Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dietary fibers and fats alter rat colon protein kinase C activity: correlation to cell proliferation.

Protein kinase C activity and cell proliferation in rat proximal colonic mucosa were determined following diet modification with select fibers and fats for 3 wk. Rats were assigned to one of nine dietary groups: three fibers (cellulose or pectin at 6 g/100 g diet or fiber free) x three fats (beef tallow, corn oil, fish oil at 15 g/100 g diet). Protein kinase C activity was determined by measuring the phosphorylation of a highly selective synthetic peptide derived from myelin basic protein. In vivo cell proliferation was measured by bromodeoxyuridine incorporation into DNA. There was a significant main effect of fat (P = 0.0008) but not fiber (P = 0.375) on the ratio of membrane to cytosolic protein kinase C with diets containing fish oils resulting in the highest ratios, corn oils in the lowest ratios and beef tallow producing an intermediate ratio. There was an interactive effect of fat and fiber on the proliferative zone (P = 0.04). Pectin resulted in a significantly greater proliferative zone than did cellulose and the fiber-free diet but only when the fat source was corn oil. There was a positive correlation between proliferative zone and both membrane protein kinase C activity (r = 0.76, P = 0.02) and protein kinase C membrane:cytosol ratio (r = 0.64, P = 0.06). Although the positive relationship between proliferative zone and protein kinase C activity has been reported previously, the high membrane protein kinase C activity found with fish oil supplementation compared to the low activity found with corn oil supplementation was unexpected. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
How early dietary factors modify the effect of rapid weight gain in infancy on subsequent body-composition development in term children whose birth weight was appropriate for gestational age.

BACKGROUND It is not clear whether the adverse effects of rapid weight gain in infancy are modified by nutrition during the first 2 y of life in term children whose birth weight was appropriate for gestational age (AGA). OBJECTIVE We examined the interaction between rapid weight gain and nutrition in infancy and early childhood and their effect on body fat percentage (BF%) trajectories between 2 and 5 y of age. DESIGN The study population comprised 249 (51.4% female) term AGA participants of the Dortmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed Study, for whom repeated anthropometric measurements until 5 y of age and information on breastfeeding status and on diet at 12 and 18-24 mo of age were available. RESULTS Multilevel model analyses showed that, among rapid growers, those who had been fully breastfed for > or =4 mo had a lower BF% at 2 y of age than did those who had not been fully breastfed for > or =4 mo (beta +/- SE: -1.53 +/- 0.59%; P = 0.009). This difference persisted until 5 y. Furthermore, those rapid growers who had a consistently high fat intake at both 12 and 18-24 mo did not show the expected physiologic decrease in BF% between 2 and 5 y seen in those rapid growers with an inconsistent or consistently low fat intake at these time points (0.73 +/- 0.26%/y; P = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS Among rapid growers, full breastfeeding for > or =4 mo is protective against a high BF% at 2 y of age, whereas a consistently high fat intake in the second year of life "inhibits" the physiologic decrease in BF% between 2 and 5 y.
The Zoogeography of Mammalian Basal Metabolic Rate

Zoogeographical effects on the basal metabolic rate (BMR) of 487 mammal species were analyzed using conventional and phylogenetically independent ANCOVA. Minimal BMR variance occurred at a “constrained body mass” of 358 g, whereas maximum variance occurred at the smallest and largest body masses. Significant differences in BMR were identified for similar‐sized mammals from the six terrestrial zoogeographical zones (Afrotropical, Australasian, Indomalayan, Nearctic, Neotropical, and Palearctic). Nearctic and Palearctic mammals had higher basal rates than their Afrotropical, Australasian, Indomalayan, and Neotropical counterparts. Desert mammals had lower basal rates than mesic mammals. The patterns were interpreted with a conceptual model describing geographical BMR variance in terms of the influence of latitudinal and zonal climate variability. Low and high basal rates were explained in unpredictable and predictable environments, respectively, especially in small mammals. The BMR of large mammals may be influenced in addition by mobility and predation constraints. Highly mobile mammals tend to have high BMRs that may somehow facilitate fast running speeds, whereas less mobile mammals are generally dietary specialists and are often armored. The model thus integrates physiological and ecological criteria and makes predictions concerning body size and life‐history evolution, island effects, and locomotor energetics.
Influence of neighbourhood safety on childhood obesity: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of longitudinal studies

