Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Animal Models of Acute Photodamage: Comparisons of Anatomic, Cellular and Molecular Responses in C57BL/6J, SKH1 and Balb/c Mice

Human cutaneous photodamage is a major medical problem that includes premature aging and fragility of the skin. Nonxenografted animal models have not been comparatively evaluated for how well they resemble the changes seen in human skin. Here, we sought to identify a suitable mouse model that recapitulates key anatomic, cellular and molecular responses observed in human skin during acute UV exposure. Adult females from three strains of mice, C57BL/6J, SKH1 and Balb/c were exposed to UVB and then evaluated 3 or 20 h after the last irradiation. Skin from UVB‐exposed C57BL/6J mice showed features resembling human photodamage, including epidermal thickening, infiltration of the dermis with inflammatory cells, induction of tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) mRNA, accumulation of glycosaminoglycans, particularly hyaluronan in the epidermis and loss of collagen. Hairless SKH1 mouse skin responded similarly, but without any induction of TNF‐α mRNA or chondroitin sulfate. Irradiated Balb/c mice were the least similar to humans. Our results in C57BL/6J mice and to a lesser extent in SKH1 mice, show cutaneous responses to a course of UVB‐irradiation that mirror those seen in human skin. Proper choice of model is critical for investigating cellular and molecular mechanisms of photodamage and photoaging.
Consumption of salted meat and its interactions with alcohol drinking and tobacco smoking on esophageal squamous‐cell carcinoma

Etiology of esophageal cancer has not yet been clearly documented, especially in high‐risk regions. To evaluate the association between salted meat intake and esophageal squamous‐cell carcinoma (ESCC) and to explore its joint effects with alcohol drinking and smoking, a population‐based case–control study was conducted in a high ESCC risk area in China, including 942 incident ESCC cases and 942 age‐ and sex‐matching controls. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to collect information on dietary factors, alcohol drinking and tobacco smoking. Conditional logistic regressions were applied to estimate the association between salted meat intake and ESCC and its interactions with alcohol drinking and smoking, with adjustment for other confounders, including total energy intake. Salted meat intake was associated with an increased risk of ESCC, showing an exposure–response relationship (p for trend <0.001). Consumption of 50 g salted meat per week was related to an increased risk by 18% (odds ratio = 1.18, 95% confidence interval: 1.13–1.23). Salted meat in combination with either alcohol drinking or smoking had a greater risk than salted meat alone, which was more than additive. The strongest association was seen in the combination of all the three factors, particularly at the highest level of salted meat intake (odds ratio = 29.27, 95% confidence interval: 13.21–64.89). Salted meat intake is strongly associated with ESCC and its interactions with alcohol drinking and/or smoking highlights the significance of reducing salted meat intake among smokers and drinkers with respect to ESCC prevention.
Irradiation‐induced localization of IL‐12‐expressing mesenchymal stem cells to enhance the curative effect in murine metastatic hepatoma

Irradiation in conjunction with gene therapy is considered for efficient cancer treatment. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), due to their irradiation‐promotable tumor tropism, are ideal delivery vehicles for gene therapy. In this study, we investigated whether treatment with radiation and interleukin (IL)‐12‐expressing MSCs (MSCs/IL‐12) exerts improved antitumor effects on murine metastatic hepatoma. HCa‐I and Hepa 1‐6 cells were utilized to generate heterotopic murine hepatoma models. Tumor‐bearing mice were treated with irradiation or MSCs/IL‐12 alone, or a combination. Monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 (MCP‐1/CCL2) expression was assessed in irradiated hepatoma tissues to confirm a chemotactic effect. Combination treatment strategies were established and their therapeutic efficacies were evaluated by monitoring tumor growth, metastasis and survival rate. IL‐12 expression was assessed and the apoptotic activity and immunological alterations in the tumor microenvironment were examined. MCP‐1/CCL2 expression and localization of MSCs/IL‐12 increased in the irradiated murine hepatoma cells. The antitumor effects, including suppression of pulmonary metastasis and survival rate improvements, were increased by the combination treatment with irradiation and MSCs/IL‐12. IL‐12 expression was increased in tumor cells, causing proliferation of cluster of differentiation 8+ T‐lymphocytes and natural killer cells. The apoptotic activity increased, indicating that the cytotoxicity of immune cells was involved in the antitumor effect of the combined treatment. Treatment with irradiation and MSCs/IL‐12 showed effectiveness in treating murine metastatic hepatoma. IL‐12‐induced proliferation of immune cells played an important role in apoptosis of tumor cells. Our results suggest that treatment with irradiation and MSCs/IL‐12 may be a useful strategy for enhancing antitumor activity in metastatic hepatoma.
Analysis of circulating tumor cells derived from advanced gastric cancer

