Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Isosilybin A induces apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells via targeting Akt, NF‐κB, and androgen receptor signaling

Prostate cancer (PCA) is the second most malignancy in American men. Advanced stage PCA cells possess unlimited replication potential as well as resistance to apoptosis. Therefore, targeting survival mechanisms and activating apoptotic machinery in PCA cells using nontoxic phytochemicals is suggested as an attractive strategy against this deadly malignancy. In the present study, we assessed the effect of one such botanical agent, namely isosilybin A, on apoptotic machinery and key members of cell survival signaling [Akt, NF‐κB, and androgen receptor (AR)] in different PCA cells. Results showed that isosilybin A (90–180 µM) treatment significantly induces apoptotic death by activating both extrinsic (increased level of DR5 and cleaved caspase 8) and intrinsic pathways (caspase 9 and 3 activation) of apoptosis in three different human PCA cell lines namely 22Rv1, LAPC4, and LNCaP. Further, isosilybin A treatment decreased the levels of phospho‐Akt (serine‐473), total Akt, and the nuclear levels of NF‐κB constituents (p50 and p65). Isosilybin A treatment also decreased the AR and PSA level in 22Rv1, LAPC4, and LNCaP cells. Employing pan‐caspase inhibitor (Z‐VAD.fmk), we confirmed that isosilybin A‐mediated decreased AR is independent of caspases activation. Temporal kinetics analysis showed that the primary effect of isosilybin A is on AR, as decrease in AR was evident much earlier (4 h) relative to caspase activation and apoptosis induction (12 h). Overall, our results demonstrated that isosilybin A activates apoptotic machinery in PCA cells via targeting Akt–NF‐κB–AR axis; thereby, indicating a promising role for this phytochemical in the management of clinical PCA. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Chronic vitamin A intake affects the expression of mRNA for apolipoprotein A-I, but not for nuclear retinoid receptors, in liver of young and aging Lewis rats.

We have investigated the effects of chronic retinoid status and age on the steady-state levels in rat liver of the mRNAs for the retinoid-responsive gene apolipoprotein A-I (apo A-I), and for three nuclear retinoid receptors, RAR-alpha, RAR-beta, and RXR-alpha. Weanling male Lewis rats (five per age-diet group) were fed a semi-synthetic diet with vitamin A at marginal, control, or supplemented levels until they were 2 or 8 months of age. The relative abundance of apo A-I mRNA (compared to beta-actin which did not differ among treatments) was about 50% lower in aging versus young rats, regardless of their vitamin A status. For both ages, apo A-I mRNA was approximately 40-50% higher (P < 0.05) for the vitamin A-marginal groups and 20-30% lower (P > 0.05) for the vitamin A-supplemented groups than the controls. Neither chronic diet nor age affected the levels of mRNA for RAR-alpha or RXR-alpha, two major retinoid receptors in liver, or for RAR-beta, a receptor known to be autoregulated by RA. Although vitamin A did not have a significant effect on the mRNA levels of the receptors examined in this study, they are still likely to be involved in regulating apo A-I gene expression because in vitro studies have shown that both RAR-alpha and RXR-alpha bind to the regulatory region of the apo A-I gene.
Immunity and paralysis in mice. Serological and biological properties of two distinct antibodies to type III pneumococcal polysaccharide.

The nature of two distinct anti-pneumococcal antibodies of mice has been further investigated. These antibodies, produced after the injection of purified SIII (the capsular polysaccharide of Diplococcus pneumoniae Type III), were examined for their serological properties in vitro and for their protective potency in vivo. The first anti-SIII antibody, distinguished by its ability to agglutinate antigen-coated erythrocytes, was not only unable to lyse these erythrocytes (with complement), but it protected them against lysis by the other antibody, because of its high affinity for the antigen. This haemagglutinating antibody did not precipitate soluble antigen, was of the IgA class, and could protect mice against challenge with virulent pneumococci. It was produced by mice given small doses (0.1 μg) of SIII, but not by mice given 50 μg. These latter were susceptible to pneumococcal challenge. The second antibody, which was haemolytic and precipitating but not haemagglutinating, had a comparatively low affinity for the antigen: thus it was not detectable when mixed with the first antibody, especially if the test erythrocytes were inadequately sensitized. This haemolytic antibody was of the IgM class. It was found in high titre in mice given 50 μg of SIII, but did not protect them against challenge.
Effective rate maximization in large MIMO multiuser system

