transportation or occupational PA and meeting MVPA recommendations. Assimilated/bicultural Latinas had significantly less accelerometer-based total MVPA and higher sedentary time than their lower acculturated counterparts. Overall, higher acculturation, based on either measure, was related to less activity. Our findings suggest interventions tailored to the acculturation levels of Latinas are needed to help reduce disparities in Latinas' PA and sedentary behaviors.

Method of producing a ceramic fiber-reinforced glass-ceramic matrix composite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bansal, Narottam P. (Inventor)

1994-01-01

A fiber-reinforced composite composed of a BaO-Al2O3-2SiO2 (BAS) glass ceramic matrix is reinforced with CVD silicon carbide continuous fibers. A slurry of BAS glass powders is prepared and celsian seeds are added during ball melting. The slurry is cast into tapes which are cut to the proper size. Continuous CVD-SiC fibers are formed into mats of the desired size. The matrix tapes and the fiber mats are alternately stacked in the proper orientation. This tape-mat stack is warm pressed to produce a 'green' composite. The 'green' composite is then heated to an elevated temperature to burn out organic constituents. The remaining interim material is then hot pressed to form a silicon carbide fiber-reinforced celsian (BAS) glass-ceramic matrix composite which may be machined to size.

Installation Restoration Program, Stage 3, McClellan Air Force Base. Preliminary Groundwater Operable Unit Remedial Investigation (Hydrogeologic Assessment) Sampling and Analysis Plan

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-02-01

PRESENT C,(8;2) 131o sia &1 OTE MUNICIPAL WATER b9PLY WELLS: ON-BASE CW CITY OSARMENTO AREAS NW NORTHRIDGE WATEtj DISTRICT RW RIO LINDA AW ARCADE WATER...1ASE PRODUCTION WELL ACTIVE BAS PRODUCTION WELL ., CITY WELL T #f CALTRANS WELL . EXTRACTION WELL 0 500 1000 N : SCALL IN FEET If-3. 82

Thermal and thermoelectric transport measurements of an individual boron arsenide microstructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jaehyun; Evans, Daniel A.; Sellan, Daniel P.; Williams, Owen M.; Ou, Eric; Cowley, Alan H.; Shi, Li

2016-05-01

Recent first principles calculations have predicted that boron arsenide (BAs) can possess an unexpectedly high thermal conductivity that depends sensitively on the crystal size and defect concentration. However, few experimental results have been obtained to verify these predictions. In the present work, we report four-probe thermal and thermoelectric transport measurements of an individual BAs microstructure that was synthesized via a vapor transport method. The measured thermal conductivity was found to decrease slightly with temperature in the range between 250 K and 350 K. The temperature dependence suggests that the extrinsic phonon scattering processes play an important role in addition to intrinsic phonon-phonon scattering. The room temperature value of (186 ± 46) W m-1 K-1 is higher than that of bulk silicon but still a factor of four lower than the calculated result for a defect-free, non-degenerate BAs rod with a similar diameter of 1.15 μm. The measured p-type Seebeck coefficient and thermoelectric power factor are comparable to those of bismuth telluride, which is a commonly used thermoelectric material. The foregoing results also suggest that it is necessary to not only reduce defect and boundary scatterings but also to better understand and control the electron scattering of phonons in order to achieve the predicted ultrahigh intrinsic lattice thermal conductivity of BAs.

Rabbit antithymocyte globulin is more beneficial in standard kidney than in extended donor recipients.

PubMed

Hardinger, Karen L; Brennan, Daniel C; Schnitzler, Mark A

2009-05-15

In a randomized, international study comparing rabbit antithymocyte globulin (TMG) and basiliximab (BAS) induction in renal transplant recipients at risk for delayed graft function or acute rejection (n=278), TMG was associated with less acute rejection at 1 year. This study analyzed outcomes stratified by standard criteria donor (SCD), extended criteria donor (ECD), and hypertensive donor. Data-capture limitations necessitated defining ECD as donor age more than 60 years or 50 to 60 years with hypertension and renal insufficiency. Seventy-five recipients received ECD-kidneys (28.4% TMG vs. 25.6% BAS, P=NS) and 203 recipients received SCD-kidneys (72.6% TMG vs. 74.4% BAS, P=NS). Recipients of an ECD or hypertensive donor-kidney had similar outcomes between treatment groups. Recipients of an SCD-kidney treated with TMG had less rejection (odds ratio [OR] 0.48). Recipients of a normotensive donor-kidney treated with TMG had less rejection (OR 0.56). Recipients of a normotensive, SCD-kidney treated with TMG had less rejection (OR 0.47) and death (OR 0.17) than their counterparts treated with BAS. Contrary to its perceived niche in recipients of ECD-kidneys, TMG was most beneficial in patients who received a normotensive, deceased SCD kidney.

An Extensible Sensing and Control Platform for Building Energy Management

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rowe, Anthony; Berges, Mario; Martin, Christopher

2016-04-03

The goal of this project is to develop Mortar.io, an open-source BAS platform designed to simplify data collection, archiving, event scheduling and coordination of cross-system interactions. Mortar.io is optimized for (1) robustness to network outages, (2) ease of installation using plug-and-play and (3) scalable support for small to large buildings and campuses.

Design Guidelines and Criteria for User/Operator Transactions with Battlefield Automated Systems. Volume 5. Background Literature

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-02-01

the machine . ARI’s efforts in this area focus on human perfor- mance problems related to interactions with command and control centers, and on issues...improvement of the user- machine interface. Lacking consistent design principles, current practice results in a fragmented and unsystematic approach to system...complexity in the user- machine interface of BAS, ARI supported this effort for develop- me:nt of an online language for Army tactical intelligence

Three-Stage Production Cost Modeling Approach for Evaluating the Benefits of Intra-Hour Scheduling between Balancing Authorities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Samaan, Nader A.; Milligan, Michael; Hunsaker, Matthew

This paper introduces a Production Cost Modeling (PCM) approach to evaluate the benefits of intra-hour scheduling between Balancing Authorities (BAs). The system operation is modeled in a three-stage sequential manner: day ahead (DA)-hour ahead (HA)-real time (RT). In addition to contingency reserve, each BA will need to carry out “up” and “down” load following and regulation reserve capacity requirements in the DA and HA time frames. In the real-time simulation, only contingency and regulation reserves are carried out as load following is deployed. To model current real-time operation with hourly schedules, a new constraint was introduced to force each BAmore » net exchange schedule deviation from HA schedules to be within NERC ACE limits. Case studies that investigate the benefits of moving from hourly exchange schedules between WECC BAs into 10-min exchange schedules under two different levels of wind and solar penetration (11% and 33%) are presented.« less

Three-Stage Production Cost Modeling Approach for Evaluating the Benefits of Intra-Hour Scheduling Between Balancing Authorities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Samaan, Nader; Milligan, Michael; Hunsaker, Matt

This paper introduces a production cost modeling approach for evaluating the benefits of intra-hour scheduling among Balancing Authorities (BAs). System operation is modeled in a three-stage sequential manner: day ahead (DA)-hour ahead (HA) real time (RT). In addition to contingency reserve, each BA will need to carry out 'up' and 'down' load following and regulation reserve capacity requirements in the DA and HA time frames. In the RT simulation, only contingency and regulation reserves are carried out as load following is deployed. To model current RT operation with hourly schedules, a new constraint was introduced to force each BA netmore » exchange schedule deviation from HA schedules to be within North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) area control error (ACE) limits. Case studies that investigate the benefits of moving from hourly exchange schedules between Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) BAs into 10-minute exchange schedules under two different levels of wind and solar penetration (11% and 33%) are presented.« less

NATO Glossary of Abbreviations Used in NATO Documents and Publications (glossaire otan des abreviations utilisees dans les documents et publications otan)

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-01-01

télévision à bas niveau de lumière /TV BNL / [NASG] LMCC LOCE mobile communications centre [NASG] centre de communications mobile du LOCE [NASG...AC/224] équipe de soutien technique [STANAG 4607] T-12 AAP-15(2010) TV BNL TTBT télévision à bas niveau de lumière Threshold Test-Ban

Doença cística da adventícia na veia basílica: relato de caso

PubMed Central

Vasconcelos, Rafael Sampaio; Cherubim, Cesar Augusto; França, Felipe Mavignier Pereira; D'allacqua, Eduardo de Lucca; Dalio, Marcelo Bellini; Joviliano, Edwaldo Edner

2016-01-01

Resumo A doença cística da adventícia é uma entidade rara que acomete principalmente a artéria poplítea. A ocorrência em veias é muito rara, e sua etiologia é desconhecida. Clinicamente, apresenta-se como isquemia, trombose ou dor a depender do território acometido. Apresentamos o caso de um paciente masculino jovem referindo nódulo no braço esquerdo. A angiorressonância magnética do membro mostrou lesão cística em contato com a veia basílica, com conteúdo homogêneo e sem realce pós-contraste. Foi realizada ressecção da lesão em bloco com o segmento venoso envolvido. O estudo anatomopatológico foi sugestivo de cisto de adventícia de veia basílica.

Transglutaminase-catalyzed amination of pea protein peptides using the biogenic amines histamine and tyramine.

PubMed

Lu, Xinyao; Hrynets, Yuliya; Betti, Mirko

2017-06-01

Biogenic amines (BAs) are produced by the enzymatic decarboxylation of amino acids, and are well-known for their toxicity to humans. This study describes a new method using microbial transglutaminase (MTGase) to covalently link BAs such as histamine (HIS) and tyramine (TYR) to the glutamine residues of alcalase-hydrolyzed pea protein (PPH). The incubation of PPH and HIS and TYR in the presence of MTGase at 37 °C led to the formation of conjugates, as determined by liquid chromatography, after derivatization with dansyl chloride. Seventy-six % of HIS and 65% of TYR were covalently incorporated to PPH by MTGase. The incubation of PPH and TYR in the presence of MTGase exhibited a 52% DPPH radical scavenging activity at 10 mg mL -1 . Conjugation via MTGase improved the antioxidant status by reducing lipid peroxidation. This study emphasizes that the application of MTGase can effectively reduce histamine and tyramine content while simultaneously enhancing antioxidative capacity of PPH. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

College students with Internet addiction decrease fewer Behavior Inhibition Scale and Behavior Approach Scale when getting online.

PubMed

Ko, Chih-Hung; Wang, Peng-Wei; Liu, Tai-Ling; Yen, Cheng-Fang; Chen, Cheng-Sheng; Yen, Ju-Yu

2015-09-01

The aim of the study is to compare the reinforcement sensitivity between online and offline interaction. The effect of gender, Internet addiction, depression, and online gaming on the difference of reinforcement sensitivity between online and offline were also evaluated. The subjects were 2,258 college students (1,066 men and 1,192 women). They completed the Behavior Inhibition Scale and Behavior Approach Scale (BIS/BAS) according to their experience online or offline. Internet addiction, depression, and Internet activity type were evaluated simultaneously. The results showed that reinforcement sensitivity was lower when interacting online than when interacting offline. College students with Internet addiction decrease fewer score on BIS and BAS after getting online than did others. The higher reward and aversion sensitivity are associated with the risk of Internet addiction. The fun seeking online might contribute to the maintenance of Internet addiction. This suggests that reinforcement sensitivity would change after getting online and would contribute to the risk and maintenance of Internet addiction. © 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Characterization of the Bas-Congo virus glycoprotein and its function in pseudotyped viruses.

PubMed

Steffen, Imke; Liss, Nathan M; Schneider, Bradley S; Fair, Joseph N; Chiu, Charles Y; Simmons, Graham

2013-09-01

Bas-Congo virus (BASV) is a novel rhabdovirus recently identified from a patient with acute hemorrhagic fever in the Bas-Congo province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Here we show that the BASV glycoprotein (BASV-G) can be successfully used to pseudotype glycoprotein-deficient vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), allowing studies of BASV-G-driven membrane fusion and viral entry into target cells without replication-competent virus. BASV-G displayed broad tissue and species tropism in vitro, and BASV-G-mediated membrane fusion was pH dependent. The conformational changes induced in BASV-G by acidification were fully reversible and did not lead to inactivation of the viral fusion protein. Our data combined with comparative sequence similarity analyses suggest that BASV-G shares structural and functional features with other rhabdovirus glycoproteins and falls into the group of class III viral fusion proteins. However, activation of BASV-G-driven fusion required a lower pH and higher temperatures than did VSV-G-mediated fusion. Moreover, in contrast to VSV-G, mature BASV-G in VSV pseudotypes consists of a mixture of high-mannose and complex glycans that enables it to bind to certain C-type lectins, thereby enhancing its attachment to target cells. Taken together, the results presented in this study will facilitate future investigations of BASV-G-mediated cell entry and its inhibition in the absence of an infectious cell culture assay for BASV and at lower biosafety levels. Moreover, serology testing based on BASV-G pseudotype neutralization can be used to uncover the prevalence and importance of BASV as a potential novel human pathogen in the DRC and throughout Central Africa.

Extraversion and behavioral activation: integrating the components of approach.

PubMed

Quilty, Lena C; DeYoung, Colin G; Oakman, Jonathan M; Bagby, R Michael

2014-01-01

This investigation evaluates the structure and correlates of lower order traits related to approach, specifically, facets of extraversion and behavioral activation system (BAS) sensitivity. A 3-factor structure of approach was derived in community and clinical samples: assertiveness, enthusiasm, and sensation seeking. All factors were positively associated with Openness/Intellect scores. Enthusiasm and assertiveness were both negatively associated with Neuroticism scores, but were distinguished by associations with Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Sensation seeking was negatively associated with Conscientiousness scores. The 3 factors demonstrated a unique profile of association with components of impulsivity. Enthusiasm and assertiveness were negatively related to psychopathological symptoms, whereas sensation seeking was largely independent of psychopathology. Results suggest that approach is associated with 3 subfactors, which differ in their pattern or magnitude of associations with other variables, thus underscoring the importance of distinguishing among them. Further, results support the construct validity of the Assertiveness and Enthusiasm aspect scales of the Big Five Aspect Scales to assess traits at this level of the personality hierarchy.

Simultaneous determination of nine kinds of dominating bile acids in various snake bile by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole linear iontrap mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Zhang, Jie; Fan, Yeqin; Gong, Yajun; Chen, Xiaoyong; Wan, Luosheng; Zhou, Chenggao; Zhou, Jiewen; Ma, Shuangcheng; Wei, Feng; Chen, Jiachun; Nie, Jing

2017-11-15

Snake bile is one of the most expensive traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). However, due to the complicated constitutes of snake bile and the poor ultraviolet absorbance of some trace bile acids (BAs), effective analysis methods for snake bile acids were still unavailable, making it difficult to solve adulteration problems. In present study, ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole linear ion trap mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS) was applied to conduct a quantitative analysis on snake BAs. The mass spectrometer was monitored in the negative ion mode, and multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) program was used to determine the contents of BAs in snake bile. In all, 61 snake bile from 17 commonly used species of three families (Elapidae, Colubridae and Viperidae), along with five batches of commercial snake bile from four companies, were collected and detected. Nine components, Tauro-3α,12α-dihydroxy-7-oxo-5β-cholenoic acid (T1), Tauro-3α,7α,12α,23R-tetrahydroxy-5β-cholenoic acid (T2), taurocholic acid (TCA), glycocholic acid (GCA), taurochenodeoxycholic acid (TCDCA), taurodeoxycholic acid (TDCA), cholic acid (CA), Tauro-3α,7α-dihydroxy-12-oxo-5β-cholenoic acid (T3), and Tauro-3α,7α,9α,16α-tetrahydroxy-5β-cholenoic acid (T4) were simultaneously and rapidly determined for the first time. In these BAs, T1 and T2, self-prepared with purity above 90%, were first reported with their quantitative determination, and the latter two (T3 and T4) were tentatively determined by quantitative analysis multi-components by single marker (QAMS) method for roughly estimating the components without reference. The developed method was validated with acceptable linearity (r 2 ≥0.995), precision (RSD＜6.5%) and recovery (RSD＜7.5%). It turned out that the contents of BAs among different species were also significantly different; T1 was one of the principle bile acids in some common snake bile, and also was the characteristic one in Viperidae and Elapidae; T2 was the dominant components in Enhydris chinensis. This quantitative study of BAs in snake bile is a remarkable improvement for clarifying the bile acid compositions and evaluating the quality of snake bile. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Microanalytical identification of barium sulphate crystals in statoliths of Chara Rhizoids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schroeter, K.; Lauchli, A.; Sievers, A. J.

1979-01-01

In contrast to higher plants, Chara rhizoids contain statolith vacuoles filled with biocrystallites of BaS04 in the form of rods composed of globular subunits ca. 7 nm in diameter. The revelation of the crystallites under electron microscopy is dependent on the fixative; best structural preservation was observed after fixation in a buffered glutaraldehyde + acrolein solution; 0s04 and KMnO4 partially dissolved both the biocrystallites and synthetic BaS04.

The Eleventh Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation. Supporting Research Papers

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-01

value. 4. BAH + BAS is roughly equal to expenditures for housing and food for servicemembers.22 In the first phase of the formal model, we further...assume that taxes, housing, and food are the only basic living expenses. Then, in the next phase, we include estimates of noncash benefits not included...assumption 4 with assumption 2 implies that civilian housing and food expenses are also equal to military BAH and BAS. However, civilian housing and food

Thermal and thermoelectric transport measurements of an individual boron arsenide microstructure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Jaehyun; Sellan, Daniel P.; Ou, Eric

2016-05-16

Recent first principles calculations have predicted that boron arsenide (BAs) can possess an unexpectedly high thermal conductivity that depends sensitively on the crystal size and defect concentration. However, few experimental results have been obtained to verify these predictions. In the present work, we report four-probe thermal and thermoelectric transport measurements of an individual BAs microstructure that was synthesized via a vapor transport method. The measured thermal conductivity was found to decrease slightly with temperature in the range between 250 K and 350 K. The temperature dependence suggests that the extrinsic phonon scattering processes play an important role in addition to intrinsic phonon-phononmore » scattering. The room temperature value of (186 ± 46) W m{sup −1 }K{sup −1} is higher than that of bulk silicon but still a factor of four lower than the calculated result for a defect-free, non-degenerate BAs rod with a similar diameter of 1.15 μm. The measured p-type Seebeck coefficient and thermoelectric power factor are comparable to those of bismuth telluride, which is a commonly used thermoelectric material. The foregoing results also suggest that it is necessary to not only reduce defect and boundary scatterings but also to better understand and control the electron scattering of phonons in order to achieve the predicted ultrahigh intrinsic lattice thermal conductivity of BAs.« less

Associations of Acculturation With Self-Report and Objective Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors Among Latinas

PubMed Central

Perez, Lilian G.; Chavez, Adrian; Marquez, David X.; Soto, Sandra C.; Haughton, Jessica; Arredondo, Elva M.

2017-01-01

Background Less than 50% of Latinas meet physical activity (PA) recommendations. Acculturation is a complex cultural phenomenon that may influence health behaviors, but associations between acculturation and Latinas’ activity and sedentary levels are unclear. Aim To examine associations of acculturation with Latinas’ domain-specific and total PA as well as sedentary time. Method We analyzed baseline data collected between 2011 and 2013 among 410 Latinas (18–65 years) from a PA promotion intervention in San Diego, CA (Fe en Acción/Faith in Action). Participants wore an accelerometer to assess moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and sedentary time and completed a survey assessing domain-specific PA, sociodemographics, and acculturation as measured by length of residence in the United States and the Bidimensional Acculturation Scale (BAS) for Hispanics. Higher acculturation was defined as longer residence in the United States or being either assimilated or bicultural as per scores on the Hispanic and Anglo domains of the BAS. Results Based on weekly averages from the accelerometer, Latinas spent 103 minutes in MVPA and 76% of total activity in sedentary time. Only 32% met MVPA recommendations via self-reported leisure-time and transportation PA. Longer residence in the United States was inversely associated with reporting any transportation or occupational PA and meeting MVPA recommendations. Assimilated/bicultural Latinas had significantly less accelerometer-based total MVPA and higher sedentary time than their lower acculturated counterparts. Conclusions Overall, higher acculturation, based on either measure, was related to less activity. Our findings suggest interventions tailored to the acculturation levels of Latinas are needed to help reduce disparities in Latinas’ PA and sedentary behaviors. PMID:27679665

T-BAS: Tree-Based Alignment Selector toolkit for phylogenetic-based placement, alignment downloads and metadata visualization: an example with the Pezizomycotina tree of life.

PubMed

Carbone, Ignazio; White, James B; Miadlikowska, Jolanta; Arnold, A Elizabeth; Miller, Mark A; Kauff, Frank; U'Ren, Jana M; May, Georgiana; Lutzoni, François

2017-04-15

High-quality phylogenetic placement of sequence data has the potential to greatly accelerate studies of the diversity, systematics, ecology and functional biology of diverse groups. We developed the Tree-Based Alignment Selector (T-BAS) toolkit to allow evolutionary placement and visualization of diverse DNA sequences representing unknown taxa within a robust phylogenetic context, and to permit the downloading of highly curated, single- and multi-locus alignments for specific clades. In its initial form, T-BAS v1.0 uses a core phylogeny of 979 taxa (including 23 outgroup taxa, as well as 61 orders, 175 families and 496 genera) representing all 13 classes of largest subphylum of Fungi-Pezizomycotina (Ascomycota)-based on sequence alignments for six loci (nr5.8S, nrLSU, nrSSU, mtSSU, RPB1, RPB2 ). T-BAS v1.0 has three main uses: (i) Users may download alignments and voucher tables for members of the Pezizomycotina directly from the reference tree, facilitating systematics studies of focal clades. (ii) Users may upload sequence files with reads representing unknown taxa and place these on the phylogeny using either BLAST or phylogeny-based approaches, and then use the displayed tree to select reference taxa to include when downloading alignments. The placement of unknowns can be performed for large numbers of Sanger sequences obtained from fungal cultures and for alignable, short reads of environmental amplicons. (iii) User-customizable metadata can be visualized on the tree. T-BAS Version 1.0 is available online at http://tbas.hpc.ncsu.edu . Registration is required to access the CIPRES Science Gateway and NSF XSEDE's large computational resources. icarbon@ncsu.edu. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Effect of Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery on Bile Acid Metabolism in Normal and Obese Diabetic Rats

PubMed Central

Bhutta, Hina Y; Rajpal, Neetu; White, Wendy; Freudenberg, Johannes M.; Liu, Yaping; Way, James; Rajpal, Deepak; Cooper, David C.; Young, Andrew; Tavakkoli, Ali; Chen, Lihong

2015-01-01

In addition to classic functions of facilitating hepatobiliary secretion and intestinal absorption of lipophilic nutrients, bile acids (BA) are also endocrine factors and regulate glucose and lipid metabolism. Recent data indicate that antiobesity bariatric procedures e.g. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB), which also remit diabetes, increase plasma BAs in humans, leading to the hypothesis that BAs may play a role in diabetes resolution following surgery. To investigate the effect of RYGB on BA physiology and its relationship with glucose homeostasis, we undertook RYGB and SHAM surgery in Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) and normoglycemic Sprague Dawley (SD) rats and measured plasma and fecal BA levels, as well as plasma glucose, insulin, Glucagon like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and Peptide YY (PYY), 2 days before and 3, 7, 14 and 28 days after surgery. RYGB decreased body weight and increased plasma GLP-1 in both SD and ZDF rats while decreasing plasma insulin and glucose in ZDF rats starting from the first week. Compared to SHAM groups, both SD-RYGB and ZDF-RYGB groups started to have increases in plasma total BAs in the second week, which might not contribute to early post-surgery metabolic changes. While there was no significant difference in fecal BA excretion between SD-RYGB and SD-SHAM groups, the ZDF-RYGB group had a transient 4.2-fold increase (P<0.001) in 24-hour fecal BA excretion on post-operative day 3 compared to ZDF-SHAM, which paralleled a significant increase in plasma PYY. Ratios of plasma and fecal cholic acid/chenodeoxycholic acid derived BAs were decreased in RYGB groups. In addition, tissue mRNA expression analysis suggested early intestinal BA reabsorption and potentially reduced hepatic cholic acid production in RYGB groups. In summary, we present novel data on RYGB-mediated changes in BA metabolism to further understand the role of BAs in RYGB-induced metabolic effects in humans. PMID:25798945

Colesevelam attenuates cholestatic liver and bile duct injury in Mdr2-/- mice by modulating composition, signalling and excretion of faecal bile acids.

PubMed

Fuchs, Claudia Daniela; Paumgartner, Gustav; Mlitz, Veronika; Kunczer, Victoria; Halilbasic, Emina; Leditznig, Nadja; Wahlström, Annika; Ståhlman, Marcus; Thüringer, Andrea; Kashofer, Karl; Stojakovic, Tatjana; Marschall, Hanns-Ulrich; Trauner, Michael

2018-04-10

Interruption of the enterohepatic circulation of bile acids (BAs) may protect against BA-mediated cholestatic liver and bile duct injury. BA sequestrants are established to treat cholestatic pruritus, but their impact on the underlying cholestasis is still unclear. We aimed to explore the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of the BA sequestrant colesevelam in a mouse model of sclerosing cholangitis. Mdr2 -/- mice received colesevelam for 8 weeks. Gene expression profiles of BA homeostasis, inflammation and fibrosis were explored in liver, intestine and colon. Hepatic and faecal BA profiles and gut microbiome were analysed. Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) levels in portal blood were measured by ELISA. Furthermore, Mdr2 -/- mice as well as wild-type 3,5-diethoxy-carbonyl-1,4-dihydrocollidine-fed mice were treated with GLP-1-receptor agonist exendin-4 for 2 weeks prior to analysis. Colesevelam reduced serum liver enzymes, BAs and expression of proinflammatory and profibrogenic markers. Faecal BA profiling revealed increased levels of secondary BAs after resin treatment, while hepatic and biliary BA composition showed a shift towards more hydrophilic BAs. Colonic GLP-1 secretion, portal venous GLP-1 levels and intestinal messenger RNA expression of gut hormone Proglucagon were increased, while ileal Fgf15 expression was abolished by colesevelam. Exendin-4 treatment increased bile duct mass without promoting a reactive cholangiocyte phenotype in mouse models of sclerosing cholangitis. Microbiota analysis showed an increase of the phylum δ-Proteobacteria after colesevelam treatment and a shift within the phyla Firmicutes from Clostridiales to Lactobacillus . Colesevelam increases faecal BA excretion and enhances BA conversion towards secondary BAs, thereby stimulating secretion of GLP-1 from enteroendocrine L-cells and attenuates liver and bile duct injury in Mdr2 -/- mice. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Laser induced fluorescence of BaS: Sm phosphor and energy level splitting of Sm 3+ ion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, Reethamma; Nampoori, V. P. N.

1990-03-01

Fluorescence of BaS: Sm phosphor has been studied using a pulsed Nitrogen laser (337.1 nm) as the excitation source. The spectrum consists of a broad band in the region 540-660nm superposed by the characteristic Sm 3+ lines. Energy level splitting pattern of Sm 3+ due to crystal field effects has been calculated and relevent field parameters are evaluated. Analysis shows that Sm 3+ takes up Ba 2+ substitutional sites.

On-line catalogs of solar energetic protons at SRTI-BAS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miteva, R.; Danov, D.

2017-08-01

We outline the status of the on-line catalogs of solar energetic particles supported by the Space Climate group at the Space Research and Technology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (SRTI-BAS). In addition to the already compiled proton catalog from Wind/EPACT instrument, in the current report we present preliminary results on the high energy SOHO/ERNE proton enhancement identifications as well as comparative analysis with two other proton lists. The future plans for the on-line catalogs are briefly summarized.

The Effects of Repeated Low-Dose Sarin Exposure

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-08-01

support the idea that there is a triphasic NT model for onset and progression of seizures and subsequent brain damage upon acute exposure to OP ChE...An ACh microbore column (1x530 mm ID, 10 µm UniJet, BAS #MF-8904) coupled with AChE/choline oxidase immobilized enzyme reactor (BAS # MF-8903) was...peroxidase to the electrode for the reduction of hydrogen peroxide that was generated from the immobilized enzyme reactor . The detector was set at (-)1.0

Drunk, Powerful, and in the Dark: How General Processes of Disinhibition Produce Both Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior.

PubMed

Hirsh, Jacob B; Galinsky, Adam D; Zhong, Chen-Bo

2011-09-01

Social power, alcohol intoxication, and anonymity all have strong influences on human cognition and behavior. However, the social consequences of each of these conditions can be diverse, sometimes producing prosocial outcomes and other times enabling antisocial behavior. We present a general model of disinhibition to explain how these seemingly contradictory effects emerge from a single underlying mechanism: The decreased salience of competing response options prevents activation of the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS). As a result, the most salient response in any given situation is expressed, regardless of whether it has prosocial or antisocial consequences. We review three distinct routes through which power, alcohol intoxication, and anonymity reduce the salience of competing response options, namely, through Behavioral Approach System (BAS) activation, cognitive depletion, and reduced social desirability concerns. We further discuss how these states can both reveal and shape the person. Overall, our approach allows for multiple domain-specific models to be unified within a common conceptual framework that explains how both situational and dispositional factors can influence the expression of disinhibited behavior, producing both prosocial and antisocial outcomes. © Association for Psychological Science 2011.

The Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire (RST-PQ): Development and validation.

PubMed

Corr, Philip J; Cooper, Andrew J

2016-11-01

We report the development and validation of a questionnaire measure of the revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (rRST) of personality. Starting with qualitative responses to defensive and approach scenarios modeled on typical rodent ethoexperimental situations, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) revealed a robust 6-factor structure: 2 unitary defensive factors, fight-flight-freeze system (FFFS; related to fear) and the behavioral inhibition system (BIS; related to anxiety); and 4 behavioral approach system (BAS) factors (Reward Interest, Goal-Drive Persistence, Reward Reactivity, and Impulsivity). Theoretically motivated thematic facets were employed to sample the breadth of defensive space, comprising FFFS (Flight, Freeze, and Active Avoidance) and BIS (Motor Planning Interruption, Worry, Obsessive Thoughts, and Behavioral Disengagement). Based on theoretical considerations, and statistically confirmed, a separate scale for Defensive Fight was developed. Validation evidence for the 6-factor structure came from convergent and discriminant validity shown by correlations with existing personality scales. We offer the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire to facilitate future research specifically on rRST and, more broadly, on approach-avoidance theories of personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Factor structure and psychometric properties of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 among adolescents and young adults in Danish, Portuguese, and Swedish.

PubMed

Lemoine, J E; Konradsen, H; Lunde Jensen, A; Roland-Lévy, C; Ny, P; Khalaf, A; Torres, S

2018-05-14

In recent years, the study of body image shifted from focusing on the negative aspects to a more extensive view of body image. The present study seeks to validate a measure of positive body image, the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2; Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015a) in Denmark, Portugal, and Sweden. Participants (N = 1012) were adolescents and young adults aged from 12 to 19. Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the one-dimensional factor structure of the scale. Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the scale was invariant across sex and country. Further results showed that BAS-2 was positively correlated with self-esteem, psychological well-being, and intuitive eating. It was negatively correlated with BMI among boys and girls in Portugal but not in Denmark and Sweden. Additionally, boys had higher body appreciation than girls. Results indicated that the BAS-2 has good psychometric properties in the three languages. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Translation and psychometric evaluation of a Standard Chinese version of the Body Appreciation Scale-2.

PubMed

Swami, Viren; Ng, Siu-Kuen; Barron, David

2016-09-01

The present study examined the factorial and construct validity of a Standard Chinese translation of the Body Appreciation Scale (BAS-2; Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015b). Participants were 191 women and 154 men from mainland China who were resident in Hong Kong at the time of recruitment. Results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the one-dimensional model of the BAS-2, in which all 10 items loaded onto the same factor, had adequate fit, and was invariant across sex. Body appreciation scores had good internal consistency and were significantly correlated with self-esteem and life satisfaction, and, in women, with weight discrepancy and body mass index. There were no significant differences in body appreciation scores between women and men. The present findings suggest that the Standard Chinese translation of the BAS-2 has the same one-dimensional factor structure as its parent scale and may facilitate cross-cultural studies of positive body image. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

False recall in the Deese–Roediger–McDermott paradigm: The roles of gist and associative strength

PubMed Central

Cann, David R.; McRae, Ken; Katz, Albert N.

2011-01-01

Theories of false memories, particularly in the Deese–Roediger–McDermott (DRM) paradigm, focus on word association strength and gist. Backward associative strength (BAS) is a strong predictor of false recall in this paradigm. However, other than being defined as a measure of association between studied list words and falsely recalled nonpresented critical words, there is little understanding of this variable. In Experiment 1, we used a knowledge-type taxonomy to classify the semantic relations in DRM stimuli. These knowledge types predicted false-recall probability, as well as BAS itself, with the most important being situation features, synonyms, and taxonomic relations. In three subsequent experiments, we demonstrated that lists composed solely of situation features can elicit a gist and produce false memories, particularly when monitoring processes are made more difficult. Our results identify the semantic factors that underlie BAS and suggest how considering semantic relations leads to a better understanding of gist formation. PMID:21506047

Reinforcement Sensitivity and Risk for Psychopathology Following Exposure to Violence: A Vulnerability-Specificity Model in Latino Youth

PubMed Central

Gudiño, Omar G.; Nadeem, Erum; Kataoka, Sheryl H.; Lau, Anna S.

2013-01-01

Urban Latino youth are exposed to high rates of violence, which increases risk for diverse forms of psychopathology. To current study aims to increase specificity in predicting responses by testing the hypothesis that youths’ reinforcement sensitivity–behavioral inhibition (BIS) and behavioral approach (BAS)–is associated with specific clinical outcomes and increases risk for the development of such problems following exposure to violence. Utilizing a short-term longitudinal design, Latino youth (N=168) provided reports of BIS/BAS and emotional/behavioral problems at Time 1, exposure to violence between Time 1 and Time 2, and clinical symptoms at Time 2. Results suggested that reinforcement sensitivity moderated the relation between violence exposure and psychopathology, such that increasing levels of BIS were associated with elevated risk for internalizing and posttraumatic stress symptoms following exposure to violence whereas BAS increased risk for externalizing problems. The importance of building on existing knowledge to understand minority youth psychopathology is discussed. PMID:22080366

Factor structure and psychometric properties of the Body Appreciation Scale among adults in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Ng, Siu-Kuen; Barron, David; Swami, Viren

2015-03-01

Previous research has suggested that the factor structure of Body Appreciation Scale (BAS), a widely-used measure of positive body image, may not be cross-culturally equivalent. Here, we used confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate the conceptual equivalence of a Chinese (Cantonese) translation of the BAS among women (n=1319) and men (n=1084) in Hong Kong. Results showed that neither the one-dimensional nor proposed two-dimensional factor structures had adequate fit. Instead, a modified two-dimensional structure, which retained 9 of the 13 BAS items in two factors, had the best fit. However, only one of these factors, reflective of General Body Appreciation, had adequate internal consistency. This factor also had good patterns of construct validity, as indicated through significant correlations with participant body mass index, self-esteem, and (among women) actual-ideal weight discrepancy. The present results suggest that there may be cultural differences in the concept and experience of body appreciation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Half-metallic ferromagnetism in Fe, Co and Ni doped BaS: First principles calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maurya, Savita; Sharma, Ramesh; Bhamu, K. C.

2018-04-01

The first principle investigation of structural, electronic, magnetic and optical properties of Ba1-xTMxS (x = 0.25) have been done using FPLAW method within the density functional theory (DFT) using generalized gradient approximation (GGA) for exchange correlation potential using two different functionals which are the PBE-sol and the modified Becke and Johnson local (spin) density approximation (mBJLDA). It was found that mBJLDA functional offer better account for the electronic structure of the Fe, Co and Ni-doped BaS. It was also observed that Fe/Co/Ni d, S p and Ba d states play a major role in determining the electronic properties of this alloy system. Investigation results shows that Ba0.75(Fe/Co/Ni)0.25S is ferromagnetic with magnetic moment of 3.72 µB, 2.73908 µB and 1.74324 µB at Fe, Co and Ni sites respectively. Complex dielectric constant ɛ(ω) and normal incidence reflectivity R(ω) are also been investigate for broad range of photon energies. These results are compared with the some reported existing experimental values.

Effects of reward sensitivity and regional brain volumes on substance use initiation in adolescence

PubMed Central

Collins, Paul; Muetzel, Ryan; Schissel, Ann; Lim, Kelvin O.; Luciana, Monica

2015-01-01

This longitudinal study examines associations between baseline individual differences and developmental changes in reward [i.e. behavioral approach system (BAS)] sensitivity and relevant brain structures’ volumes to prospective substance use initiation during adolescence. A community sample of adolescents ages 15–18 with no prior substance use was assessed for substance use initiation (i.e. initiation of regular alcohol use and/or any use of other substances) during a 2-year follow-up period and for alcohol use frequency in the last year of the follow-up. Longitudinal ‘increases’ in BAS sensitivity were associated with substance use initiation and increased alcohol use frequency during the follow-up. Moreover, adolescents with smaller left nucleus accumbens at baseline were more likely to initiate substance use during the follow-up period. This study provides support for the link between developmental increases in reward sensitivity and substance use initiation in adolescence. The study also emphasizes the potential importance of individual differences in volumes of subcortical regions and their structural development for substance use initiation during adolescence. PMID:24526186

The association of Internet addiction symptoms with impulsiveness, loneliness, novelty seeking and behavioral inhibition system among adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

PubMed

Li, Wendi; Zhang, Wei; Xiao, Lin; Nie, Jia

2016-09-30

The aims of this study were to test the associations of the Internet addiction symptoms with impulsiveness, loneliness, novelty seeking and behavioral inhibition systems among adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and adults with non-ADHD. A total of 146 adults aged between 19 and 33 years involved in this study. Participants were assessed with the Chinese version of the adult ADHD Self-report scale (ASRS), the Revised Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS-R), the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale 11 (BIS-11), the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ), the UCLA loneliness scale, and the Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral Activation System Scale (BIS/BAS Scale). The results of hierarchical regression analysis indicated that impulsiveness, loneliness, and behavioral inhibition system were significant predictors of Internet addition among adults with ADHD. Higher loneliness was significantly associated with more severe Internet addition symptoms among the non-ADHD group. Adults with high impulsiveness, loneliness, and BIS should be treated with caution for preventing Internet addiction. In addition, adults with and without ADHD should be provided with different preventative strategies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Motion as motivation: using repetitive flexion movements to stimulate the approach system.

PubMed

Haeffel, Gerald J

2011-12-01

Research suggests that having a healthy approach system is critical for adaptive emotional functioning. The goal of the current study (n=186 undergraduates) was to determine the efficacy of an easy-to-disseminate and cost-efficient strategy for stimulating this system. The experiment tested the effects of repeated flexion movements (rFM) on approach system activation as measured by both self-report (BAS scales) and behavior. The results showed that rFM increased approach system motivation in men but not women. Men who completed the rFM task reported significantly greater levels of fun-seeking motivation than men in the control task. Moreover, the rFM task led to changes in actual behavior. Men who completed the rFM task exhibited significantly greater persistence on a difficult laboratory task than men in the control task. In contrast, women who completed the rFM task reported significantly lower levels of fun seeking and tended to exhibit less persistence on a difficult laboratory task than women in the control task. These results provide support for embodied theories of emotion as well as additional evidence for a gender difference in approach-avoidance tendencies. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

'Oxytocin' for the outwardly oriented: Evidence for interactive effects in placebo responding.

PubMed

Darragh, Margot; Booth, Roger J; Consedine, Nathan S

2016-04-01

In order to harness the placebo effect for clinical benefit, more research is needed to determine who might be responsive to a placebo treatment. Recently, a two-faceted Transactional Model of Placebo Responding (TMPR) was offered, which suggests different personality types might respond to different contextual cues. The current study directly tested this model by manipulating treatment descriptors to match the two purported facets of responsiveness. Physically healthy volunteers (N=77) experiencing life stress were randomised to either the: (1) wait-list control, (2) 'serotonin treatment' group; or (3) 'oxytocin treatment' group. Both treatment groups received an 'antistress' intranasal spray (placebo). The 'serotonin' and 'oxytocin' treatments were described to appeal to the two purported facets responsiveness set out in the TMPR, inward and outward orientation. The BIS/BAS scale was used as proxies for inward (BIS) and outward (BAS) orientation. It was hypothesised that high BAS types would be more responsive to the 'oxytocin' and high BIS types would be more responsive to the 'serotonin'. Findings provide partial support for hypotheses, with high but not low BAS types having a greater response to the 'oxytocin' placebo; but the pattern of responses from high BIS types were contrary to predictions. Findings indicate interactions between personality type and environmental cues may contribute to placebo responding, but more research is needed to investigate possible operationalisations of responsiveness and the contextual cues to which different types may respond. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Folic Acid and Creatine as Therapeutic Approaches to Lower Blood Arsenic: A Randomized Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

Peters, Brandilyn A.; Hall, Megan N.; Liu, Xinhua; Parvez, Faruque; Sanchez, Tiffany R.; van Geen, Alexander; Mey, Jacob L.; Siddique, Abu B.; Shahriar, Hasan; Uddin, Mohammad Nasir; Islam, Tariqul; Balac, Olgica; Ilievski, Vesna; Factor-Litvak, Pam; Graziano, Joseph H.

2015-01-01

Background The World Health Organization estimates that > 140 million people worldwide are exposed to arsenic (As)–contaminated drinking water. As undergoes biologic methylation, which facilitates renal As elimination. In folate-deficient individuals, this process is augmented by folic acid (FA) supplementation, thereby lowering blood As (bAs). Creatinine concentrations in urine are a robust predictor of As methylation patterns. Although the reasons for this are unclear, creatine synthesis is a major consumer of methyl donors, and this synthesis is down-regulated by dietary/supplemental creatine. Objectives Our aim was to determine whether 400 or 800 μg FA and/or creatine supplementation lowers bAs in an As-exposed Bangladeshi population. Methods We conducted a clinical trial in which 622 participants were randomized to receive 400 μg FA, 800 μg FA, 3 g creatine, 3 g creatine+400 μg FA, or placebo daily. All participants received an As-removal filter on enrollment, and were followed for 24 weeks. After the 12th week, half of the two FA groups were switched to placebo to evaluate post-treatment bAs patterns. Results Linear models with repeated measures indicated that the decline in ln(bAs) from baseline in the 800-μg FA group exceeded that of the placebo group (weeks 1–12: β= –0.09, 95% CI: –0.18, –0.01; weeks 13–24: FA continued: β= –0.12, 95% CI: –0.24, –0.00; FA switched to placebo: β= –0.14, 95% CI: –0.26, –0.02). There was no rebound in bAs related to cessation of FA supplementation. Declines in bAs observed in the remaining treatment arms were not significantly different from those of the placebo group. Conclusions In this mixed folate-deficient/replete study population, 12- and 24-week treatment with 800 μg (but not 400 μg) FA lowered bAs to a greater extent than placebo; this was sustained 12 weeks after FA cessation. In future studies, we will evaluate whether FA and/or creatine altered As methylation profiles. Citation Peters BA, Hall MN, Liu X, Parvez F, Sanchez TR, van Geen A, Mey JL, Siddique AB, Shahriar H, Uddin MN, Islam T, Balac O, Ilievski V, Factor-Litvak P, Graziano JH, Gamble MV. 2015. Folic acid and creatine as therapeutic approaches to lower blood arsenic: a randomized controlled trial. Environ Health Perspect 123:1294–1301; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1409396 PMID:25978852

Enhanced fasting and post-prandial plasma bile acid responses after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery.

PubMed

Werling, Malin; Vincent, Royce P; Cross, Gemma F; Marschall, Hanns-Ulrich; Fändriks, Lars; Lönroth, Hans; Taylor, David R; Alaghband-Zadeh, Jamshid; Olbers, Torsten; Le Roux, Carel W

2013-11-01

Exogenous bile acid (BA) administration is associated with beneficial metabolic effects very similar to those seen after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery. Re-routing of bile into a biliopancreatic limb with simultaneous exclusion of food occurs after RYGB, with subsequent increased fasting plasma BAs. The study assessed fasting and post-prandial plasma BA response before and 15 months after RYGB. The prospective study recruited 63 obese individuals (43 females), aged 43 (36-56) [median (IQR)] years. Blood samples were collected before and every 30 min for 120 min after a standard 400 kcal meal. Fasting and post-prandial plasma BAs, glucagons like peptide-1 (GLP-1), -tyrosine (PYY), fasting C-reactive protein (CRP), glucose and insulin were measured and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated. Following RYGB, body mass index, CRP, fasting glucose and HOMA-IR decreased; 43.7 (39.3-49.2) kg/m(2) to 29.2 (25.1-35.0) kg/m(2), 7.9 (4.1-11.9) mg/L to 0.4 (0.2-1.0) mg/L, 5.5 (5.0-6.0) mmol/L to 4.6 (4.3-4.9) mmol/L and 5.9 (3.5-9.2) to 1.7 (1.1-2.2), respectively, all P < 0.001. Fasting total BAs, GLP-1 and PYY increased after RYGB; 1.69 (0.70-2.56) µmol/L to 2.43 (1.23-3.82) µmol/L (P = 0.02), 6.8 (1.5-15.3) pmol/L to 17.1 (12.6-23.9) pmol/L (P < 0.001) and 4.0 (1.0-7.1) pmol/L to 15.2 (10.0-28.3) pmol/L (P < 0.001), respectively. The area under the curve for post-prandial total BAs, total glycine-conjugated BAs, GLP-1 and PYY were greater after RYGB; 486 (312-732) µmol/L/min versus 1012 (684-1921) µmol/L/min, 315 (221-466) µmol/L/min versus 686 (424-877) µmol/L/min, 3679 (3162-4537) pmol/L/min versus 5347 (4727-5781) pmol/L/min and 1887 (1423-2092) pmol/L/min versus 3296 (2534-3834) pmol/L/min, respectively, all P < 0.0001. Weight loss following RYGB is associated with an increase in post-prandial plasma BA response due to larger amounts of glycine-conjugated BAs. This suggests up regulation of BA production and conjugation after RYGB.

The Effectiveness of Structured Group Education on Ankylosing Spondylitis Patients.

PubMed

Kasapoglu Aksoy, Meliha; Birtane, Murat; Taştekin, Nurettin; Ekuklu, Galip

2017-04-01

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a common inflammatory rheumatic disease that affects the axial skeleton which can lead to structural and functional impairments. It has a negative impact on the person's daily life activities. Early diagnosis, exercise and patient education are factors playing a major role on prognosis. The purpose of the study was to compare the structured theoretical and exercise educational program with routine clinic educational efforts on the parameters of the disorder over a 3 month follow up. This randomized, educational intervention study was performed on 41 AS patients. A 5 day structured education and exercise program was applied to the first group of patients (Group 1) in subgroups consisting 4-5 patients each. Patients had group exercises throughout the education program. The second group followed routine clinical care. The effectiveness of the treatment was assessed by Bath ankylosing spondylitis functional (BASFI), Bath ankylosing spondylitis disease activity (BASDAI), Bath ankylosing spondylitis global (BAS-G), Bath ankylosing spondylitis metrology indices (BASMI), chest expansion, short form-36 (SF-36), ankylosing spondylitis quality of life scale (ASQoL) and laboratory parameters in all patients. Patients were evaluated on initiation and after 3 months. Significant improvements in BASFI, BASDAI and BAS-G, chest expansion, SF-36 and ASQoL indices were observed in Group 1 No difference could be found in BASMI and chest expansion. A structured educational and exercise intervention had a positive effect on the functional status,disease activity, and general well-being and quality of life. It also, shows that education programs should be within the routine treatment program for AS.

Basic Electronic Design for Proposed NMSU Hitchhiker Payload

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horan, Stephen

2000-01-01

This document presents the bas'c hardware design developed by the EE 499 class during the spring semester of the 1999-2000 academic year. This design covers the electrical components to supply power to the experiments, the computer software and interfaces to control the experiments, and the ground data processing to provide an operator interface. This document is a follow-on to the Payload Mission description document and the System Requirements document developed during the EE 498 class during the fall semester. The design activities are broken down by functional area within the structure. For each area, we give the requirements that need to be met and the design to meet the requirements. For each of these areas, a prototype selection of hardware and/or software was done by the class and the components assembled as part of the class to verify that they worked as intended.

Undercar Electrical Generator for Railway Passenger Cars: Improvement of Efficiency / Dzelzceļa Pasažieru Zemvagona Elektriskā Ģeneratora Efektivitātes Uzlabošana

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levin, N.; Kamolins, E.; Gusakov, A.; Pugachev, V.

2013-04-01

Passenger cars of the railway transport are being constantly improved, thus becoming ever more comfortable for public conveyance. These cars are fitted with air conditioners, installations for heating and forced ventilation, heaters, refrigerators; lighting, radio and TV sets; communication equipment, etc. All the listed fittings need continuous and secure electricity supply from a primary independent source. The paper considers the possibilities of meeting requirements for particular power supply systems - first of all for undercar generators. At operation of such a high-power generator under rugged conditions it should be highly reliable, possessing a reasonable mass and high efficiency. The existing designs of these generators still do not meet the listed requirements in full measure. To improve the efficiency of the undercar generator it is proposed to integrate its excitation winding into the armature one, thus reducing the copper consumption, losses and mass, while - which is the most important - considerably raising reliability of the generator and its availability factor. Dzelzceļa transporta pasažieru vilcienu vagoni nepārtraukti tiek pilnveidoti ar mērķi paaugstināt pasažieru komforta līmeni pārvadājumu laikā. Šādi pasažieru vagoni aprīkoti ar gaisa kondicionēšanas, apsildes, ventilācijas, ūdens uzsildīšanas, saldēšanas, apgaismes, radio, televīzijas, sakaru u.c. iekārtām. Visām pieminētajām iekārtām to darbības laikā ir nepieciešama nepārtraukta un droša elektroenerģijas apgāde no primāra neatkarīga avota. Darbā tiek izskatīta elektroapgādes sistēma, kura spētu nodrošināt izvirzītās prasības. Pie šīs sistēmas, pirmkārt, pieder zemvagona ģenerators. Tam ir jābūt paaugstinātas jaudas, smagos darba apstākļos jānodrošina augsts drošums, ar pieņemamu masu un augstu lietderības koeficientu. Šādu ģeneratoru esošās konstrukcijas pilnā mērā nespēj nodrošināt iepriekš minētās prasības. Lai paaugstinātu zemvagona ģeneratora efektivitāti, tiek piedāvāts elektriski integrēt tā ierosmes tinumu enkura tinumā, turklāt samazinot izmantojamā vara apjomu, zudumus, masu, bet, galvenais, būtiski paaugstinot drošumu un gatavības koeficientu.

PREFACE: INERA Workshop: Transition Metal Oxide Thin Films-functional Layers in "Smart windows" and Water Splitting Devices. Parallel session of the 18th International School on Condensed Matter Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2014-11-01

The Special issue presents the papers for the INERA Workshop entitled "Transition Metal Oxides as Functional Layers in Smart windows and Water Splitting Devices", which was held in Varna, St. Konstantin and Elena, Bulgaria, from the 4th-6th September 2014. The Workshop is organized within the context of the INERA "Research and Innovation Capacity Strengthening of ISSP-BAS in Multifunctional Nanostructures", FP7 Project REGPOT 316309 program, European project of the Institute of Solid State Physics at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. There were 42 participants at the workshop, 16 from Sweden, Germany, Romania and Hungary, 11 invited lecturers, and 28 young participants. There were researchers present from prestigious European laboratories which are leaders in the field of transition metal oxide thin film technologies. The event contributed to training young researchers in innovative thin film technologies, as well as thin films characterization techniques. The topics of the Workshop cover the field of technology and investigation of thin oxide films as functional layers in "Smart windows" and "Water splitting" devices. The topics are related to the application of novel technologies for the preparation of transition metal oxide films and the modification of chromogenic properties towards the improvement of electrochromic and termochromic device parameters for possible industrial deployment. The Workshop addressed the following topics: Metal oxide films-functional layers in energy efficient devices; Photocatalysts and chemical sensing; Novel thin film technologies and applications; Methods of thin films characterizations; From the 37 abstracts sent, 21 manuscripts were written and later refereed. We appreciate the comments from all the referees, and we are grateful for their valuable contributions. Guest Editors: Assoc. Prof. Dr.Tatyana Ivanova Prof. DSc Kostadinka Gesheva Prof. DSc Hassan Chamatti Assoc. Prof. Dr. Georgi Popkirov Workshop Organizing Committee Prof.DSc Kostadinka Gesheva, Central Laboratory of Solar Energy and New Energy Sources, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (CL SENES-BAS) - Chairperson Assoc. Prof. Dr Anna Szekeres - Institute of Solid State Physics- BAS Assoc. Prof Dr. Tatyana Ivanova - CL SENES -BAS Assist. Prof. Radostina Kamburova - ISSP-BAS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

When the facilities design and construction team at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) started planning to upgrade and expand their control system, they had several critical goals for the project. They wanted a building automation system (BAS) that could achieve optimum energy savings while maximizing the efficiency of the facilities staff. They needed the new system to link 26 campus buildings--containing a variety of existing systems--to one central location for monitoring and diagnostics. They wanted a single vendor to handle installation, software development, service and support--and they wanted the entire project completed without downtime. At the core ofmore » these technologies is the Metasys{reg_sign} facility management system from Johnson Controls.« less

Quantifying bile acid malabsorption helps predict response and tailor sequestrant therapy.

PubMed

Orekoya, Oluwafikunayo; McLaughlin, John; Leitao, Eugenia; Johns, Wendy; Lal, Simon; Paine, Peter

2015-06-01

Although recognised as a cause of chronic diarrhoea for over forty years, diagnostic tests and treatments for bile acid malabsorption (BAM) remain controversial. Recent National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines highlighted the lack of evidence in the field, and called for further research. This retrospective study explores the BAM subtype and severity, the use and response to bile acid sequestrants (BAS) and the prevalence of abnormal colonic histology. 264 selenium-75-labelled homocholic acid conjugated taurine (SeHCAT)-tested patient records were reviewed and the severity and subtype of BAM, presence of colonic histopathology and response to BAS were recorded. 53% of patients tested had BAM, with type-2 BAM in 45% of patients with presumed irritable bowel syndrome. Colonic histological abnormalities were similar overall between patients with (29%) or without (23%) BAM (p = 0.46) and between BAM subtypes, with no significant presence of inflammatory changes. 63% of patients with BAM had a successful BAS response which showed a trend to decreased response with reduced severity. Colestyramine was unsuccessful in 44% (38/87) and 45% of these (17/38) were related to medication intolerance, despite a positive SeHCAT. 47% (7/15) of colestyramine failures had a successful colesevelam response. No patient reported colesevelam intolerance. Quantifying severity of BAM appears to be useful in predicting BAS response. Colesevelam was better tolerated than colestyramine and showed some efficacy in colestyramine failures. Colestyramine failure should not be used to exclude BAM. Colonic histology is of no relevance. © Royal College of Physicians 2015. All rights reserved.

Ultra-fast fluence optimization for beam angle selection algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bangert, M.; Ziegenhein, P.; Oelfke, U.

2014-03-01

Beam angle selection (BAS) including fluence optimization (FO) is among the most extensive computational tasks in radiotherapy. Precomputed dose influence data (DID) of all considered beam orientations (up to 100 GB for complex cases) has to be handled in the main memory and repeated FOs are required for different beam ensembles. In this paper, the authors describe concepts accelerating FO for BAS algorithms using off-the-shelf multiprocessor workstations. The FO runtime is not dominated by the arithmetic load of the CPUs but by the transportation of DID from the RAM to the CPUs. On multiprocessor workstations, however, the speed of data transportation from the main memory to the CPUs is non-uniform across the RAM; every CPU has a dedicated memory location (node) with minimum access time. We apply a thread node binding strategy to ensure that CPUs only access DID from their preferred node. Ideal load balancing for arbitrary beam ensembles is guaranteed by distributing the DID of every candidate beam equally to all nodes. Furthermore we use a custom sorting scheme of the DID to minimize the overall data transportation. The framework is implemented on an AMD Opteron workstation. One FO iteration comprising dose, objective function, and gradient calculation takes between 0.010 s (9 beams, skull, 0.23 GB DID) and 0.070 s (9 beams, abdomen, 1.50 GB DID). Our overall FO time is < 1 s for small cases, larger cases take ~ 4 s. BAS runs including FOs for 1000 different beam ensembles take ~ 15-70 min, depending on the treatment site. This enables an efficient clinical evaluation of different BAS algorithms.

Relevant Spatial Scales of Chemical Variation in Aplysina aerophoba

PubMed Central

Sacristan-Soriano, Oriol; Banaigs, Bernard; Becerro, Mikel A.

2011-01-01

Understanding the scale at which natural products vary the most is critical because it sheds light on the type of factors that regulate their production. The sponge Aplysina aerophoba is a common Mediterranean sponge inhabiting shallow waters in the Mediterranean and its area of influence in Atlantic Ocean. This species contains large concentrations of brominated alkaloids (BAs) that play a number of ecological roles in nature. Our research investigates the ecological variation in BAs of A. aerophoba from a scale of hundred of meters to thousand kilometers. We used a nested design to sample sponges from two geographically distinct regions (Canary Islands and Mediterranean, over 2500 km), with two zones within each region (less than 50 km), two locations within each zone (less than 5 km), and two sites within each location (less than 500 m). We used high-performance liquid chromatography to quantify multiple BAs and a spectrophotometer to quantify chlorophyll a (Chl a). Our results show a striking degree of variation in both natural products and Chl a content. Significant variation in Chl a content occurred at the largest and smallest geographic scales. The variation patterns of BAs also occurred at the largest and smallest scales, but varied depending on which BA was analyzed. Concentrations of Chl a and isofistularin-3 were negatively correlated, suggesting that symbionts may impact the concentration of some of these compounds. Our results underline the complex control of the production of secondary metabolites, with factors acting at both small and large geographic scales affecting the production of multiple secondary metabolites. PMID:22363236

Diabetic cognitive dysfunction is associated with increased bile acids in liver and activation of bile acid signaling in intestine.

