Genetic and Epigenomic Modifiers of Diabetic Neuropathy

Diabetic neuropathy (DN), the most common chronic and progressive complication of diabetes mellitus (DM), strongly affects patients’ quality of life. DN could be present as peripheral, autonomous or, clinically also relevant, uremic neuropathy. The etiopathogenesis of DN is multifactorial, and genetic components play a role both in its occurrence and clinical course. A number of gene polymorphisms in candidate genes have been assessed as susceptibility factors for DN, and most of them are linked to mechanisms such as reactive oxygen species production, neurovascular impairments and modified protein glycosylation, as well as immunomodulation and inflammation. Different epigenomic mechanisms such as DNA methylation, histone modifications and non-coding RNA action have been studied in DN, which also underline the importance of “metabolic memory” in DN appearance and progression. In this review, we summarize most of the relevant data in the field of genetics and epigenomics of DN, hoping they will become significant for diagnosis, therapy and prevention of DN.     

Current Concepts on Genetic Aspects of Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), neurodegenerative motor neuron disorder is characterized as multisystem disease with important contribution of genetic factors. The etiopahogenesis of ALS is not fully elucidate, but the dominant theory at present relates to RNA processing, as well as protein aggregation and miss-folding, oxidative stress, glutamate excitotoxicity, inflammation and epigenetic dysregulation. Additionally, as mitochondria plays a leading role in cellular homeostasis maintenance, a rising amount of evidence indicates mitochondrial dysfunction as a substantial contributor to disease onset and progression. The aim of this review is to summarize most relevant findings that link genetic factors in ALS pathogenesis with different mechanisms with mitochondrial involvement (respiratory chain, OXPHOS control, calcium buffering, axonal transport, inflammation, mitophagy, etc.). We highlight the importance of a widening perspective for better understanding overlapping pathophysiological pathways in ALS and neurodegeneration in general. Finally, current and potentially novel therapies, especially gene specific therapies, targeting mitochondrial dysfunction are discussed briefly.     

A study on the Co-W activated Ni electrodes for the hydrogen production from alkaline water electrolysis - Energy saving

Hydrogen is considered to be the most promising candidate as a future energy carrier. One of the most used technologies for the electrolytic hydrogen production is alkaline water electrolysis. However, due to high energy requirements of about 4.5-5 kWh/Nm³ H₂ in most industrial electrolysers, the cost of hydrogen produced in such a way is high. There are various attempts to overcome this problem, like zero-gap cell geometry, development of new diaphragm materials, development of new electrocatalytic materials for electrodes, etc.In continuous search to improve this process using advanced electrocatalytic materials for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), based on transition metal series, catalyst based of cobalt and wolfram was investigated as cathode material. On the basis of the results of our experiments, there is a strong indication that the Co-W catalyst reduces energy needs per mass unit of hydrogen produced for more than 20% in some cases. Objective of this work was to investigate the electrocatalytic efficiency using quasi-potentiostatic, galvanostatic and impedance spectroscopy techniques. Results are presented to show the Tafel slopes, the exchange current densities, the apparent energy of activation, the apparent electrochemical surface and the stability of Co-W catalyst. Results suggest to significant catalytic performance not only from the increase of the real surface area of electrodes, but also from the true catalytic effect of the Co-W catalyst.     

Self-reported injuries among seafarers. Questionnaire validity and results from an international study

International surveys of occupational injuries among seafarers have so far been missing. It was the aim to test the method of self-report of injuries and length of time at risk during the latest duty period and second to study the injury incidence rate among seafarers by use of the method. A pilot study was conducted (n = 1068) in Finland, Denmark, the Philippines, Croatia and Spain using self-completed questionnaires with questions about the person, the ship, the duration of latest duty period and injuries. The duration of the self-reporting duty period was in the Danish part compared with information from the crew register of the Maritime Authority. For seafarers from merchant ships in the Danish sub-study there was acceptable correspondence between the information from the seafarers and the Maritime Authority, but not when referring to ferries and non-specified types of ship. Unadjusted and adjusted injury incidence rates-ratios (IRRs) based on number of injuries per number of work hours were calculated. Adjusted IRRs for ordinary seamen/officers: IRR = 2.43 (95% CI: 1.25-4.72); for age < 35/35+ years: IRR = 1.97 (1.02-3.81); length of tour: 117 days or longer compared with < 117 days: IRR = 0.46 (95% CI: 0.22-0.95); 57-70 working hours per week compared with < 57 h: IRR = 1.26 (0.48-3.29), 71+h compared with < 57 h: IRR = 2.12 (0.84-5.36). Non-significant IRRs >1.00 were found for ships under 10,000 GT compared with larger ships and for own flagged ships compared with ships under flag of convenience. In conclusion, more than 70 h of work per week was related to a higher rate of injuries for seafarers on merchant ships, but the result was not statistically significant. Self-report of the duration of the latest tour of duty is useful for seafarers from merchant ships with short-term employments, but not for ferries and other, non-specified types of ship with other or permanent employment.     

