Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Childhood Body Size and the Risk of Malignant Melanoma in Adulthood

Abstract Malignant melanoma (MM) is the most aggressive form of skin cancer. Adult anthropometry influences MM development; however, associations between childhood body size and future melanomagenesis are largely unknown. We investigated whether height, body mass index (BMI; weight (kg)/height (m)2), and body surface area (BSA) at ages 7–13 years and birth weight are associated with adult MM. Data from the Copenhagen School Health Records Register, containing annual height and weight measurements of 372,636 Danish children born in 1930–1989, were linked with the Danish Cancer Registry. Cox regression analyses were performed. During follow-up, 2,329 MM cases occurred. Height at ages 7–13 years was significantly associated with MM, even after BMI and BSA adjustments. No significant BMI-MM or BSA-MM associations were detected when adjusting for height. Children who were persistently tall at both age 7 years and age 13 years had a significantly increased MM risk compared with children who grew taller between those ages. Birth weight was positively associated with MM. We conclude that associations between body size and MM originate early in life and are driven largely by height and birth weight, without any comparable influence of BMI or BSA. Melanoma transformation is unlikely to be due to height per se; however, height-regulating processes in childhood present new areas for mechanistic explorations of this disease.
Neuroprotective effect of an antioxidant, lutein, during retinal inflammation.

PURPOSE Lutein has been the focus of recent study as a possible therapeutic approach for retinal diseases, but the molecular mechanism of its neuroprotective effect remains to be elucidated. The aim of this study was to investigate, with the use of a mouse endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU) model, the neuroprotective effects of lutein against retinal neural damage caused by inflammation. METHODS EIU was induced by intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Each animal was given a subcutaneous injection of lutein or vehicle three times: concurrently with and 3 hours before and after the LPS injection. Analysis was carried out 24 hours after EIU induction. Levels of rhodopsin protein and STAT3 activation were analyzed by immunoblotting. Lengths of the outer segments of the photoreceptor cells were measured. Dark-adapted full-field electroretinograms were recorded. Oxidative stress in the retina was analyzed by dihydroethidium and fluorescent probe. Expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was shown immunohistochemically. RESULTS The EIU-induced decrease in rhodopsin expression followed by shortening of the outer segments and reduction in a-wave amplitude were prevented by lutein treatment. Levels of STAT3 activation, downstream of inflammatory cytokine signals, and reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are both upregulated during EIU, were reduced by lutein. Pathologic change of Müller glial cells, represented by GFAP expression, was also prevented by lutein. CONCLUSIONS The present data revealed that the antioxidant lutein was neuroprotective during EIU, suggesting a potential approach for suppressing retinal neural damage during inflammation.
The Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Oral-Formulated Tacrolimus in Mice with Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a T-lymphocyte-mediated autoimmune disease that is characterized by inflammation in the central nervous system (CNS). Although many disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) are presumed effective in patients with MS, studies on the efficacy and safety of DMTs for preventing MS relapse are limited. Therefore, we tested the immunosuppressive anti-inflammatory effects of oral-formulated tacrolimus (FK506) on MS in a mouse model of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). The mice were randomly divided into 3 experimental groups: an untreated EAE group, a low-dose tacrolimus-treated EAE group, and a high-dose tacrolimus-treated EAE group. After autoimmunization of the EAE mice with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein, symptom severity scores, immunohistochemistry of the myelination of the spinal cord, and western blotting were used to evaluate the EAE mice. After the autoimmunization, the symptom scores of each EAE group significantly differed at times. The group treated with the larger tacrolimus dose had the lowest symptom scores. The tacrolimus-treated EAE groups exhibited less demyelination and inflammation and weak immunoreactivity for all of the immunization biomarkers. Our results revealed that oral-formulated tacrolimus inhibited the autoimmunization in MS pathogenesis by inactivating inflammatory cells.
Analysis of estrogenic effects by quantification of green fluorescent protein in juvenile fish of a transgenic medaka

