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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 73 records · Page 4

Development and cross‐validation of a circumference‐based predictive equation to estimate body fat in an active population

Abstract Objective The U.S. Army uses sex‐specific circumference‐based prediction equations to estimate percent body fat (%BF) to evaluate adherence to body composition standards. The equations are periodically evaluated to ensure that they continue to accurately assess %BF in a diverse population. The objective of this study was to develop and validate alternative field expedient equations that may improve upon the current Army Regulation (AR) body fat (%BF) equations. Methods Body size and composition were evaluated in a representatively sampled cohort of 1904 active‐duty Soldiers (1261 Males, 643 Females), using dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (%BF DXA ), and circumferences obtained with 3D imaging and manual measurements. Sex stratified linear prediction equations for %BF were constructed using internal cross validation with %BF DXA as the criterion measure. Prediction equations were evaluated for accuracy and precision using root mean squared error, bias, and intraclass correlations. Equations were externally validated in a convenient sample of 1073 Soldiers. Results Three new equations were developed using one to three circumference sites. The predictive values of waist, abdomen, hip circumference, weight and height were evaluated. Changing from a 3‐site model to a 1‐site model had minimal impact on measurements of model accuracy and performance. Male‐specific equations demonstrated larger gains in accuracy, whereas female‐specific equations resulted in minor improvements in accuracy compared to existing AR equations. Equations performed similarly in the second external validation cohort. Conclusions The equations developed improved upon the current AR equation while demonstrating robust and consistent results within an external population. The 1‐site waist circumference‐based equation utilized the abdominal measurement, which aligns with associated obesity related health outcomes. This could be used to identify individuals at risk for negative health outcomes for earlier intervention.

Taylor, Kathryn M.↗

A 125 GeV fat Higgs at large tan β

In this article, we study the viability of regions of large tan β within the frame-work of Fat Higgs/λ-SUSY Models. We compute the one-loop effective potential to find the corrections to the Higgs boson mass due to the heavy non-standard Higgs bosons. As the tree level contribution to the Higgs boson mass is suppressed at large tan β, these one-loop corrections are crucial to raising the Higgs boson mass to the measured LHC value. By raising the Higgsino and singlino mass parameters, typical electroweak precision constraints can also be avoided. We illustrate these new regions of Fat Higgs/λ-SUSY parameter space by finding regions of large tan β that are consistent with all experimental constraints including direct dark matter detection experiments, relic density limits and the invisible decay width of the Z boson. We find that there exist regions around λ = 1.25, tan β = 50 and a uniform psuedo-scalar 4 TeV ≲ M A ≲ 8 TeV which are consistent will all present phenomenological constraints. In this region the dark matter relic abundance and direct detection limits are satisfied by a lightest neutralino that is mostly bino or singlino. As an interesting aside we also find a region of low tan β and small singlino mass parameter where a well-tempered neutralino avoids all cosmological and direct detection constraints.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Supplemental dietary full-fatted and defatted Desmodesmus sp. exerted similar effects on growth performance, gut health, and excreta hydrothermal liquefaction of broiler chicks

