Search Results (404)

Prosthechea karwinskii is an endemic orchid of Mexico with cultural significance for its ornamental, food, religious, and medicinal uses. In traditional medicine, diabetic patients use the leaves of this plant to lower glucose levels. The present study evaluated the effect of P. karwinskii leaves extract on the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in a model of obese rats with insulin resistance for its nutraceutical potential to reduce insulin resistance and oxidative stress. Obesity and insulin resistance were induced with 40% sucrose in water for 20 weeks. Four groups (control rats, obese rats, obese rats administered the extract, and obese rats administered metformin) were evaluated. Extract compounds were identified by UHPLC-ESI-qTOF-MS/MS. Glucose, insulin, triglyceride, and insulin resistance indices (HOMA-IR and TyG), as well as the activity of the antioxidant enzymes, increased in rats in the obese group. Administration of P. karwinskii extract and metformin reduced glucose, insulin, triglyceride, and insulin resistance indices and antioxidant enzyme activity to values similar to those of the control group. Therefore, this study shows the nutraceutical potential of P. karwinskii extract as an ingredient in the formulation of dietary supplements or functional foods to help treat diseases whose pathophysiology is related to oxidative stress and insulin resistance. Full article

Climatic change and environmental degradation have become a worldwide discourse. Green innovation is commonly viewed as a means of lowering environmental pollution in the era of climate change. Considering this, the primary purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of environmental technology (ET) on CO₂ emissions by controlling Saudi Arabia’s ICT use, energy use, energy intensity, and financial development. It uses a quantile-based multiple-threshold “nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL)” estimation utilizing data from 1990 to 2020. It also conducts the ARDL and NARDL estimation techniques simultaneously for comparative outcomes. The Toda–Yamamoto (T-Y) causality assessment also crosschecks the primary multiple-threshold NARDL estimates. The outcomes reveal that ET promotes environmental pollution due to its low scale compared to the Kingdom’s technological base. ICT improves environmental quality, and energy consumption deteriorates it. All three estimation techniques confirm these findings. The multiple-threshold NARDL estimation appears robust and reveals damaging impacts of energy intensity and financial development on emissions. The T-Y causality assessment also authenticates the primary estimation outcomes. The outcomes have important implications for policymakers to focus on enhancing patents for ET, raising ICT diffusion, reducing energy intensity through generating more renewable energies, expanding financial support for ICT and green investments, and ensuring a sustainable environment. Full article

Partus mentis (the parturition of the mind) brings together the following two significant aspects of Romantic culture and ideology: the exploration into human generation, and the process of how imagination forms an idea and makes the mind creatively productive. This article suggests that analyzing William Blake’s portrayal of imagination through the partus mentis trope can enhance our comprehension of how he illustrates and employs this faculty in his works. In Blake’s partus mentis, the analogy between the brain and the womb is pivotal. The brain is seen as a host for ideas that are conceived through imagination, and once they are brought to life, they become art. This is a vital component of Blake’s cosmogony, tying into his personal reinterpretation of biblical Genesis and his concept of the Human Form Divine. It also includes his response to medical theories and practises regarding generation and life. This article pays close attention to the medico-cultural discourse that was contemporary to Blake, and its wide use of the ‘analogy’, which defined the episteme of the long eighteenth century. The analogy approach was later challenged by the ‘epistemology of the visual’, which emphasized the use of anatomical atlases, wax models, and dissections for direct experiential insights into bodily functions and processes, particularly of the brain and the womb. This article argues that Blake is able to transcend these two epistemologies while harnessing specific elements from each. Full article

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is a crop that is affected by more than a hundred viral species. De la pera is a local varietal type of tomato that is very popular in southeastern Spain. However, it is highly susceptible to several viruses, such as Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), which is considered one of the most important diseases of tomato crops and is a limiting factor for production in both outdoor and protected crops, making it difficult to eradicate. This study shows the effect of gene introgression on the performance of traditional lines of De la pera by combining two genes that offer tolerance to TYLCV, Ty-1 and ty-5, on some yield and quality traits and on the antioxidant capacity of tomato fruits. Two pear tomato breeding families, UMH175 and UMH220, were evaluated. Four lines from each of the families with all homozygous combinations of the Ty-1 and ty-5 genes were studied. The results showed that the introgression of the ty-5 allele produced a slight negative effect on yield, mean fruit weight, total soluble solids, and titratable acidity, in contrast to Ty-1, which produced a large negative effect. None of the introgressions showed a negative effect on the antioxidant compounds. ty-5 is a promising gene for use in breeding programs. Full article