The ChgH‐GFP strain of the teleost medaka containsa regulatory region of the estrogen‐responsive choriogenin H (chgH) gene fused to the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene. The strain was developed for the identification of environmental estrogens by noninvasive analysis of GFP fluorescence. In the present study, a quantification method for GFP by image analysis was established and applied to the analysis of time‐anmd d concentration‐dependent GFP fluorescence in juvenile fish. Concentration‐response analyses were performed with fish exposed for 14 d to 17β‐estradiol (0.37–367 pM), genistein (0.37–367 nM), or p‐nonylphenol (0.367–1,835 nM). By means of image analysis, it was shown that ChgH‐GFP was induced at 183.5 pM or greater 17β‐estradiol. Time‐course and recovery experiments indicated a strong accumulation of GFP in the liver. Results of reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction analysis of choriogenin H and vitellogenin demonstrated induction of gene expression for the same range of concentrations as that for GFP analysis. Neither expression of these genes nor GFP fluorescence was induced by genistein and p‐nonylphenol. Although the ChgH‐GFP strain failed to detect these weakly estrogenic compounds, the simplicity of the GFP quantification during early life stages of fish offers promising possibilities for further developments of transgenic strains using different target regulatory sequences.
Combined channel estimator for pilot-assisted wireless OFDM communication systems

The paper investigates two types of combined channel estimator (CCE) for pilot-assisted orthogonal frequency division multiplexing mobile communication systems. The CCE-type1 is a double maximum-likelihood (ML) based estimator, which works under a limit condition that the number of pilot tones should not be smaller than the channel length. The bit-error-rate performance can be improved significantly by employing this estimator. The CCE-type2 is a second-order polynomial model and ML combined approach. It has better performance than the traditional approach when the limit condition is not satisfied. Simulation results are given to corroborate our discussion.
Poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate membrane structure and its relationship to genetic transformability in Escherichia coli

The effects of competence-inducing treatments on the composition and organization of membrane lipids in Escherichia coli K-12, DH1, DH5, HB101, and RR1 were investigated for two widely used protocols in which transformability is developed at low temperatures in Ca2+ buffers. At stages during each procedure, the lipid compositions of the cells were determined, and the thermotropic lipid phase transitions were observed in whole cell culture by fluorescence assay with the hydrophobic probe N-phenyl-1-naphthylamine. Competence was evaluated by determining transformation efficiencies with plasmid pBR322 DNA. The competence-inducing procedures effected only slight changes in phospholipid compositions which did not correlate with transformability. However, the induction of competence was coincident with de novo synthesis and incorporation of poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate into the cytoplasmic membranes and with the appearance of a sharp lipid phase transition above physiological temperatures. Transformation efficiencies correlated with poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate concentrations and with the intensity of the new phase transition. Transformability, poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate synthesis and the new phase transition were not significantly affected by inhibition of protein synthesis with chloramphenicol or inhibition of respiration or ATP synthesis with azide, cyanide, arsenate, or 2,4-dinitrophenol; however, when poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate synthesis was inhibited with acetaldehyde, the new phase transition was not observed, and competence failed to develop. These studies suggest that genetic transformability in E. coli may be physiologically regulated.
Expression of T-type Ca(2+) channels in ventricular cells from hypertrophied rat hearts.

