Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Non-Canonical Smads Phosphorylation Induced by the Glutamate Release Inhibitor, Riluzole, through GSK3 Activation in Melanoma

Riluzole, an inhibitor of glutamate release, has shown the ability to inhibit melanoma cell xenograft growth. A phase 0 clinical trial of riluzole as a single agent in patients with melanoma resulted in involution of tumors associated with inhibition of both the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and phophoinositide-3-kinase/AKT (PI3K/AKT) pathways in 34% of patients. In the present study, we demonstrate that riluzole inhibits AKT-mediated glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) phosphorylation in melanoma cell lines. Because we have demonstrated that GSK3 is involved in the phosphorylation of two downstream effectors of transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ), Smad2 and Smad3, at their linker domain, our aim was to determine whether riluzole could induce GSK3β-mediated linker phosphorylation of Smad2 and Smad3. We present evidence that riluzole increases Smad2 and Smad3 linker phosphorylation at the cluster of serines 245/250/255 and serine 204 respectively. Using GSK3 inhibitors and siRNA knock-down, we demonstrate that the mechanism of riluzole-induced Smad phosphorylation involved GSK3β. In addition, GSK3β could phosphorylate the same linker sites in vitro. The riluzole-induced Smad linker phosphorylation is mechanistically different from the Smad linker phosphorylation induced by TGFβ. We also demonstrate that riluzole-induced Smad linker phosphorylation is independent of the expression of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (GRM1), which is one of the glutamate receptors whose involvement in human melanoma has been documented. We further show that riluzole upregulates the expression of INHBB and PLAU, two genes associated with the TGFβ signaling pathway. The non-canonical increase in Smad linker phosphorylation induced by riluzole could contribute to the modulation of the pro-oncogenic functions of Smads in late stage melanomas.
Alveolar splitting with Piezosurgery®, bone bank grafts and NobelActive implants as an alternative to major bone grafting for maxillary reconstruction.

BACKGROUND Piezosurgery® represents a novel alternative technique. The Piezosurgery® is well tolerated and permits a large number of applications in described literature. The principle of Piezosurgery® consists into inducing micro-vibrations to a metallic insert with a particular custom. The aim of this article is to study and to evaluate the use of NobelActive implants in combination with piezosurgical split-crest technique in severe atrophy of the upper maxilla. This approach allows avoiding the use of onlay grafts, due to rise the trasversal width of the crestal bone, which could have more complications and uncertain prognosis. This technique allows reducing timing of implant insertion because it is not necessary to wait for the graft to heal. METHODS Ten patients (age 45-58) are selected, presenting from class 4 to 5 by Cawood and Howell of jaws. Those underwent piezosurgical split-crest technique and simultaneous implants surgery and bone grafts. Preoperative X-ray evaluation included standard X-panoramic and CT Dental-scan. Standard chemoprophylaxis was administered to each patient. The piezosurgical split-crest procedure was combined with tissue bank fresh frozen chips and double-layer collagen membrane to improve the thickness of alveolar bone and simultaneous implant surgery. Every patient received simultaneously from 3 to 6 implants which diameter was 4.3 mm and length 10-11.5 mm. Healing abutments have been applied at 5 months from the first procedure. RESULTS Patients were clinically monitored, and marginal bone changes were calculated using periapical radiographs, which were taken with O-ring technique at placement and upon subsequent appointments and a 1-mm measurement grid for marginal bone remodeling, again at baseline and thereafter 3 months within loading. Cumulative implant survival was 97.8% (N.=45). Mean marginal bone resorption (SD) was 1.19 (1.01) mm for the early loading group after 1 year. The use of NobelActive implants seem to reduce peak stress in both cortical and trabecular bone. CONCLUSIONS The use of NobelActive implants was revealed ideal in patients presenting jaw atrophy. The tapered designs show an ability to dissipate the interfacial stresses of bone, therefore improving the stability and the osteointegration if used in association to split crest made with piezosurgical device.
I/Q imbalance calibration for higher self-interference cancellation levels in Full-Duplex wireless transceivers