PubMed

Wang, Xue; Wang, Fangyu; Zhang, Yidan; Xiong, Hui; Zhang, Yanjun; Zhuang, Pengwei; Zhang, Youcai

2018-05-01

Impaired regulation of bile acid (BA) homeostasis has been suggested to be associated with adverse metabolic consequences. However, whether BA homeostasis is altered in diabetes-induced cognitive dysfunction (DCD) remains unknown. In the present study, mice were divided into four groups, namely normal control (NC) group, high-fat diet (HFD) group, diabetes without cognitive dysfunction (unDCD) group, and DCD group. Compared to HFD mice, the concentration of total BAs in liver was higher in unDCD and DCD mice, due to increased intestinal BA absorption. DCD mice tended to have higher BA concentrations in both liver and ileum than unDCD mice. Consequently, DCD mice had increased basolateral BA efflux (Ostα, Ostβ, and Mrp4) and decreased BA synthesis (Cyp7a1, Cyp8b1, and Cyp7b1) in the liver as well as activated Fxr-Fgf15 signaling in the ileum. DCD mice also had increased BA hydroxylation (Cyp3a11) and BA sulfation (Sult2a1) in the liver compared to HFD mice. Furthermore, the bacterial community composition was altered in the cecum of DCD mice, characterized with a marked increase in Defferribacteres and Candidatus Saccharibacteria. In summary, the present study provides the first comprehensive analysis of BA homeostasis in DCD mice, and revealed a potential role of BAs in DCD development. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reinforcement Sensitivity Underlying Treatment-Seeking Smokers’ Affect, Smoking Reinforcement Motives, and Affective Responses

PubMed Central

Cui, Yong; Robinson, Jason D.; Engelmann, Jeffrey M.; Lam, Cho Y.; Minnix, Jennifer A.; Karam-Hage, Maher; Wetter, David W.; Dani, John A.; Kosten, Thomas R.; Cinciripini, Paul M.

2014-01-01

Nicotine dependence has been suggested to be related to reinforcement sensitivity, which encompasses behavioral predispositions either to avoid aversive (behavioral inhibition) or to approach appetitive (behavioral activation) stimuli. Reinforcement sensitivity may shape motives for nicotine use and offer potential targets for personalized smoking cessation therapy. However, little is known regarding how reinforcement sensitivity is related to motivational processes implicated in the maintenance of smoking. Additionally, women and men differ in reinforcement sensitivity, and such difference may cause distinct relationships between reinforcement sensitivity and motivational processes for female and male smokers. In this study, we characterized reinforcement sensitivity in relation to affect, smoking-related reinforcement motives, and affective responses, using self-report and psychophysiological measures, in over 200 smokers before treating them. The Behavioral Inhibition/Activation Scales (BIS/BAS; Carver & White, 1994) was used to measure reinforcement sensitivity. In female and male smokers, BIS was similarly associated with negative affect and negative reinforcement of smoking. But positive affect was positively associated with BAS Drive scores in male smokers, and this association was reversed in female smokers. BIS was positively associated with corrugator electromyographic reactivity towards negative stimuli and left frontal electroencephalogram alpha asymmetry. Female and male smokers showed similar relationships for these physiological measures. These findings suggest that reinforcement sensitivity underpins important motivational processes (e.g., affect), and gender is a moderating factor for these relationships. Future personalized smoking intervention, particularly among more dependent treatment-seeking smokers, may experiment to target individual differences in reinforcement sensitivity. PMID:25621416

Incident-response monitoring technologies for aircraft cabin air quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magoha, Paul W.

Poor air quality in commercial aircraft cabins can be caused by volatile organophosphorus (OP) compounds emitted from the jet engine bleed air system during smoke/fume incidents. Tri-cresyl phosphate (TCP), a common anti-wear additive in turbine engine oils, is an important component in today's global aircraft operations. However, exposure to TCP increases risks of certain adverse health effects. This research analyzed used aircraft cabin air filters for jet engine oil contaminants and designed a jet engine bleed air simulator (BAS) to replicate smoke/fume incidents caused by pyrolysis of jet engine oil. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) with X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and neutron activation analysis (NAA) were used for elemental analysis of filters, and gas chromatography interfaced with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used to analyze used filters to determine TCP isomers. The filter analysis study involved 110 used and 90 incident filters. Clean air filter samples exposed to different bleed air conditions simulating cabin air contamination incidents were also analyzed by FESEM/EDS, NAA, and GC/MS. Experiments were conducted on a BAS at various bleed air conditions typical of an operating jet engine so that the effects of temperature and pressure variations on jet engine oil aerosol formation could be determined. The GC/MS analysis of both used and incident filters characterized tri- m-cresyl phosphate (TmCP) and tri-p-cresyl phosphate (TpCP) by a base peak of an m/z = 368, with corresponding retention times of 21.9 and 23.4 minutes. The hydrocarbons in jet oil were characterized in the filters by a base peak pattern of an m/z = 85, 113. Using retention times and hydrocarbon thermal conductivity peak (TCP) pattern obtained from jet engine oil standards, five out of 110 used filters tested had oil markers. Meanwhile 22 out of 77 incident filters tested positive for oil fingerprints. Probit analysis of jet engine oil aerosols obtained from BAS tests by optical particle counter (OPC) revealed lognormal distributions with the mean (range) of geometric mass mean diameter (GMMD) = 0.41 (0.39, 0.45) microm and geometric standard deviation (GSD), sigma g = 1.92 (1.87, 1.98). FESEM/EDS and NAA techniques found a wide range of elements on filters, and further investigations of used filters are recommended using these techniques. The protocols for air and filter sampling and GC/MS analysis used in this study will increase the options available for detecting jet engine oil on cabin air filters. Such criteria could support policy development for compliance with cabin air quality standards during incidents.

Electronic structure of boron based single and multi-layer two dimensional materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miyazato, Itsuki; Takahashi, Keisuke

2017-09-01

Two dimensional nanosheets based on boron and Group VA elements are designed and characterized using first principles calculations. B-N, B-P, B-As, B-Sb, and B-Bi are found to possess honeycomb structures where formation energies indicate exothermic reactions. Contrary to B-N, the cases of B-P, B-As, B-Sb, and B-Bi nanosheets are calculated to possess narrow band gaps. In addition, calculations reveal that the electronegativity difference between B and Group VA elements in the designed materials is a good indicator to predict the charge transfer and band gap of the two dimensional materials. Hydrogen adsorption over defect-free B-Sb and B-Bi results in exothermic reactions, while defect-free B-N, B-P, and B-As result in endothermic reactions. The layerability of the designed two dimensional materials is also investigated where the electronic structure of two-layered two dimensional materials is strongly coupled with how the two dimensional materials are layered. Thus, one can consider that the properties of two dimensional materials can be controlled by the composition of two dimensional materials and the structure of layers.

Colin D. Elliott (1937-2016).

PubMed

Willis, John O; Dumont, Ron

2017-01-01

This article memorializes Colin D. Elliott (1937-2016). For 7 years, in his work as a school psychologist, Elliott studied the ability profiles of children with learning disabilities and the measurement of children's developmental stages. Subsequently, he trained school psychologists for over 20 years at the University of Manchester. In 1983, he made a major, enduring contribution to the field of psychometric assessment in both his home country and the wider field with the publication of the innovative British Ability Scales (BAS). An American version, the Differential Ability Scales (DAS), followed in 1990, and both versions of the test have been widely used and revised several times (BAS 2, BAS 3, and DAS-II). Many of his innovations in those tests have been adopted in other instruments. His other research and many publications focused on individual differences in children's temperament and personality and specific learning difficulties. Elliott moved to the United States in 1992 and was adjunct professor at the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Factor structure and psychometric properties of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 in university students in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Swami, Viren; Ng, Siu-Kuen

2015-09-01

Previous studies have suggested that there may not be cross-cultural equivalence in the factor structure of body appreciation. Here, we examine the conceptual equivalence of a Chinese (Cantonese) translation of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2; Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015b), a newly-developed measure of body appreciation. Participants were 457 women and 417 men from a university in Hong Kong. The results of exploratory factor analyses showed that, like its English version, the Chinese BAS-2 had a one-dimensional structure. Body appreciation scores had good internal consistency and were also significantly associated with respondent body mass index, self-esteem, life satisfaction, and (in women) actual-ideal weight discrepancy. Men had significantly higher scores than women, while comparisons with data from Tylka and Wood-Barcalow (2015b) suggest that cross-cultural differences are small-to-moderate at best. The present findings suggest that the BAS-2 may prove to be a useful tool for the assessment of body appreciation across cultures. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biodegradation of BTEX and Other Petroleum Hydrocarbons by Enhanced and Controlled Sulfate Reduction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Song Jin

High concentrations of sulfide in the groundwater at a field site near South Lovedale, OK, were inhibiting sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) that are known to degrade contaminants including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and m+p-xylenes (BTEX). Microcosms were established in the laboratory using groundwater and sediment collected from the field site and amended with various nutrient, substrate, and inhibitor treatments. All microcosms were initially amended with FeCl{sub 2} to induce FeS precipitation and, thereby, reduce sulfide concentrations. Complete removal of BTEX was observed within 39 days in treatments with various combinations of nutrient and substrate amendments. Results indicate that elevated concentration ofmore » sulfide is a limiting factor to BTEX biodegradation at this site, and that treating the groundwater with FeCl{sub 2} is an effective remedy to facilitate and enhance BTEX degradation by the indigenous SRB population. On another site in Moore, OK, studies were conducted to investigate barium in the groundwater. BTEX biodegradation by SRB is suspected to mobilize barium from its precipitants in groundwater. Data from microcosms demonstrated instantaneous precipitation of barium when sulfate was added; however, barium was detected redissolving for a short period and precipitating eventually, when active sulfate reduction was occurring and BTEX was degraded through the process. SEM elemental spectra of the evolved show that sulfur was not present, which may exclude BaSO{sub 4} and BaS as a possible precipitates. The XRD analysis suggests that barium probably ended in BaS complexing with other amorphous species. Results from this study suggest that SRB may be able to use the sulfate from barite (BaSO{sub 4}) as an electron acceptor, resulting in the release of free barium ions (Ba{sup 2+}), and re-precipitate it in BaS, which exposes more toxicity to human and ecological health.« less

Installation Restoration Program Records Search for George Air Force Base, California

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-06-01

located in the Mojave Desert. The climate is arid with long hot summers and short cool winters. The mean 3relative humidity ranges from 27 percent in...abitat Native plant and animal comunities on base reflect the dry climatic conditions of an upland desert region. Along the eastern border of the bas...soil conditions because of a low ground- water table and the dry climatic conditions. While native systems are disrupted in the immediate vicinity of

Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation (7th). Compensation Structure. Major Topical Summary (MTS) 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-08-01

professional sports franchises , fast food restaurants , or a widget factory as well as the uniformed services. The 7’ QRMC identified two additional...1990 ................. C-8 Figure C-7. Basic Pay as a Percentage of RMC, by Grade, 1991 ................... C-11 Figure C-8. Current Enlisted BAS vs ... independent survey. "* A separate but simplified system of special and incentive pays. "* Expense reimbursements. "* Other allowances and so-called fringe

Modeling Defects, Shape Evolution, and Programmed Auto-origami in Liquid Crystal Elastomers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Konya, Andrew; Gimenez-Pinto, Vianney; Selinger, Robin

2016-06-01

Liquid crystal elastomers represent a novel class of programmable shape-transforming materials whose shape change trajectory is encoded in the material’s nematic director field. Using three-dimensional nonlinear finite element elastodynamics simulation, we model a variety of different actuation geometries and device designs: thin films containing topological defects, patterns that induce formation of folds and twists, and a bas-relief structure. The inclusion of finite bending energy in the simulation model reveals features of actuation trajectory that may be absent when bending energy is neglected. We examine geometries with a director pattern uniform through the film thickness encoding multiple regions of positive Gaussian curvature. Simulations indicate that heating such a system uniformly produces a disordered state with curved regions emerging randomly in both directions due to the film’s up/down symmetry. By contrast, applying a thermal gradient by heating the material first on one side breaks up/down symmetry and results in a deterministic trajectory producing a more ordered final shape. We demonstrate that a folding zone design containing cut-out areas accommodates transverse displacements without warping or buckling; and demonstrate that bas-relief and more complex bent/twisted structures can be assembled by combining simple design motifs.

Battery Pack Life Estimation through Cell Degradation Data and Pack Thermal Modeling for BAS+ Li-Ion Batteries. Cooperative Research and Development Final Report, CRADA Number CRD-12-489

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, Kandler

Battery Life estimation is one of the key inputs required for Hybrid applications for all GM Hybrid/EV/EREV/PHEV programs. For each Hybrid vehicle program, GM has instituted multi-parameter Design of Experiments generating test data at Cell level and also Pack level on a reduced basis. Based on experience, generating test data on a pack level is found to be very expensive, resource intensive and sometimes less reliable. The proposed collaborative project will focus on a methodology to estimate Battery life based on cell degradation data combined with pack thermal modeling. NREL has previously developed cell-level battery aging models and pack-level thermal/electricalmore » network models, though these models are currently not integrated. When coupled together, the models are expected to describe pack-level thermal and aging response of individual cells. GM and NREL will use data collected for GM's Bas+ battery system for evaluation of the proposed methodology and assess to what degree these models can replace pack-level aging experiments in the future.« less

Analysis of the Protective Biochemical and Pathologic Effects of Aminoguanidine on an Experimental Aspiration Pneumonitis Model Induced by Bile Acids

PubMed Central

Karli, Rifat; Alacam, Hasan; Duran, Latif; Alici, Omer; Kati, Celal; Karli, Arzu; Guzel, Ahmet

2012-01-01

Background Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is a common clinical pathology detected in childhood. Bile acids (BAs) are present in reflux and cause various pathologies in the esophagus, the larynx, and the lungs. Objective We aimed to show if aminoguanidine (AG) contributes to the biochemical and histopathologic treatment of experimental aspiration pneumonitis induced by BAs. Methods Twenty-eight female Sprague Dawley rats were used. There were 4 groups in the study: (1) group aspirated with 0.9% saline (n = 7), (2) group aspirated with 0.9% saline and treated with AG (n = 7), (3) group aspirated with a solution of 10 mg/kg taurocholic acid and 5 mg/kg taurochenodeoxycholate (n = 7), and (4) group aspirated with BA and treated with AG (n = 7). The saline and BA solutions were administered as 1 mL/kg intratracheally. The AG was administered intraperitoneally twice a day at a 150 mg/kg dose for 7 days. The different histopathologic and biochemical parameters were analyzed. Results Clara cell protein 16 and malondialdehyde levels were found to be significantly higher in the BA group than in the group where saline was administered; however, they were significantly lower in the BA + AG group than in the BA group. The total superoxide dismutase activity decreased significantly in the BA group compared with the group where saline was administered. A significant increase in superoxide dismutase activity was observed in the BA + AG group when compared with the group where only BA was administered. When the group where BA was administered solely was compared with the group where saline was administered, peribronchial inflammatory cell infiltration, alveolar septal infiltration, alveolar histiocytes, interstitial fibrosis, and granuloma were significantly higher in the BA group than in the saline group. When the BA + AG group was compared with the BA group, peribronchial inflammatory cell infiltration, alveolar septal infiltration, alveolar histiocytes, interstitial fibrosis, and granuloma were found to be significantly lower. Conclusions Oxidant stress increases and antioxidant capacity decreases in pneumonitis induced by BAs. AG administration as an antioxidant helps in recovery, both biochemically and histopathologically. Consequently, AG seems to be an alternative that should be considered in a conservative approach to treating aspiration pneumonitis. PMID:24653522

The Effectiveness of a Wireless Modular Bed Absence Sensor Device for Fall Prevention among Older Inpatients.

PubMed

Subermaniam, Kogilavani; Welfred, Ridgwan; Subramanian, Pathmawathi; Chinna, Karuthan; Ibrahim, Fatimah; Mohktar, Mas S; Tan, Maw Pin

2016-01-01

Falls and fall-related injuries are increasingly serious issues among elderly inpatients due to population aging. The bed-exit alarm has only previously been evaluated in a handful of studies with mixed results. Therefore, we evaluated the effectiveness of a modular bed absence sensor device (M-BAS) in detecting bed exits among older inpatients in a middle income nation in East Asia. Patients aged ≥65 years on an acute geriatric ward who were able to mobilize with or without walking aids and physical assistance were recruited to the study. The total number of alarms and the numbers of true and false alarms were recorded by ward nurses. The M-BAS device is placed across the mattress of all consenting participants. Nurses' workload was assessed using the National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) score, while nurses' perceptions were surveyed. The sensitivity of the M-BAS was 100% with a positive predictive value of 68% and a nuisance alarm rate of 31%. There was a significant reduction in total NASA-TLX workload score (mean difference = 14.34 ± 13.96 SD, p  < 0.001) at the end of the intervention period. 83% of the nurses found the device useful for falls prevention, 97% found it user friendly, and 87% would use it in future. The M-BAS was able to accurately detect bed absence episodes among geriatric inpatients and alert nurses accordingly. The use of the device significantly reduced the total workload score, while the acceptability of the device was high among our nurses. A larger, cluster randomized study to measure actual falls outcome associated with the use of the device is now indicated.

Molecular tracing of classical swine fever viruses isolated from wild boars and pigs in France from 2002 to 2011.

PubMed

Simon, Gaëlle; Le Dimna, Mireille; Le Potier, Marie-Frédérique; Pol, Françoise

2013-10-25

There were three outbreaks of classical swine fever (CSF) in north-eastern France between 2002 and 2011. The first two occurred in April 2002 in the Moselle department, in a wild boar and pig herd, respectively, while the third occurred in April 2003, in the Bas-Rhin department, in a wild boar. A survey was subsequently implemented in wild boar and domestic pig populations, during which 43 CSF viruses (CSFVs) were genetically characterized to provide information on virus sources, trace virus evolution and help in the monitoring of effective control measures. Phylogenetic analyses, based on fragments of the 5'NTR, E2 and NS5B genes, showed that all French CSFVs could be assigned to genotype 2, subgenotype 2.3. CSFVs isolated in Moselle were classified in the "Rostock" lineage, a strain first described in 2001 in wild boar populations in the Eifel region of north-western Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany, and in Luxemburg. In contrast, the CSFVs isolated in Bas-Rhin were homologous to strains from the "Uelzen" lineage, a strain previously isolated from wild boars in south-eastern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, as well as in Vosges du Nord, France, during a previous outbreak that had occurred in wild boars between 1992 and 2001. The outbreak in Moselle domestic pigs was quickly resolved as it concerned only one herd. The infection in wild boars from Moselle was extinguished after a few months whereas wild boars from Bas-Rhin remained infected until 2007. Molecular tracing showed that the Bas-Rhin index virus strain evolved slightly during the period but that no strain from a novel lineage was introduced until this outbreak ended after application of a vaccination scheme for six years. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chronic occupational exposure to arsenic induces carcinogenic gene signaling networks and neoplastic transformation in human lung epithelial cells

PubMed Central

Stueckle, Todd A.; Lu, Yongju; Davis, Mary E.; Wang, Liying; Jiang, Bing-Hua; Holaskova, Ida; Schafer, Rosana; Barnett, John B.; Rojanasakul, Yon

2012-01-01

Chronic arsenic exposure remains a human health risk; however a clear mode of action to understand gene signaling-driven arsenic carcinogenesis is currently lacking. This study chronically exposed human lung epithelial BEAS-2B cells to low-dose arsenic trioxide to elucidate cancer promoting gene signaling networks associated with arsenic-transformed (B-As) cells. Following a six month exposure, exposed cells were assessed for enhanced cell proliferation, colony formation, invasion ability and in vivo tumor formation compared to control cell lines. Collected mRNA was subjected to whole genome expression microarray profiling followed by in silico Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) to identify lung carcinogenesis modes of action. B-As cells displayed significant increases in proliferation, colony formation and invasion ability compared to BEAS-2B cells. B-As injections into nude mice resulted in development of primary and secondary metastatic tumors. Arsenic exposure resulted in widespread up-regulation of genes associated with mitochondrial metabolism and increased reactive oxygen species protection suggesting mitochondrial dysfunction. Carcinogenic initiation via reactive oxygen species and epigenetic mechanisms was further supported by altered DNA repair, histone, and ROS-sensitive signaling. NF-κB, MAPK and NCOR1 signaling disrupted PPARα/δ-mediated lipid homeostasis. A ‘pro-cancer’ gene signaling network identified increased survival, proliferation, inflammation, metabolism, anti-apoptosis and mobility signaling. IPA-ranked signaling networks identified altered p21, EF1α, Akt, MAPK, and NF-κB signaling networks promoting genetic disorder, altered cell cycle, cancer and changes in nucleic acid and energy metabolism. In conclusion, transformed B-As cells with their whole genome expression profile provide an in vitro arsenic model for future lung cancer signaling research and data for chronic arsenic exposure risk assessment. PMID:22521957

Patients’ and rheumatologists’ preferences for the attributes of biological agents used in the treatment of rheumatic diseases in Spain

PubMed Central

Nolla, Joan M; Rodríguez, Manuel; Martin-Mola, Emilio; Raya, Enrique; Ibero, Isabel; Nocea, Gonzalo; Aragon, Belén; Lizán, Luis; Prades, Miriam

2016-01-01

Purpose To define importance values assigned to attributes of biological agents (BAs) by Spanish patients with rheumatic diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and psoriatic arthritis) and rheumatologists. Patients and methods This was an observational, cross-sectional design based upon a rank-based full-profile conjoint analysis. A literature review and four focus groups were undertaken to identify attributes and levels. An orthogonal matrix, combining the selected levels of attributes, was used to define scenarios. Participants ranked eight scenarios from 1 (most preferred) to 8 (least preferred). The relative importance (RI) of attributes was calculated. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to identify the characteristics that influenced the values of RI. A total of 488 patients (male 50.9%, mean age 50.6 [standard deviation {SD} 12.06] years, rheumatoid arthritis 33.8%, ankylosing spondylitis 32.4%, psoriatic arthritis 33.8%; mean time since diagnosis 12.6 [SD 8.2] years) and 136 rheumatologists (male 50.4%, mean age 46.4 [SD 9.1] years, mean time of practice 16.7 [SD 8.8] years) participated. Results The ideal BAs for patients and physicians, respectively, should allow pain relief and improvement of functional capacity (RI 39% and 44.7%), with low risk of adverse events (RI 24.9% and 30.5%), a long time prior to perceiving the need for a new dose (RI 16.4% and 12.4%), and self-administration at home (RI 19.7% and 12.5%), as identified through their preferences. Conclusion Although efficacy and safety are paramount for patients and rheumatologists to make a choice regarding BAs, the need for a low frequency of administration and the administration method also play a role as preference attributes for BAs. PMID:27382258

Co-occurrence of alcohol use disorder and behavioral addictions: relevance of impulsivity and craving.

PubMed

Di Nicola, Marco; Tedeschi, Daniela; De Risio, Luisa; Pettorruso, Mauro; Martinotti, Giovanni; Ruggeri, Filippo; Swierkosz-Lenart, Kevin; Guglielmo, Riccardo; Callea, Antonino; Ruggeri, Giuseppe; Pozzi, Gino; Di Giannantonio, Massimo; Janiri, Luigi

2015-03-01

The aims of the study were to evaluate the occurrence of behavioral addictions (BAs) in alcohol use disorder (AUD) subjects and to investigate the role of impulsivity, personality dimensions and craving. 95 AUD outpatients (DSM-5) and 140 homogeneous controls were assessed with diagnostic criteria and specific tests for gambling disorder, compulsive buying, sexual, internet and physical exercise addictions, as well as with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) and Temperamental and Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R). The Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS) and Visual Analogue Scale for craving (VASc) were also administered to the AUD sample. 28.4% (n=27) of AUD subjects had at least one BA, as compared to 15% (n=21) of controls (χ(2)=6.27; p=.014). In AUD subjects, direct correlations between BIS-11 and Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS), Internet Addiction Disorder test (IAD), Exercise Addiction Inventory-Short Form (EAI-SF) scores (p<.01), between OCDS obsessive and CBS and VASc and CBS, IAD scores (p<.003), were found. BIS-11 (t=-2.36; p=.020), OCDS obsessive (Z=-4.13; p<.001), OCDS compulsive (Z=-2.12; p=.034) and VASc (Z=-4.94; p<.001) scores were higher in AUD subjects with co-occurring BAs. The occurrence of BAs was associated with higher impulsivity traits (BIS-11 scores; OR=1.08; p=.012) and higher craving levels (VASc scores; OR=2.48; p<.001). Our findings emphasize a significant rate of co-occurrence of BAs in AUD. High levels of impulsivity and craving for alcohol seem to be associated with other addictive behaviors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Functional electrospun nanofibers for multimodal sensitive detection of biogenic amines in food via a simple dipstick assay.

PubMed

Yurova, Nadezhda S; Danchuk, Alexandra; Mobarez, Sarah N; Wongkaew, Nongnoot; Rusanova, Tatiana; Baeumner, Antje J; Duerkop, Axel

2018-01-01

Electrospun nanofibers (ENFs) are promising materials for rapid diagnostic tests like lateral flow assays and dipsticks because they offer an immense surface area while excluding minimal volume, a variety of functional surface groups, and can entrap functional additives within their interior. Here, we show that ENFs on sample pads are superior in comparison to standard polymer membranes for the optical detection of biogenic amines (BAs) in food using a dipstick format. Specifically, cellulose acetate (CA) fibers doped with 2 mg/mL of the chromogenic and fluorogenic amine-reactive chameleon dye Py-1 were electrospun into uniform anionic mats. Those extract cationic BAs from real samples and Py-1 transduces BA concentrations into a change of color, reflectance, and fluorescence. Dropping a BA sample onto the nanofiber mat converts the weakly fluorescent pyrylium dye Py-1 into a strongly red emitting pyridinium dye. For the first time, a simple UV lamp excites fluorescence and a digital camera acts as detector. The intensity ratio of the red to the blue channel of the digital image is dependent on the concentration of most relevant BAs indicating food spoilage from 10 to 250 μM. This matches the permitted limits for BAs in foods and no false positive signals arise from secondary and tertiary amines. BA detection in seafood samples was also demonstrated successfully. The nanofiber mat dipsticks were up to sixfold more sensitive than those using a polymer membrane with the same dye embedded. Hence, nanofiber-based tests are not only superior to polymer-based dipstick assays, but will also improve the performance of established tests related to food safety, medical diagnostics, and environmental testing. Graphical Absract ᅟ.

Computer-Aided Design Applications for the Base Civil Engineering Technical Design Section.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-09-01

4 1983.’ S DEPARTMENT OF TiHE AIR FORCE L ~j AIR UNIVERSITY * AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Nam Wright- Patterson Air Force Bas, Ohio d ’rI ’ 4to...I -. L I 1it it COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN APPLICATIONS FOR THE BASE CIVIL ENGINEERING TECHNICAL DESIGN SECTION William M. Duncan, Captain, USAF LSSR 15-83...8217 .. ’ , .. - -. . ’ . , ._, - . . - .2 , _ : ’i 1 . . . . .- J.. .. . ’ _ -i l - , . analysis and design, water supply and wastewater disposal system design, and most

Bibliography of Soviet Laser Developments Number 54, July-August 1981.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-12-01

441. Kotyuk, A.F., A.P. Romashkov, and N.Sh. Khaykin (0). Production of a metrologic control system for measuring pulse power. IT, no. 8, 1981, 30-31...Possibility of recording the bas!ic characteristics of a wave process by a laser strain gauge . Sb 17, 30-34. 474. Dubovoy, A.P., and V.M. Sinel’nikov (0...Yu.S. Nechayev (560). Metrological features of a laser device with a single-mirror deflecting unit. Institut fiziki vysokoy energiy. Serpukhov

A Dynamic Computer Model to Examine Selected Effects of 304XX Career Field Consolidation.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-09-01

DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCED AIR UNIVERSITY (ATC) -; AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY D" "-gil tio "-: -I- -.- hA-W ig tP ttro Air, .’ Force Bas...The contents of tihe document are technically accurate, and no sensitive item., detrimeatal Ideas, or deleteriqu information are contained...ADDRESS O. PNOGAM ELEMENT. PROJECT, TASKAPE • WOe,6U" NUMERmsacT Scho6l of Systems and Logistics .A W N. " Air Force Institute of Technology , WPAFB It

Overpaint Removal on a Gilded Wooden Bas-Relief Using a Nd:YAG Laser at 1.064 µm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strzelec, M.; Marczak, J.; Koss, A.; Szambelan, R.

The paper presents the work on laser renovation of wooden bas-relief (lime tree), consisting of three figures: Saint Anna and Mary with Jesus, made by unknown artist at the beginning of XVII century. Almost whole relief surface is covered by gilding placed on a special preparation (bolus alba) with binding media. The painting layers cover only the parts of complexion and hairs of figures. The application of a 1.064 µm, Q-switched, Nd:YAG laser, allowed to unveil, in a short time the intact substrate of the object with well preserved gilding remains.