Studies in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have proceeded to be accepted as prognostic markers in several types of cancers. But they are still limited because many are mainly from enumeration of CTCs. Here, we tried to evaluate the tumorigenicity of CTCs from advanced gastric cancer patients (n = 42). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from the patients were separated into CD45 negative and positive fractions and both were subcutaneously injected into immunodeficient mice. Within 5 months nine tumor‐like‐structures from six patients but not from healthy volunteers were established. They were durable for passages and all had been confirmed human origin. Eight of the nine tumor‐like‐structures were from nonauthorized CTC containing cells expressing CD45 and B‐cell markers. On the contrary, one of them was developed from CD45− PBMC fraction of a patient with bone marrow metastasis reflecting authorized CTCs. Histopathology showed common features with that of original gastric tumor. The cells isolated from the tumor‐like‐structure expressed EpCAM and CEA further supporting they were from the original tumor. Moreover the cells were CD44 positive to varying degree and a limiting dilution study showed that the CD44+/high fraction had tumorigenicity. The CD44 was dominantly in the form of CD44 variant 8–10. The CD44+/high cells had higher expression of the glutamate/cysteine transporter xCT compared with the CD44−/low cells. Our results showed the existence of tumor‐initiating cells in blood of advanced gastric cancer patients and they could be a therapeutic target and prospective tool for further investigations.
Diagnostic accuracy of VIA and HPV detection as primary and sequential screening tests in a cervical cancer screening demonstration project in India

Visual inspection after acetic acid application (VIA) and human papillomavirus (HPV) detection tests have been recommended to screen women for cervical cancer in low and middle income countries. A demonstration project in rural India screened 39,740 women with both the tests to compare their accuracies in real population setting. The project also evaluated the model of screening women in the existing primary health care facilities, evaluating the screen positive women with colposcopy (and biopsy) in the same setup and recalling the women diagnosed to have disease for treatment at tertiary center. Accuracy of VIA and HPV test used sequentially was also studied. VIA was performed by trained health workers and Hybrid Capture II (HC II) assay was used for oncogenic HPV detection. Test positivity was 7.1% for VIA and 4.7% for HC II. Detection rate of CIN 3+ disease was significantly higher with HC II than VIA. Sensitivities of VIA and HC II to detect 162 histology proved CIN 3+ lesions were 67.9 and 91.2%, respectively after adjusting for verification bias. Specificity for the same disease outcome and verification bias correction was 93.2% for VIA and 96.9% for HC II. Triaging of VIA positive women with HPV test would have considerably improved the positive predictive value (4.0 to 37.5% to detect CIN 3+) without significant drop in sensitivity. All VIA positive women and 74.0% of HC II positive women had colposcopy. There was high compliance to treatment and significant stage‐shift of the screen‐detected cancers towards more early stage.
Infrared (810 nm) Low‐level Laser Therapy in Rat Achilles Tendinitis: A Consistent Alternative to Drugs

Nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used and can reduce musculoskeletal pain in spite of the cost of adverse reactions like gastrointestinal ulcers or cardiovascular events. The current study investigates if a safer treatment such as low‐level laser therapy (LLLT) could reduce tendinitis inflammation, and whether a possible pathway could be through inhibition of either of the two‐cyclooxygenase (COX) isoforms in inflammation. Wistar rats (six animals per group) were injected with saline (control) or collagenase in their Achilles tendons. Then, we treated them with three different doses of IR LLLT (810 nm; 100 mW; 10 s, 30 s and 60 s; 3.57 W cm−2; 1 J, 3 J, 6 J) at the sites of the injections, or intramuscular diclofenac, a nonselective COX inhibitor/NSAID. We found that LLLT dose of 3 J significantly reduced inflammation through less COX‐2‐derived gene expression and PGE2 production, and less edema formation compared to nonirradiated controls. Diclofenac controls exhibited significantly lower PGE2 cytokine levels at 6 h than collagenase control, but COX isoform 1‐derived gene expression and cytokine PGE2 levels were not affected by treatments. As LLLT seems to act on inflammation through a selective inhibition of the COX‐2 isoform in collagenase‐induced tendinitis, LLLT may have potential to become a new and safer nondrug alternative to coxibs.
The Validity of Social Control Critiques: Psychiatric Medication, Side Effects and Outpatient Commitment

Abstract Much controversy exists over the treatment of mental illness and many critics argue that the exercise of medical authority results in the social control of the mentally ill. This paper examines the validity of these social control critiques utilizing data collected on 115 patients court ordered to outpatient commitment and from interviews with their primary clinicians. The three expectations which guide the investigation were supported. First, clinicians tended to hold a biomedical view of mental illness and believed in the efficacy of forced treatment. Second, individuals seen by clinicians were likely to be diagnosed as severely mentally ill, and the majority received psychiatric medication while fewer received alternative treatments. Third, while 90 percent of the patients experienced problems with side effects, clinicians did not always acknowledge these problems. These data clearly support the validity of social control critiques and implications are drawn for the long-term treatment of the .
Dose matters: Dose of antibiotics in the critically ill patient depends on the dose of renal replacement therapy

I read with great interest the article by Dr. Onorati and colleagues published in a recent issue of Critical Care Medicine (1) regarding the pulsatile perfusion with intra-aortic balloon pumping on the wholebody response to cardiopulmonary bypass in the elderly. The authors are to be congratulated for their excellent design and performance of the study and straightforward finding of improved body response to cardiopulmonary bypass with pulsatile flow perfusion in these elderly patients. However, one important aspect, which may potentially influence the outcome of using pulsatile or nonpulsatile flow perfusion during cardiopulmonary bypass, is the state of aortic stiffness of elderly patients who are often manifested with an increased pulse pressure (2). According to the patients’ demographics of this study, approximately half of the elderly patients are hypertensive. Thus, it is likely that many of these elderly may have had an abnormal pulse pressure. In the literature, it has been well described that increased pulse pressure is associated with a high risk of organ dysfunction and mortality in the elderly population (3, 4). In patients undergoing cardiac surgery, increased pulse pressure has been found to be associated strongly with the risk of adverse outcome and postoperative complications (5). Currently, there has been little information with regard to the effect of pulsatile flow perfusion during cardiopulmonary bypass on postoperative organ function in patients with increased pulse pressure, especially for the elderly. As Dr. Onorati and colleagues have performed such a unique study enabling to assess the multiple organ response to pulsatile cardiopulmonary bypass in the elderly, it may be interesting to look at how pulsatile flow perfusion has affected these elderly patients with increased pulse pressure during cardiac surgery. The author has not disclosed any potential conflicts of interest.
Effect of Pre-Eclampsia on plasma and erythrocytic divalent cation concentrations and their Bioenergetics of Transport

Background: Pre-eclampsia is a syndrome of pregnancy-induced hypertension with proteinuria, which has high prevalence rate among blacks. Aims and Objectives: To study the effect of pre-eclampsia on bioenergetics for the transport of erythrocytic cations to plasma, the plasma and erythrocytic levels of magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn) and selenium (Se) were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry in 100 pre-eclamptic women matched for gestation age with 100 normal pregnant subjects. These were also age-matched with 100 non-pregnant women. Results: The plasma and erythrocytic levels of the minerals were significantly ( p 0.05) the divalent-cation-based erythrocytic membrane free energy. Conclusion: Our results suggest that low levels of these minerals, especially Mg and Ca in pre-eclampsia, may have roles to play in the development of hypertension in these patients, and calls for intensified research into mineral supplementation as a key for possible prevention or management of pre-eclampsia. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3126/ajms.v6i2. 11109 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences Vol.6(2) 2015 19-24
Trends in survival after cancer diagnosis among HIV‐infected individuals between 1992 and 2009. Results from the FHDH‐ANRS CO4 cohort