This paper investigates a Full-Duplex transceiver using an active cancellation technique where an additional transmit chain is employed to create the self-interference cancellation signal. Both transmitters and also the receiver are impaired by frequency-dependent I/Q imbalance with different parameters. It is shown how an I/Q parameter deviation in these chains deteriorates the achievable self-interference suppression level. Three different types of pre-equalization units, with variable complexity degree and different implementation approach, are then introduced and investigated. These units correct the I/Q imbalance and retain the self-interference level to its value as in a perfectly I/Q matched full-duplex transceiver. They can even be used to fully calibrate the I/Q imbalance. Simulative results show that self-interference suppression levels of more than 71 dB can be achieved.
Social Bias in the Policing of Illicit Drug Users in the UK and Australia: Findings from a Self-Report Study

This paper uses data from the Global Drug Survey to test the hypothesis that there is social bias in the policing of drug users, in the form of stop and search for drugs. The Global Drug Survey is a self-report, internet survey. In 2012, it included a non-random sample of illicit drug users in the UK (n=5,919) and Australia (n=5,707). We discuss previous research on social bias in policing. We argue that an intersectional approach is necessary in order to analyse patterns of stop and search for drugs across drug users who have various social statuses. In order to analyse the influence of various patterns of drug use, we create an inductive typology of a wide range of drug use types and temporalities, using latent class analysis. We use these latent classes, frequency of past month drug use and indicators of drug dependency alongside sociodemographic variables in binary logistic regression analyses of the odds of reporting being stopped and searched for drugs in the past year. We use these models to test both consensus and conflict perspectives on the policing of drug users. We find support for both perspectives in both countries. Patterns of drug use do significantly predict the odds of sampled drug users reporting police stop and search, as expected by the consensus perspective. But drug users who were younger, male and of less advantaged social status (as measured by education in the UK sample, and by minority ethnicity, income and unemployment in the Australian sample) also had significantly higher odds of reporting stop and search. This supports the conflict perspective on policing and our hypothesis that there is evidence of social bias in the policing of drug users in the Global Drug Survey sample.
for infarction associated with smoking ban:

: Objective To determine whether there was a change in hospital admissions for acute myocardial infarction while a local law banning smoking in public and in workplaces was in effect. Design Analysis of admissions front December 1997 through November 2003 using Poisson analysis. Setting a with a of 68140. Participants All patients for acute myocardial infarction. Main outcome measures Number of monthly admissions for acute myocardial infarction for people living in mid outside Helena. Results During the six months the law was enforced the number of admissions fell significantly (-16 admissions, 95% confidence interval -31.7 to -0.3), from an eScholarship provides open access, scholarly publishing services to the University of California and delivers a dynamic research platform to scholars worldwide. Abstract Objective To determine whether there was a change in hospital admissions for acute myocardial infarction while a local law banning smoking in public and in workplaces was in effect. Design Analysis of admissions from December 1997 through November 2003 using Poisson analysis. Setting Helena, Montana, a geographically isolated community with one hospital serving a population of 68 140. Participants All patients admitted for acute myocardial infarction. Main outcome measures Number of monthly admissions for acute myocardial infarction for people living in and outside Helena. Results During the six months the law was enforced the number of admissions fell significantly ( − 16 admissions, 95% confidence interval − 31.7 to − 0.3), from an average of 40 admissions during the same months in the years before and after the law to a total of 24 admissions during the six months the law was in effect. There was a non-significant increase of 5.6 ( − 5.2 to 16.4) in the number of admissions from outside Helena during the same period, from 12.4 in the years before and after the law to 18.0 while the law was in effect. Conclusions Laws to enforce smoke-free workplaces and public places may be associated with an effect on morbidity from heart disease.
Anatomical evidence for the absence of a morphologically distinct cranial root of the accessory nerve in man

