Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Acetate alters expression of genes involved in beige adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells and obese KK-Ay mice

The induction of beige adipogenesis within white adipose tissue, known as “browning”, has received attention as a novel potential anti-obesity strategy. The expression of some characteristic genes including PR domain containing 16 is induced during the browning process. Although acetate has been reported to suppress weight gain in both rodents and humans, its potential effects on beige adipogenesis in white adipose tissue have not been fully characterized. We examined the effects of acetate treatment on 3T3-L1 cells and in obese diabetic KK-Ay mice. The mRNA expression levels of genes involved in beige adipocyte differentiation and genes selectively expressed in beige adipocytes were significantly elevated in both 3T3-L1 cells incubated with 1.0 mM acetate and the visceral white adipose tissue from mice treated with 0.6% acetate for 16 weeks. In KK-Ay mice, acetate reduced the food efficiency ratio and increased the whole-body oxygen consumption rate. Additionally, reduction of adipocyte size and uncoupling protein 1-positive adipocytes and interstitial areas with multilocular adipocytes appeared in the visceral white adipose tissue of acetate-treated mice, suggesting that acetate induced initial changes of “browning”. In conclusion, acetate alters the expression of genes involved in beige adipogenesis and might represent a potential therapeutic agent to combat obesity.
Development of Multiplexed Bead-Based Immunoassays for the Detection of Early Stage Ovarian Cancer Using a Combination of Serum Biomarkers

CA125 as a biomarker of ovarian cancer is ineffective for the general population. The aim of this study was to evaluate multiplexed bead-based immunoassay of multiple ovarian cancer-associated biomarkers such as transthyretin and apolipoprotein A1, together with CA125, to improve the identification and evaluation of prognosis of ovarian cancer. We measured the serum levels of CA125, transthyretin, and apolipoprotein A1 from the serum of 61 healthy individuals, 84 patients with benign ovarian disease, and 118 patients with ovarian cancer using a multiplex liquid assay system, Luminex 100. The results were then analyzed according to healthy and/or benign versus ovarian cancer subjects. When CA125 was combined with the other biomarkers, the overall sensitivity and specificity were significantly improved in the ROC curve, which showed 95% and 97% sensitivity and specificity, respectively. At 95% specificity for all stages the sensitivity increased to 95.5% compared to 67% for CA125 alone. For stage I+II, the sensitivity increased from 30% for CA125 alone to 93.9%. For stage III+IV, the corresponding values were 96.5% and 91.6%, respectively. Also, the three biomarkers were sufficient for maximum separation between noncancer (healthy plus benign group) and stage I+II or all stages (I−IV) of disease. The new combination of transthyretin, and apolipoprotein A1 with CA125 improved both the sensitivity and the specificity of ovarian cancer diagnosis compared with those of individual biomarkers. These findings suggest the benefit of the combination of these markers for the diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
Adoption of Evidence-Based Fall Prevention Practices in Primary Care for Older Adults with a History of Falls

A multifactorial approach to assess and manage modifiable risk factors is recommended for older adults with a history of falls. Limited research suggests that this approach does not routinely occur in clinical practice, but most related studies are based on provider self-report, with the last chart audit of United States practice published over a decade ago. We conducted a retrospective chart review to assess the extent to which patients aged 65+ years with a history of repeated falls or fall-related health-care use received multifactorial risk assessment and interventions. The setting was an academic primary care clinic in the Pacific Northwest. Among the 116 patients meeting our inclusion criteria, 48% had some type of documented assessment. Their mean age was 79 ± 8 years; 68% were female, and 10% were non-white. They averaged six primary care visits over a 12-month period subsequent to their index fall. Frequency of assessment of fall-risk factors varied from 24% (for home safety) to 78% (for vitamin D). An evidence-based intervention was recommended for identified risk factors 73% of the time, on average. Two risk factors were addressed infrequently: medications (21%) and home safety (24%). Use of a structured visit note template independently predicted assessment of fall-risk factors (p = 0.003). Geriatrics specialists were more likely to use a structured note template (p = 0.04) and perform more fall-risk factor assessments (4.6 vs. 3.6, p = 0.007) than general internists. These results suggest opportunities for improving multifactorial fall-risk assessment and management of older adults at high fall risk in primary care. A structured visit note template facilitates assessment. Given that high-risk medications have been found to be independent risk factors for falls, increasing attention to medications should become a key focus of both public health educational efforts and fall prevention in primary care practice.
Biomarkers of apoptosis and necrosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated with sorafenib.