Although the decline in cancer mortality rates with the advent of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in HIV‐infected individuals can be mostly explained by a decrease in cancers incidence, we looked here if improved survival after cancer diagnosis could also contribute to this decline. Survival trends were analyzed for most frequent cancers in the HIV‐infected population followed in the French Hospital Database on HIV: 979 and 2,760 cases of visceral and non‐visceral Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), 2,339 and 461 cases of non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL), 446 lung, 312 liver and 257 anal cancers. Five‐year Kaplan–Meier survival rates were estimated for four periods: 1992–1996, 1997–2000, 2001–2004 and 2005–2009. Cox proportional hazard models were used to compare survival across the periods, after adjustment for confounding factors. For 2001–2004, survival was compared to the general population after standardization on age and sex. Between the pre‐cART (1992–1996) and early‐cART (1997–2000) periods, survival improved after KS, NHL, HL and anal cancer and remained stable after lung and liver cancers. During the cART era, 5‐year survival improved after visceral and non‐visceral KS, NHL, HL and liver cancer, being 83, 92, 65, 87 and 19% in 2005–2009, respectively, and remained stable after lung and anal cancers, being 16 and 65%, respectively. Compared with the general population, survival in HIV‐infected individuals in 2001–2004 was poorer for hematological malignancies and similar for solid tumors. For hematological malignancies, survival continues to improve after 2004, suggesting that the gap between the HIV‐infected and general populations will close in the future.
Caffeine Affects Heart Rate and Blood Pressure Response to Prolonged Walking

This study investigated the cardiovascular response to walking after caffeine ingestion. Subjects were ten fit, normotensive men (age range, 22 to 30 years of age) who were either high caffeine users (HCU) (more than 300 mg/day) (five subjects) or low caffeine users (LCU) (less than 50 mg/day) (five
Authors' reply to: High naevus counts confer a favourable prognosis in patients with melanoma

1 Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom 2 Section of Dermatology, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy 3 Department of Dermatology, London North West Healthcare NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom 4 Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom 5 Section of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, LICAP, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom 6 Department of Dermatology, Instituto Valenciano De Oncologıa, Valencia, Spain 7 Melanoma Unit, Dermatology Department, Hospital Clinic and IDIBAPS, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain 8 Dermatology Department, West Herts NHS Trust, Herts, United Kingdom
Effect of Low‐Level Laser Therapy (660 nm) on Acute Inflammation Induced by Tenotomy of Achilles Tendon in Rats

In this study, we aimed to analyze the effects of low‐level laser therapy (LLLT; 660 nm) on levels of protein expression of inflammatory mediators after cutting Achilles tendon of rats. Thirty Wistar male rats underwent partial incisions of the left Achilles tendon, and were divided into three groups of 10 animals according to the time of euthanasia after injury: 6, 24 and 72 h. Each group was then divided into control group and LLLT group (treated with 100 mW, 3.57 W cm−2, 0.028 cm2, 214 J cm−2, 6 J, 60 s, single point). In LLLT group, animals were treated once time per day until the time of euthanasia established for each group. The group treated with LLLT showed a significant reduction of IL‐1β compared with control groups at three time points (6 h: P = 0.0401; 24 h: P = 0.0015; 72 h: P = 0.0463). The analysis of IL‐6 showed significant reduction only in the LLLT group at 72 h compared with control group (P = 0.0179), whereas IL‐10 showed a significant increase in the treated group compared with control group at three experimental times (6 h: P = 0.0007; 24 h: P = 0.0256; 72 h: P < 0.0001). We conclude that LLLT is an important modulator of inflammatory cytokines release after injury in Achilles tendon.
Comparison of Role Conflict, Self-Efficacy, Job Satisfaction, and Job Involvement between Nutrition Teachers and Dietitians at School Food Service in Incheon Metropolitan City - Focusing on the Interactions between Nutrition Teachers and Dietitians -