Low-alloyed Mg–Li–Er alloys were developed in this study and a bimodal-grained structure was obtained by varying the trace Er content and extrusion temperature. The alloys displayed a good strength–ductility synergy, i.e., a tensile yield strength (TYS) of 270 MPa and an elongation (EL) of 19.1%. Microstructural characterization revealed that the formation of numerous submicron Mg₂₄Er₅ particles favored a high density of low-angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) inside the deformed grains and inhibited dynamic recrystallization (DRX). The resultant coarse unDRXed grains with a strong basal texture and considerable LAGBs, together with the fine DRXed grains, contributed to the high strength–ductility synergy. Full article

The Mg-Al-RE series heat-resistant magnesium alloys are applied in automotive engine and transmission system components due to their high-temperature performance. However, after serving at a high temperature for a long time, the Al₁₁RE₃ phase coarsened and even decomposed, while the Mg₁₇Al₁₂ phase grew and dissolved, which limits the service temperature of Mg-Al-RE series heat-resistant magnesium alloys to a maximum of 175 °C. In this study, a new preparation method for in situ AlN particles was presented. The AlN/Mg-4Al-4La-0.3Mn composites were prepared by a master alloy and casting method. The effects of various contents of AlN (0.5–3.0 wt.%) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the Mg-4Al-4La-0.3Mn (AE44) alloy at room (25 °C) and high temperatures (150–250 °C) were investigated. Microstructure analysis revealed that the inclusion of AlN led to a reduction in both the grain size and second phase size in the AE44 alloy, while also improving the distribution of the second phase. The average grain size, Al₁₁La₃ phase, Al₂La phase, and Al₃La phase of the 2.0 wt.% AlN/AE44 composite were 135.7, 9.6, 1.9, and 12.6 μm, respectively, which were significantly lower than those of the AE44 matrix alloy (179.8, 12.6, 3.3, 17.8 μm). The refinement was attributed to the ability of AlN particles to serve as heterogeneous nucleation cores for α-Mg and, at the same time, impede the growth of the solid–liquid interface, eventually leading to grain refinement. With the increase in the AlN content, the mechanical properties of composites initially exhibited an increase at both room and high temperatures, followed by a subsequent decrease. When the AlN content was 2.0 wt.%, the composite exhibited optimal strength and plasticity matching. At room temperature, the TYS, UTS, and EL values of the 2.0 wt.% Mg-4Al-4La-0.3Mn composite were 96 MPa, 175 MPa, and 7.0%, respectively, which were increased by 26 MPa, 27 MPa, and 0.7% when compared with the base alloy. The TYS of the 2.0 wt.% Mg-4Al-4La-0.3Mn composite at 150 °C, 200 °C, and 250 °C were 17 MPa, 14 MPa, and 22 MPa higher than those of the matrix alloy, respectively. The main strengthening mechanisms were second phase strengthening, load transfer strengthening, and thermal mismatch strengthening. At elevated temperatures, AlN particles effectively pinned the grain boundaries, inhibiting their migration, and hindered dislocation climbing, resulting in excellent mechanical properties of the composites at high temperatures. This study contributes to the advancement of in situ AlN particle preparation methods and the exploration of effects of AlN on the properties and microstructure of Mg-Al-RE alloys at high temperatures (150–250 °C). Full article

Background/Objectives: Insulin resistance is crucial in the pathogenesis of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The triglyceride–glucose index (TyG index), a validated measure of insulin resistance, also predicts MetS, T2DM, the severity of albuminuria and ASCVD. There are scant data providing mechanistic insights into these sequalae. Accordingly, we investigated the relationship between the TyG index and biomarkers of inflammation, oxidative stress, free fatty acid (FFA) levels and adipokine dysregulation in a cohort comprising both controls and patients with nascent MetS. Methods: Participants (n = 102) included 59 patients with MetS and 43 controls. People with diabetes, ASCVD, smoking and macro-inflammation were excluded. Fasting blood was obtained for both plasma and monocyte isolation. Results: Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that the TyG index was an excellent predictor of MetS with an area under the curve of 0.87, and it correlated with both hepatic and adipose tissue insulin resistance. Both serum RBP-4 levels and non-HDL cholesterol increased significantly over tertiles of the TyG index. Based on the TyG index tertiles and/or correlations, oxidized LDL, nitrotyrosine, C-reactive protein, endotoxin, chemerin, interleukin-6 levels and monocyte toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 and TLR-2 and their cellular signaling were significantly associated with the TyG index. Conclusions: Increased non-HDL-C and, most importantly, a pro-inflammatory and pro-oxidant state could be advanced as potential mechanisms explaining the increased risk for T2DM and ASCVD with an increasing TyG index. Full article

