Measuring ultracool properties from the UKIDSS Large Area Survey

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly citedWe discuss the properties and of ultracool and brown dwarfs that can be measured from current large area surveys and how fundamental parameters, such as the mass function and formation history can be measured, describing our own first measurement of the formation history in the sub-stellar regime using data from the UKIDSS Large Area Survey

Efficacy of non-pharmacological interventions to treat malnutrition in older persons : A systematic review and meta-analysis. The SENATOR project ONTOP series and MaNuEL Knowledge Hub project

The preparation of this paper was supported by the MalNutrition in the ELderly (MaNuEL) knowledge hub. MaNuEL is supported by the Joint Programming Initiative ‘Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life’. The MaNuEL funding agencies supporting this paper are (in alphabetical order of participating Member State): France: Ecole Supérieure d’Agricultires (ESA); Germany: Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) represented by Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE); The Netherlands: The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw). This work was also supported by the SENATOR trial (FP7-HEALTH-2012-305930).Peer reviewedPostprin

Artificial intelligence extension of the OSCAR-IB criteria

Artificial intelligence (AI)-based diagnostic algorithms have achieved ambitious aims through automated image pattern recognition. For neurological disorders, this includes neurodegeneration and inflammation. Scalable imaging technology for big data in neurology is optical coherence tomography (OCT). We highlight that OCT changes observed in the retina, as a window to the brain, are small, requiring rigorous quality control pipelines. There are existing tools for this purpose. Firstly, there are human-led validated consensus quality control criteria (OSCAR-IB) for OCT. Secondly, these criteria are embedded into OCT reporting guidelines (APOSTEL). The use of the described annotation of failed OCT scans advances machine learning. This is illustrated through the present review of the advantages and disadvantages of AI-based applications to OCT data. The neurological conditions reviewed here for the use of big data include Alzheimer disease, stroke, multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson disease, and epilepsy. It is noted that while big data is relevant for AI, ownership is complex. For this reason, we also reached out to involve representatives from patient organizations and the public domain in addition to clinical and research centers. The evidence reviewed can be grouped in a five-point expansion of the OSCAR-IB criteria to embrace AI (OSCAR-AI). The review concludes by specific recommendations on how this can be achieved practically and in compliance with existing guidelines

Frequencies of Metaphorical Expressions in Asperger Syndrome and Typical Development

Language studies in Asperger Syndrome (AS) report problems in intention interpretation, figurative language and pragmatic abilities. Those abilities require to differentiate constructional and contextual meaning. Previous research use a functional framework to look for literal and figurative language processes. Method. We use Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) and Steen's five steps analysis to compare metaphorical expression frequencies in AS and Typical Development (TD) from an experiential-based perspective. We documented the conceptual metaphors (A is B form), and the metaphor's types: Structural, Orientational, and Ontological. We applied three tasks to elicit speech: (a) conversation task, (b) narration task, and (c) description task. Results. Our Mexico City’s data indicates that AS children are able to produce common metaphorical expressions at the same levels as TD children, at equal ages in Spanish. We found both populations use intentional and contextualized metaphor expressions, and the metaphors are mostly conventionalized expressions previously not considered

NLRP3 inflammasome inhibition by MCC950 in aged mice improves health via enhanced autophagy and PPARα activity

The NLRP3 inflammasome has emerged as an important regulator of metabolic disorders and age-associated diseases as reported in NLRP3 deficient mice. Here we asked whether in old mice C57BL6J the NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor MCC950 is able to attenuate age- assocociated metabolic syndrome providing health benefits. We report that MCC950 attenuates metabolic and hepatic dysfunction in aged mice. MCC950 inhibited the Pi3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, and enhanced autophagy and activated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) in vivo and in vitro. The data suggest that MCC950 mediates the protective effects by mTOR inhibiton activating autophagy and PPARα. In conclusion, pharmacological inhibition of NLRP3 in aged mice has a significant impact on health. Thus, NLRP3 may be a therapeutic target of human age-associated metabolic syndrome

Homophilic CD44 interactions mediate tumor cell aggregation and polyclonal metastasis in patient-derived breast cancer models

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) seed cancer metastases; however, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms remain unclear. CTC clusters were less frequently detected but more metastatic than single CTCs of triple negative breast cancer patients and representative patient-derived-xenograft (PDX) models. Using intravital multiphoton microscopic imaging, we found that clustered tumor cells in migration and circulation resulted from aggregation of individual tumor cells rather than collective migration and cohesive shedding. Aggregated tumor cells exhibited enriched expression of the breast cancer stem cell marker CD44 and promoted tumorigenesis and polyclonal metastasis. Depletion of CD44 effectively prevented tumor cell aggregation and decreased PAK2 levels. The intercellular CD44-CD44 homophilic interactions directed multicellular aggregation, requiring its N-terminal domain, and initiated CD44-PAK2 interactions for further activation of FAK signaling. Our studies highlight that CD44+ CTC clusters, whose presence is correlated with a poor prognosis of breast cancer patients, can serve as novel therapeutic targets of polyclonal metastasis