Análisis de la expresión diferencial de genes involucrados en las vías metabólicas responsables de la síntesis de antocianinas en frutos de Fragaria chilensis ssp. chiloensis f. chiloensis y Fragaria chiloensis ssp. chilensis f. patagónica

133 p.El objetivo de la tesis doctoral fue realizar un estudio comparativo de la pigmentación de fruto dentro de las dos formas botánicas de Fragaria chiloensis ssp. chiloensis. El estudio fue abordado a nivel transcripcional y químico. Para ello, frutos de ambas formas botánicas, f. chiloensis (frutilla nativa blanca) y f. patagonica (frutilla nativa roja), fueron recolectados en cuatro distintos estadios de desarrollo y maduración (verde pequeño, verde grande, blanco y maduro). A partir de fruto completo, sus órganos constituyentes (receptáculo y aquenio) y tejidos, se analizaron los perfiles transcripcionales de genes estructurales y regulatorios (factores de transcripción) involucrados en las vías de biosíntesis de compuestos fenilpropanoides responsables de la formación de antocianinas a lo largo de los diferentes estadios. Mediante este exhaustivo análisis transcripcional, se seleccionó uno de los genes regulatorios, FcMYB1, debido a su expresión diferencial detectada entre receptáculo de fruto rojo y blanco. El ortólogo de este gen aislado en frutilla comercial demostró ser un supresor de la acumulación de pigmentos antociánicos en el sistema heterólogo de Nicotiana. Para caracterizar su función de manera homóloga en Fragaria chiloensis ssp. chiloensis f. chiloensis, frutos de frutilla blanca en estadio verde grande fueron agroinyectados con una cepa de A. tumefaciens portadora de una construcción de RNAi para FcMYB1 y cosechados en estadio maduro. Este trabajo demostró que la supresión génica del factor de transcripción FcMYB1 propició la aparición de un fenotipo de frutos más pigmentados que los frutos control agroinyectados con vector vacío. Consecuentemente, los genes flavonoides finales relacionados con la biosíntesis de proantocianidinas mostraron niveles muy bajos de transcritos de leucoantocianidina reductasa (LAR) y antocianidina reductasa (ANR) en contraste con los niveles aumentados de transcritos de genes directamente relacionados con la biosíntesis de pigmentos antociánicos, antocianidina sintasa (ANS) y UDP-glicosiltransfersa (UFGT). Esta redirección a nivel transcripcional de la vía flavonoides coincidió con una mayor acumulación de antocianinas en frutos agroinyectados con la construcción RNAi-FcMYB1 detectadas por HPLC-DAD. En conclusión, por medio del estudio comparativo en frutos contrastantes en pigmentación de una misma especie de frutilla, se detectaron diferencias en los niveles de transcritos de genes estructurales y regulatorios. Tras este análisis se seleccionó un factor de transcripción que demostró ser importante en la producción de pigmentos en esta especie. Los genes diferencialmente expresados (estructurales y/o regulatorios) identificados en esta investigación pueden ser empleados como marcadores moleculares para asistir los programas de mejoramiento genético de frutilla./ABSTRACT: The aim of this doctoral thesis was to perform a comparative study of the fruit pigmentation of two botanical forms of Fragaria chiloensis ssp. chiloensis. The study was carried out at the transcriptional and chemical level. For this purpose, fruits of both botanical forms, f. chiloensis (white native strawberry) and f. patagonica (red native strawberry), were collected and sorted in four distinct developmental and ripening stages (small green, large green, white and ripe). From whole fruit, their constituent organs (receptacle and achene) and tissues, the transcriptional profiles of structural and regulatory (transcription factors) genes involved in anthocyanin related biosynthesis pathways were assessed among the different stages. By means of this exhaustive transcriptional analysis, FcMYB1, a regulatoty gene was selected due to its differential expression detected between the receptacle of red and white fruits. Its orthologous gene isolated from the commercial strawberry demonstrated it to be a suppressor of the anthocyanin pigment as shown by accumulation in the heterologous system Nicotiana. For characterizing its function in a homologue manner in Fragaria chiloensis ssp. chiloensis f. chiloensis, fruits of white strawberry at large green stage were agroinjected with an A. tumefaciens strain bearing a RNAi construct for FcMYB1 and collected at ripe stage. According to this work, the gene suppression of this FT FcMYB1 favored a more pigmented phenotype in these fruits than in control fruits agroinjected with empty vector. Consequently, the final flavonoid genes related with proanthocyanidin biosynthesis showed very low levels of leucoanthocyanidin reductase (LAR) and anthocyanidin reductase (ANR) in contrast to the elevated transcript levels of genes closely related to anthocyanic pigment biosynthesis, anthocyanidin synthase (ANS) y UDP-glycosyltransferse (UFGT). This flavonoid pathway redirection at the transcriptional level coincided with a greater accumulation of anthocyanin in RNAi-FcMYB1 agroinjected fruits assessed by HPLC-DAD. In conclusion, through this comparative study carried out in fruits with contrasting pigmentation in the same strawberry species, differences in transcript levels of structural and regulatory genes were detected. After this analysis, a transcription factor that proved to be important in the pigment production in this specie was selected. Differentially expressed (structural and/or regulatory) genes identified in this research could be used as molecular markers for assisting strawberry breeding programs

