Dietary fatty acids regulate cholesterol induction of liver CYP7α1 expression and bile acid production

In the present study we investigated the effects of dietary fats containing predominantly PUFA, monounsaturated FA (MUFA), or saturated FA (SFA) on lipid profile and liver cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7α1) mRNA expression and bile acid production in C57BL/6J mice. The animals (n=75) were randomly divided into five groups and fed a basic chow diet (AIN-93G) (BC diet), a chow diet with 1g/100g of cholesterol (Chol diet), a chow diet with 1g/100g of cholesterol and 14g/100g of safflower oil (Chol+PUFA diet), a chow diet with 1g/100g of cholesterol and olive oil (Chol+MUFA diet), or a chow diet with 1g/100g of cholesterol and myristic acid (Chol+SFA diet) for 6 wk. The results showed that the Chol+SFA diet decreased CYP7α1 gene expression and bile acid pool size, resulting in increased blood and liver cholesterol levels. Addition of PUFA and MUFA to a 1% cholesterol diet increased the bile acid pool production or bile acid excretion and simultaneously decreased liver cholesterol accumulation despite decreased CYP7α1 mRNA expression. The results indicate that the decreased bile acid pool size induced by the SFA diet is related to inhibition of the liver CYP7α1 gene expression, but an increased bile acid pool size and improved cholesterol homeostasis are disassociated from the liver CYP7α1 gene expression.     

Olfactory Responses of Banana Weevil Predators to Volatiles from Banana Pseudostem Tissue and Synthetic Pheromone

As a response to attack by herbivores, plants can emit a variety of volatile substances that attract natural enemies of these insect pests. Predators of the banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) such as Dactylosternum abdominale (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae) and Pheidole megacephala (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), are normally found in association with weevil-infested rotten pseudostems and harvested stumps. We investigated whether these predators are attracted to such environments in response to volatiles produced by the host plant, by the weevil, or by the weevil–plant complex. We evaluated predator responses towards volatiles from banana pseudostem tissue (synomones) and the synthetic banana weevil aggregation pheromone Cosmolure+ in a two-choice olfactometer. The beetle D. abdominale was attracted to fermenting banana pseudostem tissue and Cosmolure+, whereas the ant P. megacephala was attracted only to fermented pseudostem tissue. Both predators were attracted to banana pseudostem tissue that had been damaged by weevil larvae irrespective of weevil presence. Adding pheromone did not enhance predator response to volatiles from pseudostem tissue fed on by weevils. The numbers of both predators recovered with pseudostem traps in the field from banana mats with a pheromone trap were similar to those in pseudostem traps at different distance ranges from the pheromone. Our study shows that the generalist predators D. abdominale and P. megacephala use volatiles from fermented banana pseudostem tissue as the major chemical cue when searching for prey.     

Crystallinity and thermal properties of ethylene-1-decene copolymers

Summary Three copolymers of ethylene and 1-decene, covering a wide range of compositions, have been synthesized with a MgCl₂-supported Ziegler-Natta catalyst. The analysis by DSC and X-ray shows a great degree of heterogeneity in these copolymers and appreciable levels of crystallinity, corresponding to the orthorhombic lattice of polyethylene, are present even for very high 1-decene contents.     

Production of nanoparticles of copper compounds by anodic dissolution of copper in organic solvents

The anodic behaviour of copper was investigated in ethanol solution containing LiClO₄, LiCl electrolyte and water. The type of electrolyte and the water content influences the mechanism of the anodic process and the formation of anodic products. In LiClO₄ electrolyte the dissolution of copper is related to the oxidation of Cu(I) to Cu(II). In solutions of LiCl the etching of copper begins with the creation of soluble complexes of Cu(I) with chloride ions and solvent molecules. At potentials above 0.4 V the formation of alkoxides was observed in both solutions, characterized by a yellow tint. On the other hand, above 0.8 V (i.e. above the equilibrium potential of alcohol oxidation) copper dissolution is accompanied by the formation of a blue colloidal suspension of Cu (II) copper salt. Anodic etching of copper in solutions containing 3% H₂O at potentials higher than 0.4 V leads to the formation of colloidal suspension of copper oxide nanoparticles.     

A solution approach to the design of multi-period,multipurpose batch plants

A deterministic model for multipurpose, multiperiod batch plants was presented in a linearized form to predict the future design according to the change of demand by using a modified Benders’ Decomposition. The OSL code offered by the IBM corporation as optimizer was employed for solving several example problems. The decomposition method was successful, showing remarkable reduction in the computing times as compared with those of the direct solution method. Also the heuristic used as a solution approach for the multiperiod model provided an efficient methodology to the block-structured problem by dividing the large overall problem into the manageable single period blocks.     

