The Influence of Anatomical Boundaries,Age, and Sex on the Assessment of Abdominal Visceral Fat

CLASEY, JODY L, CLAUDE BOUCHARD, LAURIE WIDEMAN, JILL KANALEY, C DAVID TEATES, MICHAEL O THORNER, MARK L HARTMAN, ARTHUR WELTMAN. The influence of anatomical boundaries, age, and sex on the assessment of abdominal visceral fat. Single-slice abdominal computed tomography (CT) scanning has been used extensively for the measurement of abdominal visceral fat (AYF). Optimal anatomical scan location and pixel density ranges have been proposed and are specifically reported to allow for the replication and standardization of AVF measurements. Standardization of the anatomical boundaries for CT measurement of AVF and the influence of age and gender on results obtained with different boundary locations have received much less attention. To determine the influence of three boundary analysis methods (AVF-1, AVF-2, and AVF-3) on the measurement of AVF by CT, 54 older (60 years to 79 years) and 37 younger (20 years to 29 years) healthy men and women were examined. The measurement boundary for AVF-1 was the internal most aspect of the abdominal and oblique muscle walls, and the posterior aspect of the vertebral body. AVF-2 used fat measurements enclosed in a boundary formed by the midpoint of the abdominal and oblique muscle walls, and the most posterior aspect of the spinous process. AVF-3 used fat measurements enclosed in a boundary formed by the external border of the abdominal and oblique muscle walls, and the external border of the erector spinae. Greater AVF measures were obtained with AVF-2 and AVF-3 compared with AVF-1 (p<0.0001). These differences were greater in older compared with younger subjects (p<0.0001) and greater in women compared with men (p<0.02). The significantly greater AVF measurements obtained with AVF-2 and AVF-3 resulted from the inclusion of larger amounts of fat that are not drained by the portal circulation. This included retroperitoneal, intermuscular, and intramuscular lipid droplets, which increase with aging. On the basis of these results, we recommend the AVF-1 anatomical boundaries for the measurement of AVF in clinical investigations, particularly with older subjects. These data demonstrate the importance of precise and reproducible anatomical boundaries for the measurement of AVF, particularly in longitudinal studies.     

Designing cross-linked lipase aggregates for optimum performance as biocatalysts

Cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) are prepared by precipitation of an enzyme and then chemical cross-linking the precipitate. Three CLEAs of lipase with glutaraldehyde concentrations of 10 mM (CLEA A), 40 mM (CLEA B) and 60 mM (CLEA C) were prepared. Studies show that there is a trade-off between thermal stability vs transesterification/hydrolysis rate vs enantioselectivity. The initial rates for transesterification of β-citronellol for the uncross-linked enzyme and CLEAs A, B and C were 243, 167, 102 and 40 µmol mg^?1 h^?1, respectively. Their thermal stabilities in aqueous media, as reflected by their half-life values at 55°C, were 6, 9, 13 and 16 h, respectively. The enantioselectivity, E values (for kinetic resolution of β-citronellol by transesterification) were 19, 74, 11 and 6, respectively. These results show that CLEA C was the most thermostable; the uncross-linked enzyme was best at obtaining the highest transesterification rate; and CLEA A was best suited for the enantioselective synthesis. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the morphology of CLEA was dependent upon the extent of cross-linking.     

Kinase GSK3β functions as a suppressor in colorectal carcinoma through the FTO-mediated MZF1/c-Myc axis

Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) poses heavy burden to human health and has an increasing incidence. Currently, the existing biomarkers for CRC bring about restrained clinical benefits. GSK3β is reported to be a novel therapeutic target for this disease but with undefined molecular mechanisms. Thus, we aimed to investigate the regulatory effect of GSK3β on CRC progression via FTO/MZF1/c-Myc axis. Firstly, the expression patterns of GSK3β, FTO, MZF1 and c-Myc were determined after sample collection. Lowly expressed GSK3β but highly expressed FTO, MZF1 and c-Myc were found in CRC. After transfection of different overexpressed and interference plasmids, the underlying mechanisms concerning GSK3β in CRC cell functions were analysed. Additionally, the effect of GSK3β on FTO protein stability was assessed followed by detection of MZF1 m6A modification and MZF1-FTO interaction. Mechanistically, GSK3β mediated ubiquitination of demethylase FTO to reduce FTO expression. Besides, GSK3β inhibited MZF1 expression by mediating FTO-regulated m6A modification of MZF1 and then decreased the proto-oncogene c-Myc expression, thus hampering CRC cell proliferation. We also carried out in vivo experiment to verify the regulatory effect of GSK3β on CRC via FTO-mediated MZF1/c-Myc axis. It was found that GSK3β inhibited CRC growth in vivo which was reversed by overexpressing c-Myc. Taken together, our findings indicate that GSK3β suppresses the progression of CRC through FTO-regulated MZF1/c-Myc axis, shedding light onto a new possible pathway by which GSK3β regulates CRC.     