BACKGROUND/AIM Sorafenib is the medical reference for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Multiple forms of cytotoxicity are induced by sorafenib in HCC cells in vitro but it is unclear what extent of apoptosis and necrosis is induced in HCC patients receiving sorafenib. PATIENTS AND METHODS The M30 and M65 biomarkers, which reflect the release of cytokeratin-18 and its apoptotic cleavage fragments, were measured in patients with HCC (n=36) and matched patients with cirrhosis (n=47). A serum sample was collected from 20 patients with HCC four weeks after the onset of treatment with sorafenib. RESULTS Basal serum levels of M30 and M65 were increased in patients with HCC compared to those with uncomplicated cirrhosis. No statistically significant increase in the level of M30 or M65 was found in the sera of patients with HCC after sorafenib. CONCLUSION The findings indicate that sorafenib is not a potent inducer of HCC cell death in most patients.
MERIS potential for coastal zone applications

The Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) will be flown on the Envisat mission in 1999 and will provide the user community with a unique instrument for monitoring important water quality parameters in coastal waters. The instrument will be of special interest for coastal zone research projects such as the International Geosphere Biosphere Program (IGBP), Land Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) and for environmental impact monitoring, assessment and management programmes. MERIS characteristics include nine spectral channels (out of 15) covering the visible spectral range (410-705nm) which are optimized to the radiance level of water surfaces. Within this range there are bands dedicated to mapping concentrations of suspended particulate matter, phytoplankton, gelbstoff (or coloured dissolved organic matter) and bands for determining sunlight-stimulated fluorescence of phytoplankton chlorophyll. Its spatial resolution of 300m and revisit period of 3 days are well suited to the observatio.
Designation of 15 serovars of Haemophilus parasuis on the basis of immunodiffusion using heat-stable antigen extracts

Previous independent investigations of the serotyping of Haemophilus parasuis strains have led to the designation of serovars A to D, 1 to 7, Jena 6 to Jena 12, and ND1 to ND5. Heat-stable antigen preparations from the reference strains for these serovars were tested by immunodiffusion with rabbit hyperimmune antisera. The existence of 15 distinct serologic groups was apparent, for which we propose the designations serovars 1 to 15. Examination of 290 field isolates from swine in the former German Democratic Republic indicated a prevalence of serovars 4 and 5, which together accounted for 41% of the isolates examined. However, 26.2% of the isolates were nontypeable with this test procedure and available antisera. Intraperitoneal inoculation of specific-pathogen-free pigs with cells representing the 15 serovars indicated differences in virulence which may be serovar related. Cells of strains representing serovars 1, 5, 10, 12, 13, and 14 were the most virulent, causing death or moribundity in inoculated pigs. Cells of serovars 2, 4, 8, and 15 caused polyserositis, but not death, in inoculated pigs. However, inoculation of cells of strains representing serovars 3, 6, 7, 9, and 11 resulted in no clinical symptoms or lesions indicative of H. parasuis infection.
Contemporary Issues in Estuarine Physics: Estuarine salinity structure and circulation

