Hepatocyte Aquaporins AQP8 and AQP9 Are Engaged in the Hepatic Lipid and Glucose Metabolism Modulating the Inflammatory and Redox State in Milk-Supplemented Rats.

Milk is an important source of nutrients and energy, but there are still many uncertainties regarding the health effects of milk and dairy products consumption. Milk from different species varies in physicochemical and nutritional properties. We previously showed that dietary supplements with different milks in rats trigger significant differences in metabolic and inflammatory states, modulating mitochondrial functions in metabolically active organs such as the liver and skeletal muscle.

Assessing the algal population dynamics using multiple machine learning approaches: Application to Macao reservoirs.

The quality of reservoir water is important to the health and wellbeing of human and animals. Eutrophication is one of the most serious problems threatening the safety of reservoir water resource. Machine learning (ML) approaches are effective tools to understand and evaluate various environmental processes of concern, such as eutrophication.

An Investigation on a Plane-Based Dynamic Calibration Method for the Handheld LiDAR Scanner.

A plane-based dynamic calibration method had been proposed by the previous study for the GeoSLAM ZEB Horizon handheld LiDAR scanner. Only one preliminary test was presented. Therefore, three datasets in a calibration field were collected in this study on different dates and at different times on the same date to investigate the efficiency of the proposed calibration approach and calibration results.

Preliminary Study of UAS Equipped with Thermal Camera for Volcanic Geothermal Monitoring in Taiwan.

Thermal infrared cameras sense the temperature information of sensed scenes. With the development of UASs (Unmanned Aircraft Systems), thermal infrared cameras can now be carried on a quadcopter UAV (Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle) to appropriately collect high-resolution thermal images for volcanic geothermal monitoring in a local area. Therefore, the quadcopter UAS used to acquire thermal images for volcanic geothermal monitoring has been developed in Taiwan as part of this study to overcome the difficult terrain with highly variable topography and extreme environmental conditions.

Differential frontal theta activity during cognitive and motor tasks.

The present study investigated psychophysiological differences between cognitive and motor tasks. Participants were 16 university students (male[Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]10, female[Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]6) aged between 24 to 31 years (mean[Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]27.6 years, SD[Formula: see text][Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] years).

[Diagnostic value of cystatin C in contrast-induced acute kidney injury after percutaneous coronary intervention].

Objective: To prospectively evaluate the value of cystatin C ( CysC) in diagnosis of contrast-induced acute kidney injury ( CIAKI) among patients undergoing Percutaneous Cardiovascular Intervention (PCI).

Methods: Patients who underwent PCI procedures in our hospital were enrolled. Serum creatinine (SCr) and CysC were measured at baseline before, 24 h and 48 h after PCI, respectively.

Loss of small heterodimer partner protects against atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice.

Small heterodimer partner (SHP) is involved in bile, lipid, and glucose metabolism. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of SHP on the development of atherosclerosis. Apolipoprotein E knockout (ApoE-/-) mice were crossed with SHP knockout (SHP-/-) mice to generate double knockout (ApoE-/-SHP-/-) mice.

Korotkoff sound versus oscillometric cuff sphygmomanometers: comparison between auscultatory and DynaPulse blood pressure measurements.

Listening to Korotkoff sounds (K-sounds) to determine systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) has been the standard for noninvasive BP measurement in medical practices for nearly 100 years. It is the essential tool used for evaluation and assessment of patients with hypertension and risks of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) by physicians and nurses despite limited understanding of the nature of K-sounds. Analyzing cuff oscillometric signals to obtain BP has been the foundation of most digital BP monitors available today.

Purification and characterization of extracellular lipases from Pseudomonas monteilii TKU009 by the use of soybeans as the substrate.

A lipase-producing bacterium was isolated and identified as Pseudomonas monteilii TKU009. A lipase (F2) and lipase-like materials (F1) were purified from the culture supernatant of P. monteilii TKU009 with soybean powder as the sole carbon/nitrogen source.

Development and validation of a noninvasive method to estimate cardiac output using cuff sphygmomanometry.

Background: Obtaining cardiac output (CO) measurements noninvasively during routine blood pressure recording can improve hypertension management. A new method has been developed that estimates cardiac output using pulse-waveform analysis (PWA) from a brachial cuff sphygmomanometer. This study evaluates the ability of PWA to track changes in CO as derived by Doppler ultrasound during dobutamine stimulation.