The Blue Water Footprint of Primary Copper Production in Northern Chile

Water consumption related to the life cycle of metals is seldom reported, even though mines are often situated in very dry regions. In this study we quantified the life cycle consumption of groundwater and fresh surface water (blue water footprint [WF_blue]) for the extraction and production of high‐grade copper refined from both a copper sulfide ore and a copper oxide ore in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. Where possible, we used company‐specific data. The processes for extracting copper from the two types of ore are quite different from each other, and the WF_blue of the sulfide ore refining process is 2.4 times higher than that of the oxide ore refining process (i.e., 96 cubic meters per metric ton [tonne] of copper versus 40 cubic meters per tonne of copper). Most of the water consumption (59% of WF_blue) in the sulfide ore process occurred at the concentrator plant, via seepage, accumulation, and also by evaporation. In the oxide ore process, the main user of water is the heap‐leaching process, with 45% of WF_blue. The crushing and agglomeration operations, electrowinning cells, and solution pools are also significant contributors to the total consumption of water in the oxide ore process. Most of the water consumed in the oxide ore process was lost to evaporation. The WF_blue of the oxide ore process can be reduced by preventing water evaporation and using more sophisticated devices during irrigation of the leaching heaps. The WF_blue of the sulfide ore refining process can be reduced by improving water recovery (i.e., reducing seepage, accumulation, and evaporation) from the tailings dam at the concentrator plant. Using seawater in the production of copper is also a promising option to reduce the WF_blue by up to 62%.     

Annual cycles of growth and reproduction in hatchery–reared Florida largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides floridanus, raised on forage or pelleted diets

Annual cycles of growth and reproduction of hatchery–reared Florida largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides floridanus , were investigated. Animals were raised on either forage (goldfish, Carassius auratus ) or a pelleted salmon feed. Male and female year–class 1 largemouth bass were sampled throughout one complete yearly cycle (January–December). A biphasic growth cycle was observed in both forage–fed and pellet–fed fish. No increase in body length or weight was observed until approximately midway through the spawning period (May), after which fish grew at a consistent rate for the remainder of the study. The reproductive cycle of forage–fed fish was characterized by a rapid increase in gonadosomatic index (GS1) between January and April, followed by a prolonged spawning period (April–July) during which GSI progressively declined. Fully regressed gonads were observed in September and October, and a resumption of gonadal recrudescence was observed between October and December. Visceral adipose deposits (expressed as mesenteric fat index; MFI) were resorbed during gonadal growth and the initial stages of the spawning period, and restored during the post–spawning phase. Fish raised on pelleted feed had growth and reproductive cycles that parallelled those of forage–fed fish, but several significant differences were observed between the two diet groups. During the growth phase of the cycle, pellet–fed largemouth bass grew significantly faster than forage–fed largemouth bass, and had significantly larger MFIs than forage–fed largemouth bass at all times of the year. Pellet–fed fish also had significantly larger GSIs than forage–fed fish. These data indicate that diet composition may be an important determinant of growth and reproductive function in this species.     

Challenges and Emerging Opportunities in High‐Mobility and Low‐Energy‐Consumption Organic Field‐Effect Transistors

Organic field‐effect transistors (OFETs) are the basic elements of organic circuits towards flexible, printable, and wearable electronics. Low‐energy‐consumption OFETs with high mobility are the prerequisite for practical applications. After 30 years of development, OFETs have progressed rapidly, from field‐effect materials to devices, and from individual device to small‐ and medium‐scale integration. Here, a brief retrospective of OFETs' development over the past decades, and the emerging opportunities and challenges from device physics, multifunctional materials to integrated application are presented.     