Cereal + legume rotation is an integrated system that facilitates soil fertility and sustainable agricultural production. However, research on the management compatibility affecting soil physico-chemical properties yields overall agro-ecosystem sustainability, but profitability is lacking, especially under straw retention and potential reductions in fertilizer application. An 11-year field experiment investigated three treatments: no straw retention + traditional mineral fertilization (TNS), straw retention + traditional mineral fertilization (TS), and straw retention + reduced mineral fertilization (DS). Compared with TNS, TS significantly improved soil physico-chemical properties, including macro-aggregates (R > 0.25 mm), porosity, field water capacity (FWC), soil organic carbon (SOC) storage, total nitrogen storage, microbial biomass carbon (MBC), and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) by 17.3%, 3.2%, 13.0%, 5.5%, 3.2%, 15.5%, and 13.8%, respectively. TS also significantly increased total (wheat + soybean) yields (TYs), economic profits, and emergy sustainability index (ESI) by 15.8%, 25.0%, 3.7 times that of TNS, respectively. Surprisingly, compared with TS, DS further significantly improved R > 0.25 mm, porosity, FWC, SOC storage, MBC, MBN, TY, economic profits, and ESI by 11.4%, 1.5%, 6.1%, 3.0%, 10.6%, 7.2%, 5.7%, 11.1%, and 36.5%, respectively. Overall, retaining straw with reduced fertilization enhances soil properties, yields, and emergy sustainability in wheat–soybean rotation systems. Full article

The Roma population is Europe’s largest ethnic minority, yet data on the prevalence of non-communicable diseases remain scarce in medical literature. This study aimed to compare the clinical and metabolic particularities of a Roma population with diabetes with a group of non-Roma. We conducted an observational, transversal study and evaluated 808 adult patients with diabetes mellitus, from a tertiary diabetes care hospital. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was high among both groups, 94.3% in the Roma patients and 89.1% in the non-Roma. A slightly higher mean value of the triglyceride–glucose (TyG) index was observed among the Roma group (10.07 ± 0.71 versus 9.71 ± 0.82). Among the non-Roma, variables that were significantly associated with the TyG index were glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein–cholesterol (HDL-c), and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-c), while among the Roma, HbA1c and HDL-c were correlated with this index. There were no differences concerning myocardial infarction; however, the number of patients with a history of stroke was 2.1 times higher in the Roma group compared to the non-Roma group. The prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, cardiovascular disease, and microvascular complications among the study’s Roma population are quite significant, underscoring the importance of ethnic disparities in approaching healthcare management strategies. Full article

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a group of clinical traits directly linked to type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases, whose prevalence has been rising nationally and internationally. We aimed to evaluate ten known and novel surrogate markers of insulin resistance and obesity to identify MetS in Mexican adults. The present cross-sectional study analyzed 10575 participants from ENSANUT-2018. The diagnosis of MetS was based on the Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) criteria and International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria, stratified by sex and age group. According to ATP III, the best biomarker was the metabolic score for insulin resistance (METS-IR) in men aged 20–39 and 40–59 years and lipid accumulation product (LAP) in those aged ≥60 years. The best biomarker was LAP in women aged 20–39 and triglyceride–glucose index (TyG) in those aged 40–59 and ≥60 years. Using the IDF criteria, the best biomarker was LAP in men of all ages. TyG gave the best results in women of all ages. The best biomarker for diagnosis of MetS in Mexican adults depends on the criteria, including sex and age group. LAP and TyG are easy to obtain, inexpensive, and especially useful at the primary care level. Full article

The anatomical characteristics of xylem and their relationship with temperature during the year can be studied at the cellular scale by using micro-coring technology and the wood anatomy method. In this study, we used Populus euphratica Oliv. trees with different groundwater burial depths in the lower Tarim River as the research subjects. Micro-core samples of Populus euphratica were collected near two sampling sites, TY1 and TY2, which have different groundwater burial depths. We analyzed the differences in xylem anatomical characteristics and their relationship with extreme temperatures under these varying groundwater conditions using wood anatomy methods. The results showed that the anatomical parameters at TY1, with a higher groundwater table, were greater than those at TY2, which had a lower groundwater table. Specifically, the conduit density, total conduit area, average conduit area and maximum conduit area of Populus euphratica xylem were significantly and positively correlated with both maximum and minimum temperatures. The principal components of xylem parameters at TY1, with the higher water table, were significantly and positively correlated with both maximum and minimum air temperatures. In contrast, the principal components of xylem parameters at TY2, with the lower water table, were not significantly correlated with either maximum or minimum air temperatures. The sensitivity analysis indicated that the sensitive maximum air temperature for the principal component parameter index change of Populus euphratica xylem was 34.1 °C, and the sensitive minimum air temperature was 16.1 °C. Therefore, different moisture conditions affected the sensitivity of xylem parameter growth to temperature, with the temperature threshold for Populus euphratica xylem growth being between 16.1 °C and 34.1 °C. Full article

