Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chapter 7 . Hormonal control of feed intake in swine

Voluntary feed intake is controlled by a plethora of factors including, but not limited to, day length, social interactions, environmental conditions, oronasal sensory cues (i.e. taste, smell, texture), gastrointestinal fill, health status, metabolic status, dietary composition, drug interactions, exercise (physical activity), mental status (i.e. depression) and gender. However, most, if not all, of these factors can mediate the hormonal milieu within the body that can ultimately control feeding behaviour. Therefore, the focus of this chapter will be on hormonal control of voluntary feed intake in swine. For detailed information pertaining to other factors that affect voluntary feed intake in swine such as perinatal flavour programming, oronasal chemosensory cues, metabolism, antinutritional factors, social interactions, environmental conditions and pathogen exposure, the reader is referred to the accompanying chapters within this book. With regard to hormonal regulation, voluntary feed intake is controlled by intricate and diverse afferent and efferent communication pathways that transmit hormonal and neural messages throughout the body that ultimately reflect the status of the body's energy balance to the hypothalamus. Collectively, these signals are responsible for coordinating a delicate balance between energy utilisation and energy intake in order to maintain energy homeostasis. Some of these biological messages such as glucose and cholecystokinin tend to be more reflective of short-term energy balances associated with food consumption, whereas others, such as insulin and leptin tend to be more reflective of long-term energy stores within the body. While numerous hormones have been shown to be involved in feed intake, this chapter will focus on hormones associated with the control of feed intake specifically in swine with supporting information generated in other species. Specifically, information will be provided on the relationship between feed intake and the somatotrophic axis, the appetite stimulating affects of ghrelin, orexin, neuropeptide Y (NPY) and agouti-related protein (AGRP), and the appetite suppressive effects of leptin and urocortin. Additionally, information will be presented related to the potential effects of glucocorticoids on appetite stimulation in swine.
Using rare earth elements to control phosphorus and track manure in runoff.

Concern over the enrichment of agricultural runoff with phosphorus (P) from land applied livestock manures has prompted the development of manure amendments that minimize P solubility. In this study, we amended poultry, dairy, and swine manures with two rare earth chlorides, lanthanum chloride (LaCl(3). 7H(2)O) and ytterbium chloride (YbCl(3). 6H(2)O), to evaluate their effects on P solubility in the manure following incubation in the laboratory as well as on the fate of P and rare earth elements (REEs) when manures were surface-applied to packed soil boxes and subjected to simulated rainfall. In terms of manure P solubility, La:water-extractable P (WEP) ratios close to 1:1 resulted in maximum WEP reduction of 95% in dairy manure and 98% in dry poultry litter. Results from the runoff study showed that REE applications to dry manures such as poultry litter were less effective in reducing dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) in runoff than in liquid manures and slurries, which was likely due to mixing limitations. The most effective reductions of DRP in runoff by REEs were observed in the alkaline pH soil, although reductions of DRP in runoff from the acidic soil were still >50%. Particulate REEs were strongly associated with particulate P in runoff, suggesting a potentially useful role in tracking the fate of P and other manure constituents from manure-amended soils. Finally, REEs that remained in soil following runoff had a tendency to precipitate WEP, especially in soils receiving manure amendments. The findings have valuable applications in water quality protection and the evaluation of P site assessment indices.
Preclinical Validation of Talaporfin Sodium-Mediated Photodynamic Therapy for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) kills cancer cells via a photochemical reaction mediated by an oncotropic photosensitizer. Herein, we performed an experimental preclinical study to validate the anti-tumour effect of talaporfin sodium-mediated PDT (t-PDT) for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cells. We used human ESCC cells derived from various differentiation grades or resistant to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The cytotoxic effect of t-PDT was determined by evaluating cell viability, apoptosis and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and DNA double-strand breaks. Furthermore, the anti-tumour effect of t-PDT was assessed using an anchorage-independent cell-growth assay and xenograft transplantation models. t-PDT induced potent cytotoxicity in ESCC cells independent of their differentiation grade or 5-FU resistance. Moreover, t-PDT induced robust apoptosis, as indicated by cell shrinkage, perinuclear vacuolization, nuclear fragmentation and induction of annexin V-positive cells. This apoptotic response was accompanied by concurrent activation of ROS, and induction of DNA double-strand breakage. Importantly, t-PDT suppressed efficiently anchorage-independent cell growth as well as ESCC-xenografted tumor formation. In aggregate, t-PDT showed anti-tumor potential for ESCC cells with various histological grades or chemoresistance, providing a novel translational rationale of t-PDT for the treatment of ESCC.
Hippocampal Respiration-Driven Rhythm Distinct from Theta Oscillations in Awake Mice