This study determined effects of full-fatted (C046, 41% crude protein) and lipid extracted (LEA, 39% crude protein) microalgae Desmodesmus sp. on growth performance, gut health, and excreta hydrothermal liquefaction of broiler chickens. Two experiments were conducted by feeding day-old Cornish male chicks: 1) a corn-soybean meal basal diet (control) 2) control +5% C046, or 3) control +5% LEA for 2 weeks. Growth performance was measured weekly in both experiments. Blood, liver, and duodenum samples of chickens were collected for biochemical analyses, and excreta samples were collected for hydrothermal liquefaction (300 °C, 60 min) at the end of Experiment 2. Compared with the control, supplemental dietary C046 and LEA enhanced average daily gain (13% to 40%, p < 0.05) in both experiments, and improved feed efficiency (15% and 11%, p < 0.01) in Experiment 2. The C046 and LEA diets enhanced the duodenum (19% to –2 fold, p < 0.05), but decreased the liver (17 to 78%, p < 0.05) mRNA abundances of interleukins-1, 6 and 8 and (or) tumor necrosis factor-α, respectively, compared with the controls. Meanwhile, the two types of biomass enhanced the protein amounts of claudin-1 in the duodenum (5–34%, p < 0.05) than the controls. Hydrothermal liquefaction of the excreta derived from the three diets showed no major differences in total bio-crude oil (average of 23%), hydrochar yield (average of 12%), or elemental compositions. However, the heating values of the resultant two bio-crude oils from the microalgae-fed chicken excreta (average of 34 MJ/kg) were 16% greater than those from the control chickens (29 MJ/kg). In conclusion, supplementing the full- and de-fatted Desmodesmus sp. microalgal biomass in the starter diets for broiler chickens produced largely similar improvements of growth performance, gut health, and excreta-derived oil quality.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Endurance exercise training induces fat depot-specific differences in basal autophagic activity

The purpose of this study was to uncover the effect of exercise training on the expression of autophagy marker proteins in epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT), inguinal WAT (iWAT), and the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) collected from eWAT. Male Wistar rats aged 4–5 weeks were randomly divided into two groups, sedentary control (n = 7) and exercise-trained (n = 7). Rats in the exercise-trained group were exercised on a treadmill set at a 5° incline 5 days/week for 9 weeks. We determined that the expression levels of an autophagosome-associating form of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3)-II and of p62 were significantly higher in eWAT from exercise-trained than from control rats, while those of adipose-specific deletion of autophagy-related protein (ATG7) and lysosomal-associated membrane protein type 2A (LAMP2a) showed no difference between groups. However, in iWAT, the expression levels of LC3-II and ATG7 were significantly higher in exercise-trained than in control rats. The expression of p62 was highly correlated with that of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), a master regulator of adipogenesis and lipid metabolism, in both WAT types (eWAT, r = 0.856, P < 0.05; iWAT, r = 0.762, P < 0.05), whereas LC3-II and PPARγ levels were highly correlated in eWAT (r = 0.765, P < 0.05) but not in iWAT (r = −0.306, ns). In SVF, the expression levels of LC3II, ATG7, and LAMP2a were significantly higher in exercise-trained than in control rats. These results suggest that exercise training suppresses basal autophagy activity in eWAT, but that this activity is enhanced in iWAT and SVF collected from eWAT. Thus, the adaptation of basal autophagic activity following exercise training exhibits fat depot-specific differences. - Highlights: • Autophagy has been associated with obesity and associated diseases. • We examined exercise-associated rat white adipose tissue (WAT) autophagy markers. • Exercise increased autophagosome associated LC3-II in WAT. • Exercise-induced changes in p62 and ATG7 were WAT-type specific. • Exercise-induced basal autophagic activity shows fat depot-specific differences.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Chlamydia pneumoniae exploits adipocyte lipid chaperone FABP4 to facilitate fat mobilization and intracellular growth in murine adipocytes