The accessory nerve is conventionally described as having a cranial and spinal root. According to standard descriptions the cranial root (or part) is formed by rootlets that emerge from the medulla between the olive and the inferior cerebellar peduncle. These rootlets are considered to join the spinal root, travel with it briefly, then separate within the jugular foramen to become part of the vagus nerve. In 15 fresh specimens we exposed the posterior cranial fossa with a coronal cut through the foramen magnum and explored the course of each posterior medullary rootlet (PMR) arising from within the retro‐olivary groove. We chose the caudal end of the olive as the landmark for the caudal end of the medulla. In all specimens every PMR that did not contribute to the glossopharyngeal nerve joined the vagus nerve at the jugular foramen. The distance between the caudal limit of the olive and the origin of the most caudal PMR that contributed to the vagus nerve ranged from 1–21 mm (mean = 8.8 mm). All rootlets that joined the accessory nerve arose caudal to the olive. The distance from the caudal limit of the olive and the most rostral accessory rootlet ranged from 1–15 mm (mean = 5.4 mm). We were unable to demonstrate any connection between the accessory and vagus nerves within the jugular foramen. Our findings indicate that the accessory nerve has no cranial root; it consists only of the structure hitherto referred to as its spinal root. Clin. Anat. 15:4–10, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Effect of Stromal Integrin β3-Deficiency on Two Different Tumors in Mice

There is an increasing focus on the tumor microenvironment in carcinogenesis. Integrins are important receptors and adhesion molecules in this environment and have been shown to be involved in cell adhesion, proliferation, differentiation and migration. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of stromal integrin β3-deficiency on tumor growth, angiogenesis, interstitial fluid pressure (PIF), fibrosis and metastasis in a murine breast cancer (4T1) and a prostate tumor (RM11) model. We showed that stromal integrin β3-deficiency led to an elevation in PIF that correlated to a shift towards thicker collagen fibrils in the 4T1 mammary tumor. In the RM11 prostate carcinoma model there was no effect of integrin β3-deficiency on PIF and collagen fibril thickness. These findings support the notion that changes in the collagen scaffold influence PIF, and also indicate that there must be important crosstalk between the stroma and tumor cells, in a tumor cell line specific manner. Furthermore, stromal integrin β3-deficiency had no effect on tumor growth or angiogenesis in both tumor models and no effect on lung metastasis in the 4T1 mammary tumor model. In conclusion, the stromal β3 integrin influence PIF, possibly via its effect on the structure of the collagen network, in a tumor cell line dependent manner.
Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene polymorphisms in Egyptian Turner Syndrome patients.

BACKGROUND Folate metabolism dysfunctions can result in DNA hypomethylation and abnormal chromosome segregation. Two common polymorphisms of the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) encoding gene (C677T and A1298C) reduce MTHFR activity, but when associated with aneuploidy, the results are conflicting. Turner Syndrome (TS) is an interesting model for investigating the association between MTHFR gene polymorphisms and nondisjunction because of the high frequency of chromosomal mosaicism in this syndrome. OBJECTIVE To investigate the association of MTHFR gene C677T and A1298C polymorphisms in TS patients and their mothers and to correlate these polymorphisms with maternal risk of TS offspring. SUBJECTS AND METHODS MTHFR C677T and A1298C polymorphisms were genotyped in 33 TS patients, their mothers and 15 healthy females with their mothers as controls using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and sequencing technique. RESULTS Genotype and allele frequencies of both C677T and A1298C were not significantly different between TS cases and controls. There were no significant differences in C677T genotype distribution between the TS mothers and controls (p=1). The MTHFR 1298AA and 1298AC genotypes were significantly increased in TS mothers Vs. control mothers (p=0.002). The C allele frequency of the A1298C polymorphism was significantly different between the TS mothers and controls (p=0.02). The association of A1298C gene polymorphism in TS patients was found to increase with increasing age of both mothers (p=0.026) and fathers (p=0.044) of TS cases. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest a strong association between maternal MTHFR A1298C and risk of TS in Egypt.
Women, men, and their attributions for success in academe

In such a visibly hierarchical and success-oriented arena as academe, attributions for success are highly salient. These attributions represent explanations of, and often justifications for, social inequality. We employ data from a national survey of academics in four major fields to analyze the explanations by academics to account for the success of the best-kown people in their fields. More specifically, we analyse the way in which those explanations vary between academic women and academic men
Jonathan N. (2016) Effects of lameness treatment for claw horn lesions on lying behaviour in dairy cows. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 179 . pp. 11-16.