Unsafe residential neighbourhoods are thought to be a risk factor for childhood obesity by discouraging physical activity while encouraging sedentary behaviours, but findings from cross‐sectional studies are susceptible to selection bias (e.g. children who are obese disproportionately reside in unsafe neighbourhoods). A literature search was conducted in the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar for articles published until January 2017 that used baseline neighbourhood safety levels to predict future weight‐related behaviours and body‐weight status among children aged 17 years and younger. Twenty‐two prospective cohort studies conducted in seven countries were identified. The median sample size was 1,104, and the median follow‐up was 3.5 years. Sixteen studies used parent‐reported and/or child‐reported neighbourhood safety measures, and six adopted some objective measures (e.g. county crime rate and interviewers' block observations). The meta‐analysis found that living in unsafe neighbourhoods was associated with a reduction in children's physical activity by 0.13 h week−1. Living in unsafe neighbourhoods predicted a trivial (but statistically significant) gain in body mass index but no change in childhood overweight/obesity risk. Current research indicates a limited influence of neighbourhood safety on childhood obesity; this finding could be partially due to measurement problems. Future longitudinal studies should adopt validated neighbourhood safety measures.
Increasing the volume of a food by incorporating air affects satiety in men.

BACKGROUND Previous research indicated that increasing the volume of food by adding water can lead to reductions in energy intake. However, the addition of water affects not only the volume but also the energy density (kJ/g) of foods. No studies have examined the effect of volume independent of energy density on intake. OBJECTIVE We examined the effect of food volume independent of energy density on satiety. DESIGN In a within-subjects design, 28 lean men consumed breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the laboratory 1 d/wk for 4 wk. On 3 d, participants received a preload 30 min before lunch and on 1 d no preload was served. Preloads consisted of isoenergetic (2088 kJ), yogurt-based milk shakes that varied in volume (300, 450, and 600 mL) as a result of the incorporation of different amounts of air. Preloads contained identical ingredients and weighed the same. RESULTS The volume of the milk shake significantly affected energy intake at lunch (P < 0.04) such that intake was 12% lower after the 600-mL preload (2966 +/- 247 kJ) than after the 300-mL preload (3368 +/- 197 kJ). Subjects also reported greater reductions in hunger and greater increases in fullness after consumption of both the 450- and 600-mL preloads than after the 300-mL preload. CONCLUSIONS Changing the volume of a preload by incorporating air affected energy intake. Thus, the volume of a preload independent of its energy density can influence satiety.
Small bait traps as accurate predictors of dipteran early colonizers in forensic studies

Abstract Insect carrion communities vary among habitats and over time. Concerning the dipteran early colonizers of carrion, the use of small bait traps should be accurate because the odors emitted from meat baits should contain many of the volatile organic compounds emitted from the freshly dead mammals. In addition, this kind of trap is easy to replicate and set in position in a given habitat. In the present study, small bait preferences of early Diptera carrion colonizers were examined in an urban biotope. Specifically, three baits were compared (pork muscle, pork liver, and fish flavored cat food) in respect to the number of specimens and species captured and the presence or absence of oviposition at high and low environmental temperatures. A total of 2371 specimens were trapped, primarily belonging to three insect orders, Diptera, Coleoptera, and Hymenoptera. Diptera was the predominant order, with blowflies (Calliphoridae) being the most representative family, followed by filth flies (Muscidae). The pork muscle bait was responsible for the highest number of captures and the highest diversity. The community of Diptera collected with the most efficient bait, pork muscle, was compared with the carrion communities reported in the literature from the Iberian Peninsula. Similar taxonomic species composition was found regarding Calliphoridae species. A specimen from all species morphologically identified were also identified at a molecular level using the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) barcode region, and the sequences were submitted to online databases.
Relation among serum and tissue concentrations of lutein and zeaxanthin and macular pigment density.

BACKGROUND Lutein and zeaxanthin are the only carotenoids in the macular region of the retina (referred to as macular pigment [MP]). Foods that are rich in lutein and zeaxanthin can increase MP density. Response to dietary lutein and zeaxanthin in other tissues has not been studied. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to examine tissue responses to dietary lutein and zeaxanthin and relations among tissues in lutein and zeaxanthin concentrations. DESIGN Seven subjects consumed spinach and corn, which contain lutein and zeaxanthin, with their daily diets for 15 wk. At 0, 4, 8, and 15 wk and 2 mo after the study, serum, buccal mucosa cells, and adipose tissue were analyzed for carotenoids, and MP density was measured. RESULTS Serum and buccal cell concentrations of lutein increased significantly from baseline during dietary modification. Serum zeaxanthin concentrations were greater than at baseline only at 4 wk, whereas buccal cell and adipose tissue concentrations of zeaxanthin did not change. Adipose tissue lutein concentrations peaked at 8 wk. Changes in adipose tissue lutein concentration were inversely related to the changes in MP density, suggesting an interaction between adipose tissue and retina in lutein metabolism. To investigate the possibility of tissue interactions, we examined cross-sectional relations among serum, tissue, and dietary lutein concentrations, anthropometric measures, and MP density in healthy adults. Significant negative correlations were found between adipose tissue lutein concentrations and MP for women, but a significant positive relation was found for men. CONCLUSION Sex differences in lutein metabolism may be an important factor in tissue interactions and in determining MP density.
Xenopus TACC2 is a microtubule plus end–tracking protein that can promote microtubule polymerization during embryonic development

Xenopus TACC2 is a microtubule plus end–tracking protein that localizes in front of EB1 and overlaps with TACC1 and TACC3 in cultured embryonic mesenchymal cells and neuronal growth cones. TACC2 OE can promote increased microtubule polymerization in mesenchymal cells but not growth cones, suggesting cell-type specificity to its function.
Effect of a micronutrient fortificant mixture and 2 amounts of calcium on iron and zinc absorption from a processed food supplement.