We have recently described a slow oscillation in the hippocampus of urethane-anesthetized mice, which couples to nasal respiration and is clearly distinct from co-occurring theta oscillations. Here we set out to investigate whether such type of patterned network activity, which we named “hippocampal respiration rhythm” (HRR), also occurs in awake mice. In freely moving mice, instantaneous respiration rate is extremely variable, and respiration is superimposed by bouts of sniffing. To reduce this variability, we clamped the behavior of the animal to either awake immobility or treadmill running by using a head-fixed setup while simultaneously recording respiration and field potentials from the olfactory bulb (OB) and hippocampus. Head-fixed animals often exhibited long periods of steady respiration rate during either immobility or running, which allowed for spectral and coherence analyses with a sufficient frequency resolution to sort apart respiration and theta activities. We could thus demonstrate the existence of HRR in awake animals, namely, a respiration-entrained slow rhythm with highest amplitude at the dentate gyrus. HRR was most prominent during immobility and running with respiration rates slower than theta oscillations. Nevertheless, HRR could also be faster than theta. Discharges of juxtacellularly recorded cells in CA1 and dentate gyrus were modulated by HRR and theta oscillations. Granger directionality analysis revealed that HRR is caused by the OB and that theta oscillations in OB are caused by the hippocampus. Our results suggest that respiration-coupled oscillations aid the exchange of information between olfactory and memory networks. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Olfaction is a major sense in rodents. In consequence, the olfactory bulb (OB) should be able to transmit information to downstream regions. Here we report potential mechanisms underlying such information transfer. We demonstrate the existence of a respiration-entrained rhythm in the hippocampus of awake mice. Frequencies of the hippocampal respiration rhythm (HRR) overlap with classical theta oscillations, but both rhythms are clearly distinct. HRR is most prominent in the dentate gyrus, especially when respiration is slower than theta frequency. Discharges of neurons in CA1 and dentate gyrus are modulated by both HRR and theta. Directionality analysis shows that HRR is caused by the OB. Our results suggest that respiration-coupled oscillations aid the exchange of information between olfactory and memory networks.
Prevalence of risk factors for hypertension: A cross-sectional study in an urban area of Bangladesh

Background: Hypertension is a major risk factor for several cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The prevalence of hypertension is increasing in Bangladesh, especially in urban areas. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of hypertension and its risk factors in an urban area of Bangladesh. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey involving participants aged ≥ 25 years in an urban area in Dhaka between June-December 2012, using multi-stage random sampling. Data on socioeconomic status, tobacco use, physical activity, diet, extra-salt use, family history of hypertension, CVD, anthropometric measurements and blood pressure were collected using modified WHO-STEPS protocol. Hypertension and pre-hypertension were defined according to JNC-7. Multiple logistic regressions models were used to identify risk factors associated with hypertension. Results: The overall age-adjusted prevalence hypertension and pre-hypertension among 730 participants was 23.7% and 19%, respectively, which was higher among males compared to females (23.6% vs 21.71% and 21.7% vs 17.0%, respectively). Bivariate analysis showed significant relationship of hypertension with age, BMI, no physical activity, tobacco use, extra salt intake and family history of stroke/cardiovascular disease. In the multivariate model, factors significantly associated with hypertension were older age (OR 19.18, 95% CI 13.58–28.11), smoking (OR 3.47, 95% CI 2.85–5.19), extra salt intake (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.04–2.21), and high waist circumference (OR 3.41, 95% CI 2.81–5.29). Conclusions: The prevalence of hypertension and pre-hypertension was high among our study participants. Population-based intervention programs and policies for increased awareness about the risk factors, and life-style modification are essential for prevention of hypertension.
Adsorption Study of Electric Arc Furnace Slag for the Removal of Manganese from Solution