17 Claw horn lesions are some of the most common causes of lameness and it is accepted that 18 prompt diagnosis and treatment affects the likelihood of recovery; however, it is still 19 unknown if the type of lesion influences the likelihood of recovery. The aim of this study was 20 to investigate whether the type and frequency of claw horn lesions in newly lame cows at the 21 time of corrective foot trimming affected the probability of recovery from lameness after 22 treatment. The images of 119 feet from newly lame cows, which were treated with a 23 standardised therapeutic hoof trim, were used to measure and count the presence of claw horn 24 lesions (sole ulcer, sole haemorrhage, white line haemorrhage and white line separation). The 25 majority of cows (n=114) were classified as mildly lame at the time of treatment. The 26 recovery rate two weeks after therapeutic hoof trimming was 79.8% (n=95 cows). A 27 multilevel logistic regression model found that severely lame cows with lesions on a single 28 claw were less likely to recover than those that were mildly lame and had lesions on both 29 claws. White line haemorrhage lesion was the only lesion to decrease the likelihood of 30 recovery; however, cows with longer white line haemorrhage lesions were more likely to 31 recover. This latter finding may be associated with the severity of the lesion, as this study also 32 observed that mild claw horn lesions were significantly larger than severe lesions. Further 33 work is needed to better understand the factors that influence recovery from this painful and 34 costly disease. 35
Long-Term Follow-up of Stressed Working Women: A Comparison of Aerobic Exercise and Progressive Relaxation

The present study describes the results of a 14-month follow-up evaluation of 39 stressed working women randomly assigned to aerobic exercise (i.e., jogging) or progressive relaxation interventions. At this follow-up, both intervention groups reported significantly less anxiety and greater self-efficacy. In addition, subjects tended to increase their use of problem-focused coping as compared to emotion-focused coping, and 64% of them were still regularly using some structured form of relaxation or exercise. The proportion of subjects reaching clinically significant improvements was 24% at the end of treatment and 36% at the 14-month follow-up.
Improved hydrodynamic interaction in macromolecular bead models

The calculation of hydrodynamic properties of macromolecules in terms of bead models requires an adequate description of the hydrodynamic interaction between the spherical elements. For this purpose, the original or modified Oseen tensor are customarily used, although it has been shown that this simple description may lead to erroneous results, particularly for rotational coefficients. In this paper we study several more elaborate theories for multisphere systems. We apply those treatments to our problem of rigid bead models, implementing them in computer programs, and making calculations for various test structures. The comparison of the results from the various theories, and from other, presumably very accurate procedures, allow us to give some guidelines to improve the treatment of hydrodynamic interactions in macromolecular bead models. These advances are introduced in new versions of our public-domain computer software.
Contrasting assembly processes in a bacterial metacommunity along a desiccation gradient

Understanding the relative influence of deterministic and stochastic processes in driving community assembly is a major goal in microbial ecology. Here, we have investigated the influence of these processes on bacterial community assembly in the lateral sediments of a salt pan along a desiccation gradient over a three-year period. We show that the role of deterministic processes increases in communities distant from the water line (shaped by drought), probably as a result of the interplay between abiotic and biotic factors. By contrast, the influence of stochastic processes on bacterial community assembly was higher in the sediments closest to the water line, more likely due to lower levels of abiotic stress. Our results demonstrate that both deterministic and stochastic processes influence bacterial community assembly in salt pan sediments, and that their relative influence varies along a desiccation gradient.
Protective melatonin effect on oxidative stress induced by okadaic acid into rat brain

