RATIONALE Evidence suggests that the gut microbiome is involved in the development of cardiovascular disease, with the host-microbe interaction regulating immune and metabolic pathways. However, there was no firm evidence for associations between microbiota and metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease from large-scale studies in humans. In particular, there was no strong evidence for a...

The first example of a designed receptor containing a cis-1,3-disubstituted cyclobutane ring has been synthesized. This molecule binds diphosphoryl lipid A (a conserved portion of the Gram-(-) bacterial cell membrane, and the causative agent of septic shock) with an affinity comparable to previously described ter-cycloalkane based lipid A-binding compounds.

PURPOSE To investigate the signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) and data quality of time-reduced three-dimensional (3D) proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging ((1)H MRSI) techniques in the human brain at 3 Tesla. MATERIALS AND METHODS Techniques that were investigated included ellipsoidal k-space sampling, parallel imaging, and echo-planar spectroscopic imaging (EPSI). The SNR values for N-ac...

The fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) family shows a great potential in the treatment of diabetes, but little attention is paid to basic FGF (bFGF). In this study, to explore the metabolic effects of bFGF on diabetes, metabolic changes in serum and feces were analyzed in the normal rats, the streptozocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats and the bFGF-treated diabetic rats using a 1H nuclear magnetic r...

The mobile agent paradigm gains ever more acceptance for the creation of distributed applications particularly in the domain of electronic commerce In such applications a mobile agent roams the global Internet in search of services for its owner One of the problems with this approach is that malicious service providers on the agent s itinerary can access con dential information contained in the...

The Disciple Learning Agent Shell is a tool for developing intelligent agents where an expert teaches the agent how to perform domain-specific tasks in a way that resembles the way the expert would teach an apprentice, by giving the agent examples and explanations as well as by supervising and correcting its behavior. Disciple can be used by educators to build educational agents that will assis...

In standard characterizations, science is self-correcting. Scientists examine each other’s work skeptically, try to replicate important discoveries, and thereby expose latent errors. Thus, while science is tentative, it also seems to have a system for correcting whatever mistakes arise. It powerfully explains and justifies the authority of science. Self-correction thus often serves emblematical...

Quantitation of lipid storage, unsaturation, and oxidation in live C. elegans has been a long-standing obstacle. The combination of hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering imaging and multivariate analysis in the fingerprint vibration region represents a platform that allows the quantitative mapping of fat distribution, degree of fat unsaturation, lipid oxidation, and cholesterol storage in v...

We sought to develop a new method to more efficiently analyze lipid-bound proteins by mass spectrometry using a combination of a lipid removal agent (LRA) that selectively targets lipid-bound proteins and a mass spectrometry compatible detergent, anionic acid labile surfactant (AALS), that is capable of eluting proteins off the LRA. This method was compared to established methods that use the l...

The pyrrolopyrimidine U101033E is a therapeutic compound potentially useful in stroke, head injury and other oxidative stress conditions. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) techniques of spin labeling and spin trapping in conjunction with measures of lipid and protein oxidation have been used to investigate the proposed antioxidant capacity of U101033E. We report potent antioxidant activity ...