Planetary Gear Profile Modification Design Based on Load Sharing Modelling

In order to satisfy the increasing demand on high performance planetary transmissions, an important line of research is focused on the understanding of some of the underlying phenomena involved in this...     

Is a vegan or a vegetarian diet associated with the microbiota composition in the gut? Results of a new cross-sectional study and systematic review

Abstract

It is assumed that diet influences the composition of gut microbiota, which in turn may affect human health status. This systematic review aimed to summarize associations of a vegan or vegetarian diet with the composition of microbiota. A literature search was conducted in PubMed and Embase for eligible human studies with vegan or vegetarian diets as an exposure and microbiota composition as an outcome in healthy adults. Furthermore, data from our cross-sectional study with vegan participants were included. Out of sixteen included studies, six investigated the association between gut microbiota composition in both vegans and in vegetarians, six in vegans and four studies in vegetarians compared to omnivores, respectively. Among 5 different phyla, 28 families, 96 genera and 177 species, Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium and Prevotella were the most reported genera, followed by the species Prevotella copri, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Escherichia coli in all diets. No consistent association between a vegan diet or vegetarian diet and microbiota composition compared to omnivores could be identified. Moreover, some studies revealed contradictory results. This result could be due to high microbial individuality, and/or differences in the applied approaches. Standardized methods with high taxonomical and functional resolutions are needed to clarify this issue.     

The dependence on solar elevation of the correlation between monthly average hourly diffuse and global radiation

In the present work, the dependence on of the correlation between and is studied, , , and respectively being the monthly average hourly values of the global, diffuse, and extraterrestrial radiation, all of them on a horizontal surface, and the solar elevation at midhour. The dependence is studied for Uccle for the following sky conditions. Condition A: clear skies (fraction of possible sunshine = 1) and the maximum values of direct radiation measured during the period considered (each of the hours before or after the solar noon for which radiation is received); Condition B: corresponding to all the values of radiation measured when the sunshine fraction is 1 during the period considered; Condition C: corresponding to all the data collected, independently of the state of the sky; Condition D: corresponding to overcast skies ( ).From the available values of and (monthly average hourly direct radiation on a horizontal surface), values of and for 5° ≤ ≤ 45° and Δ = 5° are calculated using Newton's divided difference interpolation formula. The interpolated values occupy three clearly different regions in the plot, one for each of the conditions A,B, and C. For Condition A and each value of best linear fits with high correlation coefficients are obtained for the correlation. The influence of the Linke turbidity factor on the correlation for Condition A is studied for 5° ≤ ≤ 35°, Δ = 5°.     

Directed evolution of biocircuits using conjugative plasmids and CRISPR-Cas9: design and in silico experiments

Recent links between computer science and synthetic biology allow for construction of many kinds of algorithmic processes within cells, obtained either by a direct engineered design or by an evolutionary search. In the latter case, horizontal gene transfer and especially transfer of plasmids by conjugation is generally respected as a crucial source of genetic diversity in bacteria. While some previous studies focused on mutations as the crucial principle to obtain diversity for engineered evolution, here we consider conjugation itself as a tool to generate diversity from a pre-determined library of biocircuits basic components. The recent development of CRISPR-Cas9 and its programmable DNA cutting ability makes it a powerful selection tool able to remove nonfunctional biocircuits from a cell population. In this paper, we describe a framework for controlled bacterial evolution of biocircuits based on conjugation and on CRISPR-Cas9, resulting in a direct biological implementation of an evolutionary algorithm. In silico experiments provide data to estimate the computational/search capability of plasmid-based engineered evolution.     

Multiplexed detection of antibodies to nonstructural proteins of foot-and-mouth disease virus

Liquid array technology was used to develop a multiplexed assay for the detection of antibodies to viral nonstructural proteins (NSPs), raised in cattle in response to infection with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus. Two assays, one based on recombinant NSPs and the other on synthetically produced peptides, were developed and compared side-by-side. Serum samples from serial bleeds of cattle, each experimentally infected with one of the seven serotypes (C, A, O, Asia, SAT1, SAT2, SAT3) of FMD virus were analyzed. A distinct pattern in the detection of NSP antibodies and a close correlation of the recombinant protein and peptide-based assays were observed. The detection of antibodies to NSPs is a method to differentiate FMD-infected and FMD-vaccinated animals, and a high-throughput assay would be an invaluable tool in the case of an outbreak of FMD in North America, when emergency vaccination may be utilized to spare vaccinated, noninfected animals from slaughter and subsequent disposal.     

Micro- and Nanoplastics’ Effects on Protein Folding and Amyloidosis

A significant portion of the world’s plastic is not properly disposed of and, through various processes, is degraded into microscopic particles termed micro- and nanoplastics. Marine and terrestrial faunae, including humans, inevitably get in contact and may inhale and ingest these microscopic plastics which can deposit throughout the body, potentially altering cellular and molecular functions in the nervous and other systems. For instance, at the cellular level, studies in animal models have shown that plastic particles can cross the blood–brain barrier and interact with neurons, and thus affect cognition. At the molecular level, plastics may specifically influence the folding of proteins, induce the formation of aberrant amyloid proteins, and therefore potentially trigger the development of systemic and local amyloidosis. In this review, we discuss the general issue of plastic micro- and nanoparticle generation, with a focus on their effects on protein folding, misfolding, and their possible clinical implications.     

The motor Wisdom of the Crowd

Wisdom of the Crowd is the aggregation of many individual estimates to obtain a better collective one. Because of its enormous social potential, this effect has been thoroughly investigated, but predominantly on tasks that involve rational thinking (such as estimating a number). Here we tested this effect in the context of drawing geometrical shapes, which still enacts cognitive processes but mainly involves visuomotor control. We asked more than 700 school students to trace five patterns shown on a touchscreen and then aggregated their individual trajectories to improve the match with the original pattern. Our results show the characteristics of the strongest examples of Wisdom of the Crowd. First, the aggregate trajectory can be up to 5 times more accurate than the individual ones. Second, this great improvement requires aggregating trajectories from different individuals (rather than trials from the same individual). Third, the aggregate trajectory outperforms more than 99% of individual trajectories. Fourth, while older individuals outperform younger ones, a crowd of young individuals outperforms the average older one. These results demonstrate for the first time Wisdom of the Crowd in the realm of motor control, opening the door to further studies of human and also animal behavioural trajectories and their mechanistic underpinnings.