We studied the effect of melatonin on the oxidative changes produced by the intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of okadaic acid (200 ng/kg BW) in the Wistar rat. The effects of okadaic acid were evaluated as changes in the quantity of lipid peroxides, reduced glutathione content (GSH) and activity of antioxidative enzymes. Okadaic acid caused lipid peroxidation (5.35 ± 0.47 μmol/g tissue in the i.c.v. vehicle group versus 10.14 ± 0.88 μmol/g tissue in the okadaic acid group, P < 0.001), GSH consumption (0.115 ± 0.0065 μmol/g tissue in the i.c.v. vehicle group versus 0.024 ± 0.0021 μmol/g tissue, P < 0.001), and a reduction in the activity of GSH‐peroxidase, GSH‐reductase and GSH‐transferase between 60–80%. All these changes were prevented by pre‐injection of 4.5 mg melatonin per kg BW 2 hr before okadaic acid. These findings indicate: (i) okadaic acid induces a status of oxidative stress in the brain, characterized by a high level of lipid peroxidation, decreases in GSH content and diminished activities of antioxidative enzymes, and (ii) melatonin prevents the deleterious effects induced by okadaic acid. In conclusion, the results show the ability of melatonin to modify the neural response to okadaic acid with the protective mechanism likely involving the antioxidative processes of melatonin.
A Comparison of Virtual Reality and Mental Imagery Scenarios to Promote Self-Compassion and Reduce Shame and Self-Criticism

Aims: This study aimed to establish whether an immersive virtual reality (VR) compassionate scenario is any more effective at nurturing self-compassion and positively influencing state levels of shame, self-criticism and mood compared to a mental imagery (MI) comparison in healthy individuals with high levels of self-criticism. This study also investigated whether state self-compassion, self-criticism and shame undergo any further change following two weeks of independent mental imagery practice based on the experimental scenario. Method: Forty participants who met the inclusion criteria were randomly allocated to either a one-off VR or MI experimental session. State measures of self-compassion, self-criticism, shame and mood were administered pre, post-intervention and at two-week follow-up following daily mental imagery practice based on the experimental compassionate scenario. Results: Both conditions had a small to medium positive effect on state levels of self-compassion and shame and a large effect on self-criticism post-intervention, which was maintained at follow-up. No main effect of condition across any of the dependent variables was found however. In addition, the prediction that frequency of mental imagery rehearsal, ease of recall, and vividness of the mental imagery would be related to the amount of change in levels of self-compassion, shame and self-criticism was also not supported by the data. Conclusion: This study found that a novel immersive VR scenario designed to nurture compassion and an MI control condition both demonstrated short-term therapeutic benefits in healthy individuals with high average levels of self-criticism. However, the overall results indicate that the use of VR technology to enable participants to directly experience both giving and receiving compassion from the self, affords no extra benefit over a guided MI analogue. Further research is therefore warranted in clinical populations.
Uterine contraction during the ovulatory cycle of the hen.

Patterns of uterine contraction (UC) were determined by recording electrical activity of the uterus in the free moving hen. Between 2 ovipositions within a clutch, the frequency of electrical activity remained minimum, but showed a significant increase beginning 5-6 h after the time of ovulation and high levels lasted for 20 h. The frequency started to increase rapidly 5 mm before oviposition, reached maximum at the time of oviposition and decreased to the minimum level within 30 mm after the oviposition. In contrast to normal layers, hens laying shell-less eggs or internal layers showed persistently low electrical activity after premature oviposition or after internal ovulation, respectively. But despite the absence of an egg in the oviduct, both types of birds displayed the same UC peak at the expected time of oviposition as that in the normal bird. The frequency of electrical activity of the uterus remained low for several hours after oviposition of the terminal egg (Ct) of a clutch, but was elevated for about 5 h and showed a peak about 1 h before ovulation of the first egg (C1) of the next clutch separated by single day. The results suggest that the UC peak at oviposition may be attributable to either or both actions of the posterior pituitary hormones and the postovulatory follicles and that the process of ovulation may be involved in the UC peak.