Detection of beeswax adulterations using concentration guide‐values

The concentrations of 102 chemical compounds (saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons, palmitates, total and free acids, total hydroxyacids, total and free alcohols, acidic monoesters and monoesterified 1,2,3‐propanetriols) have been determined by GC/FID on white and yellow comb beeswax of Apis mellifera from different regions of Spain. Guide‐value ranges are proposed for its characterization and to discriminate adulterated foundation beeswax sheets. The concentrations of many compounds resulted to be statistically different for white and yellow beeswaxes, while the observation of concentrations out of normal in some marketed foundation beeswax sheets suggested their adulteration. However, the measurement of anomalous concentrations in foundation beeswax sheets did not imply necessarily their rejection by the bees.     

Strong dependence on pressure of the performance of a Co/SiO2 catalyst in Fischer–Tropsch slurry reactor synthesis

A 10 wt% Co/SiO₂ catalyst was prepared by the incipient wet-impregnation method and tested in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis in a slurry reactor under conditions approaching industrial practice. The catalyst precursor was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The XPS and XRD techniques revealed the presence of a crystalline Co₃O₄ spinel-type phase, while-in addition-TEM and XPS analyses pointed to the formation of another amorphous Co₃O₄ spinel phase, both species interacting weakly with the silica substrate. The influence of total pressure on the conversion, selectivity and stability of the catalyst was studied. Upon increasing the overall pressure from 20 to 40 bar, not only activity increased but also the catalyst are not deactivating. These results are explained in terms of an increase of gases solubility in the solvent, this increment of CO concentration in the liquid phase favours carbonyl species formation and the cobalt particles segregation that implies an increase in the metal surface area.     

PMMA‐modified divinylester/styrene resins: Phase diagrams and morphologies

Binary and ternary experimental cloud‐point curves (CPCs) for systems formulated with a low molar mass synthesized divinylester (DVE) resin, styrene (St), and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were determined. The CPCs results were analyzed with the Flory–Huggins (F‐H) thermodynamic model taking into account the polydispersity of the DVE and PMMA components, to calculate the different binary interaction parameters and their temperature dependences. The St‐DVE system is miscible in all the composition range and down to the crystallization temperature of the St; therefore, the interaction parameter expression reported for a higher molar mass DVE was adapted. The interaction parameters obtained were used to calculate the phase diagrams of the St‐PMMA and the DVE‐PMMA binary systems and that of the St‐DVE‐PMMA ternary system at three different temperatures. Quasiternary phase diagrams show liquid–liquid partial miscibility of the St‐PMMA and DVE‐PMMA pairs. At room temperature, the St‐DVE‐PMMA system is miscible at all compositions. Final morphologies of PMMA‐modified cured St‐DVE materials were generated by polymerization‐induced phase separation (PIPS) mechanism from initial homogeneous mixtures. SEM and TEM micrographs were obtained to analyze the generated final morphologies, which showed a direct correlation with the initial miscibility of the system. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 4539–4549, 2006     

A genetic tango attack against the David–Prasad RFID ultra‐lightweight authentication protocol

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a powerful technology that enables wireless information storage and control in an economical way. These properties have generated a wide range of applications in different areas. Due to economic and technological constrains, RFID devices are seriously limited, having small or even tiny computational capabilities. This issue is particularly challenging from the security point of view. Security protocols in RFID environments have to deal with strong computational limitations, and classical protocols cannot be used in this context. There have been several attempts to overcome these limitations in the form of new lightweight security protocols designed to be used in very constrained (sometimes called ultra‐lightweight) RFID environments. One of these proposals is the David–Prasad ultra‐lightweight authentication protocol. This protocol was successfully attacked using a cryptanalysis technique named Tango attack. The capacity of the attack depends on a set of boolean approximations. In this paper, we present an enhanced version of the Tango attack, named Genetic Tango attack, that uses Genetic Programming to design those approximations, easing the generation of automatic cryptanalysis and improving its power compared to a manually designed attack. Experimental results are given to illustrate the effectiveness of this new attack.     

Reported food intake and distribution of body fat: a repeated cross-sectional study

Background  

Body mass, as well as distribution of body fat, are predictors of both diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In Northern Sweden, despite a marked increase in average body mass, prevalence of diabetes was stagnant and myocardial infarctions decreased. A more favourable distribution of body fat is a possible contributing factor.