Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression of NDRG 2 is down-regulated in high-risk adenomas and colorectal carcinoma

Background: It has recently been shown that NDRG2 mRNA is down-regulated or undetectable in several human cancers and cancer cell-lines. Although the function of NDRG2 is unknown, high NDRG2 expression correlates with improved prognosis in high-grade gliomas. The aim of this study has been to examine NDRG2 mRNA expression in colon cancer. By examining affected and normal tissue from individuals with colorectal adenomas and carcinomas, as well as in healthy individuals, we aim to determine whether and at which stages NDRG2 down-regulation occurs during colonic carcinogenesis. Methods: Using quantitative RT-PCR, we have determined the mRNA levels for NDRG2 in lowrisk (n = 15) and high-risk adenomas (n = 57), colorectal carcinomas (n = 50) and corresponding normal tissue, as well as control tissue from healthy individuals (n = 15). NDRG2 levels were normalised to β-actin. Results: NDRG2 mRNA levels were lower in colorectal carcinomas compared to normal tissue from the control group (p < 0.001). When comparing adenomas/carcinomas with adjacent normal tissue from the same individual, NDRG2 expression levels were significantly reduced in both highrisk adenoma (p < 0.001) and in colorectal carcinoma (p < 0.001). There was a trend for NDRG2 levels to decrease with increasing Dukes' stage (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that expression of NDRG2 is down-regulated at a late stage during colorectal carcinogensis. Future studies are needed to address whether NDRG2 downregulation is a cause or consequence of the progression of colorectal adenomas to carcinoma. Published: 12 October 2007 BMC Cancer 2007, 7:192 doi:10.1186/1471-2407-7-192 Received: 18 June 2007 Accepted: 12 October 2007 This article is available from: http://www.biomedcentral. com/1471-2407/7/192 © 2007 Lorentzen et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
CHAPTER 6 Habitats and Land Use as Determinants of Plant Invasions in the Temperate Zone of Europe

In the current literature on plant invasions, solid information on macroecological patterns has accumulated, which contributes to our understanding of the invasion process. For example, it has been firmly established that temperate mainland regions are more invaded than tropical mainland, islands are more invaded than corresponding areas of mainland, and that the proportion of naturalized alien species to native species in temperate zone decreases with latitude and altitude (see Pyšek and Richardson 2006 for a review). It is symptomatic that these generalizations are based on the numbers of alien species, mostly naturalized, in individual regions or states, and ignore that the emergent patterns on the coarse scale can be an outcome of patterns and processes occurring on finer scales, namely of differences in the level of invasion among different habitats. Because large-scale quantitative information on the distribution of species, not only alien but also native, in habitats is scarce, the extent to which individual habitats are invaded was sometimes estimated from expert assignments of alien plant species represented in a regional flora to their respective habitats (Crawley 1987; Rejmánek et al. 2005; Walter et al. 2005). This approach essentially defines alien species pools of individual habitats (Zobel 1992; Sádlo et al. 2007), but has a disadvantage that sizes of the regional species pools of aliens cannot be simply scaled down to individual sites so that their level of invasion can be quantified. In the present chapter, we review studies dealing with invasions in habitats and, by using an extensive dataset from the Czech Republic, we demonstrate differences between the level of invasion (defined as the actual representation of alien species, Chytrý et al. 2005; Richardson and Pyšek 2006) and invasibility (defined as the inherent vulnerability of habitats to invasion, Lonsdale 1999). We classify individual habitats according to these two measures and explore the relative importance of factors which determine both the level of invasion and invasibility. In analyses, two traditional groups of European aliens are considered, distinguished on the basis of residence time (Pyšek et al. 2004): archaeophytes (arrived before 1500 AD, mainly from the Middle East and Mediterranean), and neophytes (arrived after 1500 AD, mainly from North America and Asia). Finally, the potential for application of the knowledge of invasion in individual habitats is discussed and possibilities of using it in risk assessment outlined.
BAND GAP ENERGY PROFILE OF BSFT Ba

