Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sucrose compared with artificial sweeteners: different effects on ad libitum food intake and body weight after 10 wk of supplementation in overweight subjects.

BACKGROUND The role of artificial sweeteners in body-weight regulation is still unclear. OBJECTIVE We investigated the effect of long-term supplementation with drinks and foods containing either sucrose or artificial sweeteners on ad libitum food intake and body weight in overweight subjects. DESIGN For 10 wk, overweight men and women consumed daily supplements of either sucrose [n = 21, body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)) = 28.0] or artificial sweeteners (n = 20, BMI = 27.6). On average, sucrose supplements provided 3.4 MJ and 152 g sucrose/d and sweetener supplements provided 1.0 MJ and 0 g sucrose/d. RESULTS After 10 wk, the sucrose group had increases in total energy (by 1.6 MJ/d), sucrose (to 28% of energy), and carbohydrate intakes and decreases in fat and protein intakes. The sweetener group had small but significant decreases in sucrose intake and energy density. Body weight and fat mass increased in the sucrose group (by 1.6 and 1.3 kg, respectively) and decreased in the sweetener group (by 1.0 and 0.3 kg, respectively); the between-group differences were significant at P < 0.001 (body weight) and P < 0.01 (fat mass). Systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased in the sucrose group (by 3.8 and 4.1 mm Hg, respectively) and decreased in the sweetener group (by 3.1 and 1.2 mm Hg, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Overweight subjects who consumed fairly large amounts of sucrose (28% of energy), mostly as beverages, had increased energy intake, body weight, fat mass, and blood pressure after 10 wk. These effects were not observed in a similar group of subjects who consumed artificial sweeteners.
Alcohol promotes migration and invasion of triple‐negative breast cancer cells through activation of p38 MAPK and JNK

Although alcohol is an established breast cancer risk factor, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Previous studies examined the general association between alcohol consumption and breast cancer risk; however, the risk for different breast cancer subtypes has been rarely reported. Triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a subtype of breast cancer lacking hormone receptors and HER2 expression, and having poor prognosis. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of TNBC etiology remains a significant challenge. In this study, we investigated cellular responses to alcohol in two TNBC cell lines, MDA‐MB‐231 and MDA‐MB‐468. Our results showed that alcohol at low concentrations (0.025–0.1% v/v) induced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in 1% FBS‐containing medium. Molecular analysis indicated that these phenotypic changes were associated with alcohol‐induced reactive oxygen species production and increased p38 and JNK phosphorylation. Likewise, p38 or JNK inhibition attenuated alcohol‐induced cell migration and invasion. We revealed that alcohol treatment activated/phosphorylated NF‐κB regulators and increased transcription of NF‐κB‐targeted genes. While examining the role of acetaldehyde, the major alcohol metabolite, in alcohol‐associated responses in TNBC cells, we saw that acetaldehyde induced cell migration, invasion, and increased phospho‐p38, phospho‐JNK, and phospho‐IκBα in a pattern similar to alcohol treatment. Taken together, we established that alcohol promotes TNBC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro. The underlying mechanisms involve the induction of oxidative stress and the activation of NF‐κB signaling. In particular, the activation of p38 and JNK plays a pivotal role in alcohol‐induced cellular responses. These results will advance our understanding of alcohol‐mediated development and promotion of TNBC. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Regulons and protein–protein interactions of PRD‐containing Bacillus anthracis virulence regulators reveal overlapping but distinct functions

