MicroRNA Changes Up to 24 h following Induced Hypoglycemia in Type 2 Diabetes

Hypoglycemia, as a complication of type 2 diabetes (T2D), causes increased morbidity and mortality but the physiological response underlying hypoglycemia has not been fully elucidated. Small noncoding microRNA (miRNA) have multiple downstream biological effects. This pilot exploratory study was undertaken to determine if induced miRNA changes would persist and contribute to effects seen 24 h post-hypoglycemia. A parallel, prospective study design was employed, involving T2D (n = 23) and control (n = 23) subjects. The subjects underwent insulin-induced hypoglycemia (2 mmol/L; 36 mg/dL); blood samples were drawn at baseline, upon the induction of hypoglycemia, and 4 h and 24 h post-hypoglycemia, with a quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis of miRNA undertaken. The baseline miRNAs did not differ. In the controls, 15 miRNAs were downregulated and one was upregulated (FDR < 0.05) from the induction of hypoglycemia to 4 h later while, in T2D, only four miRNAs were altered (downregulated), and these were common to both cohorts (miR-191-5p; miR-143-3p; let-7b-5p; let-7g-5p), correlated with elevated glucagon levels, and all were associated with energy balance. From the induction of hypoglycemia to 24 h, 14 miRNAs were downregulated and 5 were upregulated (FDR < 0.05) in the controls; 7 miRNAs were downregulated and 7 upregulated (FDR < 0.05) in T2D; a total of 6 miRNAs were common between cohorts, 5 were downregulated (miR-93-5p, let-7b-5p, miR-191-5p, miR-185-5p, and miR-652-3p), and 1 was upregulated (miR-369-3p). An ingenuity pathway analysis indicated that many of the altered miRNAs were associated with metabolic and coagulation pathways; however, of the inflammatory proteins expressed, only miR-143-3p at 24 h correlated positively with tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFa; p < 0.05 and r = 0.46) and negatively with toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4; p < 0.05 and r = 0.43). The MiRNA levels altered by hypoglycemia reflected changes in counter-regulatory glucagon and differed between cohorts, and their expression at 24 h suggests miRNAs may potentiate and prolong the physiological response. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT03102801","term_id":"NCT03102801"}}NCT03102801.     

Advances in the control of mechatronic suspension systems

The suspension system is a key element in motor vehicles. Advancements in electronics and micropro- cessor technology have led to the realization of mechatronic suspensions. Since its introduction in some production motorcars in the 1980s, it has remained an area which sees active research and development, and this will likely continue for many years to come. With the aim of identifying current trends and future focus areas, this paper presents a review on the state-of-the-art of mechatronic suspensions. First, some commonly used classifications of mechatronic suspensions are presented. This is followed by a discussion on some of the actuating mechanisms used to provide control action. A survey is then reported on the many types of control approaches, including look-ahead preview, predictive, fuzzy logic, proportional-integral-derivative （PID）, optimal, robust, adaptive, robust adaptive, and switching control. In conclusion, hydraulic actuators are most commonly used, but they impose high power requirements, limiting practical realizations of active suspensions. Electromagnetic actuators are seen to hold the promise of lower power requirements, and rigorous research and development should be conducted to make them commercially usable. Current focus on control methods that are robust to suspension parameter variations also seems to produce limited performance improvements, and future control approaches should be adaptive to the changeable driving conditions.     

Applying PTF/VTF routing policies in multilayer IP/MPLS-based ASON/GMPLS multi-domain networks

The IP/MPLS-based ASON/GMPLS hybrid network architecture enables the interaction between the IP layer and the optical dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) layer. This architecture makes it possible to transfer huge amounts of traffic data on DWDM networks, while supporting Internet Protocol (IP)-based service applications. Additionally, this architecture provides a unified routing scenario, which allows the dynamic routing in both the IP layer and/or optical layer. Cross- layer routing has been addressed in single domain networks scenarios, where the routing policies Physical Topology First (PTF) and Virtual Topology First (VTP) have been proposed and applied. However, applying cross-layer routing using both routing topology policies PTF and VTF has not been investigated in a multi-domain networks scenario yet. In this study, we address this issue and propose a routing scheme to establish traffic connections in the optical WDM layer and the IP layer, which makes the applicability of PTF and VTF in multilayer multi-domain network feasible.     

