Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Salidroside induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in human cervical cancer SiHa cells

Background: Salidroside has potent anti-oxidant, anti-inflammation and anti-tumor activity. However, little is known regarding its effect on cervical cancer cells. This study investigated the effect of different concentrations of salidroside on the viability, cell cycling and apoptosis of cervical cancer SiHa cells and its potential mechanisms. Methods: Cell growth potential was measured by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and colony formation. Cell cycle distribution was measured by flow cytometry. A light microscope was used to detect the morphology of SiHa cells. Western blot was used to measure the protein expression of the indicated genes. Results: Treatment with different concentrations of salidroside significantly reduced the viability of SiHa cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner. Treatment with salidroside resulted in morphological changes in SiHa cells and induced cell cycle arrest at the G2/M and/or S phase, which was associated with significantly decreased levels of Cyclin B1, Cyclin A and Cyclin-dependent kinase-2 expression but up-regulating P21 expression. Furthermore, treatment with different concentrations of salidroside induced the apoptosis of SiHa cells, and their effects were dose-dependent. Finally, treatment with salidroside enhanced the relative levels of cleaved caspase 3, Bax, and Fas expression but down-regulated the relative levels of BcL-2 and FasL expression in SiHa cells. These results demonstrated that salidroside had potent cytotoxicity against SiHa cells by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in cervical cancer. Salidroside may be a promising candidate for cervical cancer chemotherapy.
Quantized Hall effect in three dimensions.

When the Fermi level lies in a gap, the Hall conductivity of three-dimensional (3D) electrons in a periodic potential can be expressed in a topologically invariant form with a set of three integers. These integers are explicitly found as a solution of a Diophantine equation, the structure of which relies on the flux of the magnetic field through three areas of the periodic lattice. In a simple geometry, we detail a tight-binding model which is found to be reduced to a generalized 1D Harper equation. The existence of a complex gap structure is explicitly shown. The spectrum depends on the field orientation.
The Role of Physical Exercise on Lipid Peroxidation in Diabetic Complications

Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglicemia and insufficiency of action or secretion of insulin. More than 346 million people worldwide have diabetes. 80 per cent of diabetes-induced deaths ocur in lowand middle-income countries. Most people with diabetes are above the age of retirement in developed countries, whereas in developing countries those most frequently affected are aged between 35 and 64 [1]. Although the etiology of this disease is not well defined, viral infections, autoimmunity, genetic and environmental factors have been implicated [2-5]. Four major types of diabetes have been defined by the American Diabetes Association (ADA): type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, other spesific types of diabetes and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) [6].
Transforming Growth Factor-α and Nonsyndromic Cleft Lip with or without Palate or Cleft Palate Only in Kelantan, Malaysia

Objective: To determine the frequency of the transforming growth factor-alpha (TGFα) Taq1 polymorphism in nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL±P) and cleft palate only (CP) in Kelantan, Malaysia. Setting: The study was conducted at the Combined Cleft Clinic and at the Human Genome Centre in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia in Kelantan, Malaysia. Design: We examined the C2/Taq1 variant of the TGFα gene in 46 patients with nonsyndromic CL±P or CP only and in 33 controls. The TGFα genotype frequencies in patients were compared with those in controls using the chi-square or Fisher exact test. DNA samples were obtained from peripheral blood. Results: No association was found between TGFαTaq1 polymorphism and CL±P or CP in this case-control study. In addition, no homozygosity for the rare allele C2 was noted in CL±P, CP, or the controls. Conclusion: No evidence of TGFαTaq1 polymorphism was observed in association with CL±P and CP in this study.
Practice Patterns Regarding Management of Rectovaginal Fistulae: A Multicenter Review From the Fellows’ Pelvic Research Network

