Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Postprandial lipemic response to alpha-linolenic acid rich oil, butter, and olive oil

Postprandial lipemia varies with composition of dietary fat due to partitioning of fatty acids between beta-oxidation, incorporation into TAG, and tissue lipids. Effects of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) are poorly characterized. Lipase-catalyzed transesterification was used to produce a novel ALA-oil (35% ALA) from rapeseed and linseed oil. We hypothesized a lower postprandial lipemic response with ALA-oil than with olive oil and butter due to higher beta-oxidation of ALA. A randomized crossover study with 26 healthy men compared the effects on plasma lipids 7 h after a breakfast containing 35 g ALA-rich oil, butter fat, or olive oil. The incremental area under curve for plasma TAG was lower with butter than with olive oil (34%, p< 0.05) and ALA-oil (25%, ns). After ALA-oil percentage ALA increased, in TAG to a constant level of 7 mol% and in NEFA to 6% after 7 h. Since total NEFA increased with time the amount of exogenous ALA in NEFA also increased. Butter resulted in lower postprandial lipemia than the oils, the difference exceeding what is expected from the presence of short and medium chain fatty acids in butter. There was a considerable recirculation of ALA into the NEFA pool available for oxidation. Practical application: Enzymatic transesterification was used to produce a dietary oil rich in ALA. By randomizing the partitioning of ALA more evenly between the TAG molecules the risk of oxidation could be reduced. Analyses showed that the ALA-oil was stable during storage for at least 3 months. Enzymatic transesterification could be used as an advantageous method to design an ALA rich dietary oil with new properties regarding fatty acid composition, susceptibility to oxidation, and effects on blood lipids. (Less)
Molecular Scanning of the Human Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor γ (hPPARγ) Gene in Diabetic Caucasians: Identification of a Pro12Ala PPARγ2 Missense Mutation

Abstract Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ) is a nuclear receptor that regulates adipocyte differentiation, and possibly lipid metabolism and insulin sensitivity. As such, PPARγ is a promising candidate gene for several human disorders including obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Screening for mutations in the entire coding region of the PPARγ gene (both γ1 and γ2 isoforms) was performed with DNA of 26 diabetic Caucasians with or without obesity. Two base substitutions were identified: a silent mutation at nucleotide 1431 (CACHis→ CATHis) and a missense mutation (CCGPro→GCGAla) at codon 12 of PPARγ2. The allele frequency of the Pro12Ala PPARγ2 variant was 0.12 in Caucasian Americans, 0.10 in Mexican Americans, 0.08 in Samoans, 0.03 in African Americans, 0.02 in Nauruans, and 0.01 in Chinese. We conclude that the Pro12Ala PPARγ2 gene variant is present in diverse populations. Further studies of the Pro12Ala variant will determine its relevance to obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes.
Efficacy of the R2 resistance gene as a component for the durable management of potato late blight in France

Many race-specific resistance genes to potato late blight are overcome in France, but the disease appears later on genotypes carrying the R2 gene. This study examined whether R2 could contribute to durable late-blight control in France, and analysed the conditions of its performance. Plants grown from tubers of different physiological ages showed no difference in R2 expression in field and climate-chamber experiments, demonstrating that the delay in epidemic onset provided by R2 was not the result of gene inactivation in old plants. Among isolates collected at one site, those virulent on R2 were classified into three AFLP profiles. AFLP-VII comprised exclusively isolates virulent to R2, whereas AFLP-IV and AFLP-V included both virulent and avirulent isolates. No significant aggressiveness differences were observed between virulent and avirulent isolates from AFLP-V; however, isolates from AFLP-VII were significantly less aggressive than virulent isolates from AFLP-V. These results indicate that: (i) the delayed onset of epidemics on R2 cultivars is the result of the breakdown of R2 by virulent isolates; (ii) aggressiveness of isolates virulent to R2 depends primarily on the genetic background of the pathogen where the mutation to virulence occurs; and (iii) this mutation does not lead per se to lower pathogenic fitness. It is suggested that R2 is unlikely to make a lasting contribution to late-blight control in France, and that diversification strategies such as cultivar mixtures might not considerably increase its durability.
Attitudes and knowledge regarding referrals for bariatric surgery among Danish secondary healthcare providers: A national survey