Problem statement: Steel making slag from Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) is an abundant by- product in Malaysia steel making industry. It has potential to be used for heavy metal removal from contaminated water or waste water. Approach: The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristic and behavior of manganese removal by using EAF slag for efficient metal removal. The removal characteristics of manganese were investigated in term of sorption kinetics and isotherm. The batch adsorption kinetics and isotherm studies were carried out at 28°C and ten grams of EAF slag was added into 1 L manganese solution of various concentrations of 10, 25, 50, 75, 100 and 120 mg L −1 . All these different mixtures were stirred and sampled at various desired times and centrifuged. The supernatant solutions were then collected for chemical analysis. Results: It was found that the EAF slag adsorption kinetics can be described well by the pseudo-2nd order kinetic model with fairly high correlation coefficients. The adsorption process obeyed the Langmuir isotherm model and the maximum uptake of the manganese from the solution is 2.31 mg L −1 g −1 of EAF slag used. Conclusion: From the study, it was concluded that the EAF slag can be an efficient adsorbent to remove manganese from both the solution and waste water.
The genetics of T-odd phages.

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . 51 INJECTION OF PARENTAL DNA . ,. 52 TRANSCRIPTION OF PHAGE GENOMES . " " . ,',. ,',. ,. ,. ," " ,. ,. , 53 PHAGE-DIRECTED PROTEIN SYNTHESIS . 55 EARLY SECONDARY GENE ACTION . , . , , . 57 PHAGE DNA SYNTHESIS , . " . , . ," , . " . " ',',' . ,',' . ,',. ,, . ,,', 58 MATURATION . , 61 HOST-SPECIFIC FACTORS , 61 MUTUAL EXCLUSION BETWEEN RELATED PHAGES , 63 CONCLUDING REMARKS 63
Diaphyseal bone formation in murine tibiae in response to knee loading

Mechanical stimulation is critical for bone architecture and bone mass. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of mechanical loads applied to the knee. The specific question was whether loads applied to the tibial epiphysis would enhance bone formation in the tibial diaphysis. In C57/BL/6 mice, loads of 0.5 N were applied for 3 min/day for 3 days at 5, 10, or 15 Hz. Bone samples were harvested 13 days after the last loading. The strains were measured 13±2 mu strains at 5 Hz in the diaphysis. The histomorphometric data in the diaphysis clearly showed enhanced bone formation. First, compared with nonloaded control the cross‐sectional cortical area was increased by 11% at 5 Hz and 8% at 10 Hz (both P<0.05). Second, the cortical thickness was elevated by 12% at 5 Hz (P<0.01) and 8% at 10 Hz (P<0.05). Third, mineralizing surface (MS/BS), mineral apposition rate (MAR), and bone formation rate (BFR/BS) were increased at 5 Hz (P<0.01 for MS/BS; P<0.001 for MAR and BFR/BS) and at 10 Hz (P<0.05 for MS/BS; P<0.01 for MAR and BFR/BS). Bone formation was enhanced more extensively in the medial side than the lateral or the posterior side. The results reveal that knee loading is an effective means to enhance bone formation in the tibial diaphysis in a loading frequency‐dependent manner without inducing significant in situ strain at the site of bone formation.
Detection of Affective States From Text and Speech for Real-Time Human–Computer Interaction

