The TNF-α-238G > A single-nucleotide polymorphism protects against memory decline in older adults with Type 2 diabetes.

Inflammatory markers predict memory dysfunction in elderly patients, but their contribution to memory deficits in adults with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is less well understood. The present study determined whether specific single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the promoter region of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) predict verbal memory in older patients with T2DM. Immediate and delayed verbal memory were assessed using word list and paragraph recall tests in a cohort of subjects with T2DM during 2 sessions, separated by 48 weeks. The presence of the TNF-α-238A allele, which has been shown to decrease gene expression, consistently predicted better baseline performance and protected against memory decline over a period of 48 weeks. Therefore, inflammatory mediators may be important modulators of memory function in individuals with T2DM. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Simulation of hydrogen diffusion affected by stress-strain heterogeneity in polycrystalline stainless steel

The effect of microstructure-induced strain-stress heterogeneity on the evolution of hydrogen distribution was studied on 316 L stainless steel. A crystal plasticity-transient hydrogen diffusion finite element analysis was developed. To reach the stress-strain heterogeneity, synthetic microstructures were computed under uniaxial loading. The results show that hydrostatic stress gradients is the main cause of the hydrogen redistribution and the strain rate has a crucial effect on the redistribution degree. Statistical analysis of H-segregation reveals clustering of H-enriched zones at the mesoscopic scale.     

UV absorbance dependent toxicity of acridine to the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum

The present study seeks quantitative measures for photoenhanced toxicity under natural light regimes by comparing the effects of an aromatic compound under natural and laboratory light. To this purpose, the influence of light irradiance and spectral composition on the extent of photoenhanced toxicity of acridine, a three-ringed azaarene, to the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum was analyzed. Under laboratory light containing ultraviolet radiation (UV), the 72-h EC50 growth value for acridine was 1.55 microM. Under natural light, a 72-h EC50 value for acridine below the lowest test concentration (0.44 microM) was observed. Under both laboratory and natural light, the toxicity of acridine was equally enhanced by total UV (UV-A and UV-B) and UV-A radiation, while in the absence of UV no enhancement of toxicity was observed. Hence, the UV-A region of light was dominant in the photoenhanced toxicity of acridine to P. tricornutum, in accordance with its absorption spectrum in the UV-A region. Therefore, the total amount of UV radiation absorbed by aqueous acridine was calculated for each separate treatment. The amount of UV absorbed by acridine effectively described the effect of acridine on the growth of P. tricornutum in a dose-response-dependent manner. It is concluded that photoenhanced toxicity of aromatic compounds expressed as a function of the actually absorbed UV may circumvent some of the variability between studies using different concentrations of the phototoxic compounds and light sources. The UV quantity absorbed by these compounds allows a comparison with the absorption characteristics of natural waters and, thus, is a key parameter to determine the role of photoenhanced toxicity in water.     

THERMAL RESPONSE OF SILICON CRYSTAL TO PICO-FEMTOSECOND HEAT PULSE BY MOLECULAR DYNAMICS

We investigate the thermal response of a silicon crystal irradiated by a pico-femto heat pulse by using molecular dynamics technique and a linear response theory–based statistical analysis. The thermal susceptibility is first defined in terms of computed quantities and then convoluted with time Gaussian temperature pulses. The qualitative difference between the responses to various pulse durations is explained and the results are compared to those of classical Fourier model. Non-Fourier behaviors are emphasized and a mean phonon relaxation time is identified.     

Anti-smoking educational game using avatars as visualized possible selves

Few social smokers envision themselves being affected by the negative consequences of smoking despite well-known facts that smoking causes serious illnesses and death. However, as smoking habits quickly develop, social smokers cannot be free from the negative consequences of smoking. In this study, we pose the following question: “Would showing social smokers’ possible future as a consequence of smoking help them alter their current smoking behaviors?” Thus, using the theoretical concept of possible selves, an anti-smoking educational game was created in which players could see changes to the appearance of their future selves as a consequence of smoking. We used a 2 (Future face: Showing vs. Not showing) × 2 (Self avatar: Self-avatar vs. Other-avatar) between-subjects design for the experiment. Results indicated that participants who viewed the future face, compared to who did not, reported more negative attitudes toward social smoking and greater intention to quit smoking. The main effect of the self avatar was insignificant; however, seeing the future face in the self-avatar condition led to an increase in perceived risks compared to other-avatar condition. The implications of using avatars as visualized possible selves in health promotion are discussed.     