Spin Reduction Transition in Spin-3/2 Random Heisenberg Chains

Random spin-3/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chains are investigated using an asymptotically exact renormalization group. Randomness is found to induce a quantum phase transition between two random-singlet phases. In the strong randomness phase the effective spins at low energies are S_eff=3/2, while in the weak randomness phase the effective spins are S_eff=1/2. Separating them is a quantum critical point near which there is a non-trivial mixture of S=1/2, S=1, and S=3/2 effective spins at low temperatures.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Typos correcte

Rapid diagnostic test for antenatal syphilis screening in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES: To undertake a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the test performance including sensitivity and specificity of rapid immunochromatographic syphilis (ICS) point-of-care (POC) tests at antenatal clinics compared with reference standard tests (non-treponemal (TP) and TP tests) for active syphilis in pregnant women. METHODS: Five electronic databases were searched (PubMed, EMBASE, CRD, Cochrane Library and LILACS) to March 2016 for diagnostic accuracy studies of ICS test and standard reference tests for syphilis in pregnant women. Methodological quality was assessed using QUADAS-2 (Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies). A bivariate meta-analysis was undertaken to generate pooled estimates of diagnostic parameters. Results were presented using a coupled forest plot of sensitivity and specificity and a scatter plot. RESULTS: The methodological quality of the five included studies with regards to risk of bias and applicability concern judgements was either low or unclear. One study was judged as high risk of bias for patient selection due to exclusion of pregnant women with a previous history of syphilis, and one study was judged at high risk of bias for study flow and timing as not all patients were included in the analysis. Five studies contributed to the meta-analysis, providing a pooled sensitivity and specificity for ICS of 0.85 (95% CrI: 0.73 to 0.92) and 0.98 (95% CrI: 0.95 to 0.99), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This review and meta-analysis observed that rapid ICS POC tests have a high sensitivity and specificity when performed in pregnant women at antenatal clinics. However, the methodological quality of the existing evidence base should be taken into consideration when interpreting these results. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42016036335

Modeling Life as Cognitive Info-Computation

This article presents a naturalist approach to cognition understood as a network of info-computational, autopoietic processes in living systems. It provides a conceptual framework for the unified view of cognition as evolved from the simplest to the most complex organisms, based on new empirical and theoretical results. It addresses three fundamental questions: what cognition is, how cognition works and what cognition does at different levels of complexity of living organisms. By explicating the info-computational character of cognition, its evolution, agent-dependency and generative mechanisms we can better understand its life-sustaining and life-propagating role. The info-computational approach contributes to rethinking cognition as a process of natural computation in living beings that can be applied for cognitive computation in artificial systems.Comment: Manuscript submitted to Computability in Europe CiE 201

