A Bayesian semi-parametric scalar-on-function regression with measurement error using instrumental variables.

Wearable devices such as the ActiGraph are now commonly used in research to monitor or track physical activity. This trend corresponds with the growing need to assess the relationships between physical activity and health outcomes, such as obesity, accurately. Device-based physical activity measures are best treated as functions when assessing their associations with scalar-valued outcomes such as body mass index.

Dietary supplementation with L-leucine reduces nitric oxide synthesis by endothelial cells of rats.

This study tested the hypothesis that elevated L-leucine concentrations in plasma reduce nitric oxide (NO) synthesis by endothelial cells (ECs) and affect adiposity in obese rats. Beginning at four weeks of age, male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a casein-based low-fat (LF) or high-fat (HF) diet for 15 weeks. Thereafter, rats in the LF and HF groups were assigned randomly into one of two subgroups ( = 8/subgroup) and received drinking water containing either 1.

Correction: Luan et al. Identification of Critical Genes for Ovine Horn Development Based on Transcriptome during the Embryonic Period. 2023, , 591.

In the original publication [1], there were mistakes in the order of the references, which were as follows: [...

Identification of Critical Genes for Ovine Horn Development Based on Transcriptome during the Embryonic Period.

Horns, also known as headgear, are a unique structure of ruminants. As ruminants are globally distributed, the study of horn formation is critical not only for increasing our understanding of natural and sexual selection but also for the breeding of polled sheep breeds to facilitate modern sheep farming. Despite this, a significant number of the underlying genetic pathways in sheep horn remain unclear.

Parametric and Semiparametric Approaches to Analyzing Device-Based Measures of Energy Expenditure in Zucker Diabetic Fatty Rats.

Background: Obesity results from a chronic imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. Total energy expenditure for all physiological functions combined can be measured approximately by calorimeters. These devices assess energy expenditure frequently (e.

Damage prevention effect of milk-derived peptides on UVB irradiated human foreskin fibroblasts and regulation of photoaging related indicators.

Long-term exposure to UVB can trigger acute inflammation of the skin and lead to skin photoaging. To scrutinize the anti-photoaging functions of peptides obtained from milk, the physicochemical including molecular weight and amino acid compositions were first analyzed. Totally 267 peptides were screened out and identified by PEAKS X software, and then evaluated through Peptide Ranker and BIOPEP-UMW.

A function-based approach to model the measurement error in wearable devices.

Physical activity (PA) is an important risk factor for many health outcomes. Wearable-devices such as accelerometers are increasingly used in biomedical studies to understand the associations between PA and health outcomes. Statistical analyses involving accelerometer data are challenging due to the following three characteristics: (i) high-dimensionality, (ii) temporal dependence, and (iii) measurement error.

Estimation of sparse functional quantile regression with measurement error: a SIMEX approach.

Quantile regression is a semiparametric method for modeling associations between variables. It is most helpful when the covariates have complex relationships with the location, scale, and shape of the outcome distribution. Despite the method's robustness to distributional assumptions and outliers in the outcome, regression quantiles may be biased in the presence of measurement error in the covariates.

PAP1 activates the prophenoloxidase system against bacterial infection in Musca domestica.

We previously identified three putative prophenoloxidase-activating proteinase (mdPAP1, mdPAP2, and mdPAP3) genes from housefly Musca domestica by transcriptomic analysis. In this study, mdPAP1 cDNA was cloned, and the function of its encoded protein was analyzed. The cDNA of mdPAP1 was 1358 bp, and it contained a single open reading frame of 1122 bp encoding a predicted MdPAP1 protein of 373 amino acids.

Oral administration of α-ketoglutarate enhances nitric oxide synthesis by endothelial cells and whole-body insulin sensitivity in diet-induced obese rats.

Unlabelled: Obesity is a risk factor for many chronic diseases, including hypertension, type-2 diabetes, and cancer. Interestingly, concentrations of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) in plasma are commonly associated with endothelial dysfunction in humans and animals with obesity. Because L-leucine inhibits nitric oxide synthesis by endothelial cells (EC), we hypothesized that dietary supplementation with AKG (a substrate for BCAA transaminase) may stimulate BCAA catabolism in the small intestine and extra-intestinal tissues, thereby reducing the circulating concentrations of BCAAs and increasing nitric oxide synthesis by endothelial cells.

Expression of the Shrimp wap gene in Drosophila elicits defense responses and protease inhibitory activity.

The wap gene encodes a single whey acidic protein (WAP) domain-containing peptide from Chinese white shrimp (Fenneropenaeus chinensis), which shows broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities and proteinase inhibitory activities in vitro. To explore the medical applications of the WAP peptide, a wap gene transgenic Drosophila melanogaster was constructed. In wap-expressing flies, high expression levels of wap gene (>100 times) were achieved, in contrast to those of control flies, by qRT-PCR analysis.

Association Between Gene Polymorphisms on Chromosome 1 and Susceptibility to Pre-Eclampsia: An Updated Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND This meta-analysis enabled us to obtain a precise estimation of the association between gene polymorphisms on chromosome 1 (MTHFR, AGT, F5, IL-10, LEPR) and the susceptibility to pre-eclampsia (PE) in order to reach a uniform conclusion. MATERIAL AND METHODS Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochran Library (CENTRAL), and Chinese databases (Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure-CNKI and Wan Fang) were electronically searched to select relevant studies for this meta-analysis. We selected 95 case-control studies investigating 5 genes (MTHFR, AGT, F5, IL-10, and LEPR) with 8 SNPs.

Transcriptomic Analysis of Musca domestica to Reveal Key Genes of the Prophenoloxidase-Activating System.

The proPO system regulates melanization in arthropods. However, the genes that are involved in the proPO system in housefly Musca domestica remain unclear. Thus, this study analyzed the combined transcriptome obtained from M.

1-{(Z)-1-(2,4-Dichloro-phen-yl)-1-[2-(4-methyl-phen-oxy)eth-oxy]prop-1-en-2-yl}-1H-imidazol-3-ium nitrate.

In the title salt, C21H21Cl2N2O2(+)·NO3(-), the imidazole ring makes dihedral angles of 43.39 (14) and 10.9 (2)° with the 4-methyl-phenyl and 2,4-dichloro-phenyl rings, respectively.

1-{(Z)-1-[3-(4-Bromo-phen-oxy)prop-oxy]-1-(2,4-difluoro-phen-yl)prop-1-en-2-yl}-1H-1,2,4-triazol-4-ium nitrate.

In the title mol-ecular salt, C(20)H(19)BrF(2)N(3)O(2) (+)·NO(3) (-), the N atom at position 4 of the heterocyclic ring is protonated. The triazole ring makes dihedral angles of 96.6 (4) and 54.

1-{(1Z)-1-[3-(2,4-Dichloro-phen-oxy)prop-oxy]-1-(2,4-difluoro-phen-yl)prop-1-en-2-yl}-1H-1,2,4-triazole.

In the title compound, C(20)H(17)Cl(2)F(2)N(3)O(2), the triazole ring makes dihedral angles of 28.0 (3) and 72.5 (2)° with the 2,4-dichloro-pheny and 2,4-difluoro-phenyl rings, respectively, and the mol-ecule adopts a Z-conformation about the C=C double bond.