Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Associations between Plasma Choline Metabolites and Genetic Polymorphisms in One-Carbon Metabolism in Postmenopausal Women: The Women's Health Initiative Observational Study.

BACKGROUND Choline plays an integral role in one-carbon metabolism in the body, but it is unclear whether genetic polymorphisms are associated with variations in plasma choline and its metabolites. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to evaluate the association of genetic variants in choline and one-carbon metabolism with plasma choline and its metabolites. METHODS We analyzed data from 1423 postmenopausal women in a case-control study nested within the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study. Plasma concentrations of choline, betaine, dimethylglycine (DMG), and trimethylamine N-oxide were determined in 12-h fasting blood samples collected at baseline (1993-1998). Candidate and tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped in betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase (BHMT), BHMT2, 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase (NADP+ dependent 1) (MTHFD1), 5-methyltetrahydrofolate-homocysteine methyltransferase (MTR), and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate-homocysteine methyltransferase reductase (MTRR). Linear regression was used to derive percentage difference in plasma concentrations per variant allele, adjusting for confounders, including B-vitamin biomarkers. Potential effect modification by plasma vitamin B-12, vitamin B-6, and folate concentrations and folic-acid fortification periods was examined. RESULTS The candidate SNP BHMT R239Q (rs3733890) was associated with lower concentrations of plasma betaine and DMG concentrations (-4.00% and -6.75% per variant allele, respectively; both nominal P < 0.05). Another candidate SNP, BHMT2 rs626105 A>G, was associated with higher plasma DMG concentration (13.0%; P < 0.0001). Several tagSNPs in these 2 genes were associated with plasma concentrations after correction for multiple comparisons. Vitamin B-12 status was a significant effect modifier of the association between the genetic variant BHMT2 rs626105 A>G and plasma DMG concentration. CONCLUSIONS Genetic variations in metabolic enzymes were associated with plasma concentrations of choline and its metabolites. Our findings contribute to the knowledge on the variation in blood nutrient concentrations in postmenopausal women.
At Home With Us

In this paper, we present ongoing research on a methodology to assist people with moderate disabilities, in their homes, using off-the-shelf smart home technologies, and open-source software. Clearly, such building blocks can cover a smaller set of scenarios than custom-built alternatives, but we believe they are nonetheless capable of improving the life of several people and their caregivers, avoiding or postponing the adoption of more invasive, less affordable solutions. Our methodology includes a body of principles to build assistance solutions out of smart home devices. We have already identified a set of technologies to implement our methodology, and actual assistance actions in real-world scenarios where our methodology is applicable. We have already experimented with the methodology in one scenario.
THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF MENOPAUSE PAGES

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Based on the analysis conducted by the World Health Organization regarding the life expectancy in 35 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, South Korea’s life expectancy is predicted to rank first in the world by 2030, with the life expectancy for women reaching 90.82 years. In other words, the importance of women’s health and the quality of life (QoL) after menopause is increasing. The most effective treatment for vasomotor symptoms (VMS) and genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) is menopausal hormone therapy (MHT), which is also effective in preventing osteoporosis. MHT is an effective therapy that offers more advantages than disadvantages for women aged less than 60 years or who have had menopause for less than 10 years. Therefore, the purpose of these guidelines is to provide help by sharing accurate knowledge and treatment methods regarding MHT based on recent research findings.
BROODING POSTURES AND NEST SITE FIDELITY IN THE WESTERN SLIMY SALAMANDER, PLETHODON ALBAGULA (CAUDATA: PLETHODONTIDAE), FROM AN ABANDONED MINE SHAFT IN ARKANSAS

We examined brooding postures and nest site fidelity in a nesting aggregation of western slimy salamanders (Plethodon albagula) from an abandoned mine shaft located in the Ouachita National Forest of southwestern Arkansas. From November 1999-December 2001, we collected a photographic record of brooding and nesting behavior. Females oviposit a free-hanging, grape-like egg cluster within relatively dry nest perches along the walls of the mine shaft. We recorded six female brooding postures from 101 obser- vations involving 101 egg clutches. The most common brooding posture (34.6% of the time) was one in which the female positioned her shoulder region next to or in contact with her egg clutch. Body coiling around the egg clutch occurred 20.8% of the time and at about the same frequency as brooding postures involving eggs touching the head (17.8%) or trunk (22.8%). Six females (6.3%) exhibited nest site fidelity; one female returned to the same nesting site in each of three nesting seasons, but successfully brooded a clutch during the first season only. Egg predation by a ringneck snake was observed during the 2001 nest- ing season. Our results suggest that brooding postures may function as a predator defense mechanism and may also serve as an anti-microbial defense. The autumn/winter nesting season appears to serve as an anti- predator strategy in this species.
Reply