Large MIMO system can achieve high data rate with simple linear transceiver. However, for this advantage, long time is required to estimate channel state information (CSI) at base station (BS). When estimation time is not negligible in coherence time, there exists tradeoff between estimation and data transmission. With long estimation time, data rate increases, but data transmission time decreases. Otherwise, with short estimation time, data rate decreases, but data transmission time increases. Therefore, maximizing not data rate itself but effective rate is required in large MIMO system. We mathematize an effective rate problem in a reasonable large MIMO system, and prove its concavity and find the optimal tradeoff point.
Histological Changes in the Liver and Intestine of Nile Tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, Exposed to Sublethal Concentrations of Cadmium

Cadmium (Cd) is one of the most harmful heavy metal pollutants in aquatic environments. Fingerlings of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, were exposed to sublethal concentrations (10, 20 and 30% of the 96-h LC50) CdCl2 which caused significant changes in concentration dependent manner in the hepatic and ileal tissues. The hepatic tissue lost its characteristic architecture, with increased vacoulations in hepatocytes. In addition, abundant eythrocytic infiltration was observed in the 10% of LC50 group and clearly increased in the 20% of LC50 group. Increase of hemorrhage, vacuolation in hepatocytes and infiltration of sinusoids with leukocytes were observed in the 30% of LC50 group. The intestinal tissue in the treated groups was characterized by increased degenerated nuclei and apoptosis in crypts of Lieberkuhn, in addition to abnormally dilated lamina propria infiltrated with a large number of inflammatory leukocytes and disturbance of the longitudinal muscularis. Goblet cells increased in all treated groups, indicating a defense mechanism against the severe pathological changes induced. In conclusion, severe damage to the hepatic and intestinal tissues of the Nile tilapia was observed upon contamination of the fish environment with CdCl2.
Can Preoperative Lymphoscintigraphy Be Used as a Guide in Treatment Planning of Breast Cancer?

Purpose The purpose of this study was to map the lymphatic drainage patterns of breast cancer with lymphoscintigraphy to evaluate the variability of drainage and to determine whether lymphatic mapping can help to increase the certainty of breast cancer staging. Materials and Methods Fifty women with breast cancer (mean age, 49 years) were included in the study. Lymphoscintigraphy was performed with 1 mCi Tc-99m rhenium sulfide colloid in a 2-ml volume injected into the four quadrants of the peritumoral area using a 25-gauge needle. Ten-minute dynamic images and 2-hour delayed static images were obtained in the anterior and lateral positions using a gamma camera with a high-resolution collimator. All patients had a modified radical mastectomy and axillary dissection. The results were evaluated with histopathologic findings of the axilla. Results Six patients had excision biopsies before surgery. Of 13 patients with centrally located tumors, 84% had axillary lymphatic drainage, whereas 53% drained to internal mammary lymphatics. Of 23 patients with outer quadrant tumors, 4 showed no lymphatic drainage and all of them had metastatic tumor in the axillary lymph nodes. Axillary drainage was seen in 82% of patients and internal mammary lymphatic drainage in 23%. Of eight patients with inner quadrant tumors, one patient with no lymphatic drainage was found to have metastases in the axilla. In this group, 62% had axillary and 50% had internal mammary lymphatic drainage, and one patient had supraclavicular drainage. Conclusions Lymphoscintigraphy indicates that drainage routes may vary, and thus it may play a guiding role in patients with breast cancer who need radiotherapy. In patients with internal mammary lymphatic drainage, the accuracy of radiotherapy planning may increase if internal mammary lymphoscintigraphy is added to the protocol. In patients with internal mammary drainage, obtaining an internal mammary lymphatic biopsy during surgery will also increase the accuracy of staging.
Association between genetic distances in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) as estimated by AFLP and morphological markers

