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We aimed to evaluate the effect of spirulina sauce on glycemic indices, lipid profile, oxidative stress markers, and anthropometric measurement in type 2 diabetic patients. Forty patients were randomly assigned to receive 20 g/day spirulina sauce (containing 2 g of spirulina) or placebo for 2 months. Anthropometric and biochemical indices were measured at the beginning and end of the intervention. Fasting blood glucose (mean difference (MD): −15.3 mg/dL, 95% confidence (CI): −44.2 to 13.60, p =.26), HbA1c (MD: 0.13%, 95% CI: −0.83 to 0.57, p =.75), insulin (MD: −1.46 μIU/mL, 95% CI: −4.0 to 1.09, p =.28), and HOMA‐IR (MD: −0.35, 95% CI: −2.0 to 1.32, p =.68) did not change significantly between groups. QUICKI increased significantly (MD: 0.025, 95% CI: 0.006 to 0.045, p =.03). Among the lipid profile, triglyceride (TG) (MD: −68.6 mg/dL, 95% CI: −107.21 to −29.98, p <.001), total cholesterol (MD: −29.55 mg/dL, 95% CI: −55.28 to −3.81, p =.02), and LDL (MD: −17.7 mg/dL, 95% CI: −33.24 to −2.15, p =.01) were significantly decreased in the spirulina group compared to the control; whereas, the change in HDL was non‐significant. No significant change was observed in body composition and anthropometric measurements, except waist circumference, which was reduced (MD: −2.65 cm, 95% CI: −3.91 to −1.38, p =.001). Hunger index significantly decreased and fullness increased marginally significantly. Although malondialdehyde was significantly reduced, no change was observed in total antioxidant capacity (TAC). Spirulina sauce was not effective for glycemic control in type 2 diabetes; however, could be useful for controlling appetite and ameliorating lipid profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systemic arterial hypertension is an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure, and chronic kidney diseases. Spirulina is microalgae with nutritious ingredients and has potential attenuating effects on chronic diseases including hypertension. Spirulina can be added to food products in order to develop functional foods. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of 8‐week consumption of a salad dressing containing 2 g of spirulina platensis powder versus a placebo dressing on patients with hypertension. In this triple‐blind randomized clinical trial, 48 patients with hypertension were enrolled to receive daily either spirulina‐fortified dressing or placebo for 2 months. A total of 41 patients completed this study. We observed that the consumption of spirulina dressing significantly reduced systolic blood pressure (p =.02), diastolic blood pressure (p =.03), serum triglyceride (p =.01), total cholesterol, and low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) levels, compared to nonsignificant changes in the placebo group. Significant changes in TAC and hs‐CRP levels were observed in none of the groups. According to our findings, spirulina‐fortified dressing as a functional food can be used a supportive treatment for patients with hypertension along with standard antihypertensive drugs. However, further investigations are required for a more comprehensive conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One hypothetically well‐founded approach for learning a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) is to utilize the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques. In the MCMC, the uniform noninformative priors on all of the possible graphs are considered. This brings about computational costs, making them impractical for learning the structure of DAGs with numerous variables. In this paper, we focus on the discrete variables and use the data information to restrict the space of possible graphs. This approach can be interpreted as an empirical Bayes paradigm. This means that we use an empirical Bayes approach to make zero prior probability of some possible graphs. For this purpose, we first estimate the potential neighbors using L1‐Regularized Markov Blanket and then determine the candidate causes for each variable by introducing a new criterion. This perspective makes it possible to reduce the search space in the process of the MCMC simulation. The results on the well‐known DAGs show that our method has higher accuracy. The source code is available at http://bs.ipm.ac.ir/softwares/mcmccode.rar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shredded cabbage (50% v/v) and Daikon radish cubes (57% v/v) were mixed with different salt solutions (0.15, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 1.85%), poured into a Teflon-coated static Ohmic cell and heated from 30 to 70°C at different alternating current voltages (65, 80, 100, 120 or 135 V) and frequencies (60, 2,070, 5,030, 7,990 or 10,000 Hz). Voltage, current, time and temperature were measured to calculate electrical conductivities at different temperatures. For the modeling part, 750 g of a blended crude puree (particle size < 0.5 mm) was used to fill the Ohmic cell. Daikon radish gave the highest value for electrical