Bariatric surgery induces significant and sustained weight loss and subsequently reduces obesity‐related comorbidities. However, only a small percentage of patients with severe obesity undergo bariatric surgery in Denmark. There is limited knowledge about the experiences with and possible reservations to bariatric surgery among secondary healthcare providers. The aim of this cross‐sectional study was to investigate referral patterns and knowledge regarding the criteria for bariatric surgery among Danish secondary healthcare providers, treating obesity‐related diseases. A questionnaire regarding experiences with and reservations to referring patients for consideration for bariatric surgery, along with thoughts to specific patient cases were sent to several specialists: endocrinologists, obstetricians and gynaecologists, orthopaedic surgeons and otorhinolaryngologists. Most questions required responses on a 5‐point Likert scale and frequency distributions were calculated. A total of 345 (44%) specialists responded to the questionnaires. Good knowledge of the criteria for referral to bariatric surgery varied among the specialist from 6% to 68%. One of the main issues was a concern about the medical and surgical postoperative complications, which was a barrier to and influenced referral decisions. Furthermore, specialists were more likely to refer patients to bariatric surgery when patients requested this. Except for endocrinologists, the Danish secondary healthcare specialists interviewed have limited knowledge about bariatric surgery, which results in a reluctance in referring patients. Our results indicate that there is a need to improve knowledge among specialists, regarding the indications, criteria and outcomes for bariatric surgery to establish a more pro‐active, specialist led approach to referrals.
In Dyspeptic Patients without Gastric Phase III of the Migrating Motor Complex, Helicobacter pylori Eradication Produces no Short-term Changes in Interdigestive Motility Pattern

Background: The relationship between Helicobacter pylori infection and interdigestive gastroduodenal motility in functional dyspepsia is still uncertain. Recent data from a large series documented that in dyspeptic patients without gastric phase III of the interdigestive migrating motor complex (MMC), the prevalence of bacterial infection was significantly higher. Since most H. pylori-positive dyspeptic patients have coexisting chronic gastritis, whether or not dyspepsia per se rather than bacterial colonization or chronic inflammation of the gastric mucosa may account for the observed interdigestive motility pattern is unknown. Our aim was to compare the interdigestive gastroduodenal motility pattern and dyspeptic symptoms before and 1 month after bacterial eradication in 20 H. pylori-positive dyspeptic subjects with chronic non-atrophic gastritis and without gastric phase III of the MMC, who were randomly allocated to receive eradication treatment (n = 10) or not (n = 10). Methods: Upper GI endoscopy with duplicate biopsies in antrum and corpus, 240-min interdigestive gastroduodenal manometric recording and symptoms assessment were performed before and 1 month after the treatments; bacterial eradication was confirmed by 13C-urea breath test. Results: After H. pylori eradication, neither in the incidence of antral and duodenal phase III of MMC nor in the phase II motility index values were any changes observed. Symptomatic improvement was recorded in both groups, with no significant differences between eradicated patients and controls. Conclusions: In dyspeptic patients with chronic non-atrophic gastritis and without gastric phase III of MMC, H. pylori eradication influences neither the interdigestive motility pattern nor the symptoms in the short-term period.
Hydration Efficacy of a Milk Permeate-Based Oral Hydration Solution

