Effects of genetic variation in porcine adipocyte and heart fatty acid-binding protein genes, A-FABP and H-FABP, respectively, on intramuscular fat (IMF) content and backfat thickness (BFT) were examined in F2 crossbreds of Meishan and Western pigs. The involvement of each FABP gene in IMF accretion was studied to confirm previous results for Duroc pigs. The F2 crossbred pigs were genotyped for...

Gut colonization with enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) appears to be associated with the development of colorectal cancer. However, differences in carriage rates are seen with various testing methods and sampling sites. We compared standard PCR, SYBR green and TaqMan quantitative PCR (qPCR) and digital PCR (dPCR) in detecting the B. fragilis toxin (bft) gene from cultured ETBF, and f...

Einstein considered general covariance to characterize the novelty of his General Theory of Relativity (GTR), but Kretschmann thought it merely a formal feature that any theory could have. The claim that GTR is “already parametrized” suggests analyzing substantive general covariance as formal general covariance achieved without hiding preferred coordinates as scalar “clock fields,” much as Eins...

We evaluated the effect of biofeedback therapy (BFT) on anorectal function after stoma closure when administered during the interval of temporary stoma after sphincter-preserving surgery for rectal cancer.Impaired anorectal function is common after lower anterior resections, though no specific treatment options are currently available to prevent this adverse outcome.Fifty-six patients who under...

Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) is a human gut commensal bacteria that causes inflammatory diarrhea and colitis. ETBF also promotes colorectal tumorigenesis in the Min mouse model. The key virulence factor is a secreted metalloprotease called B. fragilis toxin (BFT). BFT induces E-cadherin cleavage, cell rounding, activation of the β-catenin pathway and secretion of IL-8 in colonic ...

BACKGROUND Paradoxical external anal sphincter contraction during attempted defecation (anismus) is thought to be an important contributor to chronic faecal retention and encopresis in children. Biofeedback training can be used to teach children to abolish this abnormal contraction. METHODS A randomised controlled trial in medical treatment resistant and/or treatment dependent children with a...

Modern society depends on several critical infrastructures like power, water, oil and gas generation and distribution. These infrastructures have evolved to become largely controlled by computers and interconnected by computer networks, which lets them exposed to the same types of threats as Internet systems. Therefore, research about mechanisms to improve the protection of these infrastructure...

The aim of this study was to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that could be associated with back fat thickness (BFT) in pigs. To achieve this goal, we evaluated the potential and limits of an experimental design that combined several methodologies. DNA samples from two groups of Italian Large White pigs with divergent estimating breeding value (EBV) for BFT were separately pooled...

Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) protocols rely on state machine replication to handle arbitrary behaviors. Significant efforts have been recently made to strengthen these protocols in order to minimize the performance degradation in presence of faulty components. In this paper, we focus on the potential damages that could be introduced from the client side of such protocols. In order to deal wit...