Impaired Preadipocyte Differentiation in Human Abdominal Obesity: Role of Wnt, Tumor Necrosis Factor-α, and Inflammation

OBJECTIVE—We examined preadipocyte differentiation in obese and nonobese individuals and the effect of cytokines and wingless-type MMTV (mouse mammary tumor virus) integration site family, member 3A (Wnt3a) protein on preadipocyte differ-entiation and phenotype. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Abdominal subcuta-neous adipose tissue biopsies were obtained from a total of 51 donors with varying BMI. After isolation of the adipose and stromalvascular cells, inflammatory cells (CD14- and CD45-positive cells) were removed by immune magnetic separation. CD133-positive cells, containing early progenitor cells, were also isolated and quantified. The CD14- and CD45-negative preadipo-cytes were cultured with tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-, inter-leukin (IL)-6, resistin, or Wnt3a with or without a differentiation cocktail

A fast sparse block circulant matrix vector product

In the context of computed tomography (CT), iterative image reconstruction techniques are gaining attention because high-quality images are becoming computationally feasible. They involve the solution of large systems of equations, whose cost is dominated by the sparse matrix vector product (SpMV). Our work considers the case of the sparse matrices being block circulant, which arises when taking advantage of the rotational symmetry in the tomographic system. Besides the straightforward storage saving, we exploit the circulant structure to rewrite the poor-performance SpMVs into a high-performance product between sparse and dense matrices. This paper describes the implementations developed for multi-core CPUs and GPUs, and presents experimental results with typical CT matrices. The presented approach is up to ten times faster than without exploiting the circulant structure.Romero Alcalde, E.; Tomás Domínguez, AE.; Soriano Asensi, A.; Blanquer Espert, I. (2014). A fast sparse block circulant matrix vector product. En Euro-Par 2014 Parallel Processing. Springer. 548-559. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-09873-9_46S548559Bian, J., Siewerdsen, J.H., Han, X., Sidky, E.Y., Prince, J.L., Pelizzari, C.A., Pal, X.: Evaluation of sparse-view reconstruction from flat-panel-detector cone-beam ct. Physics in Medicine and Biology 55, 6575–6599 (2010)Dalton, S., Bell, N.: CUSP: A C++ templated sparse matrix library version 0.4.0 (2014), http://cusplibrary.github.com/Feldkamp, L., Davis, L., Kress, J.: Practical cone-beam algorithm. Journal of the Optical Society of America 1, 612–619 (1984)Ganine, V., Legrand, M., Michalska, H., Pierre, C.: A sparse preconditioned iterative method for vibration analysis of geometrically mistuned bladed disks. Computers & Structures 87(5-6), 342–354 (2009)Hara, A.K., Paden, R.G., Silva, A.C., Kujak, J.L., Lawder, H.J., Pavlicek, W.: Iterative reconstruction technique for reducing body radiation dose at CT: Feasibility study. American Journal of Roentgenology 193, 764–771 (2009)Heroux, M.A., Bartlett, R.A., Howle, V.E., Hoekstra, R.J., Hu, J.J., Kolda, T.G., Lehoucq, R.B., Long, K.R., Pawlowski, R.P., Phipps, E.T., Salinger, A.G., Thornquist, H.K., Tuminaro, R.S., Willenbring, J.M., Williams, A., Stanley, K.S.: An overview of the Trilinos project. ACM Trans. Math. Softw. 31(3), 397–423 (2005)Im, E.J., Yelick, K., Vuduc, R.: Sparsity: Optimization framework for sparse matrix kernels. International Journal of High Performance Computing Applications 18(1), 135–158 (2004)Jones, E., Oliphant, T., Peterson, P., et al.: SciPy: Open source scientific tools for Python (2001), http://www.scipy.org/Kaveh, A., Rahami, H.: Block circulant matrices and applications in free vibration analysis of cyclically repetitive structures. Acta Mechanica 217(1-2), 51–62 (2011)Kourtis, K., Goumas, G., Koziris, N.: Optimizing sparse matrix-vector multiplication using index and value compression. In: Proceedings of the 5th Conference on Computing Frontiers, CF 2008, pp. 87–96. ACM, New York (2008)Krotkiewski, M., Dabrowski, M.: Parallel symmetric sparse matrix–vector product on scalar multi-core CPUs. Parallel Computing 36(4), 181–198 (2010)Lee, B., Vuduc, R., Demmel, J., Yelick, K.: Performance models for evaluation and automatic tuning of symmetric sparse matrix-vector multiply. In: International Conference on Parallel Processing, ICPP 2004, vol. 1, pp. 169–176 (2004)Leroux, J.D., Selivanov, V., Fontaine, R., Lecomte, R.: Accelerated iterative image reconstruction methods based on block-circulant system matrix derived from a cylindrical image representation. In: Nuclear Science Symposium Conference Record, NSS 2007, vol. 4, pp. 2764–2771. IEEE (2007)NVIDIA: CUSPARSE library (2014), https://developer.nvidia.com/cusparsePan, X., Sidky, E.Y., Vannier, M.: Why do commercial CT scanners still employ traditional, filtered back-projection for image reconstruction? Inverse Problems 25, 123009 (2008)Rodríguez-Alvarez, M.J., Soriano, A., Iborra, A., Sánchez, F., González, A.J., Conde, P., Hernández, L., Moliner, L., Orero, A., Vidal, L.F., Benlloch, J.M.: Expectation maximization (EM) algorithms using polar symmetries for computed tomography CT image reconstruction. Computers in Biology and Medicine 43(8), 1053–1061 (2013)Sheep, L., Vardi, Y.: Maximum likelihood reconstruction for emmision tomography. IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging 1, 113–122 (1982)Sidky, E.Y., Pan, X.: Image reconstruction in circular cone-beam computed tomography by constrained, total-variation minimization. Physics in Medicine and Biology 53, 4777–4807 (2008)Soriano, A., Rodríguez-Alvarez, M.J., Iborra, A., Sánchez, F., Carles, M., Conde, P., González, A.J., Hernández, L., Moliner, L., Orero, A., Vidal, L.F., Benlloch, J.M.: EM tomographic image reconstruction using polar voxels. Journal of Instrumentation 8, C01004 (2013)Thibaudeau, C., Leroux, J.D., Pratte, J.F., Fontaine, R., Lecomte, R.: Cylindrical and spherical ray-tracing for ct iterative reconstruction. In: 2011 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference (NSS/MIC), pp. 4378–4381 (2011)Vuduc, R., Demmel, J.W., Yelick, K.A.: OSKI: A library of automatically tuned sparse matrix kernels. Journal of Physics: Conference Series 16(1), 521 (2005)Vuduc, R.W., Moon, H.-J.: Fast sparse matrix-vector multiplication by exploiting variable block structure. In: Yang, L.T., Rana, O.F., Di Martino, B., Dongarra, J. (eds.) HPCC 2005. LNCS, vol. 3726, pp. 807–816. Springer, Heidelberg (2005)Williams, S., Oliker, L., Vuduc, R., Shalf, J., Yelick, K., Demmel, J.: Optimization of sparse matrix-vector multiplication on emerging multicore platforms. Parallel Computing 35(3), 178–194 (2009

