Is brown adipose tissue a store of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids during postnatal developing brain?

Mammals along their early postnatal period develop a substantial amount of a very active brown adipose tissue (BAT). Through this work we explored the possibility that BAT may function as a long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids reservoir (LC-PUFA) during the rapid growth of brain structures. In new born rats 1, 6, 12 and 20 days old, we analyzed fatty acid percentage of triglycerides (TG) and phospholipid fractions, and the absolute amount of TG. In 6 day old rats we also evaluated the extend of further desaturation of 1-14C linoleic acid administered by intraperitoneal injection. Results demonstrated a drastic increase of TG concentration during experimental period (1,5; 40; 118; 120 mg/g wet weight) and LC-PUFA percentage was higher in "1 and 6" than "12 and 20" days old rats (16-17% vs 5%). Our results showed that BAT stored important amounts of LC-PUFA. On the other hand, 1-14C linoleic acid incorporation was higher in liver than BAT. In contrast, the desaturated products of 1-14C linoleic acid /1-14C linoleic acid ratio was greater in BAT than liver (>4). This could indicate that BAT synthesizes LC-PUFA in addition to store it. In summary we demonstrated than BAT is an important reservoir of LC-PUFA during postnatal brain growth.     

Reactivity of complex hydrides Mg2FeH6, Mg2CoH5 and Mg2NiH4 with lithium ion: Far from equilibrium electrochemically driven conversion reactions

The electrochemical reaction of lithium ion with Mg₂FeH₆, Mg₂CoH₅ and Mg₂NiH₄ complex hydrides prepared by reactive grinding is studied here. Plateaus at an average potential of 0.25 V, 0.24 V and 0.27 V corresponding to discharge capacities of 6.6, 5.5 and 3.6 Li can be achieved respectively for Mg₂FeH₆, Mg₂CoH₅ and Mg₂NiH₄. From in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterizations of complex hydride based electrodes, dehydrogenation leads to a decrease of the intensities of the diffraction peaks suggesting a strong loss of crystallinity since formation of Mg and M (M = Fe, Co, Ni) peaks is not observed. ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy confirms the formation of nanoscale Fe or an amorphous Mg–Fe alloy during the decomposition of Mg₂FeH_6. Interestingly, lattice parameter variations suggest phase transitions in the Mg₂NiH₄ system involving the formation of low hydrogen content hydride Mg₂NiH, while an increase of lattice parameters of Mg₂CoH₅ hydride could be attributed to the formation of a Mg₂CoH₅Li_x solid solution compound up to x = 1.     

Philippine geothermal resources: General geological setting and development

The Philippine Archipelago has a composite geologic structure arising from the multi-stage development of volcanic-tectonic events evidenced by volcanism and seismic activity occurring along the active blocks of the major structural lines which traverse most of the major islands of the Philippines.The widespread volcanic activity located along the active tectonic blocks has generated regions of high heat flow, where a vast number of potentially rich geothermal resources could be exploited as an alternative source of energy.As part of a systematic geothermal development program launched by the Philippine government after the successful pilot study at the Tiwi geothermal field in 1967 by the Commission on Volcanology (now called the Philippine Institute of Volcanology—PIV), the Philippines developed four geothermal fields in the period 1972–1984. These four areas, Tiwi in Albay, Mak-Ban in Laguna, Tongonan in Leyte, and Palinpinon in Southern Negros, have already contributed 891 MW installed capacity to the total electrical power supply of the country, which is mainly dependent on oil resources.The Philippines envisaged that, with its accelerated geothermal energy programme, it would be able to achieve its target of reducing the country's dependence on imported fossil fuel by about 20% within the next decade through the utilization of its vast geothermal energy resources.     

As (V) biosorption in an aqueous solution using chemically treated lemon (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) residues

The use of biosorbents to remove metals and metalloids from contaminated water systems has gained great usage in various parts of the world. The objective of the current study was to test lemon peels as biosorbents for As (V). Lemon peels were chemically characterized and arsenic contact experiments were performed to determine the adsorption capacity of the peels using different empirical models. The model that fit the experimental data was the Lagergren empirical model with a correlation coefficient of R= 0.8841. The results show that lemon peels were able to retain 474.8 μg of As (V)/g of biosorbent. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Lemon agro-industrial waste can be useful in the removal of heavy metals, such as arsenic, from aqueous media.     

Sequential dynamics of master–slave systems

Following on previous work, we discuss a scenario in which two neural ensembles have a master–slave arrangement. We will consider a more particular case in which the master system exhibits transient dynamics due to a stable heteroclinic sequence (SHS) and the slave system has attractors in the form of limit cycles. We will give sufficient conditions that guarantee the existence of a SHS in the form of a tube in the full phase space, together with an open stable heteroclinic channel that surrounds it. We present a numerical observation of chaotic-like transient behaviour different from well-known transient chaos.     