Effect of embryo vitrification on the steroid biosynthesis of liver tissue in rabbit offspring

[EN] Preimplantation embryo manipulations during standard assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have significant repercussions on offspring. However, few studies to date have investigated the potential long-term outcomes associated with the vitrification procedure. Here, we performed an experiment to unravel the particular effects related to stress induced by embryo transfer and vitrification techniques on offspring phenotype from the foetal period through to prepuberal age, using a rabbit model. In addition, the focus was extended to the liver function at prepuberal age. We showed that, compared to naturally conceived animals (NC), offspring derived after embryo exposure to the transfer procedure (FT) or cryopreservation-transfer procedure (VT) exhibited variation in growth and body weight from foetal life to prepuberal age. Strikingly, we found a nonlinear relationship between FT and VT stressors, most of which were already present in the FT animals. Furthermore, we displayed evidence of variation in liver function at prepuberal age, most of which occurred in both FT and VT animals. The present major novel finding includes a significant alteration of the steroid biosynthesis profile. In summary, here we provide that embryonic manipulation during the vitrification process is linked with embryo phenotypic adaptation detected from foetal life to prepuberal age and suggests that this phenotypic variation may be associated, to a great extent, with the effect of embryo transfer.This research was funded by Conselleria d'Educacio, Investigacio, Cultura i Esport, Spain, grant number AICO/2019/272. Ximo Garcia-Dominguez was supported by a research grant from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness of Spain (BES-2015-072429).Marco-Jiménez, F.; Garcia-Dominguez, X.; Domínguez-Martínez, M.; Viudes-De-Castro, MP.; Diretto, G.; Peñaranda, D.; Vicente Antón, JS. (2020). Effect of embryo vitrification on the steroid biosynthesis of liver tissue in rabbit offspring. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 21(22):1-17. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21228642S1172122Novakovic, B., Lewis, S., Halliday, J., Kennedy, J., Burgner, D. P., Czajko, A., … Saffery, R. (2019). Assisted reproductive technologies are associated with limited epigenetic variation at birth that largely resolves by adulthood. Nature Communications, 10(1). doi:10.1038/s41467-019-11929-9Roseboom, T. J. (2018). Developmental plasticity and its relevance to assisted human reproduction. Human Reproduction, 33(4), 546-552. doi:10.1093/humrep/dey034Fleming, T. P., Watkins, A. J., Velazquez, M. A., Mathers, J. C., Prentice, A. M., Stephenson, J., … Godfrey, K. M. (2018). Origins of lifetime health around the time of conception: causes and consequences. The Lancet, 391(10132), 1842-1852. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(18)30312-xDulioust, E., Toyama, K., Busnel, M. C., Moutier, R., Carlier, M., Marchaland, C., … Auroux, M. (1995). Long-term effects of embryo freezing in mice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 92(2), 589-593. doi:10.1073/pnas.92.2.589Auroux, M., Cerutti, I., Ducot, B., & Loeuillet, A. (2004). Is embryo-cryopreservation really neutral? Reproductive Toxicology, 18(6), 813-818. doi:10.1016/j.reprotox.2004.04.010Vicente, J. S., Saenz-de-Juano, M. D., Jiménez-Trigos, E., Viudes-de-Castro, M. P., Peñaranda, D. S., & Marco-Jiménez, F. (2013). Rabbit morula vitrification reduces early foetal growth and