The house fly Musca domestica L. is one of the most common insects of veterinary and medical importance worldwide; its ability to develop resistance to a large number of insecticides is well known. Many studies support the involvement of cytochrome P-450-dependent monooxygenases (P450) in the development of resistance to pyrethroids, neonicotinoids, carbamates, and organophosphates among insects. In this paper, the monooxygenase activity and expression level of CYP6D1 were studied for the first time in a chlorfenapyr-resistant strain of house fly. Our studies demonstrated that P450 activity in adults of the susceptible strain (Lab TY) and chlorfenapyr-resistant strain (ChlA) was 1.56–4.05-fold higher than that in larvae. In females of the Lab TY and ChlA strains, this activity was 1.53- and 1.57-fold higher, respectively (p < 0.05), than that in males, and in contrast, the expression level of CYP6D1 was 21- and 8-fold lower, respectively. The monooxygenase activity did not vary between larvae of the susceptible strain Lab TY and the chlorfenapyr-resistant strain ChlA. Activity in females and males of the ChlA strain exceeded that in the Lab TY strain specimens by 1.54 (p = 0.08) and 1.83 (p < 0.05) times, respectively, with the same level of CYP6D1 expression. PCR-RFLP analysis revealed a previously undescribed mutation in the promoter region of the CYP6D1 gene in adults of the Lab TY and ChlA strains, and it did not affect the gene expression level. The obtained results show that the development of resistance to chlorfenapyr in M. domestica is accompanied by an increase in P450-monooxygenase activity without changes in CYP6D1 expression. Full article

Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhi Ty21a (Ty21a) is the only licensed oral vaccine against typhoid fever. Due to its excellent safety profile, it has been used as a promising vector strain for the expression of heterologous antigens for mucosal immunization. As the efficacy of any bacterial live vector vaccine correlates with its ability to express and present sufficient antigen, the genes for antigen expression are traditionally located on plasmids with antibiotic resistance genes for stabilization. However, for use in humans, antibiotic selection of plasmids is not applicable, leading to segregational loss of the antigen-producing plasmid. Therefore, we developed an oral Ty21a-based vaccine platform technology, the JMU-SalVac-system (Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg) in which the antigen delivery plasmids (pSalVac-plasmid-series) are stabilized by a ΔtyrS/tyrS⁺-based balanced-lethal system (BLS). The system is made up of the chromosomal knockout of the essential tyrosyl-tRNA-synthetase gene (tyrS) and the in trans complementation of tyrS on the pSalVac-plasmid. Further novel functional features of the pSalVac-plasmids are the presence of two different expression cassettes for the expression of protein antigens. In this study, we present the construction of vaccine strains with BLS plasmids for antigen expression. The expression of cytosolic and secreted mRFP and cholera toxin subunit B (CTB) proteins as model antigens is used to demonstrate the versatility of the approach. As proof of concept, we show the induction of previously described in vivo inducible promoters cloned into pSalVac-plasmids during infection of primary macrophages and demonstrate the expression of model vaccine antigens in these relevant human target cells. Therefore, antigen delivery strains developed with the JMU-SalVac technology are promising, safe and stable vaccine strains to be used against mucosal infections in humans. Full article

To promote resource reuse and the green, low-carbon transformation of the construction industry, this study uses recycled aggregate from crushed waste concrete and natural bamboo fibers to formulate bamboo fiber-reinforced recycled-aggregate concrete. This study investigates the effects of natural bamboo fiber (NBF) content, NBF length, and the water-to-cement ratio on the performance of concrete through an orthogonal experiment to determine the optimal mixing proportions of NBF-reinforced concrete. Additionally, recycled aggregate completely replaced natural aggregate. The mechanism by which NBF influences concrete was also analyzed. The results demonstrate that the NBF-reinforced specimens exhibited good integrity during compression failure, with NBFs effectively tying the concrete together. The optimized parameters for NBF-reinforced concrete were an NBF length of 20 mm, an NBF content of 0.4v%, and a water-to-cement ratio of 0.55. Almost no flaky Ca(OH)₂ crystals were observed in the NBF-hardened cement–paste transition zone, indicating effective bonding at the interface. Full article

The presented case study evaluates the environmental and economic effects of carbon bio pellet production from orchard grass by Farmutil HS Inc. through the hydrothermal carbonisation method, using obtained biofuel as a substitute for natural gas for heat production. Hydrothermal carbonisation is a zero-waste technology that produces renewable bioenergy by substituting fossil fuels for non-renewable resources. Processing 60,000 t/y of orchard grass with this method resulted in a total amount of heat production of 456,780 GJ/y. This means that over 60% of the energy produced from natural gas could be substituted by renewable bioenergy. It is also very important that the estimated cost of heat produced from carbon bio pellets is 29% lower in comparison to the cost of heat produced from natural gas Full article