Ubiquinone is a lipid antioxidant, and a novel liquid ubiquinol (a hydro-soluble, reduced form of coenzyme Q10) supplement was recently developed. The purpose of this study was to examine the levels of glucose, lipids and antioxidant capacity of type 2 diabetes patients after liquid ubiquinol supplementation. This study was designed as a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. In all, fifty participants were randomly assigned to a placebo (n 25) or liquid ubiquinol (100 mg/d, n 25) group, and the intervention lasted for 12 weeks. Plasma coenzyme Q10, glucose homoeostasis parameters, lipid profiles, oxidative stress and antioxidative enzyme activities were measured during the study. After 12 weeks of supplementation, glyco Hb (HbA1c) value was significantly decreased in the liquid ubiquinol group (P=0·03), and subjects in the liquid ubiquinol group had significantly lower anti-glycaemic medication effect scores (MES) compared with those in the placebo group (P=0·03). The catalase (P<0·01) and glutathione peroxidase (P=0·03) activities were increased significantly after supplementation. Plasma coenzyme Q10 was correlated with the insulin level (P=0·05), homoeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance (P=0·07), quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (P=0·03) and the anti-hyperglycaemic agents’ MES (P=0·03) after supplementation. Lipid profiles did not change after supplementation; however, the subjects in the placebo group had a significantly lower level of HDL-cholesterol after 12 weeks of intervention. In conclusion, oral intake of 100 mg/d liquid ubiquinol might benefit type 2 diabetes patients by increasing antioxidant enzyme activity levels, reducing HbA1c levels and maintaining HDL-cholesterol levels.

There is ample evidence that native and non-native listeners use lexical knowledge to retune their native phonetic categories following ambiguous pronunciations. The present study investigates whether a non-native ambiguous sound can retune non-native phonetic categories. After a brief exposure to an ambiguous British English [l/ɹ] sound, Dutch listeners demonstrated retuning. This retuning was, however, asymmetrical: the non-native listeners seemed to show (more) retuning of the /ɹ/ category than of the /l/ category, suggesting that non-native listeners can retune non-native phonetic categories. This asymmetry is argued to be related to the large phonetic variability of /r/ in both Dutch and English.

Electron microscopy of enclosed liquid samples requires the thinnest possible membranes as enclosing windows as well as nanoscale liquid sample thickness to achieve the best possible resolution. Today liquid sample systems for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are typically made from two sandwiched microchips with thin membranes. We report on a new microfabricated chip system based on a monolithic design that enables membrane geometry on the scale of a few micrometers. The design is intended to reduce membrane deflection when the system is under pressure, a microfluidic channel for improved flow geometry, and a better space angle for auxiliary detectors such as energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. We explain the system design and fabrication and show the first successful TEM images of liquid samples in the chips.

The method of high-energy total elastic X-ray scattering to determine the atomic structure of nanocrystalline, highly disordered, and amorphous materials is presented. The current state of the technique, its potential, and limitations are discussed with two successful studies on the pressure induced phase transition in mackinawite (FeS) and the high-pressure behavior of liquid gallium.

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether a protein-rich beverage leads to a differential response in appetite, satiety and subsequent energy intake compared with an energy- and macronutrient-matched solid version in young people. A total of fifteen adolescents (eight girls and seven boys; age 14 (sem 1) years, BMI percentile 79 (sem 4) %) randomly completed two testing days that included protein-rich (PR) breakfast meals (38 % of energy as protein, 48 (sem 2) g/meal) provided as a solid (S) or beverage (B). Breakfast was 24 % of estimated daily energy needs (2146 (sem 96) kJ/meal). Perceived appetite and satiety responses were collected over 5 h followed by an ad libitum lunch buffet. The PR-S meal led to greater reductions in 4 h postprandial appetite ( − 6221 (sem 1171) mm × 240 min) v. the PR-B meal ( − 3570 (sem 957) mm × 240 min; P < 0·05). When examining the data according to hourly responses, the PR-S meal led to greater reductions in appetite during postprandial hours 2, 3 and 4 v. the PR-B meal (all comparisons, P < 0·05). No differences in postprandial hourly or total (4 h) fullness were observed following the PR-S v. PR-B meals. The PR-S meal led to approximately 480 kJ less energy consumed at the ad libitum lunch buffet (1418 (sem 222) kJ) v. the PR-B meal (1900 (sem 326) kJ; P < 0·05). These data indicate that, although the food form of the PR breakfast meals had little, if any, effect on satiety, the appetitive responses were diminished and the subsequent food intake was greater when protein was consumed as a beverage v. a solid meal.

The paper is devoted to research and development of a novel experimental technique—liquid-filled laser-driven shock tube (LST) for modeling of Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) and Richtmyer-Meshkov (RM) hydrodynamic instabilities development at the contact surface of two immiscible liquids under shock wave (SW) passage. 100-J, 100-ns KrF laser facility GARPUN has been used to irradiate some opaque liquids. A homogenizing focusing system combined multi-element prism raster and a lens to provide non-uniformity less than a few percents across a square 7 × 7-mm spot, laser intensities being varied in the range of q = 0.004–2 GW/cm2. Surface plasma blow-off produced a planar SW, which propagated into the liquid. SW amplitudes as high as 0.8 GPa weakly damping with increasing thickness were measured in dibutyl-phthalate (DBP), which volumetrically absorbed ultraviolet (UV) laser light. Nonlinear absorption coefficients and laser breakdown thresholds were measured for pure water and UV optical materials intended to confine plasma. Test bench experiments were performed to produce standing acoustic waves as initial perturbations at the interface between two immiscible liquids.

While it is conventionally thought that liquids turn to solids at their “freezing” point, it is often the case that materials must be supercooled (cooled below the freezing temperature) before nucleation actually happens. There is growing evidence that coupled processes, including chemical–structural ordering and orientational–translational ordering, are among the factors that affect exactly when and how nucleation occurs in liquids and crystals. Recent density functional calculations have demonstrated that such coupled routes, which are not incorporated within the one-dimensional framework of the classical theory, can dramatically influence the overall nucleation process. Here, some recently observed cases in metal alloys are discussed, establishing a relationship between developing order in undercooled liquids and the nucleation barrier, the influence of magnetic ordering on nucleation in Co-based melts, and the role of interfacial structure and chemistry on the catalytic efficiency of inoculants for heterogeneous nucleation.

Based on the concept of a microliquid process, we have developed an organic electroluminescent display using conductive polymers, including light-emitting polymers. The technology of inkjet printing has progressed enough to be used for the microliquid process. First, we describe the process used to form a patterned thin film. This involves inkjet-related technologies, the self-patterning behavior of a microliquid on the substrate, and the drying process that defines the thickness profile and film properties. Some microliquid behaviors and related phenomena, along with properties of the resulting film, were identified as distinct from those coming from a macroscopic liquid, as a result of size effects. By fully utilizing these unique properties of microliquids, we have succeeded in fabricating color-pixel arrays by direct patterning of polymer solutions. As a result, an organic electroluminescent display with a vivid full-color image has been developed.