The preferential channeling of different fuels to fat and changes in the transcription profile of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle are poorly understood processes involved in the pathogenesis of obesity and insulin resistance. Carbohydrate and lipid metabolism may play relevant roles in this context. Freely moving lean Zucker rats received 3- and 24-h infusions of Intralipid (Pharmacia and Up...

OBJECTIVE The autonomic nervous system (ANS) regulates both the cardiovascular system and energy balance and is disturbed in diabetes and obesity. The effect of different approaches of caloric restriction on ANS function has not been assessed in individuals with diabetes. Thus, we sought to determine whether low-energy diets differing in fiber, red meat, and coffee intake exert differential eff...

To study the dynamics of elastic fiber assembly, mammalian cells were transfected with a cDNA construct encoding bovine tropoelastin in frame with the Timer reporter. Timer is a derivative of the DsRed fluorescent protein that changes from green to red over time and, hence, can be used to distinguish new from old elastin. Using dynamic imaging microscopy, we found that the first step in elastic...

A new family of mechanochromic photonic-crystal fibers exhibits tunable structural colors under stretching. This novel mechanochromic fiber is prepared by depositing polymer microspheres onto a continuous aligned-carbon-nanotube sheet that has been wound on an elastic poly(dimethylsiloxane) fiber, followed by further embedding in poly(dimethylsiloxane). The color of the fiber can be tuned by va...

The influence of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) upon vascular resistance is more profound in muscles comprised predominately of low-oxidative type IIB vs. high-oxidative type I fiber types. However, within muscles containing high-oxidative type IIA and IIX fibers, the role of the SNS on vasomotor tone is not well established. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of sympa...

BACKGROUND Diets and lifestyles have been strongly associated with colorectal cancer (CRC). In the past several decades, emerging evidence has suggested that the gut microbiota may have a role in the development of CRC. Its interaction with diets and lifestyles could affect the carcinogenesis of CRC. SUMMARY This review presents the most recent epidemiologic and experimental evidence of three...

We report on selective polarization mode excitation in InGaAs/GaAs rolled-up microtubes. The microtubes are fabricated by selectively releasing a coherently strained InGaAs/GaAs quantum dot layer from its host GaAs substrate. An optical fiber abrupt taper is used to pick up the microtube, while an adiabatically tapered optical fiber is used to couple light into the resonant optical modes of the...

Two-photon scanning fluorescence microscopy has become a powerful tool for imaging living cells and tissues. Most applications of two-photon microscopy employ a Ti:sapphire laser excitation source, which is not readily portable or rapidly tunable. This work explores the use of two-photon fiber laser excitation (TP-FLEX) as an excitation source for scanning two-photon microscopy. We have further...

A novel optical fiber humidity sensor based on lossy mode resonances (LMR) has been developed. LMRs are supported here by a thin Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) coating fabricated onto an optical fiber core via a sol-gel dip coating. ITO coated optical fiber devices present a resonant maximum absorption peak in the infra-red region which is shifted to higher wavelengths when the refractive index of the ...

Pathogenesis in sickle cell disease depends on whether red blood cells can pass the microvasculature during the delay time before hemoglobin S gelation and cell rigidification occur. Here we observe individual hemoglobin S fibers by differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy and show that hemoglobin S gels and fibers are fragile and easily broken by mechanical perturbation, and that br...