Nonlinear multi-scale decomposition by EMD for Co-Channel speaker identification

Multimedia Tools and Applications - A multi-scale analysis method, called Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD), has been proposed for analysis of nonlinear and non stationary data. The empirical mode...     

Intergroup helping as status relations: Effects of status stability, identification, and type of help on receptivity to high-status group's help.

Integrating research on social identity processes and helping relations, the authors proposed that low-status group members who are high identifiers will be unwilling to receive help from the high-status group when status relations are perceived as unstable and help is dependency-oriented. The first experiment, a minimal group experiment, found negative reactions to help from a high-status outgroup when status relations were unstable. The 2nd and 3rd experiments, which used real groups of Israeli Arabs and Israeli Jews, replicated this finding and showed that high identifiers were less receptive to help from the high-status outgroup than low identifiers. The 4th experiment, a help-seeking experiment with real groups of competing high schools, found that the least amount of help was sought from a high-status group by high identifiers when status relations were perceived as unstable and help was dependency-oriented. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Air impingement and intermittent drying: Application to apple and to mango

An original drying process combining air impingement and intermittent drying was studied on apple slices and mango cubes. The influence of four operating parameters (air velocity, drying/tempering periods, upper height, and air temperature) on the drying time and on the drying rate was evaluated. Continuous and intermittent drying were compared. The intermittency α = 1/7 (τ_on = 10 seconds and τ_off = 60 seconds) gave the best results. A time savings of 54% for apple and 67% for mango was reached. In continuous drying, a time savings of 4620 seconds was observed by increasing the air velocity from 6 to 40 m s^?1 for apple. Air temperatures of 328 K for apple and of 328 K or 338 K for mango were determined as optimum to prevent case‐hardening. Experimental results were fitted with the analytical solution of Fick's second law and the modified Page equation (average values R² = 0.985 and 0.961, for apple and mango, respectively). For both products, the apparent moisture diffusivity D_app, the drying constant k, the drying coefficient n, and the activation energy E_a, were identified. Activation energies calculated from the analytical solution were 30.3 and 36.8 kJ mol^?1 and were 25.4 and 30.0 kJ mol^?1 using the modified Page equation for apple and mango, respectively. Mango has an increased temperature sensitivity and thus will need less energy for drying than apple.     

High capacity potassium-promoted hydrotalcite for CO2 capture in H2 production

This paper presents an experimental study for a newly modified K₂CO₃-promoted hydrotalcite material as a novel high capacity sorbent for in-situ CO₂ capture. The sorbent is employed in the sorption enhanced steam reforming process for an efficient H₂ production at low temperature (400–500 ^°C). A new set of adsorption data is reported for CO₂ adsorption over K-hydrotalcite at 400 °C. The equilibrium sorption data obtained from a column apparatus can be adequately described by a Freundlich isotherm. The sorbent shows fast adsorption rates and attains a relatively high sorption capacity of 0.95 mol/kg on the fresh sorbent. CO₂ desorption experiments are conducted to examine the effect of humidity content in the gas purge and the regeneration time on CO₂ desorption rates. A large portion of CO₂ is easily recovered in the first few minutes of a desorption cycle due to a fast desorption step, which is associated with a physi/chemisorption step on the monolayer surface of the fresh sorbent. The complete recovery of CO₂ was then achieved in a slower desorption step associated with a reversible chemisorption in a multi-layer surface of the sorbent. The sorbent shows a loss of 8% of its fresh capacity due to an irreversible chemisorption, however, it preserves a stable working capacity of about 0.89 mol/kg, suggesting a reversible chemisorption process. The sorbent also presents a good cyclic thermal stability in the temperature range of 400–500 °C.     

