Systemic and intracerebroventricular injections of vasotocin inhibit appetitive and consummatory components of male sexual behavior in Japanese quail.

The authors investigated the behavioral actions of vasotocin (VT) in castrated testosterone-treated male Japanese quail. The appetitive and consummatory components of sexual behavior as well as the occurrence frequency of crows were inhibited, in a dose-dependent manner, by injections of VT. The authors observed opposite effects after injection of the V1 receptor antagonist, dPTyr(Me)AVP. Lower doses of VT were more active after central than after systemic injection, and effects of systemic injections of VT were blocked by a central injection of dPTyr(Me)AVP. The behavioral inhibition was associated with a modified diuresis after systemic but not central injection. These results provide direct evidence that VT affects male sexual behavior in quail by a direct action on the brain independent of its peripheral action on diuresis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A numerical modelling for the extraction of decay regions from color images of monuments

An innovative application focused on the segmentation of decay zones from images of stone materials is presented. The adopted numerical approach to extract decay regions from the color images of monuments provides a tool that helps experts analyze degraded regions by contouring them. In this way even if the results of the proposed procedure depend on the evaluation of experts, the approach can be a contribution to improving the efficiency of the boundary detection process. The segmentation is a process that allows an image to be divided into disjoint zones so that partitioned zones contain homogeneous characteristics. The numerical method, used to segment color images, is based on the theory of interface evolution, which is described by the eikonal equation. We adopted the fast marching technique to solve the upwind finite difference approximation of the eikonal equation. The fast marching starts from a seed point in the region of interest and generates a front which evolves according to a specific speed function until the boundary of the region is identified. We describe the segmentation results obtained with two speed functions, attained by the image gradient computation and color information about the object of interest. Moreover, we present the extension of the working modality of the method by introducing the possibility to extract the regions not only in a local way but also in a global way on the entire image. In this case, in order to improve the segmentation efficiency the application of the fast marching technique starts with more seed points defined as seed regions. The study case concerns the impressive remains of the Roman Theatre in the city of Aosta (Italy). In the image segmentation process the color space L^∗a^∗b^∗$L^{\ast }{a}^{\ast }{b}^{\ast }$ is utilized.     

Using online simulation in Holonic manufacturing systems

This paper deals with the use of online simulation on Holonic manufacturing systems. Concepts needed for the use of online simulation in a classical hierarchical system were already defined, the observer being the central one. The behavior's differences between both classes of systems are studied to determine the best way to adapt these concepts to this new environment. In the product resource order staff approach (PROSA) reference architecture, staff holons were chosen to welcome the simulation models and the observer. An application on an industrial sized Holonic manufacturing system is described to demonstrate the validity of the approach.     

Diet supplementation with donkey milk upregulates liver mitochondrial uncoupling,reduces energy efficiency and improves antioxidant and antiinflammatory defences in rats

Dietary PUFA, mainly those of the n‐3 family, are known to play essential roles in the maintenance of energy balance and in the reduction of body fat deposition through the upregulation of mitochondrial uncoupling that is the main source of reactive oxygen species. We hypothesized that rat supplementation with raw donkey's milk (DM), characterized by low‐fat content and higher n3:n6 ratio, may affect energy balance, lipid metabolism, and prooxidant status as compared to animals treated with cow's milk. In the present study, the effects of drinking raw DM (for 4 weeks) on energy balance, lipid metabolism, antiinflammatory, and antioxidant/detoxifying defences was compared to that produced by rat intake of an iso‐energetic amount of raw cow's milk. The hypolipidemic effect produced by DM paralleled with the enhanced mitochondrial activity/proton leakage and with the increased activity or expression of mitochondrial markers namely, carnitine palmitoyl transferase and uncoupling protein 2. The association of decreased energy efficiency with reduced proinflammatory signs (TNF‐α and LPS levels) with the significant increase antioxidant (total thiols) and detoxifying enzyme activities (glutathione‐S‐transferase NADH quinone oxidoreductase) in DM‐treated animals, indicated that beneficial effects were attributable, at least in part, to the activation of nuclear factor 2 erythroid‐related factor 2 pathway.     

Obesity and Male Reproduction: Do Sirtuins Play a Role?

