What drives overconsumption of food is poorly understood. Alterations in brain structure and function could contribute to increased food seeking. Recently, brain orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) volume has ...been implicated in dysregulated eating but little is known how brain structure relates to function.
We examined obese (n=18, age=28.7±8.3 years) and healthy control women (n=24, age=27.4±6.3 years) using a multimodal brain imaging approach. We applied magnetic resonance and diffusion tensor imaging to study brain gray and white matter volume as well as white matter (WM) integrity, and tested whether orbitofrontal cortex volume predicts brain reward circuitry activation in a taste reinforcement-learning paradigm that has been associated with dopamine function.
Obese individuals displayed lower gray and associated white matter volumes (P<0.05 family-wise error (FWE)- small volume corrected) compared with controls in the orbitofrontal cortex, striatum and insula. White matter integrity was reduced in obese individuals in fiber tracts including the external capsule, corona radiata, sagittal stratum, and the uncinate, inferior fronto-occipital, and inferior longitudinal fasciculi. Gray matter volume of the gyrus rectus at the medial edge of the orbitofrontal cortex predicted functional taste reward-learning response in frontal cortex, insula, basal ganglia, amygdala, hypothalamus and anterior cingulate cortex in control but not obese individuals.
This study indicates a strong association between medial orbitofrontal cortex volume and taste reinforcement-learning activation in the brain in control but not in obese women. Lower brain volumes in the orbitofrontal cortex and other brain regions associated with taste reward function as well as lower integrity of connecting pathways in obesity (OB) may support a more widespread disruption of reward pathways. The medial orbitofrontal cortex is an important structure in the termination of food intake and disturbances in this and related structures could contribute to overconsumption of food in obesity.
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
The performances of five different types of photovoltaic modules have been measured for more than a year in the temperate climate of Perth, Western Australia. Perth averages over 5.4 peak sun hours ...(PSH) each day, from less than 3 in the winter months to over 8 at the height of summer. The average sun-up temperatures range between 16.5 °C and 28 °C. The types of modules examined in this study are: crystalline silicon (c-Si), laser grooved buried contact (LGBC) c-Si, polycrystalline silicon (p-Si), triple junction amorphous silicon (3j a-Si) and copper indium diselenide (CIS). Using a purpose built outdoor monitoring facility the energy production under actual operating conditions has been measured for each module. The annual and monthly performance ratios (PRs) have been calculated for the different modules and a comparison is presented here. The
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V characteristics and maximum power at standard test conditions have been measured for each module prior to, and at regular intervals, during outdoor exposure. These values are compared to the manufacturers’ values, and monitored over time for the modules operated in the field.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Small-spored Alternaria species are a taxonomically challenging group of fungi with few morphological or molecular characters that allow unambiguous discrimination among taxa. The protein-coding ...genes most commonly employed in fungal systematics are invariant among these taxa, so noncoding, anonymous regions of the genome were developed to assess evolutionary relationships among these organisms. Nineteen sequence-characterized amplified regions (SCAR) were screened for phylogenetic utility by comparing sequences among reference isolates of small-spored Alternaria species. Five of nineteen loci were consistently amplifiable and had sufficient phylogenetic signal. Phylogenetic analyses were performed with 150 small-spored Alternaria isolates using sequence data from an endopolygalacturonase gene and two anonymous loci. Associations among phylogenetic lineage, morphological classification, geography and host were evaluated for use as practical taxonomic characters. Samples included isolates from citrus in Florida, pistachio in California, desert plants in Arizona, walnuts in France/Italy and apples in South Africa. No associations were found between host or geographic associations and phylogenetic lineage, indicating that these characters were not useful for cladistic classification of small-spored Alternaria. Similarly strict congruence between morphology and phylogenetic lineage was not found among isolates grouped morphologically with A. alternata or A. tenuissima. In contrast 34 isolates grouped morphologically with A. arborescens fell into discrete clades for all datasets. Although 5-9 well supported clades were evident among isolates, it is currently unclear if these clades should be considered phylogenetic species or emerging evolutionary line-ages within the phylogenetically defined alternata species-group.
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BFBNIB, GIS, IJS, KISLJ, NMLJ, NUK, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Anorexia and bulimia nervosa are severe eating disorders that share many behaviors. Structural and functional brain circuits could provide biological links that those disorders have in common. We ...recruited 77 young adult women, 26 healthy controls, 26 women with anorexia and 25 women with bulimia nervosa. Probabilistic tractography was used to map white matter connectivity strength across taste and food intake regulating brain circuits. An independent multisample greedy equivalence search algorithm tested effective connectivity between those regions during sucrose tasting. Anorexia and bulimia nervosa had greater structural connectivity in pathways between insula, orbitofrontal cortex and ventral striatum, but lower connectivity from orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala to the hypothalamus (P<0.05, corrected for comorbidity, medication and multiple comparisons). Functionally, in controls the hypothalamus drove ventral striatal activity, but in anorexia and bulimia nervosa effective connectivity was directed from anterior cingulate via ventral striatum to the hypothalamus. Across all groups, sweetness perception was predicted by connectivity strength in pathways connecting to the middle orbitofrontal cortex. This study provides evidence that white matter structural as well as effective connectivity within the energy-homeostasis and food reward-regulating circuitry is fundamentally different in anorexia and bulimia nervosa compared with that in controls. In eating disorders, anterior cingulate cognitive-emotional top down control could affect food reward and eating drive, override hypothalamic inputs to the ventral striatum and enable prolonged food restriction.