Physics and our View of the World

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hilgevoord, Jan

1994-11-01

Foreword; 1. Introduction JAN HILGEVOORD; 2. Questioning the answers GERARD T. HOOFT; 3. Theories of everything JOHN BARROW; 4. The scientific view of the world DENNIS DIEKS; 5. Enlarging the world ERNAN McMULLIN; 6. The world of empiricism BAS VAN FRAASSEN; 7. Has the scientific view of the world a special status compared with other views? PAUL FEYERABEND; 8. Quantum theory and our view of the world PAUL FEYERABEND; 9. Interpretation of science - science as interpretation BAS VAN FRAASSEN; 10. Problems in debates about physics and religion WILLEM DREES; 11. The mind of God PAUL DAVIES; 12. The sources of models for God: metaphysics or metaphor? MARY HESSE; 13. Discussion.

Regeneration of barium carbonate from barium sulphide in a pilot-scale bubbling column reactor and utilization for acid mine drainage.

PubMed

Mulopo, J; Zvimba, J N; Swanepoel, H; Bologo, L T; Maree, J

2012-01-01

Batch regeneration of barium carbonate (BaCO(3)) from barium sulphide (BaS) slurries by passing CO(2) gas into a pilot-scale bubbling column reactor under ambient conditions was used to assess the technical feasibility of BaCO(3) recovery in the Alkali Barium Calcium (ABC) desalination process and its use for sulphate removal from high sulphate Acid Mine Drainage (AMD). The effect of key process parameters, such as BaS slurry concentration and CO(2) flow rate on the carbonation, as well as the extent of sulphate removal from AMD using the recovered BaCO(3) were investigated. It was observed that the carbonation reaction rate for BaCO(3) regeneration in a bubbling column reactor significantly increased with increase in carbon dioxide (CO(2)) flow rate whereas the BaS slurry content within the range 5-10% slurry content did not significantly affect the carbonation rate. The CO(2) flow rate also had an impact on the BaCO(3) morphology. The BaCO(3) recovered from the pilot-scale bubbling column reactor demonstrated effective sulphate removal ability during AMD treatment compared with commercial BaCO(3).

A strategy to modulate the electrophoretic behavior in plastic microchips using sodium polystyrene sulfonate.

PubMed

Guo, Jinxiu; Chen, Yu; Zhao, Lizhi; Sun, Ping; Li, Hongli; Zhou, Lei; Wang, Xiayan; Pu, Qiaosheng

2016-12-16

Plastic microchips have been broadly used as disposable microfluidic devices, but the poorly defined surface properties limit their application. Herein, we proved that an anionic polymer could be used as the background electrolyte (BGE) to provide a strong and stable cathodic electroosmotic flow (EOF) and modulate the electrophoretic behavior for efficient separation in relative thicker microchannels (∼75μm id). A cathodic EOF of ∼3.3×10 -4 cm 2 V -1 s -1 was maintained using sodium polystyrene sulfonate (PSSNa) with a molecular weight of 5×10 5 as the BGE, which ensured fluorescein isothiocyanate labeled biogenic amines (BAs) appeared ahead of other components in the electropherograms obtained with microchips of cyclic olefin copolymer. Four selected BAs appeared within 50s and theoretical plate numbers of 8.0×10 5 /m were achieved. The role of PSSNa was evaluated with streaming potential, dynamic light scattering, contact angle and atomic force microscopy. Its functionalities as surface modifier, viscosity regulator and pseudostationary phase were also confirmed. The proposed electrophoretic method was applied in the fast determination of BAs in fish meat samples. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Attenuation of fluorocarbons released from foam insulation in landfills.

PubMed

Scheutz, Charlotte; Dote, Yutaka; Fredenslund, Anders M; Mosbaek, Hans; Kjeldsen, Peter

2007-11-15

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) have been used as blowing agents (BAs) for foam insulation in home appliances and building materials, which after the end of their useful life are disposed of in landfills. The objective of this project was to evaluate the potential for degradation of BAs in landfills, and to develop a landfill model, which could simulate the fate of BAs in landfills. The investigation was performed by use of anaerobic microcosm studies using different types of organic waste and anaerobic digested sludge as inoculum. The BAs studied were CFC-11, CFC-12, HCFC-141b, HFC-134a, and HFC-245fa. Experiments considering the fate of some of the expected degradations products of CFC-11 and CFC-12 were included like HCFC-21, HCFC-22, HCFC-31, HCFC-32, and HFC-41. Degradation of all studied CFCs and HCFCs was observed regardless the type of waste used. In general, the degradation followed first-order kinetics. CFC-11 was rapidly degraded from 590 microg L(-1) to less than 5 microg L(-1) within 15-20 days. The degradation pattern indicated a sequential production of HCFC-21, HCFC-31, and HFC-41. However, the production of degradation products did not correlate with a stoichiometric removal of CFC-11 indicating that other degradation products were produced. HCFC-21 and HCFC-31 were further degraded whereas no further degradation of HFC-41 was observed. The degradation rate coefficient was directly correlated with the number of chlorine atoms attached to the carbon. The highest degradation rate coefficient was obtained for CFC-11, whereas lower rates were seen for HCFC-21 and HCFC-31. Equivalent results were obtained for CFC-12. HCFC-141b was also degraded with rates comparable to HCFC-21 and CFC-12. Anaerobic degradation of the studied HFCs was not observed in any of the experiments within a run time of up to 200 days. The obtained degradation rate coefficients were used as input for an extended version of an existing landfill fate model incorporating a time dependent BA release from co-disposed foam insulation waste. Predictions with the model indicate that the emission of foam released BAs may be strongly attenuated by microbial degradation reactions. Sensitivity analysis suggests that there is a need for determination of degradation rates under more field realistic scenarios.

Le Programme d’enseignement décentralisé et la rétention des médecins omnipraticiens dans la région du Bas-Saint-Laurent au Québec

PubMed Central

Bustinza, Ray; Gagnon, Suzanne; Burigusa, Guillaume

2009-01-01

Résumé OBJECTIF Le but de cette étude était d’évaluer l’impact sur la rétention des médecins omnipraticiens du programme d’enseignement décentralisé, des mesures incitatives financières et de l’origine du médecin. DEVIS Nos données sont tirées de la banque du suivi des effectifs médicaux de la Régie régionale de la santé et des services sociaux du Bas-Saint-Laurent. Les questionnaires complétés par les médecins dans le cadre de cette étude ont été envoyés par la poste. MILIEU Bas-Saint-Laurent, Qué. PARTICIPANTS Des médecins omnipraticiens pratiquant depuis 1985 à août 2003 dans la région. MÉTHODOLOGIE Pour les analyses statistiques, nous avons fait appel à l’analyse multivariée, en utilisant le modèle des taux proportionnels de Cox de l’analyse de survie. RÉSULTATS La probabilité ajustée de demeurer en région, selon l’exposition aux stages de résidence en région, présente une tendance positive avec un rapport de 2,12 (P = 0,15). La probabilité de rester dans la région grimpe jusqu’à 4,5 fois plus (P < 0,01) pour un médecin originaire du Bas-Saint-Laurent. Le lien avec les mesures incitatives financières montre que la probabilité ajustée de demeurer dans le Bas-Saint-Laurent n’est pas significativement différente selon qu’ils aient ou non reçu les primes d’installation ou la bourse de la Régie de l’assurance-maladie du Québec. CONCLUSION Les facteurs les plus prometteurs pour retenir les médecins omnipraticiens en région touchent le recrutement en médecine de candidats des régions rurales et la formation décentralisée. PMID:19752242

Reinforcement sensitivity underlying treatment-seeking smokers' affect, smoking reinforcement motives, and affective responses.

PubMed

Cui, Yong; Robinson, Jason D; Engelmann, Jeffrey M; Lam, Cho Y; Minnix, Jennifer A; Karam-Hage, Maher; Wetter, David W; Dani, John A; Kosten, Thomas R; Cinciripini, Paul M

2015-06-01

Nicotine dependence has been suggested to be related to reinforcement sensitivity, which encompasses behavioral predispositions either to avoid aversive (behavioral inhibition) or to approach appetitive (behavioral activation) stimuli. Reinforcement sensitivity may shape motives for nicotine use and offer potential targets for personalized smoking cessation therapy. However, little is known regarding how reinforcement sensitivity is related to motivational processes implicated in the maintenance of smoking. Additionally, women and men differ in reinforcement sensitivity, and such difference may cause distinct relationships between reinforcement sensitivity and motivational processes for female and male smokers. In this study, the authors characterized reinforcement sensitivity in relation to affect, smoking-related reinforcement motives, and affective responses, using self-report and psychophysiological measures, in over 200 smokers before treating them. The Behavioral Inhibition/Activation Scales (BIS/BAS; Carver & White, 1994) was used to measure reinforcement sensitivity. In female and male smokers, BIS was similarly associated with negative affect and negative reinforcement of smoking. However, positive affect was positively associated with BAS Drive scores in male smokers, and this association was reversed in female smokers. BIS was positively associated with corrugator electromyographic reactivity toward negative stimuli and left frontal electroencephalogram alpha asymmetry. Female and male smokers showed similar relationships for these physiological measures. These findings suggest that reinforcement sensitivity underpins important motivational processes (e.g., affect), and gender is a moderating factor for these relationships. Future personalized smoking intervention, particularly among more dependent treatment-seeking smokers, may experiment to target individual differences in reinforcement sensitivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

The economics of inpatient on-demand treatment for haemophilia with high-responding inhibitors: a US retrospective data analysis.

PubMed

Pokras, S M; Petrilla, A A; Weatherall, J; Lee, W C

2012-03-01

Inpatient costs comprise >50% of annual healthcare costs for haemophilia patients with inhibitors but no reports exist on inpatient resource use and costs at a US national level. To quantify inpatient resource use and costs for on-demand treatment of bleeds of US haemophilia patients with inhibitors and compare costs and treatment duration between Factor VIII bypassing agents (BAs). Stays with haemophilia A from 2003-2008 were identified from inpatient billing records. Presence of inhibitors was inferred through use of BA; recombinant activated Factor VII and plasma-derived activated prothrombin complex concentrate. Duration and number of infusions of BA, length of stay, use of opioid-containing analgesics and costs were assessed and compared. Among 1322 stays mean BA treatment duration was 4.6 days with 4.9 infusions, 6.1 nights spent in hospital, and 58% administered opioid-containing analgesics. In unadjusted analyses there were significant differences in the above mentioned outcomes by BA use, reflecting underlying differences between the two patient populations. Average inpatient costs were $82,911. In adjusted analyses, African-American race, greater disease severity, hospital region outside the southern US and older age (cost model only) were significant predictors of longer BA treatment duration and higher costs. The economic burden of inpatient on-demand treatment of haemophilia with inhibitors is substantial and is associated with lengthy stays, high costs and inadequate pain relief. Availability of more effective BAs could reduce the need for re-treatment, reducing treatment costs and other medical costs, while improving health related quality of life. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Hazardous drinking and dimensions of impulsivity, behavioral approach, and inhibition in adult men and women.

PubMed

Hamilton, Kristen R; Sinha, Rajita; Potenza, Marc N

2012-06-01

Hazardous drinking is characterized by decisions to engage in excessive or risky patterns of alcohol consumption. Levels of impulsivity and behavioral approach and inhibition may differ in hazardous drinkers and nonhazardous drinkers. A comparison of the relative levels of dimensions of impulsivity and behavioral inhibition and approach in adult men and women hazardous and nonhazardous drinkers may inform treatment and prevention efforts. In the present research, 466 men and women from a community sample were administered the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), the Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Approach System (BIS/BAS) scale, and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, version 11 (BIS-11). Relations among the dimensions of these constructs were examined using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), with age and race as covariates. There were main effects of hazardous drinking on all 3 dimensions of impulsivity, the behavioral inhibition system, and the behavioral activation system Reward Responsiveness, and Fun-Seeking components, with hazardous drinkers scoring higher than nonhazardous drinkers. This research provides a better understanding of the manner in which impulsivity and behavioral inhibition and approach tendencies relate to hazardous alcohol use in men and women. The present results have implications for alcohol-related prevention and treatment strategies for adult men and women. Copyright © 2012 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

The "ART of War FRIEZE" in Urbino: a Blend of Virtual Reconstruction and Scientific Accuracy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baratin, L.; Giuliano, M.; Checcucci, G.

2013-02-01

The Art of War Frieze was commissioned by Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, to decorate the back of the «wing façade» of the Ducal palace. The Frieze decorated the façade from the time it was realised towards the end of the XVth century until 1756. The Frieze consists of a very particular series of seventy-two limestone bas-reliefs, whose iconographic repertoire represents numerous war and building machines as well as military and political symbols. After it broke away from the outdoor façade it was stored in different rooms in the Palace but despite the many documentary records available, the question of the original sequence of the basreliefs has never been resolved. The primary scope of this paper is to create a "virtual" reconstruction of the original sequence of the bas-reliefs, starting from historical and iconographic records, an analysis of the back and the individual panels using a laser scanner and fully automatic open source photo modelling technologies like the Arc3d, and photogrammetric systems like Image Master together with analyses of the state of conservation, type of degradation correlated to atmospheric parameters (sunlight, temperature, rain). Tests will then be carried out with different systems in order to confirm the accuracy of the model if it is decided to reproduce the individual panels using the rapid prototyping technique associated to a study of the execution techniques.

Characterization and application of a diamine oxidase from Lathyrus sativus as component of an electrochemical biosensor for the determination of biogenic amines in wine and beer.

PubMed

Di Fusco, Massimo; Federico, Rodolfo; Boffi, Alberto; Macone, Alberto; Favero, Gabriele; Mazzei, Franco

2011-08-01

In this work, we have characterized a diamine oxidase (DAO) from Lathyrus sativus and evaluated its use, for the first time, as biocatalytic component of an electrochemical biosensor for the determination of biogenic amines index in wine and beer samples. Firstly, DAO was electrokinetically characterized free in solution by means of a platinum electrode and then immobilized by using polyazetidine prepolimer on the surface of screen-printed electrodes constituted of two gold working electrodes. The amperometric measurements were carried out by using a flow system at a fixed potential of +600 mV vs the internal silver pseudo reference in phosphate buffer solution (0.1 mol l(-1), pH = 7.4). The analysis of wine and beer samples were performed in flow injection system using the dual channel transducer providing simultaneous detection of sample and blank signal, and the resulting signal (after subtraction of the blank signal) was referred to that of putrescine. The results were compared with those obtained using a modified reference method based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis on the same samples. The results obtained in the analysis of Italian wines shows the better suitability of DAO-based biosensor in the determination of the biogenic amines (BAs) index expressed as putrescine equivalent in both red and white wines, being less efficient in beer samples where it underestimates by about 50% the BAs content.

Calibration of BAS-TR image plate response to high energy (3-300 MeV) carbon ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doria, D.; Kar, S.; Ahmed, H.; Alejo, A.; Fernandez, J.; Cerchez, M.; Gray, R. J.; Hanton, F.; MacLellan, D. A.; McKenna, P.; Najmudin, Z.; Neely, D.; Romagnani, L.; Ruiz, J. A.; Sarri, G.; Scullion, C.; Streeter, M.; Swantusch, M.; Willi, O.; Zepf, M.; Borghesi, M.

2015-12-01

The paper presents the calibration of Fuji BAS-TR image plate (IP) response to high energy carbon ions of different charge states by employing an intense laser-driven ion source, which allowed access to carbon energies up to 270 MeV. The calibration method consists of employing a Thomson parabola spectrometer to separate and spectrally resolve different ion species, and a slotted CR-39 solid state detector overlayed onto an image plate for an absolute calibration of the IP signal. An empirical response function was obtained which can be reasonably extrapolated to higher ion energies. The experimental data also show that the IP response is independent of ion charge states.

Calibration of BAS-TR image plate response to high energy (3-300 MeV) carbon ions.

PubMed

Doria, D; Kar, S; Ahmed, H; Alejo, A; Fernandez, J; Cerchez, M; Gray, R J; Hanton, F; MacLellan, D A; McKenna, P; Najmudin, Z; Neely, D; Romagnani, L; Ruiz, J A; Sarri, G; Scullion, C; Streeter, M; Swantusch, M; Willi, O; Zepf, M; Borghesi, M

2015-12-01

The paper presents the calibration of Fuji BAS-TR image plate (IP) response to high energy carbon ions of different charge states by employing an intense laser-driven ion source, which allowed access to carbon energies up to 270 MeV. The calibration method consists of employing a Thomson parabola spectrometer to separate and spectrally resolve different ion species, and a slotted CR-39 solid state detector overlayed onto an image plate for an absolute calibration of the IP signal. An empirical response function was obtained which can be reasonably extrapolated to higher ion energies. The experimental data also show that the IP response is independent of ion charge states.

Intrabronchial instillation of amphotericin B lipid complex: a case report.

PubMed

Morales, P; Galán, G; Sanmartín, E; Monte, E; Tarrazona, V; Santos, M

2009-01-01

We sought to present our results of topical intrabronchial installation of amphotericin B lipid complex (AmpB lipid). A deposit of fungal material was observed in a bilateral lung transplant recipient who experienced stenosis of the left anastomosis and have been fitted with a double endobronchial prosthesis. The deposit was adherent to the prosthetic material, causing marked local laceration, risk of perforation, and exacerbation of the bronchial stenosis. Upon cultivation of a bronchial aspirate (BAS), we isolated Aspergillus fumigatus, Scedosporium prolificans, and Candida glabrata. Systemic antifungal treatment was begun with oral voriconazole (200 mg every 12 hours) and inhaled AmpB lipid (25 mg once daily). The fungal deposit on the prosthetic material was treated by topical instillation of a solution of 25 mg AmpB lipid before and after each therapeutic fibrobronchoscopy (FB), which was performed weekly at 5 consecutive examinations. Tolerance was excellent. The improvement obtained after the procedure made it possible to withdraw one of the displaced prostheses. Subsequent cultivation for the fungi found in the BAS was persistently negative over a follow-up of 2 years. Topical intrabronchial instillation of AmpB lipid has proven effective and well tolerated for the treatment of localized fungal colonies. This use could be extended by protocol to FB in the early postoperative period after lung transplantation for antifungal prophylaxis.

Evaluating laser-driven Bremsstrahlung radiation sources for imaging and analysis of nuclear waste packages.

PubMed

Jones, Christopher P; Brenner, Ceri M; Stitt, Camilla A; Armstrong, Chris; Rusby, Dean R; Mirfayzi, Seyed R; Wilson, Lucy A; Alejo, Aarón; Ahmed, Hamad; Allott, Ric; Butler, Nicholas M H; Clarke, Robert J; Haddock, David; Hernandez-Gomez, Cristina; Higginson, Adam; Murphy, Christopher; Notley, Margaret; Paraskevoulakos, Charilaos; Jowsey, John; McKenna, Paul; Neely, David; Kar, Satya; Scott, Thomas B

2016-11-15

A small scale sample nuclear waste package, consisting of a 28mm diameter uranium penny encased in grout, was imaged by absorption contrast radiography using a single pulse exposure from an X-ray source driven by a high-power laser. The Vulcan laser was used to deliver a focused pulse of photons to a tantalum foil, in order to generate a bright burst of highly penetrating X-rays (with energy >500keV), with a source size of <0.5mm. BAS-TR and BAS-SR image plates were used for image capture, alongside a newly developed Thalium doped Caesium Iodide scintillator-based detector coupled to CCD chips. The uranium penny was clearly resolved to sub-mm accuracy over a 30cm(2) scan area from a single shot acquisition. In addition, neutron generation was demonstrated in situ with the X-ray beam, with a single shot, thus demonstrating the potential for multi-modal criticality testing of waste materials. This feasibility study successfully demonstrated non-destructive radiography of encapsulated, high density, nuclear material. With recent developments of high-power laser systems, to 10Hz operation, a laser-driven multi-modal beamline for waste monitoring applications is envisioned. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The Consumer’s Opinions of the Food Service System: The 1973 Fort Lee Survey

DTIC Science & Technology

1974-05-01

variety of Soul, hard rock, and popular might be desirable; whereas for the BAS’s, a combination of instrumental, country western, and classical might be...Neutral Like a little Q) Like moderately <li) Like very much (J) Where were you raised?. Darke~ the appropriate circle. CD In the country cv In a...circle. o 01 Chinese o 09 Jewish o 02 English· · o 10 Mexican o 03 French o 11 New England 004 General American Style 0 05 German 0 06 Greek 0 07

Organic Anion Transporting Polypeptide 1a1 Null Mice Are Sensitive to Cholestatic Liver Injury

PubMed Central

Zhang, Youcai; Csanaky, Iván L.; Cheng, Xingguo; Lehman-McKeeman, Lois D.; Klaassen, Curtis D.

2012-01-01

Organic anion transporting polypeptide 1a1 (Oatp1a1) is predominantly expressed in livers of mice and is thought to transport bile acids (BAs) from blood into liver. Because Oatp1a1 expression is markedly decreased in mice after bile duct ligation (BDL). We hypothesized that Oatp1a1-null mice would be protected against liver injury during BDL-induced cholestasis due largely to reduced hepatic uptake of BAs. To evaluate this hypothesis, BDL surgeries were performed in both male wild-type (WT) and Oatp1a1-null mice. At 24 h after BDL, Oatp1a1-null mice showed higher serum alanine aminotransferase levels and more severe liver injury than WT mice, and all Oatp1a1-null mice died within 4 days after BDL, whereas all WT mice survived. At 24 h after BDL, surprisingly Oatp1a1-null mice had higher total BA concentrations in livers than WT mice, suggesting that loss of Oatp1a1 did not prevent BA accumulation in the liver. In addition, secondary BAs dramatically increased in serum of Oatp1a1-null BDL mice but not in WT BDL mice. Oatp1a1-null BDL mice had similar basolateral BA uptake (Na+-taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide and Oatp1b2) and BA-efflux (multidrug resistance–associated protein [Mrp]-3, Mrp4, and organic solute transporter α/β) transporters, as well as BA-synthetic enzyme (Cyp7a1) in livers as WT BDL mice. Hepatic expression of small heterodimer partner Cyp3a11, Cyp4a14, and Nqo1, which are target genes of farnesoid X receptor, pregnane X receptor, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha, and NF-E2-related factor 2, respectively, were increased in WT BDL mice but not in Oatp1a1-null BDL mice. These results demonstrate that loss of Oatp1a1 function exacerbates cholestatic liver injury in mice and suggest that Oatp1a1 plays a unique role in liver adaptive responses to obstructive cholestasis. PMID:22461449

Urinary Elimination of Bile Acid Glucuronides under Severe Cholestatic Situations: Contribution of Hepatic and Renal Glucuronidation Reactions.

PubMed

Perreault, Martin; Wunsch, Ewa; Białek, Andrzej; Trottier, Jocelyn; Verreault, Mélanie; Caron, Patrick; Poirier, Guy G; Milkiewicz, Piotr; Barbier, Olivier

2018-01-01

Biliary obstruction, a severe cholestatic complication, causes accumulation of toxic bile acids (BAs) in liver cells. Glucuronidation, catalyzed by UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) enzymes, detoxifies cholestatic BAs. Using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry, 11 BA glucuronide (-G) species were quantified in prebiliary and postbiliary stenting serum and urine samples from 17 patients with biliary obstruction. Stenting caused glucuronide- and fluid-specific changes in BA-G levels and BA-G/BA metabolic ratios. In vitro glucuronidation assays with human liver and kidney microsomes revealed that even if renal enzymes generally displayed lower K M values, the two tissues shared similar glucuronidation capacities for BAs. By contrast, major differences between the two tissues were observed when four human BA-conjugating UGTs 1A3, 1A4, 2B4, and 2B7 were analyzed for mRNA and protein levels. Notably, the BA-24G producing UGT1A3 enzyme, abundant in the liver, was not detected in kidney microsomes. In conclusion, the circulating and urinary BA-G profiles are hugely impacted under severe cholestasis. The similar BA-glucuronidating abilities of hepatic and renal extracts suggest that both the liver and kidney may contribute to the urine BA-G pool.

Urinary Elimination of Bile Acid Glucuronides under Severe Cholestatic Situations: Contribution of Hepatic and Renal Glucuronidation Reactions

PubMed Central

Perreault, Martin; Białek, Andrzej; Trottier, Jocelyn; Verreault, Mélanie; Caron, Patrick; Poirier, Guy G.

2018-01-01

Biliary obstruction, a severe cholestatic complication, causes accumulation of toxic bile acids (BAs) in liver cells. Glucuronidation, catalyzed by UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) enzymes, detoxifies cholestatic BAs. Using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry, 11 BA glucuronide (-G) species were quantified in prebiliary and postbiliary stenting serum and urine samples from 17 patients with biliary obstruction. Stenting caused glucuronide- and fluid-specific changes in BA-G levels and BA-G/BA metabolic ratios. In vitro glucuronidation assays with human liver and kidney microsomes revealed that even if renal enzymes generally displayed lower KM values, the two tissues shared similar glucuronidation capacities for BAs. By contrast, major differences between the two tissues were observed when four human BA-conjugating UGTs 1A3, 1A4, 2B4, and 2B7 were analyzed for mRNA and protein levels. Notably, the BA-24G producing UGT1A3 enzyme, abundant in the liver, was not detected in kidney microsomes. In conclusion, the circulating and urinary BA-G profiles are hugely impacted under severe cholestasis. The similar BA-glucuronidating abilities of hepatic and renal extracts suggest that both the liver and kidney may contribute to the urine BA-G pool. PMID:29850459

Hepatic glucose sensing is required to preserve β cell glucose competence

PubMed Central

Seyer, Pascal; Vallois, David; Poitry-Yamate, Carole; Schütz, Frédéric; Metref, Salima; Tarussio, David; Maechler, Pierre; Staels, Bart; Lanz, Bernard; Grueter, Rolf; Decaris, Julie; Turner, Scott; da Costa, Anabela; Preitner, Frédéric; Minehira, Kaori; Foretz, Marc; Thorens, Bernard

2013-01-01

Liver glucose metabolism plays a central role in glucose homeostasis and may also regulate feeding and energy expenditure. Here we assessed the impact of glucose transporter 2 (Glut2) gene inactivation in adult mouse liver (LG2KO mice). Loss of Glut2 suppressed hepatic glucose uptake but not glucose output. In the fasted state, expression of carbohydrate-responsive element-binding protein (ChREBP) and its glycolytic and lipogenic target genes was abnormally elevated. Feeding, energy expenditure, and insulin sensitivity were identical in LG2KO and control mice. Glucose tolerance was initially normal after Glut2 inactivation, but LG2KO mice exhibited progressive impairment of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion even though β cell mass and insulin content remained normal. Liver transcript profiling revealed a coordinated downregulation of cholesterol biosynthesis genes in LG2KO mice that was associated with reduced hepatic cholesterol in fasted mice and reduced bile acids (BAs) in feces, with a similar trend in plasma. We showed that chronic BAs or farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist treatment of primary islets increases glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, an effect not seen in islets from Fxr–/– mice. Collectively, our data show that glucose sensing by the liver controls β cell glucose competence and suggest BAs as a potential mechanistic link. PMID:23549084

Lipid flopping in the liver.

PubMed

Linton, Kenneth J

2015-10-01

Bile is synthesized in the liver and is essential for the emulsification of dietary lipids and lipid-soluble vitamins. It is a complex mixture of amphiphilic bile acids (BAs; which act as detergent molecules), the membrane phospholipid phosphatidylcholine (PC), cholesterol and a variety of endogenous metabolites and waste products. Over the last 20 years, the combined effort of clinicians, geneticists, physiologists and biochemists has shown that each of these bile components is transported across the canalicular membrane of the hepatocyte by its own specific ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter. The bile salt export pump (BSEP) ABCB11 transports the BAs and drives bile flow from the liver, but it is now clear that two lipid transporters, ABCB4 (which flops PC into the bile) and the P-type ATPase ATP8B1/CDC50 (which flips a different phospholipid in the opposite direction) play equally critical roles that protect the biliary tree from the detergent activity of the bile acids. Understanding the interdependency of these lipid floppases and flippases has allowed the development of an assay to measure ABCB4 function. ABCB4 harbours numerous mis-sense mutations which probably reflects the spectrum of liver disease rooted in ABCB4 aetiology. Characterization of the effect of these mutations at the protein level opens the possibility for the development of personalized prognosis and treatment. © 2015 Authors; published by Portland Press Limited.

The role of tyramine and octopamine in the regulation of reproduction in queenless worker honeybees

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salomon, Mor; Malka, Osnat; Meer, Robert K. Vander; Hefetz, Abraham

2012-02-01

In honeybees, workers under queenless condition compete for reproduction and establish reproductive dominance hierarchy. Ovary activation is generally accompanied by the expression of queen-like pheromones. Biogenic amines (BAs), in particular dopamine, are believed to be involved in this process by regulating ovarian development. However, the role of BAs in establishing reproductive dominance or their effect on queen-like pheromone production was not investigated. Here, we explored the effect of octopamine (OA) and tyramine (TA) oral treatments on the propensity of treated bees to become reproductively dominant and produce queen-like pheromones in Dufour's and mandibular glands. One bee in a pair was treated with either OA or TA while the other was fed sugar solution. TA was found to enhance ovary development and the production of esters in the Dufour's gland and 9HDA (queen component) in the mandibular glands, thus facilitating worker reproductive dominance. OA, on the other hand, did not enhance ovarian development or ester production, but increased the production of 10HDA (worker major component) in the mandibular glands of their sugar-paired mates. OA is known to induce foraging behavior by workers, while increased production of 10HDA characterizes nursing workers. Therefore, we suggest that TA induces reproductive division of labor, while OA treatment results in caste differentiation of workers to foragers and nurses.