Milk permeate is an electrolyte-rich, protein- and fat-free liquid with a similar carbohydrate and mineral content to that of milk. Its hydration efficacy has not been examined. The beverage hydration index (BHI) has been used to compare various beverages to water in terms of post-ingestion fluid balance and retention. Our purpose was to compare the BHI (and related physiological responses) of a novel milk permeate solution (MPS) to that of water and a traditional carbohydrate–electrolyte solution (CES). Over three visits, 12 young subjects consumed 1 L of water, CES, or MPS. Urine samples were collected immediately post-ingestion and at 60, 120, 180, and 240 min. BHI was calculated by dividing cumulative urine output after water consumption by cumulative urine output for each test beverage at each time point. The BHI for MPS was significantly higher at all time points compared to water (all p < 0.001) and CES (all p ≤ 0.01) but did not differ between CES and water at any time point. Drinking 1 L of MPS resulted in decreased cumulative urine output across the subsequent 4 h compared to water and CES, suggesting that a beverage containing milk permeate is superior to water and a traditional CES at sustaining positive fluid balance post-ingestion.
Anxiolytic Activity and Brain Modulation Pattern of the α-Casozepine-Derived Pentapeptide YLGYL in Mice

α-Casozepine (α-CZP) is an anxiolytic-like bioactive decapeptide derived from bovine αs1-casein. The N-terminal peptide YLGYL was previously identified after proteolysis of the original peptide in an in vitro digestion model. Its putative anxiolytic-like properties were evaluated in a Swiss mice model using a light/dark box (LDB) after an intraperitoneal injection (0.5 mg/kg). The effect of YLGYL on c-Fos expression in brain regions linked to anxiety regulation was afterwards evaluated via immunofluorescence and compared to those of α-CZP and diazepam, a reference anxiolytic benzodiazepine. YLGYL elicited some anxiolytic-like properties in the LDB, similar to α-CZP and diazepam. The two peptides displayed some strong differences compared with diazepam in terms of c-Fos expression modulation in the prefontal cortex, the amygdala, the nucleus of the tractus solitarius, the periaqueductal grey, and the raphe magnus nucleus, implying a potentially different mode of action. Additionally, YLGYL modulated c-Fos expression in the amygdala and in one of the raphe nuclei, displaying a somewhat similar pattern of activation as α-CZP. Nevertheless, some differences were also spotted between the two peptides, making it possible to formulate the hypothesis that these peptides could act differently on anxiety regulation. Taken together, these results showed that YLGYL could contribute to the in vivo overall action of α-CZP.
The Impact of Dyspepsia Definition on Prevalence Estimates: Considerations for Future Researchers

Dyspepsia is well known to be a common complaint in Western populations (1–4) and a frequent reason for consultation with a general practitioner (5, 6). Dyspepsia can have several adverse effects. First, the pain or discomfort of dyspepsia may be intense and disabling (7–10) and can provoke anxiety as to the underlying cause (11–14); thus, dyspepsia can have a deleterious impact on the quality of life (13–15). Second, clinicians consulted by dyspeptic patients are often faced with difficult decisions with regard to diagnosis and management (16–19); and third, a substantial burden is placed on national health budgets due to the costs of clinical consultations, investigations, and treatments (20–22) and increased sickness absenteeism from work (23). Knowledge of how common dyspepsia is in the population and of the factors associated with its clinical expression is necessary to assess the impact of this complaint on the community and to ensure the most effective use of the advanced and costly management techniques now available (24). Consequently, ascertainment of the prevalence of dyspepsia has been the subject of much epidemiologic investigation in Western countries over recent decades. Over the past 30 years community surveys have been conducted in Scandinavia (3, 4, 25–28), Britain (2, 24, 29– 32), the United States (1, 12, 33–35), Germany (36), Australia (8, 9, 37), and New Zealand (14). However, the findings vary widely, with estimates of the 1-year prevalence among different populations ranging from 12% to greater than 45% (1–3, 12, 37). We first aimed to determine why the prevalence estimates for dyspepsia among Western nations vary so widely, as based on a comprehensive review of the relevant literature. A MEDLINE search was performed up to October 1999 using the MeSH term ‘dyspepsia’. The English-language papers that examined dyspepsia prevalence in general populations in Western nations were retrieved and reviewed, and their reference lists were checked for additional citations. Our second aim was to identify the survey techniques that are most useful in providing reliable prevalence estimates. This was done on the supposition that the application of standard, adequate research methods will ensure validity of, and comparability between, future studies of dyspepsia prevalence.
Shape-Based Vessel Trajectory Similarity Computing and Clustering: A Brief Review