The horizontal salinity gradient Estuaries show a great diversity of size, shape, depth, and forcing characteristics, but a general characteristic of estuaries is the presence of a horizontal salinity gradient (Fig. 2.1). Normally the salinity decreases from the ocean toward the head of the estuary due to freshwater input; in the case of inverse estuaries, the salinity increases in the landward direction due to excess evaporation (seeChapters 1 and 9). This salinity gradient is the key dynamical variable that makes estuaries different from any other marine or lacustrine environment. The horizontal salinity gradient is the key driving force for the estuarine circulation, which in turn plays a key role in maintaining salinity stratification in estuaries. The combined influence of the estuarine circulation and stratification determines the fluxes of salt and freshwater within the estuary, and their intensity varies with the strength of the freshwater inflow. Because of these dynamics, estuaries are often the most strongly stratified aquatic environments, but they also tend to have vigorous water and salt exchange, due to the estuarine circulation. This chapter explores the coupled equations involving the estuarine circulation, stratification, salt flux and freshwater inflow. A major outcome of this analysis is to reveal the essential importance of horizontal salinity gradient in the estuarine circulation, stratification, and salt balance, but also to find that the horizontal salinity gradient ultimately depends on the strength of the freshwater outflow and the intensity of mixing by tidal currents.
The (Ir)Relevance of the NRU for Policy Making: The Case of Denmark

We reconsider the central role of the natural rate of unemployment (NRU) in forming policy decisions. We show that the unemployment rate does not gravitate towards the NRU due to frictional growth, a phenomenon that encapsulates the interplay between lagged adjustment processes and growth in dynamic labour market systems. We choose Denmark as the focal point of our empirical analysis and find that the NRU explains only 33% of the unemployment variation, while frictional growth accounts for the remaining 67%. Therefore, our theoretical and empirical findings raise serious doubts as to whether the NRU should play a key instrumental role in policy making.
Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT): What Does It Screen? Performance of the AUDIT against Four Different Criteria in a Swedish Population Sample

The purpose of this article was to examine the kinds of alcohol use disorder the AUDIT most accurately screens for since the literature is inconsistent in the use of the AUDIT. Sometimes it is viewed as a measure of hazardous or harmful drinking and sometimes as a measure of dependence. The performance of its subsets (consumption items, AUDIT-C; and problem items, AUDIT-P) and of the full AUDIT (AUDIT-10) was tested against four criteria: high-volume drinking, alcohol-related social problems, alcohol-related health problems, and alcohol dependence. A general population sample of 600 Swedish subjects was interviewed during the winter 2000–01. The results document that, at the recommended cutoff score of 8+, the AUDIT-10 performed well against all four criteria, even if less well against the alcohol-related health problems. The AUDIT-C also performed well against all the problem criteria, showing high areas under the ROC curve, even though significantly lower than the full scale. When measuring high-volume drinking, the AUDIT-C outperformed the full instrument. Scoring at least 1 on the AUDIT-P improved sensitivity of the instrument when screening for social problems and dependence and made it a satisfactory measure of health problems. It is suggested that, when using the full AUDIT to screen for problems more severe than high-volume drinking, the criterion of scoring at least 1 on the AUDIT-P should be applied in combination with a cutoff score on the AUDIT-C.
Cell Stress and MKK6b-mediated p38 MAP Kinase Activation Inhibit Tumor Necrosis Factor-induced IκB Phosphorylation and NF-κB Activation*

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) exerts many actions through activation of the transcription factor NF-κB. NF-κB is sequestered in the cytosol by an inhibitory subunit IκB, which is inducibly phosphorylated by an IκB kinase complex and subsequently degraded. Sodium salicylate (NaSal) can block NF-κB activation by inhibiting IκBα phosphorylation. Recently, we used the specific p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase inhibitor SB203580 to demonstrate that inhibition of TNF-induced IκBα phosphorylation requires NaSal-induced p38 activation. We demonstrate that NaSal similarly inhibits TNF-induced IκBβ degradation in a p38-dependent manner. To further examine the role of p38, we determined whether other agents that activate p38 can block TNF-induced IκB phosphorylation and degradation. Sorbitol, H2O2, and arsenite each blocked IκBα phosphorylation induced by TNF, and SB203580 reversed the inhibitory effects of sorbitol and H2O2, but not arsenite. In addition, sorbitol and H2O2 blocked TNF-induced but not interleukin-1-induced IκBα phosphorylation, whereas arsenite inhibited IκBα phosphorylation induced by TNF and interleukin-1. Transient expression of MAP kinase kinase (MKK) 6b(E), a constitutive activator of p38, reduced both TNF-induced phosphorylation of IκBα and NF-κB-dependent reporter activity. However, MKK7(D), a constitutive activator of c-Jun N-terminal kinases, failed to inhibit these TNF actions. Thus, sustained p38 activation by various stimuli inhibits TNF-induced IκB phosphorylation and NF-κB activation.
Influence of experimental conditions on data variability in the liver comet assay

