Milk from cows fed a diet with a high forage:concentrate ratio improves inflammatory state,oxidative stress,and mitochondrial function in rats

Excessive energy intake may evoke complex biochemical processes characterized by inflammation, oxidative stress, and impairment of mitochondrial function that represent the main factors underlying noncommunicable diseases. Because cow milk is widely used for human nutrition and in food industry processing, the nutritional quality of milk is of special interest with respect to human health. In our study, we analyzed milk produced by dairy cows fed a diet characterized by a high forage:concentrate ratio (high forage milk, HFM). In view of the low n-6:n-3 ratio and high content of conjugated linoleic acid of HFM, we studied the effects of this milk on lipid metabolism, inflammation, mitochondrial function, and oxidative stress in a rat model. To this end, we supplemented for 4 wk the diet of male Wistar rats with HFM and with an isocaloric amount (82 kJ, 22 mL/d) of milk obtained from cows fed a diet with low forage:concentrate ratio, and analyzed the metabolic parameters of the animals. Our results indicate that HFM may positively affect lipid metabolism, leptin:adiponectin ratio, inflammation, mitochondrial function, and oxidative stress, providing the first evidence of the beneficial effects of HFM on rat metabolism.     

Utility assessment in automated driving for cooperative human–machine systems

Cognition, Technology & Work - Currently, car manufacturers, suppliers, and IT companies are surpassing each other with ambitious plans regarding their driving automation technology. However,...     

Babesia Bovis Ligand-Receptor Interaction: AMA-1 Contains Small Regions Governing Bovine Erythrocyte Binding

Apical membrane antigen 1 is a microneme protein which plays an indispensable role during Apicomplexa parasite invasion. The detailed mechanism of AMA-1 molecular interaction with its receptor on bovine erythrocytes has not been completely defined in Babesia bovis. This study was focused on identifying the minimum B. bovis AMA-1-derived regions governing specific and high-affinity binding to its target cells. Different approaches were used for detecting ama-1 locus genetic variability and natural selection signatures. The binding properties of twelve highly conserved 20-residue-long peptides were evaluated using a sensitive and specific binding assay based on radio-iodination. B. bovis AMA-1 ectodomain structure was modelled and refined using molecular modelling software. NetMHCIIpan software was used for calculating B- and T-cell epitopes. The B. bovis ama-1 gene had regions under functional constraint, having the highest negative selective pressure intensity in the Domain I encoding region. Interestingly, B. bovis AMA-1-DI (¹⁰⁰YMQKFDIPRNHGSGIYVDLG¹¹⁹ and ¹²⁰GYESVGSKSYRMPVGKCPVV¹³⁹) and DII (³⁰²CPMHPVRDAIFGKWSGGSCV³²¹)-derived peptides had high specificity interaction with erythrocytes and bound to a chymotrypsin and neuraminidase-treatment sensitive receptor. DI-derived peptides appear to be exposed on the protein’s surface and contain predicted B- and T-cell epitopes. These findings provide data (for the first-time) concerning B. bovis AMA-1 functional subunits which are important for establishing receptor-ligand interactions which could be used in synthetic vaccine development.     

Composite short-side-chain PFSA electrolyte membranes containing selectively modified halloysite nanotubes (HNTs)

Aquivion membrane displays improved properties as compared to Nafion membrane, partly due to shorter side chains. However, some improvements are still necessary for proton exchange membrane fuel cell to operate at low relative humidity. To overcome this drawback, the addition of clay nanoparticle into the Aquivion matrix can be considered. In this study, different composite membranes have been prepared mixing short-side-chain PFSA (perfluorosulfonic acid) Aquivion and selectively modified halloysite nanotubes for PEMFC low relative humidity operation. Halloysites were grafted with fluorinated groups, sulfonated groups, or perfluoro-sulfonated groups on inner or outer surface of the tubes. The obtained composite membranes showed improved properties, especially higher water uptake associated with reduced swelling and better mechanical strength compared to pristine Aquivion membrane and commercially available Nafion HP used as reference. The best performance in this study was obtained with Aquivion loaded with 5 wt% of pretreated perfluoro-sulfonated halloysite. The composite membrane, referred to as Aq/pHNT-SF5, displayed the largest water uptake and proton conductivity among the panel of membranes tested. The chemical stability was not affected by the presence of halloysite in the Aquivion matrix.