Objectives Rectovaginal fistulae (RVFs) are often debilitating and there are no established treatment algorithms. We sought to describe current diagnosis and management strategies for RVFs across the United States. Methods This institutional review board–approved multicenter retrospective study included 12 sites. Cases were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes during a 5-year period. Demographics, management, and outcomes of RVF treatment were collected. Results Three hundred forty-two charts were identified; 176 (52%) met criteria for inclusion. The mean (SD) age was 45 (17) years. Medical history included hypertension (21%), cancer (17%), Crohn disease (11%), and diabetes (7%). Rectovaginal fistulae were often associated with obstetric trauma (42%), infection/inflammation (24%), and cancer (11%). Overall, most RVFs were primary (94%), small (0.5–1.5 cm; 49%), transsphincteric (31%), and diagnosed via vaginal and rectal (60%) examination. Eighteen percent (32/176) were initially managed conservatively for a median duration of 56 days (interquartile range, 29–168) and 66% (21/32) of these resolved. Almost half (45%) of RVFs treated expectantly were tiny (<0.5 cm). Eighty-two percent (144/176) of subjects were initially managed surgically and 81% (117/144) resolved. Procedures included simple fistulectomy with or without Martius graft (59%), transsphincteric repair (23%), transverse transperineal repair (10%), and open techniques (8%), and 87% of these procedures were performed by urogynecologists. Conclusions In this large retrospective review, most primary RVFs were treated surgically, with a success rate of more than 80%. Two thirds of RVFs managed conservatively resolved spontaneously, and most of these were tiny (<0.5 cm). These success rates can be used in counseling to help our patients make informed decisions about their treatment options.
Does it matter who does ultrasound examination of the gall bladder?

The high level of accuracy achieved by some ultrasonographers in the diagnosis of gall stones' 2 has resulted in a general acceptance of ultrasound as the primary investigation for gall stones.3 These excellent results, however, were obtained by strongly motivated and highly experienced ultrasonographers conducting clinical trials.4 The knowledge that the result of an ultrasound examination will be included in a prospective study may improve performance. We have sought to establish whether the same level of accuracy can be achieved when ultrasound is performed outside the confines of a prospective trial by ultrasonographers with varying degrees of experience. The purposes of this study were, firstly, to assess the performance of gall bladder ultrasound in a busy radiology department where gall bladder ultrasound is routinely performed by different radiologists and, secondly, to see whether there was "operator variability" between the ultrasonographers performing the scans. The results were examined retrospectively and represent a record of what occurred in our department without the possible bias which would be introduced by a prospective study.
Portrayal of Childhood Cancer in English Language Magazines in North America: 1970–2001

ABSTRACT This article is a content and discourse analysis of the portrayal of childhood cancer in English language magazines in North America. In a unique specification of published research on the media portrayal of disease, magazines were divided into three market or audience groupings called (1) science, (2) news/special interest, and (3) other (women/teen/parenting/health). The predominate frames or discoursesin these three groups were compared and differences were found amongst them and discussed in the article. Considerable evidence suggests that people with cancer are stigmatized. In the analyzed media focused on children, those with cancer are highly idealized and stereotyped. On the one hand, this can be thought of as a very positive portrayal of children in this situation. Children are described as if they possess heroic and idealized character traits, appearances, social characteristics, and personalities. Possible links between this idealized, polarized, and biased portrayal of children with cancer and their documented experiences of stigma are discussed.
p38α MAPK Is Required for Tooth Morphogenesis and Enamel Secretion*

