Cummingswiggins5810

Temperature profile in graphene, graphene with grain boundary and vacancy defects and hydrogenated graphene with different percentage of H-atoms are determined using molecular dynamics simulation. We also obtained the temperature profile in a graphene nanoribbon containing two types of grain boundaries with different misorientation angles, θ=21.8° and θ=32.2°. We found that a temperature gap appears in the temperature profile of a graphene nanoribbon with a grain boundary at the middle. Moreover, we found that the temperature profile in the partially hydrogenated graphene varies with the percentage of hydrogens, i.e. the CH ratio. Our results show that a grain boundary line in the graphene sheet can change the thermal transport through the system which might be useful for controlling thermal flow in nanostructured graphene.Nanobodies (Nbs)-the smallest known fully functional and naturally occuring antigen-binding fragments-have attracted a lot of attention throughout the last two decades. Exploring their potential beyond the current use requires more detailed characterization of their binding forces as those cannot be directly derived from the binding affinities. Here we used atomic force microscope to measure rupture force of the Nb-green fluorescent protein (GFP) complex in various pulling geometries and derived the energy profile characterizing the interaction along the direction of the pulling force. We found that-despite identical epitopes-the Nb binds stronger (41-56 pN) to enhanced GFP than to wild-type GFP (28-45 pN). Measured forces make the Nb-GFP pair a potent reference for investigating molecular forces in living systems both in and ex vivo.Marinelli beaker systems are used to monitor the activity of radioactive samples. These systems are usually calibrated with water solutions and the determination of the activity in gases requires correction coefficients accounting for the different mass-thickness of the sample. For beta+ radionuclides the different distribution of the positrons annihilation points should be also considered. In this work a Monte Carlo simulation based on Geant4 is used to compute correction coefficients for the measurement of the activity of air samples.The capability of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) polymer gel to record the dose resulting from boron neutron capture reaction in BNCT was determined. In this regard, three compositions of the gel with different concentrations of (10)B were prepared and exposed to gamma radiation and thermal neutrons. Unlike irradiation with gamma rays, the boron-loaded gels irradiated by neutron exhibited sensitivity enhancement compared with the gels without (10)B. It was also found that the neutron sensitivity of the gel increased by the increase of concentration of (10)B. It can be concluded that NIPAM gel might be suitable for the measurement of the absorbed dose enhancement due to (10)B and thermal neutron reaction in BNCT.Recent advances in neuroimaging have identified a large number of neural measures that could be involved in age-related declines in cognitive functioning. A popular method of investigating neural-cognition relations has been to determine the brain regions in which a particular neural measure is associated with the level of specific cognitive measures. Although this procedure has been informative, it ignores the strong interrelations that typically exist among the measures in each modality. An alternative approach involves investigating the number and identity of distinct dimensions within the set of neural measures and within the set of cognitive measures before examining relations between the 2 types of measures. The procedure is illustrated with data from 297 adults between 20 and 79 years of age with cortical thickness in different brain regions as the neural measures and performance on 12 cognitive tests as the cognitive measures. The results revealed that most of the relations between cortical thickness and cognition occurred at a general level corresponding to variance shared among different brain regions and among different cognitive measures. In addition, the strength of the thickness-cognition relation was substantially reduced after controlling the variation in age, which suggests that at least some of the thickness-cognition relations in age-heterogeneous samples may be attributable to the influence of age on each type of measure.Hypercortisolism is associated with insulin resistance (IR) and diabetes mellitus (DM); however, to our knowledge prior studies have not examined the association of diurnal cortisol curve features with measures of glycemia or IR in a population-based setting. Using log-transformed salivary cortisol data on 850 ethnically diverse men and women from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, we investigated the cross-sectional association of cortisol curve features with (1) glycemia in those with and without DM and (2) IR, in non-diabetic subjects. The log-transformed salivary cortisol curve features included wake-up cortisol, cortisol awakening response (CAR), early decline slope (30min to 2h post-awakening), late decline slope (2h post-awakening to bedtime), overall decline slope (0min to bedtime, excluding 30min cortisol), bedtime cortisol and total area under the curve (AUC). Overall, following multivariable adjustment, among those with diabetes mellitus (DM), early decline slope, overall decline slope, bedtime cortisol, and AUC were significantly and positively associated with a 5.4% (95% CI 1.3, 9.7), 54.7% (95% CI 12.4, 112.9), 4.0% (95% CI 1.6,6.4), and 6.8% (95% CI 3.3,10.4) higher HbA1c per 1 unit increase in log cortisol feature, respectively. read more Cortisol curve features were not associated with HbA1c among non-diabetic participants; however, wake-up cortisol and AUC were associated with a 8.2% lower (95% CI -13.3,-2.7) and 7.9% lower (95% CI -14.6, -0.6) log HOMA-IR, respectively. This was attenuated by adjustment for waist circumference. Among participants with DM, cortisol curve parameters suggestive of higher hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity and dysfunction were associated with higher HbA1c. In non-diabetic participants, greater HPA activity was paradoxically associated with lower insulin resistance.Recent evidence suggests that testosterone is negatively correlated with empathic processes in both men and women. Also, administration of testosterone to young women impairs socio-cognitive performance as assessed using the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task", especially among those exposed to elevated testosterone concentrations prenatally. However, the extent to which testosterone plays a similar causal role in socio-cognitive abilities in men is currently unknown. Here, using a crossover, double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject design, we investigated the extent to which a single administration of testosterone to healthy young men (N=30) would impair socio-cognitive abilities assessed using the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task" (RMET). Also, we investigated whether individual differences in 2D4D ratio and psychopathic traits would moderate the effect of testosterone on task performance. Results indicated that testosterone administration on its own did not impair RMET performance. However, variability in both 2D4D ratio and psychopathic traits moderated the effect of testosterone on task performance. Specifically, testosterone impaired RMET performance among individuals with relatively low (i.e., masculinized) 2D4D ratio and among individuals scoring relatively low on the interpersonal/affective facet (i.e., Factor 1) of psychopathy. Our findings highlight the importance of considering theoretically- and empirically-based individual difference factors when attempting to characterize the neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying socio-cognitive processes.