BACKGROUND Iron, zinc, and calcium can interact with each other in a way that inhibits their respective absorption. On the other hand, mineral fortification has been used to improve simultaneous iron and zinc absorption from food supplements. OBJECTIVE We evaluated the effect of a novel fortificant mixture consisting of NaFeEDTA, zinc methionine, ascorbic acid, and citric acid on iron and zinc absorption from a dry food supplement designed for preschool children. DESIGN The standard food supplement contained cereal and legume flour, dried milk, and a mixture of micronutrients including ferrous sulfate and zinc sulfate as sources of supplemental iron and zinc, respectively. Standard and novel food products were prepared as porridge with or without the addition of 200 mg Ca as calcium phosphate. Iron absorption and zinc absorption from the food products were evaluated simultaneously in 13 nonpregnant, adult women by extrinsically labeling the products with radioisotopes of iron and zinc and carrying out whole-body counting 7 d after the food products were consumed in random order. RESULTS The absorption of iron from the NaFeEDTA-containing (novel) food product was 1.7 times that from the ferrous sulfate-containing (standard) product (P = 0.015). There was no significant effect of dietary calcium on iron absorption. Zinc absorption was not associated with the form of zinc consumed, but higher dietary calcium was marginally associated with lower zinc absorption (P = 0.071). CONCLUSIONS A mixture of fortificants containing NaFeEDTA, zinc sulfate or zinc methionine, ascorbic acid, and citric acid, but without calcium, can improve iron and zinc absorption from food products. A cost-benefit analysis of the novel fortificant mixture needs to be performed.
Oligomeric but not monomeric silica prevents aluminum absorption in humans.

BACKGROUND Soluble silica, a ubiquitous component of the diet, may be the natural ligand for dietary aluminum and may prevent its accumulation and toxicity in animals. However, previous studies on the inhibition of aluminum absorption and toxicity by soluble silica have produced conflicting results. We recently identified a soluble silica polymer, oligomeric silica, that has a much higher affinity for aluminum than does monomeric silica and that may be involved in the sequestration of aluminum. OBJECTIVE By using (26)Al as a tracer, we investigated the effects of oligomeric and monomeric silica on the bioavailability of aluminum (study 1) and compared the availability of silicon from oligomeric and monomeric silica in the human gastrointestinal tract (study 2). DESIGN In study 1, three healthy volunteers each ingested aluminum alone (control), aluminum with oligomeric silica (17 mg), and aluminum with monomeric silica (17 mg). In study 2, five healthy volunteers ingested both the oligomeric and monomeric forms of silica (34 mg). Serum and urine samples were analyzed for aluminum and silicon. RESULTS Oligomeric silica reduced the availability of aluminum by 67% (P = 0.01) compared with the control, whereas monomeric silica had no effect (P = 0.40). Monomeric silica was readily taken up from the gastrointestinal tract and then excreted in urine (53%), whereas oligomeric silica was not detectably absorbed or excreted. CONCLUSIONS The oligomeric, high-aluminum-affinity form of soluble silica reduces aluminum availability from the human gastrointestinal tract. Its potential role in the amelioration of aluminum toxicity in other biological systems requires attention.
Personal Navigation via High-Resolution Gait-Corrected Inertial Measurement Units

In this paper, a personal micronavigation system that uses high-resolution gait-corrected inertial measurement units is presented. The goal of this paper is to develop a navigation system that uses secondary inertial variables, such as velocity, to enable long-term precise navigation in the absence of Global Positioning System (GPS) and beacon signals. In this scheme, measured zero-velocity duration from the ground reaction sensors is used to reset the accumulated integration errors from accelerometers and gyroscopes in position calculation. With the described system, an average position error of 4 m is achieved at the end of half-hour walks.
Advances in liquid crystalline nano-carbon materials: preparation of nano-carbon based lyotropic liquid crystal and their fabrication of nano-carbon fibers with liquid crystalline spinning

This review presents current progress in the preparation methods of liquid crystalline nanocarbon materials and the liquid crystalline spinning method for producing nano-carbon fibers. In particular, we focus on the fabrication of liquid crystalline carbon nanotubes by spinning from superacids, and the continuous production of macroscopic fiber from liquid crystalline graphene oxide.
Modifications in food-group consumption are related to long-term body-weight changes.

