A new decision feedback extension (DFE) and an alternative application to schedule industrial processes are presented. The DFE is defined as a recursive decision feedback extension (RDFE), where the ...recursive part is developed to assign the probability of occurrence in the operation of a set of machines working together using an objective function of production. The fundaments of fuzzy factors and the principle of maximum membership function are used to develop the new extension. At last, RDFE is proposed to generate a fuzzy scheduler, which is used to apply an intelligent control scheme to a hydropower station.
Hexanucleotide repeat expansions within the C9orf72 gene are the most important genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The difficulty of developing a ...precise method to determine the expansion size has hampered the study of possible correlations between the hexanucleotide repeat number and clinical phenotype. Here we characterize, through a new non-radioactive Southern blot protocol, the expansion size range in a series of 38 ALS and 22 FTD heterozygous carriers of >30 copies of the repeat. Maximum, median and modal hexanucleotide repeat number were higher in ALS patients than in FTD patients (P< 0.05 in all comparisons). A higher median number of repeats correlated with a bigger range of repeat sizes (Spearman's ρ = 0.743, P = 1.05 × 10(-11)). We did not find any correlation between age of onset or disease duration with the repeat size in neither ALS nor FTD mutation carriers. Clinical presentation (bulbar or spinal) in ALS patients did not correlate either with the repeat length. We finally analyzed two families with affected and unaffected repeat expansion carriers, compared the size of the repeat expansion between two monozygotic (MZ) twins (one affected of ALS and the other unaffected), and examined the expansion size in two different tissues (cerebellum and peripheral blood) belonging to the same FTD patient. The results suggested that the length of the C9orf72 repeat varies between family members, including MZ twins, and among different tissues from the same individual.
The present study investigated the potential role of stromal cell–derived factor 1 (SDF-1) in human intrathymic T-cell differentiation. Results show that SDF-1 is produced by human thymic epithelial ...cells from the subcapsular and medullary areas, and its receptor, CXCR4, is up-regulated on CD34+ precursor cells committed to the T-cell lineage. Chimeric human-mouse fetal thymus organ culture (FTOC) seeded with purified CD34+thymic progenitors and treated with neutralizing antibodies against SDF-1 or CXCR4 showed a significant reduction of the number of human thymocytes and an arrested thymocyte differentiation in the transition between CD34+ precursor cells and CD4+ immature thymocytes. SDF-1–treated FTOC showed an increase of human thymocyte numbers, mainly affecting the most immature subpopulations. Moreover, these results suggest that CXCR4/SDF-1 signaling is not critical for the CD34+ cell precursor recruitment to the thymus. On the other hand, SDF-1 significantly increased the viability of CD34+ T-cell precursors modulating the expression ofBCL-2 and BAX genes, and stimulated the proliferation of CD34+ thymic precursor cells, particularly in synergy with interleukin 7 (IL-7), but not with other cytokines, such as stem cell factor or flt3-ligand. Accordingly, only IL-7 was able to up-regulate CXCR4 expression on CD34+ thymic progenitors. In addition, deprivation of SDF-1 partially inhibited human thymocyte expansion induced by IL-7 in human-mouse FTOC. This study indicates that SDF-1/CXCR4 signaling is required for the survival, expansion, and subsequent differentiation of human early thymocytes and identifies a new mechanism by which IL-7 mediates its effects on human thymopoiesis.
We report chemical abundances obtained by Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)-III/Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment for giant stars in five globular clusters located within 2.2 kpc ...of the Galactic Centre. We detect the presence of multiple stellar populations in four of those clusters (NGC 6553, NGC 6528, Terzan 5 and Palomar 6) and find strong evidence for their presence in NGC 6522. All clusters with a large enough sample present a significant spread in the abundances of N, C, Na and Al, with the usual correlations and anticorrelations between various abundances seen in other globular clusters. Our results provide important quantitative constraints on theoretical models for self-enrichment of globular clusters, by testing their predictions for the dependence of yields of elements such as Na, N, C and Al on metallicity. They also confirm that, under the assumption that field N-rich stars originate from globular cluster destruction, they can be used as tracers of their parental systems in the high-metallicity regime.
Multiple populations revealed in globular clusters (GCs) are important windows to the formation and evolution of these stellar systems. The metal-rich GCs in the Galactic bulge are an indispensable ...part of this picture, but the high optical extinction in this region has prevented extensive research. In this work, we use the high-resolution near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopic data from Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) to study the chemical abundances of NGC 6553, which is one of the most metal-rich bulge GCs. We identify 10 red giants as cluster members using their positions, radial velocities, iron abundances, and NIR photometry. Our sample stars show a mean radial velocity of -0.14 plus or minus 5.47 km s super( -1), and a mean Fe/H of -0.15 plus or minus 0.05. We clearly separate two populations of stars in C and N in this GC for the first time. NGC 6553 is the most metal-rich GC where the multiple stellar population phenomenon is found until now. Substantial chemical variations are also found in Na, O, and Al. However, the two populations show similar Si, Ca, and iron-peak element abundances. Therefore, we infer that the CNO, NeNa, and MgAl cycles have been activated, but the MgAl cycle is too weak to show its effect on Mg. Type Ia and Type II supernovae do not seem to have significantly polluted the second generation stars. Comparing with other GC studies, NGC 6553 shows similar chemical variations as other relatively metal-rich GCs. We also confront current GC formation theories with our results, and suggest possible avenues for improvement in the models.
