2,698 research outputs found
GALNT2 as a novel modulator of adipogenesis and adipocyte insulin signaling
Background/objectives: A better understanding of adipose tissue biology is crucial to tackle insulin resistance and eventually coronary heart disease and diabetes, leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. GALNT2, a GalNAc-transferase, positively modulates insulin signaling in human liver cells by down-regulating ENPP1, an insulin signaling inhibitor. GALNT2 expression is increased in adipose tissue of obese as compared to that of non-obese individuals. Whether this association is secondary to a GALNT2-insulin sensitizing effect exerted also in adipocytes is unknown. We then investigated in mouse 3T3-L1 adipocytes the GALNT2 effect on adipogenesis, insulin signaling and expression levels of both Enpp1 and 72 adipogenesis-related genes. Methods: Stable over-expressing GALNT2 and GFP preadipocytes (T 0 ) were generated. Adipogenesis was induced with (R+) or without (R−) rosiglitazone and investigated after 15 days (T 15 ). Lipid accumulation (by Oil Red-O staining) and intracellular triglycerides (by fluorimetric assay) were measured. Lipid droplets (LD) measures were analyzed at confocal microscope. Gene expression was assessed by RT-PCR and insulin-induced insulin receptor (IR), IRS1, JNK and AKT phosphorylation by Western blot. Results: Lipid accumulation, triglycerides and LD measures progressively increased from T 0 to T 15 R- and furthermore to T 15 R+. Such increases were significantly higher in GALNT2 than in GFP cells so that, as compared to T 15 R+GFP, T 15 R- GALNT2 cells showed similar (intracellular lipid and triglycerides accumulation) or even higher (LD measures, p < 0.01) values. In GALNT2 preadipocytes, insulin-induced IR, IRS1 and AKT activation was higher than that in GFP cells. GALNT2 effect was totally abolished during adipocyte maturation and completely reversed at late stage maturation. Such GALNT2 effect trajectory was paralleled by coordinated changes in the expression of Enpp1 and adipocyte-maturation key genes. Conclusions: GALNT2 is a novel modulator of adipogenesis and related cellular phenotypes, thus becoming a potential target for tackling the obesity epidemics and its devastating sequelae
-free families in the Boolean lattice
For a family of subsets of [n]=\{1, 2, ..., n} ordered by
inclusion, and a partially ordered set P, we say that is P-free
if it does not contain a subposet isomorphic to P. Let be the
largest size of a P-free family of subsets of [n]. Let be the poset with
distinct elements a, b, c, d, a<b, c<d; i.e., the 2-dimensional Boolean
lattice. We show that where . We also prove that the largest -free
family of subsets of [n] having at most three different sizes has at most
2.20711N members.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figure
A NUMERICAL METHOD FOR SOLVING SYSTEMS OF HYPERSINGULAR INTEGRO-DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
This paper is concerned with a collocation-quadrature method for solving systems of Prandtl's integro-differential equations based on de la Vallee Poussin filtered interpolation at Chebyshev nodes. We prove stability and convergence in Holder-Zygmund spaces of locally continuous functions. Some numerical tests are presented to examine the method's efficacy
Determinants of health sector efficiency: evidence from a two-step analysis on 30 OECD countries
This study aims to assess the efficiency of expenditure on health in 30 OECD countries over the period 2005-2015 by
regressing Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) output efficiency scores on discretionary and non-discretionary
variables, with a two-stage DEA/Tobit and bootstrap procedure. We show that health inefficiency in OECD countries
is related to per capita GDP, vaccine coverage and tobacco consumption, also controlling for geographical and
institutional variables (i.e., bureaucratic red tape and weather temperature)
Ultrasensitive Displacement Noise Measurement of Carbon Nanotube Mechanical Resonators
Mechanical resonators based on a single carbon nanotube are exceptional
sensors of mass and force. The force sensitivity in these ultra-light
resonators is often limited by the noise in the detection of the vibrations.
Here, we report on an ultra-sensitive scheme based on a RLC resonator and a
low-temperature amplifier to detect nanotube vibrations. We also show a new
fabrication process of electromechanical nanotube resonators to reduce the
separation between the suspended nanotube and the gate electrode down to ~nm. These advances in detection and fabrication allow us to reach
displacement sensitivity. Thermal
vibrations cooled cryogenically at 300~mK are detected with a signal-to-noise
ratio as high as 17~dB. We demonstrate
force sensitivity, which is the best force sensitivity achieved thus far with a
mechanical resonator. Our work is an important step towards imaging individual
nuclear spins and studying the coupling between mechanical vibrations and
electrons in different quantum electron transport regimes.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Neurosurgical implications of the Jugular Vein Nutcracker
In the last ten years, a new variant of Eagle Syndrome is emerging and being described: Styloid Jugular Nutcracker (SJN). In SJN, an elongated or vertically directed styloid process causes jugular vein stenosis by compressing the vein against the arch of C1. The clinical consequences appear to be various and misunderstood, ascribable mainly to venous flow impairment and consequent intracranial hypertension. The aim of this paper is to create an overview of Jugular Vein Nutcracker and to focus on its neurosurgical implications. A PRISMA-based literature search was performed to select the most relevant papers on the topic and to realize a mini-review. Future searches in the neurosurgical field should focus on collecting data about further causes of jugular stenosis compression and the association of SJN with cerebrovascular diseases. It would also be interesting to investigate the potential role of primary and secondary prevention, which is unknown so far
Semiotic Virtual Reality Framework Validation
This paper presents a user study designed for validating the Semiotic VR Framework, a tool that allows to identify the best-suited Virtual Reality (VR) applications to get a specified communication objective, by adopting the appropriate techniques to implement visualization, interaction and modelling of the VR application
Superselectors: Efficient Constructions and Applications
We introduce a new combinatorial structure: the superselector. We show that
superselectors subsume several important combinatorial structures used in the
past few years to solve problems in group testing, compressed sensing,
multi-channel conflict resolution and data security. We prove close upper and
lower bounds on the size of superselectors and we provide efficient algorithms
for their constructions. Albeit our bounds are very general, when they are
instantiated on the combinatorial structures that are particular cases of
superselectors (e.g., (p,k,n)-selectors, (d,\ell)-list-disjunct matrices,
MUT_k(r)-families, FUT(k, a)-families, etc.) they match the best known bounds
in terms of size of the structures (the relevant parameter in the
applications). For appropriate values of parameters, our results also provide
the first efficient deterministic algorithms for the construction of such
structures
Evaluation of the Iatrogenic Sciatic Nerve Injury following Double Pelvic Osteotomy Performed with Piezoelectric Cutting Tool in Dogs
(1) Background: The double pelvic osteotomy (DPO) is a prophylactic surgical procedure associated with 0.4% incidence of sciatic nerve injury. The piezoelectric cutting tool is a surgical device able to involve only mineralized tissue avoiding neurovascular tissue and other soft tissue. This study aimed to evaluate the sciatic nerve injury observed in dogs underwent iliac osteotomy performed using the piezoelectric cutting tool. (2) Methods: Dogs underwent DPO performed with piezoelectric cutting tool were included. Neurological assessment was performed 6 and 24 h after surgery and then repeated 12 days, 4 and 8 weeks after surgery. Temporary and or permanent sciatic nerve injury were recorded. (3) Results: 84 DPOs performed in fifty dogs were included. No temporary/permanent neurological disease associated with iatrogenic damage of the sciatic nerve were observed. (4) Conclusions: The iliac osteotomy performed with piezoelectric cutting tool was not associated to iatrogenic sciatic nerve injury
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