Background: Little is known regarding the contribution of MAPKs to the development of ectodermal appendages. Results: Mice with a deletion of p38α in ectoderm display defective secretion of dental enamel and the absence of dental cusps. Conclusion: p38α mediates critical steps in tooth morphogenesis and enamel secretion. Significance: This is the first in vivo study demonstrating that the p38 MAPK pathway is critical for tooth morphogenesis and enamel secretion. An improved understanding of the molecular pathways that drive tooth morphogenesis and enamel secretion is needed to generate teeth from organ cultures for therapeutic implantation or to determine the pathogenesis of primary disorders of dentition (Abdollah, S., Macias-Silva, M., Tsukazaki, T., Hayashi, H., Attisano, L., and Wrana, J. L. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 27678–27685). Here we present a novel ectodermal dysplasia phenotype associated with conditional deletion of p38α MAPK in ectodermal appendages using K14-cre mice (p38αK14 mice). These mice display impaired patterning of dental cusps and a profound defect in the production and biomechanical strength of dental enamel because of defects in ameloblast differentiation and activity. In the absence of p38α, expression of amelogenin and β4-integrin in ameloblasts and p21 in the enamel knot was significantly reduced. Mice lacking the MAP2K MKK6, but not mice lacking MAP2K MKK3, also show the enamel defects, implying that MKK6 functions as an upstream kinase of p38α in ectodermal appendages. Lastly, stimulation with BMP2/7 in both explant culture and an ameloblast cell line confirm that p38α functions downstream of BMPs in this context. Thus, BMP-induced activation of the p38α MAPK pathway is critical for the morphogenesis of tooth cusps and the secretion of dental enamel.
Femoral Neck Fractures in Pediatric Patients: 30 Years Experience at a Level 1 Trauma Center

Femoral neck fractures in children are severe injuries associated with the potentially disastrous complication of femoral head osseous necrosis. Our primary goal was to identify what factors contribute to the occurrence of femoral head osteonecrosis in skeletally immature patients with femoral neck fractures. We evaluated a large consecutive series of pediatric patients with femoral neck fractures. Between 1970 and 2000, 20 patients with a mean age of 11 years (range, 4-15 years) with femoral neck fractures were identified. All traumatic epiphyseal, transcervical, and basicervical (Types I, II, and III) fractures were included. There were 14 male patients and six female patients. The mean followup was 7 years (range, 1-28 years). Timing of surgery, type of fixation, and quality of reduction were analyzed with respect to the primary outcome measure-radiographic evidence of femoral head osteonecrosis. Eighteen of 20 hip fractures healed without complication; all had good or excellent reductions. Two patients had osteonecrosis develop; both had fair or poor reductions. Five patients were treated more than 48 hours after injury, including the two patients who had osteonecrosis develop. The mean time to fixation for the remaining patients was 12 hours. There was no relationship between capsular decompression and osteonecrosis development. Quality of reduction and timing of reduction influenced the risk of osteonecrosis.Level of Evidence: Level IV, therapeutic study. See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Widespread gene flow and high genetic variability in populations of water voles Arvicola terrestris in patchy habitats

Theory predicts that the impact of gene flow on the genetic structure of populations in patchy habitats depends on its scale and the demographic attributes of demes (e.g. local colony sizes and timing of reproduction), but empirical evidence is scarce. We inferred the impact of gene flow on genetic structure among populations of water voles Arvicola terrestris that differed in average colony sizes, population turnover and degree of patchiness. Colonies typically consisted of few reproducing adults and several juveniles. Twelve polymorphic microsatellite DNA loci were examined. Levels of individual genetic variability in all areas were high (HO= 0.69–0.78). Assignments of juveniles to parents revealed frequent dispersal over long distances. The populations showed negative FIS values among juveniles, FIS values around zero among adults, high FST values among colonies for juveniles, and moderate, often insignificant, FST values for parents. We inferred that excess heterozygosity within colonies reflected the few individuals dispersing from a large area to form discrete breeding colonies. Thus pre‐breeding dispersal followed by rapid reproduction results in a seasonal increase in differentiation due to local family groups. Genetic variation was as high in low‐density populations in patchy habitats as in populations in continuous habitats used for comparison. In contrast to most theoretical predictions, we found that populations living in patchy habitats can maintain high levels of genetic variability when only a few adults contribute to breeding in each colony, when the variance of reproductive success among colonies is likely to be low, and when dispersal between colonies exceeds nearest‐neighbour distances.
Natural and Synthetic Progestins Accelerate 7,12-Dimethylbenz[a]Anthracene-Initiated Mammary Tumors and Increase Angiogenesis in Sprague-Dawley Rats