A new technique for substernal colon transposition with a breast dissector: report of 39 cases.

This paper investigates the effectiveness of the breast dissector to create a substernal space for oesophageal reconstruction. The surgeon must be extremely careful while dissecting the tissue below the sternum in order to avoid pneumothorax. The endoscopically assisted preparation of the substernal route is safe but it requires appropriate training.

Age-based differences between mercury sphygmomanometer and pulse dynamic blood pressure measurements.

BACKGROUND: Both the mercury sphygmomanometer and oscillometric measurement methods are widely in use for pediatric, adult, and geriatric patients. However, inherent differences between the methods of measurement may create varying degrees of sensitivity to age and potentially result in differences between measurements for these two techniques. DESIGN: Measurements of systolic and diastolic blood pressures in 154 subjects were obtained using the mercury sphygmomanometer and pulse dynamic oscillometric methods in accordance with the 1987 Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation guidelines.

Validation of pulse dynamic blood pressure measurement by auscultation.

BACKGROUND: The accurate measurement of arterial blood pressure is essential for the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension. The development of new automated methods of measurement that provide reliable determinations of blood pressure should be valuable in the assessment of hypertension not only in the clinic or hospital but also, in the home for self-monitoring. DESIGN: We evaluated a noninvasive method for the measurement of systolic and diastolic blood pressures in 132 subjects.

Development and validation of a noninvasive method to determine arterial pressure and vascular compliance.

The ability not only to record automated systolic and diastolic pressure, but also to derive measurements of the rate of pressure change during the cardiac cycle, would have great potential clinical value. A new method has been developed to obtain pressure measurements at 20-ms intervals by oscillometric cuff signal pattern recognition. Derivation of noninvasive pressure measurements is based on a T tube aorta and straight tube brachial artery, and assumes that the systolic phase of the suprasystolic cuff signal and the diastolic phase of the subdiastolic cuff signal most closely approximate systolic and diastolic aortic pressures, respectively.

Arterial compliance by cuff sphygmomanometer. Application to hypertension and early changes in subjects at genetic risk.

Abnormalities of the arterial pulse waveform reflect changes in cardiovascular structure and function. These abnormalities may occur early in the course of essential hypertension, even before the onset of blood pressure elevation. Previous studies of cardiovascular structure and function have relied on invasive intra-arterial cannulation to obtain the arterial pulse wave.

Changes in corticosterone levels under different degrees of acute inflammation in mice.

Carrageenan of different concentrations was injected into the 6-day-old air pouch in mice. It was found that 12 mg carrageenan caused a significant increase of plasma and exudate corticosterone levels at 24 h, while 1 and 3 mg carrageenan could only induce a significant increase of exudate corticosterone at 4 h. Elevation of corticosterone in both plasma and inflammatory exudate appeared to be correlated, suggesting that the exudate corticosterone was derived from the blood circulation.

[Hypothyroidism, transitory or congenital. Reflections on a clinical case].

We report one case of congenital hypothyroidism with thyroid agenesis wrongly considered as a transient form of hypothyroidism. The patient came to our attention at 9 months of age, showing an important delay in neuromotor development. Transient hypothyroidism is a situation of brief hormonal deficit with spontaneous resolution in the first weeks of life.

Effect of carrageenan-induced acute inflammation on corticosterone levels in mice.

Changes in corticosterone levels in plasma and inflammatory exudate were studied in the 6-day-old air pouch of mice. The pouch inflammation in the test group was induced by the injection of carrageenan prepared in physiological saline while the control received only the physiological saline. The results show that exudate and plasma of both groups showed a rapid rise in corticosterone as measured after 30 min and this early rise was probably due to the resulting effect of the ether used during the injection of irritant or vehicle.

Depression, ECT, and erythrocyte adenosinetriphosphatase activity.

Erythrocyte membrane Na+-K+ ATPase and Ca++ATPase levels were investigated in 11 women treated with ECT for endogenous depression and 11 age-matched normal control subjects. Pretreatment ATPase levels in depressives were significantly lower than in controls, and increased to control levels after a course of ECT. These data are discussed in terms of the physiology of depressive illness and ECT.