Short-term oleoyl-estrone treatment affects capacity to manage lipids in rat adipose tissue

Background: Short-term OE (oleoyl-estrone) treatment causes significant decreases in rat weight mainly due to adipose tissue loss. The aim of this work was to determine if OE treatment affects the expression of genes that regulate lipid metabolism in white adipose tissue. Results: Gene expression in adipose tissue from female treated rats (48 hours) was analysed by hybridization to cDNA arrays and levels of specific mRNAs were determined by real-time PCR. Treatment with OE decreased the expression of 232 genes and up-regulated 75 other genes in mesenteric white adipose tissue. The use of real-time PCR validate that, in mesenteric white adipose tissue, mRNA levels for Lipoprotein Lipase (LPL) were decreased by 52%, those of Fatty Acid Synthase (FAS) by 95%, those of Hormone Sensible Lipase (HSL) by 32%, those of Acetyl CoA Carboxylase (ACC) by 92%, those of Carnitine Palmitoyltransferase 1b (CPT1b) by 45%, and those of Fatty Acid Transport Protein 1 (FATP1) and Adipocyte Fatty Acid Binding Protein (FABP4) by 52% and 49%, respectively. Conversely, Tumour Necrosis Factor (TNF¿) values showed overexpression (198%). Conclusion: Short-term treatment with OE affects adipose tissue capacity to extract fatty acids from lipoproteins and to deal with fatty acid transport and metabolism.

Activities of amino acid metabolizing enzymes in the stomach and small intestitine of developing rats

The activities of aspartate and alanine transaminase, serine dehydratase, arginase, glutamate dehydrogenase, adenylate deaminase and glutamine synthetase were determined in the stomach and small intestine of developing rats. Despite the common embryonic origin of the intestine and stomach, their enzymes showed quite different activity levels and patterns of development, depending on their roles. Most enzyme activities were low during late intrauterine life and after birth, attaining adult levels with the change of diet at weaning. No arginase activity was found in the stomach and no changes were detected in adenylate deaminase in the stomach or intestine throughout the period studied. Alanine transaminase, serine dehydratase and, to some extent, glutamine synthetase levels, significantly higher in late intrauterine life, decreased after birth, suggesting that the foetal stomach has a transient ability to handle amino acids.

Visual-gustatory interaction: orbitofrontal and insular cortices mediate the effect of high-calorie visual food cues on taste pleasantness.

Vision provides a primary sensory input for food perception. It raises expectations on taste and nutritional value and drives acceptance or rejection. So far, the impact of visual food cues varying in energy content on subsequent taste integration remains unexplored. Using electrical neuroimaging, we assessed whether high- and low-calorie food cues differentially influence the brain processing and perception of a subsequent neutral electric taste. When viewing high-calorie food images, participants reported the subsequent taste to be more pleasant than when low-calorie food images preceded the identical taste. Moreover, the taste-evoked neural activity was stronger in the bilateral insula and the adjacent frontal operculum (FOP) within 100 ms after taste onset when preceded by high- versus low-calorie cues. A similar pattern evolved in the anterior cingulate (ACC) and medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) around 180 ms, as well as, in the right insula, around 360 ms. The activation differences in the OFC correlated positively with changes in taste pleasantness, a finding that is an accord with the role of the OFC in the hedonic evaluation of taste. Later activation differences in the right insula likely indicate revaluation of interoceptive taste awareness. Our findings reveal previously unknown mechanisms of cross-modal, visual-gustatory, sensory interactions underlying food evaluation.

Art i ciència: converses

A la infància, Enric Canadell químic teòric i Àlex Nogué artista visual comparteixen pupitre i jocs de carrer a Castellfollit de la Roca, un poble de la Garrotxa, Girona. Segueixen trajectes vitals ben diferents i desenvolupen una ampla experiència professional internacional en la ciència i l'art. Quaranta-cinc anys més tard es retroben novament sota el projecte "En comptes de la revolució, converses" promogut per Cafè Central i l'Associació per les Arts Contemporànies H.ACC per tal de cercar coincidències en les seves activitats professionals aparentment tan dispars i en la seva forma de viure-les.

Integrative molecular bioinformatics study of human adrenocortical tumors : microRNA, tissue-specific target prediction, and pathway analysis.

