Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Pain Resilience on Experimental Pain Experience Across Different Stimuli.

OBJECTIVE Pain resilience, one's ability to maintain behavioral engagement and adaptively regulate cognitions and emotions despite intense or prolonged pain, has been shown to protect against negative pain-related outcomes in experimental settings. A weakness of this research, and much of experimental pain research in general, has been the lack of rationale behind the selection of noxious stimuli which can activate different nociceptive fibers. The present study sought to determine if the relationship between pain resilience and pain ratings differed across stimuli based on the stimulated nociceptors. METHODS Healthy undergraduate students (N = 100; mean age =19.4 [SD = 1.2] years; 60% female) completed the Pain Resilience Scale and provided continuous pain ratings during exposure to three different tasks, each selected based on their ability to stimulate specific combinations of nociceptive fibers: pinprick (Aδ fibers), cold water immersion (Aδ and C fibers), and ischemic tourniquet (C fibers). RESULTS Participants with high pain resilience reported lower pain ratings over time during cold water immersion than those with low pain resilience, F(1, 39) = 8.526, p = 0.006; however, there was no relationship between pain resilience and pain ratings during either of the pinprick or ischemic tourniquet stimuli. CONCLUSIONS This study provides further support for the use of multiple pain stimuli for pain assessment given their unique characteristics and concludes that outcome variables aside from pain ratings may provide additional insight into the role of resilience on pain adaptation.
The TGFβ inducible early gene plays a central role in the anti-proliferative response to TGFβ

Signaling through the Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGFβ)/Smad pathway plays an important role in a variety of cellular processes including the control of cellular proliferation and oncogenesis. The TGFβ Inducible Early Gene (TIEG) is a primary response gene for TGFβ which controls the activity of the Smad pathway. In addition, studies from our laboratory have demonstrated that TIEG expression is lost during the progression of breast cancer. In the present study we utilized a tetracycline inducible TIEG overexpressing breast cancer cell line and TIEG null mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) to establish whether TIEG plays a central role in eliciting the anti-proliferative effects of TGFβ. We demonstrate that, similar to TGFβ treatment, TIEG overexpression significantly decreases cellular proliferation. Consistent with a role in regulating cellular proliferation, TIEG overexpression increases the expression of the cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor p21. Interestingly, while cellular proliferation of wild-type MEFs is inhibited by TGFβ, proliferation of TIEG null MEFs is stimulated by TGFβ. Furthermore, TIEG null MEF cells display a decrease in Smad dependent transcription with a concomitant prolonged increase in Smad7 expression compared to wild-type cells. These data strongly suggest that TIEG plays a central role in the anti-proliferative response to TGFβ and may explain how a loss of TIEG expression contributes to the development of cancer.
Ruminal epithelium: a checkpoint for cattle health

Abstract The reticulorumen, as the main fermentation site of ruminants, delivers energy in the form of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) for both the animal as well as the ruminal wall. By absorbing these SCFA, the ruminal epithelium plays a major role in the maintenance of intraruminal and intraepithelial acid–base homoeostasis as well as the balance of osmolarity. It takes up SCFA via several pathways which additionally lead to either a reduction of protons in the ruminal lumen or the secretion of bicarbonate, ultimately buffering the ruminal content effectively. Nutrition of the epithelium itself is achieved by catabolism of the SCFA, especially butyrate. Catabolism of SCFA also helps to maintain a concentration gradient across the epithelium to ensure efficient SCFA uptake and stability of the epithelial osmolarity. Furthermore, the ruminal epithelium forms a tight barrier against pathogens, endotoxins or biogenic amines, which may emerge from ruminal microorganisms and feed. Under physiological conditions, it reduces toxin uptake to a minimum. Moreover, the epithelium seems to have the ability to degrade biogenic amines like histamine. Nonetheless, in high performance production animals like dairy cattle, the reticulorumen is confronted with large amounts of rapidly fermentable carbohydrates. This may push the epithelium to its limits, even though it possesses a great capacity to adapt to varying feeding conditions. If the epithelial limit is exceeded, increasing amounts of SCFA lead to an acidotic imbalance that provokes epithelial damage and thereby elevates the entrance of pathogens and other potentially harmful substances into the animal's body. Hence, the ruminal epithelium lays the foundation for the animal's health, and in order to ensure longevity and high performance of ruminant farm animals, it should never be overburdened.
A genome-wide association study of five meat quality traits in Yorkshire pigs