Objective: The goal of this work is to develop and test an automated system methodology that can detect emotion from text and speech features. Background: Affective human–computer interaction will be critical for the success of new systems that will be prevalent in the 21st century. Such systems will need to properly deduce human emotional state before they can determine how to best interact with people. Method: Corpora and machine learning classification models are used to train and test a methodology for emotion detection. The methodology uses a stepwise approach to detect sentiment in sentences by first filtering out neutral sentences, then distinguishing among positive, negative, and five emotion classes. Results: Results of the classification between emotion and neutral sentences achieved recall accuracies as high as 77% in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) corpus and 61% in the Louisiana State University medical drama (LSU-MD) corpus for emotion samples. Once neutral sentences were filtered out, the methodology achieved accuracy scores for detecting negative sentences as high as 92.3%. Conclusion: Results of the feature analysis indicate that speech spectral features are better than speech prosodic features for emotion detection. Accumulated sentiment composition text features appear to be very important as well. This work contributes to the study of human communication by providing a better understanding of how language factors help to best convey human emotion and how to best automate this process. Application: Results of this study can be used to develop better automated assistive systems that interpret human language and respond to emotions through 3-D computer graphics.
Social perspective-taking in the friendships of adolescents: Implications for friendship quality and emotional adjustment

The current research considered social perspective-taking (i.e., taking the perspective of another person, and putting oneself “in their shoes”) in youths’ friendships and associations with friendship quality and emotional adjustment. It was hypothesized that social perspective-taking would be associated with adjustment trade-offs, in that social perspective-taking was expected to be related to positive friendship adjustment, but also to negative emotional adjustment (i.e., symptoms of depression and anxiety) through associations with a new construct, empathetic distress. Empathetic distress refers to the experience of shared negative affect in response to a relationship partner’s distress (here, a best friend). Adolescent youths in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades responded to questionnaires, including a new measure of empathetic distress. Gender differences in social perspectivetaking, empathetic distress, and in the relations with adjustment outcomes also were examined. Results provided support for study hypotheses and indicated that girls reported higher social perspective-taking and empathetic distress in their friendships compared to boys. Future research should include longitudinal assessments to address the direction of the effects. Applied implications regarding interventions for youth who experience empathetic distress are discussed.
High Dietary Taurine Reduces Apoptosis and Atherosclerosis in the Left Main Coronary Artery: Association With Reduced CCAAT/Enhancer Binding Protein Homologous Protein and Total Plasma Homocysteine but not Lipidemia

We sought to determine whether taurine could specifically protect against coronary artery disease during an atherogenic diet and whether taurine affects the lipid profile, metabolites of methionine, and endothelial atherogenic systems. Rabbits were fed one of the following diets for 4 weeks: (1) control diet; (2) 0.5% cholesterol+1.0% methionine; or (3) 0.5% cholesterol+1.0% methionine+2.5% taurine. Endothelial function was examined, and the left main coronary artery atherosclerosis was quantified by stereology and semiquantitative immunohistochemistry to determine the endothelial expression of proteins related to the NO, renin-angiotensin, endoplasmic reticulum, and oxidative stress systems, as well as apoptosis. Taurine normalized hyperhomocysteinemia (P<0.05) and significantly reduced hypermethioninemia (P<0.05) but not lipidemia. The intima:media ratio was reduced by 28% (P=0.034), and atherosclerosis was reduced by 64% (P=0.012) and endothelial cell apoptosis by 30% (P<0.01). Endothelial cell CCAAT/enhancer binding protein homologous protein was normalized (P<0.05). Taurine failed to improve hyperlipidemia, endothelial function, or endothelial proteins related to the NO, renin-angiotensin, and oxidative stress systems. Taurine reduces left main coronary artery wall pathology associated with decreased plasma total homocysteine, methionine, apoptosis, and normalization of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein homologous protein. These results elucidate the antiapoptotic and antiatherogenic properties of taurine, possibly via normalization of endoplasmic reticulum stress.
Process Evaluation of a Comprehensive Supermarket Intervention in a Low-Income Baltimore Community