Methodology to estimate building energy consumption using EnergyPlus Benchmark Models

The evaluation of building energy consumption usually requires building energy profiles on an hourly basis. Computer simulations can be used to obtain this information but generating simulations requires a significant amount of experience, time, and effort to enter detailed building parameters. This paper presents a simple methodology to estimate hourly electrical and fuel energy consumption of a building by applying a series of predetermined coefficients to the monthly energy consumption data from electrical and fuel utility bills. The advantage of having predetermined coefficients is that it relieves the user from the burden of performing a detailed dynamic simulation of the building. The coefficients provided to the user are obtained by running EnergyPlus Benchmark Models simulations; thus, the simulation process is transparent to the user. The methodology has been applied to a hypothetical building placed both in Atlanta, GA, and in Meridian, MS, and in both cases, errors obtained for the estimated hourly energy consumption are mainly within 10%.     

An evaluation of the hybrid car technology for the Mexico Mega City

The introduction of hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) technology in the private car fleet of Mexico City is evaluated in terms of private costs, energy, public health and CO₂ emission benefits. In addition to constructing plausible scenarios for urban expansion, emission, car fleet, and fuel consumption for year 2026 and comparing them with a 2004 base case, a time series is built to obtain accumulated economic benefits. Experimental techniques were used to build a vehicle library for a car simulator that included a Prius 2002, chosen as the HEV technology representative for this work. The simulator is used to estimate the emissions and fuel consumption of the car fleet scenarios. In the context of an urban scenario for year 2026, a complex air quality model obtains the concentrations of criterion pollutants corresponding to these scenarios.Using a technology penetration model, the hybridized fleet starts unfolding in year 2009 reaching to 20% in 2026. In this year, the hybridized fleet resulted in reductions of about 10% of CO₂ emissions, and yielded reductions in daytime mean concentrations of up to 7% in ozone and 3.4% in PM_2.5 compared to the 2004 base case. These reductions are concentrated in the densely populated areas of Mexico City. By building a time series of costs and benefits it is shown that, depending on fuel prices and using a 5% return rate, positive accumulated benefits (CO₂ benefits + energy benefits + public health benefits − private costs) will start generating in year 2015 reaching between 2.8 and 4.5 billion US Dlls in 2026. Another modernized private fleet consisting exclusively of Tier I and II cars did not yield appreciable results, signaling that a change in private car technology towards HEV's is needed to obtain significant accumulated benefits.     

Nanostructured Si/Sn-Ni/C composite as negative electrode for Li-ion batteries

A nanostructured composite with overall atomic composition Ni_0.14Sn_0.17Si_0.32Al_0.037C_0.346 has been prepared combining powder metallurgy and mechanical milling techniques for being used as anode material in Li-ion battery. Chemical and structural properties of the nanocomposite have been determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), ¹¹⁹Sn Transmission Mössbauer Spectroscopy (TMS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The composite consists of Si particles with typical size ∼150 nm embedded in a poorly crystallized and complex multielemental matrix. The matrix is composed mostly by Ni_3.4Sn₄, and disordered carbon. Electrochemical evaluation shows a high reversible capacity of 920 mAh g⁻¹, with reasonable reversible capacity retention (∼0.1% loss/cycle) over 280 cycles.     

Physiological and biochemical changes of different fresh-cut mango cultivars stored at 5 °C

Treatments to inhibit browning, decay and to extend shelf life of ‘Keitt’, ‘Kent’ and ‘Ataulfo’ mango cultivars as a fresh‐cut produce were investigated. Combinations of calcium chloride (CaCl₂), antioxidants [ascorbic acid (AA), citric acid (CA)] and two commercial film coatings resulted in a reduction of browning and deterioration of fresh‐cut mangoes stored at 5 °C, especially for the Ataulfo cultivar. The use of CaCl₂ + AA + CA significantly reduced colour deterioration, loss of firmness and did not affect sensory characteristics of fresh‐cut mango, with a larger effect in the Ataulfo cultivar. In general, these treatments prevented loss of sugar and vitamin C of cubes during storage at 5 °C. Shelf life of this cultivar was 21 days, while that of Keitt and Kent was only 9 and 12 days, respectively. There is a correlation between carotene and vitamin C content of Ataulfo mango and its longer shelf life compared with the other cultivars.     

Chloroquine-Induced DNA Damage Synergizes with Nonhomologous End Joining Inhibition to Cause Ovarian Cancer Cell Cytotoxicity

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the most lethal gynecological malignancy; therefore, more effective treatments are urgently needed. We recently reported that chloroquine (CQ) increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) in OC cell lines (OCCLs), causing DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Here, we analyzed whether these lesions are repaired by nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ), one of the main pathways involved in DSB repair, and if the combination of CQ with NHEJ inhibitors (NHEJi) could be effective against OC. We found that NHEJ inhibition increased the persistence of γH2AX foci after CQ-induced DNA damage, revealing an essential role of this pathway in the repair of the lesions. NHEJi decreased the proliferation of OCCLs and a strong in vitro synergistic effect on apoptosis induction was observed when combined with CQ. This effect was largely abolished by the antioxidant N-Acetyl-L-cysteine, revealing the critical role of ROS and DSB generation in CQ/NHEJi-induced lethality. We also found that the NHEJ efficiency in OCCLs was not affected by treatment with Panobinostat, a pan-histone deacetylase inhibitor that also synergizes with CQ in OCCLs by impairing homologous recombination. Accordingly, the triple combination of CQ-NHEJi-Panobinostat exerted a stronger in vitro synergistic effect. Altogether, our data suggest that the combination of these drugs could represent new therapeutic strategies against OC.