A new nano ceramic material BSFT was prepared via a conventional solid state reaction technique and UV-VIS analysis of the sample was carried to study the optical properties. Tunable band gaps can be obtained by varying annealing temperatures. An exponentially varying absorption edge was observed and explained in terms of the Urbach’s tail. The refractive index was calculated and the results obtained also showed a systematic variation with temperature. The EDX measurements confirmed the composition of the sample.
Hesperidin ameliorates bleomycin-induced experimental pulmonary fibrosis via inhibition of TGF-beta1/Smad3/AMPK and IkappaBalpha/NF-kappaB pathways

Bleomycin (BLM) is a chemotherapeutic agent which is associated with Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) due to its chronic administration. Hesperidin, a bioflavonoid has been reported to possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, and antiapoptotic potential. To evaluate the therapeutic potential of hesperidin against BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis and decipher its possible mechanism of action. Intraperitoneal administration of BLM (6 IU/kg) caused induction of IPF in Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats were treated with hesperidin (25, 50, and 100 mg/kg, p.o.) for 28 days, followed by estimation of various parameters in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung. Hesperidin (50 and 100 mg/kg) administration significantly ameliorated (p < 0.05) alterations induced by BLM in lung index, percent oxygen saturation, serum ALP and LDH levels, BALF differential cell count, and lung function test. Elevated levels of oxido-nitrosative stress, hydroxyproline, and myeloperoxidase levels in BALF and lung were significantly decreased by hesperidin on day 14. Hesperidin significantly inhibited BLM-induced down-regulated lung Nrf2 and HO-1 as well as up-regulated TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, collagen-1, TGF-β, and Smad-3 mRNA expressions. Western blot analysis showed that alteration in lung NF-κB, IκBα, AMPK, and PP2C-α protein expressions were ameliorated by hesperidin on day 28. Furthermore, BLM induced histological and ultrastructural aberrations in the lung which were attenuated by hesperidin treatment. Hesperidin alleviates BLM-induced IPF via inhibition of TGF-β1/Smad3/AMPK and IκBα/NF-κB pathways which in turn ameliorate the modulation of oxido-inflammatory markers (Nrf2 and HO-1) and pro-inflammatory markers (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) to reduce collagen deposition during pulmonary fibrosis. See also Figure 1(Fig. 1).
1 Thrombosis and Antithrombotics in Vascular Disease

Intravascular thrombus formation presents the greatest challenge in the field of cardiovascular disease. Within the arterial tree, it is the culprit inducing clinical presentation in the majority of patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), including unstable angina (UA) and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). In the United States alone, approximately 1 million individuals will be stricken with an acute myocardial infarction (MI) and approximately 700,000 will undergo a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Although already staggering, these numbers are increasing for several reasons, including an increasingly aged population, a growing burden of chronic risk factors such as diabetes, obesity and sedentary behavior, and improvements in early recognition and intervention. Thrombus formation within the venous circuit also results in substantial morbidity and mortality. Despite significant advances in prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE), pulmonary embolism (PE) remains a common preventable cause of hospital deaths. Although mortality from VTE has decreased over the past 10 to 20 years, it remains a major national health problem in the United States, being responsible for 150,000 to 200,000 deaths annually [1, 2]. Given the spectrum and diversity of disease processes associated with and resulting from thrombus formation, an appreciation of the underlying pathophysiology is essential in order to comprehend the various therapeutic regimens that have been developed targeted at either arterial or venous thrombosis.
Tonga-Kermadec forearc structural variability 1 Structural variability of the Tonga-Kermadec forearc characterised using 20 robustly constrained geophysical data 21

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Phytochemical analysis of Holothuria leucospilota, a sea cucumber from Persian Gulf

