Search results for "Theory"
showing 10 items of 24627 documents
Engineering of a DNA Polymerase for Direct m6A Sequencing
2017
Methods for the detection of RNA modifications are of fundamental importance for advancing epitranscriptomics. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant RNA modification in mammalian mRNA and is involved in the regulation of gene expression. Current detection techniques are laborious and rely on antibody-based enrichment of m6A-containing RNA prior to sequencing, since m6A modifications are generally "erased" during reverse transcription (RT). To overcome the drawbacks associated with indirect detection, we aimed to generate novel DNA polymerase variants for direct m6A sequencing. Therefore, we developed a screen to evolve an RT-active KlenTaq DNA polymerase variant that sets a mark for…
Women's socioeconomic position in ontogeny is associated with improved immune function and lower stress, but not with height
2020
AbstractImmune function, height and resource accumulation comprise important life history traits in humans. Resource availability models arising from life history theory suggest that socioeconomic conditions influence immune function, growth and health status. In this study, we tested whether there are associations between family income during ontogeny, adult height, cortisol level and immune response in women. A hepatitis B vaccine was administered to 66 young Latvian women from different socioeconomic backgrounds, and blood samples were then collected to measure the level of antibodies that the women produced in response to the vaccination. Cortisol levels were measured from plasma sample…
Predicting limiting 'free sugar' consumption using an integrated model of health behavior.
2019
Excess intake of 'free sugars' is a key predictor of chronic disease, obesity, and dental ill health. Given the importance of determining modifiable predictors of free sugar-related dietary behaviors, we applied the integrated behavior change model to predict free sugar limiting behaviors. The model includes constructs representing 'reasoned' or deliberative processes that lead to action (e.g., social cognition constructs, intentions), and constructs representing 'non-conscious' or implicit processes (e.g., implicit attitudes, behavioral automaticity) as predictors of behavior. Undergraduate students (N = 205) completed measures of autonomous and controlled motivation, the theory of planned…
Watching happy faces potentiates incentive salience but not hedonic reactions to palatable food cues in overweight/obese adults
2019
International audience; ‘Wanting’ and ‘liking’ are mediated by distinct brain reward systems but their dissociation in human appetite and overeating remains debated. Further, the influence of socioemotional cues on food reward is little explored. We examined these issues in overweight/obese (OW/OB) and normal-weight (NW) participants who watched food images varying in palatability in the same time as videoclips of avatars looking at the food images while displaying facial expressions (happy, disgust or neutral) with their gaze directed only toward the food or consecutively toward the food and participants. We measured heart rate (HR) deceleration as an index of attentional/incentive salienc…
The close link between the fetal programming imprinting and neurodegeneration in adulthood: The key role of “hemogenic endothelium” programming
2021
The research on neurodegenerative diseases (NeuroDegD) has been traditionally focused on later life stages. There is now an increasing evidence, that they may be programmed during early development. Here, we propose that NeuroDegD are the result of the complex process of imprinting on fetal hemogenic endothelium, from which the microglial cells make to origin. The central role of placenta and epigenetic mechanisms (methylation of DNA, histone modifications and regulation by non-coding RNAs) in mediating the short and long-term effects has been also described. Precisely, it reports their role in impacting plasticity and memory of microglial cells. In addition, we also underline the necessity…
Constructing Antidictionaries of Long Texts in Output-Sensitive Space
2021
AbstractA wordxthat is absent from a wordyis calledminimalif all its proper factors occur iny. Given a collection ofkwordsy1, … ,ykover an alphabetΣ, we are asked to compute the set$\mathrm {M}^{\ell }_{\{y_1,\ldots ,y_k\}}$M{y1,…,yk}ℓof minimal absent words of length at mostℓof the collection {y1, … ,yk}. The set$\mathrm {M}^{\ell }_{\{y_1,\ldots ,y_k\}}$M{y1,…,yk}ℓcontains all the wordsxsuch thatxis absent from all the words of the collection while there existi,j, such that the maximal proper suffix ofxis a factor ofyiand the maximal proper prefix ofxis a factor ofyj. In data compression, this corresponds to computing the antidictionary ofkdocuments. In bioinformatics, it corresponds to c…
Dying with or because of invasive fungal infection? The role of immunity exhaustion on patient outcome
2016
De Rosa et al. considered clinical scores, biomarkers and their combination as useful aids for an early antifungal treatment and advocated the adoption of de-escalation therapy in an antifungal stewardship approach as a possible key for a better management of these patients. Authors considered the high burden of invasive fungal infections in terms of patient outcomes and costs and focused on current strategies for their optimization.
Maximizing Polyphenol Content to Uncork the Relationship Between Wine and Cancer
2019
Studies have revealed conflicting results regarding the risk of cancer from alcohol consumption. Furthermore, some studies have suggested that wine may have benefits that separate it from other alcoholic beverages. As wine contains a significant amount of chemicals, specifically polyphenols like anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins (PA), that can affect cellular function and promote health, this hypothesis is reasonably supported by recent research. Polyphenols promote several anticancer cellular pathways, including xenobiotic metabolism, support of innate antioxidant production, and stimulation of phase I and II detoxification of carcinogens. However, the multitude of growing and production …
Evolution of Pallial Areas and Networks Involved in Sociality: Comparison Between Mammals and Sauropsids
2019
Birds are extremely interesting animals for studying the neurobiological basis of cognition and its evolution. They include species that are highly social and show high cognitive capabilities. Moreover, birds rely more on visual and auditory cues than on olfaction for social behavior and cognition, just like primates. In primates, there are two major brain networks associated to sociality: (1) one related to perception and decision-making, involving the pallial amygdala (with the basolateral complex as a major component), the temporal and temporoparietal neocortex, and the orbitofrontal cortex; (2) another one related to affiliation, including the medial extended amygdala, the ventromedial …
2018
The retrieval of ancient DNA from osteological material provides direct evidence of human genetic diversity in the past. Ancient DNA samples are often used to investigate whether there was population continuity in the settlement history of an area. Methods based on the serial coalescent algorithm have been developed to test whether the population continuity hypothesis can be statistically rejected by analysing DNA samples from the same region but of different ages. Rejection of this hypothesis is indicative of a large genetic shift, possibly due to immigration occurring between two sampling times. However, this approach is only able to reject a model of full continuity model (a total absenc…