With the widespread application of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) in maritime management, a large amount of vessel motion information is recorded. The AIS data has become the key to maintaining vessel navigation safety and traffic supervision, and has promoted the extensive research of data mining technology applied to vessel trajectory analysis. As an unsupervised data analysis method, clustering method can effectively extract the habitual path of vessels from the AIS data and find abnormal trajectory. It is of great significance in vessel collision avoidance, behavior analysis and traffic control and so on. In this paper, the development of vessel trajectory clustering methods in recent years is reviewed, and the classic shape-based trajectory similarity computing methods are summarized. Based on two clustering algorithms, Spectral clustering and Hierarchical clustering, the AIS data in the south channel of Shanghai port is analyzed. In order to obtain the best clustering results, the performance of clustering results obtained by different methods is compared by using the clustering metrics.
Influence of Harvest Time and Malaxation Conditions on the Concentration of Individual Phenols in Extra Virgin Olive Oil Related to Its Healthy Properties

The phenolic fraction of the extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) has been studied over the past two decades because of its important health protective properties. Numerous studies have been performed in order to clarify the most crucial factors that affect the concentration of the EVOO’s phenolic fraction and many contradictory results have been reported. Having as target to maximize the phenolic content of EVOO and its healthy properties we investigated the impact of harvest time, malaxation temperature, and malaxation duration on the concentration of individual phenols in extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil was prepared in a lab-scale olive mill from different varieties in Greece. The extraction process for cultivar (cv) Koroneiki samples was performed at five different harvest periods from the same trees with three different malaxation temperatures and five different malaxation duration times (N = 75). Similar types of experiments were also performed for other varieties: cv Athenolia (N = 20), cv Olympia (N = 3), cv Kalamata (N = 3), and cv Throubolia Aegean (N=3) in order to compare the changes in the phenolic profile during malaxation. The quantitative analysis of the olive oil samples with NMR showed that the total phenolic content has a negative correlation with the ripening degree and the malaxation time. The NMR data we collected helped us to quantitate not only the total phenolic content but also the concentration of the major phenolic compounds such as oleocanthal, oleacein, oleokoronal, and oleomissional. We noticed different trends for the concentration of these phenols during malaxation process and for different malaxation temperatures. The different trends of the concentration of the individual phenols during malaxation and the completely different behavior of each variety revealed possible biosynthetic formation steps for oleocanthal and oleacein and may explain the discrepancies reported from previous studies.
Long-term memory and hippocampal function support predictive gaze control during goal-directed search

Eye movements during visual search change with prior experience for search stimuli. Previous studies measured these gaze effects shortly after initial viewing, typically during free viewing; it remains open whether the effects are preserved across long delays and for goal-directed search, and which memory system guides gaze. In Experiment 1, we analyzed eye movements of healthy adults viewing novel and repeated scenes while searching for a scene-embedded target. The task was performed across different time points to examine the repetition effects in long-term memory, and memory types were grouped based on explicit recall of targets. In Experiment 2, an amnesic person with bilateral extended hippocampal damage and the age-matched control group performed the same task with shorter intervals to determine whether or not the repetition effects depend on hippocampal function. When healthy adults explicitly remembered repeated target-scene pairs, search time and fixation duration decreased, and gaze was directed closer to the target region, than when they forgot targets. These effects were seen even after a one-month delay from their initial viewing, suggesting the effects are associated with long-term, explicit memory. Saccadic amplitude was not strongly modulated by scene repetition or explicit recall of targets. The amnesic person did not show explicit recall or implicit repetition effects, whereas his control group showed similar patterns to those seen in Experiment 1. The results reveal several aspects of gaze control that are influenced by long-term memory. The dependence of gaze effects on medial temporal lobe integrity support a role for this region in predictive gaze control.
Contrasting Diel Patterns of Vertical Migration in the Dinoflagellate Ceratium hirundinella in Relation to Phosphorus Supply in a North Temperate Reservoir