MicroRNAs (miRs) are involved in the pathogenesis of several neoplasms; however, there are no data on their expression patterns and possible roles in adrenocortical tumors. Our objective was to study adrenocortical tumors by an integrative bioinformatics analysis involving miR and transcriptomics profiling, pathway analysis, and a novel, tissue-specific miR target prediction approach. Thirty-six tissue samples including normal adrenocortical tissues, benign adenomas, and adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC) were studied by simultaneous miR and mRNA profiling. A novel data-processing software was used to identify all predicted miR-mRNA interactions retrieved from PicTar, TargetScan, and miRBase. Tissue-specific target prediction was achieved by filtering out mRNAs with undetectable expression and searching for mRNA targets with inverse expression alterations as their regulatory miRs. Target sets and significant microarray data were subjected to Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. Six miRs with significantly different expression were found. miR-184 and miR-503 showed significantly higher, whereas miR-511 and miR-214 showed significantly lower expression in ACCs than in other groups. Expression of miR-210 was significantly lower in cortisol-secreting adenomas than in ACCs. By calculating the difference between dCT(miR-511) and dCT(miR-503) (delta cycle threshold), ACCs could be distinguished from benign adenomas with high sensitivity and specificity. Pathway analysis revealed the possible involvement of G2/M checkpoint damage in ACC pathogenesis. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing miR expression patterns and pathway analysis in sporadic adrenocortical tumors. miR biomarkers may be helpful for the diagnosis of adrenocortical malignancy. This tissue-specific target prediction approach may be used in other tumors too.

Response of Iowa Pavements to a Tracked Agricultural Vehicle, HR-1075, Phase II, 2000

The overall objective of the work summarized in this report and in the interim report was to study the effects of targeted implement-of-husbandry loads. This report is to complement phase I of this work, which was summarized in the interim report, entitled Response of Iowa Pavements to Heavy Agricultural Loads (December 1999). The response of newly constructed Portland cement concrete (PCC) and asphalt cement concrete (ACC) pavements under semitruck, single-axle single-tire grain wagon, single-axle dual-tire grain wagon, tandem and tridem tank wagons were summarized in the interim report. Phase II of this project, presented herein, was to complete the study in terms of how tracked agricultural vehicles relate to the reference 20,000-pound single-axle semi-truck. In this report the response of these two pavements under a tracked grain wagon is documented.

Response of Iowa Pavements to Heavy Agricultural Loads, HR-1075, 1999

Iowa's county road system includes several thousands of miles of paved roads which consist of Portland cement concrete (PCC) surfaces, asphalt cement concrete (ACC) surfaces, and combinations of thin surface treatments such as seal coats and slurries. These pavements are relatively thin pavements when compared to the state road system and therefore are more susceptible to damage from heavy loads for which they were not designed. As the size of the average farm in Iowa has increased, so have the size and weights of implements of husbandry. These implements typically have fewer axles than a truck hauling the same weight would be required to have; in other words, some farm implements have significantly higher axle weights than would be legal for semi-trailers. Since stresses induced in pavements are related to a vehicle's axle weight, concerns have been raised among county and state engineers regarding the possible damage to roadway surfaces that could result from some of these large implements of husbandry. Implements of husbandry on Iowa's highway system have traditionally not been required to comply with posted weight embargo on bridges or with regulations regarding axle-weight limitations on roadways. In 1999, with House File 651, the Iowa General Assembly initiated a phased program of weight restrictions for implements of husbandry. To help county and state engineers and the Iowa legislature understand the effects of implements of husbandry on Iowa's county roads, the following study was conducted. The study investigated the effects of variously configured grain carts, tank wagons, and fence-line feeders on Iowa's roadways, as well as the possible mitigating effects of flotation tires and tracks on the transfer of axle weights to the roadway. The study was accomplished by conducting limited experimental and analytical research under static loading conditions

Field Evaluation of Cold In-Place Recycling of Asphalt Concrete, HR-303, 1993

The average thickness of the existing asphalt cement concrete (ACC) along route E66 in Tama County was 156 mm (6.13 in.). The rehabilitation strategy called for widening the base using the top 75 mm (3 in.) of the existing ACC by a recycling process involving cold milling and mixing with additional emulsion/rejuvenator. The material was then placed into a widening trench and compacted to match the level of the milled surface. The project had the following results: (1) Cold recycled ACC pavement provided adequate pavement structure for a low volume road; (2) Premature cracking of the ACC in the widened pavement area was caused by compaction of the mix over a saturated subgrade; and (3) Considerably less transverse and longitudinal cracking was observed with 75 mm (3 in.) of cold recycled ACC and a 50 mm (2 in.) hot mix ACC overlay than with a conventional hot mix overlay with no cold recycling. More research should be done on efficient construction procedures and incorporating longer test sections for proper evaluation.