Molecular and morphological data analyses matrices are very informative tools for the estimation of genetic distances. We used AFLP markers, morphological traits and combined analysis to estimate the genetic distances between wheat genotypes and ascertain any associations between the two techneques. Nineteen wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes were analyzed using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers and field evaluated for two years. The matrices obtained by morphological and molecular marker data analyses revealed a significant but moderate correlation (r = 0.47), indicating that such techniques sample distinct genome regions. The combined analysis was found to be highly correlated with AFLP (r = 0.97) and moderately correlated with morphological (r = 0.59) markers. A possible explanation for such results is a bias caused by the much higher number of AFLP (229) than morphological (17) markers. Thus, it is evident that the combined analysis is not efficient when a very dissimilar number of markers are used in each isolated technique. Therefore, to obtain a better knowledge of the degree of divergence among genotypes it is necessary to consider each analysis separately.
Emerging multinational corporations : theoretical approach

Traditional discussion about multinational corporations (MNC) mostly assumes that advanced economies are sources of foreign direct investment (FDI). Typical MNC locates its headquarters in a developed country, while the production takes place in other developed countries or less advanced economies. This paper has been devoted to presentation of a new model of multinational corporations originating in emerging countries. The model assumes that headquarters is located in a less developed country and production can be internationally dispersed. An important restriction in the model is that advanced products have to be produced in a highly developed country. This is consistent with empirical findings that new multinationals from emerging countries represent lower technological level and their foreign engagement is frequently motivated by accessing advanced solutions. The aim of the analysis is to define optimal strategy of foreign production with respect to different levels of input prices, productivity of firms and market sizes. JEL Classification: F21; F23
Biological Properties of the Thromboplastins and Plasmas Included in the ICTH/ICSH Collaborative Study on Prothrombin Time Standardization

Summary The fourteen types of thromboplastin included in the ICTH/ICSH Collaborative Study on Prothrombin Time Standardization were investigated with respect to their sensitivity for factor VII, activation products, and PIVKAs. All of these thromboplastins displayed sufficient factor VII sensitivity, and all were sensitive to activation products. After correction for the overall sensitivity slope, rabbit plain thromboplastins were the most sensitive preparations and human as well as rabbit diluted the least sensitive; bovine brain thromboplastin lost its exceptional position. Sensitivity to activation products explains why factors II, VII, and X present in artificially prepared abnormal plasmas may be difficult to assess accurately. Also, all thromboplastins appear to be sensitive for both PIVKA VII and PIVKA X. PIVKA VII acts as a procoagulant which increases the amount of factor VII measured by the one-stage assay technique. PIVKA X inhibits and thus reduces the activity of factor X. The procoagulant activity of PIVKA VII is particulary pronounced for the two lung-brain rabbit thromboplastins (Lyoplastin and Simplastin), whereas the anticoagulant action of PIVKA X is strongest with bovine brain thromboplastin (Thrombotest). Considered as a group, rabbit thromboplastins appear to be less sensitive for PIVKA X and more sensitive for PIVKA VII. As judged from thromboplastin calibration results, all three types of lyophilized reference plasmas are to some degree distinguishable from fresh patient plasmas. Primary calibration of a thromboplastin must therefore still be performed with freshly prepared normal as well as patient plasmas.
Caudate lobectomy by the third porta hepatis anatomical method: a study of 16 cases.