The in vivo comet assay has increasingly been used for regulatory genotoxicity testing in recent years. While it has been demonstrated that the experimental execution of the assay, for example, electrophoresis or scoring, can have a strong impact on the results; little is known on how initial steps, that is, from tissue sampling during necropsy up to slide preparation, can influence the comet assay results. Therefore, we investigated which of the multitude of steps in processing the liver for the comet assay are most critical. All together eight parameters were assessed by using liver samples of untreated animals. In addition, two of those parameters (temperature and storage time of liver before embedding into agarose) were further investigated in animals given a single oral dose of ethyl methanesulfonate at dose levels of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg, 3 hr prior to necropsy. The results showed that sample cooling emerged as the predominant influence factor, whereas variations in other elements of the procedure (e.g., size of the liver piece sampled, time needed to process the liver tissue post‐mortem, agarose temperature, or time of lysis) seem to be of little relevance. Storing of liver samples of up to 6 hr under cooled conditions did not cause an increase in tail intensity. In contrast, storing the tissue at room temperature, resulted in a considerable time‐dependent increase in comet parameters. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 55:114–121, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Disruption of Germination and Seedling Development in Brassica napus by Mutations Causing Severe Seed Hormonal Imbalance

The Brassica napus (oilseed rape) accession 1012-98 shows a disturbed germination phenotype that was thought to be associated with its lack of testa pigmentation and thin seed coat. Here, we demonstrate that the disturbed germination and seedling development are actually due to independent mutations that disrupt the balance of hormone metabolites and their regulators in the seeds. High-throughput UPLC-MS/MS hormone profiling of seeds and seedlings before and after germination revealed that 1012-98 has a severely disturbed hormone balance with extremely atypical, excessive quantities of auxin and ABA metabolites. The resulting hypersensitivity to abscisic acid (ABA) and a corresponding increase in dormancy often results in death of the embryo after imbibition or high frequencies of disturbed, often lethal developmental phenotypes, resembling Arabidopsis mutants for the auxin regulatory factor gene ARF10 or the auxin-overproducing transgenic line iaaM-OX. Molecular cloning of Brassica ARF10 orthologs revealed four loci in normal B. napus, two derived from the Brassica A genome and two from the C genome. On the other hand, the phenotypic mutant 1012-98 exhibited amplification of C-genome BnaC.ARF10 copy number along with a chimeric allele originating from recombination between homeologous A and C genome loci which lead to minor increase of Bna.ARF10 transcription on the critical timepoint for seed germination, the indirect regulator of ABI3, the germinative inhibitor. Bna.GH3. 5 expression was upregulated to conjugate free auxin to IAA-asp between 2 and 6 DAS. Functional amino acid changes were also found in important DNA binding domains of one BnaC.ARF10 locus, suggesting that regulatory changes in Bna.ARF10 are collectively responsible for the observed phenotpyes in 1012-98. To our knowledge, this study is the first to report disruption of germination and seedling development in Brassica napus caused by the crosstalk of auxin-ABA and the corresponding regulators Bna.ARF10 and Bna.GH3. 5.
ESTUDO DA DINÂMICA DO ÍNDICE DE VEGETACÃO POR DIFERENÇA NORMALIZADA (NDVI) NO NUCLEO DE SÃO RAIMUNDO NONATO-PI.

