Origin of White and Brown Adipose Cells From Vascular Endothelium: A Dissertation

Obesity is associated with insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular disease. The current obesity epidemic is the result of surplus energy consumption. Excess energy is stored in expanding adipose tissue. Adipose tissue growth entails the enlargement of existing adipocytes, the formation of new fat cells from preexisting progenitors, and the coordinated development of supporting vasculature. Identifying adipocyte progenitors and the mechanism of adipose tissue expansion is crucial for the development of new strategies to combat obesity and its complications. Though important progress has been made towards understanding the developmental origin of adipocytes, the identities of adipocyte progenitors are still not completely known. The main objective of this study is to determine whether endothelial cells of the adipose tissue can give rise to new adipocytes. Our results indicate that murine endothelial cells of adipose tissue are pluripotent and can potentially give rise to preadipocytes. Lineage tracing experiments using the VE-Cadherin-Cre transgenic mouse reveal localization of reporter genes in endothelial cells, preadipocytes and white and brown adipocytes. Moreover, capillary sprouts from human adipose tissue, which have predominantly endothelial cell characteristics, are found to express Zfp423, a preadipocyte determination factor. In response to PPARγ activation, endothelial characteristics of sprouting cells are progressively lost, and cells form structurally and biochemically defined adipocytes. Taken together, our data support an endothelial origin of a population of adipocytes. The ability of the vascular endothelium to give rise to adipocytes may explain how angiogenesis and adipogenesis can be temporally and spatially coordinated. Analysis of BAT and WAT revealed that adipose depots have distinct compositions of adipocyte progenitors. Of the CD45-CD29+Sca1+CD24+ progenitor population, only 17% and 52% express VE-Cadherin in WAT and BAT, respectively. Our data show that the number of these specific progenitors in BAT and WAT are highly variable and suggest that a considerable number of adipocytes progenitors may have a non-endothelial cell origin. Differences in composition and types of adipocyte progenitors may explain the differences in the adipocytes phenotypes that we observe in discrete depots. In brief, we find that the vascular endothelium gives rise to a population of brown and white fat cells, and that the number of endothelial-derived adipocyte progenitors residing in BAT and WAT is highly variable. These results expand our current understanding of adipose tissue growth, and, we hope, will accelerate the development of treatments for obesity-related complications

selective dissolution of woody biomass under hydrothermal conditions

Abstract This study analyzes semi-continuous hydrothermal hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass operating between 200°C and 300°C with constant inlet water flow rate. Experiments were executed in a novel reactor system that offered a nearly linear temperature behavior during the heating period with heating rates between 40°C/min and 60 °C/min and a nearly flat temperature profile during retention. Experimental results suggest that conversion efficiency improved at higher temperatures. After completion of the batch, solid and liquid products were collected and mass balance closures reached an average of 89%. It was discovered that, regardless of the temperature, a minimum of 90% of the total dissolution occurs within the first 15 minutes of the reaction. This work identifies various stages and conditions that favor the dissolution of certain components (hemicellulose, cellulose or lignin)

HybridMingler: Towards Mixed-Reality Support for Mingling at Hybrid Conferences

Mingling, the activity of ad-hoc, private, opportunistic conversations ahead of, during, or after breaks, is an important socializing activity for attendees at scheduled events, such as in-person conferences. The Covid-19 pandemic had a dramatic impact on the way conferences are organized, so that most of them now take place in a hybrid mode where people can either attend on-site or remotely. While on-site attendees can resume in-person mingling, hybrid modes make it challenging for remote attendees to mingle with on-site peers. In addressing this problem, we propose a collaborative mixed-reality (MR) concept, including a prototype, called HybridMingler. This is a distributed MR system supporting ambient awareness and allowing both on-site and remote conference attendees to virtually mingle. HybridMingler aims to provide both on-site and remote attendees with a spatial sense of co-location in the very same venue location, thus ultimately improving perceived presence

On how religions could accidentally incite lies and violence: folktales as a cultural transmitter