increases losses throughout gestation. Cryobiology, 67(3), 321-326. doi:10.1016/j.cryobiol.2013.09.165Saenz-de-Juano, M. D., Marco-Jimenez, F., Schmaltz-Panneau, B., Jimenez-Trigos, E., Viudes-de-Castro, M. P., Peñaranda, D. S., … Vicente, J. S. (2014). Vitrification alters rabbit foetal placenta at transcriptomic and proteomic level. REPRODUCTION, 147(6), 789-801. doi:10.1530/rep-14-0019Saenz-de-Juano, M. D., Vicente, J. S., Hollung, K., & Marco-Jiménez, F. (2015). Effect of Embryo Vitrification on Rabbit Foetal Placenta Proteome during Pregnancy. PLOS ONE, 10(4), e0125157. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0125157Berntsen, S., & Pinborg, A. (2018). Large for gestational age and macrosomia in singletons born after frozen/thawed embryo transfer (FET) in assisted reproductive technology (ART). Birth Defects Research, 110(8), 630-643. doi:10.1002/bdr2.1219Maheshwari, A., Pandey, S., Amalraj Raja, E., Shetty, A., Hamilton, M., & Bhattacharya, S. (2017). Is frozen embryo transfer better for mothers and babies? Can cumulative meta-analysis provide a definitive answer? Human Reproduction Update, 24(1), 35-58. doi:10.1093/humupd/dmx031Garcia-Dominguez, X., Vicente, J. S., & Marco-Jiménez, F. (2020). Developmental Plasticity in Response to Embryo Cryopreservation: The Importance of the Vitrification Device in Rabbits. Animals, 10(5), 804. doi:10.3390/ani10050804Kohda, T. (2013). Effects of embryonic manipulation and epigenetics. Journal of Human Genetics, 58(7), 416-420. doi:10.1038/jhg.2013.61Canovas, S., Ross, P. J., Kelsey, G., & Coy, P. (2017). DNA Methylation in Embryo Development: Epigenetic Impact of ART (Assisted Reproductive Technologies). BioEssays, 39(11), 1700106. doi:10.1002/bies.201700106Canovas, S., Ivanova, E., Romar, R., García-Martínez, S., Soriano-Úbeda, C., García-Vázquez, F. A., … Coy, P. (2017). DNA methylation and gene expression changes derived from assisted reproductive technologies can be decreased by reproductive fluids. eLife, 6. doi:10.7554/elife.23670Ivanova, E., Canovas, S., Garcia-Martínez, S., Romar, R., Lopes, J. S., Rizos, D., … Coy, P. (2020). DNA methylation changes during preimplantation development reveal inter-species differences and reprogramming events at imprinted genes. Clinical Epigenetics, 12(1). doi:10.1186/s13148-020-00857-xGarcía-Martínez, S., Sánchez Hurtado, M. A., Gutiérrez, H., Sánchez Margallo, F. M., Romar, R., Latorre, R., … López Albors, O. (2018). Mimicking physiological O2 tension in the female reproductive tract improves assisted reproduction outcomes in pig. MHR: Basic science of reproductive medicine, 24(5), 260-270. doi:10.1093/molehr/gay008Ng, K. Y. B., Mingels, R., Morgan, H., Macklon, N., & Cheong, Y. (2017). In vivo oxygen, temperature and pH dynamics in the female reproductive tract and their importance in human conception: a systematic review. Human Reproduction Update, 24(1), 15-34. doi:10.1093/humupd/dmx028Marchesi, D., Qiao, J., & Feng, H. (2012). Embryo Manipulation and Imprinting. Seminars in Reproductive Medicine, 30(04), 323-334. doi:10.1055/s-0032-1320013Ramos‐Ibeas, P., Heras, S., Gómez‐Redondo, I., Planells, B., Fernández‐González, R., Pericuesta, E., … Gutiérrez‐Adán, A. (2019). Embryo responses to stress induced by assisted reproductive technologies. Molecular Reproduction and Development, 86(10), 1292-1306. doi:10.1002/mrd.23119Vrooman, L. A., & Bartolomei, M. S. (2017). Can assisted reproductive technologies cause adult-onset disease? Evidence from human and mouse. Reproductive Toxicology, 68, 72-84. doi:10.1016/j.reprotox.2016.07.015Chen, M., & Heilbronn, L. K. (2017). The health outcomes of human offspring conceived by assisted reproductive technologies (ART). Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, 8(4), 388-402. doi:10.1017/s2040174417000228Duranthon, V., & Chavatte-Palmer, P. (2018). Long term effects of ART: What do animals tell us? Molecular Reproduction and Development, 85(4), 348-368. doi:10.1002/mrd.22970Leibo, S. P., & Sztein, J. M. (2019). Cryopreservation of mammalian embryos: Derivation of a method. Cryobiology, 86, 1-9. doi:10.1016/j.cryobiol.2019.01.007Sparks, A. (2015). Human Embryo Cryopreservation—Methods, Timing, and other Considerations for Optimizing an Embryo Cryopreservation Program. Seminars in Reproductive Medicine, 33(02), 128-144. doi:10.1055/s-0035-1546826De Geyter, C., Calhaz-Jorge, C., Kupka, M. S., Wyns, C., Mocanu, E., Motrenko, T., … Goossens, V. (2020). ART in Europe, 2015: results generated from European registries by ESHRE†. Human Reproduction Open, 2020(1). doi:10.1093/hropen/hoz038Saenz-de-Juano, M., Marco-Jimenez, F., Viudes-de-Castro, M., Lavara, R., & Vicente, J. (2014). Direct Comparison of the Effects of Slow Freezing and Vitrification on Late Blastocyst Gene Expression, Development, Implantation and Offspring of Rabbit Morulae. Reproduction in Domestic Animals, 49(3), 505-511. doi:10.1111/rda.12320Garcia-Dominguez, X., Marco-Jiménez, F., Peñaranda, D. S., & Vicente, J. S. (2020). Long-Term Phenotypic and Proteomic Changes Following Vitrified Embryo Transfer in the Rabbit Model. Animals, 10(6), 1043. doi:10.3390/ani10061043Lavara, R., Baselga, M., Marco-Jiménez, F., & Vicente, J. S. (2015). Embryo vitrification in rabbits: Consequences for progeny growth. Theriogenology, 84(5), 674-680. doi:10.1016/j.theriogenology.2015.04.025Lavara, R., Baselga, M., Marco-Jiménez, F., & Vicente, J. S. (2014). Long-term and transgenerational effects of cryopreservation on rabbit embryos. Theriogenology, 81(7), 988-992. doi:10.1016/j.theriogenology.2014.01.030Garcia-Dominguez, X., Marco-Jiménez, F., Peñaranda, D. S., Diretto, G., García-Carpintero, V., Cañizares, J., & Vicente, J. S. (2020). Long-term and transgenerational phenotypic, transcriptional and metabolic effects in rabbit males born following vitrified embryo transfer. Scientific Reports, 10(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-020-68195-9Feuer, S., & Rinaudo, P. (2016). From Embryos to Adults: A DOHaD Perspective on In Vitro Fertilization and Other Assisted Reproductive Technologies. Healthcare, 4(3), 51. doi:10.3390/healthcare4030051Zandstra, H., Brentjens, L. B. P. M., Spauwen, B., Touwslager, R. N. H., Bons, J. A. P., Mulder, A. L., … Van Montfoort, A. P. A. (2018). Association of culture medium with growth, weight and cardiovascular development of IVF children at the age of 9 years. Human Reproduction, 33(9), 1645-1656. doi:10.1093/humrep/dey246Chen, L., Yang, T., Zheng, Z., Yu, H., Wang, H., & Qin, J. (2018). Birth prevalence of congenital malformations in singleton pregnancies resulting from in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection worldwide: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 297(5), 1115-1130. doi:10.1007/s00404-018-4712-xZhang, W. Y., Selamet Tierney, E. S., Chen, A. C., Ling, A. Y., Fleischmann, R. R., & Baker, V. L. (2019). Vascular Health of Children Conceived via In Vitro Fertilization. The Journal of Pediatrics, 214, 47-53. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2019.07.033Guo, X.-Y., Liu, X.-M., Jin, L., Wang, T.-T., Ullah, K., Sheng, J.-Z., & Huang, H.