Graphical abstract

     

Gene Discovery in Gelsemium Highlights Conserved Gene Clusters in Monoterpene Indole Alkaloid Biosynthesis

Genome mining is a routine technique in microbes for discovering biosynthetic pathways. In plants, however, genomic information is not commonly used to identify novel biosynthesis genes. Here, we present the genome of the medicinal plant and oxindole monoterpene indole alkaloid (MIA) producer Gelsemium sempervirens (Gelsemiaceae). A gene cluster from Catharanthus roseus, which is utilized at least six enzymatic steps downstream from the last common intermediate shared between the two plant alkaloid types, is found in G. sempervirens, although the corresponding enzymes act on entirely different substrates. This study provides insights into the common genomic context of MIA pathways and is an important milestone in the further elucidation of the Gelsemium oxindole alkaloid pathway.     

A Heuristic Search for Identifying Required Application Libraries Supporting a Run-Time Security Policy

On a Windows platform it is possible to inject a DLL into a running process creating a new thread of execution within an authorized process. Security tools monitoring or examining DLLs loaded into the memory space of a given process rely on policies to determine the validity of the library. Two approaches to the policy specification include “all or nothing” and “per executable” rules also referred to as a run-time security policy. Developing the run-time policy requires the running of every executable for a period of time to train the system. An alternative to the training method of the run-time approach is to determine ahead of time which DLL should be loaded before execution. A tool called LibMon was developed to monitor loading of libraries by running applications. A heuristic search algorithm was created based on the analysis of the data collected with LibMon.     

Microtopography of the eye surface of the crab Carcinus maenas: an atomic force microscope study suggesting a possible antifouling potential

Marine biofouling causes problems for technologies based on the sea, including ships, power plants and marine sensors. Several antifouling techniques have been applied to marine sensors, but most of these methodologies are environmentally unfriendly or ineffective. Bioinspiration, seeking guidance from natural solutions, is a promising approach to antifouling. Here, the eye of the green crab Carcinus maenas was regarded as a marine sensor model and its surface characterized by means of atomic force microscopy. Engineered surface micro- and nanotopography is a new mechanism found to limit biofouling, promising an effective solution with much reduced environmental impact. Besides giving a new insight into the morphology of C. maenas eye and its characterization, our study indicates that the eye surface probably has antifouling/fouling-release potential. Furthermore, the topographical features of the surface may influence the wettability properties of the structure and its interaction with organic molecules. Results indicate that the eye surface micro- and nanotopography may lead to bioinspired solutions to antifouling protection.     

MILD combustion in diffusion-controlled regimes of Hot Diluted Fuel

Reactive structures have been characterized in a steady laminar, unidimensional mixing layer on a dense grid of parameters in moderate or intense low-oxygen dilution (MILD) combustion conditions with hot and diluted fuel. The structures have been studied in terms of temperature and heat release profiles in a mixture fraction space for various ranges of stretch rates and for two reference pressures (1 and 10 bar) using a standard code and standard kinetic scheme.In the analysis of reactive structure three synthetic characteristics have been pointed out in previous works as discriminative for the occurrence of different combustion regimes. Such characteristics are the thickness of the oxidation structures, the presence/absence of a pyrolysis region and the correlation/no correlation of the regions of maximum heat release with those at which the mixture is stoichiometric. Following the same criteria, maps of regimes have been built up on a inlet fuel temperature – temperature increase plane for fixed stretch rates and different pressures.It has been pointed out that in diffusion controlled regimes of Hot Diluted Fuel, analysed in this paper, MILD combustion conditions are characterized by flame thickening and pyrolysis depression, which are also typical of flameless combustion. In addition, the region of maximum heat release has a generally high level of correlation with the stoichiometric regions. Thus, MILD combustion regime differs from MILD combustion regime found in other diffusion controlled regimes where the region of maximum heat release is generally not correlated with the stoichiometric regions. In the case presented in this paper, only a second solution, corresponding to a very low conversion occurring in a very wide stretch-rate range, shows no correlation between heat release and stoichiometric mixture fraction. This behavior has been attributed to the oxidative pyrolysis of methane.At atmospheric pressure, the flameless characteristics extend to a low level of preheating, provided that the fuel is diluted, with a consequently low level of temperature increase, thus confirming that MILD and flameless regimes are not coincident in all possible feeding conditions.In general, the results obtained in these Hot-Fuel-Diluted-Fuel conditions are consistent with and extend those reported in the literature for Hot-Oxidant-Diluted-Fuel, Hot-Oxidant and Diluted-Fuel conditions, supporting the assertion that these inlet parameters are a suitable choice for the definition of MILD combustion.