Altered functional connectivity within the central reward network in overweight and obese women.

Background/objectivesNeuroimaging studies in obese subjects have identified abnormal activation of key regions of central reward circuits, including the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), in response to food-related stimuli. We aimed to examine whether women with elevated body mass index (BMI) show structural and resting state (RS) functional connectivity alterations within regions of the reward network.Subjects/methodsFifty healthy, premenopausal women, 19 overweight and obese (high BMI=26-38 kg m(-2)) and 31 lean (BMI=19-25 kg m(-2)) were selected from the University of California Los Angeles' Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress database. Structural and RS functional scans were collected. Group differences in grey matter volume (GMV) of the NAcc, oscillation dynamics of intrinsic brain activity and functional connectivity of the NAcc to regions within the reward network were examined.ResultsGMV of the left NAcc was significantly greater in the high BMI group than in the lean group (P=0.031). Altered frequency distributions were observed in women with high BMI compared with lean group in the left NAcc (P=0.009) in a medium-frequency (MF) band, and in bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (P=0.014, <0.001) and ventro-medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) (P=0.034, <0.001) in a high-frequency band. Subjects with high BMI had greater connectivity of the left NAcc with bilateral ACC (P=0.024) and right vmPFC (P=0.032) in a MF band and with the left ACC (P=0.03) in a high frequency band.ConclusionsOverweight and obese women in the absence of food-related stimuli show significant structural and functional alterations within regions of reward-related brain networks, which may have a role in altered ingestive behaviors

The effect of the GLP-1 analogue Exenatide on functional connectivity within an NTS-based network in women with and without obesity.

ObjectiveThe differential effect of GLP-1 agonist Exenatide on functional connectivity of the nucleus tractus solitaries (NTS), a key region associated with homeostasis, and on appetite-related behaviours was investigated in women with normal weight compared with women with obesity.MethodsFollowing an 8-h fast, 19 female subjects (11 lean, 8 obese) participated in a 2-d double blind crossover study. Subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging at fast and 30-min post subcutaneous injection of 5 μg of Exenatide or placebo. Functional connectivity was examined with the NTS. Drug-induced functional connectivity changes within and between groups and correlations with appetite measures were examined in a region of interest approach focusing on the thalamus and hypothalamus.ResultsWomen with obesity reported less hunger after drug injection. Exenatide administration increased functional connectivity of the left NTS with the left thalamus and hypothalamus in the obese group only and increased the correlation between NTS functional connectivity and hunger scores in all subjects, but more so in the obese.ConclusionsObesity can impact the effects of Exenatide on brain connectivity, specifically in the NTS and is linked to changes in appetite control. This has implications for the use of GLP-1 analogues in therapeutic interventions

History of early life adversity is associated with increased food addiction and sex-specific alterations in reward network connectivity in obesity.

Background:Neuroimaging studies have identified obesity-related differences in the brain's resting state activity. An imbalance between homeostatic and reward aspects of ingestive behaviour may contribute to obesity and food addiction. The interactions between early life adversity (ELA), the reward network and food addiction were investigated to identify obesity and sex-related differences, which may drive obesity and food addiction. Methods:Functional resting state magnetic resonance imaging was acquired in 186 participants (high body mass index [BMI]: ≥25: 53 women and 54 men; normal BMI: 18.50-24.99: 49 women and 30 men). Participants completed questionnaires to assess ELA (Early Traumatic Inventory) and food addiction (Yale Food Addiction Scale). A tripartite network analysis based on graph theory was used to investigate the interaction between ELA, brain connectivity and food addiction. Interactions were determined by computing Spearman rank correlations, thresholded at q < 0.05 corrected for multiple comparisons. Results:Participants with high BMI demonstrate an association between ELA and food addiction, with reward regions playing a role in this interaction. Among women with high BMI, increased ELA was associated with increased centrality of reward and emotion regulation regions. Men with high BMI showed associations between ELA and food addiction with somatosensory regions playing a role in this interaction. Conclusions:The findings suggest that ELA may alter brain networks, leading to increased vulnerability for food addiction and obesity later in life. These alterations are sex specific and involve brain regions influenced by dopaminergic or serotonergic signalling

Diverse LEF/TCF Expression in Human Colorectal Cancer Correlates with Altered Wnt-Regulated Transcriptome in a Meta-Analysis of Patient Biopsies

Funding: CM acknowledges funding from the Scottish Government: Rural & Environment Science & Analytical Services. (RESAS). SH is a Royal Society/Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellow (SRF\R1\191017) and acknowledges research funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/S018190/1, BB/M001695/1). Author Contributions: C.-D.M. and S.H. had conceived and supervised this project; C.-D.M. curated the data and carried out some analysis; S.M.L.G., carried out most of the analysis; F.A. wrote an original draft together with Stefan Hoppler. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. Supplementary Materials: The following are available online at www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/11/5/538/s1: Figure S1: Principal Component Analysis of selected studies, Figure S2: Principal Component Analysis of de-selected study, Table S1: Transcriptomics Data (Correlation Coefficients) Table S1A: Transcript correlation between eight selected genes (TCF7, LEF1, TCF7L1, TCF7L2, AXIN2, DKK1, FZD7, LGR5); Table S1B: The TCF7-correlated transcriptome; Table S1C: The LEF1correlated transcriptome; Table S1D: The TCF7L1-correlated transcriptome; Table S1E: The TCF7L2-correlated transcriptome; Table S1F: The AXIN2-correlated transcriptome; Table S1G: The DKK1-correlated transcriptome; Table S1H: The FZD7-correlated transcriptome; Table S1I: The LGR5-correlated transcriptome; Table S1J: Differences in LEF/TCF-correlated transcriptomes; Table S1K: Differences between AXIN2- and LEF/TCF-correlated transcriptomes, Table S2: Correlated Transcriptome in normal and tumor tissue, Table S3: Comparison of LEF/TCF-correlated transcriptomes, Table S4: Differences between AXIN1- and LEF/TCF-correlated transcriptomes.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Extreme right-wing voting in Western Europe

