Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of Protein Intake, Race, and Age on Responses to a Weight-Reduction Intervention in Obese Women

Abstract Background: Women have higher rates of obesity than men and develop more pronounced functional deficits as a result. Yet, little is known about how obesity reduction affects their functional status, including whether their responses differ when protein intake is enhanced. Objective: The aim of this study was to confirm the feasibility of delivery of a higher-protein (balanced at each meal) calorie-restricted diet in obese women and determine its efficacy for influencing function and retention of lean mass. Method: Obese community-dwelling women [n = 80; body mass index (in kg/m2), in means ± SDs: 37.8 ± 5.9; aged 45–78 y; 58.8% white] were enrolled in a weight-loss (−500 kcal/d) study and randomly assigned to either a Control–Weight-Loss (C-WL; 0.8 g protein/kg body weight) group or a High-Protein–Weight-Loss (HP-WL; 1.2 g protein/kg body weight; 30 g protein 3 times/d) group in a 1:2 allocation. Primary outcomes were function by 6-min walk test (6MWT) and lean mass by using the BodPod (Life Measurement, Inc.) at 0, 4, and 6 mo. Results: Both groups reduced calorie intakes and body weights (P < 0.001), and the feasibility of the HP-WL intervention was confirmed. The 6MWT results improved (P < 0.01) at 4 mo in the HP-WL group and at 6 mo in both groups (P < 0.001). Both groups improved function by several other measures while slightly decreasing (P < 0.01) lean mass (−1.0 kg, C-WL; −0.6 kg, HP-WL). Weight loss was greater in white than in black women at both 4 mo (6.0 ± 3.6 compared with 3.7 ± 3.4 kg; P < 0.02) and 6 mo (7.2 ± 4.8 compared with 4.0 ± 4.7 kg; P < 0.04) and tended to be positively related to age (P < 0.06). Conclusions: A clinically important functional benefit of obesity reduction was confirmed in both study groups, with no significant group effect. Our findings of racial differences in response to the intervention and a potential influence of participant age lend support for further studies sufficiently powered to explore the interaction of race and age with functional responses to obesity reduction in women. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02033655.
Lifestyle-Related Factors Associated with Reproductive Health in Couples Seeking Fertility Treatments: Results of A Pilot Study

Background The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a larger prospective cohort study, which will aim at determining the independent contribution of male and female lifestyle-related factors to assisted reproductive technology (ART) success. The study also examined whether couples seeking fertility treatments present lifestyle-related factors that may interfere with their reproductive health. Materials and Methods This prospective pilot study was conducted in a fertility clinic between May 2015 and February 2016. Feasibility factors evaluated were recruitment rates, compliance with the protocol, retention rate and ART outcomes at six-month follow-up. Anthropometric profile and lifestyle habits of both partners were evaluated before the beginning of infertility treatments. Results We approached 130 eligible infertile couples. Among them, 32 (25%) agreed to participate and 28 (88%) complied with the protocol. At six-month follow-up, seven couples (25%) did not start, or stop, infertility treatments and 13 couples (62%) achieved a clinical pregnancy. Among the 28 couples included in the analyses, 16% of the partners were obese and 23% had abdominal obesity. The majority of the subjects were still drinking alcohol (84%). Sixty-eight percent of women needed improvement in their diet (vs. 95% of men, P=0.05) and none of them achieved the Canadian recommendations for physical activity (vs. 33% of men, P=0.001). Moreover, 35% of the partners had a poor sleep quality. Overall, women presented a worse reproductive health profile than men, with 3.1 and 2.4 out of seven adverse factors, respectively (P=0.04). Conclusion Conducting a large prospective cohort study in our fertility clinic will be feasible but recruitment and compliance with the protocol need to be improved. Many women and men seeking fertility treatments present unfavourable lifestyle-related factors that may explain, at least partially, their difficulties in conceiving.
Liana and tree below-ground water competition—evidence for water resource partitioning during the dry season

Abstract To date, reasons for the increase in liana abundance and biomass in the Neotropics are still unclear. One proposed hypothesis suggests that lianas, in comparison with trees, are more adaptable to drought conditions. Moreover, previous studies have assumed that lianas have a deeper root system, which provides access to deeper soil layers, thereby making them less susceptible to drought stress. The dual stable water isotope approach (δ18O and δ2H) enables below-ground vegetation competition for water to be studied. Based on the occurrence of a natural gradient in soil water isotopic signatures, with enriched signatures in shallow soil relative to deep soil, the origin of vegetation water sources can be derived. Our study was performed on canopy trees and lianas reaching canopy level in tropical forests of French Guiana. Our results show liana xylem water isotopic signatures to be enriched in heavy isotopes in comparison with those from trees, indicating differences in water source depths and a more superficial root activity for lianas during the dry season. This enables them to efficiently capture dry season precipitation. Our study does not support the liana deep root water extraction hypothesis. Additionally, we provide new insights into water competition between tropical canopy lianas and trees. Results suggest that this competition is mitigated during the dry season due to water resource partitioning.
An In Vivo Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study of the Effects of Caloric and Non-Caloric Sweeteners on Liver Lipid Metabolism in Rats

We aimed to elucidate the effects of caloric and non-caloric sweeteners on liver lipid metabolism in rats using in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and to determine their roles in the development of liver steatosis. Wistar rats received normal chow and either normal drinking water, or solutions containing 13% (w/v) glucose, 13% fructose, or 0.4% aspartame. After 7 weeks, in vivo hepatic dietary lipid uptake and de novo lipogenesis were assessed with proton-observed, carbon-13-edited MRS combined with 13C-labeled lipids and 13C-labeled glucose, respectively. The molecular basis of alterations in hepatic liver metabolism was analyzed in detail ex vivo using immunoblotting and targeted quantitative proteomics. Both glucose and fructose feeding increased adiposity, but only fructose induced hepatic lipid accumulation. In vivo MRS showed that this was not caused by increased hepatic uptake of dietary lipids, but could be attributed to an increase in de novo lipogenesis. Stimulation of lipogenesis by fructose was confirmed by a strong upregulation of lipogenic enzymes, which was more potent than with glucose. The non-caloric sweetener aspartame did not significantly affect liver lipid content or metabolism. In conclusion, liquid fructose more severely affected liver lipid metabolism in rats than glucose, while aspartame had no effect.
Trust , Satisfaction and Frustration Measurements During Human-Robot Interaction

Since the beginning of human race, we have always sought ways to develop bonds and create meaningful relationships with others. In these interactions, there are several parameters that determine how strong the bond is. These parameters include among many others, the trust towards the other person. Humanlike robots have been created with basic human to human interaction rules. Trust is a significant factor for the interaction with the robot, if a human trusts a robot, certainly the outcome from the interaction would be different from the case when a human does not trust a robot. For a human to be able to interact with the robot without any concern, trust must be developed between human and robot. In this paper, we introduce a starting point for quantifying Human-Robot interactions in which we measure the level of trust, satisfaction, and frustration. Due to the different interaction modes during the collaborative task, the human trust towards the robot varied due to interaction and experiences. Results based on feedback from 10 persons, when they interacted with a Baxter robot in a real time collaborative task showed the trust, frustration and satisfaction levels changed depending on the Baxter robot operation modes. The most significant delivery mode is the dropping mode in which the trust, frustration and satisfaction levels are significantly different in comparison with other delivery modes. The results are based on feedback from 10 persons, when they interact with Baxter robot in a real time.
The Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Buprenorphine in Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome

Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is a condition affecting newborns that are exposed to an opioid in utero. In a randomized, controlled trial assessing the efficacy of buprenorphine and morphine in NAS, blood samples were analyzed from a subset of patients receiving buprenorphine along with NAS scores. The data were used to validate and adapt an existing model of buprenorphine in neonates and to identify relationships between buprenorphine or norbuprenorphine pharmacokinetics (PK) and efficacy or safety. The time to NAS stabilization was found to decrease with increasing buprenorphine exposure. This pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic (PK‐PD) relationship was able to be quantified and adequately described with a mathematical model. The findings confirm a previous PK model of buprenorphine and extend the model to describe the PK of norbuprenorphine and to identify a novel PK‐PD relationship of buprenorphine in NAS. This model will allow optimization of dosing strategies in future clinical trials.
Diagnostic Accuracy of Ga-68-HBED-CC-PSMA-Ligand-PET/CT before Salvage Lymph Node Dissection for Recurrent Prostate Cancer

Background: By targeting the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) on prostate cancer (PCa) cells PSMA-PET/CT shows great potential in locating the site of biochemical recurrence even at low PSA (Prostate-specific antigen)-levels. Accurate imaging of PCa recurrent lymph node metastases (LNM) is crucial for metastases directed therapies such as salvage-lymph node dissection (salvage-LND). Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of PSMA-PET/CT for detection of affected lymph-node regions at salvage-LND for nodal recurrence of PCa. Design, setting and participants: 30 patients with the suspicion of exclusively nodal PCa-relapse after primary therapy underwent a template pelvic and/or retroperitoneal salvage-LND after whole body 68-Ga-PSMA-PET/CT. The diagnostic accuracy of PET/CT was evaluated in comparison to the histopathology of 965 resected lymph nodes (LN) dissected from 68 main regions (pelvic left/right, retroperitoneal) and 289 subregions (common iliac, external iliac, obturator, internal iliac, presacral, aortic-bifurcation, aortal, caval). LNM and tumor deposits in LNM were measured bidimensionally in the histopathology. PSMA-expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in LNM. Results: LNM were present in 11.4% of the resected LN (110/965) resulting in 45 positive main regions and 85 positive subregions. PET/CT was true positive in 41 main regions and 69 subregions. Three PET-negative main regions and 16 PET-negative subregions finally contained LNM, the majority of these false negative subregions (13/16) were in neighboring regions of true-positive subregions. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy were: main region-based 93.2%, 100%, 100%, 88.9% and 95.6%, subregion-based 81.2%, 99.5%, 98.6%, 92.7 and 94.1%. Median short diameters of tumor deposits in LNM resected from false-negative subregions (1.3 mm) were significantly smaller than in LNM removed from true-positive subregions (5.5 mm, p<0.0001). Based on anatomical subregions containing just one LNM, the necessary short diameter of tumor deposits in LNM required to reach a detection rate of 50% and 90% was estimated to be ≥ 2.3 mm and ≥ 4.5 mm, respectively. Conclusion: In men with biochemical PCa-relapse and positive PSMA-PET/CT, PET/CT detects metastatic affected anatomical regions with high accuracy at a main region and at a subregion-level. If the decision for salvage-LND is prompted by a positive PSMA-PET/CT, the size of metastases is crucial for accurate detection of affected regions. All LNM showed a clear PSMA-expression in the immunohistochemistry. Further studies need to investigate how to translate the high anatomical correlation observed between PET/CT and surgical findings into optimal approaches for target salvage-LND.
Labor induction versus expectant management at early term in pregnancies with second trimester elevated human chorionic gonadotropin or alpha fetoprotein

Elevated human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and alpha fetoprotein (AFP) have been linked to placental dysfunction and associated morbidities. We aimed to compare the induction of labor with expectant management at term in those pregnancies for the prevention of neonatal and maternal morbidities.
A comparative evaluation of ion release from different commercially-available orthodontic mini-implants – an in-vitro study

Abstract Background Titanium alloy mini-implants have become popular in recent times and have been extensively used and studied. Although corrosion resistance of orthodontic materials has always been of concern, this property has been the least explored. The present study aimed to assess the composition, surface characterisation and corrosion resistance of five commercially available mini-implants by assaying ion release in artificial saliva. Methods Ten mini-implants each from five companies were obtained: Group 1 – AbsoAnchor (Dentos Inc, South Korea); Group 2 – Microimplant Anchorage System (MIA, Biomaterials Korea); Group 3 – The Orthodontic Mini Anchorage System (TOMAS, Dentaurum, Germany); Group 4 – mini-implants (Denticon, Maharashtra, India); Group 5 – orthodontic mini-implants (J.J.Orthodontics, Kerala, India). One mini-implant from each group was subjected to characterisation and surface microstructure analysis using Energy Dispersive Atomic Spectrometry (EDAX) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), respectively. Ten miniimplants were immersed for 30 days in Fusayama-Meyer artificial saliva solution and the release of titanium, aluminium and vanadium ions was detected with Inductively Coupled Plasma - Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). The Kruskal-Wallis test was used for multi-variate analysis. In order to determine the significant differences between the groups on independent samples, the Mann-Whitney U test (bi-variate analysis) was applied. Results and conclusion All groups showed machining defects but surface pitting after immersion was mostly evident in Group 4. Although the composition of all the implants was comparable, there was a statistically significant difference in the Ti, Al and V release between Group 4 – the group with maximum release – and Group 2, the group with least release.
Cell Type-specific β2-Adrenergic Receptor Clusters Identified Using Photoactivated Localization Microscopy Are Not Lipid Raft Related, but Depend on Actin Cytoskeleton Integrity*

Background: The direct measurement of diffraction-limited structures, such as clusters, is outside the resolution of the available microscopy techniques. Results: β2-Adrenergic receptor clusters identified using PALM are cell-type specific. Conclusion: PALM has successfully allowed the quantitative determination of GPCR clusters. Significance: The application of this powerful microscopy technique opens up the possibility to quantify the number of molecules in biological assemblies. Recent developments in the field of optical super-resolution techniques allow both a 10-fold increase in resolution as well as an increased ability to quantify the number of labeled molecules visualized in the fluorescence measurement. By using photoactivated localization microscopy (PALM) and an experimental approach based on the systematic comparison with a nonclustering peptide as a negative control, we found that the prototypical G protein-coupled receptor β2-adrenergic receptor is partially preassociated in nanoscale-sized clusters only in the cardiomyocytes, such as H9C2 cells, but not in other cell lines, such as HeLa and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO). The addition of the agonist for very short times or the addition of the inverse agonist did not significantly affect the organization of receptor assembly. To investigate the mechanism governing cluster formation, we altered plasma membrane properties with cholesterol removal and actin microfilament disruption. Although cholesterol is an essential component of cell membranes and it is supposed to be enriched in the lipid rafts, its sequestration and removal did not affect receptor clustering, whereas the inhibition of actin polymerization did decrease the number of clusters. Our findings are therefore consistent with a model in which β2 receptor clustering is influenced by the actin cytoskeleton, but it does not rely on lipid raft integrity, thus ruling out the possibility that cell type-specific β2 receptor clustering is associated with the raft.
Genetic variation in the glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor modifies the association between carbohydrate and fat intake and risk of type 2 diabetes in the Malmo Diet and Cancer cohort.