Hepatocyte-based in vitro model for assessment of drug-induced cholestasis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chatterjee, Sagnik, E-mail: Sagnik.Chatterjee@pharm.kuleuven.be; Richert, Lysiane, E-mail: l.richert@kaly-cell.com; Augustijns, Patrick, E-mail: Patrick.Augustijns@pharm.kuleuven.be

Early detection of drug-induced cholestasis remains a challenge during drug development. We have developed and validated a biorelevant sandwich-cultured hepatocytes- (SCH) based model that can identify compounds causing cholestasis by altering bile acid disposition. Human and rat SCH were exposed (24–48 h) to known cholestatic and/or hepatotoxic compounds, in the presence or in the absence of a concentrated mixture of bile acids (BAs). Urea assay was used to assess (compromised) hepatocyte functionality at the end of the incubations. The cholestatic potential of the compounds was expressed by calculating a drug-induced cholestasis index (DICI), reflecting the relative residual urea formation bymore » hepatocytes co-incubated with BAs and test compound as compared to hepatocytes treated with test compound alone. Compounds with clinical reports of cholestasis, including cyclosporin A, troglitazone, chlorpromazine, bosentan, ticlopidine, ritonavir, and midecamycin showed enhanced toxicity in the presence of BAs (DICI ≤ 0.8) for at least one of the tested concentrations. In contrast, the in vitro toxicity of compounds causing hepatotoxicity by other mechanisms (including diclofenac, valproic acid, amiodarone and acetaminophen), remained unchanged in the presence of BAs. A safety margin (SM) for drug-induced cholestasis was calculated as the ratio of lowest in vitro concentration for which was DICI ≤ 0.8, to the reported mean peak therapeutic plasma concentration. SM values obtained in human SCH correlated well with reported % incidence of clinical drug-induced cholestasis, while no correlation was observed in rat SCH. This in vitro model enables early identification of drug candidates causing cholestasis by disturbed BA handling. - Highlights: • Novel in vitro assay to detect drug-induced cholestasis • Rat and human sandwich-cultured hepatocytes (SCH) as in vitro models • Cholestatic compounds sensitize SCH to toxic effects of accumulating bile acids • Drug-induced cholestasis index (DICI) as measure of a drug's cholestatic signature • In vitro findings correlate well with clinical reports on cholestasis.« less

Self-reported impulsivity, but not behavioral approach or inhibition, mediates the relationship between stress and self-control

PubMed Central

Hamilton, Kristen R.; Sinha, Rajita; Potenza, Marc N.

2014-01-01

Stress has been associated with poor self-control. Individual differences in impulsivity and other behavioral tendencies may influence the relationship of stress with self-control, although this possibility has not been examined to date. The present research investigated whether cumulative stress is associated with poor self-control, and whether this relationship is mediated by impulsivity, behavioral approach, and behavioral inhibition in men and women. A community sample of 566 adults (319 women and 247 men) was assessed on the Cumulative Adversity Interview, Brief Self-control Scale, Barratt Impulsivity Scale, and Behavioral Activation System and Behavioral Inhibition System Scale (BIS/BAS). Data were analyzed using regression and bootstrapping techniques. In the total sample, the effects of cumulative stress on self-control were mediated by impulsivity. Neither behavioral inhibition nor behavioral approach mediated the association between cumulative stress and self-control in the total sample. Results were similar when men and women were considered separately, with impulsivity, but not behavioral inhibition or approach, mediating the association between cumulative stress and self-control. Impulsive individuals might benefit preferentially from interventions focusing on stress management and strategies for improving self-control. PMID:24508183

Self-reported impulsivity, but not behavioral approach or inhibition, mediates the relationship between stress and self-control.

PubMed

Hamilton, Kristen R; Sinha, Rajita; Potenza, Marc N

2014-11-01

Stress has been associated with poor self-control. Individual differences in impulsivity and other behavioral tendencies may influence the relationship of stress with self-control, although this possibility has not been examined to date. The present research investigated whether cumulative stress is associated with poor self-control, and whether this relationship is mediated by impulsivity, behavioral approach, and behavioral inhibition in men and women. A community sample of 566 adults (319 women and 247 men) was assessed on the Cumulative Adversity Interview, Brief Self-control Scale, Barratt Impulsivity Scale, and Behavioral Activation System and Behavioral Inhibition System Scale (BIS/BAS). Data were analyzed using regression and bootstrapping techniques. In the total sample, the effects of cumulative stress on self-control were mediated by impulsivity. Neither behavioral inhibition nor behavioral approach mediated the association between cumulative stress and self-control in the total sample. Results were similar when men and women were considered separately, with impulsivity, but not behavioral inhibition or approach, mediating the association between cumulative stress and self-control. Impulsive individuals might benefit preferentially from interventions focusing on stress management and strategies for improving self-control. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fused Deposition Modelling as Rapid Prototyping for Structural Material Improvement: Analytical Solution / Ātrās Prototipēšanas Ar Kausēšanas Metodi Strukturālā Uzlabojuma Analītisks Risinājums

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brensons, I.; Polukoshko, S.

2013-10-01

Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is one of the most effective rapid prototyping (RP) techniques due to its low cost, available materials and versatility. In FDM, a part of material (usually plastic) is made by heating this material to the molten state, and from the melt it is extruded through a nozzle and deposited on a surface. In the article, an alternative RP method is considered for improvement of the mechanical properties of a rapid prototype. The authors propose an analytical solution which allows for achievement of this purpose via advanced technologies. The base materials applied in RP technology can be combined with liquid resin which solidifies after a definite time. This makes it possible to create a channel through the prototype and fill it with another material having better mechanical properties. The optimal channel sizes can be chosen in order to raise the strength of material parts. Darbā tiek apskatīts ātrās prototipēšanas veids, kura pamatā ir detaļas veidošana, izmantojot kausētu materiālu parasti plastmasu. Šī detaļu veidošanas metode ir kļuvusi par vienu no visizplatītākajām tās zemo izmaksu, pieejamo materiālu un daudzpusības dēļ. Šī raksta mērķis ir izpētīt alternatīvu veidu, kā uzlabot prototipu mehāniskās īpašības, tādējādi palielinot printētu detaļu izmantošanu kā gala produktu. Raksts piedāvā analītisku risinājumu, kā uzlabot ātro prototipu mehāniskās īpašības, uzlabojot tehnoloģiskos procesus, kas iesaistīti detaļu izgatavošanā. Darba pamatā tiek izmantota 3D printēšanas tehnoloģijas iespēja veidot iekšējus kanālus bez ģeometriskiem ierobežojumiem, kā rezultātā ir iespējams izveidot iekšēju kanālu shēmu, ko pēc tam piepilda ar citu materiālu, kam ir labākas mehāniskās īpašības kā pamata materiālam. Pildīšanai izmantotais materiāls ir epoksīda sveķi, kas pieļauj vieglu iepildīšanu šķidrā fāzē, un sniedz labas mehāniskās īpašības pēc sacietēšanas. Analītiskais risinājums šajā rakstā piedāvā viegli realizējamu variantu kā būtiski uzlabot prototipu mehāniskās īpašības.

Health-related quality of life--from the perspective of mothers and fathers of adult children suffering from long-term mental disorders.

PubMed

Johansson, Anita; Ewertzon, Mats; Andershed, Birgitta; Anderzen-Carlsson, Agneta; Nasic, Salmir; Ahlin, Arne

2015-06-01

There is a lack of studies on mothers' and fathers' experiences of Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) associated with caregiving of adult children suffering from mental disorder. A cross-sectional study was therefore carried out with 108 mothers and 43 fathers. Data were collected by means of the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Family Involvement and Alienation Questionnaire (FIAQ) and the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS). Mothers' HRQOL was affected more than fathers' and lower compared to Swedish age related norms. HRQOL was predominantly related to ratings on HADS and BAS. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Readout models for BaFBr0.85I0.15:Eu image plates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stoeckl, M.; Solodov, A. A.

2018-06-01

The linearity of the photostimulated luminescence process makes repeated image-plate scanning a viable technique to extract a more dynamic range. In order to obtain a response estimate, two semi-empirical models for the readout fading of an image plate are introduced; they relate the depth distribution of activated photostimulated luminescence centers within an image plate to the recorded signal. Model parameters are estimated from image-plate scan series with BAS-MS image plates and the Typhoon FLA 7000 scanner for the hard x-ray image-plate diagnostic over a collection of experiments providing x-ray energy spectra whose approximate shape is a double exponential.

Abnormal EEG Power Spectra in Acute Transient Global Amnesia: A Quantitative EEG Study.

PubMed

Imperatori, Claudio; Farina, Benedetto; Todini, Federico; Di Blasi, Chiara; Mazzucchi, Edoardo; Brunetti, Valerio; Della Marca, Giacomo

2018-06-01

Transient global amnesia (TGA) is a clinical syndrome characterized by retrograde and anterograde amnesia without other neurological deficits. Although electroencephalography (EEG) methods are commonly used in both clinical and research setting with TGA patients, few studies have investigated neurophysiological pattern in TGA using quantitative EEG (qEEG). The main aim of the present study was to extend these previous findings by exploring EEG power spectra differences between patients with acute TGA and healthy controls using the exact low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography software (eLORETA). EEG was recorded during 5 minutes of resting state. Sixteen patients (mean age: 66.81 ± 7.94 years) during acute TGA and 16 healthy subjects were enrolled. All patients showed hippocampal or parahippocampal signal abnormalities in diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging performed from 2 to 5 days after the onset of TGA. Compared with healthy controls, TGA patients showed a decrease of theta power localized in the temporal lobe (Brodmann areas, BAs 21-22-38) and frontal lobe (BAs 8-9-44-45). A decrease of EEG beta power in the bilateral precuneus (BA 7) and in the bilateral postcentral gyrus (BAs 3-4-5) was also observed in TGA individuals. Taken together, our results could reflect the neurophysiological substrate of the severe impairment of both episodic memory and autobiographical memory which affect TGA patients during the acute phase.

Thermal Insulation System Analysis Tool (TISTool) User's Manual. Version 1.0.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Wesley; Fesmire, James; Leucht, Kurt; Demko, Jonathan

2010-01-01

The Thermal Insulation System Analysis Tool (TISTool) was developed starting in 2004 by Jonathan Demko and James Fesmire. The first edition was written in Excel and Visual BasIc as macros. It included the basic shapes such as a flat plate, cylinder, dished head, and sphere. The data was from several KSC tests that were already in the public literature realm as well as data from NIST and other highly respectable sources. More recently, the tool has been updated with more test data from the Cryogenics Test Laboratory and the tank shape was added. Additionally, the tool was converted to FORTRAN 95 to allow for easier distribution of the material and tool. This document reviews the user instructions for the operation of this system.

Automation of the electron-beam welding process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koleva, E.; Dzharov, V.; Kardjiev, M.; Mladenov, G.

2016-03-01

In this work, the automatic control is considered of the vacuum and cooling systems of the located in the IE-BAS equipment for electron-beam welding, evaporation and surface modification. A project was elaborated for the control and management based on the development of an engineering support system using existing and additional technical means of automation. Optimization of the indicators, which are critical for the duration of reaching the working regime and stopping the operation of the installation, can be made using experimentally obtained transient characteristics. The automation of the available equipment aimed at improving its efficiency and the repeatability of the obtained results, as well as at stabilizing the process parameters, should be integrated in an Engineering Support System which, besides the operator supervision, consists of several subsystems for equipment control, data acquisition, information analysis, system management and decision-making support.

Phaco-efficiency test and re-aspiration analysis of repulsed particle in phacoemulsification.

PubMed

Kim, Jae-hyung; Ko, Dong-Ah; Kim, Jae Yong; Kim, Myoung Joon; Tchah, Hungwon

2013-04-01

To measure the efficiency of phacoemulsification, we have developed a new experimental model for testing phaco-efficiency and analyzed re-aspiration of repulsed particles. Using a Kitaro wetlab system, a piece of blood agar (BA) was placed in an artificial chamber and the phacoemulsifier was placed horizontally. The settings of the phacoemulsifier (Infiniti, Alcon Laboratories) were 26 cc/min for aspiration, 350 cc/min for vacuum, and 95 cm of bottle height. The time to remove BAs was measured using Ozil 100 %, Ozil 40 %, and longitudinal 40 % of phaco power. The angle between the re-aspirated BA particles and the axis of the phacoemulsifier (re-aspiration zone, degree) was analyzed. The average time (seconds) to remove BAs was lower in the Ozil 100 % and the Ozil 40 % mode than in the longitudinal mode (0.37 ± 0.39, 0.85 ± 0.57, and 2.22 ± 1.40 respectively, P value < 0.01). Repulsion exceeding 1 mm occurred more frequently in the longitudinal mode than in the Ozil 100 % mode (100 % vs 40 %, P value = 0.01, Fisher's exact test). The average of re-aspiration zone was 25.9 ± 14.5 in the longitudinal 40 % and 54.0 ± 23.0 in the Ozil 40 % (P value = 0.016). The Ozil mode was more efficient than the longitudinal mode. In addition, the Ozil mode provided less repulsion and wider aspiration zone.

Diffusion quantum Monte Carlo and density functional calculations of the structural stability of bilayer arsenene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadioglu, Yelda; Santana, Juan A.; Özaydin, H. Duygu; Ersan, Fatih; Aktürk, O. Üzengi; Aktürk, Ethem; Reboredo, Fernando A.

2018-06-01

We have studied the structural stability of monolayer and bilayer arsenene (As) in the buckled (b) and washboard (w) phases with diffusion quantum Monte Carlo (DMC) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. DMC yields cohesive energies of 2.826(2) eV/atom for monolayer b-As and 2.792(3) eV/atom for w-As. In the case of bilayer As, DMC and DFT predict that AA-stacking is the more stable form of b-As, while AB is the most stable form of w-As. The DMC layer-layer binding energies for b-As-AA and w-As-AB are 30(1) and 53(1) meV/atom, respectively. The interlayer separations were estimated with DMC at 3.521(1) Å for b-As-AA and 3.145(1) Å for w-As-AB. A comparison of DMC and DFT results shows that the van der Waals density functional method yields energetic properties of arsenene close to DMC, while the DFT + D3 method closely reproduced the geometric properties from DMC. The electronic properties of monolayer and bilayer arsenene were explored with various DFT methods. The bandgap values vary significantly with the DFT method, but the results are generally qualitatively consistent. We expect the present work to be useful for future experiments attempting to prepare multilayer arsenene and for further development of DFT methods for weakly bonded systems.

Concept Development and Analysis of the Environmental Control, Chemical Protection, and Power Generation Systems for the Battalion Aid Station and Division Clearing Station

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-03-31

requirements necessary to optimize BAS/DCS operation in worst case environments . 4) Identify the qualitative and quantitative values of equipment which... Defibrillator 2.3 2.3 265 1.0 265 2 Sink unit, surgici1 17.0 34.0 3910 0.1 390 1 Resuscitator - inhaler 0.9 0.9 104 0.5 52 2 Sterilizer, surgical 10.1...transferred, the driving force for transfer is the difference in dry bulb temperatures. During heat transfer between unsaturated air and a wetted

An empirical model of the auroral oval derived from CHAMP field-aligned current signatures - Part 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, C.; Lühr, H.

2014-06-01

In this paper we introduce a new model for the location of the auroral oval. The auroral boundaries are derived from small- and medium-scale field-aligned current (FAC) based on the high-resolution CHAMP (CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload) magnetic field observations during the years 2000-2010. The basic shape of the auroral oval is controlled by the dayside merging electric field, Em, and can be fitted well by ellipses at all levels of activity. All five ellipse parameters show a dependence on Em which can be described by quadratic functions. Optimal delay times for the merging electric field at the bow shock are 30 and 15 min for the equatorward and poleward boundaries, respectively. A comparison between our model and the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) auroral model derived from IMAGE (Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration) optical observations has been performed. There is good agreement between the two models regarding both boundaries, and the differences show a Gaussian distribution with a width of ±2° in latitude. The difference of the equatorward boundary shows a local-time dependence, which is 1° in latitude poleward in the morning sector and 1° equatorward in the afternoon sector of the BAS model. We think the difference between the two models is caused by the appearance of auroral forms in connection with upward FACs. All information required for applying our auroral oval model (CH-Aurora-2014) is provided.

Prédiction du comportement à long terme des matériaux polymères

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lemaire, J.

1998-06-01

Most of the world activity on research, development and control of polymer durability is still based on empirical techniques developed in the early ages of polymer uses. Those techniques should be critically analysed considering the state of the art in the fundamental understanding of these complex phenomena. A more rational approach is described, especially to predict the lifetime of polymeric materials in environmental conditions. That approach is based on the recognition of the chemical evolution mechanisms. Les activités de recherche, développement et contrôle de durabilité des matériaux polymères sont encore, pour une part très importante, basées sur l'emploi de techniques empiriques dont les principes ont été énoncés dès le début de l'exploitation de ces matériaux. Une analyse critique de ces méthodes s'impose aujourd'hui en tenant compte de l'avancement des connaissances. Une approche plus rationnelle est décrite, approche basée sur la reconnaissance des mécanismes d'évolution chimique. A titre d'exemple, le mécanisme d'évolution du PVC sous contraintes conjuguées de l'UV, de la chaleur et de l'oxygène, est décrit. Des études récentes de photooxydation de polymères conducteurs au sein de polyéthylène sont également succinctement rapportées.

An Affordability Comparison Tool (ACT) for Space Transportation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCleskey, C. M.; Bollo, T. R.; Garcia, J. L.

2012-01-01

NASA bas recently emphasized the importance of affordability for Commercial Crew Development Program (CCDP), Space Launch Systems (SLS) and Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV). System architects and designers are challenged to come up with architectures and designs that do not bust the budget. This paper describes the Affordability Comparison Tool (ACT) analyzes different systems or architecture configurations for affordability that allows for a comparison of: total life cycle cost; annual recurring costs, affordability figures-of-merit, such as cost per pound, cost per seat, and cost per flight, as well as productivity measures, such as payload throughput. Although ACT is not a deterministic model, the paper develops algorithms and parametric factors that use characteristics of the architectures or systems being compared to produce important system outcomes (figures-of-merit). Example applications of outcome figures-of-merit are also documented to provide the designer with information on the relative affordability and productivity of different space transportation applications.

Gcn4p and the Crabtree effect of yeast: drawing the causal model of the Crabtree effect in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and explaining evolutionary trade-offs of adaptation to galactose through systems biology.

PubMed

Martínez, José L; Bordel, Sergio; Hong, KuFk-Ki; Nielsen, Jens

2014-06-01

By performing an integrated comparative analysis on the physiology and transcriptome of four different S. cerevisiae strains growing on galactose and glucose, it was inferred that the transcription factors Bas1p, Pho2p, and Gcn4p play a central role in the regulatory events causing the Crabtree effect in S. cerevisiae. The analysis also revealed that a point mutation in the RAS2 observed in a galactose-adapted strain causes a lower Crabtree effect and growth rate on glucose by decreasing the activity of Gcn4p while at the same time is at the origin of higher growth rate on galactose due to a lower activity of the transcriptional repressor Sok2p. The role of Gcn4p on the trade-off effect observed on glucose was confirmed experimentally. This was done by showing that the point mutation in RAS2 does not result in a lower growth rate on glucose if it is introduced in a GCN4-negative background. © 2014 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. All rights reserved.

Upper Mississippi River System, Environment Management Program, Definite Project Report with Integrated Environmental Assessment (R-8). Bay Island, Missouri Rehabilitation and Enhancement. Pool 22, Mississippi River Miles 311 through 312, Marion County, Missouri

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-03-01

rare in Missouri. The record is from 1987. Red berried elder ( Sambucus pubens) occurs within 1.0 miles of the project area. This plant is endangered...hIALLARD IYPIACTS AAHU’x r U rr PLAN Figure 1- Plan Comparisons A-19 Note that Plan C (sediment deflection) would provide essentially no benefits to...S TA.T$ OIL UTAILS jfy 9.LE.CTtICA.l. 0 BasMW6 WORN Mfaiss wo1nu SYSTEM ,mW30mmoRALummAnuGiWEN PinOain =1~ POOL sIKIrval wLI $11 t PLATE I 44 D ~SAY8

Detection of biogenic amines and microbial safety assessment of novel Meju fermented with addition of Nelumbo nucifera, Ginkgo biloba, and Allium sativum.

PubMed

Shukla, Shruti; Lee, Jong Suk; Bajpai, Vivek K; Nile, Shivraj Hariram; Huh, Yun Suk; Han, Young-Kyu; Kim, Myunghee

2018-04-10

Meju, a cooked and fermented soy bean based food product, is used as a major ingredient in Korean traditional fermented foods such as Doenjang. We developed a novel type of Meju using single and combined extracts of Allium sativum (garlic clove), Nelumbo nucifera (lotus leaves), and Ginkgo biloba (ginkgo leaves) at 1% and 10% concentrations to improve the safety of Meju-based fermented products. Biogenic amines (BAs) in protein-rich fermented food products pose considerable toxical risks. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of adding selected plant extracts in Meju samples during fermentation. Nine BAs, including tryptamine, 2-phenylethylamine, putrescine, cadaverine, agmatine, histamine, tyramine, spermidine and spermine, were isolated from Meju samples after sample derivatization with dansyl chloride and analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. As a result, all tested Meju samples with added plant extracts showed total BAs levels in the range of 20.12 ± 2.03 to 118.42 ± 10.68 mg/100 g, which were below the safety limit set by various regulatory authorities (USFDA/KFDA/EFSA). However, among all tested Meju samples, LOM10 (Meju fermented with Nelumbo nucifera at 10% concentration) showed higher levels of BAs content than others either due to batch-to-batch variability or reduced beneficial microorganisms and/or due to increase in BA forming microorganisms. Also, none of the samples showed the aflatoxin level above the detection limit. Furthermore, all the tested Meju samples improved microbial safety as confirmed by the complete absence of Salmonella species and Staphylococcus aureus. However, some of the Meju samples showed the presence of coliforms (in range of 1.6 × 10 0 -1.1 × 10 3  CFU/g), which is under regulatory limits. These results suggested that the use of plant extracts in Meju during fermentation have potential to improve microbial and toxicological safety of Meju products. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A cross-sectional study of water arsenic exposure and intellectual function in adolescence in Araihazar, Bangladesh.

PubMed

Wasserman, Gail A; Liu, Xinhua; Parvez, Faruque; Chen, Yu; Factor-Litvak, Pam; LoIacono, Nancy J; Levy, Diane; Shahriar, Hasan; Uddin, Mohammed Nasir; Islam, Tariqul; Lomax, Angela; Saxena, Roheeni; Gibson, Elizabeth A; Kioumourtzoglou, Marianthi-Anna; Balac, Olgica; Sanchez, Tiffany; Kline, Jennie K; Santiago, David; Ellis, Tyler; van Geen, Alexander; Graziano, Joseph H

2018-06-19

Exposure to inorganic arsenic (As) from drinking water is associated with modest deficits in intellectual function in young children; it is unclear whether deficits occur during adolescence, when key brain functions are more fully developed. We sought to determine the degree to which As exposure is associated with adolescent intelligence, and the contributory roles of lead, cadmium, manganese and selenium. We recruited a cross-section of 726 14-16 year olds (mean age = 14.8 years) whose mothers are participants in the Bangladesh Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS), and whose household well water As levels, which varied widely, were well characterized. Using a culturally modified version of the WISC-IV, we examined raw Full Scale scores, and Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Reasoning, Working Memory and Processing Speed Indices. Blood levels of As (BAs), Mn, Pb, Cd and Se were assessed at the time of the visit, as was creatinine-adjusted urinary As (UAs/Cr). Linear regression analyses revealed that BAs was significantly negatively associated with all WISC-IV scores except for Perceptual Reasoning. With UAs/Cr as the exposure variable, we observed significantly negative associations for all WISC-IV scores. Except for Se, blood levels of other metals, were also associated with lower WISC-IV scores. Controlling for covariates, doubling BAs, or UAs/Cr, was associated with a mean decrement (95% CI) of 3.3 (1.1, 5.5), or 3.0 (1.2, 4.5) points, respectively, in raw Full scale scores with a sample mean of 177.6 (SD = 36.8). Confirmatory analyses using Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression, which identifies important mixture members, supported these findings; the primary contributor of the mixture was BAs, followed by BCd. Our data indicate that the adverse consequences of As exposure on neurodevelopment observed in other cross-sectional studies of younger children are also apparent during adolescence. They also implicate Cd as a neurotoxic element that deserves more attention. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The use of BAS-TR imaging plates calibration in determining the resolving power of Fuji BAS-1800II image plate reader

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alnaimi, R.

2018-01-01

The importance of this work lies in assuring the reliability of the results obtained from both imaging plates type BAS-TR and Fuji Image Reader BAS-1800II as they are widely used in calculating essential x-ray sources parameters such as the source size, x-ray flux and brilliance, hence, the calibration presented in this work. For such quantitative analysis, a common practice used by many researchers, where Gold resolution meshes are utilised for such purpose, however not quite successful due to the transmission effect of high energy photons at their edges as well as the pixeling effect while magnifying the scanned image to secure the edge spread function (ESF) data. In contrast, the use of resolution test target (RTT) and wire mesh grid together with a set of test samples i.e. Stanley blades, Ta, Ti and Si wafer of 100, 300, 15, and 490 micron thickness respectively appeared to be efficient in determining IP pixel size and the resolution of the reader. Two different experiments were conducted using two different targets and lasers of very different performance. The first, was a 15 μm VHS video tape composed of Mylar as carrier film with Fe2O3 and CrO2 powder. Nd:YAG laser of long pulse 800 ps, 50 Hz repetition rate and single shot were utilised. Whereas, the second experiment were conducted on a 9μm C wire and a short pulse 500fs Cerberus single shot laser was used. The results obtained from both experiments were pretty much similar. The imaging plate spatial resolution was measured to be: 3.4 ± 0.2 pixels and a pixel size of 41.26 ± 1.4 μm, whereas the smallest resolvable object visible to the reader (1:1 imaging with magnification factor) was of order 140.3 ± 0.3 microns. This appeared to be worse by a factor of three which indicates the importance of the reader's calibration on a regular basis, and at the same time one has to reconsider any related work and calculation based upon the previous nominal values.

Benefits Analysis of Smart Grid Projects. White paper, 2014-2016

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marnay, Chris; Liu, Liping; Yu, JianCheng

Smart grids are rolling out internationally, with the United States (U.S.) nearing completion of a significant USD4-plus-billion federal program funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA-2009). The emergence of smart grids is widespread across developed countries. Multiple approaches to analyzing the benefits of smart grids have emerged. The goals of this white paper are to review these approaches and analyze examples of each to highlight their differences, advantages, and disadvantages. This work was conducted under the auspices of a joint U.S.-China research effort, the Climate Change Working Group (CCWG) Implementation Plan, Smart Grid. We present comparative benefits assessmentsmore » (BAs) of smart grid demonstrations in the U.S. and China along with a BA of a pilot project in Europe. In the U.S., we assess projects at two sites: (1) the University of California, Irvine campus (UCI), which consists of two distinct demonstrations: Southern California Edison’s (SCE) Irvine Smart Grid Demonstration Project (ISGD) and the UCI campus itself; and (2) the Navy Yard (TNY) area in Philadelphia, which has been repurposed as a mixed commercial-industrial, and possibly residential, development. In China, we cover several smart-grid aspects of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city (TEC) and the Shenzhen Bay Technology and Ecology City (B-TEC). In Europe, we look at a BA of a pilot smart grid project in the Malagrotta area west of Rome, Italy, contributed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. The Irvine sub-project BAs use the U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) Smart Grid Computational Tool (SGCT), which is built on methods developed by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The TEC sub-project BAs apply Smart Grid Multi-Criteria Analysis (SG-MCA) developed by the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) with fuzzy logic. The B-TEC and TNY sub-project BAs are evaluated using new approaches developed by those project teams. JRC has adopted an approach similar to EPRI’s but tailored to the Malagrotta distribution grid.« less

Trait anxiety impact on posterior activation asymmetries at rest and during evoked negative emotions: EEG investigation.

PubMed

Aftanas, Ljubomir I; Pavlov, Sergey V

2005-01-01

The main objective of the present investigation was to examine how high trait anxiety would influence cortical EEG asymmetries under non-emotional conditions and while experiencing negative emotions. The 62-channel EEG was recorded in control (n=21) and high anxiety (HA, n=18) non-patient individuals. Results showed that in HA subjects, the lowest level of arousal (eyes closed) was associated with stronger right-sided parieto-temporal theta-1 (4-6 Hz) and beta-1 (12-18 Hz) activity, whereas increased non-emotional arousal (eyes open, viewing neutral movie clip) was marked by persisting favored right hemisphere beta-1 activity. In turn, viewing aversive movie clip by the HA group led to significant lateralized decrease of the right parieto-temporal beta-1 power, which was initially higher in the emotionally neutral conditions. The EEG data suggests that asymmetrical parieto-temporal theta-1 and beta-1 EEG activity might be better interpreted in terms of Gray's BAS and BIS theory.

