Mammalian EAK-7 activates alternative mTOR signaling to regulate cell proliferation and migration.

Nematode EAK-7 (enhancer-of-akt-1-7) regulates dauer formation and controls life span; however, the function of the human ortholog mammalian EAK-7 (mEAK-7) is unknown. We report that mEAK-7 activates an alternative mechanistic/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway in human cells, in which mEAK-7 interacts with mTOR at the lysosome to facilitate S6K2 activation and 4E-BP1 repression. Despite interacting with mTOR and mammalian lethal with SEC13 protein 8 (mLST8), mEAK-7 does not interact with other mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) or mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2) components; however, it is essential for mTOR signaling at the lysosome. This phenomenon is distinguished by S6 and 4E-BP1 activity in response to nutrient stimulation. Conventional S6K1 phosphorylation is uncoupled from S6 phosphorylation in response to mEAK-7 knockdown. mEAK-7 recruits mTOR to the lysosome, a crucial compartment for mTOR activation. Loss of mEAK-7 results in a marked decrease in lysosomal localization of mTOR, whereas overexpression of mEAK-7 results in enhanced lysosomal localization of mTOR. Deletion of the carboxyl terminus of mEAK-7 significantly decreases mTOR interaction. mEAK-7 knockdown decreases cell proliferation and migration, whereas overexpression of mEAK-7 enhances these cellular effects. Constitutively activated S6K rescues mTOR signaling in mEAK-7-knocked down cells. Thus, mEAK-7 activates an alternative mTOR signaling pathway through S6K2 and 4E-BP1 to regulate cell proliferation and migration

On Grouping Hospitals for Cost Analysis

Ik-Whan Kwon is Chairman of the Department of Management Science at St. Louis University. Jacqueline D. Frasca is Director of Medical Records Services at Cardinal Glennon Memorial Hospital for Children in St. Louis. Joe H. Kim is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Rider College

mEAK-7 Forms an Alternative mTOR Complex with DNA-PKcs in Human Cancer.

MTOR associated protein, eak-7 homolog (mEAK-7), activates mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling in human cells through an alternative mTOR complex to regulate S6K2 and 4E-BP1. However, the role of mEAK-7 in human cancer has not yet been identified. We demonstrate that mEAK-7 and mTOR signaling are strongly elevated in tumor and metastatic lymph nodes of patients with non-small-cell lung carcinoma compared with those of patients with normal lung or lymph tissue. Cancer stem cells, CD44+/CD90+ cells, yield elevated mEAK-7 and activated mTOR signaling. mEAK-7 is required for clonogenic potential and spheroid formation. mEAK-7 associates with DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit isoform 1 (DNA-PKcs), and this interaction is increased in response to X-ray irradiation to regulate S6K2 signaling. DNA-PKcs pharmacologic inhibition or genetic knockout reduced S6K2, mEAK-7, and mTOR binding with DNA-PKcs, resulting in loss of S6K2 activity and mTOR signaling. Therefore, mEAK-7 forms an alternative mTOR complex with DNA-PKcs to regulate S6K2 in human cancer cells

Wheat gluten and spray-dried plasma protein blends for nursery pigs

Using a 50:50 blend of spray-dried plasma protein (SDPP):spray-dried wheat gluten (WG) (i.e., with each as approximately 4% of the diet) gave the greatest ADG and ADFI, while reducing diet costs compared to the control diet (i.e., 8% SDPP). Even with a slight decrease in efficiency of gain, the marked decrease in diet cost will yield better cost of gain with a 50:50 blend versus using only SDPP.; Swine Day, Manhattan, KS, November 16, 199

Comparison of family centered care with family integrated care and mobile technology (mFICare) on preterm infant and family outcomes: a multi-site quasi-experimental clinical trial protocol.

BackgroundFamily Centered Care (FCC) has been widely adopted as the framework for caring for infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) but it is not uniformly defined or practiced, making it difficult to determine impact. Previous studies have shown that implementing the Family Integrated Care (FICare) intervention program for preterm infants in the NICU setting leads to significant improvements in infant and family outcomes. Further research is warranted to determine feasibility, acceptability and differential impact of FICare in the US context. The addition of a mobile application (app) may be effective in providing supplemental support for parent participation in the FICare program and provide detailed data on program component uptake and outcomes.MethodsThis exploratory multi-site quasi-experimental study will compare usual FCC with mobile enhanced FICare (mFICare) on growth and clinical outcomes of preterm infants born at or before 33 weeks gestational age, as well as the stress, competence and self-efficacy of their parents. The feasibility and acceptability of using mobile technology to gather data about parent involvement in the care of preterm infants receiving FCC or mFICare as well as of the mFICare intervention will be evaluated (Aim 1). The effect sizes for infant growth (primary outcome) and for secondary infant and parent outcomes at NICU discharge and three months after discharge will be estimated (Aim 2).DiscussionThis study will provide new data about the implementation of FICare in the US context within various hospital settings and identify important barriers, facilitators and key processes that may contribute to the effectiveness of FICare. It will also offer insights to clinicians on the feasibility of a new mobile application to support parent-focused research and promote integration of parents into the NICU care team in US hospital settings.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, ID NCT03418870. Retrospectively registered on December 18, 2017