-F. (2017). Cardiovascular and metabolic profiles of offspring conceived by assisted reproductive technologies: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Fertility and Sterility, 107(3), 622-631.e5. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2016.12.007Feuer, S. K., Liu, X., Donjacour, A., Simbulan, R., Maltepe, E., & Rinaudo, P. (2017). Transcriptional signatures throughout development: the effects of mouse embryo manipulation in vitro. Reproduction, 153(1), 107-122. doi:10.1530/rep-16-0473Feuer, S. K., & Rinaudo, P. F. (2017). Physiological, metabolic and transcriptional postnatal phenotypes ofin vitrofertilization (IVF) in the mouse. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, 8(4), 403-410. doi:10.1017/s204017441700023xEcker, D. J., Stein, P., Xu, Z., Williams, C. J., Kopf, G. S., Bilker, W. B., … Schultz, R. M. (2004). Long-term effects of culture of preimplantation mouse embryos on behavior. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101(6), 1595-1600. doi:10.1073/pnas.0306846101Fauque, P., Mondon, F., Letourneur, F., Ripoche, M.-A., Journot, L., Barbaux, S., … Vaiman, D. (2010). In Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Culture Strongly Impact the Placental Transcriptome in the Mouse Model. PLoS ONE, 5(2), e9218. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0009218Fernandez-Gonzalez, R., Ramirez, M. A., Pericuesta, E., Calle, A., & Gutierrez-Adan, A. (2010). Histone Modifications at the Blastocyst Axin1Fu Locus Mark the Heritability of In Vitro Culture-Induced Epigenetic Alterations in Mice1. Biology of Reproduction, 83(5), 720-727. doi:10.1095/biolreprod.110.084715Fernandez-Gonzalez, R., Moreira, P., Bilbao, A., Jimenez, A., Perez-Crespo, M., Ramirez, M. A., … Gutierrez-Adan, A. (2004). Long-term effect of in vitro culture of mouse embryos with serum on mRNA expression of imprinting genes, development, and behavior. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101(16), 5880-5885. doi:10.1073/pnas.0308560101Winick, M., & Noble, A. (1965). Quantitative changes in DNA, RNA, and protein during prenatal and postnatal growth in the rat. Developmental Biology, 12(3), 451-466. doi:10.1016/0012-1606(65)90009-6Saenz-de-Juano, M. D., Marco-Jiménez, F., & Vicente, J. S. (2016). Embryo transfer manipulation cause gene expression variation in blastocysts that disrupt implantation and offspring rates at birth in rabbit. European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, 207, 50-55. doi:10.1016/j.ejogrb.2016.10.049Delle Piane, L., Lin, W., Liu, X., Donjacour, A., Minasi, P., Revelli, A., … Rinaudo, P. F. (2010). Effect of the method of conception and embryo transfer procedure on mid-gestation placenta and fetal development in an IVF mouse model. Human Reproduction, 25(8), 2039-2046. doi:10.1093/humrep/deq165Wale, P. L., & Gardner, D. K. (2015). The effects of chemical and physical factors on mammalian embryo culture and their importance for the practice of assisted human reproduction. Human Reproduction Update, 22(1), 2-22. doi:10.1093/humupd/dmv034Charni-Natan, M., Aloni-Grinstein, R., Osher, E., & Rotter, V. (2019). Liver and Steroid Hormones—Can a Touch of p53 Make a Difference? Frontiers in Endocrinology, 10. doi:10.3389/fendo.2019.00374Yakar, S., Liu, J.-L., Stannard, B., Butler, A., Accili, D., Sauer, B., & LeRoith, D. (1999). Normal growth and development in the absence of hepatic insulin-like growth factor I. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 96(13), 7324-7329. doi:10.1073/pnas.96.13.7324Juul, A. (2003). Serum levels of insulin-like growth factor I and its binding proteins in health and disease. Growth Hormone & IGF Research, 13(4), 113-170. doi:10.1016/s1096-6374(03)00038-8Miles, H. L., Hofman, P. L., Peek, J., Harris, M., Wilson, D., Robinson, E. M., … Cutfield, W. S. (2007). In Vitro Fertilization Improves Childhood Growth and Metabolism. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 92(9), 3441-3445. doi:10.1210/jc.2006-2465Belva, F., Bonduelle, M., Provyn, S., Painter, R. C., Tournaye, H., Roelants, M., & De Schepper, J. (2018). Metabolic Syndrome and Its Components in Young Adults Conceived by ICSI. International Journal of Endocrinology, 2018, 1-8. doi:10.1155/2018/8170518Fournier, N., Atger, V., Paul, J.-L., Sturm, M., Duverger, N., Rothblat, G. H., & Moatti, N. (2000). Human ApoA-IV Overexpression in Transgenic Mice Induces cAMP-Stimulated Cholesterol Efflux From J774 Macrophages to Whole Serum. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 20(5), 1283-1292. doi:10.1161/01.atv.20.5.1283Liang, Y., Jiang, X.-C., Liu, R., Liang, G., Beyer, T. P., Gao, H., … Cao, G. (2004). Liver X Receptors (LXRs) Regulate Apolipoprotein AIV-Implications of the Antiatherosclerotic Effect of LXR Agonists. Molecular Endocrinology, 18(8), 2000-2010. doi:10.1210/me.2003-0477Lin, Q., Cao, Y., & Gao, J. (2015). Decreased expression of the APOA1–APOC3–APOA4 gene cluster is associated with risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Drug Design, Development and Therapy, 5421. doi:10.2147/dddt.s89279Qin, W., Li, X., Xie, L., Li, S., Liu, J., Jia, L., … Chen, Z. (2016). A long non-coding RNA,APOA4-AS, regulatesAPOA4expression depending on HuR in mice. Nucleic Acids Research, 44(13), 6423-6433. doi:10.1093/nar/gkw341Leese, H. J., Guerif, F., Allgar, V., Brison, D. R., Lundin, K., & Sturmey, R. G. (2016). Biological optimization, the Goldilocks principle, and how much islagomin the preimplantation embryo. Molecular Reproduction and Development, 83(9), 748-754. doi:10.1002/mrd.22684Kohda, T., & Ishino, F. (2013). Embryo manipulation via assisted reproductive technology and epigenetic asymmetry in mammalian early development. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 368(1609), 20120353. doi:10.1098/rstb.2012.0353Garcia-Dominguez, X., Juarez, J. D., Vicente, J. S., & Marco-Jiménez, F. (2020). Impact of embryo technologies on secondary sex ratio in rabbit. Cryobiology, 97, 60-65. doi:10.1016/j.cryobiol.2020.10.008Viudes-de-Castro, M. P., Marco-Jiménez, F., Cedano-Castro, J. I., & Vicente, J. S. (2017). Effect of corifollitropin alfa supplemented with or without LH on ovarian stimulation and embryo viability in rabbit. Theriogenology, 98, 68-74. doi:10.1016/j.theriogenology.2017.05.005Marco-Jiménez, F., Lavara, R., Jiménez-Trigos, E., & Vicente, J. S. (2013). In vivo development of vitrified rabbit embryos: Effects of vitrification device, recipient genotype, and asynchrony. Theriogenology, 79(7), 1124-1129. doi:10.1016/j.theriogenology.2013.02.008Vicente, J.-S., Viudes-de-Castro, M.-P., & García, M.-L. (1999). In vivo survival rate of rabbit morulae after vitrification in a medium without serum protein. Reproduction Nutrition Development, 39(5-6), 657-662. doi:10.1051/rnd:19990511Garcia-Dominguez, X., Marco-Jimenez, F., Viudes-de-Castro, M. P., & Vicente, J. S. (2019). Minimally Invasive Embryo Transfer and Embryo Vitrification at the Optimal Embryo Stage in Rabbit Model. Journal of Visualized Experiments, (147). doi:10.3791/58055Besenfelder, U., Strouhal, C., & Brem, G. (1998). A Method for Endoscopic Embryo Collection and Transfer in the Rabbit. Journal of Veterinary Medicine Series A, 45(1-10), 577-579. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0442.1998.tb00861.