【The purpose of this study was to compare differences in role conflict, self efficacy, job satisfaction, and job involvement perceived by school nutrition teachers and dietitians. A total of 335 female school nutrition teachers and dietitians from Incheon area were surveyed by a self-report questionnaire in November 2010. Collected data were processed using SPSS 15.0. The reliability of the questionnaire was tested and differences between the two groups were analyzed using the Student's t-test, the chi-square test, and a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The job satisfaction level of nutrition teachers was higher than that of dietitians. The effect of role conflict and job satisfaction for nutrition teachers and dietitians was different according to age. In addition, self-efficacy, job satisfaction, and job involvement of nutrition teachers and dietitians were influenced by their annual salaries. The frequency of meals served also affected role conflict, job satisfaction, and job involvement of the nutrition teachers and dietitians, and the effect of job involvement by the nutrition teachers and dietitians was different according to meal service type. Therefore, it is necessary to establish strategies for resolving role conflicts among school foodservice specialists and improve their self-efficacy for enhancing consumer's satisfaction with the general quality of school food service. These efforts may contribute to job satisfaction and job involvement of food service specialists and ultimately to the productivity of food service and the establishment of food service specialist roles. 】
Prognostic and diagnostic potential of local and circulating levels of pentraxin 3 in lung cancer patients

There is a well‐established link between inflammation and cancer of various organs, but little data are available on inflammation‐associated markers of diagnostic and prognostic clinical utility in pulmonary malignancy. Blood samples were prospectively collected from 75 resectable lung cancer patients before surgery and in a cohort of 1,358 high‐risk subjects. Serum levels of long pentraxin 3 (PTX3) were determined by high‐sensitivity ELISA. PTX3 immunostaining was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in cancer tissue. Serum PTX3 levels in the high‐risk population were not predictive of developing subsequent lung cancer or any other malignancy; however, serum PTX3 values in patients with lung cancer were significantly higher compared with cancer‐free heavy smokers. With a cutoff of 4.5 ng/ml, specificity was 0.80, sensitivity 0.69, positive predictive value 0.15 and negative predictive value 0.98. The receiver operating curve (ROC) for serum PTX3 had an area under the curve (AUC) of 83.52%. Preoperative serum PTX3 levels in lung cancer patients did not correlate with patient outcome, but high interstitial expression of PTX3 in resected tumor specimens was a significant independent prognostic factor associated with shorter survival (p < 0.001). These results support the potential of serum PTX3 as a lung cancer biomarker in high‐risk subjects. Furthermore, PTX3 immunohistochemistry findings support the role of local inflammatory mechanisms in determining clinical outcome and suggest that local expression of PTX3 may be of prognostic utility in lung cancer patients.
Human papillomavirus capsids preferentially bind and infect tumor cells

We previously determined that human papillomavirus (HPV) virus‐like particles (VLPs) and pseudovirions (PsV) did not, respectively, bind to or infect intact epithelium of the cervicovaginal tract. However, they strongly bound heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG) on the basement membrane of disrupted epithelium and infected the keratinocytes that subsequently entered the disrupted site. We here report that HPV capsids (VLP and PsV) have the same restricted tropism for a wide variety of disrupted epithelial and mesothelial tissues, whereas intact tissues remain resistant to binding. However, the HPV capsids directly bind and infect most tumor‐derived cell lines in vitro and have analogous tumor‐specific properties in vivo, after local or intravenous injection, using orthotopic models for human ovarian and lung cancer, respectively. The pseudovirions also specifically infected implanted primary human ovarian tumors. Heparin and ι‐carrageenan blocked binding and infection of all tumor lines tested, implying that tumor cell binding is HSPG‐dependent. A survey using a panel of modified heparins indicates that N‐sulfation and, to a lesser degree, O‐6 sulfation of the surface HSPG on the tumors are important for HPV binding. Therefore, it appears that tumor cells consistently evolve HSPG modification patterns that mimic the pattern normally found on the basement membrane but not on the apical surfaces of normal epithelial or mesothelial cells. Consequently, appropriately modified HPV VLPs and/or PsV could be useful reagents to detect and potentially treat a remarkably broad spectrum of cancers.