Correlation of the IJK Roadmeter to the International Roughness Index, MLR-91-5, 1992

The Iowa Department of Transportation has been determining a present serviceability index (PSI) on the primary highway system since 1968. A CHLOE profilometer has been used as the standard for calibrating the Roadmeters that do the system survey. The current Roadmeter, an IJK Iowa DOT developed unit, is not considered an acceptable Roadmeter for determining the FHWA required International Roughness Index (IRI). Iowa purchased a commercial version of the South Dakota type profile (SD Unit) to obtain IRI. This study was undertaken to correlate the IRI to the IJK Roadmeter and retire the Roadmeter. One hundred forty-seven pavement management sections (IPMS) were tested in June and July 1991 with both units. Correlation coefficients and standard error of estimates were: r' Std. Error PCC pavements 0.81 0.15 Composite pavements 0.71 0.18 ACC pavements 0.77 0.17 The correlation equations developed from this work will allow use of the IRI to predict the IJK Roadmeter response with sufficient accuracy. Trend analysis should also not be affected.

Cracking and Seating to Retard Reflective Cracking - Fremont County, HR-279, 1993

The concept of cracking and seating a portland cement concrete (pcc) pavement prior to laying an asphalt cement concrete (acc) surface in order to reduce reflection cracking has been around since the 1950s. With the advent of improved cracking equipment, this method gained renewed interest in the 1970s and 1980s. This project incorporated six test sections of which four were cracked and seated prior to being overlaid. Fremont County decided to utilize only a 0.9 m (3 ft) cracking pattern based on a 30 m (100 ft) trial test section. Pavement cracking appeared to be effective in reducing primarily longitudinal reflectance cracking, but only marginally successful in the reduction of transverse reflective cracking.

Bond Enhancement Techniques for PCC Whitetopping, HR-341, 1996

This research was initiated in 1991 as a part of a whitetopping project to study the effectiveness of various techniques to enhance bond strength between a new portland cement concrete (PCC) overlay and an existing asphalt cement concrete (ACC) pavement surface. A 1,676 m (5,500 ft) section of county road R16 in Dallas County was divided into 12 test sections. The various techniques used to enhance bond were power brooming, power brooming with air blast, milling, cement and water grout, and emulsion tack coat. Also, two sections were planed to a uniform cross-section, two pavement thicknesses were placed, and two different concrete mix proportions were used. Bond strength was perceived to be the key to determining an appropriate design procedure for whitetopping. If adequate bond is achieved, a bonded PCC overlay technique can be used for design. Otherwise, an unbonded overlay procedure may be more appropriate. Conclusions are as follows: (1) Bond Strength Differences - Milling increased bond strength versus no milling. Tack coat showed increased bond strength versus no tack coat. Planing, Air Blast and Grouting did not provide noticeable improvements in bond strength; nor did different PCC types or thicknesses affect bond strength significantly. (2) Structure - Structural measurements correlated strongly with the wide variation in pavement thicknesses. They did not provide enough information to determine the strength of bonding or the level of support being provided by the ACC layer. Longitudinal cracking correlated with PCC thicknesses and with planing. (3) Bond Over Time - The bond between PCC and ACC layers is degrading over time in the outside wheel path in all of the sections except tack coat (section 12). The bond strength in the section with tack coat was lower than the others, but remained relatively steady.

Genetic selection system allowing monitoring of myofibrillogenesis in living cardiomyocytes derived from mouse embryonic stem cells

Embryonic stem (ES) cell-derived cardiomyocytes recapitulate cardiomyogenesis in vitro and are a potential source of cells for cardiac repair. However, this requires enrichment of mixed populations of differentiating ES cells into cardiomyocytes. Toward this goal, we have generated bicistronic vectors that express both the blasticidin S deaminase (bsd) gene and a fusion protein consisting of either myosin light chain (MLC)-3f or human alpha-actinin 2A and enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) under the transcriptional control of the alpha-cardiac myosin heavy chain (alpha-MHC) promoter. Insertion of the DNase I-hypersensitive site (HS)-2 element from the beta-globin locus control region, which has been shown to reduce transgene silencing in other cell systems, upstream of the transgene promoter enhanced MLC3f-EGFP gene expression levels in mouse ES cell lines. The alpha-MHC-alpha-actinin-EGFP, but not the alpha-MHC-MLC3f-EGFP, construct resulted in the correct incorporation of the newly synthesized fusion protein at the Z-band of the sarcomeres in ES cell-derived cardiomyocytes. Exposure of embryoid bodies to blasticidin S selected for a relatively pure population of cardiomyocytes within 3 days. Myofibrillogenesis could be monitored by fluorescence microscopy in living cells due to sarcomeric epitope tagging. Therefore, this genetic system permits the rapid selection of a relatively pure population of developing cardiomyocytes from a heterogeneous population of differentiating ES cells, simultaneously allowing monitoring of early myofibrillogenesis in the selected myocytes

Iowa Development of Rubblized Concrete Pavement Base - Mills County, HR-315, 1995