1) De Pietri L, Bianchini M, Montalti R, De Maria N, Di Maira T, Begliomini B, et al. Thrombelastography-guided blood product use before invasive procedures in cirrhosis with severe coagulopathy. A randomized controlled trial. HEPATOLOGY 2016;62:566-573. 2) Ewe K. Bleeding after liver biopsy does not correlate with indices of peripheral coagulation. Dig Dis Sci 1981;26:388-393. 3) Giannini EG, Greco A, Marenco S, Andorno E, Valente U, Savarino V. Incidence of bleeding following invasive procedures in patients with thrombocytopenia and advanced liver disease. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2010;8:899-902; quiz e109. 4) Tripodi A, Caldwell SH, Hoffman M, Trotter JF, Sanyal AJ. Review article: the prothrombin time test as a measure of bleeding risk and prognosis in liver disease. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2007; 26:141-148. 5) Massicotte L, Thibeault L, Roy A. Classical notions of coagulation revisited in relation with blood losses, transfusion rate for 700 consecutive liver transplantations. Semin Thromb Hemost 2015;41:538-546.
Study on the Spinning Behavior of the Spider Mite (Acarina; Tetranychidae)

(1) ナミハダニTetranychus urticae KOCHの吐糸行動を観察し,吐糸がハダニの歩行によって体内から引き出されることを確認した。 (2) ナミハダニの発育および産卵と吐糸行動の関係を調べ,本種のすべての発育ステージの活動期で吐糸が行なわれ,吐糸量,吐糸面積ともに発育に伴って増加し,吐糸量は産卵数と並行的な経時変化を示すことが判明した。 また,雄成虫の吐糸行動が雌あるいは他の発育ステージと比べて特異的であることを明らかにした。 (3) ナミハダニ雌成虫の吐糸量は温度上昇に伴い段階的な増加パターンを示し,排出物や食痕数も吐糸量と類似の傾向を示すことが判明した。 湿度の変化に対応して吐糸量は33%RH区をピークとする一山型のパターンを示すが,吐糸面積や排出物数などの相互の増減パターンには明瞭な関係は見出せなかった。
Reply:

We read with great interest the article by Cavazza et al., who demonstrated that an advanced histological stage was the only risk factor associated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) from two European centers. Similar results were described in a Japanese multicenter study by Shibuya et al. Although these studies suggest screening for HCC in patients with advanced-stage PBC, it is still uncertain whether there is a significantly increased risk of HCC development in patients with stage IV PBC cirrhosis versus patients with cirrhosis of other etiologies. We assessed in a single-center study the incidence of HCC in North American patients with stage IV PBC or autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) cirrhosis and compared it to the incidence of HCC in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) cirrhosis. Three hundred fifteen patients with HCV cirrhosis, 49 patients with AIH cirrhosis, and 52 patients with stage IV PBC were evaluated at the Cleveland Clinic between 2001 and 2007. Stage IV PBC cirrhosis was diagnosed when patients had positive serological and histological findings of cirrhosis or biochemical and radiological evidence of portal hypertension. Cirrhosis due to AIH was defined by positive serological and histological findings of cirrhosis or biochemical and radiological evidence of portal hypertension. HCC-free survival was analyzed from the moment of the diagnosis of cirrhosis in HCV, AIH, and PBC patients until death or transplantation. During a median follow-up of 3.6 years (with 25th and 75th percentiles of 1.8 and 6.3, respectively), 64 of 315 patients (20.3%) with HCV cirrhosis, 2 of 49 patients (4.1%) with AIH cirrhosis, and 4 of 52 patients (7.7%) with PBC cirrhosis developed HCC. The annual cumulative incidence of HCC was 1.1% in patients with AIH cirrhosis, 1.5% in patients with PBC cirrhosis, and 4.0% in patients with HCV cirrhosis (Fig. 1). This study has shown that although patients with stage IV PBC cirrhosis develop liver cancer, the risk is significantly lower in comparison with the risk for patients with HCV cirrhosis. The results of our study are discordant with a previously reported Spanish series in which the risks of HCC were similar in patients with late-stage PBC and in patients with HCV cirrhosis. We agree with Cavazza et al. that the low prevalence of PBC and the possible influence of geography on disease progression are confounding factors that may explain the divergent results in the literature. Future multicenter studies in North America with a longer follow-up period are necessary to validate these findings and better estimate the risk of HCC in PBC patients at an advanced histological stage.
Studies on the Meat Quality of Broilers I

