Systematic literature review shows that appetite rating does not predict energy intake

Ratings of appetite are commonly used to assess appetite modification following an intervention. Subjectively rated appetite is a widely employed proxy measure for energy intake (EI), measurement of which requires greater time and resources. However, the validity of appetite as a reliable predictor of EI has not yet been reviewed systematically. This literature search identified studies that quantified both appetite ratings and EI. Outcomes were predefined as: (1) agreement between self-reported appetite scores and EI; (2) no agreement between self-reported appetitescores and EI. The presence of direct statistical comparison between the endpoints, intervention type and study population were also recorded. 462 papers were included in this review. Appetite scores failed to correspond with EI in 51.3% of the total studies. Only 6% of all studies evaluated here reported a direct statistical comparison between appetite scores and EI. χ² analysis demonstrated that any relationship between EI and appetite was independent of study type stratification by age, gender or sample size. The very substantive corpus reviewed allows us to conclude that self-reported appetite ratings of appetite do not reliably predict EI. Caution should be exercised when drawing conclusions based from self-reported appetite scores in relation to prospective EI.     

Invisible Agency

Jeremy Till and Tatjana Schneider call for a redefinition of the architect away from the professional who is ostensibly involved in adding ‘more stuff to the world’. Looking beyond the business of matter or managing the impact of that matter on the environment, they explore ways that designers can use their intelligence and creativity to shift existing habits of consumption and patterns of behaviour. They highlight the work for four practices who are already operating in this field: 2012Architecten, 00/:, Arif Hasan and Morar de Outras Maneiras (MOM).     

Moment resisting connections composed of friction-welded spruce boards: experimental investigations and numerical strength prediction

Research on friction welded wood-to-wood connections has shown high potential for further development regarding the industrial application of timber construction. This paper addresses the question to which extent welding of wood can be applied to fabrication of cross-laminated timber panels (CLT). Those panels can be used as wall elements, in which load transfer occurs by transmission of moments and shear stresses. For this purpose, experimental investigations on friction welded L-shaped specimens were carried out. The welded bond between the boards, arranged perpendicularly to their fibre directions, represents points of intersection of those CLT panels. The results allowed for (a) the determination of a fracture mechanism of welded timber connections under torsion, (b) the definition of a set of design parameters influencing the resulting joint strength and (c) the comparison between the performance of welded timber joints and those of commonly glued alternatives. The experimental investigations were compared to results obtained by numerical modelling, thus allowing a probabilistic strength prediction algorithm for predicting the joint capacity as a function of the surface size.     

MRI correlates of cognitive impairment in childhood-onset multiple sclerosis.

Objective: Brain MRI measures were correlated with neuropsychological function in 35 pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and 33 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Method: Mean age of MS patients was 16.3 ± 2.3 years with average disease duration of 4.3 ± 3.1 years. Cortical gray matter, thalamic, and global brain volumes were calculated for all participants using a scaling factor computed using normalization of atrophy method to normalize total and regional brain volumes for head size. T1- and T2-weighted lesion volumes were calculated for MS patients. Results: Cognitive impairment (CI) was identified in 29% of the MS cohort. Cognitive deficits predominantly involved attention and processing speed, expressive language, and visuomotor integration. Relative to controls, the MS group showed significantly lower thalamic volume (p p p p     

Elucidation of the biosynthesis and degradation of allantofuranone by isotopic labelling and fermentation of modified precursors

Feeding experiments with the ascomycete Allantophomopsis lycopodina indicated that the potent fungistatic allantofuranone is biosynthesized from phenylalanine. Further experiments with synthetic precursors gave evidence that the naturally occurring polyporic acid serves as a key intermediate in the biosynthesis. In addition to the formation of allantofuranone, its abiotic and metabolic degradation were investigated.     

Quantitative analysis of human ras localization and function in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Ras signalling is central to fundamental and diverse cellular processes. In higher eukaryotes ras signalling is highly complex, involving multiple isoforms, regulatory proteins and effectors. As a consequence, the study of ras activity in mammalian systems presents a number of technical challenges. The model organism Schizosaccharomyces pombe has previously proved a key system for the study of human signalling components and provides an ideal model for the study of ras, as it contains just one ras protein (Ras1p), which is non‐essential and controls a number of downstream processes. Here we present data demonstrating the quantitative analysis of three distinct Ras1‐related signalling outputs, utilizing the three most abundant human ras isoforms, H‐Ras, N‐Ras and K‐Ras4B, in Sz. pombe. Further, we have characterized the localization of these three human ras isoforms in Sz. pombe, utilizing quantitative image analysis techniques. These data indicate that all three human ras isoforms are functional in fission yeast, displaying differing localization patterns which correlate strongly with function in the regulation of pheromone response and cell shape. These data demonstrate that such yeast strains could provide powerful tools for the investigation of ras biology, and potentially in the development of cancer therapies. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

