Therapy of choice in obese children and adolescents is lifestyle intervention based on nutrition education, behavioural treatment and exercise treatment. Its efficacy even after the end of intervention has been proven by several randomised-controlled trials and meta-analyses including a recent Cochrane review. However, randomised-controlled trials are likely to overestimate the effectiveness. S...

UNLABELLED Vascular invasion provides a direct route for tumor metastasis. The degree to which microRNA (miRNA) expression plays a role in tumor vascular invasion is unclear. Here, we report that miR-494 is up-regulated in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumors with vascular invasion and can promote HCC cell invasiveness by gene inactivation of multiple invasion-suppressor miRNAs. Our resu...

Background: A suboptimal vitamin D and calcium status has been associated with higher risk of type 2 diabetes in observational studies, but evidence from trials is lacking. Objective: We determined whether vitamin D supplementation, with or without calcium, improved glucose homeostasis in adults at high risk of diabetes. Design: Ninety-two adults were randomly assigned in a 2-by-2 factorial-des...

Paenibacillus sp. P22 is a Gram-negative facultative anaerobic endospore-forming bacterium isolated from poplar hybrid 741 (♀[Populus alba × (P. davidiana + P. simonii) × P. tomentosa]). This bacterium shows strong similarities to Paenibacillus humicus, and important growth-promoting effects on in vitro grown explants of poplar hybrid 741 have been described.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important posttranscriptional regulators of various biological pathways. In this study, we focused on the role of miRNAs during mitochondrial biogenesis in skeletal muscle. The expression of miR-494 was markedly decreased in murine myoblast C₂C₁₂ cells during myogenic differentiation, accompanied by an increase in mtDNA. Furthermore, the expression of predicted target gen...

BACKGROUND The antianxiety effects of ethanol appear to be a crucial factor in promoting alcohol intake. Regulation of gene expression by microRNA (miRNA) is an important epigenetic mechanism that affects neuronal pathways and behaviors. We investigated the role of miRNAs underlying the mechanisms of ethanol-induced anxiolysis. METHODS Acute ethanol-induced anxiolysis was measured in adult ra...

Hinokitiol (β-thujaplicin) is a tropolone-related compound that has anti-microbe, anti-inflammation, and anti-tumor effects. Cancer stem/progenitor cells (CSCs) are a subpopulation of cancer cells with tumor initiation, chemoresistant, and metastatic properties and have been considered the important therapeutic target in future cancer therapy. Previous studies reported that hinokitiol exhibits ...

Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) remains an obstacle in the current treatment provided for prostate cancer (PCa). Survivin, an apoptosis inhibitor, has been found to be involved in the progression of PCa, and is a promising candidate target for CRPC therapy. Micro (mi)RNAs are involved in the progression of PCa through the regulation of multiple genes. One of the objectives of the pr...

Background: Heart failure is a leading cause of death in industrialized nations especially in the aging populations. Novel approaches to treat the heart after acute injury and to improve cardiac hypertrophic remodeling and heart failure processes remain unsatisfactory. Activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) is a member of the ATF/cAMPresponse elementbinding protein family of transcriptional f...