Although there is substantial evidence of differential hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity in both generalized and abdominal obesity, consistent trends in obesity-related HPA axis perturbations have yet to be identified.

To systematically review the existing literature on HPA activity in obesity, identify possible explanations for inconsistencies in the literature, and suggest methodological improvements for future study.

Included papers used Pubmed, Google Scholar, and the University of California Library search engines with search terms body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist circumference, sagittal diameter, abdominal versus peripheral body fat distribution, body fat percentage, DEXA, abdominal obesity, and cortisol with terms awakening response, slope, total daily output, reactivity, feedback sensitivity, long-term output, and 11β-HSD expression.

Empirical research papers were eligible provided that they included at least one type of obesity (general or abdominal), metial effects of generalized obesity vs. abdominal obesity or from modulators such as sex, sex hormones, and chronic stress. While the relationship between obesity and adipocyte cortisol seems to be clear, further research is warranted to understand how adipocyte cortisol metabolism influences circulating cortisol levels and to establish consistent patterns of perturbations in adrenal cortisol activity in both generalized and abdominal obesity.

The literature to date is inconclusive, which may well arise from differential effects of generalized obesity vs. abdominal obesity or from modulators such as sex, sex hormones, and chronic stress. While the relationship between obesity and adipocyte cortisol seems to be clear, further research is warranted to understand how adipocyte cortisol metabolism influences circulating cortisol levels and to establish consistent patterns of perturbations in adrenal cortisol activity in both generalized and abdominal obesity.Fructose consumption, which promotes insulin resistance, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, has increased by over 25% since the 1970s. In addition to metabolic dysregulation, fructose ingestion stimulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis leading to elevations in glucocorticoids. Adolescents are the greatest consumers of fructose, and adolescence is a critical period for maturation of the HPA axis. Repeated consumption of high levels of fructose during adolescence has the potential to promote long-term dysregulation of the stress response. Therefore, we determined the extent to which consumption of a diet high in fructose affected behavior, serum corticosterone, and hypothalamic gene expression using a whole-transcriptomics approach. In addition, we examined the potential of a high-fructose diet to interact with exposure to chronic adolescent stress. Male Wistar rats fed the periadolescent high-fructose diet showed increased anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze and depressive-like behavior in the forced swim test in adulthood, irrespective of stress history. Periadolescent fructose-fed rats also exhibited elevated basal corticosterone concentrations relative to their chow-fed peers. These behavioral and hormonal responses to the high-fructose diet did not occur in rats fed fructose during adulthood only. Finally, rats fed the high-fructose diet throughout development underwent marked hypothalamic transcript expression remodeling, with 966 genes (5.6%) significantly altered and a pronounced enrichment of significantly altered transcripts in several pathways relating to regulation of the HPA axis. Collectively, the data presented herein indicate that diet, specifically one high in fructose, has the potential to alter behavior, HPA axis function, and the hypothalamic transcriptome in male rats.