Supermarket-based interventions are one approach to improving the local food environment and reducing obesity and chronic disease in low-income populations. We implemented a multicomponent intervention that aimed to reduce environmental barriers to healthy food purchasing in a supermarket in Southwest Baltimore. The intervention, Eat Right-Live Well! used: shelf labels and in-store displays promoting healthy foods, sales and promotions on healthy foods, in-store taste tests, increasing healthy food products, community outreach events to promote the intervention, and employee training. We evaluated program implementation through store environment, taste test session, and community event evaluation forms as well as an Employee Impact Questionnaire. The stocking, labeling, and advertising of promoted foods were implemented with high and moderate fidelity. Taste test sessions were implemented with moderate reach and low dose. Community outreach events were implemented with high reach and dose. Supermarket employee training had no significant impact on employees’ knowledge, self-efficacy, or behavioral intention for helping customers with healthy purchasing or related topics of nutrition and food safety. In summary, components of this intervention to promote healthy eating were implemented with varying success within a large supermarket. Greater participation from management and employees could improve implementation.
Nonlinear Analysis of the Light Curve of the Variable Star R Scuti

It is first shown that the observational light curve data of R Scuti, a star of the RV Tau type, is not multi-periodic, and that it cannot have been generated by a linear stochastic (AR) process. By default, the signal must be a manifestation of deterministic chaos. We use a novel nonlinear time-series analysis, the global flow reconstruction technique, to probe the properties of the irregular pulsation cycles. We show in particular that the chaotic dynamics of this star's complicated lightcurve is captured by a simple 4D polynomial map or flow (4 first order ODEs). Importantly also, the method allows us to quantify an irregular signal which has the potential benefit for extracting novel stellar constraints from an irregular light-curve. Finally, from the low dimensionality 4 of the flow we can infer a simple physical picture of the pulsations, and arguments are presented that the pulsations of R Sct are the result of the nonlinear interaction of two vibrational normal modes of the star.
Dynamic Learning From Adaptive Neural Control of Robot Manipulators With Prescribed Performance

This paper presents dynamic learning from adaptive neural control (ANC) with prescribed tracking error performance for an $ {n}$ -link robot manipulator subjected to unknown system dynamics and external disturbances. To achieve the prescribed performance, a performance function is introduced to describe the performance restrictions on tracking errors, and then specific performance requirements are served as a priori condition of tracking control design. By an error transformation method, the constrained tracking control problem of the original robot manipulator is transformed into the stabilization problem of an unconstrained augmented system. Then, a novel ANC scheme is proposed for the unconstrained system by combining a filter tracking error with radial basis function (RBF) neural network (NN) approximator, and all the signals in the closed-loop system are semi-globally uniformly ultimately bounded. The external disturbances might make it difficult to achieve the accurate convergence of NN weight estimates. To overcome this difficulty, an appropriate state transformation is introduced to transform the closed-loop system into a linear time-varying system with small perturbed terms. Under partial persistent excitation condition of RBF NNs, the convergence of NN weight estimates is guaranteed, and then the experienced knowledge on the unknown robot manipulator dynamics can be stored with NN constant weights. Using the experienced knowledge, a static neural learning control is proposed to improve the system performances without time-consuming online parameter adjustment process, and the proposed learning control can also guarantee the prescribed transient and steady-state tracking control performance. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Translational Regulation of X-Linked Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein by Interleukin-6

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine with diverse biological effects. IL-6 has been implicated in autocrine signaling pathways promoting tumor progression and chemoresistance in some human tumors. However, the mechanisms by which IL-6 modulates these responses are unknown. Aberrant apoptosis has been implicated as a fundamental mechanism of chemotherapeutic resistance. Thus, we investigated whether IL-6 alters the expression of apoptosis regulatory proteins as a mechanism of drug resistance. We provide evidence that IL-6 rapidly phosphorylates the translation initiation factor eukaryotic initiation factor-4E and triggers antiapoptotic responses in cholangiocarcinoma cells. Reduction of cellular eukaryotic initiation factor-4E by RNA interference decreases IL-6-induced effects on cytotoxic drug-induced caspase activation and apoptosis. Furthermore, IL-6 increases expression of the endogenous X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein expression by translation at an internal ribosome entry site. Our findings that IL-6 translationally regulates X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein expression reveal a novel mechanism by which IL-6 mediates tumor cell survival that may be targeted therapeutically to decrease tumor progression and chemoresistance.