Obesity is a major current public health problem of global significance. A progressive sperm quality decline, and a decline in male fertility, have been reported in recent decades. Several studies have reported a strict relationship between obesity and male reproductive dysfunction. Among the many mechanisms by which obesity impairs male gonadal function, sirtuins (SIRTs) have an emerging role. SIRTs are highly conserved nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+)-dependent deacetylases that play a role in gene regulation, metabolism, aging, and cancer. SIRTs regulate the energy balance, the lipid balance, glucose metabolism, and adipogenesis, but current evidence also indicates a role for SIRTs in male reproduction. However, the majority of the studies have been conducted in animal models and very few have been conducted with humans. This review shows that SIRTs play an important role among the molecular mechanisms by which obesity interferes with male fertility. This highlights the need to deepen this relationship. It will be of particular interest to evaluate whether synthetic and/or natural compounds capable of modifying the activity of SIRTs may also be useful for the treatment of obesity and its effects on gonadal function. Although few studies have explored the role of SIRT activators in obesity-induced male infertility, some molecules, such as resveratrol, appear to be effective in modulating SIRT activity, as well as counteracting the negative effects of obesity on male fertility. The search for strategies to improve male reproductive function in overweight/obese patients is a challenge and understanding the role of SIRTs and their activators may open new interesting scenarios in the coming years.     

The effect of compatibilization on the behavior of a polycarbonate/polymer liquid crystal blend

Polymer liquid crystalline materials (PLC) blended with engineering plastics (EP) have the potential to reduce viscosity and increase the modulus of the EP, particularly if the PLC is in a favorable fibrillar morphology. A major deficiency in these blends—as with many other immiscible polymeric systems—is poor failure properties. In this paper, polycarbonate (PC) and a rigid, all-aromatic commercial PLC are blended and a third resin, a copolymer of methyl methacrylate and N-methyl-dimethyl-glutarimide is included as a compatibilizing agent. Characterization of the binary and ternary blends is carried out using rheological, mechanical, morphological, and dynamic mechanical characterization techniques. Binary blends of PLC in a PC matrix result in an immiscible, nodular morphology with low failure stresses. The addition of the copolymeric compatibilizer—particularly one with reactive functionalities—is found to improve tensile strength and yield a fibrillar blend morphology. It is proposed that this may be due to the compatibilizer reducing interfacial tension and adhering to the blend phases, rather than by causing a major change in blend viscosity.     

Complete Characterization of the O-Antigen from the LPS of Aeromonas bivalvium

Aeromonas species are found in the aquatic environment, drinking water, bottled mineral water, and different types of foods, such as meat, fish, seafood, or vegetables. Some of these species are primary or opportunistic pathogens for invertebrates and vertebrates, including humans. Among the pathogenic factors associated with these species, there are the lipopolysaccharides (LPSs). LPSs are the major components of the external leaflet of Gram-negative bacterial outer membrane. LPS is a glycoconjugate, generally composed of three portions: lipid A, core oligosaccharide, and O-specific polysaccharide or O-antigen. The latter, which may be present (smooth LPS) or not (rough LPS), is the most exposed part of the LPS and is involved in the pathogenicity by protecting infecting bacteria from serum complement killing and phagocytosis. The O-antigen is a polymer of repeating oligosaccharide units with high structural variability, particularly the terminal sugar, that confers the immunological specificity to the O-antigen. In this study, we established the structure of the O-chain repeating unit of the LPS from Aeromonas bivalvium strain 868 E^T (=CECT 7113^T = LMG 23376^T), a mesophilic bacterium isolated from cockles (Cardium sp.) and obtained from a retail market in Barcelona (Spain), whose biosynthesis core LPS cluster does not contain the waaE gene as most of Aeromonas species. After mild acid hydrolysis, the lipid A was removed by centrifugation and the obtained polysaccharide was fully characterized by chemical analysis and NMR spectroscopy. The polymer consists of a heptasaccharide repeating unit containing D-GalNAc, L-Rha, D-GlcNAc, and D-FucNAc residues.     

阵列声波测井传输网络指向性及互易性分析

在声波测井中声束导向的效率除受换能器的几何参数及阵列声波发射单元的激励延迟时间或阵列接收器接收的各道声波信号偏移时间的影响外 ,还受换能器的形状和尺寸的影响。一般声波测井仪是由一维阵列声源和单接收器或由单声源和一维阵列接收器组成。换能器为薄圆管形压电换能器。采用相应的声波测井传输网络理论和指向性权系数的概念 ,计算了换能器的形状及大小对声束导向信号所造成的影响 ,并论证了声波测井仪中阵列声源和阵列接收器的互易性。通过调整声束导向参数和阵列接收器接收到的声波信号的时间偏移量 ,可使得接收首波幅度 (阵列声源 )和叠加波首波幅度 (阵列接收器 )最大。此外 ,运用数值模拟和实验对文中提出的最佳设计方案进行了验证