Determination of copper in fish feed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry using slurry sampling

The present work develops and optimizes a method to determine copper in samples of feces and fish feed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) through the direct introduction of slurries of the samples into the spectrometer’s graphite tube coated internally with metallic rhodium and tungsten carbide that acts as chemical modifiers. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) calculated for 20 readings of the blank of the standard slurries (0.50% m/v of feces or feed devoid of copper) were 0.24 and 0.79 μg L⁻¹ for the standard feces slurries and 0.26 and 0.87 μg L⁻¹ for the standard feed slurries. The proposed method was applied in studies of absorption of copper in different fish feeds and their results proved compatible with that obtained from samples mineralized by acid digestion using microwave oven.     

Comprehension of grammatical and emotional prosody is impaired in Alzheimer's disease.

Previous research has demonstrated impairment in comprehension of emotional prosody in individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The present pilot study further explored the prosodic processing impairment in AD, aiming to extend our knowledge to encompass both grammatical and emotional prosody processing. As expected, impairments were seen in emotional prosody. AD individuals were also found to be impaired in detecting sentence modality, suggesting that impairments in affective prosody processing in AD may be ascribed to a more general prosodic processing impairment, specifically in comprehending prosodic information signaled across the sentence level. AD participants were at a very mild stage of the disease, suggesting that prosody impairments occur early in the disease course. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of lexicality and distinctiveness on repetition blindness.

The repetition blindness (RB) paradigm developed by K. M. Arnell and P. Jolic?ur (1997) was used to examine effects of lexicality (word vs. nonword target pairs) and target distinctiveness on RB. Distinctiveness was manipulated by having both targets (Experiments 1 and 2) or only the first target (Experiment 3) brighter than nontarget items. All 3 experiments demonstrated strong RB for word targets but no RB for nonword targets. This confirms that RB depends on pre-existing memory representations. In fact, there was repetition facilitation for nonwords in Experiments 2 and 3. These experiments also demonstrated that RB is reduced when targets are distinctive. This finding is better understood in terms of RB as a failure of memory rather than as a failure of perception. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Capturing the benefits that emerge from regional sustainability networks: The Castile–La Mancha network of sustainable cities and towns

A great deal of regional research has focused on the innovation‐competitiveness‐growth chain, which is implicit in territorial innovation models (TIMs). TIMs literature has neglected or subordinated social and ecological regional conditions. This research adopts a broader perspective by: (i) studying an interscalar intergovernmental network aimed at meeting tridimensional sustainable development (SD) goals; and (ii) showing why this arrangement is successful. The network members are the regional government and provincial councils, which act as network promoters, and the municipalities. We model the network as a platform for integrating both pre‐existing idiosyncratic resources and emergent resources/benefits that come from rich and regular interactions (in the shape of learning, enjoyment, reputation, identification, and attitude towards citizen participation); resources integration leads to network member satisfaction. This view is supported by data concerning a network in a Spanish autonomous community (region), Castile–La Mancha. We see this study as a first step towards more systematic research on what might be termed ‘territorial sustainability models’.     

Entropy coders and 3D-Hadamard coefficients sequency scan order for a fast embedded color video codec

This work compares the performances of two Golomb family entropy coders applied to a video codec system named FHVC (fast hadamard video codec). The entropy coders considered have different operation modes and specific adaptation strategies. The work also presents a new 3D-transform coefficient scan order developed for the FHVC. This scan process is based on the multiplication of the three-dimensional sequency numbers of each coefficient. The FHVC (which is also described in this work) is a fast embedded color video codec developed to be implemented in a video set-top box used in a fiber optics network. The focus is on more reduced execution times, and not on higher compression rates. Low computational complexity and use of meager computational resources are also required. All the multiplications and divisions operations are performed by binary shifts and the system is implemented exclusively with 16-bit integer arithmetic. Even with these constraints, good distortion versus bit-rate results were achieved. The Hadamard transform is used in a three-dimensional fashion, in order to reduce spatial and temporal correlation and to avoid costly motion estimation and compensation techniques. The proposed scan procedure allows the transform coefficient reading in an idealistic “decreasing in the average” order. After the scan procedure, the encoding of the bit sequence of the 3D-Hadamard coefficients is carried out, bit-plane-by-bit-plane, with an adaptive Golomb run-length entropy coder, which produces a fully embedded output bitstream. Two entropy coders were considered. The first one uses an empirical, but fast and efficient, adaptation strategy that shows good results on non-stationary data. The second one has an adaptation strategy that is nearly optimum, in a maximum-likelihood sense, for independent Bernoulli identically distributed data.     

Sternpolymere als funktionale Bausteine für neuartige Nanofiltrationsmembranen

Interest in thin‐film membranes with properties specially tailored to the respective separation process is growing. In order to obtain such membranes with high permselectivity and fouling resistance, established membrane systems are combined with new building blocks. Star polymers are a class of promising building blocks. In this study, star polymers with anion exchange groups of variable molecular weight and low polydispersity were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization. The anion exchange groups were tertiary amino and quaternary ammonium groups. The resulting star polymers were integrated into polyamide thin‐film composite membranes using interfacial polymerization.     