BACKGROUND The treatment for primary tumor in the caudate lobe of the liver is difficult because of its unique anatomical location. This study was undertaken to improve operative techniques and results by a new anatomical method of caudate lobectomy. METHODS Clinical data of 16 patients who had had caudate lobectomy for the liver from January 1996 to November 2004 were retrospectively analyzed. The third porta hepatis anatomical method was performed in all 16 patients. Operative time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative complications were recorded. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates of 13 patients with caudate lobe carcinoma were followed up. Anatomical status, operative routes, operative procedures, liver blood supply were evaluated. RESULTS The operation was successful in the 16 patients. The operative time was 255+/-70 minutes and blood loss 740+/-402 ml. None of the patients died from massive bleeding during the operation, nor did complications such as biliary fistula and liver failure occurred. In 13 patients with malignant tumor, 7 died from recurrence and metastasis of the tumor and the other 6 are still alive at the end of follow-up. One patient has survived for 6 years. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates in the 13 patients were 83.9%, 58.7% and 39.2%, respectively. CONCLUSION Caudate lobectomy by the third porta hepatis anatomical method can improve operative effect and increase the resection probability for solitary tumor in the caudate lobe.
Effect of Growth Conditions on the Formation of the Relaxation Complex of Supercoiled ColE1 Deoxyribonucleic Acid and Protein in Escherichia coli

Colicinogenic factor E1 (ColE1) is present in Escherichia coli strain JC411 (ColE1) cells to the extent of about 24 copies per cell. This number does not appear to vary in situations which give rise to twofold differences in the amount of chromosomal deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) present per cell. If cells are grown in the absence of glucose, approximately 80% of the ColE1 molecules can be isolated as strand-specific DNA-protein relaxation complexes. When glucose is present in the medium, only about 30% of the plasmid molecules can be isolated as relaxation complexes. Medium shift experiments in which glucose was removed from the medium indicate that within 15 min after the shift the majority (>60%) of the plasmid can be isolated as relaxation complex. This rapid shift to the complexed state is accompanied by a two- to threefold increase in the rate of plasmid replication. The burst of replication and the shift to the complexed state are both inhibited by the presence of chloramphenicol. Inhibition of protein synthesis in log cultures by the addition of chloramphenicol or amino acid starvation allows ColE1 DNA to continue replicating long after chromosomal replication has ceased. Under these conditions, noncomplexed plasmid DNA accumulates while the amount of DNA that can be isolated in the complexed state remains constant at the level that existed prior to treatment. In the presence of chloramphenicol, there appears to be a random dissociation and association of ColE1 DNA and “relaxation protein” during or between rounds of replication.
I Text English to Everyone: Links between Second-Language Texting and Academic Proficiency

This article reports on research investigating the relationship between text messaging and academic literacy among Spanish-dominant emergent bilingual young adults in New York City (acquiring English). Through assessments of academic language and analysis of a corpus of 44,597 text messages, this study found that emergent bilinguals who send more messages in English and choose English for the settings on their mobile phones tend to have higher academic English skills. This study also found that the English messages they send are lexically less dense than the Spanish messages, illustrating that students use a narrower vocabulary when texting in their second language. This finding is explored in light of previous research that has found that using social media in the target language can help students develop fluency and intercultural competence skills, but not always vocabulary. The results are discussed in terms of the tendency for texters to text monolingually and other affordances and constraints of smart phone use in digitally supporting second language acquisition.
Glycaemic index and glycaemic load in relation to risk of diabetes-related cancers: a meta-analysis

Diets high in glycaemic index (GI) or glycaemic load (GL) have been hypothesised to increase the risks of certain cancers by increasing blood glucose or insulin concentrations. We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies to evaluate the association between GI or GL and diabetes-related cancers (DRC), including bladder, breast, colon–rectum, endometrium, liver and pancreas, which are associated with an increased risk for diabetes, and prostate cancer, which is associated with a reduced risk for diabetes. We searched Pubmed, EMBASE and MEDLINE databases up to September 2011 and reference lists of relevant articles. Relative risks (RR) and 95 % CI for the highest v. the lowest categories were extracted and pooled using a random-effects model. Thirty-six prospective cohort studies with a total of 60 811 DRC cases were included in the present meta-analysis. In a comparison of the highest and lowest categories, the pooled RR of DRC were 1·07 (95 % CI 1·04, 1·11; n 30) for GI and 1·02 (95 % CI 0·96, 1·08; n 33) for GL. In an analysis of site-specific cancer risks, we found significant associations for GI in relation to breast cancer (RR 1·06; 95 % CI 1·02, 1·11; n 11) and colorectal cancer (RR 1·08; 95 % CI 1·00, 1·17; n 9 studies). GL was significantly associated with the risk of endometrial cancer (RR 1·21; 95 % CI 1·07, 1·37; n 5). In conclusion, the findings of the present study suggest a modest-to-weak association between a diet that induces a high glucose response and DRC risks.
C-Met Inhibitor MK-8003 Radiosensitizes c-Met–Expressing Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer Cells With Radiation-Induced c-Met–Expression