CONTEXT A common genetic variant (rs10423928, A-allele) in the glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor gene (GIPR) is associated with decreased insulin secretion. Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide is secreted after food consumption and gipr knockout mice fed a high-fat diet are protected against obesity and disturbances in glucose homeostasis. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to examine the interactions between rs10423928 and macronutrients and fiber intakes on body mass index and type 2 diabetes risk. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Among nondiabetic subjects in the Swedish population-based Malmö Diet and Cancer cohort (n = 24,840; 45-74 yr), 1541 diabetes cases were identified during 12 yr of follow-up. Dietary intakes were assessed using a diet history method. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Incident type 2 diabetes was identified through registers. RESULTS There was no indication that dietary intakes significantly modify the association between GIPR genotype and body mass index (P interaction >0.08). We observed significant interactions between GIPR genotype and quintiles of carbohydrate (P = 0.0005) and fat intake (P = 0.0006) on incident type 2 diabetes. The TT-genotype carriers within the highest compared with the lowest carbohydrate quintile were at 23% (95% confidence interval = 5-39%) decreased type 2 diabetes risk. In contrast, AA-genotype carriers in the highest compared with the lowest fat quintile were at 69% (95% confidence interval = 29-86%) decreased risk. CONCLUSIONS Our prospective, observational study indicates that the type 2 diabetes risk by dietary intake of carbohydrate and fat may be dependent on GIPR genotype. In line with results in gipr knockout mice, AA-genotype carriers consuming high-fat low-carbohydrate diets had reduced type 2 diabetes risk, whereas high-carbohydrate low-fat diets benefitted the two thirds of population homozygous for the T-allele.
Essential role of endogenous prolactin and CDK7 in estrogen-induced upregulation of the prolactin receptor in breast cancer cells

Our early studies have shown that Estradiol (E2)/Estrogen Receptor α (ER) in a non-DNA dependent manner through complex formation with C/EBPβ/SP1 induced transcriptional activation of the generic hPIII promoter and expression of the Prolactin Receptor (PRLR) receptor in MCF-7 cells. Subsequent studies demonstrated effects of unliganded ERα with requisite participation of endogenous PRL on the activation of PRLR transcription. Also, EGF/ERBB1 in the absence of PRL and E2 effectively induced upregulation of the PRLR. In this study we have delineated the transcriptional mechanism of upregulation of PRLR receptor induced by E2 incorporating knowledge of the various transcriptional upregulation modalities from our previous studies. Here, we demonstrate an essential requirement of STAT5a induced by PRL via PRLR receptor which associates at the promoter and its interaction with phoshoERα S118. Knock-down of PRL by siRNA significantly reduced E2-induced PRLR promoter activity, mRNA and protein expression, recruitment of ERα to the complex at promoter, C/EBPβ association to its DNA site and productive complex formation at hPIII promoter. The specific CDK7 inhibitor (THZ1) that attenuates E2-induced ERα phosphorylation at S118 abrogated E2-induced PRLR promoter activation. Further studies demonstrated that E2 induced cell migration was inhibited by PRL siRNA and THZ1 indicating its dependence on PRL/PRLR and CDK7, respectively. Our studies have demonstrated the essential role of endogenous PRL and CDK7 in the upregulation of PRLR by E2 and provide insights for therapeutic approaches that will mitigate the transcription/expression of PRLR and its participation in breast cancer progression fueled by E2 and PRL via their cognate receptors.
Turning the Page: The Impact of Choice Closure on Satisfaction

After having made a purchase decision, consumers often revisit their choice and ponder forgone alternatives. This tendency can lower satisfaction with the selected alternative, especially when choices are difficult. We introduce the concept of "choice closure"--defined as the psychological process by which consumers come to perceive a decision to be final--and show that specific physical acts that are metaphorically associated with the concept of closure (such as covering or turning a page on the rejected alternatives) trigger choice closure in the context of difficult choices. Four studies show that performing acts of closure inhibits consumers' propensity to reconsider their decision process and to engage in unfavorable comparisons between the chosen and the forgone options, resulting in greater satisfaction with the outcome of choices made from large sets. These findings suggest that subtle cues, which do not alter the actual choice context, can improve satisfaction with a difficult decision.