The collaborative experiment in two laboratoryies was carried out to investigate the effect of dietary protein and energy levels on the abdominal fat content of broilers and the relationship between its content and meat taste.Chicks were reared on a commercial starter diet (CP22%-TDN72%) for 4 weeks and divided into two groups, such as CP16%-TDN73% and CP20%-TDN73%, up to 8 weeks old. Then each group was divided into 3 groups up to 10 weeks old, the former; CP16%-TDN82%, CP16%-TDN73% and CP20%-TDN73%, the latter; CP 20%-TDN82%, CP20%-TDN73% and CP24%-TDN73%, respectively.The abdominal fat level was significantly higher in both sexes fed low protein diets than in those fed high protein diets, but female chicks had a significantly higher level of abdominal fat than male chicks.The level-up of dietary protein by 4% depressed abdominal fat level, but that of TDN by 9% had a little effect compared with that of dietary protein by 4%. High correlation was recognized between the fat content in thigh muscle and abdominal fat level. (r=0.94)In sensory test, thigh muscle, pickled in 1% NaCl solution for 5 minites and steamed, was used. Most of panelist liked the meat of broilers fed diets which resulted in high fat contents. Meat taste of broilers may be affected by fat content in muscle.
Effect of Two Strains of Probiotics on the Antioxidant Capacity, Oxidative Stress, and Immune Responses of Salmonella-Challenged Broilers

The present study aimed at evaluating the effect of two strains of probiotics (Bacillus subtilis PB6 and Bacillus Cereus var. toyoi) on selected indicators of the antioxidant status and immune responses of broilers before and after challenge with Salmonella enterica subsp. Typhimurium (S. typhimurium). Birds were distributed into the following five treatments: negative control (CTL−); negative control+S. typhimurium (CTL+); antibiotic+S. typhimurium, (AB); Toyocerin(r)+S. typhimurium (TOYO); and CloSTATTM+ S. typhimurium (CLOS). Birds in all treatments, except for CTL−, were orally challenged with 3 x109 CFUS. typhimurium at 16 days of age. The results showed that total antioxidant capacity (TAC), superoxide dismutase activity (SOD), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) values were similar among all groups. The antibody titers against S. typhimurium and Newcastle disease (ND) were not affected by the treatments (p>0.05). However, S. typhimurium and ND titers were influenced by the interaction between week and treatment (p<0.01, p<0.05, respectively) and by week (p<0.001, p<0.001, respectively). In conclusion, S. typhimurium challenge had an impact on anti-Salmonella and NC titers. Both probiotics did not affect the broilers' antioxidant capacity.
Reporting colorectal cancer

tumours, 6th edn. New York: Wiley-Liss, 2002. 9. Howarth SMMMJ, Williams GT. The new (6th edition) TNM classification of colorectal cancer a stage too far. Gut 2004; 53; A21. 10. Goldstein NS, Turner JR. Pericolonic tumor deposits in patients with T3 N+MO colon adenocarcinomas: markers of reduced disease free survival and intra-abdominal metastases and their implications for TNM classification. Cancer 2000; 88; 2228– 2238.
The Effect of Supplemental Food on Life-History Traits and Demography of a Tropical Mouse Peromyscus mexicanus

1. Three populations of the tropical mouse Peromyscus mexicanus were provided with supplemental food for 1 year (July 1988-June 1989) and demographic and lifehistory characteristics were compared to mice from three control populations. 2. Supplemental food had no clear effect on population density. 3. Juvenile recruitment was greater on fed than unfed grids. 4. There was no difference between fed and unfed populations with regard to age structure, sex ratios, immigration or survival. 5. Fed females produced their first litters at an earlier age than unfed animals and had half as many failed breeding attempts as unfed females. 6. There were no differences in litter size at weaning, interbirth interval or juvenile survival to sexual maturation between fed and unfed females. 7. Food did not influence the total number of litters a female produced per year or during her lifetime. 8. Fed females reproduced earlier but disappeared from the study area sooner than unfed females: there was no difference in the length of the reproductive life span of fed and unfed females. 9. There was no difference between pups born on fed and unfed grids with respect to post-weaning growth rates and age and weight at sexual maturation. 10. The reproductive response to food addition did not vary with female body mass or litter parity
Symposium 30: Molecular diagnosis of lymphoma