Introduction: The radiation doses used to treat unresectable lung cancer are often limited by the proximity of normal tissues. Overexpression of c-Met, a receptor tyrosine kinase, occurs in about half of non–small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) and has been associated with resistance to radiation therapy and poor patient survival. We hypothesized that inhibiting c-Met would increase the sensitivity of NSCLC cells to radiation, enhancing the therapeutic ratio, which may potentially translate into improved local control. Methods: We tested the radiosensitivity of two high-c-Met–expressing NSCLC lines, EBC-1 and H1993, and two low-c-Met–expressing lines, A549 and H460, with and without the small-molecule c-Met inhibitor MK-8033. Proliferation and protein expression were measured with clonogenic survival assays and Western blotting, respectively. &ggr;-H2AX levels were evaluated by immunofluorescence staining. Results: MK-8033 radiosensitized the high-c-Met–expressing EBC-1 and H1993 cells but not the low-c-Met–expressing cell lines A549 and H460. However, irradiation of A549 and H460 cells increased the expression of c-Met protein at 30 minutes after the irradiation. Subsequent targeting of this up-regulated c-Met by using MK-8033 followed by a second radiation dose reduced the clonogenic survival of both A549 and H460 cells. MK-8033 reduced the levels of radiation-induced phosphorylated (activated) c-Met in A549 cells. Conclusions: These results suggest that inhibition of c-Met could be an effective strategy to radiosensitize NSCLC tumors with high basal c-Met expression or tumors that acquired resistance to radiation because of up-regulation of c-Met.
Serum withdrawal after embryoid body formation does not impair cardiomyocyte development from mouse embryonic stem cells.

BACKGROUND AIMS Procedures for cardiomyocyte differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) utilize different amounts of serum. Because the serum composition is unknown, unambiguous characterization of the differentiation process is biased. All reported serum-free protocols used for compound testing provide serum throughout the differentiation process. We report on an embryoid body (EB)-based procedure for cardiomyocyte differentiation of mESCs in which serum is provided only in the earliest step (hanging drop, 0-2 days). METHODS To assess cardiomyocyte differentiation, we generated an mESCs clone that expressed green fluorescence protein (GFP) under the control of the myosin light chain 2v (MLC2v) promoter. To define the lowest serum concentration required for efficient induction of cardiomyocyte differentiation, EBs were formed in presence of 5% (S5), 10% (S10) and 15% (S15) serum until day 2, then switched to a serum-free medium. RESULTS Analysis of cardiac-specific transcripts on day 6 of differentiation showed that 10% (S10) was the minimum amount of serum for efficient continuation of cultures under serum-free conditions. Spontaneously beating foci were detected in 90.0 ± 5.5% of S10 EBs on day 7 of differentiation, and cardiomyocyte markers were expressed from day 8 of differentiation (MLC2v-driven GFP; α-myosin heavy chain). Dose-response curves to isoproterenol showed that the beating rate increased by 113.0 ± 39.4%, with a concentration for half-maximal effect (EC(50)) of 25.7 nm. CONCLUSIONS The development of functional cardiomyocytes from mESCs is not affected by serum withdrawal after EBs formation. This culture system represents a new model for cardiomyocyte differentiation of mESCs to assess the effects of compounds on the process of cardiomyogenesis.