Folklore has a critical role as a cultural transmitter, all the while being a socially accepted medium for the expressions of culturally contradicting wishes and conducts. In this study of Vietnamese folktales, through the use of Bayesian multilevel modeling and the Markov chain Monte Carlo technique, we offer empirical evidence for how the interplay between religious teachings (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism) and deviant behaviors (lying and violence) could affect a folktale’s outcome. The findings indicate that characters who lie and/or commit violent acts tend to have bad endings, as intuition would dictate, but when they are associated with any of the above Three Teachings, the final endings may vary. Positive outcomes are seen in cases where characters associated with Confucianism lie and characters associated with Buddhism act violently. The results supplement the worldwide literature on discrepancies between folklore and real-life conduct, as well as on the contradictory human behaviors vis-à-vis religious teachings. Overall, the study highlights the complexity of human decision-making, especially beyond the folklore realm

Coronary disease is not associated with robust alterations in inflammatory gene expression in human epicardial fat

Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is the visceral fat depot of the heart. Inflammation of EAT is thought to contribute to coronary artery disease (CAD). Therefore, we hypothesized that the EAT of patients with CAD would have increased inflammatory gene expression compared with controls without CAD. Cardiac surgery patients with (n = 13) or without CAD (n = 13) were consented, and samples of EAT and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) were obtained. Transcriptomic analysis was performed using Affymetrix Human Gene 1.0 ST arrays. Differential expression was defined as a 1.5-fold change (ANOVA P \u3c 0.05). Six hundred ninety-three genes were differentially expressed between SAT and EAT in controls and 805 in cases. Expression of 326 genes was different between EAT of cases and controls; expression of 14 genes was increased in cases, while 312 were increased in controls. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR confirmed that there was no difference in expression of CCL2, CCR2, TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-8, and PAI1 between groups. Immunohistochemistry showed more macrophages in EAT than SAT, but there was no difference in their number or activation state between groups. In contrast to prior studies, we did not find increased inflammatory gene expression in the EAT of patients with CAD. We conclude that the specific adipose tissue depot, rather than CAD status, is responsible for the majority of differential gene expression

How Digital Natives Learn and Thrive in the Digital Age: Evidence from an Emerging Economy

As a generation of ‘digital natives,’ secondary students who were born from 2002 to 2010 have various approaches to acquiring digital knowledge. Digital literacy and resilience are crucial for them to navigate the digital world as much as the real world; however, these remain under-researched subjects, especially in developing countries. In Vietnam, the education system has put considerable effort into teaching students these skills to promote quality education as part of the United Nations-defined Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4). This issue has proven especially salient amid the COVID−19 pandemic lockdowns, which had obliged most schools to switch to online forms of teaching. This study, which utilizes a dataset of 1061 Vietnamese students taken from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s “Digital Kids Asia Pacific (DKAP)” project, employs Bayesian statistics to explore the relationship between the students’ background and their digital abilities. Results show that economic status and parents’ level of education are positively correlated with digital literacy. Students from urban schools have only a slightly higher level of digital literacy than their rural counterparts, suggesting that school location may not be a defining explanatory element in the variation of digital literacy and resilience among Vietnamese students. Students’ digital literacy and, especially resilience, also have associations with their gender. Moreover, as students are digitally literate, they are more likely to be digitally resilient. Following SDG4, i.e., Quality Education, it is advisable for schools, and especially parents, to seriously invest in creating a safe, educational environment to enhance digital literacy among students

Prognosis of neonatal tetanus in the modern management era: an observational study in 107 Vietnamese infants.

OBJECTIVES: Most data regarding the prognosis in neonatal tetanus originate from regions where limited resources have historically impeded management. It is not known whether recent improvements in critical care facilities in many low- and middle-income countries have affected indicators of a poor prognosis in neonatal tetanus. We aimed to determine the factors associated with worse outcomes in a Vietnamese hospital with neonatal intensive care facilities. METHODS: Data were collected from 107 cases of neonatal tetanus. Clinical features on admission were analyzed against mortality and a combined endpoint of 'death or prolonged hospital stay'. RESULTS: Multivariable analysis showed that only younger age (odds ratio (OR) for mortality 0.69, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.48-0.98) and lower weight (OR for mortality 0.06, 95% CI 0.01-0.54) were significantly associated with both the combined endpoint and death. A shorter period of onset (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.88-0.99), raised white cell count (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.02-1.35), and time between first symptom and admission (OR 3.77, 95% CI 1.14-12.51) were also indicators of mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Risk factors for a poor outcome in neonatal tetanus in a setting with critical care facilities include younger age, lower weight, delay in admission, and leukocytosis