BACKGROUND Dietary patterns play an important role in the control of body weight. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to verify whether changes in some dietary patterns over a 6-y follow-up period would be associated with weight changes. DESIGN A sample of 248 volunteers of the Québec Family Study were measured twice (visit 1: 1989-1994; visit 2: 1995-2000). Body weight, percentage body fat, subcutaneous skinfold thicknesses, and waist circumference measurements as well as 3-d dietary and physical activity records were obtained at each visit. At visit 2, all participants filled out a food-based questionnaire examining changes in the consumption of 10 food categories. To further investigate the relation between changes in food-group consumption and body-weight changes, a total of 51 food subcategories were identified from dietary records. RESULTS A self-reported decrease in the consumption of food in the fat group or an increase in consumption in the fruit group from the food-based questionnaire predicted a lower increase in body weight and adiposity indicators over time. A more detailed examination of the change in food groups between diet records revealed that increases in the consumption of whole fruit as well as skimmed milk and partly skimmed milk were the 2 food patterns that negatively correlated with the changes of each body weight-related indicator. CONCLUSIONS These results show that changes in the consumption of some specific food groups are associated with body-weight changes. Such specific eating patterns could help to improve obesity treatment and prevention.
Orchard fruit segmentation using multi-spectral feature learning

This paper presents a multi-class image segmentation approach to automate fruit segmentation. A feature learning algorithm combined with a conditional random field is applied to multi-spectral image data. Current classification methods used in agriculture scenarios tend to use hand crafted application-based features. In contrast, our approach uses unsupervised feature learning to automatically capture most relevant features from the data. This property makes our approach robust against variance in canopy trees and therefore has the potential to be applied to different domains. The proposed algorithm is applied to a fruit segmentation problem for a robotic agricultural surveillance mission, aiming to provide yield estimation with high accuracy and robustness against fruit variance. Experimental results with data collected in an almond farm are shown. The segmentation is performed with features extracted from multi-spectral (colour and infrared) data. We achieve a global classification accuracy of 88%.
Estimated folate intakes: data updated to reflect food fortification, increased bioavailability, and dietary supplement use.

BACKGROUND There is a critical need to estimate dietary folate intakes for nutrition monitoring and food safety evaluations, but available intake data are seriously limited by several factors. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to update 2 national food consumption surveys to reflect folate intakes as a result of the recently initiated food fortification program and to correct folate intakes for the apparently higher bioavailability of synthetic folic acid (SFA; ie, folate added to foods or from dietary supplements) than of naturally occurring folate so as to express intakes as dietary folate equivalents. DESIGN It was not possible to chemically analyze foods, so adjustments were made to food-composition data by using information about food ingredients and characteristics. Total folate intakes were estimated for several sex and age groups by using the modified data coupled with dietary supplement use. RESULTS Within the limitations of the data, our findings suggested that 67-95% of the population met or surpassed the new estimated average requirement, depending on the sex and age group and survey. Nonetheless, some subgroups had estimated intakes below these standards. Estimated SFA intakes suggested that approximately 15-25% of children aged 1-8 y, depending on the survey, had intakes above the newly established tolerable upper intake level. We estimated that 68-87% of females of childbearing age had SFA intakes below the recommended intake of 400 microgram/d, depending on the age group and survey. CONCLUSION There is a need to explore ways to improve folate intakes in targeted subgroups, including females of childbearing age, while not putting other population groups at risk of excessive intakes.
Change of Cognitive Function in U.S. Chinese Older Adults: A Population-Based Study

Background This study aims to assess cognitive change in a 2-year period among U.S. Chinese older adults and examine sociodemographic characteristics associated with the change. Methods Data were from the Population Study of Chinese Elderly (PINE) in which 2,713 participants (aged 60 and older) received in-home interviews at both the baseline and 2-year follow-up. A battery of cognitive tests that assessed episodic memory, working memory, perceptual speed, and overall cognitive status were administered in both times. A composite global cognition was constructed using all tests. Mixed-effect regression was conducted. Results Older age was associated with worse baseline cognition (ie, in all cognitive abilities) and faster decline in global cognition, episodic memory, and perceptual speed-rates of decline increased by . 006, . 004, and . 009 standard score units, respectively, for each year older. More education was associated with better baseline cognition, but each year of additional schooling increased rates of decline in global cognition and episodic memory by . 004 and . 012 standard score units, respectively. Men performed better than women in most cognitive abilities at baseline but had faster rates of decline in working memory. Higher income was associated with better cognition at baseline and reduced rates of decline in working memory. Conclusions Findings suggest differences in the rates of cognitive change by age, sex, education, and income. Those in advancing age are vulnerable to cognitive decline. The effects of education and sex on baseline performance versus change suggest a role for life experiences in cognition.