Bacillus anthracis produces three regulators, AtxA, AcpA and AcpB, which control virulence gene transcription and belong to an emerging class of regulators termed ‘PCVRs’ (Phosphoenolpyruvate‐dependent phosphotransferase regulation Domain‐Containing Virulence Regulators). AtxA, named for its control of toxin gene expression, is the master virulence regulator and archetype PCVR. AcpA and AcpB are less well studied. Reports of PCVR activity suggest overlapping function. AcpA and AcpB independently positively control transcription of the capsule biosynthetic operon capBCADE, and culture conditions that enhance AtxA level or activity result in capBCADE transcription in strains lacking acpA and acpB. We used RNA‐Seq to assess the regulons of the paralogous regulators in strains constructed to express individual PCVRs at native levels. Plasmid and chromosome‐borne genes were PCVR controlled, with AtxA, AcpA and AcpB having a ≥ 4‐fold effect on transcript levels of 145, 130 and 49 genes respectively. Several genes were coregulated by two or three PCVRs. We determined that AcpA and AcpB form homomultimers, as shown previously for AtxA, and we detected AtxA‐AcpA heteromultimers. In co‐expression experiments, AcpA activity was reduced by increased levels of AtxA. Our data show that the PCVRs have specific and overlapping activity and that PCVR stoichiometry and potential heteromultimerization can influence target gene expression.
Partial Order Infinitary Term Rewriting

We study an alternative model of infinitary term rewriting. Instead of a metric on terms, a partial order on partial terms is employed to formalise convergence of reductions. We consider both a weak and a strong notion of convergence and show that the metric model of convergence coincides with the partial order model restricted to total terms. Hence, partial order convergence constitutes a conservative extension of metric convergence, which additionally offers a fine-grained distinction between different levels of divergence. In the second part, we focus our investigation on strong convergence of orthogonal systems. The main result is that the gap between the metric model and the partial order model can be bridged by extending the term rewriting system by additional rules. These extensions are the well-known B\"ohm extensions. Based on this result, we are able to establish that -- contrary to the metric setting -- orthogonal systems are both infinitarily confluent and infinitarily normalising in the partial order setting. The unique infinitary normal forms that the partial order model admits are B\"ohm trees.
Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager Design, Characterization and Performance

The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat-8 represents a generational change from heritage Landsat instruments in its design, while it maintains data continuity with the 40+ year Landsat data archive. It preserves the 30-m ground sample distance, 185-km swath width and VIS/NIR/SWIR spectral bands. Furthermore, data continuity resulted from extensive pre-launch and on-orbit calibration and characterization campaigns. This paper presents an overview of the OLI design, the pre-launch characterization results and the on-orbit performance.
Fatigue Performance of Glass Fiber/Epoxy Composite at Low Temperature

Due to technological advancement in the manufacturing methods of composites, these materials find a plethora of applications which include but are not limited to wind energy projects in the form of turbine blades. These blades at times are exposed to temperatures as low as -40oC. Therefore, there is a need to study low-temperature effects on such materials under different loading scenarios. This study investigates the possibility of utilizing MAC/GMC as a simulation tool to match trends of mechanical properties such as fatigue performance and stiffness variation of a given Glass fiber/Epoxy composite at 23oC (room temperature) and -40 oC, under fully reversed (R=-1) and tensile (R=0.1) loading cases. The results show remarkable consistency with the published data.
Genetic divergence in forest trees: understanding the consequences of climate change

Predicted climate change is heading in many respects into untested environmental conditions for trees and to the reshuffling of species distributions. We explore the consequences that these changes are likely to have on population differentiation of adaptive traits. Superimposed on the spatial redistribution of the species, will there be a redistribution of their genetic variation? We base our predictions on a conceptual framework, whose elements are the extant differentiation, and the predicted divergent evolution of populations along purposely chosen altitudinal/latitudinal gradients. We consider simultaneously phenotypic and genetic divergence, but emphasize genetically driven population differentiation. We illustrate phenotypic and genetic patterns of variation with examples from well-studied northern and southern hemisphere tree genera Quercus and Eucalyptus . Most phenotypic traits show very large in situ clinal variation with variation in altitude or latitude. Genetic clines detected in common gardens usually follow the observed in situ phenotypic clines, reflecting cogradient variation. Rare counter gradients have also been detected, where phenotypic and genetic clines exhibit opposing signs. These patterns suggest that plasticity and selection contributed in most cases synergistically to the extant differentiation. We anticipate that microevolutionary processes will be different along environmental gradients. At the leading edge, availability of newly suitable habitats will trigger migration favouring genotypes equipped with colonists attributes. At the rear edges of the distribution, populations will be submitted to strong selective pressures favouring genotypes capable of withstanding drought and heat stress. Central populations will benefit from the plastic response of trees that will temporarily compensate for the maladaptation, until genetic adaptive variation will be restored by gene flow, mutation or recombination. We make predictions about future differentiation along environmental gradients, by highlighting traits that are likely to diverge, the rate at which differentiation will take place, and the role of gene flow and hybridization. We envisage that parallel selection may maintain differentiation at extant levels, whereas divergent selection will promote substantial differentiation for traits facilitating adaptation to contrasting conditions along the environmental gradient. We anticipate that genetic divergence may occur very rapidly and will be enhanced by the multilocus architecture of most adaptive traits.
Prevalence of temporomandibular disorders among a cohort of university undergraduates in Australia