Meat quality is an important trait in the pig industry. To identify genomic regions and haplotype blocks responsible for meat quality traits in pigs, a genome-wide association study was conducted for five traits including intramuscular fat content, pH at 45 min and 24 h, drip loss within 24 h and water-holding capacity in 231 Yorkshire barrows using illumina porcine 60k SNP chips. The results showed that a total of 344 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were significantly associated with five meat quality traits (P< 1 10). Moreover, 323 SNPs were within the reported QTL regions, of which 21 were novel. Also, 158 SNPs fell into the proximal region of meat quality related genes. In addition, 25 haplotype blocks based on 116 SNPs were revealed with SNP combination patterns for five traits. Our study added new SNP information for identification of meat quality traits in pigs and will help elucidate the mechanisms of meat quality in pigs.
All biomass is local: The cost, volume produced, and global warming impact of cellulosic biofuels depend strongly on logistics and local conditions

Current models of cellulosic biofuel systems require that the delivered price of the cellulosic biomass feedstock be kept low. Thus the predicted biorefinery size is relatively small, limiting potential economies of scale. However, it is actually the ultimate selling price of the biofuel that largely determines market penetration. We relaxed the constraint of low delivered feedstock price and explored the resulting effects on biofuel price, biofuel volume produced, and global warming impact (GWI). Feedstock price greatly affects the feedstock supply chains that may develop. Increased feedstock price does not affect the final ethanol selling price very much, but higher feedstock prices greatly increase the amount of ethanol produced. Farmers will supply much more cellulosic biomass at higher feedstock prices, leading to shorter transportation distances with reduced transportation costs and enabling larger biorefineries with improved economies of scale, thereby reducing the ethanol selling price.
Measurement System for Unsupervised Standardized Assessment of Timed “Up & Go” and Five Times Sit to Stand Test in the Community—A Validity Study

Comprehensive and repetitive assessments are needed to detect physical changes in an older population to prevent functional decline at the earliest possible stage and to initiate preventive interventions. Established instruments like the Timed “Up & Go” (TUG) Test and the Sit-to-Stand Test (SST) require a trained person (e.g., physiotherapist) to assess physical performance. More often, these tests are only applied to a selected group of persons already functionally impaired and not to those who are at potential risk of functional decline. The article introduces the Unsupervised Screening System (USS) for unsupervised self-assessments by older adults and evaluates its validity for the TUG and SST. The USS included ambient and wearable movement sensors to measure the user’s test performance. Sensor datasets of the USS’s light barriers and Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) were analyzed for 91 users aged 73 to 89 years compared to conventional stopwatch measurement. A significant correlation coefficient of 0.89 for the TUG test and of 0.73 for the SST were confirmed among USS’s light barriers. Correspondingly, for the inertial data-based measures, a high and significant correlation of 0.78 for the TUG test and of 0.87 for SST were also found. The USS was a validated and reliable tool to assess TUG and SST.
Controlling the COVID-19 Pandemic in Vietnam: Lessons From a Limited Resource Country

The lessons learned from Vietnam, a country that the world acclaimed for its management of the fight against COVID-19, could stand out as an example of how to do more with less. The Vietnamese government has acted swiftly at the very early stage of the pandemic with a focus on containment efforts and extensive public health measures, particularly (1) the commitment from the government with a multisectoral approach; (2) a timely, accurate, and transparent risk communication; (3) active surveillance and intensive isolation/quarantine operation, case management with tracing all new arrivals and close contact up to three clusters; and (4) suspension of flights, shutting schools, and all nonessential services.
Cholesterol oxides and atherosclerosis: A review

Cholesterol is an important constituent of animal food products and has often been implicated in the etiology of atherosclerosis and coronary heart diseases. Recent reports have, however, shown the possible role of cholesterol oxidation products (COP), rather than cholesterol, in the initiation of atherosclerotic plaque formation. Cholestan-3β,5α,6β-triol and 25-hydroxycholesterol have been reported as the most potent atherogenic agents. Inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase (EC 1.1.1.34) enzyme activity and cholesterol biosynthesis by cholesterol oxidation products has also been thoroughly investigated in cultured cells. Various animal food products, viz meat products, egg products and dairy products (especially butter, butter oil, ghee, cheese etc) have been reported to contain various COP developed during certain processing treatments. The literature on the presence of COP in food products and their cytotoxic and atherogenic effects is reviewed.
Short Communication: In-silico validation of pooled genotyping strategies for genomic evaluation in Angus cattle.

In this study, we aimed to assess the value of genotyping DNA pools as a strategy to generate accurate and cost-effective genomic estimated breeding values (GEBV) of sires in multi-sire mating systems. In order to do that, we used phenotypic records of 2,436 Australian Angus cattle from 174 sires, including yearling weight (YWT; N = 1,589 records), coat score (COAT; N = 2,026 records) and marbling score (MARB; N = 1,304 records). Phenotypes were adjusted for fixed effects and age at measurement and pools of 2, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 animals were explored. Pools were created either by phenotype or at random. When pools were created at random, 10 replicates were examined to provide a measure of sampling variation. The relative accuracy of each pooling strategy was measured by the Pearson correlation coefficient between the sire's GEBV with pooled progeny and the GEBV using individually genotyped progeny. Random pools allow the computation of sire GEBV that are, on average, moderately correlated (i.e., r > 0.5 at pool sizes ≤ 10) with those obtained without pooling. However, for pools assigned at random, the difference between the best and the worst relative accuracy obtained out of the 10 replicates were as high as 0.41 for YWT, 0.36 for COAT and 0.61 for MARB. This uncertainty associated to the relative accuracy of GEBV makes randomly assigning animals to pools an unreliable approach. In contrast, pooling by phenotype allowed the estimation of sires' GEBV with a relative accuracy ≥ 0.9 at pool sizes < 10 for all three phenotypes. Moreover, even with larger pool sizes, the lowest relative accuracy obtained was 0.88 (YWT, pool size = 20). In agreement with results using simulated data, we conclude that pooling by phenotype is a robust approach to implementing genomic evaluation using commercial herd data, and pools sizes larger than 10 individuals can be considered.
Localization of cannabinoid CB1 receptor mRNA in neuronal subpopulations of rat striatum: A double‐label in situ hybridization study

Double‐label in situ hybridization was used to identify the phenotypes of striatal neurons that express mRNA for cannabinoid CB1 receptors. Simultaneous detection of multiple mRNAs was performed by combining a 35S‐labeled ribonucleotide probe for CB1 mRNA with digoxigenin‐labeled riboprobes for striatal projection neurons (preprotachykinin A, prodynorphin, and preproenkephalin mRNAs) and interneurons (vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT), choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), somatostatin, and glutamic acid decarboxylase (Mr 67,000; GAD67) mRNAs). To ascertain whether CB1 mRNA was a marker for striatal efferents, digoxigenin‐labeled probes for mRNA markers of both striatonigral (prodynorphin or preprotachykinin A mRNAs), and striatopallidal (proenkephalin mRNAs) projection neurons were combined with the 35S‐labeled probe for CB1. A mediolateral gradient in CB1 mRNA expression was observed at rostral and mid‐striatal levels; in the same coronal sections the number of silver grains per cell ranged from below the threshold of detectability at the medial and ventral poles to saturation at the dorsolateral boundary bordered by the corpus callosum. At the caudal level examined, CB1 mRNA was denser in the ventral sector relative to the dorsal sector. Virtually all neurons expressing mRNA markers for striatal projection neurons colocalized CB1 mRNA. Combining a 35S‐labeled riboprobe for CB1 with digoxigenin‐labeled riboprobes for both preproenkephalin and prodynorphin confirmed localization of CB1 mRNA to striatonigral and striatopallidal neurons expressing prodynorphin and preproenkephalin mRNAs, respectively. However, CB1 mRNA‐positive cells that failed to coexpress the other markers were also apparent. CB1 mRNA was localized to putative GABAergic interneurons that express high levels of GAD67 mRNA. These interneurons enable functional interactions between the direct and indirect striatal output pathways. By contrast, aspiny interneurons that express preprosomatostatin mRNA and cholinergic interneurons that coexpress ChAT and VAChT mRNAs were CB1 mRNA‐negative. The present data provide direct evidence that cannabinoid receptors are synthesized in striatonigral neurons that contain dynorphin and substance P and striatopallidal neurons that contain enkephalin. By contrast, local circuit neurons in striatum that contain somatostatin or acetylcholine do not synthesize cannabinoid receptors. Synapse 37:71–80, 2000. Published 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
AMPD1 C34T Polymorphism (rs17602729) Is Not Associated with Post-Exercise Changes of Body Weight, Body Composition, and Biochemical Parameters in Caucasian Females

Background: The C34T polymorphism (rs 17602729) in adenosine monophosphate deaminase 1 gene (AMPD1) is associated with muscular energy metabolism in exercise. However, the role of its potential modifying impact on exercise-induced changes in obesity related parameters is unknown. The aim of the study was to determine if the C34T polymorphism influences the effects of an exercise training. Methods: This study examines a group of one hundred and sixty-eight, young, non-obese Caucasian women in Poland who took part in a 12-week aerobic training program to determine the impact of allele and genotype distribution on training outcomes. Results: A two-way analysis of variance ANOVA was conducted assuming a dominant model by pooling rare homozygotes and heterozygotes (TT + CT, n = 79) and comparing against common homozygotes (CC, n = 89). Our results showed that the AMPD1 C34T polymorphism was not related with selected parameters in study group. After completing the 12-week training program, a wide array of parameters (body mass, body mass index, fat mass, free fat mass, total body water) were significantly changed in the study participants with the exception of AMPD1 genotypes, among whom no significant changes were observed. Conclusions: The results did not confirm that harboring the rs 17602729 T allele influences the effects of the training program.
Benchmarking Best NPD Practices—III

OVERVIEW: The new product process by which firms drive new product projects from inception through to commercialization, and the methods, practices and tactics embedded within that process, are the focus of this final of three articles reporting the results of the recent American Productivity and Quality Center study on performance and best practices in new product development. Many of the decisive activities that were identified turn out to be poorly executed, while a handful of tasks emerge as pivotal to NPD performance. Most firms now employ a systematic, formal, new product process, but the nature of the process and the way it is implemented are the true keys to success. For instance, delivering a differentiated, superior product is one practice that strongly separates the Best and Worst Performers. Market information, up-front homework, stable product definition, and voice-of-customer research are found to be relatively weak practices in businesses' new product efforts, but all strongly discriminate between the Best and Worst Performers.
Performance Results and Concentrations of Biochemical Indices and Mineral Elements in Blood Serum of Fatteners Fed Diets Containing Mixtures of Raw Seeds of Pea (Pisum sativum L.) or Blue Lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.)