Purpose: Synthetic progestins are widely used therapeutically; however, there is controversy regarding their proliferative effects. We used a rat 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)–induced mammary tumor model to test the hypothesis that progestins increase angiogenesis and as a result decrease the latency period and increase the multiplicity of mammary tumors. Experimental Design: Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) pellets were implanted 2, 4, or 6 weeks after DMBA exposure; RU-486 was given 3 days before MPA. Experiments were concluded 70 days after DMBA administration. Results: MPA exposure 4 or 6 weeks after DMBA reduced the latency period for appearance of tumors in a dose-dependent manner and increased tumor incidence. Administration of MPA 2 weeks after DMBA administration reduced tumor incidence and was protective. Progesterone did not reduce the latency period but significantly increased tumor incidence. RU-486 delayed the latency period and decreased tumor incidence in animals exposed to MPA at 4 weeks after DMBA treatment, indicating that the progesterone receptor may be partially responsible for transmission of proliferative signals. RU-486 also delayed the latency period but failed to reduce overall tumor incidence when animals were exposed to MPA at 6 weeks after DMBA treatment, indicating that other factors may also control MPA-induced acceleration. Whereas MPA-accelerated tumors were both intraductal and tubular, progesterone-accelerated and/or DMBA-induced tumors were tubular. Progestin treatment increased vascular endothelial growth factor expression within tumors in a ligand- and cell type–dependent manner and increased angiogenesis in correlation with vascular endothelial growth factor expression. No mammary tumors or progesterone receptor were detected in DMBA-treated ovariectomized rats regardless of progestin administration. Conclusions: We propose that progestins can accelerate the development of mammary tumors and that antiangiogenic agents and/or the use of antiprogestins that can reduce tumor incidence might be a viable therapeutic option for treatment of progestin-accelerated tumors. The model described here is a potentially useful preclinical model for rapidly screening such compounds.
Effects of 25% propylene glycol hydrogel (Solugel) on second intention wound healing in horses.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of a commercially available 25% propylene glycol hydrogel preparation (Solugel; Johnson and Johnson Medical, North Ryde, Australia) on healing of full-thickness skin wounds on the distal aspect of the limb in horses. STUDY DESIGN Experimental. ANIMALS Eight Standardbred horses. METHODS Standardized (2.5 x 2.5 cm) full-thickness skin wounds were created over the mid-dorsomedial aspect of both metacarpi in 8 horses. One wound in each horse was dressed with saline solution (0.9% NaCl) soaked gauze, and one was treated with Solugel under dry regular gauze; wounds were then bandaged with gauze-coated cotton wool and elastic adhesive bandages. Wounds were videorecorded and rebandaged twice weekly until healed. Wound healing variables were measured from the videorecordings using a computer software package and analyzed as a randomized complete block design with repeated measures. Where necessary variables were made positive for analysis; significance was set at P <. 05. RESULTS The area of the wound at the first bandage change did not vary between treated and untreated wounds. Treatment had no effect on the total rate of healing, rate of healing during the retraction phase of healing, rate of healing after the retraction phase was complete, or the amount the wounds retracted. CONCLUSIONS Using this model of wound healing, Solugel had no effect on second intention healing of distal limb wounds in horses. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Solugel does not appear to have any beneficial effect on healing of small full-thickness skin wounds to the distal limb of horses.
Impact of mass-loss on the evolution and pre-supernova properties of red supergiants