Lymphoproliferative disorders are generally diagnosed based on histomorphological and immunophenotypical features. In most cases data obtained with these methods are conclusive and no further techniques are required to confirm or exclude the clonal character of the involved cell population. However, in a number of cases the differential diagnosis between reactive lesion and malignant lymphoma is more difficult and molecular clonality assessment can then be a useful adjunct. One of the most important molecular assays in this respect concerns analysis of immunoglobulin (Ig) or T-cell receptor (TCR) genes. Ig and TCR genes are rearranged in differentiating lymphocytes to form a diverse repertoire of functional antigen receptors. Since malignant lymphomas are clonally derived from a single malignantly transformed lymphoid cell, they virtually all have one or several clonal Ig and/or TCR gene rearrangements. Detection of well-defined and frequent chromosome aberrations, such as t(11;14), and t(14;18), can also be helpful for clonality assessment in lymphoproliferations. Ig/TCR clonality assessment has traditionally been performed via Southern blot analysis, using several restriction enzymes and many different probes. Although Southern blot analysis is probably the most reliable method for Ig/TCR clonality analysis, drawbacks are the large amounts of high molecular weight DNA that are required and the fact that it is rather time-consuming. Currently, several different PCR-based methods have been described as alternative, as they are more rapid and require a minimal amount of DNA, which can even be obtained from paraffin-embedded tissue. Generally, these PCR strategies employ consensus primers for only a few of the rearranged Ig/TCR loci. Though rapid and easy to perform, such PCR approaches often are not fully reliable. Firstly, sometimes not all Ig/TCR gene segments are recognized by the applied primers; secondly, incomplete (D–J) gene rearrangements are often not studied; and thirdly, somatic hypermutations in Ig gene segments might affect primer annealing and consequently can lead to false-negative results. The latter is especially common in lymphomas of germinal and post-germinal center origin and might be overcome by use of multiple primers for the same gene segments (particularly VH) and/or by analysis of multiple Ig loci. Finally, PCR assays to detect chromosome aberrations are often hampered by extensive breakpoint regions. It was therefore decided to design and test new primer sets for all relevant Ig and TCR loci and two major chromosome aberrations.
Reply:

We read with interest the article by Vibert et al. recently published in HEPATOLOGY. The authors described their single-center experience with liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–positive patients (21 cases) and compared those patients to HIV-negative patients (61 cases) who were also affected by HCC. Because of the higher dropout rate among the HIV-positive patients (23.8% versus 11.4%), HIV infection impaired the results of liver transplantation for HCC on an intent-to-treat basis but had no significant impact on overall survival and recurrence-free survival after liver transplantation. In our center from 2005 to 2010, we performed transplantation for 13 HIV-positive patients affected by HCC. The characteristics of this cohort are reported in Table 1. Unlike Vibert et al.’s patients, none of our patients were dropped from the waiting list. None experienced HCC recurrence, although three patients were outside the Milan criteria at listing (23%); only one of those patients (7.7%) had microvascular invasion. Seventy-seven percent had grade 2 and 23% had grade 3 HCC according to Edmondson-Steiner. The mean number and total diameter of the HCC nodules were 2 6 1 and 46 6 29 mm, respectively, upon pathological analysis. Before transplantation, all patients were treated with transarterial chemoembolization or combined transarterial chemoembolization and radio frequency ablation; the mean necrosis value was 67% 6 39% for the HCC nodules upon pathological analysis. Finally, the 1-, 3-, and 5-year patient and graft survival rates were 84.6%, 84.6%, and 70.5% and 84.6%, 84.6%, and 84.6%, respectively, with a median follow-up of 35 months (range 1⁄4 2-73 months). In conclusion, our experience seems to be comparable to the experience reported by Vibert et al. except for the absence of HCC recurrence, which was present in 23.8% of the patients investigated in the French cohort.
mNIS+7 and lower limb function in inotersen treatment of hereditary transthyretin‐mediated amyloidosis

