Intramyocellular lipid quantification: comparison between 3.0- and 1.5-T (1)H-MRS

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to prospectively compare measurement precision of calf intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) quantification at 3.0 and 1.5 T using (1)H magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined the soleus and tibialis anterior (TA) muscles of 15 male adults [21-48 years of age, body mass index (BMI)=21.9-38.0 kg/m(2)]. Each subject underwent 3.0- and 1.5-T single-voxel, short-echo-time, point-resolved (1)H-MRS both at baseline and at 31-day follow-up. The IMCL methylene peak (1.3 ppm) was scaled to unsuppressed water peak (4.7 ppm) using the LCModel routine. Full width at half maximum (FWHM) and signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of unsuppressed water peak were measured using jMRUI software. Measurement precision was tested by comparing interexamination coefficients of variation (CV) between different field strengths using Wilcoxon matched pairs signed rank test in all subjects. Overweight subjects (BMI>25 kg/m(2)) were analyzed separately to examine the benefits of 3.0-T acquisitions in subjects with increased adiposity. RESULTS: No significant difference between 3.0 and 1.5 T was noted in CVs for IMCL of soleus (P=.5). CVs of TA were significantly higher at 3.0 T (P=.02). SNR was significantly increased at 3.0 T for soleus (64%, P<.001) and TA (62%, P<.001) but was lower than the expected improvement of 100%. FWHM at 3.0 T was significantly increased for soleus (19%, P<.001) and TA (7%, P<.01). Separate analysis of overweight subjects showed no significant difference between 3.0- and 1.5-T CVs for IMCL of soleus (P=.8) and TA (P=.4). CONCLUSION: Using current technology, (1)H-MRS for IMCL at 3.0 T did not improve measurement precision, as compared with 1.5 T.     

Recognition of Dimethylarginine Analogues by Tandem Tudor Domain Protein Spindlin1

Epigenetic readout of the combinatorial posttranslational modification comprised of trimethyllysine and asymmetric dimethylarginine (H3K4me3R8me2a) takes place via biomolecular recognition of tandem Tudor-domain-containing protein Spindlin1. Through comparative thermodynamic data and molecular dynamics simulations, we sought to explore the binding scope of asymmetric dimethylarginine mimics by Spindlin1. Herein, we provide evidence that the biomolecular recognition of H3K4me2R8me2a is not significantly affected when R8me2a is replaced by dimethylarginine analogues, implying that the binding of K4me3 provides the major binding contribution. High-energy water molecules inside both aromatic cages of the ligand binding sites contribute to the reader–histone association upon displacement by histone peptide, with the K4me3 hydration site being lower in free energy due to a flip of Trp151.     

Applying Text Analytics for Studying Research Trends in Dependability

The dependability of systems and networks has been the target of research for many years now. In the 1970s, what is now known as the top conference on dependability—The IEEE/IFIP International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks (DSN)—emerged gathering international researchers and sparking the interest of the scientific community. Although it started in niche systems, nowadays dependability is viewed as highly important in most computer systems. The goal of this work is to analyze the research published in the proceedings of well-established dependability conferences (i.e., DSN, International Symposium on Software Reliability Engineering (ISSRE), International Symposium on Reliable Distributed Systems (SRDS), European Dependable Computing Conference (EDCC), Latin-American Symposium on Dependable Computing (LADC), Pacific Rim International Symposium on Dependable Computing (PRDC)), while using Natural Language Processing (NLP) and namely the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) algorithm to identify active, collapsing, ephemeral, and new lines of research in the dependability field. Results show a strong emphasis on terms, like ‘security’, despite the general focus of the conferences in dependability and new trends that are related with ’machine learning’ and ‘blockchain’. We used the PRDC conference as a use case, which showed similarity with the overall set of conferences, although we also found specific terms, like ‘cyber-physical’, being popular at PRDC and not in the overall dataset.     

The Effects of UV Emission from Compact Fluorescent Light Exposure on Human Dermal Fibroblasts and Keratinocytes In Vitro

Compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs can provide the same amount of lumens as incandescent light bulbs, using one quarter of the energy. Recently, CFL exposure was found to exacerbate existing skin conditions; however, the effects of CFL exposure on healthy skin tissue have not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, we studied the effects of exposure to CFL illumination on healthy human skin tissue cells (fibroblasts and keratinocytes). Cells exposed to CFLs exhibited a decrease in the proliferation rate, a significant increase in the production of reactive oxygen species, and a decrease in their ability to contract collagen. Measurements of UV emissions from these bulbs found significant levels of UVC and UVA (mercury [Hg] emission lines), which appeared to originate from cracks in the phosphor coatings, present in all bulbs studied. The response of the cells to the CFLs was consistent with damage from UV radiation, which was further enhanced when low dosages of TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs), normally used for UV absorption, were added prior to exposure. No effect on cells, with or without TiO₂ NPs, was observed when they were exposed to incandescent light of the same intensity.     

Density-fluctuation-induced swelling of polymer thin films in carbon dioxide

We report an anomalous swelling of polymer thin films in carbon dioxide (CO(2)) which is associated (in both locus and form) with the density fluctuation ridge that forms along the extension of the coexistence curve of gas and liquid in the P-T phase diagram. Neutron reflectivity results showed that CO(2) could be sorbed to a large extent ( approximately 60%) in thin polymer films even when the bulk miscibility of the polymer with CO(2) is very poor. The anomalous swelling is found to scale with the polymer radius of gyration (R(g)) and extends to a distance approximately 10 R(g).     

Microwave spectrum,structure, and chemical bonding of trimethylbromosilane

The microwave spectrum of trimethylbromosilane (trimethylsilylbromide) has been investigated in the 26.5–40.0-GHz region. Spectra of several isotopic species have been observed, including the previously unreported spectrum of the ¹H¹²C³⁰Si⁸¹Br species, which yielded a B rotational constant of 1440.92 ± 0.02 MHz. From the experimental data it has been possible to derive the following structural parameters: SiBr = 2.235 ± 0.002 Å, SiC = 1.856 ± 0.010 Å, and ∠CSiBr = 107.5 ± 0.1°. The results have been compared to other relevant data and discussed in terms of prevailing chemical bonding principles.     

Synthesis of zerovalent nanophase metal particles stabilized with poly(ethylene glycol)

Concurrent sonolysis of iron pentacarbonyl and poly(ethylene glycol)-400 (PEG-400) in hexadecane solvent proceeds via zero-order kinetics and results in Fe nanoparticles encapsulated in PEG-400 (Fe-PEG). The transmission electron microscopy images show Fe-PEG consisting of <3 nm Fe particles that are evenly dispersed in the PEG matrix. M?ssbauer and X-ray absorption fine structure/X-ray absorption near-edge structure data reveal an ordered PEG assembly that helps protect the zerovalent Fe core. The Fe nanoparticles in Fe-PEG are superparamagnetic with a magnetization value of 45 emu/g-Fe at 10 KOe. The rheology of the synthesized material shows an unusual increase in viscosity with temperature that is likely due to lower critical saturation temperature phase segregation over 40 degrees C. The low-temperature mobility of the PEG-400 moiety in Fe-PEG would allow facile ligation of the Fe0 core with biologically and chemically active groups.     

Bioinspired synthesis of new silica structures

Silicon and oxygen are the two most abundant elements in the Earth's crust but despite the vast scientific literature on crystalline and amorphous silica, new chemistries, structures and applications continue to be discovered for compounds formed from these elements--thus we present here for the first time the formation of new amorphous silica structures that were uniquely synthesized by a bioinspired synthetic system.