conductivity of 1.07 S/m at 30°C and 1.85%, 100 V and 5,030 Hz while cabbage gave a value of 0.81 S/m under the same conditions. For cabbage, the electrical conductivity values increased with increasing frequency at higher voltage, but decreased at low voltage levels. An opposite trend was observed for Daikon radish. Modeling indicated that electrical conductivity increased quadratically with temperature, salt concentration and electrical voltage. Response surface models revealed that linear, cross products, as well as quadratic effects were significant with R2 > 0.98. The Maxwell-Eucken model, which describes solid particles dispersed in continuous liquid, showed good fit for the electrical conductivity data. Practical Applications Ohmic heating can be an alternative to conventional heat processing of food, reducing treatment time and improving quality. Ohmic heating has been generally recognized to provide uniform and rapid heating conditions. The electrical conductivity (EC) of food components is the key property in the Ohmic heating process and is dependent on many product and system-dependent properties, especially the salt content. It is also the primary property needed for modeling the Ohmic heating effects of a system or product. This manuscript details the gathered data on electrical conductivity of cabbage and radish, and an appropriate modeling approach to describe their dependence on product and system properties. The study generates new data EC for the vegetables and how the EC is influenced by the two vegetables that differ significantly in structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

L7612 --> 505.27 --> Janus kinase 3 (JAK3) is a member of the JAK family of tyrosine kinase proteins involved in cytokine receptor‐mediated intracellular signal transduction through the JAK/STAT signaling pathway. JAK3 was shown as differentially expressed in granulosa cells (GC) of bovine preovulatory follicles and downregulated by the luteinizing hormone. These observations suggested JAK3 regulation could modulate GC proliferation, steroidogenic activity and activation/inhibition of downstream targets. To investigate the mechanisms of JAK3 actions in GC, we used JANEX‐1, a pharmacological JAK3 inhibitor, and FSH treatments and analyzed proliferation markers, steroidogenic enzymes and phosphorylation of target proteins including STAT3 and previously identified JAK3 partners CDKN1B/p27Kip1 and MAPK8IP3/JIP3. Cultured GCs were treated with or without FSH in the presence or not of JANEX‐1. Total RNA and proteins were extracted and analyzed by RT‐qPCR, western blotting and UHPLC/MS‐MS. Expression of steroidogenic enzyme CYP11A1, but not CYP19A1, was significantly upregulated in GC treated with FSH and both were significantly decreased when JAK3 was inhibited as compared to control. Proliferation markers CCND2 and PCNA were significantly reduced in JANEX‐1‐treated GC and upregulated by FSH. Western blots analyses showed that JANEX‐1 treatment significantly reduced pSTAT3 amounts while JAK3 overexpression increased pSTAT3. Similarly, FSH treatment increased pSTAT3 even in JANEX‐1‐treated GC. UHPLC/MS‐MS analyses showed phosphorylation and additional modifications of specific amino acid residues within JAK3 as well as its binding partners CDKN1B and MAPK8IP3 revealing possible activation or inhibition of JAK3 following FSH or JANEX‐1 treatments, respectively. Abundance of JAK3 total protein was increased post‐FSH treatment and significantly decreased, along with MAPK8IP3, in JANEX‐1‐treated GC while CDKN1B total abundance was altered post‐FSH and increased post‐JANEX‐1. We show that JAK3 influences GC activity through phosphorylation of target proteins in response to stimulations such as FSH, which leads to the activation of JAK/STAT and likely modulating other signaling pathways involving CDKN1B and MAPK8IP3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY In this study, a simplified analytical closed-form solution, considering plane strain and axial symmetry conditions, for analysis of a circular pressure tunnel excavated underwater table, is developed. The method accounts for the seepage forces with the steady-state flow and is based on the generalized effective stress law. To examine the effect of pore pressure variations and also the boundary conditions at the ground surface, the formulations are derived for different directions around the tunnel. The proposed method can be applied for analysis and design of pressure tunnels. Illustrative examples are given to demonstrate the performance of the proposed solution and also to examine the effect of seepage forces on the stability of tunnels. The simplified analytical solution derived in this study is compared with numerical analyses. It is concluded that the classic solutions (Lame's thick-walled solution), considering the internal pressure as a mechanical load applied to the tunnel surface, are not applicable to pervious media and can result in an unsafe design. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]