Sea cucumbers are widely consumed in traditional medicine and food. These animals have a considerable secondary metabolite and also several potential biological activities. This study investigated the phytochemical and cytotoxic evaluation of Holothuria leucospilota (H. leucospilota), a sea cucumber from Persian Gulf. The saponin composition of H. leucospilota was studied by different partitioning and chromatography methods such as thin layer chromatography (TLC), medium pressure liquid chromatography (MPLC) and high performance LC (HPLC). The marine sea cucumber Holostane-type triterpenoids (1-3) were characterized by physical and spectroscopic examination (1 and 2 dimensional neuclear magnetic resonance and mass experiments) with data analysis. The structure of compounds 1-3 identified as echinoside A, holothurine A, and 24-dehydroechinoside A, showed moderate cytotoxic activity with IC50 values of 1.9 ± 0.07, 6.8 ± 0.23, and 2.57 ± 0.18 μ/mL against HeLa and 10.4 ± 0.32, 8.9 ± 0.24, and 4.4 ± 0.13 on HUVEC cell line, respectively. In conclusion, the holostane-type triterpenoids showed moderate cytotoxic activity against HeLa cell line and have a prosperous future to be introduced as a lead structure.
Nuclear Tau, p53 and Pin1 Regulate PARN-Mediated Deadenylation and Gene Expression

While nuclear tau plays a role in DNA damage response (DDR) and chromosome relaxation, the mechanisms behind these functions are not fully understood. Here, we show that tau forms complex(es) with factors involved in nuclear mRNA processing such as tumor suppressor p53 and poly(A)-specific ribonuclease (PARN) deadenylase. Tau induces PARN activity in different cellular models during DDR, and this activation is further increased by p53 and inhibited by tau phosphorylation at residues implicated in neurological disorders. Tau’s binding factor Pin1, a mitotic regulator overexpressed in cancer and depleted in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), also plays a role in the activation of nuclear deadenylation. Tau, Pin1 and PARN target the expression of mRNAs deregulated in AD and/or cancer. Our findings identify novel biological roles of tau and toxic effects of hyperphosphorylated-tau. We propose a model in which factors involved in cancer and AD regulate gene expression by interactions with the mRNA processing machinery, affecting the transcriptome and suggesting insights into alternative mechanisms for the initiation and/or developments of these diseases.
Randomized Phase II Trial of Triapine-Cisplatin-Radiotherapy for Locally Advanced Stage Uterine Cervix or Vaginal Cancers

Uterine cervix or vaginal cancers have inherent overactivity of ribonucleotide reductase (RNR), making these cancers rational targets for therapy based on interruption of cisplatin-radiotherapy-induced DNA damage repair. We conducted a pilot, open-label randomized phase II trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of cisplatin-radiotherapy with or without triapine, a small molecule with RNR-inhibitory activity, in patients with advanced-stage uterine cervix or vaginal cancers (NCT01835171), as a lead in to a randomized phase III study (NCT02466971). A total of 26 women were randomly assigned to receive 6 weeks of daily radiotherapy followed by brachytherapy (80 Gy) and once-weekly cisplatin (40 mg m−2)—with or without three-times weekly intravenous triapine (25 mg m−2)—in one 56-days cycle. Primary end points were metabolic complete response by positron emission tomography and safety. Additional end points included the rate of clinical response, rate of methemoglobinemia, and progression-free survival. The addition of triapine to cisplatin-radiotherapy improved the rate of metabolic complete response from 69 to 92% (P = 0.32) and raised the 3-year progression-free survival estimate from 77 to 92% (hazard ratio for progression, 0.30; P = 0.27). The most frequent grade 3 or 4 adverse events in either treatment group included reversible leukopenia, neutropenia, fatigue, or electrolyte abnormalities. No significant differences were seen between the two groups in the rate of adverse events. Symptomatic methemoglobinemia was not encountered after triapine infusion. In conclusion, the addition of triapine to cisplatin-radiotherapy improved the rate of metabolic complete response in patients with advanced-stage uterine cervix or vaginal cancers without significant toxicity. A phase III trial adequately powered to evaluate progression-free and overall survival is underway (NCT02466971).
On-Farm Diversification in an Agriculturally-Dominated Landscape Positively Influences Specialist Pollinators