Pasture dry matter intake per cow in intensive dairy production systems: effects of grazing and feeding management

The competitiveness and sustainability of low input cost dairy production systems are generally supported by efficient use of pasture in the diets. Therefore, pasture intake directly affects overall efficiency of these systems. We aimed to assess feeding and grazing management main factors that affect pasture dry matter intake (DMI) in commercial dairy farms during the different seasons of the year. Fortnightly visits to 28 commercial dairies were carried out between June 2016 and May 2017 to record production and price, supplement offered and price, pasture access time (PAT), herbage mass (HM) and allowance (HA). Only farms with the most contrasting estimated pasture DMI per cow (eDMI) were compared as systems with high (HPI; N = 8) or low (LPI; N = 8) pasture DMI. Despite a lower individual milk production in HPI than LPI (19.0 v. 23.3 ± 0.7 l/cow, P < 0.01), daily margin over feeding cost was not different between groups (3.07 v. 2.93 ± 0.15 U$S/cow for HPI and LPI, respectively). During autumn and winter, HPI cows ingested more pasture than LPI cows (8.3 v. 4.6 and 5.9 v. 2.9 ± 0.55 kg DM/cow per day, respectively, P < 0.01) although PAT, HM and HA were similar between groups. Both groups offered high supplementation levels during these seasons, even though greater in LPI than HPI (14.7 v. 9.7 ± 0.7 kg DM supplement/cow per day, respectively, P < 0.01). On the other hand, differences between groups for both pasture and supplement DMI were more contrasting during spring and summer (13.1 v. 7.3 ± 0.5 and 4.0 v. 11.4 ± 0.4 kg DM/cow per day for HPI and LPI, respectively, P < 0.01), with higher PAT in both seasons (P < 0.05) and higher HA during summer in HPI than LPI (P < 0.01). Unlike LPI, during these seasons HPI adjusted offered supplement according to HA, achieving a higher pasture eDMI and making more efficient use of available pastoral resource than LPI. As there was no grazing limiting condition for pasture harvesting in either group, the main factor affecting pasture DMI was a pasture by supplement substitution effect. These results reinforce the importance of an efficient grazing management, and using supplements to nutritionally complement pasture intake rather than as a direct way to increase milk production.     

Supply versus use designs of environmental extensions in input–output analysis: Conceptual and empirical implications for the case of energy

Input–output analysis is one of the central methodological pillars of industrial ecology. However, the literature that discusses different structures of environmental extensions (EEs), that is, the scope of physical flows and their attribution to sectors in the monetary input–output table (MIOT), remains fragmented. This article investigates the conceptual and empirical implications of applying two different but frequently used designs of EEs, using the case of energy accounting, where one represents energy supply while the other energy use in the economy. We derive both extensions from an official energy supply–use dataset and apply them to the same single‐region input–output (SRIO) model of Austria, thereby isolating the effect that stems from the decision for the extension design. We also crosscheck the SRIO results with energy footprints from the global multi‐regional input–output (GMRIO) dataset EXIOBASE. Our results show that the ranking of footprints of final demand categories (e.g., household and export) is sensitive to the extension design and that product‐level results can vary by several orders of magnitude. The GMRIO‐based comparison further reveals that for a few countries the supply‐extension result can be twice the size of the use‐extension footprint (e.g., Australia and Norway). We propose a graph approach to provide a generalized framework to disclosing the design of EEs. We discuss the conceptual differences between the two extension designs by applying analogies to hybrid life‐cycle assessment and conclude that our findings are relevant for monitoring of energy efficiency and emission reduction targets and corporate footprint accounting.     

miRNA和lncRNA在动物脂肪沉积中的研究进展

微小RNA(MicroRNA,miRNA)是一类由18–25个核苷酸组成的高度保守的核苷酸序列,它可以特异性结合信使RNA (mRNA)的3′-非编码区域,进而发挥降解mRNA或阻遏mRNA翻译的负调控作用。长链非编码RNA (Long non-coding RNA,lncRNA)是一类长度超过200个核苷酸、不能编码蛋白质或只能编码蛋白质微肽的核苷酸序列,它可以在表观遗传、转录水平和转录后水平调控基因表达。脂肪作为一种重要的储能物质,在调节动物体能量平衡过程中发挥着重要的作用,并与动物产肉量、肉品质等产肉性状密切相关。而脂肪功能的紊乱可导致高血脂、Ⅱ型糖尿病以及一系列心血管疾病发生,因此动物脂肪沉积的分子调控机制备受人们关注。近年来,越来越多的研究发现miRNA和lncRNA在动物脂肪沉积中发挥重要作用。文中就现阶段miRNA和lncRNA在动物脂肪沉积中的研究进展进行综述,以期为进一步揭示动物脂肪沉积的分子调控机制提供理论指导和新思路。