In Vitro Double Oxidation of n‐Heptane with Direct Cofactor Regeneration

A novel concept for the direct oxidation of cycloalkanes to the corresponding cyclic ketones in a one‐pot synthesis in water with molecular oxygen as sole oxidizing agent was reported recently. Based on this concept we have developed a new strategy for the double oxidation of n‐heptane to enable a biocatalytic resolution for the direct synthesis of heptanone and (R)‐heptanols in a one‐pot reaction. The bicatalytic cascade employs an NADH driven P450 BM3 monooxygenase variant (WT^NADH, 19A12^NADH or CM1^NADH) and an (S)‐enantioselective alcohol dehydrogenase (RE‐ADH). In the initial step n‐heptane is hydroxylated under consumption of NADH to produce (R/S)‐heptanol. In the second oxidation step the (S)‐heptanol enantiomers are transformed to the corresponding ketones, reducing and thereby regenerating the cofactor. Characterization of initial hydroxylation step revealed high turnover frequencies (TOF) of up to 600 min⁻¹, as well as high coupling efficiencies using NADH as cofactor (up to 44%). In the cascade reaction a nearly 2‐fold improved product formation was achieved, compared to the single hydroxylation reaction. The total product concentration reached 1.1 mM, corresponding to a total turnover number (TTN) of 2500. Implementation of an additional cofactor regeneration system (D ‐glucose/glucose dehydrogenase) enabled a further enhancement in product formation with a total product concentration of 1.8 mM and a TTN of 3500.     

Network formation by aza‐Michael addition of primary amines to vinyl end groups of enzymatically synthesized poly(glycerol adipate)

A highly efficient approach for the synthesis of polyester‐based networks via aza‐Michael addition of primary amines to α,β‐unsaturated (vinyl) end groups of poly(glycerol adipate) (PGA) was achieved. By acylation of PGA with 6‐(Fmoc‐amino)hexanoic acid side chains via Steglich esterification, protected amine‐functionalized PGA was obtained. This was followed by the removal of fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl (Fmoc) protecting groups and the synthesis of PGA‐based networks under catalyst‐free conditions. The successful conjugate addition of primary amines to vinyl end groups and network formation were confirmed using ¹³C magic angle spinning NMR and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Network heterogeneity and defects were quantitatively investigated using ¹H double‐quantum NMR spectroscopy. Finally, a hydrogel was prepared with potential biomedical applications.     

Reducing dielectric loss in Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 based high temperature capacitor material

The demand for capacitors exhibiting low sensitivity towards temperature changes and high power peaks has increased significantly. Recently, Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃ (NBT) based ceramics became excellent candidates for such extreme temperature capacitors. The dielectric loss of these materials is, however, difficult to control because of the complex defect chemistry of NBT based ceramics. Therefore, it is the limiting factor for high temperature applications. In this work, we present a strategy to increase the upper temperature limit for low dielectric loss. The addition of BiAlO₃ to Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃-BaTiO₃-CaZrO₃ reduces the loss and sensitivity towards Bi evaporation during synthesis. For unmodified samples, the relative permittivity (ε_r = 581, at 1 kHz) varies less than 15 %, while the dielectric loss stays below 0.02 between -68 and 368 °C. With the addition of BiAlO₃, the temperature range of low loss extends from -68 to 391 °C at even higher permittivity (ε_r = 628, at 1 kHz).     

ZnO-based single crystal-polycrystal structures for piezotronic applications

Electrostatic potential barriers at doped ZnO-ZnO interfaces can be modified by stress-induced polarization charges. This concept was enhanced by preparing ZnO-based single crystal-polycrystal-single crystal structures by diffusion bonding. Increasing time for epitaxial solid-state transformation results in structures with a decreasing thickness of residual polycrystalline material in between two well-oriented single crystals. Microstructural and electrical analysis quantifies the influence of high-temperature treatment during epitaxial growth on the stress sensitivity of the prepared structures. The orientation of the single crystals is defined to maximize the interaction between stress-induced polarization charges and the potential barriers at doped ZnO-ZnO interfaces. With decreasing thickness of residual polycrystalline material, the percentage of grain boundaries with favorably aligned polarization vectors is increased resulting in a higher stress sensitivity. This effect is compensated by an adverse effect of the high-temperature treatment on the initial potential barrier height. Hence, a maximum in stress sensitivity can be observed for intermediate times of epitaxial growth. The prepared structures close the gap between the varistor piezotronics based on bulk ceramics with random orientation of the polarization vector and the bicrystal piezotronics with perfect orientation of the polarization vector, demonstrating the capability of microstructural engineering for varistor-based piezotronic devices.