Inotersen, an antisense oligonucleotide inhibitor of transthyretin (TTR) protein production, demonstrated significant benefit versus placebo in the modified Neuropathy Impairment Score (NIS) +7 neurophysiologic tests (mNIS+7) in patients with hereditary TTR‐mediated amyloidosis (hATTR) with polyneuropathy. This analysis assessed the mNIS+7 components by anatomic location and the lower limb function (LLF) test.
Reply:

1. Sun J-H, O’Boyle DR, Zhang Y, Wang C, Nower P, Valera L, et al. Impact of a baseline polymorphism on the emergence of resistance to the hepatitis C virus nonstructural protein 5A replication complex inhibitor, BMS-790052. HEPATOLOGY 2012;55:1692-1699. 2. Fridell RA, Wang C, Sun J-H, O’Boyle DR, Nower P, Valera, L, et al. Genotypic and phenotypic analysis of variants resistant to hepatitis C virus nonstructural protein 5A replication complex inhibitor BMS790052 in humans: in vitro and in vivo correlations. HEPATOLOGY 2011;54:1924-1935. 3. Wang C, Jia L, Huang H, Diu D, Valera L, Huang X, et al. In vitro activity of BMS-790052 on hepatitis C virus genotype 4 NS5A. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2012;56:1588-1590.
Reply

According to the recently released American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) guidelines for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 chronic infection, in treatment-naı̈ve subjects the association of boceprevir or telaprevir with peginterferon-alpha and ribavirin is strongly recommended as the optimal therapy. In patients treated with boceprevir, peginterferon, and ribavirin, a response-guided treatment schedule was established at week 8, through the assessment of HCV RNA level, making feasible a shortened duration of treatment (i.e., 28 weeks) in the case of undetectable viral replication. In this regard, we believe that the choice of 8 weeks for the definition of treatment duration needs some comment. The phase 2 and 3 clinical trials with boceprevir featured the use of peginterferon-ribavirin for 4 weeks (the lead-in period) before boceprevir was added. The reasons for starting with a lead-in phase would be to lower HCV-RNA before exposure to a protease inhibitor in order to reduce the risk of resistance and viral breakthrough. However, in the studies mentioned the achievement of virologic response after the lead-in therapy (4 weeks) was shown to be highly effective for the prediction of sustained virologic response (SVR; HCV-RNA undetectability leading to SVR in a percentage of patients between 89% and 100%, independently from the treatment arm). Indeed, Poordad et al. stated that in patients with undetectable HCV RNA levels after the lead-in period, boceprevir administration would not result in a higher rate of SVR than that obtained with the use of standard therapy. Therefore, the lead-in period as well as interleukin (IL)-28B genotype assessment might be used to better define the eligible patients for peginterferon introduction, thus avoiding their possible overuse with additional costs and side effects. In our opinion, it seems to be reasonable to reconsider the assessment of HCV-RNA at week 4 (end of lead-in) in the response-guided treatment guidelines of naı̈ve genotype-1-infected patients.
Studies on Species Characteristics and Diversities of Elaeagnus Mollis Community in Shanxi

Elaeagnus Mollis is an indemic to China,being one of the China protected two-grade rare and endangered plants,and are distributed in Yicheng(Ganquan),Xiangning(Xipo),Pinglu(Shigou,Wangyuan). Through compare the floral element,life form,structure,physiognomy and diversity of E.Mollis communities shows that the flora has some typical characteristics of north-temperate,which accounts for 37.25%;the dominant life type is phaenerophyta which accounts for 43.14%;the community can be structurally divided into shrub layer and herb layer.The results show as follows: there were lower species richness,species diversity and evenness in E.mollis communities under intensive disturbance habitats.Moreover,there were higher species richness,evenness and species diversity under disturbance situation to a small extent.
Minimal Safe Distance of Prey for Predator

In predator-prey environments, this paper is to analyze a safe distance of the prey which survives from the pursuit of predator according to the status of energy of predator. In order to do this, we analyzed the distance which predator can move with maximum speed consuming his entire energy. By introducing the minimum energy of prey, it was proposed as a minimal distance of prey for avoiding the pursuit of predator. The results of this research can be used to create contents of more realistic computer games.