Iowa counties have tried to rehabilitate deteriorating portland cement concrete (PCC) pavements with standard overlays, placement of engineering fabric, rock, open graded bituminous mixes and cracking and seating. While these methods prolong the life of the road, the cracks in the old pavement have eventually reflected to the surface. One possible alternative for rehabilitating severely deteriorated roads and preventing reflective cracking is the rubblization process. The objective of this research project was to rehabilitate and evaluate a severely deteriorated PCC roadway using a rubblization process. A 3.0 km (1.9 mi) section of L63 in Mills County was selected for this research. The road was divided into 16 sections. A resonate frequency vibration pavement breaker was used to rubblize the existing pavement. The variables of rubblization, drainage, and ACC overlay depths of 75 mm (3 in.), 100 mm (4 in.), and 125 mm (5 in.) were evaluated. The research on rubblized concrete pavement bases support the following conclusions: (1) The rubblization process prevents reflective cracking; (2) Edge drains improved the structural rating of the rubblized roadway; (3) An ACC overlay of 125 mm (5 in.) on a rubblized base provided an excellent roadway regardless of soil and drainage conditions; (4) An ACC overlay of 75 mm (3 in.) on a rubblized base can provide a good roadway if the soil structure below the rubblized base is stable and well drained; and (5) The Road Rater structural ratings of the rubblized test sections for this project are comparable to the nonrubblized test sections.

Management of adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast: a Rare Cancer Network study.

BACKGROUND: Mammary adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is a rare breast cancer. The aim of this retrospective study was to assess prognostic factors and patterns of failure, as well as the role of radiation therapy (RT), in ACC.¦METHODS: Between January 1980 and December 2007, 61 women with breast ACC were treated at participating centers of the Rare Cancer Network. Surgery consisted of lumpectomy in 41 patients and mastectomy in 20 patients. There were 51(84%) stage pN0 and 10 stage cN0 (16%) patients. Postoperative RT was administered to 40 patients (35 after lumpectomy, 5 after mastectomy).¦RESULTS: With a median follow-up of 79 months (range, 6-285), 5-year overall and disease-free survival rates were 94% (95% confidence interval [CI], 88%-100%) and 82% (95% CI, 71%-93%), respectively. The 5-year locoregional control (LRC) rate was 95% (95% CI, 89%-100%). Axillary lymph node dissection or sentinel node biopsy was performed in 84% of cases. All patients had stage pN0 disease. In univariate analysis, survival was not influenced by the type of surgery or the use of postoperative RT. The 5-year LRC rate was 100% in the mastectomy group versus 93% (95% CI, 83%-100%) in the breast-conserving surgery group, respectively (p = 0.16). For the breast-conserving surgery group, the use of RT significantly correlated with LRC (p = 0.03); the 5-year LRC rates were 95% (95% CI, 86%-100%) for the RT group versus 83% (95% CI, 54%-100%) for the group receiving no RT. No local failures occurred in patients with positive margins, all of whom received postoperative RT.¦CONCLUSION: Breast-conserving surgery is the treatment of choice for patients with ACC breast cancer. Axillary lymph node dissection or sentinel node biopsy might not be recommended. Postoperative RT should be proposed in the case of breast-conserving surgery.

Thin Bonded Overlay Evaluation, Construction Report, HR-559, 1999

In recent years, ultra-thin whitetopping (UTW) has evolved as a viable rehabilitation technique for deteriorated asphalt cement concrete (ACC) pavement. Numerous UTW projects have been constructed and tested, enabling researchers to identify key elements contributing to their successful performance. These elements include foundation support, the interface bonding condition, portland cement concrete (PCC) overlay thickness, synthetic fiber reinforcement usage, joint spacing, and joint sealing. The interface bonding condition is the most important of these elements. It enables the pavement to act as a composite structure, thus reducing tensile stresses and allowing an ultra-thin PCC overlay to perform as intended. Although the main factors affecting UTW performance have been identified in previous research, neither the impact that external variables have on the elements nor the element interaction have been thoroughly investigated. The objective of this research was to investigate the interface bonding condition between an ultra-thin PCC overlay and an ACC base over time, considering the previously mentioned variables. Laboratory testing and full scale field testing were planned to accomplish the research objective. Laboratory testing involved monitoring interface strains in fabricated PCC/ACC composite test beams subjected to either static or dynamic flexural loading. Variables investigated included ACC surface preparation, PCC thickness, and synthetic fiber reinforcement usage. Field testing involved monitoring PCC/ACC interface stains and temperatures, falling weight deflectometer (FWD) deflection responses, direct shear strengths, and distresses on a 7.2 mile Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) UTW project (HR-559). The project was located on Iowa Highway 21 between Iowa Highway 212 and U.S. Highway 6 in Iowa County, near Belle Plaine, Iowa. Variables investigated included ACC surface preparation, PCC thickness, synthetic fiber reinforcement usage, joint spacing, and joint sealing. This report documents the planning, equipment selection, and construction of the project built in 1994.