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Substrate induced emergence of different active bacterial and archaeal assemblages during biomethane production
No full textThis study analyzed the composition of a methane-generating microbial community and the corresponding active members during the transformation of three target substrates (food waste, cellulose or xylan) by barcoded 454 pyrosequencing of the bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA genes in the DNA and RNA. The number of operational taxonomic units at 97% similarity for bacteria and archaea ranged from 162–261 and 31–166, respectively. Principal coordinates analysis and Venn diagram revealed that there were significant differences in the microbial community structure between the active members transforming each substrate and the inoculum. The active bacterial populations detected were those required for the hydrolysis of the amended substrate. The active archaeal populations were methanogens but the ratio of Methanosarcinales and Methanomicrobiales varied between the cultures. Overall, results of this study showed that a subset of the populations became active and altered in relative abundance during methane production according to the amended substrate
Cultural conflicts or cultural cushion
No full textThe current study explores antecedents of perceived discrimination of tourists, which is an under-researched area in tourism. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 248 Chinese and 240 Caucasian tourists in Hong Kong to validate the proposed model. The introduction of intercultural competence reconciled competing research streams regarding the roles of cultural distance in forming the anticipated discrimination of tourists which leads to their perceived discrimination.
The current study reveals that the positive or negative effect of cultural distance is contingent on the intercultural competence of tourists. Additionally, power distance and relative group status collectively explain their anticipated discrimination. Practical implications regarding minimization of the perceived discrimination of tourists were offered
Purpurin inhibits biofilm development in non-albicans Candida fungi
No full textObjective: To investigate the in vitro effect of purpurin on biofilm development of non-albicans Candida fungi.
Method: Biofilms of five non-albicans Candida fungi (C. glabrata ATCC 90030, C. tropicalis ATCC 13803, C. parapsilosis ATCC 22019, C. krusei ATCC 6258, C. dubliniensis MYA-646) were prepared in pre-sterilized, polystyrene, flat-bottomed 96-well microtitre plates. Standard cell suspension (100 μL, 107 cells/mL in YNB) was transfer..
Adopting genetic algorithms for technical analysis and portfolio management
No full textThis research examines two different applications of the Genetic Algorithms (GA) in portfolio management. GA is adopted to determine the optimized parameters setting of different technical indicators and portfolio weighting. Besides the Traditional GA, the Hierarchical GA is also adopted in this research. Different algorithms and the usage of different numbers of technical indicators are evaluated in different economic situations. GA shows its optimization power over different tasks in portfolio management
How old is old? Designing participation tactics to nuture the ingenuity of ageing for our future selves
No full textIntroduction: Ageing and design -- According to the United Nations 2009 report, the global population of people aged 60 and over is 680 million, representing 11 percent of the world\u27s population and the figure is increasing very year. Specific questions are raised for/by design researchers to this global phenomenon: who should be our research subjects and where is the starting point to design for ageing? ..
Theta-alpha cross-frequency synchronization facilitates working memory control – a modeling study
No full textDespite decades of research, the neural mechanism of central executive and working memory is still unclear. In this paper, we propose a new neural network model for the real-time control of working memory. The key idea is to consider separately the role of neural activation from that of oscillatory phase. Neural populations encoding different information would not confuse each other when the populations have different oscillatory phases. Depending on the current situation, relevant memories bind together through phase-locking between theta-frequency oscillation of a Central Unit and alpha-frequency oscillations of the relevant group of Memory Units. The Central Unit dynamically controls which Memory Units should be synchronized (and the encoded memory would be processed), and which units should be out of phase (the encoded memory is standby and would not be processed yet). Simulations of two working memory tasks are provided as examples. The model is in agreement with many recent experimental results of human scalp EEG analysis, which reported observations of neural synchronization and cross-frequency coupling during working memory tasks. This model offers a possible explanation of the underlying mechanism for these experiments
Ligusticum chuanxiong prevents ovariectomy-induced liver and vascular damages in rats
No full textPost-menopause, there is an increase in body weight, visceral adiposity, and risk of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which leads to various cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Some natural products have proven useful for counteracting the detrimental effects of menopause. The rhizome of Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. (LC) is a well-known medicinal herb widely used in Chinese communities for the treatment of CVDs. The hepatic and vascular protective effects of LC ethanolic extract under postmenopausal conditions were investigated on ovariectomized (OVX) rats supplemented with or without LC ethanolic extract (600 mg/kg body weight/day, p.o.) or 17β-estradiol (1 mg/kg body weight/day, p.o.) for 12 weeks. The current findings demonstrated that consumption of LC ethanolic extract could reduce the body weight gain, improve serum lipid profile (lowering low density lipoprotein cholesterol but raising high density lipoprotein cholesterol), combat NAFLD, and protect vascular endothelium in the OVX rats. The beneficial effects of LC may be associated with its antioxidant or vasorelaxant compounds, which enhance the levels of hepatic antioxidant enzymes and up-regulate endothelial nitric oxide synthase mRNA expression, respectively. Taken together, LC may be a promising natural supplement for postmenopausal women to prevent NAFLD and CVDs
Chlorogenic acid exhibits cholesterol lowering and tatty liver attenuating properties by up-regulating the gene expression of PPAR-α in hypercholesterolemic rats induced with a high-cholesterol diet
No full textHypercholesterolemia is a major risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Natural compounds have been proved to be useful in lowering serum cholesterol to slow down the progression of cardiovascular disease and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. In the present study, the hypocholesterolemic and hepatoprotective effects of the dietary consumption of chlorogenic acid were investigated by monitoring plasma lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein) in Sprague–Dawley rats fed with a normal diet, a high-cholesterol diet or a high-cholesterol diet supplemented with chlorogenic acid (1 or 10 mg/kg/day p.o.) for 28 days. Chlorogenic acid markedly altered the increased plasma total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein but decreased high-density lipoprotein induced by a hypercholesterolemic diet with a dose-dependent improvement on both atherogenic index and cardiac risk factor. Lipid depositions in liver were attenuated significantly in hypercholesterolemic animals supplemented with chlorogenic acid. It is postulated that hypocholesterolemic effect is the primary beneficial effect given by chlorogenic acid, which leads to other secondary beneficial effects such as atheroscleroprotective, cardioprotective and hepatoprotective functions. The hypocholesterolemic functions of chlorogenic acid are probably due to the increase in fatty acids unitization in liver via the up-regulation of peroxisome proliferation-activated receptor α mRNA
Using bench press load to predict upper body exercise loads in physically active individuals
No full textThis study investigated whether loads for assistance exercises of the upper body can be predicted from the loads of the bench press exercise. Twenty-nine physically active collegiate students (age: 22.6 ± 2.5; weight training experience: 2.9 ± 2.1 years; estimated 1RM bench press: 54.31 ± 14.60 kg; 1RM: body weight ratio: 0.80 ± 0.22; BMI: 22.7 ± 2.1 kg·m-2) were recruited. The 6RM loads for bench press, barbell bicep curl, overhead dumbbell triceps extension, hammer curl and dumbbell shoulder press were measured. Test-retest reliability for the 5 exercises as determined by Pearson product moment correlation coefficient was very high to nearly perfect (0.82-0.98, p \u3c 0.01). The bench press load was significantly correlated with the loads of the 4 assistance exercises (r ranged from 0.80 to 0.93, p \u3c 0.01). Linear regression revealed that the bench press load was a significant (R2 range from 0.64 to 0.86, p \u3c 0.01) predictor for the loads of the 4 assistance exercises. The following 6RM prediction equations were determined: (a) Hammer curl = Bench press load (0.28) + 6.30 kg, (b) Barbell biceps curl = Bench press load (0.33) + 6.20 kg, (c) Overhead triceps extension = Bench press load (0.33) - 0.60 kg, and (d) Dumbbell shoulder press = Bench press load (0.42) + 5.84 kg. The difference between the actual load and the predicted load using the four equations ranged between 6.52% and 8.54%, such difference was not significant. Fitness professionals can use the 6RM bench press load as a time effective and accurate method to predict training loads for upper body assistance exercises
A brief review of fitness clubs, personal trainers and fitness education providers in Hong Kong
No full textThe aim of the present paper was to summerize the information of fitness club, personal trainers and relavant education providers in Hong Kong