Brown Adipose Tissue Sheds Extracellular Vesicles That Carry Potential Biomarkers of Metabolic and Thermogenesis Activity Which Are Affected by High Fat Diet Intervention

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a key target for the development of new therapies against obesity due to its role in promoting energy expenditure; BAT secretory capacity is emerging as an important contributor to systemic effects, in which BAT extracellular vesicles (EVs) (i.e., batosomes) might be protagonists. EVs have emerged as a relevant cellular communication system and carriers of disease biomarkers. Therefore, characterization of the protein cargo of batosomes might reveal their potential as biomarkers of the metabolic activity of BAT. In this study, we are the first to isolate batosomes from lean and obese Sprague–Dawley rats, and to establish reference proteome maps. An LC-SWATH/MS analysis was also performed for comparisons with EVs secreted by white adipose tissue (subcutaneous and visceral WAT), and it showed that 60% of proteins were exclusive to BAT EVs. Precisely, batosomes of lean animals contain proteins associated with mitochondria, lipid metabolism, the electron transport chain, and the beta-oxidation pathway, and their protein cargo profile is dramatically affected by high fat diet (HFD) intervention. Thus, in obesity, batosomes are enriched with proteins involved in signal transduction, cell communication, the immune response, inflammation, thermogenesis, and potential obesity biomarkers including UCP1, Glut1, MIF, and ceruloplasmin. In conclusion, the protein cargo of BAT EVs is affected by the metabolic status and contains potential biomarkers of thermogenesis activity.     

Methylmercury Causes Neurodegeneration and Downregulation of Myelin Basic Protein in the Spinal Cord of Offspring Rats after Maternal Exposure

Methylmercury (MeHg) is one of the most dangerous toxic pollutants spread throughout the earth. Chronic MeHg intoxication by contaminated food ingestion is the most common threat to human health, including impairment to the developing fetus. The present study aims at investigating the effects of maternal exposure to MeHg during gestation and lactation on the spinal cord of offspring. Pregnant rats received oral doses of MeHg (40 μg/kg/day) over a period of 42 days (21 gestation and 21 lactation). Control animals received the vehicle only. Total mercury concentration was measured in blood samples from offspring collected at the 41st postnatal day. Counting of motor neurons and immunoreactivity for myelin basic protein (MBP) were assessed in the spinal cords in both control and MeHg-intoxicated animals. Our results showed that MeHg promoted an increase in blood Hg levels. In addition, it caused a reduction in the number of spinal cord motor neurons as well as decreased MBP immunoreactivity in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar segments. Our present findings suggest that MeHg intoxication during rat pregnancy and lactation is associated with a pattern of motor neuron degeneration and downregulation of myelin basic protein in different segments of a developing spinal cord. Further studies are needed to establish the effect of MeHg intoxication in both young and adult rats.     

Flexible joints control: A minimum-time feed-forward technique

The paper proposes a linear programming approach to the feed-forward minimum-time control of flexible joints. Taking into account both input and output constraints, the optimal bang–bang control is computed by discretizing a continuous-time joint model and by solving a sequence of linear programming feasibility problems. The resulting joint motion is a smooth rest-to-rest motion without oscillations. Theoretical analysis is presented and proof of convergence is given. Experimental results illustrate the proposed open-loop technique. Comparisons are made with inversion-based techniques.     

Essential books in clinical neuropsychology.

Questionnaires were mailed to the clinical training directors of American Psychological Association-approved clinical training programs in the US offering formal neuropsychology training. Respondents were asked to list which books they considered essential readings in the field of clinical neuropsychology. 34 of 59 programs responded. Overall, 22 different books were mentioned, with 8 mentioned once, 2 cited twice, and 12 recommended 4 times or more. The frequencies of the 12 most referenced books are reported. (2 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using C/X-band SAR interferometry and GNSS measurements for the Assisi landslide analysis

This work presents an analysis of the applicability of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry to landslide monitoring. This analysis was carried out by using different interferometric approaches, different spaceborne SAR data (both in the C-band and in the X-band), and in situ global navigation satellite system (GNSS) measurements. In particular, we investigated both the reliability of displacement monitoring and the issues of the cross-comparison and validation of the interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) results. The work was focused on the slow-moving landslide that affects a relevant part of the urban area of the historical town of Assisi (Italy).

A C-band ENVISAT advanced synthetic aperture radar (ENVISAT ASAR) dataset acquired between 2003 and 2010 was processed by using two different interferometric techniques, to allow cross-comparison of the obtained displacement maps. Good correspondence between the results was found, and a deeper analysis of the movement field was possible. Results were further compared to a set of GNSS measurements with a 7 year overlap with SAR data. A comparison was made for each GNSS marker with the surrounding SAR scatterers, trying to take into account local topological effects, when possible.

Further, the high-resolution X-band acquired on both ascending and descending tracks by the COSMO-SkyMed (CSK) constellation was processed. The resultant displacement fields show good agreement with C-band and GNSS measurements and a sensible increase in the density of measurements.     

Capacity estimation of a minihydro plant based on time series forecasting

A procedure to estimate the capacity of minihydro plants based on water flow time series forecasting is presented. First, the classic method used for this purpose is introduced and then a set of methodologies to assess the feasibility of minihydro generation and to determine system capacity based on time series forecast is described. The water flow time series is processed to determine the theoretical power generation and to assess if a minihydro plant can be installed. Finally the characteristics of each of the electro-mechanical components for the proposed minihydro plant are selected.     

Suppression of Water as a Nucleophile in Candida antarctica Lipase B Catalysis

A water tunnel in Candida antarctica lipase B that provides the active site with substrate water is hypothesized. A small, focused library created in order to prevent water from entering the active site through the tunnel was screened for increased transacylation over hydrolysis activity. A single mutant, S47L, in which the inner part of the tunnel was blocked, catalysed the transacylation of vinyl butyrate to 20 mM butanol 14 times faster than hydrolysis. The single mutant Q46A, which has a more open outer end of the tunnel, showed an increased hydrolysis rate and a decreased hydrolysis to transacylation ratio compared to the wild‐type lipase. Mutants with a blocked tunnel could be very useful in applications in which hydrolysis is unwanted, such as the acylation of highly hydrophilic compounds in the presence of water.     

Stability boundary analysis of the dynamic voltage restorer in weak systems with dynamic loads

In this contribution, a stability analysis for a dynamic voltage restorer (DVR) connected to a weak ac system containing a dynamic load is presented using continuation techniques and bifurcation theory. The system dynamics are explored through the continuation of periodic solutions of the associated dynamic equations. The switching process in the DVR converter is taken into account to trace the stability regions through a suitable mathematical representation of the DVR converter. The stability regions in the Thevenin equivalent plane are computed. In addition, the stability regions in the control gains space, as well as the contour lines for different Floquet multipliers, are computed. Besides, the DVR converter model employed in this contribution avoids the necessity of developing very complicated iterative map approaches as in the conventional bifurcation analysis of converters. The continuation method and the DVR model can take into account dynamics and nonlinear loads and any network topology since the analysis is carried out directly from the state space equations. The bifurcation approach is shown to be both computationally efficient and robust, since it eliminates the need for numerically critical and long‐lasting transient simulations. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.