In this study we examined the existence of T-type Ca(2+) current in ventricular myocytes isolated from rats with pressure-overload hypertrophy. The whole-cell clamp technique was used to record Ca(2+) currents in enzymatically dissociated ventricular cells. T- and L-type Ca(2+) currents were separated by applying voltage steps to different test potentials from a holding potential of -80 mV and -50 mV. T-type Ca(2+) current was defined as the difference between the currents from the two holding potentials. Ventricular myocytes from sham-operated rats showed only L-type Ca(2+) current (maximal density -13.9+/-1.3 pA/pF n=17), whereas ventricular myocytes isolated from rats with aortic stenosis showed both L- and T-type Ca(2+) currents. The average values of T- and L-type Ca(2+) current density were -4.8+/-0.4 pA/pF and -12.4+/-0.9 pA/pF (n=32), respectively. T-type Ca(2+) current was distinguished from L-type Ca(2+) current by its voltage dependence, its kinetics and by its strong blockade by nickel 50 microM. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that hypertrophied ventricular rat cells express T-type Ca(2+) channels and this finding strongly supports a role for this channel in regulating growth processes in cardiac tissue.
Preliminary evaluation of Hitchens–Pike–Todd–Hewitt medium (HPTH) for detection of group B streptococci in pregnant women

We aimed to compare Hitchens–Pike–Todd–Hewitt (HPTH) enrichment broth, Todd–Hewitt broth, and direct culture onto blood sheep agar containing selective antimicrobial (ABA) in screening Group B Streptococci (GBS) carriage in pregnant women. From April to June 2007, duplicate lower vaginal and duplicate anorectal specimens of 102 pregnant women at 35 weeks of gestation or more, who were assisted at Santa Casa de Misericórdia Hospital, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil, were screened by GBS using HPTH, Todd–Hewitt broth, and ABA. Twenty‐five(24.5%) pregnant women had one or more positive culture for GBS in those media. The positive rate for each medium was 21.6% (22/102) in the HPTH, 12.8% (13/102) in ABA, and 11.8% (12/102) in Todd–Hewitt broth. HPTH seems to be a high satisfactory medium for screening GBS in vaginal and anorectal samples in pregnant women and additional studies would be interesting in a larger number of pregnant women and in different laboratories. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 24:403–406, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Transfection of HCVc improves hTERT expression through STAT3 pathway by epigenetic regulation in Huh7 cells

Previous studies showed that transient transfection of HCVc improved hTERT expression in hepatoma cell lines and it was noteworthy that phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (pSTAT3) and DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) were up regulated simultaneously. This study was designed to investigate the role of epigenetic regulation in the process of hTERT up regulation after HCVc transfection. Q‐PCR and Western blot were used to analyze the expression of pSTAT3, DNMT1, and hTERT after the transfection of HCVc in hepatoma cell line Huh7. Proliferation and hTERT activity of Huh7 after HCVc transfection were examined by CCK8 and ELISA, respectively. Then, we blocked the JAK/STAT3 pathway or inhibited DNMT1 expression to investigate the regulation of pSTAT3, DNMT1, and hTERT. Methylation status of the promoter of hTERT gene was monitored by MS‐PCR. Cell proliferation, hTERT expression level and activity of hTERT were promoted after HCVc transfection. The expression of pSTAT3 and DNMT1 were up‐regulated simultaneously. DNMT1 and hTERT were down‐regulated after blocking JAK/STAT3 pathway and the expression of hTERT weakened with DNMT1 inhibition. MS‐PCR showed HCVc transfection increased the methylation level of hTERT promoter, and this effect was weakened after blocking the JAK/STAT3 pathway or with the treatment with DNMT1 inhibitor. HCVc transfection improved hTERT expression via epigenetic regulation. JAK/STAT3 pathway could be one of the essential factors in regulating DNMT1 expression during this process. J. Cell. Biochem. 113: 3419–3426, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Mother-Child touch patterns in infant feeding disorders: relation to maternal, child, and environmental factors.