Highlights: • C. pneumoniae successfully infects and proliferates in murine adipocytes. • C. pneumoniae infection induces HSL-mediated lipolysis in adipocytes. • Inhibition of HSL abrogates intracellular growth of C. pneumoniae. • FABP4 is required for C. pneumoniae-induced fat mobilization and bacterial growth. • C. pneumoniae modulates host lipid metabolism to obtain ATP via β-oxidation. Fatty acid-binding protein 4 (FABP4), a cytosolic lipid chaperone predominantly expressed in adipocytes and macrophages, modulates lipid fluxes, trafficking, signaling, and metabolism. Recent studies have demonstrated that FABP4 regulates metabolic and inflammatory pathways, and in mouse models its inhibition can improve type 2 diabetes mellitus and atherosclerosis. However, the role of FABP4 in bacterial infection, metabolic crosstalk between host and pathogen, and bacterial pathogenesis have not been studied. As an obligate intracellular pathogen, Chlamydia pneumoniae needs to obtain nutrients such as ATP and lipids from host cells. Here, we show that C. pneumoniae successfully infects and proliferates in murine adipocytes by inducing hormone sensitive lipase (HSL)-mediated lipolysis. Chemical inhibition or genetic manipulation of HSL significantly abrogated the intracellular growth of C. pneumoniae in adipocytes. Liberated free fatty acids were utilized to generate ATP via β-oxidation, which C. pneumoniae usurped for its replication. Strikingly, chemical inhibition or genetic silencing of FABP4 significantly abrogated C. pneumoniae infection-induced lipolysis and mobilization of liberated FFAs, resulting in reduced bacterial growth in adipocytes. Collectively, these results demonstrate that C. pneumoniae exploits host FABP4 to facilitate fat mobilization and intracellular replication in adipocytes. This work uncovers a novel strategy used by intracellular pathogens for acquiring energy via hijacking of the host lipid metabolism pathway.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Ischemic flap survival improvement by composition-selective fat grafting with novel adipose tissue derived product - stromal vascular fraction gel

Highlights: • SVF-gel is a minimal manipulated fat product accommodating SVF cells. • SVF-gel improves ischemic skin flap survival with comparable efficacy as cell therapy. • Pro-angiogenic effect's partly from direct SVF-gel incorporation. Flap necrosis due to insufficient blood supply is a common postoperative complication in random pattern flaps. Stem cell therapies have emerged as promising biologics for tissue ischemia. A novel fat derived product, stromal vascular fraction gel (SVF-gel), can be prepared with lipoaspirate through simple mechanical processing, removing only the lipid content. SVF-gel enriches adipose-derived stem cells and potentially beneficial for flap necrosis.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Co-administration of APD668, a G protein-coupled receptor 119 agonist and linagliptin, a DPPIV inhibitor, prevents progression of steatohepatitis in mice fed on a high trans-fat diet

Highlights: • GPR119 a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of dyslipidemia and NASH. • APD668, a GPR119 receptor agonist ameliorated hepatic steatosis in NASH mice. • Co-administration of APD668 and linagliptin resulted in increased GLP-1 levels. • Combination treatment demonstrated enhanced effects in NASH mice. Non-Alcoholic SteatoHepatitis (NASH) is the more severe form of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and is characterized by the presence of hepatic steatosis, oxidative stress, inflammation, hepatocyte injury with or without fibrosis. Recently, GPR119 receptor has emerged as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of dyslipidemia and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. In the present study, we investigated the effect of APD668, a GPR119 agonist alone or in combination with linagliptin, a DPPIV inhibitor on the progression of steatohepatitis in mice fed on a high trans-fat diet. In this study, monotherapy with either APD668 or linagliptin caused a reduction in the levels of ALT, AST, glucose, cholesterol and epididymal fat mass but the effect was more pronounced upon treatment with combination of both drugs. On the other hand, combined treatment of APD668 with linagliptin demonstrated a non-significant additive effect in reduction of hepatic triglyceride (−78%) and cholesterol (−56%) compared to monotherapy groups. Moreover, co-administration of APD668 and linagliptin resulted in enhanced levels of active GLP-1 with additional benefit of significant synergistic decrease in body weight gain (−19%) in mice. We speculated that the enhanced effect observed with the combination treatment could be due to either 1) direct activation of GPR119 receptors present in liver and intestine or 2) enhanced active GLP-1 levels or 3) decreased degradation of GLP-1 in-vivo through DPPIV inhibition. Therefore, these findings clearly suggest that GPR119 receptor agonists in combination with DPPIV inhibitors may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

miR-124-3p affects the formation of intramuscular fat through alterations in branched chain amino acid consumption in sheep