Dynamic Scaling in Diluted Systems Phase Transitions: Deactivation trough Thermal Dilution

Activated scaling is confirmed to hold in transverse field induced phase transitions of randomly diluted Ising systems. Quantum Monte Carlo calculations have been made not just at the percolation threshold but well bellow and above it including the Griffiths-McCoy phase. A novel deactivation phenomena in the Griffiths-McCoy phase is observed using a thermal (in contrast to random) dilution of the system.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, RevTe

Human Blood Lipoprotein Predictions from ¹H NMR Spectra:Protocol, Model Performances, and Cage of Covariance

Lipoprotein subfractions are biomarkers for the early diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. The reference method, ultracentrifugation, for measuring lipoproteins is time-consuming, and there is a need to develop a rapid method for cohort screenings. This study presents partial least-squares regression models developed using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra and concentrations of lipoproteins as measured by ultracentrifugation on 316 healthy Danes. This study explores, for the first time, different regions of the 1H NMR spectrum representing signals of molecules in lipoprotein particles and different lipid species to develop parsimonious, reliable, and optimal prediction models. A total of 65 lipoprotein main and subfractions were predictable with high accuracy, Q2 of >0.6, using an optimal spectral region (1.4-0.6 ppm) containing methylene and methyl signals from lipids. The models were subsequently tested on an independent cohort of 290 healthy Swedes with predicted and reference values matching by up to 85-95%. In addition, an open software tool was developed to predict lipoproteins concentrations in human blood from standardized 1H NMR spectral recordings

Quantum Griffiths effects and smeared phase transitions in metals: theory and experiment

In this paper, we review theoretical and experimental research on rare region effects at quantum phase transitions in disordered itinerant electron systems. After summarizing a few basic concepts about phase transitions in the presence of quenched randomness, we introduce the idea of rare regions and discuss their importance. We then analyze in detail the different phenomena that can arise at magnetic quantum phase transitions in disordered metals, including quantum Griffiths singularities, smeared phase transitions, and cluster-glass formation. For each scenario, we discuss the resulting phase diagram and summarize the behavior of various observables. We then review several recent experiments that provide examples of these rare region phenomena. We conclude by discussing limitations of current approaches and open questions.Comment: 31 pages, 7 eps figures included, v2: discussion of the dissipative Ising chain fixed, references added, v3: final version as publishe

Role of Disorder on the Quantum Critical Point of a Model for Heavy Fermions

A zero temperature real space renormalization group (RG) approach is used to investigate the role of disorder near the quantum critical point (QCP) of a Kondo necklace (XY-KN) model. In the pure case this approach yields $J_{c}=0$ implying that any coupling $J \not = 0$ between the local moments and the conduction electrons leads to a non-magnetic phase. We also consider an anisotropic version of the model ($X-KN$), for which there is a quantum phase transition at a finite value of the ratio between the coupling and the bandwidth, $(J/W)$. Disorder is introduced either in the on-site interactions or in the hopping terms. We find that in both cases randomness is irrelevant in the $X-KN$ model, i.e., the disorder induced magnetic-non-magnetic quantum phase transition is controlled by the same exponents of the pure case. Finally, we show the fixed point distributions $P_{J}(J/W)$ at the atractors of the disordered, non-magnetic phases.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure