Search results for "SLE"
showing 10 items of 2360 documents
Next-generation biological control
2020
Biological control is widely successful at controlling pests, but effective biocontrol agents are now more difficult to import from countries of origin due to more restrictive international trade laws (the Nagoya Protocol). Coupled with increasing demand, the efficacy of existing and new biocontrol agents needs to be improved with genetic and genomic approaches. Although they have been underutilised in the past, application of genetic and genomic techniques is becoming more feasible from both technological and economic perspectives. We review current methods and provide a framework for using them. First, it is necessary to identify which biocontrol trait to select and in what direction. Nex…
Euro+Med-Checklist Notulae, 13
2021
This is the thirteenth of a series of miscellaneous contributions, by various authors, where hitherto unpublished data relevant to both the Med-Checklist and the Euro+Med (or Sisyphus) projects are presented. This instalment deals with the families Amaryllidaceae (incl. Alliaceae), Apocynaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Compositae, Crassulaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Gramineae, Hydrocharitaceae, Iridaceae, Labiatae, Liliaceae, Malvaceae, Meliaceae, Myrtaceae, Orobanchaceae, Oxalidaceae, Papaveraceae, Pittosporaceae, Primulaceae (incl. Myrsinaceae), Ranunculaceae, Rhamnaceae, Rubiaceae, Solanaceae and Umbelliferae. It includes new country and area records and taxonomic and distributional con…
Periodic Controls in Step 2 Strictly Convex Sub-Finsler Problems
2020
We consider control-linear left-invariant time-optimal problems on step 2 Carnot groups with a strictly convex set of control parameters (in particular, sub-Finsler problems). We describe all Casimirs linear in momenta on the dual of the Lie algebra. In the case of rank 3 Lie groups we describe the symplectic foliation on the dual of the Lie algebra. On this basis we show that extremal controls are either constant or periodic. Some related results for other Carnot groups are presented. peerReviewed
Adjusted bat algorithm for tuning of support vector machine parameters
2016
Support vector machines are powerful and often used technique of supervised learning applied to classification. Quality of the constructed classifier can be improved by appropriate selection of the learning parameters. These parameters are often tuned using grid search with relatively large step. This optimization process can be done computationally more efficiently and more precisely using stochastic search metaheuristics. In this paper we propose adjusted bat algorithm for support vector machines parameter optimization and show that compared to the grid search it leads to a better classifier. We tested our approach on standard set of benchmark data sets from UCI machine learning repositor…
The Gut Metagenome Changes in Parallel to Waist Circumference, Brain Iron Deposition, and Cognitive Function.
2017
Context Microbiota perturbations seem to exert modulatory effects on emotional behavior, stress-, and pain-modulation systems in adult animals; however, limited information is available in humans. Objective To study potential relationships among the gut metagenome, brain microstructure, and cognitive performance in middle-aged, apparently healthy, obese and nonobese subjects after weight changes. Design This is a longitudinal study over a 2-year period. Setting A tertiary public hospital. Patients or other participants Thirty-five (18 obese) apparently healthy subjects. Intervention(s) Diet counseling was provided to all subjects. Obese subjects were followed every 6 months. Main outcome me…
Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass as an Effective Bariatric Revisional Surgery after Restrictive Procedures
2020
<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Revisional surgery must be considered when insufficient weight loss is attained or weight is subsequently regained. This study aimed to investigate the value of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) as a revisional procedure after restrictive surgery. <b><i>Materials and Methods:</i></b> An observational, retrospective study including patients initially operated on for morbid obesity with restrictive techniques (vertical-banded gastroplasty [VBG], adjustable gastric band [AGB], and sleeve gastrectomy) and reoperated with RYGB in our centre between December 1994 and January 2019. Demographic and anthropometric data, associ…
The function of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and its tissue inhibitor (TIMP-1) in several clinical conditions: Results and analysis of our surv…
2021
The goal of this research was to evaluate the plasma concentration of MMP-9 and its tissue inhibitor (TIMP-1) in different clinical conditions. It included several groups of subjects: 31 overweight subjects; 91 obese adults divided into two subgroups according to the BMI value (BMI 30–35 Kg/m2 and BMI > 35 Kg/m2); 90 subjects with metabolic syndrome (MS) divided into two subgroups (with and without diabetes mellitus); 100 subjects with preclinical carotid atherosclerosis (PCA) divided according to the number of cardiovascular risk factors and to the insulin resistance degree; 48 subjects with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) divided according to the apnoea/hypopnea index (AHI); 2…
Heterogeneous Indicators of Cognitive Performance and Performance Variability Across the Lifespan
2020
Reaction time (RT) and RT variability are core components of cognitive performance that can be captured through brief and easy-to-administer tasks of simple RT and choice RT. The current study aims to describe age-related differences in cognitive performance, toward better characterizing normative performance across the lifespan. We examined mean and variability of response times on a simple RT and choice RT tasks in a large and diverse web-based sample (10,060 visitors to TestMyBrain.org). We also examined lifespan-related differences in response time variability using multiple different approaches (raw variability, mean scaled variability, and mean residualized variability). These analyse…
Overexpression of glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase preserves mouse pancreatic beta cells function until late in life.
2021
NAD(P)H donates electrons for reductive biosynthesis and antioxidant defense across all forms of life. Glucose-6- phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) is a critical enzyme to provide NADPH. G6PD deficiency is present in more than 400 million people worldwide. This enzymopathy provides protection against malaria but sensitizes cells to oxidative stressors. Oxidative stress has been involved in the pathogenesis of the diabetic complications and several studies have provided evidences of a link between G6PD deficiency and type 2 diabetes (T2D). We hypothesized that a moderate overexpression of G6PD (G6PD-Tg) could protect β-cells from age-associated oxidative stress thus reducing the risk of develop…
Mast cells contribute to autoimmune diabetes by releasing interleukin-6 and failing to acquire a tolerogenic IL-10+ phenotype
2017
Mast cells (MCs) are innate immune cells that exert positive and negative immune modulatory functions capable to enhance or limit the intensity and/or duration of adaptive immune responses. Although MCs are crucial to regulate T cell immunity, their action in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases is still debated. Here we demonstrate that MCs play a crucial role in T1D pathogenesis so that their selective depletion in conditional MC knockout NOD mice protects them from the disease. MCs of diabetic NOD mice are overly inflammatory and secrete large amounts of IL-6 that favors differentiation of IL-17-secreting T cells at the site of autoimmunity. Moreover, while MCs of control mice acquire…