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Determination of Nutrient Adequacy of the Food Catered In the Child Care Homes(CCHs) of Sunsari District.
No full textThis poster shows the nutrient adequacy of the food catered in the child care homes of Sunsari district
Pro-atherosclerotic disturbed flow disrupts caveolin-1 expression, localization, and function via glycocalyx degradation.
No full textBackground: Endothelial-dependent atherosclerosis develops in a non-random pattern in regions of vessel bending and bifurcations, where blood flow exhibits disturbed flow (DF) patterns. In contrast, uniform flow (UF), normal endothelium, and healthy vessel walls co-exist within straight vessels. In clarifying how flow protectively or atherogenically regulates endothelial cell behavior, involvement of the endothelial surface glycocalyx has been suggested due to reduced expression in regions of atherosclerosis development. Here, we hypothesized that pro-atherosclerotic endothelial dysfunction occurs as a result of DF-induced reduction in glycocalyx expression and subsequently impairs endothelial sensitivity to flow. Specifically, we propose that glycocalyx degradation can induce pro-atherosclerotic endothelial dysfunction through decreased caveolin-1 and endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression and localization.Keywords: Atherosclerosis, Endothelial cells, Fluid shear stress, Glycocalyx, Caveolin, Endothelial-type nitric oxide synthase.Springer Open
Embedding weight management into safety-net pediatric primary care: randomized controlled trial.
No full textBackground: Implementing evidence-based recommendations for treating pediatric overweight and obesity is challenging in low-resource settings. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effects of implementing the American Academy of Pediatrics overweight/obesity recommendations using a Standard Care approach alone or with the addition of an enhanced program in a safety-net pediatric primary care setting (located in Bronx, New York, United States).Keywords: Weight management, Family-based intervention, Safety net care.Springer Open
The Application of Algebraic Multigrid Methods to Solving Large Scale HodgeRank Problems
No full textAbstract: In this thesis we consider unsmoothed aggregation algebraic multigrid preconditioners applied to graph ranking problems arising from the HodgeRank algorithm. We will discuss the HodgeRank algorithm's foundations after a brief discussion of common ranking methods and present an analysis of the UA-AMG method for solving graph Laplacians systems arising from the least squares problems,applying it as a preconditioner for conjugate gradient (CG) to achieve better performance. We also provide experiments comparing the LSRN, LSQR, and CG method (with and without UA-AMG as a preconditoner) on a collection of larger random graphs and a collection of real world network topologies to demonstrate the effectiveness of UA-AMG method for solving least squares problems on graphs.Thesis (M.S.)--Tufts University, 2018.Submitted to the Dept. of Computer Science.Advisor: Shuchin Aeron.Committee: Xiaozhe Hu, and Misha Kilmer.Keywords: Applied mathematics, and Computer science
Roles of Functional Genetic Variants and Dietary Factors on MicroRNA-Mediated Gene Regulation of Cardiometabolic Traits
No full textAbstract: Background: Dysregulation of metabolic traits and obesity are risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and other chronic diseases that accompany unhealthy aging. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression via targeting mRNAs and represent an epigenetic mechanism that underlies human biology and diseases, including metabolic function and CVD. Previous research has identified functional genetic variants involved in miRNA-based gene regulation, suggesting that such genetic polymorphisms also modulate cardiometabolic traits through miRNAs. This leads to our interest in investigating the roles of genetic variants in miRNA-mediated regulation of blood lipids and their interactions with diet (gene × environment interactions). It has also been demonstrated that dietary factors can modulate miRNA levels. The underlying miRNA-based mechanisms related to the effect of dietary factors on cardiometabolic traits are not well-understood. Aims: To create a genome-wide miRNA-related single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) database with a particular focus on genetic variants which potentially modulate miRNA-mediate gene regulation and affect blood lipids (Aim 1a) and to identify miRNA-related genetic associations and their interactions with diet for blood lipid concentrations (Aim 1b). Then to investigate the effect of virgin olive oil intervention on miRNA profiles in the context of cardiovascular disease biomarkers (Aim 2). We hypothesize that miRNAs affect the activity of genes regulating blood lipids, and miRNA function can be further modulated by genetic variants and dietary factors. Methods: We used miRNA target prediction algorithms, publicly available databases and bioinformatics tools to create a genome-wide miRNA-related SNP database (Aim 1a). We then performed functional genome-wide association studies (fGWAS) and genome-wide interaction studies (fGWIS) and meta-analyzed association and interaction data in 9 population-based cohort studies (n = ~21,000, European origin participants) from the CHARGE (Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology) Consortium for blood lipids using SNPs predicted to be functional via miRNA-related mechanisms. We evaluated interactions for dietary carbohydrate and saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (Aim 1b). We conducted a two-armed, 3-month randomized controlled trial (RCT): 41 overweight/obese older participants (age: 72.0 ± 5.6 y; BMI: 28.8 ± 2.6 kg/m2) were given virgin olive oil or control (soy oil/corn oil/butter) oil to replace substitutable oils/fats commonly used in participants' typical American diet. We quantified blood miRNAs using miRNA microarray and quantitative RT-PCR and used bioinformatics analyses to assess the effects of olive oil on cardiometabolic traits (Aim 2). Results: We created a miRNA-related SNP database, including 914,515 miRNA-related SNPs (Aim 1a). Using miRNA fGWAS and fGWIS approaches, we identified 19 loci associated with blood lipids and 17 novel loci potentially interacted with diet in