Nanocrystalline Zn2SnO4/SnO2: Crystal structure and humidity influence on complex impedance

Journal of Electroceramics - Nanocrystalline Zn2SnO4/SnO2 powder was obtained by a solid state reaction of ZnO and SnO2 nanopowders mixed in the molar ratio 1:1. The phase composition of the...     

Rheological properties of hydroxyl‐terminated and end‐capped aliphatic hyperbranched polyesters

The rheological behavior of two series of aliphatic hyperbranched (HB) polyesters, based on 2,2‐bis(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid (bis‐MPA) and di‐trimethylol propane (Di‐TMP) as a tetrafunctional core, was studied. The effect of the size (pseudo‐generation number, from second to eight) and structure on the melt rheological properties was investigated for a series of hydroxyl‐terminated HB polyesters. In addition, the influence of the nature and degree of modification of the terminal OH groups in a series of fourth‐generation polyesters end‐capped with short and long alkyl chains and some aryl groups on the rheological properties was analyzed. The time–temperature superposition procedure was applied for the construction of master curves and for the analysis of the rheological properties of HB polyesters. The data obtained from WLF analysis of the HB polyesters showed that the values of the thermal coefficient of expansion of free volume α_f and the fractional free volume at the glass transition temperature, f_g, increase with increasing size of the HB polyesters. It was shown that the modified HB polyesters exhibited lower T_g and T_G′=G″ temperatures, above which viscous became dominant over elastic behavior. From an analysis of the master curves of the modified HB polyesters, it was observed that with increasing degree of modification, both storage and loss modules and complex dynamic viscosity and apparent energy for viscoelastic relaxation decrease, because of reduced intermolecular hydrogen interactions. They do not exhibit a plateau of rubbery behavior, which confirms that no entanglements are present and that the molar masses are below the critical molar mass. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41479.     

Peripheral visual feedback: a powerful means of supporting effective attention allocation in event-driven, data-rich environments

Breakdowns in human-automation coordination in data-rich, event-driven domains such as aviation can be explained in part by a mismatch between the high degree of autonomy yet low observability of modern technology. To some extent, the latter is the result of an increasing reliance in feedback design on foveal vision--an approach that fails to support pilots in tracking system-induced changes and events in parallel with performing concurrent flight-related tasks. One possible solution to the problem is the distribution of tasks and information across sensory modalities and processing channels. A simulator study is presented that compared the effectiveness of current foveal feedback and two implementations of peripheral visual feedback for keeping pilots informed about uncommanded changes in the status of an automated cockpit system. Both peripheral visual displays resulted in higher detection rates and faster response times, without interfering with the performance of concurrent visual tasks any more than does currently available automation feedback. Potential applications include improved display designs that support effective attention allocation in a variety of complex dynamic environments, such as aviation, process control, and medicine.     

Analysis of switched quantizer based on the quadratic spline functions

In this paper, an approximation of the optimal compressor function using the quadratic spline functions with 2L?=?8 segments is described. Since the quadratic spline with 2L?=?8 segments provides better approximation of the optimal compression function than quadratic spline with 2L?=?4 segments, capitalizing on the benefits of the obtained spline approximation, quantizer designing process is firstly performed for the so assumed number of segments and the Laplacian source of a unit variance. Then, to enhance the usability of the proposed model, the switched quantization technique is applied and a beneficial analysis is derived, providing insight in the robustness of the proposed quantizer performances with respect to the mismatch in designed for and applied to variances. Reached quality has been compared to another model from the literature, and it has been shown that the proposed model outperforms the previous model by almost 1.3?dB.