Hydro‐ethanolic extract of cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale) nut and its principal compound,anacardic acid,stimulate glucose uptake in C2C12 muscle cells

Scope: Products of cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale) are used in traditional medicine for various ailments, including diabetes. Methods and results: The anti‐diabetic properties of cashew plant parts were studied using differentiated C2C12 myoblasts (myotubes) and rat liver mitochondria. Hydroethanolic extract of cashew seed (CSE) and its active component, anacardic acid (AA), stimulated glucose transport into C2C12 myotubes in a concentration‐dependent manner. Extracts of other parts (leaves, bark and apple) of cashew plant were inactive. Significant synergistic effect on glucose uptake with insulin was noticed at 100 μg/mL CSE. CSE and AA caused activation of adenosine monophosphate‐activated protein kinase in C2C12 myotubes after 6 h of incubation. No significant effect was noticed on Akt and insulin receptor phosphorylation. Both CSE and AA exerted significant uncoupling of succinate‐stimulated respiration in rat liver mitochondria. Conclusion: Activation of adenosine monophosphate‐activated protein kinase by CSE and AA likely increases plasma membrane glucose transporters, resulting in elevated glucose uptake. In addition, the dysfunction of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation may enhance glycolysis and contribute to increased glucose uptake. These results collectively suggest that CSE may be a potential anti‐diabetic nutraceutical.     

Materials problems in space

This paper is intended to be a short survey of the materials problems associated with spacecraft design and manufacture. The space environment is first described and compared with the “Spacecraft Environment”, which is dependent upon the characteristic features of each individual vehicle.

Some areas of spacecraft technology, where materials properties are critical, are briefly described; the problems which can arise are then underlined. They are divided between “Classical” problems, not different from those which appear in a number of Earth technologies, and “Specific to Space” problems which are mainly created by vacuum exposure, radiation fluxes and thermal stresses.

The conclusions clearly indicate the necessity for proper methods of materials and processes selection for space applications and show that close cooperation between design engineers and materials specialists is absolutely essential.     

Structural and dimensional stabilities of tin-bismuth fusible cores

Eutectic tin-bismuth alloys, used as fusible cores for high polymer injection moulding, were studied in order to identify structural and dimensional modifications during ageing at temperatures ranging from 4 to 110°C. Optical and scanning electron microscopies together with X-ray diffraction were used to observe the coarsening of the eutectic structure and to plot an isothermal transformation diagram. Thermal cycles around the eutectic temperature promoted the dissociation of the eutectic structure into light tin dendrites at the top of the ingots and heavy bismuth crystals at the bottom. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermomechanical analysis were performed to observe possible phase transformations.     

Influence of alleles of apolipoprotein E on restenosis after coronary angioplasty in women

Galanin is a 29-amino acid peptide and widely distributed in the brain, although its significance in the control of neural activities is undefined. In the present study, we describe the effects of galanin on the electrically evoked release of dopamine in the rat central nervous system. In addition, to elucidate a possible role of galanin in the regulation of dopaminergic transmission in hypertension, we examined whether the effect of galanin on dopamine release might be altered in the central nervous system of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Galanin (1 x 10(-8) to 1 x 10(-7) mol/L) inhibited the stimulation (1 Hz)-evoked [3H]dopamine release by a comparable amount in striatal slices of Sprague-Dawley rats, although the basal release of dopamine was not affected by the peptide. In the striatum of SHR, the electrical stimulation (1 Hz)-evoked [3H]dopamine release was significantly smaller than in the striatum of Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. However, the inhibitory effect of galanin on the stimulation-evoked [3H]dopamine release was significantly more pronounced in SHR than in WKY rats. These results show that galanin significantly reduced the release of dopamine in rat striatum. Furthermore, the greater inhibitory effect of galanin on dopamine release in SHR suggests that galanin might actively participate in the regulation of dopaminergic nerve activity in hypertension.     

Application of linearized power system model to selection of PST controller input signal

This paper presents a selection method for phase shift transformer PST controller input signal. Simple conditions of input signal selection are obtained using frequency response analysis. The proposed method requires a suitable modeling of power system including PST device. The two types of power system models described in this paper are the nonlinear equations system model and the linearized model. The linearized model is represented as a block diagram transfer function model and as a state space representation model. The block diagram model presented in this paper has been used for the PST feedback input signal selection. Five locally available measurements at the switching node of the PST are considered. The results of frequency domain tests have confirmed that the block diagram transfer function model is a useful tool for power system analysis. The LQR method is used to achieve the final verification and the choice of input control signal.     