Author(s): Guzman, Aidee; Chase, Marissa; Kremen, Claire | Abstract: Agricultural practices can either contribute to pollinator decline or provide opportunities to support pollinator communities. At the landscape-scale, agriculture can have negative impacts on pollinators, especially pollinators that specialize on limited floral or nesting resources. While increasing floral resources at the field-scale is positive for pollinator communities, little is known about how it affects specialist bees that depend on a specific pollen source (oligoleges). We studied pollinators on small-scale farms that contrasted in crop diversity (monocultures vs. polycultures), embedded in the intensively managed agriculture region of the San Joaquin Valley in California, to understand how wild bee communities and specialist bees would respond to field-scale diversification practices. We used squash (Cucurbita pepo) as our focal crop, because it is visited by both specialist pollinators, “squash bees” in the genera Peponapis and Xenoglossa, and by generalist bees like those in the genera Apis and Agapostemon. We hypothesized that there would be a greater number of squash bees on monoculture farms, which have abundant squash flowers, than on polyculture farms. Contrary to our predictions, we found that increasing the number of non-squash floral resources at the field-scale in agroecosystems supports a greater abundance of squash bees but has no effect on the diversity of bees visiting squash flowers. This pattern of increased abundance was consistent for other wild bees and the total number of bees (i.e., including honey bees), but not for honey bee abundance alone. Further, the abundance of pollinators increased or remained the same on polyculture farms throughout the morning while decreasing on monoculture farms, suggesting that as squash flowers start to close in midmorning, bees on the monocultures go elsewhere because no other floral resources co-occur. However, they remain on the polycultures where other resources co-occur. Thus, on-farm diversification may be an important refuge for both specialist bees and other pollinator species that are vulnerable to floral resource simplification as a result of development, especially through monoculture agriculture.
Electrophysiological Correlates of Response Time Variability During a Sustained Attention Task

Individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) tend to perform cognitive tasks with greater Response Time Variability (RTV). Greater RTV in ADHD may be due to inefficient functional connectivity of the brain during information processing. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between brain connectivity, RTV, and levels of ADHD symptoms. Twenty-eight children aged 9–12 years and 49 adolescents aged 15–18 years performed the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) while EEG was recorded. The participants’ levels of ADHD symptoms were measured using self- and parent-rated questionnaires. The ex-Gaussian analysis and The Fast Fourier Transform were used to measure multiple aspects of RTV. Functional connectivity between 64 electrodes was computed during task performance, and global efficiency and modularity were calculated, reflecting integration and segregation of the brain, respectively. There was a positive association between multiple RTV measures and the level of ADHD symptoms, where participants with higher levels of ADHD symptoms showed greater RTV, except for sigma from the ex-Gaussian analysis. More efficient brain network activity, measured by global efficiency, was associated with reduced RTV. Children showed greater RTV and less efficient brain network activity compared with the adolescents. These findings support the view that stable responses are achieved with more integrated (and efficient) brain connectivity.
Targeting the Immune Microenvironment in the Treatment of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a highly aggressive solid tumor, with a 5-year mortality rate of ~50%. The development of immunotherapies has improved the survival of patients with HNSCC, but, the long-term prognosis of patients with recurrent or metastatic HNSCC remains poor. HNSCC is characterized by intratumoral infiltration of regulatory T cells, dysfunctional natural killer cells, an elevated Treg/CD8+ T cell ratio, and increased programmed cell death ligand 1 protein on tumor cells. This leads to an immunocompromised niche in favor of the proliferation and treatment resistance of cancer cells. To achieve an improved treatment response, several potential combination strategies, such as increasing the neoantigens for antigen presentation and therapeutic agents targeting components of the tumor microenvironment, have been explored and have shown promising results in preclinical studies. In addition, large-scale bioinformatic studies have also identified possible predictive biomarkers of HNSCC. As immunotherapy has shown survival benefits in recent HNSCC clinical trials, a comprehensive investigation of immune cells and immune-related factors/cytokines and the immune profiling of tumor cells during the development of HNSCC may provide more insights into the complex immune microenvironment and thus, facilitate the development of novel immunotherapeutic agents.
Willingness to pay for antipsychotic medications in two tertiary health institutions in Nigeria