determining blood lipids. Several of these key results such as miRNA-related SNPs in CELSR2, NECTIN2 (also known as PVRL2), FADS1, SH3YL1, ONECUT2 and PPIL2 were supported by multiple functional annotation databases (Aim 1b). In the olive oil RCT, following a 3-month intervention, systolic blood pressure (SBP) was significantly reduced in the olive oil group (P = 0.004) but not in the control group. Individuals in the olive oil group had a significantly lower SBP (P = 0.04) compared with the control group at month 3. Change in hsa-miR-96-5p was correlated with changes in serum glucose and insulin levels in the olive oil group after 3 months. Furthermore, participants with impaired fasting glucose appeared to benefit from the olive oil intervention by improving fasting glucose and insulin (Aim 2). Conclusions: The comprehensive miRNA-related SNP database can be used to assess the genetic contribution of miRNA-mediated regulation on any traits of interest (Aim 1a). Our study of fGWAS and fGWIS generated miRNA-based hypotheses for previously known lipid-associated loci and identified novel genetic variants in response to dietary macronutrients for blood lipids. Replication, different analytic methods and follow-up functional studies are recommended for further investigation (Aim 1b). Our findings from the olive oil RCT suggested that hsa-miR-96-5p may be induced by olive oil intervention to regulate glycemic homeostasis. The regulation of miRNAs related to olive oil consumption contributing to health benefits requires further research (Aim 2). Further mechanistic examination and larger dietary intervention studies are needed to validate our findings, to advance the general field of miRNA regulation of blood lipids and to eventually develop personalized strategies/recommendations to reduce CVD risk.Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2018.Submitted to the Dept. of Biochemical and Molecular Nutrition.Advisor: José Ordovás.Committee: Stefania Lamon-Fava, Paul Jacques, and Carlos Fernández-Hernando.Keywords: Epidemiology, Genetics, and Nutrition
Biological Beam Bending: How Lamprey Muscles Can Change the Viscoelastic Properties of Their Bodies
No full textAbstract: Skeletal muscle is a biological actuator. Understanding how muscle functions has applications in the fields of robotics and prosthetics. In my work, I characterized the viscoelastic properties of the silver lamprey (Ichthyomyzon unicuspis) body such as stiffness and damping, as a function of the timing of muscle activity. I subjected the lamprey to sinusoidal bending, of different amplitudes, while electrically stimulating muscles at different phases of the tailbeat cycle. Given the intrinsic properties of skeletal muscle, such as the force-length and force-velocity relationships, I expect that the stimulation phase will have a significant impact on whole-body response. The lamprey was modelled as an elliptical beam and examined for deviations from the passive state, indicative of the muscle's response to stimulation. I measured forces and torques using a six-axis transducer which I transformed into body torque. Results indicate that stimulation phase has a significant effect on muscle properties during sinusoidal bending.Thesis (M.S.)--Tufts University, 2018.Submitted to the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.Advisors: Eric Tytell, and Jason Rife.Committee: Igor Sokolov.Keywords: Mechanical engineering, Biomechanics, and Biology
Understanding the relationships of nutrition-agriculture research in Nepal: Findings of the Nutrition Innovation Lab.
No full textPresented at the National Seminar on Nutrition, this powerpoint covers new data garnered from the POSHAN Community studies in terms of diet and production diversity
RADICAL CANONS: EPIGRAPHIC PRACTICE, IDENTITY FORMATION, AND CARIBBEAN WRITERS
No full textAbstract: Radical Canons: Epigraphs, Literary Identity, and Caribbean Writers argues that certain Caribbean authors and Caribbean texts from the 1960s onward craft a self-determined literary identity distinct from and in relation to an imperial British literary tradition through the use of epigraphs. The device of the epigraph itself has not been extensively studied in an Anglophone context. In his classic 1987 book Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation, Gérard Genette outlined four functions for the epigraph, which he defines as "a quotation placed en exergue, generally at the head of a work or a section of a work." Genette's synchronic study does not take the opportunity to address the ways in which the socio-historical and political contexts of authors might affect this function. Radical Canons extends the theoretical framework outlined by Genette to offer a revised theory of the epigraph that addresses the impact of colonialism on the contexts of literary works and presents new formulations of the epigraph's possible rhetorical functions as a hyper-condensed cultural reference point. In addition to the functions elaborated by Genette in Paratexts, I contend that the form of the epigraph can serve to recontextualize and thus denaturalize its source text. Power differentials between the cultural contexts of an epigraph's source text and the primary text in which it appears invite readers to see relations of contrast or critique as well as support or sanction. Yet the colonial associations of canonical English works remain, and their reinterpretation continues to be complicated by the colonizer/colonized relationship. Caribbean texts begin to reveal a different resonance of the epigraph in the aftermath of political independence, one that structurally and rhetorically confers, rather than borrows, authority. Later texts use the epigraphic position to construct a Caribbean literary canon that is distinct from England's literary canon. My reading of the epigraph as serving this rhetorical function for Caribbean authors also contests the common assumption within literary critical studies that only deconstructing canons can produce radical energy. Reading novels by Andrew Salkey, Orlando Patterson, and Michelle Cliff, Radical Canons considers the potential revolutionary force in canonicity.Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2018.Submitted to the Dept. of English.Advisor: Modhumita Roy.Committee: John Lurz, H. Adlai Murdoch, and Michael Bucknor.Keywords: Caribbean literature, English literature, and Modern literature