The fungal genus Alternaria comprises a large number of asexual taxa with diverse ecological, morphological and biological modes ranging from saprophytes to plant pathogens. Understanding the ...speciation processes affecting asexual fungi is important for estimating biological diversity, which in turn affects plant disease management and quarantine enforcement. This study included 106 isolates of Alternaria representing five phylogenetically defined clades in two sister sub‐generic groups: section Porri (A. dauci, A. solani and A. limicola) and section Alternaria (A. alternata/tenuissima and A. arborescens). Species in section Porri are host‐specific while species in section Alternaria have wider host ranges. For each isolate, DNA sequences of three genes (Alt a1, ATPase, Calmodulin) were used to estimate phylogenies at the population and species levels. Three multilocus haplotypes were distinguished among A. dauci isolates and only one haplotype among A. solani and A. limicola isolates, revealing low or no differentiation within each taxon and strong clonal structure for taxa in this section. In contrast, 37 multilocus haplotypes were found among A. alternata/tenuissima isolates and 21 multilocus haplotypes among A. arborescens isolates, revealing much higher genotypic diversity and multiple clonal lineages within taxa, which is not typical of asexual reproducing lineages. A species tree was inferred using a Yule Speciation model and a strict molecular clock assumption. Species boundaries were well defined within section Porri. However, species boundaries within section Alternaria were only partially resolved with no well‐defined species boundaries, possibly due to incomplete lineage sorting. Significant association with host specificity seems a driving force for speciation.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The effects of energy balance on hormonal secretion patterns and the structure of recovered oocytes were evaluated in 20 lactating Holstein cows during two trial periods. Cows were randomly assigned ...to one of two dietary treatments formulated so that dry matter consumption was 3.6% of body weight (high energy; 1.78Mcal/kg) or 3.2% of body weight (low energy; 1.52Mcal/kg). Ovum recovery procedures were conducted twice weekly between d 30 and 100 of lactation. Follicle size and number were recorded. Follicular fluid aspirated from the largest follicle and serum samples were collected for hormone assay. Milk yield averaged 41.6±0.3kg/d (mean±SE) for high energy fed cows and 32.8±0.3 kg/d for low energy fed cows. Oocyte numbers increased linearly from d 30 to 100 postpartum. Cows fed high energy diets produced more good (+) oocytes than did cows fed low energy diets.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Study Objective.
We performed a systematic comparison of high-dose and low-dose opioid anesthesia in cardiac surgery.
Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
...Operating room.
1400 adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery using general anesthesia.
All RCTs comparing the effects of various doses of intravenous opioids (morphine, fentanyl, sufentanil, and remifentanil) during adult cardiac surgery using general anesthesia published until May 2018 (full-text English articles reporting data from human subjects) were included.
Primary outcome was intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS). Secondary outcomes were ventilation time, use of vasopressors, perioperative myocardial infarction, perioperative stroke, and hospital LOS.
Eighteen articles were included (1400 patients). There was no difference in ICU LOS between studies using high or low dose of opioids (both short-acting and long-acting) (standard mean difference SMD−0.02, 95%CI: −0.15–0.11, P = 0.74). Similarly, there was no difference in secondary outcomes of ventilation time (SMD−0.27, 95%CI: −0.63–0.09, P = 0.14), use of vasopressors (OR 0.61, 95%CI: 0.29–1.30, P = 0.20), myocardial infarction (risk difference 0.00, 95% CI: −0.02–0.03, P = 0.70), stroke (RD 0.00, 95% CI: −0.01–0.01, P = 0.92) and hospital LOS (SMD 0.03, 95% CI: −0.26–0.33, P = 0.84). At meta-regression, there was no effect of age, gender, or type of opioid on the difference between groups.
Our data suggest that low-dose opioids, both short acting and long acting, are safe and effective to use in adult cardiac surgery patients, independent of the clinical characteristics of the patients and the type of opioid used. In view of the current opioid epidemic, low-dose opioid anesthesia should be considered for cardiac surgery patients.
•First meta-analysis on low-dose opioids vs high-dose opioids in cardiac surgery.•Low-dose opioids are safe and effective to use in adult cardiac surgery patients.•This is independent from the clinical characteristics of the patients.•This is independent from the type of opioid, and the dose of opioids in the low-dose group.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Development of a research agenda may help to inform researchers and research-granting agencies about the key research gaps in an area of research and clinical care. The authors sought to develop a ...list of research questions for which further research was likely to have a major impact on clinical care in the area of gastrointestinal and endoscopic surgery.
A formal group process was used to conduct an iterative, anonymous Web-based survey of an expert panel including the general membership of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES). In round 1, research questions were solicited, which were categorized, collapsed, and rewritten in a common format. In round 2, the expert panel rated all the questions using a priority scale ranging from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest). In round 3, the panel re-rated the 40 questions with the highest mean priority score in round 2.
A total of 241 respondents to round 1 submitted 382 questions, which were reduced by a review panel to 106 unique questions encompassing 33 topics in gastrointestinal and endoscopic surgery. In the two successive rounds, respectively, 397 and 385 respondents ranked the questions by priority, then re-ranked the 40 questions with the highest mean priority score. High-priority questions related to antireflux surgery, the oncologic and immune effects of minimally invasive surgery, and morbid obesity. The question with the highest mean priority ranking was: "What is the best treatment (antireflux surgery, endoluminal therapy, or medication) for GERD?" The second highest-ranked question was: "Does minimally invasive surgery improve oncologic outcomes as compared with open surgery?" Other questions covered a broad range of research areas including clinical research, basic science research, education and evaluation, outcomes measurement, and health technology assessment.
An iterative, anonymous group survey process was used to develop a research agenda for gastrointestinal and endoscopic surgery consisting of the 40 most important research questions in the field. This research agenda can be used by researchers and research-granting agencies to focus research activity in the areas most likely to have an impact on clinical care, and to appraise the relevance of scientific contributions.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
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