Effects of twenty-five compounds on four species of aquatic fungi (Saprolegniales) pathogenic to fish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bailey, T.A.

1984-01-01

Four species of aquatic fungi (Achlya flagellata, A. racemosa, Saprolegnia hypogyna, and S. megasperma) were exposed to 25 chemicals representing seven classes of compounds for 15 and 60 min, in an effort to identify potential fungicidal agents for use in fish culture. The antifungal activity of each chemical was compared with that of malachite green, a reference compound with known fungicidal properties but not registered for fishery use. Six compounds which inhibited fungal growth on artificial media at concentrations of < 100 mg/l (listed in order of decreasing antifungal activity) were the cationics Du-terA? and copper oxychloride sulfate, the amine LesanA?, the amide BAS-389-O1F and the cationics CuprimyxinA? and RoccalA? II. Certain chemicals from these classes of compounds may have promise as aquatic fungicides.

Discovery and Mechanistic Study of Benzamide Derivatives That Modulate Hepatitis B Virus Capsid Assembly.

PubMed

Wu, Shuo; Zhao, Qiong; Zhang, Pinghu; Kulp, John; Hu, Lydia; Hwang, Nicky; Zhang, Jiming; Block, Timothy M; Xu, Xiaodong; Du, Yanming; Chang, Jinhong; Guo, Ju-Tao

2017-08-15

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a global public health problem. Although the currently approved medications can reliably reduce the viral load and prevent the progression of liver diseases, they fail to cure the viral infection. In an effort toward discovery of novel antiviral agents against HBV, a group of benzamide (BA) derivatives that significantly reduced the amount of cytoplasmic HBV DNA were discovered. The initial lead optimization efforts identified two BA derivatives with improved antiviral activity for further mechanistic studies. Interestingly, similar to our previously reported sulfamoylbenzamides (SBAs), the BAs promote the formation of empty capsids through specific interaction with HBV core protein but not other viral and host cellular components. Genetic evidence suggested that both SBAs and BAs inhibited HBV nucleocapsid assembly by binding to the heteroaryldihydropyrimidine (HAP) pocket between core protein dimer-dimer interfaces. However, unlike SBAs, BA compounds uniquely induced the formation of empty capsids that migrated more slowly in native agarose gel electrophoresis from A36V mutant than from the wild-type core protein. Moreover, we showed that the assembly of chimeric capsids from wild-type and drug-resistant core proteins was susceptible to multiple capsid assembly modulators. Hence, HBV core protein is a dominant antiviral target that may suppress the selection of drug-resistant viruses during core protein-targeting antiviral therapy. Our studies thus indicate that BAs are a chemically and mechanistically unique type of HBV capsid assembly modulators and warranted for further development as antiviral agents against HBV. IMPORTANCE HBV core protein plays essential roles in many steps of the viral replication cycle. In addition to packaging viral pregenomic RNA (pgRNA) and DNA polymerase complex into nucleocapsids for reverse transcriptional DNA replication to take place, the core protein dimers, existing in several different quaternary structures in infected hepatocytes, participate in and regulate HBV virion assembly, capsid uncoating, and covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) formation. It is anticipated that small molecular core protein assembly modulators may disrupt one or multiple steps of HBV replication, depending on their interaction with the distinct quaternary structures of core protein. The discovery of novel core protein-targeting antivirals, such as benzamide derivatives reported here, and investigation of their antiviral mechanism may lead to the identification of antiviral therapeutics for the cure of chronic hepatitis B. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

U-Pb baddeleyite ages and geochemistry of dolerite dykes in the Bas Drâa Inlier of the Anti-Atlas of Morocco: Newly identified 1380 Ma event in the West African Craton

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El Bahat, Abdelhakim; Ikenne, Moha; Söderlund, Ulf; Cousens, Brian; Youbi, Nasrrddine; Ernst, Richard; Soulaimani, Abderrahmane; El Janati, M'hamed; Hafid, Ahmid

2013-08-01

In the Bas-Drâa Inlier (Anti-Atlas, Morocco), the Paleoproterozoic basement which is cut by the Ediacaran Taourgha granite is also crosscut by numerous dykes of a variety of trends, mostly of uncertain age. Two doleritic dykes are dated by the ID-TIMS U-Pb method on baddeleyite and yield emplacement ages of 1381 ± 8 Ma (MSWD = 0.84) and 1384 ± 6 Ma (MSWD = 1.4) determined for a N135°E and a N40°E trending dyke, respectively. These dates represent the first geochronological evidence of a Mesoproterozoic magmatic event in the Anti-Atlas. This magmatic event falls in the previously considered ca 1.7-1.0 Ga (Mesoproterozoic) gap in geological activity in the Anti-Atlas. The poorly dated Taghdout and Taarotihate sequences could represent remnants of the ca. 1380 Ma magmatism and rift-related sedimentation. The Mesoproterozoic sedimentary succession of the Atar Group in the Taoudeni basin (Mauritania) could also represent a good candidate for rift-related sedimentation but it postdates the 1380 Ma magmatic event by 270 Ma. The dated 1380 Ma dykes are transitional to mildly alkaline basalts, not unlike some Hawaiian lavas. However, these dykes have a distinct negative Nb anomaly (a common features in many Large Igneous Provinces, LIPs), and this requires interaction with the lithosphere. This interaction may have occurred at the level of the lithospheric mantle or the crust. These newly dated 1380 Ma dykes may converge to the north, speculatively suggesting a magmatic center (associated with a 1380 Ma mantle plume?) along the northern margin, and possibly linked to rifting and possible breakup on that margin, and also to a regional uplift that largely removed the evidence of a 1380 Ma cover sequence. Contemporaneous 1380-1390 Ma magmatism is reported elsewhere on other crustal blocks, and that in northeastern Laurentia (northern Greenland), northern Siberia (Anabar shield), and Baltica (southern Urals) can be reconstructed with that of the Bas Drâa Inlier (Anti Atlas region of the West African Craton, WAC) into a single Large Igneous Province (LIP) extending over an area of > 1 million km2, and associated with the final fragmentation of the Columbia (Nuna) supercontinent.

6. Detail view of south elevation of Chapel with English ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

6. Detail view of south elevation of Chapel with English dedication inscription and allegorical bas relief "History." - Flanders Field American Cemetery & Memorial, Chapel, Wortegemseweg 117, Waregem, West Flanders (Belgium), BEL

47 CFR 27.1133 - Protection of Part 74 and Part 78 operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

.... AWS operators must protect previously licensed Broadcast Auxiliary Service (BAS) or Cable Television Radio Service (CARS) operations in the adjacent 2025-2110 MHz band. In satisfying this requirement AWS...

47 CFR 27.1133 - Protection of Part 74 and Part 78 operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

.... AWS operators must protect previously licensed Broadcast Auxiliary Service (BAS) or Cable Television Radio Service (CARS) operations in the adjacent 2025-2110 MHz band. In satisfying this requirement AWS...

Secondary Craters in Bas Relief

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-04-17

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) captured this region of Mars, sprayed with secondary craters from 10-kilometer Zunil Crater to the northwest. Secondary craters form from rocks ejected at high speed from the primary crater, which then impact the ground at sufficiently high speed to make huge numbers of much smaller craters over a large region. In this scene, however, the secondary crater ejecta has an unusual raised-relief appearance like bas-relief sculpture. How did that happen? One idea is that the region was covered with a layer of fine-grained materials like dust or pyroclastics about 1 to 2 meters thick when the Zunil impact occurred (about a million years ago), and the ejecta served to harden or otherwise protect the fine-grained layer from later erosion by the wind. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21591

Experimental Design for a Macrofoam Swab Study Relating the Recovery Efficiency and False Negative Rate to Low Concentrations of Two Bacillus anthracis Surrogates on Four Surface Materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Piepel, Gregory F.; Hutchison, Janine R.

2014-04-16

This report describes the experimental design for a laboratory study to quantify the recovery efficiencies and false negative rates of a validated, macrofoam swab sampling method for low concentrations of Bacillus anthracis Sterne (BAS) and Bacillus atrophaeus (BG) spores on four surface materials (stainless steel, glass, vinyl tile, plastic light cover panel). Two analytical methods (plating/counting and polymerase chain reaction) will be used. Only one previous study has investigated false negative as a function of affecting test factors. The surrogates BAS and BG have not been tested together in the same study previously. Hence, this study will provide for completingmore » gaps in the available information on the performance of macrofoam swab sampling at low concentrations.« less

Experimental Design for a Macrofoam-Swab Study Relating the Recovery Efficiency and False Negative Rate to Low Concentrations of Two Bacillus anthracis Surrogates on Four Surface Materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Piepel, Gregory F.; Hutchison, Janine R.

This report describes the experimental design for a laboratory study to quantify the recovery efficiencies and false negative rates of a validated, macrofoam-swab sampling method for low concentrations of Bacillus anthracis Sterne (BAS) and Bacillus atrophaeus (BG) spores on four surface materials (stainless steel, glass, vinyl tile, plastic light cover panel). Two analytical methods (culture and polymerase chain reaction) will be used. Only one previous study has investigated how the false negative rate depends on test factors. The surrogates BAS and BG have not been tested together in the same study previously. Hence, this study will provide for completing gapsmore » in the available information on the performance of macrofoam-swab sampling at low concentrations.« less

Occurrence of biogenic amines in beers produced with malted organic Emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum).

PubMed

Mozzon, Massimo; Boselli, Emanuele; Obiedziński, Mieczysław W; Frega, Natale G

2015-01-01

Because several groups of microorganisms are able to decarboxylate amino acids, the presence of biogenic amines (BA) can be seen as an index of the microbiological quality of the brewing process. BAs were quantified for the first time in the intermediate products and craft beers produced with malted organic Emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum) in a small size brewery in order to assess the possible presence of critical control points related to biological hazard in the brewing process. BA levels in beers produced exclusively from malted organic Emmer wheat were between 15.4 and 25.2 mg l(-1) in the samples of light beer (Lt) and between 8.9 and 15.3 mg l(-1) in double malt beers (DM) ready for consumption (the beers stored for 90 days at 1-2°C). Cadaverine and tyramine were the main BAs in the Lt and DM beers, respectively. Increased concentrations of BAs seemed to be more related to the heat treatment of the processing product during mashing and wort boiling, rather than to the fermentation process. Much lower concentrations were found in finished beers obtained from 50% malted organic Emmer wheat and 50% malted barley (up to 3.2 mg l(-1)) or from 30% malted Emmer wheat (up to 8.3 mg l(-1)). Thus, Emmer wheat malt can be a useful alternative to wheat and spelt for the production of beer with a limited content of BA, if the processing technology is kept under control.

Skyrme random-phase-approximation description of lowest Kπ=2γ+ states in axially deformed nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nesterenko, V. O.; Kartavenko, V. G.; Kleinig, W.; Kvasil, J.; Repko, A.; Jolos, R. V.; Reinhard, P.-G.

2016-03-01

The lowest quadrupole γ -vibrational Kπ=2+ states in axially deformed rare-earth (Nd, Sm, Gd, Dy, Er, Yb, Hf, W) and actinide (U) nuclei are systematically investigated within the separable random-phase-approximation (SRPA) based on the Skyrme functional. The energies Eγ and reduced transition probabilities B (E 2 ) of 2γ+ states are calculated with the Skyrme forces SV-bas and SkM*. The energies of two-quasiparticle configurations forming the SRPA basis are corrected by using the pairing blocking effect. This results in a systematic downshift of Eγ by 0.3-0.5 MeV and thus in a better agreement with the experiment, especially in Sm, Gd, Dy, Hf, and W regions. For other isotopic chains, a noticeable overestimation of Eγ and too weak collectivity of 2γ+ states still persist. It is shown that domains of nuclei with low and high 2γ+ collectivity are related to the structure of the lowest two-quasiparticle states and conservation of the Nilsson selection rules. The description of 2γ+ states with SV-bas and SkM* is similar in light rare-earth nuclei but deviates in heavier nuclei. However SV-bas much better reproduces the quadrupole deformation and energy of the isoscalar giant quadrupole resonance. The accuracy of SRPA is justified by comparison with exact RPA. The calculations suggest that a further development of the self-consistent calculation schemes is needed for a systematic satisfactory description of the 2γ+ states.

Evidence of environmental strains on charge injection in silole-based organic light-emitting diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huby, N.; Hirsch, L.; Aubouy, L.; Gerbier, P.; van der Lee, A.; Amy, F.; Kahn, A.

2007-03-01

Using density functional theory (DFT) computations, we have demonstrated a substantial skeletal relaxation when the structure of 2,5-[bis-(4-anthracene-9-yl-phenyl]-1,1-dimethyl-3,4-diphenyl-silole (BAS) is optimized in the gas-phase comparing with the molecular structure determined from monocrystal x-ray diffraction. The origin of such a relaxation is explained by a strong environmental strains induced by the presence of anthracene entities. Moreover, the estimation of the frontier orbital levels showed that this structural relaxation affects mainly the LUMO that is lowered of 190meV in the gas phase. To check if these theoretical findings would be confirmed for thin films of BAS, we turned to ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy and/or inverse photoemission spectroscopy and electro-optical measurements. Interestingly, the study of the current density or voltage and luminance or voltage characteristics of an ITO/PEDOT/BAS/Au device clearly demonstrated a very unusual temperature-dependent behavior. Using a thermally assisted tunnel transfer model, we found that this behavior likely originated from the variation of the electronic affinity of the silole derivative with the temperature. The thermal agitation relaxes the molecular strains in thin films as it is shown when passing from the crystalline to the gas phase. The relaxation of the intramolecular thus induces an increase of the electronic affinity and, as a consequence, the more efficient electron injection in organic light-emitting diodes.

Translocation of Magnaporthe oryzae effectors into rice cells and their subsequent cell-to-cell movement.

PubMed

Khang, Chang Hyun; Berruyer, Romain; Giraldo, Martha C; Kankanala, Prasanna; Park, Sook-Young; Czymmek, Kirk; Kang, Seogchan; Valent, Barbara

2010-04-01

Knowledge remains limited about how fungal pathogens that colonize living plant cells translocate effector proteins inside host cells to regulate cellular processes and neutralize defense responses. To cause the globally important rice blast disease, specialized invasive hyphae (IH) invade successive living rice (Oryza sativa) cells while enclosed in host-derived extrainvasive hyphal membrane. Using live-cell imaging, we identified a highly localized structure, the biotrophic interfacial complex (BIC), which accumulates fluorescently labeled effectors secreted by IH. In each newly entered rice cell, effectors were first secreted into BICs at the tips of the initially filamentous hyphae in the cell. These tip BICs were left behind beside the first-differentiated bulbous IH cells as the fungus continued to colonize the host cell. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching experiments showed that the effector protein PWL2 (for prevents pathogenicity toward weeping lovegrass [Eragrostis curvula]) continued to accumulate in BICs after IH were growing elsewhere. PWL2 and BAS1 (for biotrophy-associated secreted protein 1), BIC-localized secreted proteins, were translocated into the rice cytoplasm. By contrast, BAS4, which uniformly outlines the IH, was not translocated into the host cytoplasm. Fluorescent PWL2 and BAS1 proteins that reached the rice cytoplasm moved into uninvaded neighbors, presumably preparing host cells before invasion. We report robust assays for elucidating the molecular mechanisms that underpin effector secretion into BICs, translocation to the rice cytoplasm, and cell-to-cell movement in rice.

Gray's Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory as a framework for research on personality-psychopathology associations.

PubMed

Bijttebier, Patricia; Beck, Ilse; Claes, Laurence; Vandereycken, Walter

2009-07-01

Gray's Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) presupposes individual differences in the sensitivity of basic brain systems that respond to punishing and reinforcing stimuli. These differences are thought to underlie the personality dimensions of anxiety and impulsivity, and to have relevance for psychopathology. The present article aims at reviewing RST-based research on personality-psychopathology associations. First, RST and its revisions are described and the link between RST systems and personality dimensions is discussed. Second, studies investigating associations between RST systems and specific types of psychopathology are summarized. Although the available research yields a rather consistent picture with respect to constellations of BIS/BAS sensitivity that are associated with specific types of psychopathology, it also provides a clear indication that much work remains to be done. The discussion section highlights several topics that deserve future research attention.

Balancing Authority Cooperation Concepts to Reduce Variable Generation Integration Costs in the Western Interconnection: Consolidating Balancing Authorities and Sharing Balancing Reserves

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Samaan, Nader A.; Makarov, Yuri V.; Nguyen, Tony B.

2017-05-07

The study described in this chapter demonstrates the benefits of BA consolidation with the help of a detailed WECC system model and advanced methodology, which is also described in this chapter. The study aims to determine the potential savings in production cost and reduction in balancing reserve requirements in the WECC system. The study has found that effective use of the diversity in load and variable generation over a wide area can indeed help to achieve significant savings. The implementation cost for the consolidation was beyond the scope of this study. The analysis was performed for two different scenarios ofmore » VG penetration: 11% (8% wind and 3% solar) and 33% (24% wind and 9% solar) of WECC projected energy demand in 2020. In analysis of balancing reserves, the objective was to determine the reduction in balancing reserve requirements due to BA consolidation, in terms of required capacity and ramp-rates. Hour-ahead and 10-minute ahead forecast errors for load, wind, and solar were simulated. In addition, 1-minute resolution load, wind and solar data were used to derive balancing reserve requirements i.e. load-following and regulation requirements for each individual BA and for the consolidated BA (CBA). The reduction in balancing reserves was determined by calculating the difference between total reserve requirements that need to be carried by different BAs if they operate individually, and reserve requirements that need to be carried by the CBA. The study results show that the consolidated WECC system would have about a 50% overall reduction in balancing reserves for the 11% penetration scenario and a 65% reduction for the 33% penetration scenario in comparison with total reserve requirements that need to be carried by different BAs if they operate individually.« less

Influence of Vegetations' Metabolites on the Composition and Functioning of Soil Microbial Complex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biryukov, Mikhail

2013-04-01

Microbiota is one of the major factors of soils fertility. It transforms organic substances in soil and, therefore, serves as the main component in the cycles of carbon and nitrogen. Microbial communities (MC) are characterized as highly diverse and extremely complex structures. This allows them to adapt to any affection and provide all the necessary biospheric functions. Hence, the study of their functional diversity and adaptivity of microbiota provides the key to the understanding of the ecosystems' functioning and their adaptivity to the human impact. The formation of MC at the initial stage is regulated by the fluxes of substrates and biologically active substances (BAS), which vary greatly in soils under different vegetations. These fluxes are presented by: low molecular weights organic substances (LMWOS), which can be directly included in metabolism of microbes; polymers, that can be decomposed to LMWOS by exoenzymes; and more complex compounds, having different "drug effects" (e.g. different types of phenolic acids) and regulating growth and enzymatic properties of microbiota. Therefore, the main hypothesis of the research was formulated as follows: penetration of different types of substrates and BAS into soil leads to the emergence of MC varying in enzymatic properties and structure. As a soil matrix we used the soil from the untreated variant of the lysimeter model experiment taking place in the faculty of Soil Science of the MSU for over the last 40 years. It was sieved with a 2mm sieves, humidified and incubated at 25C during one week. Subsequently, the samples were air-dried with occasional stirring for one more week. Thereafter, aliquots of the prepared soil were taken for the different experimental variants. The samples were rewetted with solutions of various substrates (glucose, cellulose, starch, etc.) and thoroughly mixed. The control variant was established with addition of deionised water. The samples were incubated at the 25C. During the incubation the rate of mineralisation of organic substances was assessed with CO2 measurements. In 5, 10 and 21 days of incubation the enzymatic properties of the formed MC were studied by the hydrolysis of fluorogenic substrates. The influence of BAS on enzymatic properties of MC were researched by addition of different concentrations of phenolic acids (e.g. salicylic, vanillic, benzoic, etc.) to the samples from various substrates treatments. The acute toxicity of BAS was studied with bacterial luminescent test. After the last measurement, the isolations of microorganisms on elective nutrient medias were made. The dominant microorganisms were collected to the library for further identification and physiological tests. MeOH-chloroform extraction of phospholipids were performed with the remaining samples. Finally, they were stored for subsequent FAME identifications. The obtained data prove that penetration of various substrates into the soil determines the formation of MC different in structure and properties. It was found, that EC50 of the most studied phenolic acids are similar to naturally occurring concentrations. This means that they can be the real drivers of forming endemical MC under various vegetations along with the plant-specific fluxes of nutrients.

Detail view of basrelief sculpture in tympanum at south wall ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Detail view of bas-relief sculpture in tympanum at south wall of east entrance loggia, with scale stick - National Zoological Park, Elephant House, 3001 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, District of Columbia, DC

Detail view of basrelief sculpture in tympanum at south wall ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Detail view of bas-relief sculpture in tympanum at south wall of west entrance loggia, with scale stick - National Zoological Park, Elephant House, 3001 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, District of Columbia, DC

Materials Data on BAs (SG:216) by Materials Project

DOE Data Explorer

Kristin Persson

2014-11-02

Computed materials data using density functional theory calculations. These calculations determine the electronic structure of bulk materials by solving approximations to the Schrodinger equation. For more information, see https://materialsproject.org/docs/calculations

11. BASRELIEF DECORATION, 'REGENERATION,' MURAL COMMEMORATING THE REBUILDING OF CHICAGO ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

11. BAS-RELIEF DECORATION, 'REGENERATION,' MURAL COMMEMORATING THE REBUILDING OF CHICAGO AFTER THE GREAT FIRE - Chicago River Bascule Bridge, Michigan Avenue, Spanning Chicago River at North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Cook County, IL

Internet driver education study.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-05-01

Incorporating technology through online courses, including drivers education (DE), is the wave of the future for : learning. While many states allow online DE as an accepted method of learning, Wisconsin currently only allows it on a : limited bas...

High-space resolution imaging plate analysis of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light from tin laser-produced plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Musgrave, Christopher S. A.; Murakami, Takehiro; Ugomori, Teruyuki; Yoshida, Kensuke; Fujioka, Shinsuke; Nishimura, Hiroaki; Atarashi, Hironori; Iyoda, Tomokazu; Nagai, Keiji

2017-03-01

With the advent of high volume manufacturing capabilities by extreme ultraviolet lithography, constant improvements in light source design and cost-efficiency are required. Currently, light intensity and conversion efficiency (CE) measurments are obtained by charged couple devices, faraday cups etc, but also phoshpor imaging plates (IPs) (BaFBr:Eu). IPs are sensitive to light and high-energy species, which is ideal for studying extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light from laser produced plasmas (LPPs). In this work, we used IPs to observe a large angular distribution (10°-90°). We ablated a tin target by high-energy lasers (1064 nm Nd:YAG, 1010 and 1011 W/cm2) to generate the EUV light. The europium ions in the IP were trapped in a higher energy state from exposure to EUV light and high-energy species. The light intensity was angular dependent; therefore excitation of the IP depends on the angle, and so highly informative about the LPP. We obtained high-space resolution (345 μm, 0.2°) angular distribution and grazing spectrometer (5-20 nm grate) data simultaneously at different target to IP distances (103 mm and 200 mm). Two laser systems and IP types (BAS-TR and BAS-SR) were also compared. The cosine fitting values from the IP data were used to calculate the CE to be 1.6% (SD ± 0.2) at 13.5 nm 2% bandwidth. Finally, a practical assessment of IPs and a damage issue are disclosed.

Characterization of aggregates for sustainable freight transportation infrastructure.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-01-01

A novel method, X-ray computed tomography, has recently emerged as a powerful, nondestructive : methodology for material characterization, including geomaterials. This : method produces 3D images of the object that can be analyzed in various ways bas...

Utility accommodation policy of the Iowa State Highway Commission.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1970-05-01

This policy covers initial placement, adjustment, relocation and : replacement of utility facilities in, on, above or below all highway : rightof way over:Wnicn tneiowa.~state :Hig'hwaycommission exercises : control of access. It embodies the bas...

Materials Data on BaS3 (SG:18) by Materials Project

DOE Data Explorer

Kristin Persson

2016-03-28

Computed materials data using density functional theory calculations. These calculations determine the electronic structure of bulk materials by solving approximations to the Schrodinger equation. For more information, see https://materialsproject.org/docs/calculations

Growth rate dependence of boron incorporation into BxGa1-xAs layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Detz, H.; MacFarland, D.; Zederbauer, T.; Lancaster, S.; Andrews, A. M.; Schrenk, W.; Strasser, G.

2017-11-01

This work provides a comprehensive study of the incorporation behavior of B in growing GaAs under molecular beam epitaxy conditions. Structural characterization of superlattices revealed a strong dependence of the BAs growth rate on the GaAs growth rate used. In general, higher GaAs growth rates lead to a higher apparent BAs growth rate, although lower B cell temperatures showed saturation behavior. Each B cell temperature requires a minimum GaAs growth rate for producing smooth films. The B incorporation into single thick layers was found to be reduced to 75-80% compared to superlattice structures. The p-type carrier densities in 1000 nm thick layers were found to be indirectly proportional to the B content. Furthermore, 500 nm thick BxGa1-xAs layers showed significantly lower carrier concentrations, indicating B segregation on the surface during growth of thicker layers.

Boron arsenide phonon dispersion from inelastic x-ray scattering: Potential for ultrahigh thermal conductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Hao; Li, Chen; Tang, Shixiong; Yan, Jiaqiang; Alatas, Ahmet; Lindsay, Lucas; Sales, Brian C.; Tian, Zhiting

2016-12-01

Cubic boron arsenide (BAs) was predicted to have an exceptionally high thermal conductivity (k ) ˜2000 W m-1K-1 at room temperature, comparable to that of diamond, based on first-principles calculations. Subsequent experimental measurements, however, only obtained a k of ˜200 W m-1K-1 . To gain insight into this discrepancy, we measured phonon dispersion of single-crystal BAs along high symmetry directions using inelastic x-ray scattering and compared these with first-principles calculations. Based on the measured phonon dispersion, we have validated the theoretical prediction of a large frequency gap between acoustic and optical modes and bunching of acoustic branches, which were considered the main reasons for the predicted ultrahigh k . This supports its potential to be a super thermal conductor if very-high-quality single-crystal samples can be synthesized.

Lithological mapping using Landsat 8 OLI and Terra ASTER multispectral data in the Bas Drâa inlier, Moroccan Anti Atlas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adiri, Zakaria; Harti, Abderrazak El; Jellouli, Amine; Maacha, Lhou; Bachaoui, El Mostafa

2016-01-01

Lithological mapping is a fundamental step in various mineral prospecting studies because it forms the basis of the interpretation and validation of retrieved results. Therefore, this study exploited the multispectral Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) data in order to map lithological units in the Bas Drâa inlier, at the Moroccan Anti Atlas. This task was completed by using principal component analysis (PCA), band ratios (BR), and support vector machine (SVM) classification. Overall accuracy and the kappa coefficient of SVM based on ground truth in addition to the results of PCA and BR show an excellent correlation with the existing geological map of the study area. Consequently, the methodology proposed demonstrates a high potential of ASTER and Landsat 8 OLI data in lithological units discrimination.

Boron arsenide phonon dispersion from inelastic x-ray scattering: Potential for ultrahigh thermal conductivity

DOE PAGES

Ma, Hao; Li, Chen; Tang, Shixiong; ...

2016-12-14

Cubic boron arsenide (BAs) was predicted to have an exceptionally high thermal conductivity (k) ~2000 Wm -1K -1 at room temperature, comparable to that of diamond, based on first-principles calculations. Subsequent experimental measurements, however, only obtained a k of ~200 Wm-1K-1. To gain insight into this discrepancy, we measured phonon dispersion of single crystal BAs along high symmetry directions using inelastic x-ray scattering (IXS) and compared these with first-principles calculations. Based on the measured phonon dispersion, we have validated the theoretical prediction of a large frequency gap between acoustic and optical modes and bunching of acoustic branches, which were consideredmore » the main reasons for the predicted ultrahigh k. This supports its potential to be a super thermal conductor if very high-quality single crystal samples can be synthesized.« less

Factor structure of the Body Appreciation Scale among Malaysian women.

PubMed

Swami, Viren; Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas

2008-12-01

The present study examined the factor structure of a Malay version of the Body Appreciation Scale (BAS), a recently developed scale for the assessment of positive body image that has been shown to have a unidimensional structure in Western settings. Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses based on data from community sample of 591 women in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, failed to support a unidimensional structure for the Malay BAS. Results of a confirmatory factor analysis suggested two stable factors, which were labelled 'General Body Appreciation' and 'Body Image Investment'. Multi-group analysis showed that the two-factor structure was invariant for both Malaysian Malay and Chinese women, and that there were no significant ethnic differences on either factor. Results also showed that General Body Appreciation was significant negatively correlated with participants' body mass index. These results are discussed in relation to possible cross-cultural differences in positive body image.