Effect of body fat distribution on the transcription response to dietary fat interventions

Combination of decreased energy expenditure and increased food intake results in fat accumulation either in the abdominal site (upper body obesity, UBO) or on the hips (lower body obesity, LBO). In this study, we used microarray gene expression profiling of adipose tissue biopsies to investigate the effect of body fat distribution on the physiological response to two dietary fat interventions. Mildly obese UBO and LBO male subjects (n = 12, waist-to-hip ratio range 0.93–1.12) were subjected to consumption of diets containing predominantly either long-chain fatty acids (PUFA) or medium-chain fatty acids (MCT). The results revealed (1) a large variation in transcription response to MCT and PUFA diets between UBO and LBO subjects, (2) higher sensitivity of UBO subjects to MCT/PUFA dietary intervention and (3) the upregulation of immune and apoptotic pathways and downregulation of metabolic pathways (oxidative, lipid, carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism) in UBO subjects when consuming MCT compared with PUFA diet. In conclusion, we report that despite the recommendation of MCT-based diet for improving obesity phenotype, this diet may have adverse effect on inflammatory and metabolic status of UBO subjects. The body fat distribution is, therefore, an important parameter to consider when providing personalized dietary recommendation

Anthropometric measures in relation to Basal Cell Carcinoma: a longitudinal study

BACKGROUND: The relationship between anthropometric indices and risk of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is largely unknown. We aimed to examine the association between anthropometric measures and development of BCC and to demonstrate whether adherence to World Health Organisation guidelines for body mass index, waist circumference, and waist/hip ratio was associated with risk of BCC, independent of sun exposure. METHODS: Study participants were participants in a community-based skin cancer prevention trial in Nambour, a town in southeast Queensland (latitude 26°S). In 1992, height, weight, and waist and hip circumferences were measured for all 1621 participants and weight was remeasured at the end of the trial in 1996. Prevalence proportion ratios were calculated using a log-binomial model to estimate the risk of BCC prior to or prevalent in 1992, while Poisson regression with robust error variances was used to estimate the relative risk of BCC during the follow-up period. RESULTS: At baseline, 94 participants had a current BCC, and 202 had a history of BCC. During the 5-year follow-up period, 179 participants developed one or more new BCCs. We found no significant association between any of the anthropometric measures or indices and risk of BCC after controlling for potential confounding factors including sun exposure. There was a suggestion that short-term weight gain may increase the risk of developing BCC for women only. CONCLUSION: Adherence to World Health Organisation guidelines for body mass index, waist circumference and waist/hip ratio is not significantly associated with occurrence of basal cell carcinomas of the skin