Highlights: • BCKDHA gene is a target gene of miR-124-3p. • miR-124-3p inhibits the adipogenic differentiation of stromal vascular fractions. • Branched chain amino acids consumption is vital for the adipogenic differentiation of stromal vascular fractions. Intramuscular fat is used to determine meat quality in animals; however, factors affecting branched chain amino acid (BCAA) catabolism, which fuels adipogenesis and lipogenesis, remain unclear. To better understand the post-transcriptional influence on BCAA catabolism during adipogenesis, we investigated the role of miR-124-3p. Stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells were isolated from skeletal muscle of sheep, and induced to differentiate. We determined the roles of miR-124-3p and its predicted target, branched chain keto acid dehydrogenase E1, alpha polypeptide (BCKDHA), in adipogenic differentiation and lipogenesis of SVFs after overexpressing or inhibiting miR-124-3p or BCKDHA, respectively. miR-124-3p altered the luciferase activity of constructs containing 3′-UTR of BCKDHA and the formation of lipid droplets, along with the adipogenic markers and BCAA consumption. Besides, the adipogenic performance and BCAA consumption in BCKDHA-overexpressing or knocked-down SVFs and the expression of adipogenic marker genes were altered. We demonstrate that miR-124-3p is an important factor for adipogenesis and provide insights into the formation of intramuscular fat in animals.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

High-Fat Diets Alter the Modulatory Effects of Xenobiotics on Cytochrome P450 Activities

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450) are key to the metabolism of myriad endogenous chemicals and xenobiotics, including the majority of therapeutic drugs. Dysregulated P450 activities can lead to altered drug metabolism and toxicity, oxidative stress, and inflammation; all physiological states frequently charged as the impetus for various chronic pathologies. We characterized the impact of common xenobiotic exposures, specifically high-fat diet and active or passive cigarette smoke, on the functional capacity of hepatic and pulmonary P450s. We employed an activity-based protein profiling approach to characterize the identity and activity level of measured individual P450 isoforms. Our results confirm expectations of significant alterations in pulmonary P450s due to cigarette smoke, but now reveal the repressive impact of high-fat diet-induced obesity on many hepatic P450s activities, and the dynamic alterations due to concomitant diet and smoke exposures on liver and lung P450 activities impacting drug metabolism and pathways of inflammation.

Sadler, Natalie C.↗

SU-F-I-37: How Fat Distribution and Table Height Affect Estimates of Patient Size in CT Scanning: A Phantom Study

Purpose: Localizer projection radiographs acquired prior to CT scans are used to estimate patient size, affecting the function of Automatic Tube Current Modulation (ATCM) and hence CTDIvol and SSDE. Due to geometric effects, the projected patient size varies with scanner table height and with the orientation of the localizer (AP versus PA). This study sought to determine if patient size estimates made from localizer scans is affected by variations in fat distribution, specifically when the widest part of the patient is not at the geometric center of the patient. Methods: Lipid gel bolus material was wrapped around an anthropomorphic phantom to simulate two different body mass distributions. The first represented a patient with fairly rigid fat and had a generally oval shape. The second was bell-shaped, representing corpulent patients more susceptible to gravity’s lustful tug. Each phantom configuration was imaged using an AP localizer and then a PA localizer. This was repeated at various scanner table heights. The width of the phantom was measured from the localizer and diagnostic images using in-house software. Results: 1) The projected phantom width varied up to 39% as table height changed.2) At some table heights, the width of the phantom, designed to represent larger patients, exceeded the localizer field of view, resulting in an underestimation of the phantom width.3) The oval-shaped phantom approached a normalized phantom width of 1 at a table height several centimeters lower (AP localizer) or higher (PA localizer) than did the bell-shaped phantom. Conclusion: Accurate estimation of patient size from localizer scans is dependent on patient positioning with respect to scanner isocenter and is limited in large patients. Further, patient size is more accurately measured on projection images if the widest part of the patient, rather than the geometric center of the patient, is positioned at scanner isocenter.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

The effects of prolonged spaceflight on the regional distribution of fluid, muscle and fat: Biostereometric results from Skylab

Biostereometric analysis of body form was performed several times preflight and postflight on the astronauts of all three skylab flights. The analysis was made by deriving the three-dimensional coordinates of numerous points on the body surface from stereoscopic pairs of photographs of the subject, using a stereoplotter. The volume of segments of the body, and of the body as a whole, was calculated by integration of cross sectional areas derived from the coordinate data. All nine astronauts demonstrated regional changes in volume distribution which could be related to changes in total body water, muscle mass, and fat deposits. The change in water resulted from a redistribution of fluid in response to zero gravity. Changes in muscle mass resulted from an alternation in patterns of musclar activity in the absence of gravity, and changes in fat resulted from discrepancies between the individual's caloric needs and his food consumption.