We report the first APOGEE metallicities and -element abundances measured for 3600 red giant stars spanning a large radial range of both the Large (LMC) and Small Magellanic Clouds, the largest Milky ...Way (MW) dwarf galaxies. Our sample is an order of magnitude larger than that of previous studies and extends to much larger radial distances. These are the first results presented that make use of the newly installed southern APOGEE instrument on the du Pont telescope at Las Campanas Observatory. Our unbiased sample of the LMC spans a large range in metallicity, from Fe/H = −0.2 to very metal-poor stars with Fe/H −2.5, the most metal-poor Magellanic Cloud (MC) stars detected to date. The LMC /Fe-Fe/H distribution is very flat over a large metallicity range but rises by ∼0.1 dex at −1.0 < Fe/H −0.5. We interpret this as a sign of the known recent increase in MC star formation activity and are able to reproduce the pattern with a chemical evolution model that includes a recent "starburst." At the metal-poor end, we capture the increase of /Fe with decreasing Fe/H and constrain the " -knee" to Fe/H −2.2 in both MCs, implying a low star formation efficiency of ∼0.01 Gyr−1. The MC knees are more metal-poor than those of less massive MW dwarf galaxies such as Fornax, Sculptor, or Sagittarius. One possible interpretation is that the MCs formed in a lower-density environment than the MW, a hypothesis that is consistent with the paradigm that the MCs fell into the MW's gravitational potential only recently.
Previous studies have shown that individuals with circadian preferences for the evening (wake up later and reach maximum activity in the afternoon) have distorted dietary habits and misregulated body ...weight. Therefore, the present study was conducted to analyse the possible relationships between 'morningness' or 'eveningness' (chronotype), dietary habits and the level of obesity.
Among 400 participants, 171 subjects finished the follow-up period and were evaluated. Anthropometric, clinical and dietary parameters were analysed; the Horne-Östberg test was used to determine chronotype. A hypocaloric-behavioural intervention was performed in the overweight/obese subjects.
In normal-weight subjects, the morningness group ingested most of their energy and nutrients at breakfast and lunch, whereas the eveningness group showed a higher intake at dinner, corresponding with their chronotypes. A significant interaction was revealed between chronotype and body mass index regarding the energy and nutrients consumed at dinner (P<0.05 in all cases), as in the normal-weight subjects the evening food intake was higher in the eveningness group, but in the overweight subjects the situation was inverse. In addition, the food preferences were related to the chronotype, as the morningness subjects showed a higher intake of fruit (P<0.010).
The timing of food intake corresponded to the chronotype in the normal-weight subjects; however, the overweight/obese subjects showed intake patterns removed from their physiological rhythms. These findings may indicate a need to design specific diets based not only on the total energy expenditure but also on the chronotype, as an indicator of the biological rhythms.
Gliadin films incorporating 1.5, 3 and 5% cinnamaldehyde (g/100g protein) were tested against food-spoilage fungi Penicillium expansum and Aspergillus niger in vitro, and were employed in an active ...food packaging system for sliced bread and cheese spread. Gliadin films incorporating cinnamaldehyde were highly effective against fungal growth. P. expansum and A. niger were completely inhibited after storage in vitro for 10days in the presence of films incorporating 3% cinnamaldehyde. Indeed 1.5% cinnamaldehyde was sufficient in the case of P. expansum. The amount of cinnamaldehyde retained in films after storage for 45days at 20°C and 0% RH was also sufficient in most cases to prevent fungal growth in vitro. Active food packaging with gliadin films incorporating 5% cinnamaldehyde increased the shelf-life of both sliced bread and cheese spread. Mold growth was observed on sliced bread after 27days of storage at 23°C with active packaging, whereas in the control bread packaged without the active film fungal growth appeared around the fourth day. In the cheese spread, no fungi were observed after 26days of storage at 4°C when the product was packaged with the active film. However, growth of fungi was observed in control packaged cheese after 16days of storage. This work demonstrates a noteworthy potential of these novel bioplastics incorporating natural antimicrobial compounds as innovative solutions to be used in active food packaging to extend shelf-life of food products.
•Gliadin films incorporating cinnamaldehyde inhibited food-spoilage fungi in vitro.•Film storage at low relative humidity maintained its high antimicrobial efficacy.•Shelf-life of sliced bread and cheese spread was extended by active food packaging.
PDF