AIM The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) symptoms among dentistry students at James Cook University in Australia, and to determine the associations of TMD symptoms with demographic parameters and compare the prevalence to that of the Australian general population. METHODS The study was conducted at the School of Dentistry, James Cook University. Axis I symptom questionnaire of diagnostic criteria for TMD was used to assess the prevalence of TMD symptoms. Additional questions were included to gather demographic information on the participants. Data were collected anonymously via the online survey tool, SurveyMonkey. RESULTS The overall prevalence of TMD symptoms in this cohort was 77.2%. The most common TMD symptoms were pain (48.5%) and joint noises (48.5%). Females reported a significantly higher prevalence of TMD symptoms than males, with 73 of 88 female respondents (83%) and 32 of 48 male respondents (66.7%) reporting at least one symptom of TMD (P = .030). CONCLUSIONS The overall prevalence of TMD symptoms in the population studied was 77.2%, with female preponderance of TMD symptoms (83%). This is higher than the estimated prevalence (23%) in the Australian general population.
Vitamin E and C levels in infants during the first year of life.

The considerably lower vitamin E level found in cord blood and in newborns at birth than those found in the venous blood of mothers at delivery are not yet fully explained. In a group of 217 not selected newborns, we attempted to establish the relation between vitamin E and C levels at delivery and the changes during the first year of life. The mean serum vitamin E level rose from 0.37 mg/ml at 3 days to 0.80 mg/100 ml at 6 months and to 0.72 mg/100 ml at 12 months. On the other hand vitamin C mean levels lowered from 0.93 mg/100 ml in cord blood to 0.77 mg/100 ml at 6 months and to 0.73 mg/100 ml at 12 months. The rise of vitamin E values could be explained by the early use of infant solid foods with high vitamin and mineral content and by the increase of serum lipoproteins. Except at 3 days after delivery there were no individual values of serum vitamin E below the acceptable 0.35 mg/100 ml limit. However, serum vitamin C levels compatible with a moderate risk were very often observed, i.e., in 27.1% of infants at 6 months and in 30.5% at 1 year. Thus, vitamin E intake in infants was satisfactory with the usual diet but not vitamin C for which blood levels were not adequate. In view of these findings it appears necessary to evaluate periodically the vitamin E as well as vitamin C status in the infant population.
Biofilms : An Evolving and Universal Evasive Strategy of Bacterial Pathogens