Whittle, M. W.↗

Oil and fat absorbing polymers

A method is described for forming a solid network polymer having a minimal amount of crosslinking for use in absorbing fats and oils. The polymer remains solid at a swelling ratio in oil or fat of at least ten and provides an oil absorption greater than 900 weight percent.

Marsh, H. E., Jr.↗

Entrainment in solution of an oscillating NADH oxidase activity from the bovine milk fat globule membrane with a temperature-compensated period length suggestive of an ultradian time-keeping (clock) function

Entrainment in solution of an oscillating activity with a temperature compensated period of 24 min is described for a NADH oxidase (NOX) activity of the bovine milk fat globule membrane, a derivative of the mammary epithelial cell plasma membrane. The period of 24 min remained unchanged at 17 degrees C, 27 degrees C and 37 degrees C whereas the amplitude approximately doubled with each 10 degree C rise in temperature (Q(10)congruent with 2). The periodicity was observed with both intact milk fat globule membranes and with detergent-solubilized membranes, demonstrating that the oscillations did not require an association with membranes. The periodicity was not the result of instrument variation or of chemical interactions among reactants in solution. Preparations with different periodicities entrained (autosynchronized) when mixed. Upon mixing, the preparations exhibited two oscillatory patterns but eventually a single pattern representing the mean of the farthest separated maxima of the two preparations analyzed separately emerged. The cell surface NOX protein is the first reported example of an entrainable biochemical entity with a temperature-compensated periodicity potentially capable of functioning as an ultradian or circadian clock driver.

Non-NASA Center↗

High fat diet triggers cell cycle arrest and excessive apoptosis of granulosa cells during the follicular development

The regulatory mechanism of granulosa cells (GCs) proliferation during the follicular development is complicated and multifactorial, which is essential for the oocyte growth and normal ovarian functions. To investigate the role of high fat diet (HFD) on the proliferation of GCs, 4-week old female mice were fed with HFD or normal control diet (NC) for 15 weeks or 20 weeks and then detected the expression level of some regulatory molecules of cell cycle and apoptosis. The abnormal ovarian morphology was observed at 20 weeks. Further mechanistic studies indicated that HFD induced-obesity caused elevated apoptotic levels in GCs of the ovaries in a time-dependent manner. Moreover, cell cycle progress was also impacted after HFD fed. The cell cycle inhibitors, p27{sup Kip1} and p21{sup Cip1}, were significantly induced in the ovaries from the mice in HFD group when compared with that in the ovaries from the mice in NC group. Subsequently, the expression levels of Cyclin D1, D3 and CDK4 were also significantly influenced in the ovaries from the mice fed with HFD in a time-dependent manner. The present results suggested that HFD induced-obesity may trigger cell cycle arrest and excessive apoptosis of GCs, causing the abnormal follicular development and ovarian function failure. - Highlights: • HFD induced-obesity leads to abnormal ovarian morphology. • HFD induced-obesity triggers excessive apoptosis in the ovary. • HFD induced-obesity up-regulates cell cycle inhibitors p21{sup Cip1} and p27{sup Kip1} in the ovary. • HFD induced-obesity causes cell cycle arrest in the ovary.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

High fat intake sustains sorbitol intolerance after antibiotic-mediated Clostridia depletion from the gut microbiota