Acoustic emission characterization of damage in short hemp‐fiber‐reinforced polypropylene composites

This article aims at investigating the effects of hygrothermal aging on the damage mechanisms of short white Hemp Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene (HFRP) composites with various fiber contents (10, 20, 30, and 40 wt%). Injected molded specimens were subjected to hygrothermal aging with a relative humidity of 80% and two temperatures, 25 and 50°C. The water absorption and its effect on tensile properties of HFRP composites were investigated. The Acoustic Emission (AE) technique combined with scanning electron microscopy observations was used to identify microstructural damage events leading to overall failure of the HFRP composites. This identification according to hemp‐fiber content and hygrothermal aging was made with an unsupervised method based on a statistical multi‐variable analysis (k‐means algorithm). The AE results indicate that the quality of fiber‐matrix interface plays a major role in the damage process of HFRP composites, shown by the number of AE signals induced by the interface failure and their amplitude ranges. POLYM. COMPOS. 37:1101–1112, 2016. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Global Performance Indices for Dynamic Crystals as Organic Thermal Actuators

Crystal adaptronics is an emergent materials science discipline at the intersection of solid-state chemistry and mechanical engineering that explores the dynamic nature of mechanically reconfigurable, motile, and explosive crystals. Adaptive molecular crystals bring to materials science a qualitatively new set of properties that associate long-range structural order with softness and mechanical compliance. However, the full potential of this class of materials remains underexplored and they have not been considered as materials of choice in an engineer's toolbox. A set of general performance metrics that can be used for quantification of the performance of these prospective dynamic materials as micro- and macroactuators is presented. The indices are calculated on two selected representatives of thermosalient solids—materials that undergo rapid martensitic transitions accompanied with macroscopic locomotion. Benchmarking of their performance against extensive set of data for the existing actuator classes and visualization using materials property charts uncover the hidden potential and advantages of dynamic crystals, while they also reveal their drawbacks for actual application as actuators. Altogether the results indicate that, if the challenges with fabrication and implementation in devices are overcome, adaptive molecular crystals can have far-reaching implications for emerging fields such as smart microelectronics and soft microrobotics.     

A novel catalyst–sorbent system for an efficient H2 production with in-situ CO2 capture

This paper presents an experimental investigation for an improved process of sorption-enhanced steam reforming of methane in an admixture fixed bed reactor. A highly active Rh/Ce_αZr_1−αO₂ catalyst and K₂CO₃-promoted hydrotalcite are utilized as novel catalyst/sorbent materials for an efficient H₂ production with in situ CO₂ capture at low temperature (450–500 °C). The process performance is demonstrated in response to temperature (400–500 °C), pressure (1.5–6.0 bar), and steam/carbon ratio (3–6). Thus, direct production of high H₂ purity and fuel conversion >99% is achieved with low level of carbon oxides impurities (<100 ppm). A maximum enhancement of 162% in CH₄ conversion is obtained at a temperature of 450 °C and a pressure of 6 bar using a steam/carbon molar ratio of 4. The high catalyst activity of Rh yields an enhanced CH₄ conversion using much lower catalyst/sorbent bed composition and much smaller reactor size than Ni-based sorption enhanced processes at low temperature. The cyclic stability of the process is demonstrated over a series of 30 sorption/desorption cycles. The sorbent exhibited a stable performance in terms of the CO₂ working sorption capacity and the corresponding CH₄ conversion obtained in the sorption enhanced process. The process showed a good thermal stability in the temperature range of 400–500 °C. The effects of the sorbent regeneration time and the purge stream humidity on the achieved CH₄ conversion are also studied. Using steam purge is beneficial for high degree of CO₂ recovery from the sorbent.