Search

Background and Objectives: Arabinoxylan (AX) has diverse physicochemical properties and biological activities, related to the structural differences caused by various sources and extraction methods. We study the differences in molecular characterization, rheological properties, and prebiotic properties in waxy and sweet corn cobs AX, and water‐extractable and water‐unextractable arabinoxylan (EAX, UAX). Findings: The arabinose to xylose ratios (Ara/Xyl) of waxy corn cobs AX were lower than that of sweet corn cobs AX. Also, the viscosity of all samples increased with increasing concentration and decreasing temperature. In the vitro probiotic fermentation, waxy corn cobs AX was stronger in promoting the growth of probiotics than AX from sweet corn cobs. Probiotics in the AX group were predominantly acetic acid and butyric acid producers, and the waxy corn cobs AX group produced more short‐chain fatty acids than the sweet corn cobs AX group, resulting in a lower pH in the waxy corn cobs AX group. Conclusions: EAX and UAX also showed significant variations in molecular characterization, viscosity, and prebiotic properties. Waxy corn cobs AX had stronger prebiotic activity than sweet corn cobs AX. Significance and Novelty: This experiment provides a theoretical and experimental basis for studying the prebiotic properties of AX, which could guide the application of fresh corn cobs‐derived AX. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alleviating bone loss is an essential way to prevent osteoporotic fractures. Proper exercise improves bone density without the side effects of long‐term medications, but the mechanism is unclear. Our study explored the role of Antxr1/LncRNA H19/Wnt/β‐catenin axis in the process of exercise‐mediated alleviation of bone loss. Here we discovered that moderate‐intensity treadmill exercise alleviates bone loss caused by ovariectomy and ameliorates bone strength accompanied by an increased lncRNA H19 expression. Concomitantly, Antxr1, a mechanosensitive protein was found downregulated by exercise but upregulated by ovariectomy. Interestingly, knockdown expression of Antxr1 increased lncRNA H19 expression and Wnt/β‐catenin signaling pathway in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, whereas overexpression of Antxr1 decreased lncRNA H19 expression and Wnt/β‐catenin signaling pathway. Hence, our study demonstrates the regulation of Antxr1/LncRNA H19/Wnt/β‐catenin axis in the process of mechanical strain‐induced osteogenic differentiation, which provides further mechanistic insight into the role of mechanical regulation in bone metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the modeling and verification of a peer-to-peer wide-area backup protection (WABP) system. Agents located in a number of substation Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) negotiate on a peer, or equal, basis. The agent-based wide-area backup protection scheme is able to find power-line faults and protection misoperations. A wide-area communication network based on IP technology is used to transmit shared information among the agents. A novel Agent-Oriented Peer-to-peer negotiating Colored Petri Net (AOPCPN) is proposed to implement the WABP system. The algorithms, design, and dynamic behavior of the WABP is evaluated in a simulated environment to demonstrate its benefits. The article begins by presenting the generic AOPCPN architecture and its formal definition. The AOPCPN model for the WABP multiagent system is evaluated according to one algorithm, which is detailed in this article. The WABP agent's autonomy, cooperation, parallel operation, and robustness are embodied in modules in order to ease the software engineering challenges in implementing and maintaining the agents. Three example scenarios illustrate the effectiveness of the Petri net model and its ability to dynamically respond to WABP misoperations and fault conditions. Index Terms--Colored petri nets (PNs), modeling, multiagent, peer-to-peer negotiating agents, wide-area backup protection.

This paper proposes a robust pilot protection scheme based on waveform similarity that restricts the influence of outliers in fault line identification. By comparing two refactoring currents constructed using the time-domain sampling values of currents at the two terminals of a transmission line, a waveform similarity algorithm called the Kendall's Tau coefficient (KTC) is employed to distinguish two different datasets of a protected transmission line. A reliable fault identification is realized under different fault types, distances, and resistances. Proposed criteria that are robust against to current transformer saturation, synchronization error, and noise are proposed. The KTC is based on simply the rank order instead of the metric value and thus limits outliers to a moderate level, ensuring protection safety in cases where outliers that cannot be eliminated completely are included in the current waveforms. The simulation results demonstrate the excellent performance of the proposed robust pilot protection scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many lines of evidence indicating that mechanical stress regulates bone metabolism and promotes bone growth. BMP, Wnt, ERK1/2, and OPG/RANKL are the main molecules thought to regulate the effects of mechanical loading on bone formation. Recently, microRNAs were found to be involved in bone cell proliferation and differentiation, regulating the balance of bone formation and bone resorption. Emerging evidence indicates that microRNAs also participate in mechanical stress-mediated bone metabolism, and is associated with disuse induced osteoporosis or osteopenia. Mechanical stress is able to induce expression of microRNAs that modulate the expression of osteogenic and bone resorption factors, leading to the positive impact of mechanical stress on bone. This review discusses the emerging evidence implicating an important role for microRNAs in the mechanical stress response in bone cells, as well as the challenges of translating microRNA research into potential treatment. J. Cell. Physiol. 232: 1239-1245, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]