The surfaces of bacterial cells are perhaps the most important structure in bacteria because they are in immediate contact with the external environment. When bacteria are examined in natural environments they exist as suspended growth forms known as “Planktons”. Planktonic forms often are highly motile, have unnatural access to nutrients and multiply rapidly. Also they are more susceptible to the effects of antibiotics, environment and host factors. During the conditions of nutrient limitations bacteria may grow more slowly and have restricted mobility. This kind of growth forms are otherwise termed as “Sessile”. The growth of many sessile bacteria results in formation of large aggregates which are known as biofilms (Watnick & Kolter, 2000). A biofilm can be defined as “a community of bacteria and their extracellular polymers that are attached to surfaces”. Biofilms have been described in many systems since Van Leeuwenhoek examined the “animalcules” in the plaque of his own teeth in the seventeenth century, but the general theory of biofilm existence was not promulgated until 1978 (Costerton et al., 1978). This theory state that the majority of bacteria grow in matrix-enclosed biofilms adherent to surfaces in all nutrient-sufficient aquatic ecosystems and these sessile bacterial cells differ profoundly from their planktonic (floating) counterparts. The data on which this theory is predicted came mostly from natural aquatic ecosystems, in which direct microscopic observations and direct quantitative recovery techniques showed unequivocally that more than 99.9% of the bacteria grow in biofilms on a wide variety of surfaces. Biofilms constitute a protected mode of growth that allows survival in a hostile environment. The complexity of biofilm structure and metabolism has led to the analogy of biofilms to tissues of higher organisms. It is likely that biofilms evade antimicrobial challenge by multiple mechanisms. Some of the factors that are thought to contribute to the ability of biofilms to tolerate high concentration of antibiotics include:
Supplementation with [6S]-5-methyltetrahydrofolate or folic acid equally reduces plasma total homocysteine concentrations in healthy women.

BACKGROUND Increased plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) is a risk factor for vascular disease and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Health authorities recommend periconceptional supplementation with 400 micro g folic acid to prevent neural tube defects. Several countries have implemented food fortification with folic acid. However, excessive intake of folic acid could mask an undiagnosed vitamin B-12 deficiency. The biologically active [6S]-5-methyltetrahydrofolate ([6S]-5-MTHF) may be an alternative to folic acid because it is unlikely to mask vitamin B-12 deficiency symptoms. OBJECTIVE We compared the tHcy-lowering potential of 2 dosages of [6S]-5-MTHF with that of 400 micro g folic acid during 24 wk of supplementation. DESIGN In this double-blind, randomized, controlled intervention trial, 144 female participants were supplemented daily with 400 micro g folic acid, 416 micro g [6S]-5-MTHF, 208 micro g [6S]-5-MTHF, or placebo. Concentrations of tHcy and plasma folate were measured at baseline and at 4-wk intervals. RESULTS After supplementation, there was a significant interaction between time and treatment with respect to changes in tHcy and plasma folate (both P < 0.001 by two-factor repeated-measures analysis of variance). The decrease in tHcy did not differ significantly between the 3 supplemented groups (P > 0.05; Tukey's post hoc test). The increase in plasma folate in the group receiving 208 micro g [6S]-5-MTHF was significantly lower than that in the groups receiving 400 micro g folic acid (P < 0.001) or 416 micro g [6S]-5-MTHF (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS [6S]-5-MTHF was shown to be an adequate alternative to folic acid in reducing tHcy concentrations. Supplementation with 416 micro g [6S]-5-MTHF was no more effective than that with 208 micro g [6S]-5-MTHF.
Evaluation of serum anti-Mullerian hormone as a biomarker of early ovarian aging in young women undergoing IVF/ICSI cycle.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether or not the level of serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is related to early ovarian aging in young women (< 35 years of age) undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING An IVF laboratory in a university hospital in Taiwan. Patient (s): 70 young women (< 35 years of age) with low level of serum AMH (< 2 ng/ml) and 104 young women with level of serum AMH (≥ 2 ng/ml) who underwent IVF/ICSI cycles between January 2011 and November 2012 were enrolled. Intervention (s): None. Main outcome measure (s): Number of oocytes, fertilization rate, embryo quality, cycle cancellation rate, clinical pregnancy/abortion rate, and perinatal/infant outcomes. RESULTS The clinical pregnancy rate per transfer was favorable (low AMH group vs. normal AMH group [47.2% and 47.9%]) for women < 35 years of age, including women with a low serum AMH. Similarly, the live birth rate per transfer (low AMH group vs. normal AMH group [37.7% and 35.4%]) and perinatal outcomes were also comparable between the two groups. A significantly higher cycle cancellation was noted in the low AMH group than the normal AMH group (24.2% vs. 7.6%). CONCLUSION Although early ovarian aging should be taken into consideration for young and infertile women with low AMH level than expected, our results suggest that low serum AMH level may suggest early ovarian aging in accelerated oocyte loss only, but may not fully represent "early ovarian aging" based on the favorable outcomes of pregnancy.
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews the Contribution of Tms–eeg Coregistration in the Exploration of the Human Cortical Connectome