Simple Summary The aim of this study was to determine the effect of using pea and blue lupine seeds as replacers for genetically modified soybean meal (SBM-GM), traditionally used in pig feeding, on their production results, health and body homeostasis. The public is often opposed to the use of feed with GM materials in animal nutrition, which is why the search for alternative sources of feed protein that can be used in commercial production is underway. Despite the differences in the level of biochemical indices and mineral elements concentration in blood serum in pigs fed diets containing pea or blue lupine seeds, the study did not show their negative impact on the production parameters and body homeostasis. The results obtained indicate that legumes seeds—pea and blue lupin—can offer an alternative to SBM-GM. It has been shown that pea or blue lupine seeds in the diet of fattening pigs allows to achieve similar production results and do not adversely affect the homeostasis of the animal body. Abstract Two experiments were conducted with fatteners (♀ (Landrace × Yorkshire) × ♂ duroc), 50 animals each (10 pigs per group). The fatteners from the control group (C) were administered feed mixtures with genetically modified soybean meal (SBM-GM) used as the only protein source; whereas these from experimental groups (E1–E4) received feed mixtures in which the SBM-GM was replaced with increasing amounts of raw seeds of pea (Experiment I) or blue lupin (Experiment II): E1—5.0%, E2—10.0%, E3—15.0%, and E4—17.5%. Once the fattening period was completed, production results were determined, and selected blood serum indices were assayed to establish the effect of the nutritional factor on body homeostasis and health status of the animals. Pigs from all groups revealed a similar growth rate and meatiness (p > 0.05). In Experiment I serum analyses showed lower (p < 0.001) concentrations of: cholesterol in E1, E3 and E4; creatinine in E1 and E4 and urea in E3 and E4, compared to the C. In Experiment II, lower (p < 0.001) concentrations of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine-aminotransferase, total protein, and Mg were determined in the serum of fatteners from E1–E4 compared to the C. Even though values of all analyzed blood markers differed among the groups, in most cases they fitted within reference values for the species, which indicates the maintenance of body homeostasis. Study results show that there are no contraindications to the use of pea and blue lupin seeds as alternative feed materials to SBM-GM in pig fattening.
Functional Postnatal Maturation of the Medial Olivocochlear Efferent–Outer Hair Cell Synapse

The organ of Corti, the auditory mammalian sensory epithelium, contains two types of mechanotransducer cells, inner hair cells (IHCs) and outer hair cells (OHCs). IHCs are involved in conveying acoustic stimuli to the CNS, while OHCs are implicated in the fine tuning and amplification of sounds. OHCs are innervated by medial olivocochlear (MOC) cholinergic efferent fibers. The functional characteristics of the MOC–OHC synapse during maturation were assessed by electrophysiological and pharmacological methods in mouse organs of Corti at postnatal day 11 (P11)–P13, hearing onset in altricial rodents, and at P20–P22 when the OHCs are morphologically and functionally mature. Synaptic currents were recorded in whole-cell voltage-clamped OHCs while electrically stimulating the MOC fibers. A progressive increase in the number of functional MOC–OHC synapses, as well as in their strength and efficacy, was observed between P11-13 and P20-22. At hearing onset, the MOC–OHC synapse presented facilitation during MOC fibers high-frequency stimulation that disappeared at mature stages. In addition, important changes were found in the VGCC that are coupled to transmitter release. Ca2+ flowing in through L-type VGCCs contribute to trigger ACh release together with P/Q- and R-type VGCCs at P11–P13, but not at P20–P22. Interestingly, N-type VGCCs were found to be involved in this process at P20–P22, but not at hearing onset. Moreover, the degree of compartmentalization of calcium channels with respect to BK channels and presynaptic release components significantly increased from P11–P13 to P20–P22. These results suggest that the MOC–OHC synapse is immature at the onset of hearing. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The functional expression of both VGCCs and BK channels, as well as their localization with respect to the presynaptic components involved in transmitter release, are key elements in determining synaptic efficacy. In this work, we show dynamic changes in the expression of VGCCs and Ca2+-dependent BK K+ channels coupled to ACh release at the MOC–OHC synapse and their shift in compartmentalization during postnatal maturation. These processes most likely set the short-term plasticity pattern and reliability of the MOC–OHC synapse on high-frequency activity.