Weight discrepancy and body appreciation among women in Poland and Britain.

PubMed

Taylor, Donna; Szpakowska, Ilona; Swami, Viren

2013-09-01

Previous studies have suggested that the process of transmigration has detrimental effects on the body image of migrants relative to women in the country of origin. In the present work, we examined the body image of Polish migrants in Britain (n=153), Polish women in Poland (n=153), and a comparison group of British White women (n=110). Participants completed a measure of actual-ideal weight discrepancy and the Body Appreciation Scale (BAS). Contrary to hypotheses, our results showed that Polish women in Poland had significantly higher weight discrepancy than their counterparts in Britain. Further analyses showed that the BAS reduced to two dimensions among Polish participants, with Polish participants in Poland having significantly lower body appreciation than Polish migrants. We suggest that the sociocultural changes that have taken place in Eastern Europe may place women in that region at relatively high risk for developing negative body image. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Scaling Relations for Acidity and Reactivity of Zeolites

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Zeolites are widely applied as solid acid catalysts in various technological processes. In this work we have computationally investigated how catalytic reactivity scales with acidity for a range of zeolites with different topologies and chemical compositions. We found that straightforward correlations are limited to zeolites with the same topology. The adsorption energies of bases such as carbon monoxide (CO), acetonitrile (CH3CN), ammonia (NH3), trimethylamine (N(CH3)3), and pyridine (C5H5N) give the same trend of acid strength for FAU zeolites with varying composition. Crystal orbital Hamilton populations (COHP) analysis provides a detailed molecular orbital picture of adsorbed base molecules on the Brønsted acid sites (BAS). Bonding is dominated by strong σ donation from guest molecules to the BAS for the adsorbed CO and CH3CN complexes. An electronic descriptor of acid strength is constructed based on the bond order calculations, which is an intrinsic parameter rather than adsorption energy that contains additional contributions due to secondary effects such as van der Waals interactions with the zeolite walls. The bond order parameter derived for the CH3CN adsorption complex represents a useful descriptor for the intrinsic acid strength of FAU zeolites. For FAU zeolites the activation energy for the conversion of π-adsorbed isobutene into alkoxy species correlates well with the acid strength determined by the NH3 adsorption energies. Other zeolites such as MFI and CHA do not follow the scaling relations obtained for FAU; we ascribe this to the different van der Waals interactions and steric effects induced by zeolite framework topology. PMID:29142616

Nutritional Regulation of Bile Acid Metabolism Is Associated with Improved Pathological Characteristics of the Metabolic Syndrome*

PubMed Central

Liaset, Bjørn; Hao, Qin; Jørgensen, Henry; Hallenborg, Philip; Du, Zhen-Yu; Ma, Tao; Marschall, Hanns-Ulrich; Kruhøffer, Mogens; Li, Ruiqiang; Li, Qibin; Yde, Christian Clement; Criales, Gabriel; Bertram, Hanne C.; Mellgren, Gunnar; Øfjord, Erik Snorre; Lock, Erik-Jan; Espe, Marit; Frøyland, Livar; Madsen, Lise; Kristiansen, Karsten

2011-01-01

Bile acids (BAs) are powerful regulators of metabolism, and mice treated orally with cholic acid are protected from diet-induced obesity, hepatic lipid accumulation, and increased plasma triacylglycerol (TAG) and glucose levels. Here, we show that plasma BA concentration in rats was elevated by exchanging the dietary protein source from casein to salmon protein hydrolysate (SPH). Importantly, the SPH-treated rats were resistant to diet-induced obesity. SPH-treated rats had reduced fed state plasma glucose and TAG levels and lower TAG in liver. The elevated plasma BA concentration was associated with induction of genes involved in energy metabolism and uncoupling, Dio2, Pgc-1α, and Ucp1, in interscapular brown adipose tissue. Interestingly, the same transcriptional pattern was found in white adipose tissue depots of both abdominal and subcutaneous origin. Accordingly, rats fed SPH-based diet exhibited increased whole body energy expenditure and heat dissipation. In skeletal muscle, expressions of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor β/δ target genes (Cpt-1b, Angptl4, Adrp, and Ucp3) were induced. Pharmacological removal of BAs by inclusion of 0.5 weight % cholestyramine to the high fat SPH diet attenuated the reduction in abdominal obesity, the reduction in liver TAG, and the decrease in nonfasted plasma TAG and glucose levels. Induction of Ucp3 gene expression in muscle by SPH treatment was completely abolished by cholestyramine inclusion. Taken together, our data provide evidence that bile acid metabolism can be modulated by diet and that such modulation may prevent/ameliorate the characteristic features of the metabolic syndrome. PMID:21680746

Effet de l'énergie du faisceau d'ions servant à l'assistance du dépôt de matériaux organiques utilisés pour réaliser des diodes électroluminescentes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antony, R.; Moliton, A.; Ratier, B.

1998-06-01

Light emitting diode based on the structure ITO/Alq3/Ca-Al lead to enhanced quantum efficiency when the Alq3 active layer is obtained by IBAD (Ion Beam Assisted Deposition): with Iodine ions, the optimization (quantum efficiency multiplied by a factor10) is obtained for an ion energy equal to 100eV. La réalisation de diodes électroluminescentes basées sur la structure ITO/Alq3/Ca-Al conduit à des performances améliorées lorsque le dépôt de la couche active Alq3 est effectué avec l'assistance d'un faisceau d'ions; l'optimisation (rendement quantique interne accru d'un ordre de grandeur) correspond à des ions Iode d'énergie 100eV.

Composition-controlled active-passive transition and corrosion behavior of Fe-Cr(Mo)-Zr-B bulk amorphous steels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Si, Jiajia; Wu, Yidong; Wang, Tan; Liu, Yanhui; Hui, Xidong

2018-07-01

Various corrosive environments in daily life and industry have put forward high requirement on corrosion resistance of metals, especially steels. Unlike the strict demand in Cr content of crystalline stainless steels, amorphous steels (ASs) with lower Cr content can be endowed with outstanding corrosion resistance, while the intrinsic mechanism is not fully understood. Herein, we present a novel Fe92-x-y-zCrxMoyZr8Bz (6 ≤ x ≤ 40, 0 ≤ y ≤ 22, and 12 ≤ z ≤ 18) bulk amorphous steel (BAS) forming system and reveal the synergistic effect of Cr and Mo in determining the chemical stability of oxide films. It has been found the Fe92-x-zCrxZr8Bz BASs with 1 mm in diameter display a Cr-controlling active-passive transition at the Cr threshold of ∼25% in 1 M hydrochloric acid. When adding minor Mo into the BASs, the Cr threshold can be remarkably reduced by forming favorable hexavalent Mo oxides. The generation of Mo6+ is facilitated by atomic selective dissolution at the interface and can promote the passivation. In contrast, when the Cr content of the Mo-doped glasses exceeds 25%, few Mo6+ oxides would produce as the prior formation of protective passive films inhibits the further oxidation of Mo. Therefore, manipulating the active-passive transition properly is crucial to designing ASs with high stainlessness.

Aortic wrapping for a dilated ascending aorta in bicuspid aortic stenosis.

PubMed

Choi, Min Suk; Jeong, Dong Seop; Lee, Hae Young; Sung, Kiick; Kim, Wook Sung; Lee, Young Tak; Park, Pyo Won

2015-01-01

Ascending aorta wrapping is rarely recommended for the management of dilated aorta, because of late complications. The aim of the present study was to analyze the early and late outcomes of the aortic wrapping technique at the time of aortic valve replacement (AVR) for bicuspid aortic stenosis (BAS). Among patients who underwent primary AVR for BAS between 2002 and 2011, 79 who underwent ascending aortic wrapping (wrapping group) were compared with 144 patients who underwent AVR alone. The preoperative ascending aortic diameters were larger in the wrapping group (40.9±4.2 mm vs. 48.6±4.0 mm, P<0.001). Operative technique was to wrap the ascending aorta transversely with a semi-elliptically resected Dacron graft. The follow-up for the wrapping group was 76.5±35.5 (median 71.1) months. There were no early deaths. Early and late morbidity did not differ between groups. The 24 late deaths, including 10 cardiac-related deaths, occurred in the entire group; 3 sudden deaths occurred only in the AVR group. The 10-year overall survival in the wrapping group was higher than the AVR group (88.1±6.8% vs. 80.0±4.6%, P=0.048). No late aortic complications were detected. The aortic diameter was reduced from 49.5±4.1 mm to 45.3±5.0 mm after wrapping (P<0.001). The aortic wrapping technique may be an option for treating a moderately dilated ascending aorta in selected patients undergoing AVR for BAS. Longer follow-up, however, is necessary to verify later complications.

Patient-reported outcomes in European spondyloarthritis patients: a systematic review of the literature.

PubMed

Torre-Alonso, Juan Carlos; Queiro, Rubén; Comellas, Marta; Lizán, Luís; Blanch, Carles

2018-01-01

This review aims to summarize the current literature on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in spondyloarthritis (SpA). We performed a systematic literature review to identify studies (original articles and narrative and systematic reviews) regarding PROs (health-related quality of life [HRQoL], satisfaction, preferences, adherence/compliance, and persistence) in SpA patients published in the European Union through December 2016. International databases (Medline/PubMed, Cochrane Library, ISI Web of Knowledge, Scopus) were searched using keywords in English. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine criteria. A total of 26 publications met the inclusion criteria. Generally, studies indicated that SpA has a negative impact on patients' HRQoL. In patients with ankylosing spondylitis, physical domains were more affected than emotional ones, whereas for psoriatic arthritis, both physical and psychological factors were strongly affected by the disease. Data indicated that biological agents (BAs) greatly contributed to improvement in HRQoL in both ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis patients. Findings on compliance with BAs were heterogeneous. However, persistence rates exceeded 50% irrespective of the BA administered. Results on preferences indicated that most SpA patients prefer being involved in decisions regarding their treatment and that besides efficacy and safety, frequency and route of administration may influence patients' preferences for BAs. Implementing management programs for SpA patients focuses on the physical, emotional, and social consequences of the disease, in addition to assessing and including patient preferences in the treatment decision-making process, could be crucial to improve patients' HRQoL and ensure their satisfaction and compliance with treatment.

Posterior versus frontal theta activity indexes approach motivation during affective autobiographical memories.

PubMed

Walden, K; Pornpattananangkul, N; Curlee, A; McAdams, D P; Nusslock, R

2015-03-01

Research has recently identified a promising neurophysiological marker of approach motivation involving posterior versus frontal (Pz - Fz) electroencephalographic (EEG) theta activity PFTA; Wacker, Chavanon, & Stemmler (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 91:171-187, 2006). Preliminary evidence indicated that PFTA is modulated by dopaminergic activity, thought to underlie appetitive tendencies, and that it indexes self-reported behavioral activation system (BAS) sensitivity. To date, research has largely relied on resting indices of PFTA and has yet to examine the relationship between PFTA and specific approach-related affective states generated by emotionally salient laboratory tasks. Accordingly, the present study evaluated PFTA both at rest and during an ecologically valid autobiographical memory task in which participants recalled personal life experiences involving a goal-striving, an anxious apprehension, a low-point (i.e., difficult), and a neutral memory while EEG data were recorded. In line with prediction, elevated PFTA was observed during both goal-striving and anxious apprehension autobiographical memories. PFTA was particularly elevated during anxious apprehension memories coded as being high on approach-related tendencies. Elevated PFTA during anxious apprehension is consistent with a growing literature indicating that anxious apprehension is associated with elevated approach- and reward-related brain function. Lastly, elevated resting PFTA was positively correlated with self-reported trait anger, a negatively valenced emotion characterized by approach-related tendencies. These results have implications for (a) enhancing our understanding of the neurophysiology of approach-related emotions, (b) establishing PFTA as an index of appetitive motivational states, and (c) clarifying our understanding of the neurophysiology and approach-related tendencies associated with both anxious apprehension and anger.

4. Photocopy of photograph (original in the collection of the ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

4. Photocopy of photograph (original in the collection of the Minnesota Historical Society) MAIN ELEVATION, DETAIL OF ENTRANCE, SHOWING RED SANDSTONE BAS RELIEFS - New York Life Insurance Company Building, Sixth & Minnesota Streets, Saint Paul, Ramsey County, MN

Classification of Chemicals Based On Structured Toxicity Information

EPA Science Inventory

Thirty years and millions of dollars worth of pesticide registration toxicity studies, historically stored as hardcopy and scanned documents, have been digitized into highly standardized and structured toxicity data within the Toxicity Reference Database (ToxRefDB). Toxicity-bas...

FGF 19 and Bile Acids Increase Following Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass but Not After Medical Management in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.

PubMed

Sachdev, Saachi; Wang, Qi; Billington, Charles; Connett, John; Ahmed, Leaque; Inabnet, William; Chua, Streamson; Ikramuddin, Sayeed; Korner, Judith

2016-05-01

This study aims to quantify changes in fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19) and bile acids (BAs) in patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes randomized to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) vs intensive medical management (IMM) and matched for similar reduction in HbA1c after 1 year of treatment. Blood samples were drawn from patients who underwent a test meal challenge before and 1 year after IMM (n = 15) or RYGB (n = 15). Mean HbA1c decreased from 9.7 to 6.4% after RYGB and from 9.1 to 6.1% in the IMM group. At 12 months, the number of diabetes medications used per subject in the RYGB group (2.5 ± 0.5) was less than in the IMM group (4.6 ± 0.3). After RYGB, FGF19 increased in the fasted (93 ± 15 to 152 ± 19 pg/ml; P = 0.008) and postprandial states (area under the curve (AUC), 10.8 ± 1.9 to 23.4 ± 4.1 pg × h/ml × 10(3); P = 0.006) but remained unchanged following IMM. BAs increased after RYGB (AUC ×10(3), 6.63 ± 1.3 to 15.16 ± 2.56 μM × h; P = 0.003) and decreased after IMM (AUC ×10(3), 8.22 ± 1.24 to 5.70 ± 0.70; P = 0.01). No changes were observed in the ratio of 12α-hydroxylated/non-12α-hyroxylated BAs. Following RYGB, FGF19 AUC correlated with BAs (r = 0.54, P = 0.04) and trended negatively with HbA1c (r = -0.44; P = 0.09); these associations were not observed after IMM. BA and FGF19 levels increased after RYGB but not after IMM in subjects who achieved similar improvement in glycemic control. Further studies are necessary to determine whether these hormonal changes facilitate improved glucose homeostasis.

Filling gaps in notification data: a model-based approach applied to travel related campylobacteriosis cases in New Zealand.

PubMed

Amene, E; Horn, B; Pirie, R; Lake, R; Döpfer, D

2016-09-06

Data containing notified cases of disease are often compromised by incomplete or partial information related to individual cases. In an effort to enhance the value of information from enteric disease notifications in New Zealand, this study explored the use of Bayesian and Multiple Imputation (MI) models to fill risk factor data gaps. As a test case, overseas travel as a risk factor for infection with campylobacteriosis has been examined. Two methods, namely Bayesian Specification (BAS) and Multiple Imputation (MI), were compared regarding predictive performance for various levels of artificially induced missingness of overseas travel status in campylobacteriosis notification data. Predictive performance of the models was assessed through the Brier Score, the Area Under the ROC Curve and the Percent Bias of regression coefficients. Finally, the best model was selected and applied to predict missing overseas travel status of campylobacteriosis notifications. While no difference was observed in the predictive performance of the BAS and MI methods at a lower rate of missingness (<10 %), but the BAS approach performed better than MI at a higher rate of missingness (50 %, 65 %, 80 %). The estimated proportion (95 % Credibility Intervals) of travel related cases was greatest in highly urban District Health Boards (DHBs) in Counties Manukau, Auckland and Waitemata, at 0.37 (0.12, 0.57), 0.33 (0.13, 0.55) and 0.28 (0.10, 0.49), whereas the lowest proportion was estimated for more rural West Coast, Northland and Tairawhiti DHBs at 0.02 (0.01, 0.05), 0.03 (0.01, 0.08) and 0.04 (0.01, 0.06), respectively. The national rate of travel related campylobacteriosis cases was estimated at 0.16 (0.02, 0.48). The use of BAS offers a flexible approach to data augmentation particularly when the missing rate is very high and when the Missing At Random (MAR) assumption holds. High rates of travel associated cases in urban regions of New Zealand predicted by this approach are plausible given the high rate of travel in these regions, including destinations with higher risk of infection. The added advantage of using a Bayesian approach is that the model's prediction can be improved whenever new information becomes available.

Latvian Waste Management Modelling in View of Environmental Impact Reduction / Latvijas Atkritumu SAIMNIECĪBAS ATTĪSTĪBA un TĀS RADĪTĀS Ietekmes UZ Vidi SAMAZINĀŠANAS MODELĒŠANA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teibe, I.; Bendere, R.; Arina, D.

2013-12-01

In the work, the life-cycle assessment approach is applied to the planning of waste management development in a seaside region (Piejūra) using the Waste Management Planning System (WAMPS) program. In Latvia, the measures to be taken for the climate change mitigation are of utmost importance - especially as related to the WM performance, since a disposal of biodegradable waste presents the primary source of GHG emissions. To reduce the amount of such waste is therefore one of the most significant goals in the State WM plan for 2013-2020, whose adoption is the greatest challenge for municipalities. The authors analyse seven models which involve widely employed biomass processing methods, are based on experimental data and intended for minimising the direct disposal of organic mass at the solid waste landfills. The numerical results obtained evidence that the thermal or biotechnological treatment of organic waste substantially reduces the negative environmental impact of WM practices - by up to 6% as compared with the currently existing. Klimata pārmaiņu samazināšanas pasākumi Latvijā atkritumu saimniecības sektorā ir īpaši svarīgi. jo bioloģiski sadalāmo atkritumu apglabāšana ir viens no būtiskākajiem SEG emisiju avotiem valstī. Pētījumā modelēti virkne sadzīves atkritumu apsaimniekošanas modeļi. kas ietver plašāk izmantotās biomasas pārstrādes metodes un samazina tiešu organiskās masas apglabāšanu cieto sadzīves atkritumu poligonos. Atkritumu apsaimniekošanas modeļu radītās vides ietekmes novērtēšanai izmantota WAMPS (Waste Management Planning System) programma, kas balstīta uz atkritumu apsaimniekošanas procesu dzīves cikla novērtējumu vienā no desmit Latvijas atkritumu apsaimniekošanas reģioniem - Piejūra. Iegūtie kvantitatīvie rezultāti norāda. ka organiskās atkritumu masas pārstrāde un stabilizēšana, izmantojot biotehnoloģijas vai termisko pārstrādi, būtiski samazina atkritumu apsaimniekošanas radīto negatīvo vides ietekmi. līdz pat 6% attiecībā pret esošās atkritumu saimniecības vides ietekmi.

COMPARISON OF GEOGRAPHIC CLASSIFICATION SCHEMES FOR MID-ATLANTIC STREAM FISH ASSEMBLAGES

EPA Science Inventory

Understanding the influence of geographic factors in structuring fish assemblages is crucial to developing a comprehensive assessment of stream conditions. We compared the classification strengths (CS) of geographic groups (ecoregions and catchments), stream order, and groups bas...

Policy for accommodating utilities on state highway rights-of-way, 1985.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1985-04-01

This policy covers initial placement, adjustment, relocation and : replacement of utility facilities in, on, above or below all highway right of : way over which the Iowa Department of Transportation exercises control of : access. It embodies the bas...

Two level approach to safety planning incorporating the Highway Safety Manual (HSM) network screening : [summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-04-01

In this project, University of Central Florida researchers combined two types of safety analysis, microscopic and macroscopic, to overcome their limitations. Microscopic models focus on traffic flows and related parameters. Macroscopic models are bas...

Buildings That Teach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiebenson, John

1998-01-01

Teachers can use "built teaching aids" or elements of the school building itself to expand teaching and enhance learning. Possibilities include bulletin boards, display cases, murals painted by local artists, permanent information panels, interior windows to classrooms, flags, and bas-reliefs on building exteriors. Playground pavement…

Individual differences in sensitivity to reward and punishment and neural activity during reward and avoidance learning

PubMed Central

Yoon, HeungSik; Kim, Hackjin; Hamann, Stephan

2015-01-01

In this functional neuroimaging study, we investigated neural activations during the process of learning to gain monetary rewards and to avoid monetary loss, and how these activations are modulated by individual differences in reward and punishment sensitivity. Healthy young volunteers performed a reinforcement learning task where they chose one of two fractal stimuli associated with monetary gain (reward trials) or avoidance of monetary loss (avoidance trials). Trait sensitivity to reward and punishment was assessed using the behavioral inhibition/activation scales (BIS/BAS). Functional neuroimaging results showed activation of the striatum during the anticipation and reception periods of reward trials. During avoidance trials, activation of the dorsal striatum and prefrontal regions was found. As expected, individual differences in reward sensitivity were positively associated with activation in the left and right ventral striatum during reward reception. Individual differences in sensitivity to punishment were negatively associated with activation in the left dorsal striatum during avoidance anticipation and also with activation in the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex during receiving monetary loss. These results suggest that learning to attain reward and learning to avoid loss are dependent on separable sets of neural regions whose activity is modulated by trait sensitivity to reward or punishment. PMID:25680989

[Scintigraphic detection of osteoblast activity after implantation of BAS-0 bioactive glass-ceramic material into long bone defects].

PubMed

Sponer, P; Urban, K; Urbanová, E

2006-06-01

The aim of the study was to demonstrate, by three-phase bone scintigraphy, radionuclide uptake at the site of defects in long bones filled with the non-resorbable bioactive glass-ceramic material BAS-0 at a long follow-up. Twenty patients, 14 men and 6 women, operated on between 1990 and 2000 for benign bone tumors or tumor-like lesions localized in the femur, tibia or humerus were comprised in the study. Their average age at the time of operation was 14 years (range, 8 to 24). The diagnoses based on histological examination included juvenile bone cysts in 11, aneurysmal bone cyst in five, non-ossifying fibroma in two, and fibrous dysplasia in two patients. The lesions were localized in the femur, humerus and tibia in 11, five and four patients, respectively. The metaphysis was affected in eight and the diaphysis in 12 patients. Clinical, radiological and scintigraphic examinations were carried out at 2 to 12 years (7 years on average) after surgery. The clinical evaluation included subjective complaints and objective findings. Radiographs were made in standard projections and the osteo-integration of glass-ceramic material was investigated. Three-phase bone scans were made and the healthy and the affected limbs in each patient were compared by means of an index. Radionuclide uptake was considered normal when the index value was equal to 1.0, mildly increased at an index value of 1.2, moderately increased at 1.2-1.5 and markedly increased at an index value higher than 1.5. The clinical evaluation showed that, in the patients with glass-ceramic filling of metaphyses, six had no subjective complaints and two reported transient pain. In the patients with implants in diaphyses, subjective complaints were recorded in nine and no complaints in three patients. No inflammatory changes in soft tissues were found. No restriction in weightbearing of the limb treated was reported by any of the patients. On radiography, 18 patients were free from any disease residue or recurrence. Two patients had a residual defect. The bioactive glass-ceramic material BAS-0 was completely incorporated in all patients. On three-phase bone scans, radionuclide distribution on the flow phase and soft tissue phase was symmetrical in both limbs of all patients. For the metaphyseal location of implants, the delayed images demonstrated physiological radionuclide distribution in one patient, mildly increased distribution (index up to 1.2) in four, increased uptake (index up to 1.5) in two patients, and highly increased uptake (index above 1.5) in one patient. For the diaphyseal location of implants, the delayed scans demonstrated slightly increased radionuclide distribution in two, markedly increased in two and highly increased uptake in eight patients. The tissue during incorporation of a non-resorbable synthetic material is influenced by stress-shielding. This changes local mechanical signals, which has a negative effect on the adjacent bone tissue. Stress accumulating at the interface of a rigid implant and bone tissue may result in pain, and is detected by scintigraphy as an increased nucleotide uptake, particularly in diaphyseal grafts. This paper presents problems associated with implantation of the non-resorbable bioactive glass-ceramic material BAS-0 in the treatment of diaphyseal defects of long bones. The results show that, for filling of the defects described herein, non-resorbable glass-ceramic materials are not suitable.

FABRIC FILTER MODEL SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS

EPA Science Inventory

The report gives results of a series of sensitivity tests of a GCA fabric filter model, as a precursor to further laboratory and/or field tests. Preliminary tests had shown good agreement with field data. However, the apparent agreement between predicted and actual values was bas...

Wetlands Mitigation Banking Concepts

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-07-01

Naval Amphibious Bas Eslgrss Mit. Bank CA, San Diego Co. dredging & facilities Dept of the Navy SeaWorld Eelgras Mitigation Dank CA, San Diego Co...shore development, private projects SeaWorld 8 Table 2. WETLAND MITIGATION BANKS UNDER PLANNING, Institute for Water Resources Preliminary Survey Data

A comparison of state policies for complying with the endangered species act.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-10-01

In recent years the number of biological assessments (BAs) for the presence of endangered species conducted by KYTC has risen significantly. This was primarily due to new/additional restrictions imposed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service ...

"Green-friendly" best management practices (BMPs) for interstate rest areas.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-06-01

This report presents the findings of a research project to study and develop a list of green friendly Best : Management Practices (BMPs) for Illinois interstate rest areas. The objectives of this project are to (1) develop : energy and cost bas...

Genetic associations with obstructive sleep apnea traits in Hispanic/Latino Americans

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Obstructive sleep apnea is a common disorder associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and premature mortality. Although there is strong clinical and epidemiologic evidence supporting the importance of genetic factors in influencing obstructive sleep apnea, its genetic bas...

Bridge approach slabs for Missouri DOT looking at alternative and cost efficient approaches.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-12-01

The objective of this project is to develop innovative and cost effective structural solutions for the construction of : both new and replacement deteriorated Bridge Approach Slabs (BAS). A cost study and email survey was performed to identify : stat...

Estimation of River Towboat Air Pollution in Saint Louis, Missouri

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1976-02-01

The study gives an estimate of river towboat air pollution emissions for the St. Louis Air Pollution Study area. No emissions from secondary sources or from recreational boating on the river of other areas are considered. The emission estimate is bas...

Revealing hidden clonal complexity in Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection by qualitative and quantitative improvement of sampling.

PubMed

Pérez-Lago, L; Palacios, J J; Herranz, M; Ruiz Serrano, M J; Bouza, E; García-de-Viedma, D

2015-02-01

The analysis of microevolution events, its functional relevance and impact on molecular epidemiology strategies, constitutes one of the most challenging aspects of the study of clonal complexity in infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In this study, we retrospectively evaluated whether two improved sampling schemes could provide access to the clonal complexity that is undetected by the current standards (analysis of one isolate from one sputum). We evaluated in 48 patients the analysis by mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number tandem repeat of M. tuberculosis isolates cultured from bronchial aspirate (BAS) or bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and, in another 16 cases, the analysis of a higher number of isolates from independent sputum samples. Analysis of the isolates from BAS/BAL specimens revealed clonal complexity in a very high proportion of cases (5/48); in most of these cases, complexity was not detected when the isolates from sputum samples were analysed. Systematic analysis of isolates from multiple sputum samples also improved the detection of clonal complexity. We found coexisting clonal variants in two of 16 cases that would have gone undetected in the analysis of the isolate from a single sputum specimen. Our results suggest that analysis of isolates from BAS/BAL specimens is highly efficient for recording the true clonal composition of M. tuberculosis in the lungs. When these samples are not available, we recommend increasing the number of isolates from independent sputum specimens, because they might not harbour the same pool of bacteria. Our data suggest that the degree of clonal complexity in tuberculosis has been underestimated because of the deficiencies inherent in a simplified procedure. Copyright © 2014 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Incidence and predictive factors for positive 75SeHCAT test: improving the diagnosis of bile acid diarrhoea.

PubMed

Murray, Iain Alexander; Murray, Linzi Karen; Woolson, Kathy Louise; Sherfi, Hisham; Dixon, Ivor; Palmer, Joanne; Sulkin, Tom

To determine the value of 75 SeHCAT retention in determining bile acid diarrhoea (BAD), treatment response and predictors of a positive result. Retrospective casenote review of consecutive patients undergoing 75 SeHCAT from 2008 to 2014, including gender, age, history, clinical, and laboratory parameters. This included diseases associated with Type 1 BAD (ileal resection, Crohn's disease) and Type 3 BAD. Chi-squared test and logistic regression determined factors predictive of BAD. Subjective response to treatment with bile acid sequestrants (BAS) was analysed with respect to the 75 SeHCAT result. Of 387 patients, 154 (39.7%) were male and average age was 50 years. Ninety-five patients (24.5%) were investigated for Type 1 BAD, 86 (22.2%) for Type 3, and 206 patients (53.2%) for Type 2 or idiopathic BAD. There was a large increase in the number performed with time but no difference in percentage positive tests. One hundred and seventy-nine patients (46.2%) had BAD. Positive result was commonest in possible Type 1 and they had most severe BAD. Ninety-nine patients had severe BAD (<5% 75 SeHCAT retention), 47 moderate BAD (5% to <10% retention), and 33 mild BAD (10% to <15% retention). Predictors of a positive 75 SeHCAT were right hemicolectomy (OR 4.88), cholecystectomy (OR 2.44), and Crohn's (OR 1.86). A positive 75 SeHCAT predicted a good or partial response to BAS of 66.7% (mild), 78.6% (moderate), or 75.9% (severe BAD). 75 SeHCAT test use increased in 2008-2014, with high positive results throughout. Ileal resection, Crohn's, and cholecystectomy independently predict BAD. 75 SeHCAT predicted response to BAS.