交织复用空时码在协作中继网络中的应用

本文研究了一种基于交织复用(IDM)的分布式空时编码方案,对一种适用于该方案的迭代接收机结构进行性能分析。同时通过仿真,对所提出的协作编码方案进行性能评估。在相似环境下,通过比较本方案与其它协作空时码的性能,表明本方案由于采用了非正交的空时编码,具有多方面的优越性。同时它还可以采用灵活的发送天线数配置,反映到协作通信的场景,也就是对中继终端的数量没有特殊要求。     

Segmentation-based multi-class semantic object detection

In this paper we study the problem of the detection of semantic objects from known categories in images. Unlike existing techniques which operate at the pixel or at a patch level for recognition, we propose to rely on the categorization of image segments. Recent work has highlighted that image segments provide a sound support for visual object class recognition. In this work, we use image segments as primitives to extract robust features and train detection models for a predefined set of categories. Several segmentation algorithms are benchmarked and their performances for segment recognition are compared. We then propose two methods for enhancing the segments classification, one based on the fusion of the classification results obtained with the different segmentations, the other one based on the optimization of the global labelling by correcting local ambiguities between neighbor segments. We use as a benchmark the Microsoft MSRC-21 image database and show that our method competes with the current state-of-the-art.     

Interrelationship between dietarytrans fatty acids and the 6- and 9-desaturases in the rat

Studies are reported on the effects of dietarytrans fatty acids on the 6- and 9-acyl desaturase activities in the liver microsomes of rats fed essential fatty acid (EFA)-deficient and non-FFA-deficient diets. In experiment I, weanling male rats were fed a semisynthetic diet with either 10% safflower oil (SAF) or 10% hydrogenated coconut oil (HCO). At the age of one year, half of the dietary fat was replaced by a supplement containing elaidate, linolelaidate andcis,trans-trans,cis-18∶2 (TRANS) for 12 weeks. In experiment II, male rats which were kept from weaning on a 10% SAF diet for one year received one of the following fat supplements for a 12-week period: 10% HCO, 9% HCO+1% TRANS, or 5% HCO+5% TRANS. Feeding TRANS depressed the 6-desaturase activity in the liver microsomes, especially in the EFA-deficient rats (HCO+TRANS group of experiment I). Unlike the 6-deaturase activity, the 9-desaturase activity was not inhibited by the dietarytrans fatty acids and was significantly stimulated in the non-EFA-deficient rats (SAF+TRANS group of experiment I and HCO+TRANS groups of experiment II). This was evidenced by incubation reactions and by comparisons of fatty acid consumptions and microsomal fatty acid levels, showing extra biosynthesis of 16∶1 and 18∶1 when TRANS was fed. The biosynthesis of essential (n−6) fatty acids was depressed by the TRANS supplement in EFA-deficient as well as in non-EFA-deficient animals.     

Role of the central benzodiazepine receptor system in behavioral habituation to novelty.

We report the results of 2 experiments examining the role of central benzodiazepine receptor sites in the response to novelty. Animals that were food deprived and presented with food in a novel environment showed long latencies before they began eating. Pretreatment with diazepam or preexposure to the "novel" environment for 1 hr/day for 4 or 7 days before testing in that environment dramatically reduced the latency to begin eating. Administration of either the "inverse agonist," FG-7142, or an antagonist, RO15-1788, of the central benzodiazepine receptor before testing completely reversed the effects of 7 days of preexposure to the novel environment. In home-cage feeding tests, FG-7142, but not RO15-1788, increased the latency to begin feeding in food-deprived animals. Findings indicate that FG-7142 is strongly anxiogenic, whereas RO15-1788 is not anxiogenic, yet both drugs are potent in reversing the effects of habituation. Results suggest that the normal process of habituation to novelty may involve the release of an endogenous, anxiolytic compound (an agonist) that binds to a central benzodiazepine receptor, the effects of which are blocked by RO15-1788. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)