Development of low fat beef patty using <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cucurbita maxima</Emphasis> Duchesne defatted seeds flour paste

The present work aimed at evaluating the Cucurbita maxima Duchesne defatted seeds flour (CDSF) as fat replacer in beef patty. Pastes obtained from CDSF containing 60 and 72 % water were prepared and used to replace fat in beef patty at 25, 50, 75 and 100 % respectively. A control patty was processed using kidney fat from beef. The proximate composition, technological yield, textural and sensorial properties of different samples were evaluated. Results showed that CDSF contains 77.76/100 g proteins based on dried matter. Protein content of patty increased with fat substitution rates (FSR) from 18.82/100 g wet matter (WM) to 23.24/100 g WM respectively for the control (P0) and the sample in which fat was substituted at 100 % with the CDSF paste with a water content of 60 % (P460). The lipid content dropped with the increase in the fat substitution rate and water content of CDSF paste from 10.70/100 to 0.28/100 g WM respectively for the sample in which fat was substituted at 25 % with the CDSF paste with a water content of 60 % (P160) and the sample in which fat was substituted at 100 % with the CDSF paste containing 72 % water (P472). Similarly, hardness dropped from 54.78 N (P0) to 37.56 N (P472) respectively. The cooking yield increased significantly (p < 0.05) with the increase in the water content of the CDSF paste and the fat substitution rate. From the sensory analysis, patties with 75 and 100 % of FSR were the most accepted. Thus, the CDSF paste can be used in beef patty as a fat replacer to reduce the detrimental effect of animal fat consumption.     

DFT-Study on Antioxydant of 3-Alkyl-4-P henylacetylam i no-1H-1,2,4-Triazol-5-O nes and Its Derivatives

In this article, we have performed B3LYP/6-31＋G（d） calculations of geometrical and reaction enthalpies of antioxidant mechanisms for ADPHT 1-4 （3-alkyl-4-phenylacetylamino-lH-1,2,4-triazol-5-ones） and its derivatives： HAT （hydrogen atom transfer）, SET-PT （single electron transfer-proton transfer） and SPLET （sequential proton-loss electron transfer） were investigated in gas and solution-phases. Solvent contribution to enthalpies was computed employing integral equation formalism IEF-PCM （integral equation formalism method） method. It turned out that the lowest BDEs （bond dissociation energies） is obtained for C-H bonds due to captodative effect in various media. Results indicate that HAT mechanism represents the most anticipated process in gas-phase from thermodynamic point of view. But, the SPLET represents the thermodynamically preferred reaction pathway in solvents （2-propanol, acetonitrile, DMF （N,N-dimethylformamide） and water）. The authors showed that bond dissociation energies, IP （ionization potential） and PA （proton affinity） are sufficient to evaluate the thermodynamically preferred mechanism.     

Yield surface of polyurethane and aluminium replicated foam

It has been proposed in the literature, based on theoretical considerations and on finite-element calculations, that all three stress tensor invariants govern the yield surface of cellular materials. Recent experiments on 75 μm pore size aluminium replicated foams (Combaz E, Bacciarini C, Charvet R, Dufour W, Mortensen A. Multiaxial yield behaviour of Al replicated foam, submitted for publication) showed such a dependence of the yield surface in axisymmetric tests. This study explores the yield behaviour of 400 μm pore size aluminium replicated foams: experiments confirm the influence of the third invariant on the yield surface shape, together with the observations that (i) the yield surface shape does not depend on relative density and (ii) measured flow vectors conform with normality. A simple parabolic model fitting data in the previous study also captures well the present data under all tested stress states (biaxial, axisymmetric and Π-planes in stress space). Biaxial and axisymmetric tests are also performed on 400 μm pore size polyurethane (PU) replicated foams with a similar mesostructure. Results show yield to occur at a value lower than predicted by micromechanical models for both matrix materials (aluminium and PU). This suggests that the “knock-down” factor usually observed between predicted and observed stress values probably cannot be explained by a lowered yield stress in the material making the foam. The data also suggest an influence of the matrix nature on the yield surface geometry.     

Gamma Radiolysis of Starches Derived from Different Foodstuffs. Part II. Study of Induced Acidities

The foodstuff from which the studied starches (maize, amylomaize, waxymaize, manioc, bread-wheat, potato, rice and haricot bean) derive only has little influence upon the quantities of gamma radio-induced acids. The ratios r between the maximal and minimal found values are respectively 2.5 and 3.2 for formic acid and total acidity. If r is equal to 13.6 for free acidity, it is only due to the very small values in haricot bean, potato and rice starches.