In this study we explain extreme right-wing voting behaviour in the countries of the European Union and Norway from a micro and macro perspective. Using a multidisciplinary multilevel approach, we take into account individual-level social background characteristics and public opinion alongside country characteristics and characteristics of extreme right-wing parties themselves. By making use of large-scale survey data (N = 49,801) together with country-level statistics and expert survey data, we are able to explain extreme right-wing voting behaviour from this multilevel perspective. Our results show that cross-national differences in support of extreme right-wing parties are particularly due to differences in public opinion on immigration and democracy, the number of non-Western residents in a country and, above all, to party characteristics of the extreme right-wing parties themselves

High accuracy power spectra including baryonic physics in dynamical Dark Energy models

The next generation mass probes will obtain information on non--linear power spectra P(k,z) and their evolution, allowing us to investigate the nature of Dark Energy. To exploit such data we need high precision simulations, extending at least up to scales of k 10 h/Mpc, where the effects of baryons can no longer be neglected. In this paper, we present a series of large scale hydrodynamical simulations for LCDM and dynamical Dark Energy (dDE) models, in which the equation of state parameter is z-dependent. The simulations include gas cooling, star formation and Supernovae feedback. They closely approximate the observed star formation rate and the observationally derived star/Dark Matter mass ratio in collapsed systems. Baryon dynamics cause spectral shifts exceeding 1% at k > 2-3 h/Mpc compared to pure n-body simulations in the LCDM simulations. This agrees with previous studies, although we find a smaller effect (~50%) on the power spectrum amplitude at higher k's. dDE exhibits similar behavior, even though the dDE simulations produce ~20% less stars than the analogous LCDM cosmologies. Finally, we show that the technique introduced in Casarini et al. to obtain spectra for any $w(z)$ cosmology from constant-w models at any redshift still holds when gas physics is taken into account. While this relieves the need to explore the entire functional space of dark energy state equations, we illustrate a severe risk that future data analysis could lead to misinterpretation of the DE state equation.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures, minor changes to match the accepted version, MNRAS in pres

Firefighter hood contamination: Efficiency of laundering to remove PAHs and FRs

Firefighters are occupationally exposed to products of combustion containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and flame retardants (FRs), potentially contributing to their increased risk for certain cancers. Personal protective equipment (PPE), including firefighter hoods, helps to reduce firefighters’exposure to toxic substances during fire responses by providing a layer of material on which contaminants deposit prior to reaching the firefighters skin.However, over time hoods that retain some contamination may actually contribute to fire-fighters’systemic dose. We investigated the effectiveness of laundering to reduce or remove contamination on the hoods, specifically PAHs and three classes of FRs: polybrominateddiphenyl ethers (PBDEs), non-PBDE flame retardants (NPBFRs), and organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs). Participants in the study were grouped into crews of 12 firefighters who worked in pairs by job assignment while responding to controlled fires in a single-family resi-dential structure. For each pair of firefighters, one hood was laundered after every scenario and one was not. Bulk samples of the routinely laundered and unlaundered hoods from five pairs of firefighters were collected and analyzed. Residual levels of OPFRs, NPBFRs, and PAHs were lower in the routinely laundered hoods, with total levels of each class of chemicals being 56–81% lower, on average, than the unlaundered hoods. PBDEs, on average, were 43% higherin the laundered hoods, most likely from cross contamination. After this initial testing, four of the five unlaundered exposed hoods were subsequently laundered with other heavily exposed (unlaundered) and unexposed (new) hoods. Post-laundering evaluation of these hoods revealed increased levels of PBDEs, NPBFRs, and OPFRs in both previously exposed and unexposed hoods, indicating cross contamination. For PAHs, there was little evidence of cross contamination and the exposed hoods were significantly less contaminated after laundering (76%reduction; p¼0.011). Further research is needed to understand how residual contamination on hoods could contribute to firefighters’systemic exposures

Actualidad y futuro de un programa de mejora en el ganado vacuno de raza retinta

We describe the present process of genetic improvement in Retinto cattle breed and the investigations supporting the selection program. The effects of different environmental factors have been analyzed. We have obtained the coefficients of correction for the significant effects for the repeatability of the variables and for the inbreeding coefficients. Also improvement plans are proposed.Se describen el proceso de mejora genética en ganado vacuno Retinto y los trabajos de investigación para proporcionar bases científicas al programa de selección. Se han analizado los efectos de distintas variables ambientales y obtenido coeficientes de corrección para los efectos significativos, la repetibilidades de los distintas variables y los coeficientes de consanguinidad para las poblaciones. Así mismo se proponen acciones de mejora para el futuro

Productive characterization of the Retinto beef cattle

We have studied 1863 animals, including males, females and offsprings, from the Retinto breed of cattle, belonging to different farmers in the Cadiz province. The effect of birth type, offspring sex, month of the birth, type of reproduction (artificial or natural insemination), age of the female and year of control, on weight and daily gains have been analyzed. These data can be used to characterize this breed.Se estudian 1863 animales de raza vacuna Retinta, entre crías madres y sementales, pertenecientes a ganaderías de la provincia de Cádiz, para inferir los efectos sobre pesos y ganancias diarias, del tipo de parto, el sexo del producto, mes de nacimiento, tipo de reproducción (I.A. o monta natural), edad de la madre, y año de control y contar asimismo con datos que permitan caracterizar la raza y fijar sus límites de fluctuación