Objectives: Antipsychotic medications availability and affordability enhance patients' compliance and consequently improving their productivity. In Nigeria, where about half the number of her population is impoverished, and health-care cost burden is mostly out of pocket of patients. The study objectives are to determine patients' preference in three antipsychotic medications with different attributes and side/adverse effects and a hypothetical antipsychotics medication with highest efficacy and highest risk, which of the drug's willingness to pay (WTP) price is closer to the actual amount of the medication, as well as the demographic factors that influence WTP of antipsychotic medications. Methods: WTP instrument was administered to 706 consenting patients. The characteristics ranging from efficacy, duration of administration, and possibility of eliciting side/adverse effects of the drugs was provided. A contingent valuation method was used where a virtual market scenario of 20 payment options was presented to the patients with different prices ranging from N 100 ($ 0.33) to NGN5000 (USD16.67). As at the time of this study, $1 (USD) was equivalent to N300.00 (NGN). A linear multivariate analysis was employed to determine the influence of sociodemographic factors on WTP. Results: At most of the given prices, more patients were willing to pay for the hypothetical antipsychotic D. The WTP for all the medications except haloperidol indicated by most of the respondents were above their reference prices. Longer duration of previous treatment, higher educational status, higher income, and stable marital status gave P = 0.001, P = 0.015, P < 0.001, and P = 0.002, respectively. Conclusion: Patients preferred the medication that has the highest efficacy and attendant risk; majority of the patients are willing to pay at a lower price than the prevailing price for all medications used except haloperidol. The duration of previous drug treatment, income, age, education, and marital status significantly affected the WTP of drugs.
The prevalence and associated factors of cigarette smoking and its association with opium use among outpatients in Afghanistan: A cross-sectional study in Andkhoy city

Abstract Purpose: The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence and associated factors of cigarette smoking and the association between cigarette smoking and opium use among patients visiting an outpatient clinic in Afghanistan. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on consecutive patients aged 18 years and older from January 2018 to April 2018. Data on patients’ sociodemographic characteristics and clinical variables were collected using an interview-based survey. Results: Six hundred and twenty-two patients (391males vs. 231 females) were interviewed for this study. The overall prevalence of current smoking was 50.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 46.2–54.2). Males were (odds ratio [OR] = 9.5; 95% CI: 5.3–17.1) more likely to smoke cigarettes than females. The odds of current cigarette smoking increased with having a family member smoker or a friend smoker (OR =3.3; 95% CI: 2.0–5.3). Cigarette smoking was significantly associated with the level of education (illiterate OR = 8.9; 95% CI: 4.0–19.8), primary/private education (OR = 7.8; 95% CI: 3.9–15.6), and secondary education (OR = 4.4; 95% CI: 2.3–8.4), with high school or higher education as the reference group. Rural residents were 3.7 times (95% CI: 2.3–6.2) more likely to smoke cigarette than urban residents. Opium users were 23.0 times (95% CI: 12.5–42.3) more likely to smoke cigarettes than non-opium users. Conclusions: The prevalence of cigarette smoking among patients visiting an outpatient clinic in Afghanistan was high, and there was an association between cigarette smoking and male gender, a family history of smoking or a friend history of smoking, level of education, rural residency, and opium consumption.