Neck circumference is associated with adipose tissue content in thigh skeletal muscle in overweight and obese premenopausal women

Neck circumference (NC) has been proposed as a simple and practical tool, independently associated with cardiometabolic risk factors. However, the association of NC with inter-muscular adipose tissue (IMAT) is still to be determined. We aimed to examine the association of NC with thigh IMAT, and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) measured with computed tomography (CT) in overweight/obese women. 142 premenopausal overweight and obese Caucasian women participated in this crosssectional study. NC was measured with an inextensible metallic tape above the thyroid cartilage according to International Society for Advancement of Kinanthropometry protocol. Thigh IMAT and VAT volumes were measured with a single cross-sectional CT. Regarding the covariates, fat mass (FM) was assessed with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and physical activity was objectively measured with accelerometry. NC was positively associated with thigh IMAT and VAT volumes (standardized β coefcient: β=0.45, P-value= ≤0.001, β=0.60, P=≤0.001; respectively), which persisted after adjusting for age, height, overall FM or moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Our fndings show that NC is associated with thigh IMAT volume in overweight and obese premenopausal Caucasian women, regardless of the amount of lower-body fatness. These results suggest underscoring the relevance of NC as a marker of adipose tissue content in thigh skeletal muscle.Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology Sapiens 358007/99Oeiras City CouncilBecel PortugalRoche Pharmaceuticals PortugalCompal PortugalUniversity of Granada Plan Propio de Investigacion 2016 -Excellence actions: Unit of Excellence on Exercise and Health (UCEES)Junta de AndaluciaEuropean Union (EU) SOMM17/6107/UGRFundacion Carolina C.201657496

Adipose Tissue Serves as a Reservoir for Recrudescent Rickettsia prowazekii Infection in a Mouse Model

Brill-Zinsser disease, the relapsing form of epidemic typhus, typically occurs in a susceptible host years or decades after the primary infection; however, the mechanisms of reactivation and the cellular reservoir during latency are poorly understood. Herein we describe a murine model for Brill-Zinsser disease, and use PCR and cell culture to show transient rickettsemia in mice treated with dexamethasone >3 months after clinical recovery from the primary infection. Treatment of similarly infected mice with cyclosporine failed to produce recrudescent bacteremia. Therapy with doxycycline for the primary infection prevented recrudescent bacteremia in most of these mice following treatment with dexamethasone. Rickettsia prowazekii (the etiologic agent of epidemic typhus) was detected by PCR, cell culture, and immunostaining methods in murine adipose tissue, but not in liver, spleen, lung, or central nervous system tissues of mice 4 months after recovery from the primary infection. The lungs of dexamethasone-treated mice showed impaired expression of β-defensin transcripts that may be involved in the pathogenesis of pulmonary lesions. In vitro, R. prowazekii rickettsiae infected and replicated in the murine adipocyte cell line 3T3-L1. Collectively these data suggest a role for adipose tissue as a potential reservoir for dormant infections with R. prowazekii

Seaweed intake and blood pressure levels in healthy pre-school Japanese children

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Few studies have examined whether dietary factors might affect blood pressure in children. We purposed to investigate whether seaweed intake is associated with blood pressure level among Japanese preschool children.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The design of the study was cross-sectional and it was conducted in autumn 2006. Subjects were healthy preschoolers aged 3-6 years in Aichi, Japan. Blood pressure and pulse were measured once by an automated sphygmomanometer, which uses oscillometric methods. Dietary data, including seaweed intake, were assessed using 3-day dietary records covering 2 consecutive weekdays and 1 weekend day. Of a total of 533 children, 459 (86.1 percent) agreed to be enrolled in our study. Finally, blood pressure measurement, complete dietary records and parent-reported height and weight were obtained for 223 boys and 194 girls.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>When we examined Spearman's correlation coefficients, seaweed intake was significantly negatively related to systolic blood pressure in girls (<it>P </it>= 0.008). In the one-way analysis of covariance for blood pressure and pulse after adjustments for age and BMI, the boys with the lowest, middle and highest tertiles of seaweed intake had diastolic blood pressure readings of 62.8, 59.3 and 59.6 mmHg, respectively (<it>P </it>= 0.11, trend <it>P </it>= 0.038). Girls with higher seaweed intake had significantly lower systolic blood pressure readings (102.4, 99.2 and 96.9 mmHg for girls with the lowest, middle and highest tertiles of seaweed intake, respectively; <it>P </it>= 0.037, trend <it>P </it>= 0.030).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study showed that seaweed intake was negatively related to diastolic blood pressure in boys and to systolic blood pressure in girls. This suggests that seaweed might have beneficial effects on blood pressure among children.</p