This paper is the spatial cutting of the area of Sao Raimundo Nonato, located in the Southeast of Piaui. This area consists of the following counties: Sao Raimundo Nonato, Dirceu Arcoverde, Sao. Lourenco, Coronel Jose Dias and Bonfim do Piaui. The studied area is located in semi-arid climatic environment with significant spatial and temporal variations of rainfall, a fact which tends to reflect itself in the protection provided by vegetation cover,which is a key element in environmental studies. The NDVI ,an indicator widely used in the analysis and assessment of vegetation conditions were used in this study, which aims to analyze the interannual and seasonal dynamics of it, considering the years of 1987 and 2007. The methodology was based on the use of satellite imaging of Landsat 5 TM e7, with different date passes, combined with the fielwork inspections . The maps were drawn using Idrisi software 3.2. The results indicate that there had been significant changes in the classes of low , very low NDVI and bare soil between the years of 1987 and 2007.There were decreases in low classes of 3.2% to 0.7%, the very low class increased from 71.8% to 86.7% and in bare soil class there was a reduction from 25% to 13.3%. The seasonal analysis allow us to infer a significant reduction of exposed soil during the rainy season in the region, due to increased rainfall, and the consequent appearance of annual plant species. This class, in October (drought) occurs in 25% of the studied area. In May (end of rainy season),it represents only 0.8%and as a resul there’s a reduction in the risks of degradation.
Convergence of Gradient Dynamics with a Variable Learning Rate

As multiagent environments become more prevalent we need to understand how this changes the agent-based paradigm. One aspect that is heavily affected by the presence of multiple agents is learning. Traditional learning algorithms have core assumptions, such as Markovian transitions, which are violated in these environments. Yet, understanding the behavior of learning algorithms in these domains is critical. Singh, Kearns, and Mansour (2000) examine gradient ascent learning, specifically within a restricted class of repeated matrix games. They prove that when using this technique the average of expected payoffs over time converges. On the other hand, they also show that neither the players’ strategies nor their expected payoffs themselves are guaranteed to converge. In this paper we introduce a variable learning rate for gradient ascent, along with the WoLF (“Win or Learn Fast”) principle for regulating the learning rate. We then prove that this modification to gradient ascent has the stronger notion of convergence, that is, strategies and payoffs converge to a Nash equilibrium.
Priming of new associations: a PET study

Cognitive properties of associative priming are different from those of the non-associative priming. We examined areas associated with associative priming to understand its cortical processing. After subjects had studied pairs of unrelated words, they were shown one of the studied words and a 3-letter word-stem that could be completed using either the word that was paired with the presented studied word (same context), or with a different word (different context). As compared to the fixation, both conditions elicited increased activations in the left prefrontal and decreased activation in the extrastriate cortex. Medial temporal lobe was activated only in the same-context condition. This finding helps to understand why associative priming is impaired in some amnesic patients.
DNA hypermethylation contributes to incomplete synthesis of carbohydrate determinants in gastrointestinal cancer.

BACKGROUND & AIMS It has long been known that malignant transformation is associated with abnormal expression of carbohydrate determinants. The aim of this study was to clarify the cause of cancer-associated abnormal glycosylation in gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. METHODS We compared the expression levels of "glyco-genes," including glycosyltransferases and glycosidases, in normal GI mucosa and in gastric and colorectal cancer cells. To examine the possibility that DNA hypermethylation contributed to the down-regulation of these genes, we treated GI cancer cells with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-aza-dC), an inhibitor of DNA methyltransferase. RESULTS The silencing of some of these glyco-genes, but not up-regulation of certain molecules, was observed. The Sd(a) carbohydrate was abundantly expressed in the normal GI mucosa, but its expression was significantly decreased in cancer tissues. When human colon and gastric cancer cells were treated with 5-aza-dC, cell surface expression of Sd(a) and the transcription of B4GALNT2, which catalyzes the synthesis of the Sd(a), were induced. The promoter region of the human B4GALNT2 gene was heavily hypermethylated in many of the GI cancer cell lines examined as well as in gastric cancer tissues (39 out of 78 cases). In addition, aberrant methylation of the B4GALNT2 gene was strongly correlated with Epstein-Barr virus-associated gastric carcinomas and occurred coincidentally with hypermethylation of the ST3GAL6 gene. CONCLUSIONS Epigenetic changes in a group of glycosyltransferases including B4GALNT2 and ST3GAL6 represent a malignant phenotype of gastric cancer caused by silencing of the activity of these enzymes, which action may eventually induce aberrant glycosylation and expression of cancer-associated carbohydrate antigens.