Carbohydrate intolerance, commonly linked to the consumption of lactose, fructose, or sorbitol, affects up to 30% of the population in high-income countries. Although sorbitol intolerance is attributed to malabsorption, the underlying mechanism remains unresolved. Here, we show that a history of antibiotic exposure combined with high fat intake triggered long-lasting sorbitol intolerance in mice by reducing Clostridia abundance, which impaired microbial sorbitol catabolism. The restoration of sorbitol catabolism by inoculation with probiotic Escherichia coli protected mice against sorbitol intolerance but did not restore Clostridia abundance. Inoculation with the butyrate producer Anaerostipes caccae restored a normal Clostridia abundance, which protected mice against sorbitol-induced diarrhea even when the probiotic was cleared. Butyrate restored Clostridia abundance by stimulating epithelial peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-γ) signaling to restore epithelial hypoxia in the colon. Collectively, these mechanistic insights identify microbial sorbitol catabolism as a potential target for approaches for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of sorbitol intolerance.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Mouse fat storage‐inducing transmembrane protein 2 ( FIT 2) promotes lipid droplet accumulation in plants

Summary Fat storage‐inducing transmembrane protein 2 ( FIT 2) is an endoplasmic reticulum ( ER )‐localized protein that plays an important role in lipid droplet ( LD ) formation in animal cells. However, no obvious homologue of FIT 2 is found in plants. Here, we tested the function of FIT 2 in plant cells by ectopically expressing mouse ( Mus musculus ) FIT 2 in Nicotiana tabacum suspension‐cultured cells, Nicotiana benthamiana leaves and Arabidopsis thaliana plants. Confocal microscopy indicated that the expression of FIT 2 dramatically increased the number and size of LD s in leaves of N. benthamiana and Arabidopsis, and lipidomics analysis and mass spectrometry imaging confirmed the accumulation of neutral lipids in leaves. FIT 2 also increased seed oil content by ~13% in some stable, overexpressing lines of Arabidopsis . When expressed transiently in leaves of N. benthamiana or suspension cells of N. tabacum , FIT 2 localized specifically to the ER and was often concentrated at certain regions of the ER that resembled ER ‐ LD junction sites. FIT 2 also colocalized at the ER with other proteins known to be involved in triacylglycerol biosynthesis or LD formation in plants, but not with ER resident proteins involved in electron transfer or ER ‐vesicle exit sites. Collectively, these results demonstrate that mouse FIT 2 promotes LD accumulation in plants, a surprising functional conservation in the context of a plant cell given the apparent lack of FIT 2 homologues in higher plants. These results suggest also that FIT 2 expression represents an effective synthetic biology strategy for elaborating neutral lipid compartments in plant tissues for potential biofuel or bioproduct purposes.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Dietary Sodium Butyrate Supplementation Attenuates the Detrimental Effects of High-Fat Diets on Growth Performance, Liver Health, and Disease Resistance in Grass Carp

Abstract An 8-week experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of sodium butyrate (NaBT) inclusion in high-fat (HF) diets on growth performance, liver health, and disease resistance in Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella. Three diets (Control diet containing crude lipid at 58 g/kg, HF diet with 108-g/kg crude lipid, and NaBT diet with 108-g/kg crude lipid and 1-g/kg NaBT) were randomly assigned to nine tanks with 30 fish (9.50 ± 0.06 g) in each tank. After the feeding trial, disease resistance was assessed by injecting the fish with Aeromonas hydrophila. Compared to the Control diet group, the HF diet group showed lower specific growth rate, feed efficiency, and survival rate (15.7%) after the A. hydrophila challenge; significantly higher activity levels of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase in plasma; higher malondialdehyde content; higher messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of interleukin-8, cysteinyl aspartate specific protease (caspase) 9, and caspase 3; lower activity level of glutathione peroxidase; and lower mRNA expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 in liver. However, the NaBT diet significantly increased fish growth performance and survival rate (39.7%) after the A. hydrophila challenge and reduced hepatic oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis compared to the HF diet. In conclusion, NaBT can ameliorate the detrimental effects of HF diets on fish growth performance and fish health.

Gao, Shiyang↗