Keywords: Effective connectivity Functional connectivity TMS-evoked potential TEP Graph theory Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) Electroencephalography (EEG) Coregistration Connections Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) a b s t r a c t Recent developments in neuroscience have emphasised the importance of integrated distributed networks of brain areas for successful cognitive functioning. Our current understanding is that the brain has a modular organisation in which segregated networks supporting specialised processing are linked through a few long-range connections, ensuring processing integration. Although such architecture is structurally stable, it appears to be flexible in its functioning, enabling long-range connections to regulate the information flow and facilitate communication among the relevant modules, depending on the contingent cognitive demands. Here we show how insights brought by the coregistration of transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroencephalography (TMS–EEG) integrate and support recent models of functional brain architecture. Moreover, we will highlight the types of data that can be obtained through TMS–EEG, such as the timing of signal propagation, the excitatory/inhibitory nature of connections and causality. Last, we will discuss recent emerging applications of TMS–EEG in the study of brain disorders.
S26.1: Tests in a case control design including relatives

We present a new approach to handle dependencies within the general framework of case-control designs, illustrating our approach by a particular application from the field of genetic epidemiology. The method is derived for parent-offspring trios, which will later be relaxed to more general family structures. For applications in genetic epidemiology we consider tests on equality of allele frequencies among cases and controls utilizing well-known risk measures to test for independence of phenotype and genotype at the observed locus. These test statistics are derived as functions of the entries in the associated contingency table containing the numbers of the alleles under consideration in the case and the control group. We find the joint asymptotic distribution of these entries, which enables us to derive critical values for any test constructed on this basis. A simulation study reveals the finite sample behavior of our test statistics.
Characterization of natural variation in North American Atlantic Salmon populations (Salmonidae: Salmo salar) at a locus with a major effect on sea age

Abstract Age at maturity is a key life‐history trait of most organisms. In anadromous salmonid fishes such as Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar), age at sexual maturity is associated with sea age, the number of years spent at sea before the spawning migration. For the first time, we investigated the presence of two nonsynonymous vgll3 polymorphisms in North American Atlantic Salmon populations that relate to sea age in European salmon and quantified the natural variation at these and two additional candidate SNPs from two other genes. A targeted resequencing assay was developed and 1,505 returning adult individuals of size‐inferred sea age and sex from four populations were genotyped. Across three of four populations sampled in Québec, Canada, the late‐maturing component (MSW) of the population of a given sex exhibited higher proportions of SNP genotypes 54Thrvgll3 and 323Lysvgll3 compared to early‐maturing fish (1SW), for example, 85% versus 53% of females from Trinité River carried 323Lysvgll3 (n MSW = 205 vs. n 1SW = 30; p < .001). However, the association between vgll3 polymorphism and sea age was more pronounced in females than in males in the rivers we studied. Logistic regression analysis of vgll3 SNP genotypes revealed increased probabilities of exhibiting higher sea age for 54Thrvgll3 and 323Lysvgll3 genotypes compared to alternative genotypes, depending on population and sex. Moreover, individuals carrying the heterozygous vgll3 SNP genotypes were more likely (>66%) to be female. In summary, two nonsynonymous vgll3 polymorphisms were confirmed in North American populations of Atlantic Salmon and our results suggest that variation at those loci correlates with sea age and sex. Our results also suggest that this correlation varies among populations. Future work would benefit from a more balanced sampling and from adding data on juvenile riverine life stages to contrast our data.