The post main-sequence evolution of massive stars is very sensitive to many parameters of the stellar models. Key parameters are the mixing processes, the metallicity, the mass-loss rate and the effect of a close companion. We study how the red supergiant lifetimes, the tracks in the Hertzsprung-Russel diagram (HRD), the positions in this diagram of the pre-supernova progenitor as well as the structure of the stars at that time change for various mass-loss rates during the red supergiant phase (RSG), and for two different initial rotation velocities. The surface abundances of RSGs are much more sensitive to rotation than to the mass-loss rates during that phase. A change of the RSG mass-loss rate has a strong impact on the RSG lifetimes and therefore on the luminosity function of RSGs. At solar metallicity, the enhanced mass-loss rate models do produce significant changes on the populations of blue, yellow and red supergiants. When extended blue loops or blue ward excursions are produced by enhanced mass-loss, the models predict that a majority of blue (yellow) supergiants are post RSG objects. These post RSG stars are predicted to show much smaller surface rotational velocities than similar blue supergiants on their first crossing of the HR gap. The position in the HRD of the end point of the evolution depends on the mass of the hydrogen envelope. More precisely, whenever, at the pre-supernova stage, the H-rich envelope contains more than about 5\% of the initial mass, the star is a red supergiant, and whenever the H-rich envelope contains less than 1\% of the total mass the star is a blue supergiant. For intermediate situations, intermediate colors/effective temperatures are obtained. Yellow progenitors for core collapse supernovae can be explained by the enhanced mass-loss rate models, while the red progenitors are better fitted by the standard mass-loss rate models.
Children's coping strategies and coping efficacy: Relations to parent socialization, child adjustment, and familial alcoholism

The relations of children's coping strategies and coping efficacy to parent socialization and child adjustment were examined in a sample of school-age children that included families in which some of the grandparents and/or parents had an alcoholism diagnosis. Parents and older children reported on the children's coping strategies; parents reported on their parenting behavior; and teachers reported on children's externalizing and internalizing problems. Measures of parent socialization were associated with parents' and children's reports of active coping strategies and parents' reports of both support-seeking coping and coping efficacy. Some of these relations were moderated by familial alcohol status. Children higher in parent-reported active/support-seeking coping and coping efficacy were rated lower in teacher-reported externalizing and internalizing adjustment problems. The findings were consistent with the view that active/support-seeking coping and coping efficacy mediated the association of parent socialization to children's psychological adjustment and that this relation was sometimes moderated by parental alcohol status.This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (DA05227; Laurie Chassin, Principle Investigator, Nancy Eisenberg, Co-Principal Investigator).
Apoptosis in the human liver during allograft rejection and end‐stage liver disease

The contribution of apoptosis (programmed cell death) to cellular damage in human liver disease is unknown. Using the in situ DNA end labelling method (ISEL), evidence was sought of programmed cell death (PCD) in liver tissue from patients with various liver diseases. In particular, the study aimed to determine whether PCD is involved in either the loss of interlobular bile ducts (vanishing bile duct syndrome—VBDS) or the perivenular hepatocyte drop‐out, both of which are characteristic of irreversible graft rejection. Large numbers of apoptotic hepatocytes were found in pervenular areas in tissues taken from patients with chronic graft rejection. Significant hepatocyte apoptosis, was not seen in long‐term stable allografts, primary biliary cirrhosis, cholestasis, paracetamol‐induced fulminant hepatic failure, or fulminant hepatic failure of indeterminate origin (non‐A, non‐B, non‐C hepatitis). Bile ducts rarely stained positively, but mononuclear cells present in the post‐transplant tissues were frequently positive, showing nuclear or cytoplasmic staining. The presence of cytoplasmic staining suggested that some mononuclear cells had ingested apoptotic DNA from other cellular sources. PCD may thus contribute to the perivenular hepatocyte loss in chronic rejection. The absence of ductular epithelial cell staining suggests that PCD is not involved significantly in the bile duct loss of VBDS. Furthermore, apoptosis of monomuclear cells implies that PCD may be involved in regulating the inflammatory cell infiltration of graft rejection.