Very different diel patterns of vertical migration in Ceratium hirundinella were observed during two midsummer periods of study in a north temperate reservoir. During the first study (29–30 July), Ceratium migrated within a 2-m-deep oxygenated zone, moving upward near to the surface during the day and downward to the oxic–anoxic interface at night. During the second study (7–8 August), Ceratium did not migrate towards the surface during the day. High photosynthetic oxygen production and mixing processes increased oxygen distribution from 2 to 3 m providing Ceratium with access to a significantly greater water volume, with a greater nutrient content. Riverine phosphorus loading during the week prior to the first study was about 10 times greater than during the week prior to the second study. Limiting cell phosphorus concentrations and no measurable soluble reactive phosphorus in the upper (0–3 m) water column suggested a relationship between phosphorus limitation and the cessation of positive phototaxis. D.
Cytotoxicity of an 125I-Labelled DNA Ligand

The subcellular distribution and cytotoxicity of a DNA-binding ligand [125I]-Hoechst 33258 following incubation of K562 cells with the drug was investigated. The ability of a radical scavenger, dimethyl sulphoxide, to protect cells from the 125I-decay induced cell death was also studied. Three different concentrations and specific activities of the drug were used to provide different ligand : DNA binding ratios. The results demonstrated a trend toward improved delivery of the ligand to the nucleus and to chromatin at higher ligand concentrations, with concomitant increased sensitivity to 125I-decay induced cytotoxicity and decreased protection by dimethyl sulphoxide. This correlation of radiobiological parameters with subcellular drug distribution is consistent with the classical dogma that attributes cytotoxicity to DNA double-stranded breakage in the vicinity of the site of decay, where the high LET nature of the damage confers minimal sensitivity to radical scavenging.
Inhibition of Anti-Apoptotic Bcl-2 Proteins in Preclinical and Clinical Studies: Current Overview in Cancer

The dynamic interplay between pro-death and pro-survival Bcl-2 family proteins is responsible for a cell’s fate. Due to the recognized relevance of this family in cancer progression and response to therapy, different efforts have made in recent years in order to develop small molecules able to target anti-apoptotic proteins such as Bcl-2, Bcl-xL and Mcl-1. The limitations of the first Bcl-2 family targeted drugs, regarding on-target and off-target toxicities, have been overcome with the development of venetoclax (ABT-199), the first BH3 mimetic inhibitor approved by the FDA. The purpose of this review is to discuss the state-of-the-art in the development of drugs targeting Bcl-2 anti-apoptotic proteins and to highlight the potential of their application as single agents or in combination for improving anti-cancer therapy, focusing in particular on solid tumors.
Effect of Environment and Dietary Energy on Caged Leghorn Pullet Performance

Abstract Three trials of 6-month duration each were conducted with 24-week old Leghorn pullets in five environmental chambers. In each trial two birds were placed in each of 54 cages in each chamber. All birds were exposed to a 14-hour light regime and to one of four relative humidity levels (50, 60, 70, 80%) and one of three dry bulb temperatures (13°, 21.5°, 29.5° C). Isonitrogenous diets of varying energy levels [3080, 2648, 2220 kilocalories of metabolizable energy per kilogram (kcal. M.E./kg.)] were fed ad libitum in each chamber. Parameters in all trials included body weight gains, hen-day production, egg weight, specific gravity, Haugh units, feed intake and excretal output. Statistical analysis indicated that the best overall performance was obtained with a dry bulb temperature of either 13° or 21.5° C. and with a dietary energy level of 2648 kcal. M.E. /kg. The relative humidity exerted no significant effects on any of the parameters except excretal output at 29.5° C. At this temperature, a significant linear relationship was observed between relative humidity and excretal output as well as excretal moisture. The most striking observation was the inverse relationship of dietary energy to feed intake and excretal output, irrespective of temperature and relative humidity, and also the inverse relationship of temperature to excretal output, irrespective of relative humidity and dietary energy.