Stanniocalcin 1 Enhances Carbon Flux from Glucose to Lipids in White Retroperitoneal Adipose Tissue in the Fed Rat

The present work assesses in vitro the role of human Stanniocalcin 1 (hSTC‐1) in glucose metabolism in white retroperitoneal adipose tissue (WRAT) from fed rat. In the fed state, hSTC1 increases the incorporation of ¹⁴C from glucose into lipids in the rat WRAT. The increase in lipogenesis capacity supports the hypothesis that the activity of the glycerol‐3‐phosphate‐generating pathway (glycolysis) from glucose is regulated by hSTC‐1. The effect of hSTC‐1 on de novo fatty acid synthesis and on glucose oxidation in WRAT is supported by an 85 % increase in ¹⁴CO₂ production from ¹⁴C‐glucose. The incubation of WRAT in the presence of hSTC‐1 maintained the ADP/ATP ratio close to the control group. The presence of hSTC‐1 in the incubation medium did not inhibit the lipolytic effect of epinephrine. In conclusion, hSTC‐1 is one of the hormonal factors that control glucose metabolism in WRAT in the fed state.     

Seasonal Variations in Lipid Content,Fatty Acid Composition and Nutritional Profiles of Five Freshwater Fish from the Amazon Basin

Fish from the Amazon Basin are affected by oscillations in the river water volume, which influences the diet of animal species. This study was aimed at evaluating seasonal variations in lipid content, fatty acid composition and nutritional profiles of five fish species from the Amazon Basin. The lipid contents of all fish species were observed to be lower in flood periods than in drought periods; Brachyplatystoma flavicans showed the largest variation (6.75–15.43 %) between these periods, while Colossoma macropomum showed no significant difference (p > 0.05). The fatty acid composition in the five fish species varied throughout seasonal periods; saturated fatty acid (SFA) contents decreased in flood periods, whereas polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) contents significantly (p < 0.05) increased for all the species in the same period. Leporinus friderici showed the highest content of α‐linolenic acid, (LNA 14.86 mg g^?1) and Colossoma macropomum presented the highest content of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA 26.13 mg g^?1) in flood periods. Prochilodus nigricans showed the lowest content of arachidonic acid (AA) in both periods, while Brachyplatystoma flavicans showed the greatest amount of AA, 18.77 mg g^?1 in drought period and 22.10 mg g^?1 in flood period. All the fish species presented favorable indices of nutritional quality of lipid fraction, suggesting that consumption of these species could be considered beneficial to human health.     

The older people, omega-3, and cognitive health (EPOCH) trial design and methodology: A randomised, double-blind, controlled trial investigating the effect of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids on cognitive ageing and wellbeing in cognitively healthy older adults

Background

Some studies have suggested an association between omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC PUFAs) and better cognitive outcomes in older adults. To date, only two randomised, controlled trials have assessed the effect of n-3 LC PUFA supplementation on cognitive function in older cognitively healthy populations. Of these trials only one found a benefit, in the subgroup carrying the ApoE-ε4 allele. The benefits of n-3 LC PUFA supplementation on cognitive function in older normal populations thus still remain unclear. The main objective of the current study was to provide a comprehensive assessment of the potential of n-3 LC PUFAs to slow cognitive decline in normal elderly people, and included ApoE-ε4 allele carriage as a potential moderating factor. The detailed methodology of the trial is reported herein.

Methods

The study was a parallel, 18-month, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled intervention with assessment at baseline and repeated 6-monthly. Participants (N = 391, 53.7% female) aged 65-90 years, English-speaking and with normal cognitive function, were recruited from metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. Participants in the intervention arm received capsules containing fish-oil at a daily dosage of 1720 mg of docosahexaenoic acid and 600 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid while the placebo arm received the equivalent amount of olive oil in their capsules. The primary outcome is rate of change in cognitive performance, as measured by latent variables for the cognitive constructs (encompassing Reasoning, Working Memory, Short-term Memory, Retrieval Fluency, Inhibition, Simple and Choice-Reaction Time, Perceptual Speed, Odd-man-out Reaction Time, Speed of Memory Scanning, and Psychomotor Speed) and assessed by latent growth curve modeling. Secondary outcomes are change in the Mini-mental State Examination, functional capacity and well-being (including health status, depression, mood, and self-report cognitive functioning), blood pressure, and biomarkers of n-3 LC PUFA status, glucose, lipid metabolism, inflammation, oxidative stress, and DNA damage.

Trial registration

Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register (ANZCTR): ACTRN12607000278437     

Nanoparticles in Liquid Crystals: Synthesis,Self-Assembly,Defect Formation and Potential Applications

Revolutionary developments in the fabrication of nanosized particles have created enormous expectations in the last few years for the use of such materials in areas such as medical diagnostics and drug-delivery, and in high-tech devices. By its very nature, nanotechnology is of immense academic and industrial interest as it involves the creation and exploitation of materials with structural features in between those of atoms and bulk materials, with at least one dimension limited to between 1 and 100 nm. Most importantly, the properties of materials with nanometric dimensions are, in most instances, significantly different from those of atoms or bulk materials. Research efforts geared towards new synthetic procedures for shape and size-uniform nanoscale building blocks as well as efficient self-assembly protocols for manipulation of these building blocks into functional materials has created enormous excitement in the field of liquid crystal research. Liquid crystals (LCs) by their very nature are suitable candidates for matrix-guided synthesis and self-assembly of nanoscale materials, since the liquid crystalline state combines order and mobility at the molecular (nanoscale) level. Based on selected relevant examples, this review attempts to give a short overview of current research efforts in LC-nanoscience. The areas addressed in this review include the synthesis of nanomaterials using LCs as templates, the design of LC nanomaterials, self-assembly of nanomaterials using LC phases, defect formation in LC-nanoparticle suspensions, and potential applications. Despite the seeming diversity of these research topics, this review will make an effort to establish logical links between these different research areas.