Diagnostic Methods for Bile Acid Malabsorption in Clinical Practice

PubMed Central

Vijayvargiya, Priya; Camilleri, Michael; Shin, Andrea; Saenger, Amy

2013-01-01

Altered bile acid (BA) concentrations in the colon may cause diarrhea or constipation. BA malabsorption (BAM) accounts for >25% of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) with diarrhea and chronic diarrhea in Western countries. As BAM is increasingly recognized, proper diagnostic methods are desired in clinical practice to help direct the most effective treatment course for the chronic bowel dysfunction. This review appraises the methodology, advantages and disadvantages of 4 tools that directly measure BAM: 14C-glycocholate breath and stool test, 75Selenium HomotauroCholic Acid Test (SeHCAT), 7 α-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one (C4) and fecal BAs. 14C-glycocholate is a laborious test no longer widely utilized. 75SeHCAT is validated, but not available in the United States. Serum C4 is a simple, accurate method that is applicable to a majority of patients, but requires further clinical validation. Fecal measurements to quantify total and individual fecal BAs are technically cumbersome and not widely available. Regrettably, none of these tests are routinely available in the U.S., and a therapeutic trial with a BA binder is used as a surrogate for diagnosis of BAM. Recent data suggest there is an advantage to studying fecal excretion of the individual BAs and their role in BAM; this may constitute a significant advantage of the fecal BA method over the other tests. Fecal BA test could become a routine addition to fecal fat measurement in patients with unexplained diarrhea. In summary, availability determines the choice of test among C4, SeHCAT and fecal BA; more widespread availability of such tests would enhance clinical management of these patients. PMID:23644387

CD36 Modulates Fasting and Preabsorptive Hormone and Bile Acid Levels.

PubMed

Shibao, Cyndya A; Celedonio, Jorge E; Tamboli, Robyn; Sidani, Reem; Love-Gregory, Latisha; Pietka, Terri; Xiong, Yanhua; Wei, Yan; Abumrad, Naji N; Abumrad, Nada A; Flynn, Charles Robb

2018-05-01

Abnormal fatty acid (FA) metabolism contributes to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The FA receptor CD36 has been linked to risk of metabolic syndrome. In rodents CD36 regulates various aspects of fat metabolism, but whether it has similar actions in humans is unknown. We examined the impact of a coding single-nucleotide polymorphism in CD36 on postprandial hormone and bile acid (BA) responses. To examine whether the minor allele (G) of coding CD36 variant rs3211938 (G/T), which reduces CD36 level by ∼50%, influences hormonal responses to a high-fat meal (HFM). Obese African American (AA) women carriers of the G allele of rs3211938 (G/T) and weight-matched noncarriers (T/T) were studied before and after a HFM. Two-center study. Obese AA women. HFM. Early preabsorptive responses (10 minutes) and extended excursions in plasma hormones [C-peptide, insulin, incretins, ghrelin fibroblast growth factor (FGF)19, FGF21], BAs, and serum lipoproteins (chylomicrons, very-low-density lipoprotein) were determined. At fasting, G-allele carriers had significantly reduced cholesterol and glycodeoxycholic acid and consistent but nonsignificant reductions of serum lipoproteins. Levels of GLP-1 and pancreatic polypeptide (PP) were reduced 60% to 70% and those of total BAs were 1.8-fold higher. After the meal, G-allele carriers displayed attenuated early (-10 to 10 minute) responses in insulin, C-peptide, GLP-1, gastric inhibitory peptide, and PP. BAs exhibited divergent trends in G allele carriers vs noncarriers concomitant with differential FGF19 responses. CD36 plays an important role in the preabsorptive hormone and BA responses that coordinate brain and gut regulation of energy metabolism.

Effect of Colesevelam on Liver Fat Quantified by Magnetic Resonance in Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

Le, Thuy-Anh; Chen, Joshua; Changchien, Christopher; Peterson, Michael R; Kono, Yuko; Patton, Heather; Cohen, Benjamin L; Brenner, David; Sirlin, Claude; Loomba, Rohit

2012-01-01

Bile acid sequestrants (BAS) lower plasma low density lipoprotein levels and improve glycemic control. Colestimide, a BAS, has been claimed by computed tomography to reduce liver fat. Therefore, we examined the efficacy of colesevelam, a potent BAS, to decrease liver fat in patients with biopsy-proven nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Liver fat was measured by a novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique, the proton-density-fat-fraction (PDFF), as well as by conventional MR spectroscopy (MRS). Fifty patients with biopsy-proven NASH were randomly assigned to either colesevelam 3.75 g/day orally or placebo for 24 weeks. The primary outcome was change in liver fat as measured by MRI-PDFF in colocalized regions of interest within each of the nine liver segments. Compared with placebo, colesevelam increased liver fat by MRI-PDFF in all nine segments of the liver with a mean difference of 5.6% (P = 0.002). We cross-validated the MRI-PDFF-determined fat content with that assessed by colocalized MRS; the latter showed a mean difference of 4.9% (P = 0.014) in liver fat between the colesevelam and the placebo arms. MRI-PDFF correlated strongly with MRS-determined hepatic fat content (r2 = 0.96, P < 0.0001). Liver biopsy assessment of steatosis, cellular injury, and lobular inflammation did not detect any effect of treatment. Conclusion: Colesevelam increases liver fat in patients with NASH as assessed by MRI as well as MRS without significant changes seen on histology. Thus, MRI and MRS may be better than histology to detect longitudinal changes in hepatic fat in NASH. Underlying mechanisms and whether the small MR-detected increase in liver fat has clinical consequences is not known. (Hepatology 2012;56:922–932) PMID:22431131

Low ambient temperature during early postnatal development fails to cause a permanent induction of brown adipocytes

PubMed Central

Chabowska-Kita, Agnieszka; Trabczynska, Anna; Korytko, Agnieszka; Kaczmarek, Monika M.; Kozak, Leslie P.

2015-01-01

The brown adipocyte phenotype (BAP) in white adipose tissue (WAT) is transiently induced in adult mammals in response to reduced ambient temperature. Since it is unknown whether a cold challenge can permanently induce brown adipocytes (BAs), we reared C57BL/6J (B6) and AxB8/PgJ (AxB8) mice at 17 or 29°C from birth to weaning, to assess the BAP in young and adult mice. Energy balance measurements showed that 17°C reduced fat mass in the preweaning mice by increasing energy expenditure and suppressed diet-induced obesity in adults. Microarray analysis of global gene expression of inguinal fat (ING) from 10-day-old (D) mice indicates that expression at 17°C vs. 29°C was not different. Between 10 and 21 days of age, the BAP was induced coincident with morphologic remodeling of ING and marked changes in expression of neural development genes (e.g., Akap 12 and Ngfr). Analyses of Ucp1 mRNA and protein showed that 17°C transiently increased the BAP in ING from 21D mice; however, BAs were unexpectedly present in mice reared at 29°C. The involution of the BAP in WAT occurred after weaning in mice reared at 23°C. Therefore, the capacity to stimulate thermogenically competent BAs in WAT is set by a temperature-independent, genetically controlled program between birth and weaning.—Chabowska-Kita, A., Trabczynska, A., Korytko, A., Kaczmarek, M. M., Kozak, L. P. Low ambient temperature during early postnatal development fails to cause a permanent induction of brown adipocytes. PMID:25896784

Correlation between microbial flora, sensory changes and biogenic amines formation in fresh chicken meat stored aerobically or under modified atmosphere packaging at 4 degrees C: possible role of biogenic amines as spoilage indicators.

PubMed

Balamatsia, C C; Paleologos, E K; Kontominas, M G; Savvaidis, I N

2006-01-01

This study evaluated the formation of biogenic amines (BAs) in breast chicken meat during storage under aerobic and modified atmospheric packaging (MAP) conditions at 4 degrees C, the correlation of microbial and sensory changes in chicken meat with formation of BAs and the possible role of BAs as indicators of poultry meat spoilage. Poultry breast fillets were stored aerobically or under MAP (30%, CO(2), 70% N(2)) at 4 degrees C for up to 17 days. Quality evaluation was carried out using microbiological, chemical and sensory analyses. Total viable counts, Pseudomonads and Enterobacteriaceae, were in general higher for chicken samples packaged in air whereas lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and Enterobacteriaceae were among the dominant species for samples under MAP. Levels of putrescine and cadaverine increased linearly with storage time and were higher in aerobically stored chicken samples. Spermine and spermidine levels were also detected in both aerobically and MAP stored chicken meat. Levels of tyramine in both chicken samples stored aerobically and or under MAP were low (< 10 mg kg(-1)) whereas the formation of histamine was only observed after day 11 of storage when Enterobacteriaceae had reached a population of ca. 10(7) CFU g(-1). Based on sensory and microbiological analyses and also taking into account a biogenic amines index (BAI, sum of putrescine, cadaverine and tyramine), BAI values between 96 and 101 mg kg(-1) may be proposed as a quality index of MAP and aerobically-packaged fresh chicken meat. Spermine and spermidine decreased steadily throughout the entire storage period of chicken meat under aerobic and MAP packaging, and thus these two amines cannot be used as indicators of fresh chicken meat quality.

A nationwide multicentre study in Turkey for establishing reference intervals of haematological parameters with novel use of a panel of whole blood

PubMed Central

Ozarda, Yesim; Ichihara, Kiyoshi; Bakan, Ebubekir; Polat, Harun; Ozturk, Nurinnisa; Baygutalp, Nurcan K.; Taneli, Fatma; Guvenc, Yesim; Ormen, Murat; Erbayraktar, Zubeyde; Aksoy, Nurten; Sezen, Hatice; Demir, Meltem; Eskandari, Gulcin; Polat, Gurbuz; Mete, Nuriye; Yuksel, Hatice; Vatansev, Husamettin; Gun, Fatma; Akin, Okhan; Ceylan, Ozlem; Noyan, Tevfik; Gozlukaya, Ozgul; Aliyazicioglu, Yuksel; Kahraman, Sevim; Dirican, Melahat; Tuncer, Gul Ozlem; Kimura, Shogo; Eker, Pinar

2017-01-01

Introduction A nationwide multicentre study was conducted to establish well-defined reference intervals (RIs) of haematological parameters for the Turkish population in consideration of sources of variation in reference values (RVs). Materials and methods K2-EDTA whole blood samples (total of 3363) were collected from 12 laboratories. Sera were also collected for measurements of iron, UIBC, TIBC, and ferritin for use in the latent abnormal values exclusion (LAVE) method. The blood samples were analysed within 2 hours in each laboratory using Cell Dyn and Ruby (Abbott), LH780 (Beckman Coulter), or XT-2000i (Sysmex). A panel of freshly prepared blood from 40 healthy volunteers was measured in common to assess any analyser-dependent bias in the measurements. The SD ratio (SDR) based on ANOVA was used to judge the need for partitioning RVs. RIs were computed by the parametric method with/without applying the LAVE method. Results Analyser-dependent bias was found for basophils (Bas), MCHC, RDW and MPV from the panel test results and thus those RIs were derived for each manufacturer. RIs were determined from all volunteers’ results for WBC, neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, MCV, MCH and platelets. Gender-specific RIs were required for RBC, haemoglobin, haematocrit, iron, UIBC and ferritin. Region-specific RIs were required for RBC, haemoglobin, haematocrit, UIBC, and TIBC. Conclusions With the novel use of a freshly prepared blood panel, manufacturer-specific RIs’ were derived for Bas, Bas%, MCHC, RDW and MPV. Regional differences in RIs were observed among the 7 regions of Turkey, which may be attributed to nutritional or environmental factors, including altitude. PMID:28694726

A rapid quantitative analysis of bile acids, lysophosphatidylcholines and polyunsaturated fatty acids in biofluids based on ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole tandem massspectrometry.

PubMed

Peng, Zhangxiao; Zhang, Qian; Mao, Ziming; Wang, Jie; Liu, Chunying; Lin, Xuejing; Li, Xin; Ji, Weidan; Fan, Jianhui; Wang, Maorong; Su, Changqing

2017-11-15

Much evidence suggested that quantitative analysis of bile acids (BAs), lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in biofluids may be very useful for diagnosis and prevention of hepatobiliary disease with a non-invasive manner. However, simultaneously fast analysis of these metabolites has been challenging for their huge differences of physicochemical properties and concentration levels in biofluids. In this study, we present a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method with a high throughput analytical cycle (10min) to fast and accurately quantify fifteen potential biomarkers (eight BAs, four LPCs and three PUFAs) of hepatobiliary disease. The accuracy for the fifteen analytes in plasma and urine matrices was 80.45%-118.99% and 84.55%-112.66%, respectively. The intra- and inter- precisions for the fifteen analytes in plasma and urine matrices were all less than 20% and the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of analytes is up to 0.0283-8.2172nmol/L. Therefore, this method is fast, sensitive and accurate for the quantitative analysis of BAs, LPCs and PUFAs in biofluids. Moreover, the stability and concentration differences of the analytes in plasma and serum were evaluated, and the results demonstrated that LPCs is stable, but PUFAs is very unstable in freeze and thaw cycles, and the concentrations of the analytes in serum were slightly higher than those in plasma. We suggested plasma may be a kind of better bio-sample than serum using for quantitative analysis of metabolites in blood, due to the characteristics of plasma are more close to blood than those of serum. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Atorvastatin induces bile acid-synthetic enzyme Cyp7a1 by suppressing FXR signaling in both liver and intestine in mice[S

PubMed Central

Fu, Zidong Donna; Cui, Julia Yue; Klaassen, Curtis D.

2014-01-01

Statins are effective cholesterol-lowering drugs to treat CVDs. Bile acids (BAs), the end products of cholesterol metabolism in the liver, are important nutrient and energy regulators. The present study aims to investigate how statins affect BA homeostasis in the enterohepatic circulation. Male C57BL/6 mice were treated with atorvastatin (100 mg/kg/day po) for 1 week, followed by BA profiling by ultra-performance LC-MS/MS. Atorvastatin decreased BA pool size, mainly due to less BA in the intestine. Surprisingly, atorvastatin did not alter total BAs in the serum or liver. Atorvastatin increased the ratio of 12α-OH/non12α-OH BAs. Atorvastatin increased the mRNAs of the BA-synthetic enzymes cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (Cyp7a1) (over 10-fold) and cytochrome P450 27a1, the BA uptake transporters Na+/taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide and organic anion transporting polypeptide 1b2, and the efflux transporter multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 in the liver. Noticeably, atorvastatin suppressed the expression of BA nuclear receptor farnesoid X receptor (FXR) target genes, namely small heterodimer partner (liver) and fibroblast growth factor 15 (ileum). Furthermore, atorvastatin increased the mRNAs of the organic cation uptake transporter 1 and cholesterol efflux transporters Abcg5 and Abcg8 in the liver. The increased expression of BA-synthetic enzymes and BA transporters appear to be a compensatory response to maintain BA homeostasis after atorvastatin treatment. The Cyp7a1 induction by atorvastatin appears to be due to suppressed FXR signaling in both the liver and intestine. PMID:25278499

Effect of various antibiotics on modulation of intestinal microbiota and bile acid profile in mice

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Youcai; Limaye, Pallavi B.; Renaud, Helen J.

Antibiotic treatments have been used to modulate intestinal bacteria and investigate the role of intestinal bacteria on bile acid (BA) homeostasis. However, knowledge on which intestinal bacteria and bile acids are modified by antibiotics is limited. In the present study, mice were administered various antibiotics, 47 of the most abundant bacterial species in intestine, as well as individual BAs in plasma, liver, and intestine were quantified. Compared to the two antibiotic combinations (vancomycin + imipenem and cephalothin + neomycin), the three single antibiotics (metronidazole, ciprofloxacin and aztreonam) have less effect on intestinal bacterial profiles, and thus on host BA profilesmore » and mRNA expression of genes that are important for BA homeostasis. The two antibiotic combinations decreased the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes in intestine, as well as most secondary BAs in serum, liver and intestine. Additionally, the two antibiotic combinations significantly increased mRNA of the hepatic BA uptake transporters (Ntcp and Oatp1b2) and canalicular BA efflux transporters (Bsep and Mrp2), but decreased mRNA of the hepatic BA synthetic enzyme Cyp8b1, suggesting an elevated enterohepatic circulation of BAs. Interestingly, the two antibiotic combinations tended to have opposite effect on the mRNAs of most intestinal genes, which tended to be inhibited by vancomycin + imipenem but stimulated by cephalothin + neomycin. To conclude, the present study clearly shows that various antibiotics have distinct effects on modulating intestinal bacteria and host BA metabolism. - Highlights: • Various antibiotics have different effects on intestinal bacteria. • Antibiotics alter bile acid composition in mouse liver and intestine. • Antibiotics influence genes involved in bile acid homeostasis. • Clostridia appear to be important for secondary bile acid formation.« less

Balancing Herbal Medicine and Functional Food for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiometabolic Diseases through Modulating Gut Microbiota.

PubMed

Lyu, Ming; Wang, Yue-Fei; Fan, Guan-Wei; Wang, Xiao-Ying; Xu, Shuang-Yong; Zhu, Yan

2017-01-01

It has become apparent that gut microbiota is closely associated with cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs), and alteration in microbiome compositions is also linked to the host environment. Next generation sequencing (NGS) has facilitated in-depth studies on the effects of herbal medicine and functional food on gut microbiota. Both herbal medicine and functional food contain fiber, polyphenols and polysaccharides, exerting prebiotics-like activities in the prevention and treatment of CMDs. The administrations of herbal medicine and functional food lead to increased the abundance of phylum Bacteroidetes, and genus Akkermansia, Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus, Bacteroides and Prevotella , while reducing phylum Firmicutes and Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio in gut. Both herbal medicine and functional food interact with gut microbiome and alter the microbial metabolites including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), bile acids (BAs) and lipopolysaccharides (LPS), which are now correlated with metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D), obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In addition, trimethylamine (TMA)-N-oxide (TMAO) is recently linked to atherosclerosis (AS) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks. Moreover, gut-organs axes may serve as the potential strategy for treating CMDs with the intervention of herbal medicine and functional food. In summary, a balance between herbal medicine and functional food rich in fiber, polyphenols and polysaccharides plays a vital role in modulating gut microbiota (phylum Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, and genus Akkermansia, Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus, Bacteroides and Prevotella ) through SCFAs, BAs, LPS and TMAO signaling regarding CMDs. Targeting gut-organs axes may serve as a new therapeutic strategy for CMDs by herbal medicine and functional food in the future. This review aims to summarize the balance between herbal medicine and functional food utilized for the prevention and treatment of CMDs through modulating gut microbiota.

Combining Metabolite-Based Pharmacophores with Bayesian Machine Learning Models for Mycobacterium tuberculosis Drug Discovery.

PubMed

Ekins, Sean; Madrid, Peter B; Sarker, Malabika; Li, Shao-Gang; Mittal, Nisha; Kumar, Pradeep; Wang, Xin; Stratton, Thomas P; Zimmerman, Matthew; Talcott, Carolyn; Bourbon, Pauline; Travers, Mike; Yadav, Maneesh; Freundlich, Joel S

2015-01-01

Integrated computational approaches for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) are useful to identify new molecules that could lead to future tuberculosis (TB) drugs. Our approach uses information derived from the TBCyc pathway and genome database, the Collaborative Drug Discovery TB database combined with 3D pharmacophores and dual event Bayesian models of whole-cell activity and lack of cytotoxicity. We have prioritized a large number of molecules that may act as mimics of substrates and metabolites in the TB metabolome. We computationally searched over 200,000 commercial molecules using 66 pharmacophores based on substrates and metabolites from Mtb and further filtering with Bayesian models. We ultimately tested 110 compounds in vitro that resulted in two compounds of interest, BAS 04912643 and BAS 00623753 (MIC of 2.5 and 5 μg/mL, respectively). These molecules were used as a starting point for hit-to-lead optimization. The most promising class proved to be the quinoxaline di-N-oxides, evidenced by transcriptional profiling to induce mRNA level perturbations most closely resembling known protonophores. One of these, SRI58 exhibited an MIC = 1.25 μg/mL versus Mtb and a CC50 in Vero cells of >40 μg/mL, while featuring fair Caco-2 A-B permeability (2.3 x 10-6 cm/s), kinetic solubility (125 μM at pH 7.4 in PBS) and mouse metabolic stability (63.6% remaining after 1 h incubation with mouse liver microsomes). Despite demonstration of how a combined bioinformatics/cheminformatics approach afforded a small molecule with promising in vitro profiles, we found that SRI58 did not exhibit quantifiable blood levels in mice.

Balancing Herbal Medicine and Functional Food for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiometabolic Diseases through Modulating Gut Microbiota

PubMed Central

Lyu, Ming; Wang, Yue-fei; Fan, Guan-wei; Wang, Xiao-ying; Xu, Shuang-yong; Zhu, Yan

2017-01-01

It has become apparent that gut microbiota is closely associated with cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs), and alteration in microbiome compositions is also linked to the host environment. Next generation sequencing (NGS) has facilitated in-depth studies on the effects of herbal medicine and functional food on gut microbiota. Both herbal medicine and functional food contain fiber, polyphenols and polysaccharides, exerting prebiotics-like activities in the prevention and treatment of CMDs. The administrations of herbal medicine and functional food lead to increased the abundance of phylum Bacteroidetes, and genus Akkermansia, Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus, Bacteroides and Prevotella, while reducing phylum Firmicutes and Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio in gut. Both herbal medicine and functional food interact with gut microbiome and alter the microbial metabolites including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), bile acids (BAs) and lipopolysaccharides (LPS), which are now correlated with metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D), obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In addition, trimethylamine (TMA)-N-oxide (TMAO) is recently linked to atherosclerosis (AS) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks. Moreover, gut-organs axes may serve as the potential strategy for treating CMDs with the intervention of herbal medicine and functional food. In summary, a balance between herbal medicine and functional food rich in fiber, polyphenols and polysaccharides plays a vital role in modulating gut microbiota (phylum Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, and genus Akkermansia, Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus, Bacteroides and Prevotella) through SCFAs, BAs, LPS and TMAO signaling regarding CMDs. Targeting gut-organs axes may serve as a new therapeutic strategy for CMDs by herbal medicine and functional food in the future. This review aims to summarize the balance between herbal medicine and functional food utilized for the prevention and treatment of CMDs through modulating gut microbiota. PMID:29167659

Combining Metabolite-Based Pharmacophores with Bayesian Machine Learning Models for Mycobacterium tuberculosis Drug Discovery

PubMed Central

Sarker, Malabika; Li, Shao-Gang; Mittal, Nisha; Kumar, Pradeep; Wang, Xin; Stratton, Thomas P.; Zimmerman, Matthew; Talcott, Carolyn; Bourbon, Pauline; Travers, Mike; Yadav, Maneesh

2015-01-01

Integrated computational approaches for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) are useful to identify new molecules that could lead to future tuberculosis (TB) drugs. Our approach uses information derived from the TBCyc pathway and genome database, the Collaborative Drug Discovery TB database combined with 3D pharmacophores and dual event Bayesian models of whole-cell activity and lack of cytotoxicity. We have prioritized a large number of molecules that may act as mimics of substrates and metabolites in the TB metabolome. We computationally searched over 200,000 commercial molecules using 66 pharmacophores based on substrates and metabolites from Mtb and further filtering with Bayesian models. We ultimately tested 110 compounds in vitro that resulted in two compounds of interest, BAS 04912643 and BAS 00623753 (MIC of 2.5 and 5 μg/mL, respectively). These molecules were used as a starting point for hit-to-lead optimization. The most promising class proved to be the quinoxaline di-N-oxides, evidenced by transcriptional profiling to induce mRNA level perturbations most closely resembling known protonophores. One of these, SRI58 exhibited an MIC = 1.25 μg/mL versus Mtb and a CC50 in Vero cells of >40 μg/mL, while featuring fair Caco-2 A-B permeability (2.3 x 10−6 cm/s), kinetic solubility (125 μM at pH 7.4 in PBS) and mouse metabolic stability (63.6% remaining after 1 h incubation with mouse liver microsomes). Despite demonstration of how a combined bioinformatics/cheminformatics approach afforded a small molecule with promising in vitro profiles, we found that SRI58 did not exhibit quantifiable blood levels in mice. PMID:26517557

Interaction of plasma glutathione redox and folate deficiency on arsenic methylation capacity in Bangladeshi adults

PubMed Central

Niedzwiecki, Megan M.; Hall, Megan N.; Liu, Xinhua; Slavkovich, Vesna; Ilievski, Vesna; Levy, Diane; Alam, Shafiul; Siddique, Abu B.; Parvez, Faruque; Graziano, Joseph H.; Gamble, Mary V.

2014-01-01

Inorganic arsenic (InAs) is metabolized through a series of methylation reactions catalyzed by arsenic(III)-methyltransferase (AS3MT), resulting in the generation of monomethylarsonic (MMAs) and dimethylarsinic acids (DMAs). AS3MT activity requires the presence of the methyl donor S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), a product of folate-dependent one-carbon metabolism, and a reductant. Although glutathione (GSH), the primary endogenous antioxidant, is not required for As methylation, GSH stimulates As methylation rates in vitro. However, the relationship between GSH redox and As methylation capacity in humans is unknown. We wished to test the hypothesis that a more oxidized plasma GSH redox status is associated with decreased As methylation capacity, and examine whether these associations are modified by folate nutritional status. Concentrations of plasma GSH and GSSG, plasma folate, total blood As (bAs), total urinary As (uAs), and uAs metabolites were assessed in a cross-sectional study of n = 376 Bangladeshi adults who were chronically exposed to As in drinking water. We observed that a decreased plasma GSH/GSSG ratio (reflecting a more oxidized redox state) was significantly associated with increased urinary %MMA, decreased urinary %DMA, and increased total bAs in folate-deficient individuals (plasma folate ≤ 9.0 nmol/L). Concentrations of plasma GSH and GSSG were independently associated with increased and decreased As methylation capacity, respectively. No significant associations were observed in folate-sufficient individuals, and interactions by folate status were statistically significant. Our findings suggest that GSH/GSSG redox regulation might contribute to the large interindividual variation in As methylation capacity observed in human populations. PMID:24726863

Effect of re-expansion after short-period lung collapse on pulmonary capillary permeability and pro-inflammatory cytokine gene expression in isolated rabbit lungs.

PubMed

Funakoshi, T; Ishibe, Y; Okazaki, N; Miura, K; Liu, R; Nagai, S; Minami, Y

2004-04-01

Re-expansion pulmonary oedema is a rare complication caused by rapid re-expansion of a chronically collapsed lung. Several cases of pulmonary oedema associated with one-lung ventilation (OLV) have been reported recently. Elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in pulmonary oedema fluid are suggested to play important roles in its development. Activation of cytokines after re-expansion of collapsed lung during OLV has not been thoroughly investigated. Here we investigated the effects of re-expansion of the collapsed lung on pulmonary oedema formation and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. Lungs isolated from female white Japanese rabbits were perfused and divided into a basal (BAS) group (n=7, baseline measurement alone), a control (CONT) group (n=9, ventilated without lung collapse for 120 min) and an atelectasis (ATEL) group (n=9, lung collapsed for 55 min followed by re-expansion and ventilation for 65 min). Pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) and the coefficient of filtration (Kfc) were measured at baseline and 60 and 120 min. At the end of perfusion, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid/plasma protein ratio (B/P), wet/dry lung weight ratio (W/D) and mRNA expressions of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1beta and myeloperoxidase (MPO) were determined. TNF-alpha and IL-1beta mRNA were significantly up-regulated in lungs of the ATEL group compared with BAS and CONT, though no significant differences were noted in PVR, Kfc, B/P and W/D within and between groups. MPO increased at 120 min in CONT and ATEL groups. Pro-inflammatory cytokines were up-regulated upon re-expansion and ventilation after short-period lung collapse, though no changes were noted in pulmonary capillary permeability.

Indianapolis Experience with Open Entry in the Taxi Industry

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1980-09-01

During the early 1970s the City of Indianapolis reversed a long-standing policy of closed entry into the taxi industry by redistributing many of the existing permits. This report is an account of the Indianapolis experience with open entry. It is bas...

The Seattle-area market for ATIS : changes in awareness and use of traveler information, 1997-2003

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-12-01

This report provides an overview of the market for traveler information in the Seattle metropolitan area, focusing on three areas: population-wide awareness and use levels, profiles of frequent information users, and enhancement priorities. It is bas...

CLOTHES AS A SOURCE OF PARTICLES CONTRIBUTING TO THE "PERSONAL CLOUD"

EPA Science Inventory

Previous studies such as EPA's PTEAM Study have documented increased personal exposures to particles compared to either indoor or outdoor concentrations--a finding that bas been characterized as a "personal cloud." The sources of the personal cloud are unknown, but co...