Effects of lactulose on growth, carcass characteristics, faecal microbiota, and blood constituents in broilers

Citation: Mohammadi Gheisar, M., Nyachoti, C. M., Hancock, J. D., & Kim, I. H. (2016). Effects of lactulose on growth, carcass characteristics, faecal microbiota, and blood constituents in broilers. Veterinarni Medicina, 61(2), 90-96. doi:10.17221/8722-VETMEDThis study was conducted to determine the effect of supplementing diets with lactulose on growth performance, carcass characteristics, faecal microbiota, and blood constituents. A total of 324 one-day-old Ross 308 mixed-sex broiler chicks with an average initial body weight of 38 g were used in a 35-day growth assay. There were 18 birds/pen and six pens/treatment with food and water available ad libitum. Treatments consisted of a corn-soybean-meal-based diet with 0, 0.25 and 0.5% of lactulose. The results indicated that body weight gain (BWG) was improved (linear effect, P < 0.05) by increasing the concentration of lactulose in the diet from zero to 0.5% while the feed conversion ratio (FCR) decreased (linear effect, P < 0.05) for Days 8 to 21, 21 to 35, and overall (Day 0 to 35). Chickens fed the diet supplemented with 0.5% lactulose showed a higher relative weight of breast meat compared to other groups. Inclusion of lactulose decreased the count of Salmonella and E. coli in excreta of chickens fed diets containing 0.25 or 0.5% lactulose (P < 0.05), but the count of Lactobacillus was not affected. Drip loss percentage was decreased (P < 0.05) on Day 1 by addition of 0.5% lactulose, but there was no effect on meat colour. Blood characteristics were not influenced. Thus, it was concluded that inclusion of lactulose improves growth performance and alters excreta microbial populations with no adverse effect on broilers

Effects of dry-extruded whole soybeans on growth performance of nursery pigs and growth performance, carcass characteristics, and stomach morphology of finishing pigs

In a 3 I-d nursery experiment, replacing soybean meal (SBM) with dry-extruded whole soybeans (DEWS) tended to improve F/G (6% overall difference), but ADG was not affected. Adjusting the diet with DEWS to the nutrient:calorie ratio of the diet with SBM did not greatly improve growth performance compared to the diet that was simply formulated to the same concentration of lysine as the diet with SBM. In a second experiment (with finishing pigs), 50 and 100% of the SBM in a corn-based diet was replaced with DEWS. Replacement resulted in 2% greater ADG and 8% better F/G, without significantly increasing carcass fatness or the incidence of stomach ulcers. Our data suggest that DEWS are an acceptable (if not superior) alternative to SBM in diets for nursery and finishing pigs.; Swine Day, Manhattan, KS, November 16, 199

The effect of novel carbohydrate sources on nursery pig growth performance

Two growth assays were conducted to determine the effects of novel carbohydrate sources in Phase I and II starter diets on growth performance. In Exp. 1, 90 weanling pigs (avg initial body wt of 12.4 lb and 18 d of age) were used in a 38-d trial evaluating three carbohydrate sources: corn, tapioca, and rice flour. The carbohydrate sources were substituted for corn in diets formulated to 1.55 and 1.3% lysine for Phase I (d 0 to 10) and Phase II (d 10 to 24), respectively. All pigs were fed the same sorghum-soybean meal-based diet from d 24 to 38 post-weaning. For the overall experiment, pigs fed rice flour had greater average daily gain (ADG) compared with those fed tapioca, with those fed the diet containing corn having intermediate ADG. Pigs fed rice flour had improved feed to gain ratio (F/G) compared with those fed either corn or tapioca. In Exp. 2, 60 weanling pigs (avg initial body wt of 8.6 lb and 17 d of age) were used in a similar study to evaluate corn, ground sorghum, and roasted sorghum as the primary carbohydrate sources in Phase I and II diets. During d 0 to 10 post-weaning, pigs fed the corn diet had greater average daily feed intake (ADFI) than those fed the sorghum-based diets; however, no other differences in growth performance were observed during the experiment. These results suggest similar growth performance of starter pigs fed tapioca, sorghum, and roasted sorghum compared with those fed corn-based diets. However, pigs fed rice flour had improved F/G compared with those fed either corn or tapioca. Therefore, decisions on the use of novel carbohydrate sources in Phase I and II starter diets should be based on their price and availability relative to corn.; Swine Day, Manhattan, KS, November 17, 199

One-dimensional pattern of Au nanodots by ion-beam-sputtering: formation and mechanism

Highly ordered one-dimensional arrays of nanodots, or nanobeads, are fabricated by forming nanoripples and nanodots in sequence, entirely by ion-beamsputtering (IBS) of Au(001). This demonstrates the capability of IBS for the fabrication of sophisticated nanostructures via hierarchical self-assembly. The intricate nanobead pattern ideally serves to identify the governing mechanisms for the pattern formation: Non-linear effects, especially local redeposition and surface-confined transport, are essential both for the formation and the preservation of the pattern order