OBJECTIVE To examine mother and child's touch patterns in infant feeding disorders within a transactional framework. METHOD Infants (aged 9-34 months) referred to a community-based clinic were diagnosed with feeding disorders (n = 20) or other primary disorder (n = 27) and were case matched with nonreferred controls (n = 47). Mother-child play and feeding were observed and the home environment was assessed. Microcoding detected touch patterns, response to partner's touch, and proximity at play. Relational behaviors were coded during feeding. RESULTS Compared with infants with other primary disorder and case-matched controls, less maternal affectionate, proprioceptive, and unintentional touch was observed in those with feeding disorders. Children with feeding disorders displayed less affectionate touch, more negative touch, and more rejection of the mother's touch. More practical and rejecting maternal responses to the child's touch were observed, and children were positioned more often out of reach of the mothers' arms. Children with feeding disorders exhibited more withdrawal during feeding and the home environment was less optimal. Feeding efficacy was predicted by mother-child touch, reduced maternal depression and intrusiveness, easy infant temperament, and less child withdrawal, controlling for group membership. CONCLUSIONS Proximity and touch are especially disturbed in feeding disorders, suggesting fundamental relationship difficulties. Mothers provide less touch that supports growth, and children demonstrate signs of touch aversion. Touch patterns may serve as risk indicators of potential growth failure.
Highly Transparent Dysprosium Oxide-Based RRAM With Multilayer Graphene Electrode for Low-Power Nonvolatile Memory Application

A highly transparent resistive random access memory with a configuration of multilayer graphene (MLG)/Dy2O3/indium tin oxide (ITO) structure is demonstrated in this paper. The fabricated device is transparent, with 80% transmittance at 550 nm. The MLG/Dy2O3/ITO device shows unipolar resistance switching with a low operation current (<;100 μA), low operation voltage (<;1 V), low power consumption (<;100 μW), high resistance ratio (>104), fast switching speed (<;60 ns), reliable data retention, and promising cycle endurance properties (>200 cycles), which makes a step toward the realization of low-power transparent electronics for next-generation nonvolatile memory application. The MLG/Dy2O3/ITO device exhibited typical filamentary-conduction-type resistive random access memory behavior and no forming process is required. High resistance state (HRS) increases with a reduced device area while low resistance state (LRS) is insensitive to the device sizes. Moreover, Raman spectra obtained in pristine state, HRS, and LRS indicate that the lower power consumption of MLG/Dy2O3/ITO device is attributable to the formation of oxygen graphene layers.
Mycobacterium smegmatis strain for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by PCR used as internal control for inhibition of amplification and for quantification of bacteria

For the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by PCR, the IS6110 sequence was used. A modified target was constructed by insertion of 56 nucleotides in the IS6110 insertion element of Mycobacterium bovis BCG. This modified insertion sequence was integrated into the genome of Mycobacterium smegmatis, a mycobacterium species which does not contain the IS6110 element. When DNA from the modified M. smegmatis 1008 strain was amplified with IS6110-specific primers INS1 and INS2, a band of 301 bp was seen on agarose gel, whereas the PCR product of M. tuberculosis complex DNA was a 245-bp fragment with these primers. The addition of a small number of M. smegmatis 1008 cells to clinical samples before DNA purification enables the detection of problems which may be due to the loss of DNA in the isolation procedure or to the presence of inhibitors. The presence of inhibitors of the amplification reaction can be confirmed by the addition of M. smegmatis 1008 DNA after the DNA isolation procedure. Furthermore, competition between the different target DNAs of M. smegmatis 1008 DNA and M. tuberculosis complex DNA enables the estimation of the number of IS6110 elements in the clinical sample.
Planning Beyond the Next Trial in Adaptive Experiments: A Dynamic Programming Approach

Experimentation is at the heart of scientific inquiry. In the behavioral and neural sciences, where only a limited number of observations can often be made, it is ideal to design an experiment that leads to the rapid accumulation of information about the phenomenon under study. Adaptive experimentation has the potential to accelerate scientific progress by maximizing inferential gain in such research settings. To date, most adaptive experiments have relied on myopic, one-step-ahead strategies in which the stimulus on each trial is selected to maximize inference on the next trial only. A lingering question in the field has been how much additional benefit would be gained by optimizing beyond the next trial. A range of technical challenges has prevented this important question from being addressed adequately. This study applies dynamic programming (DP), a technique applicable for such full-horizon, "global" optimization, to model-based perceptual threshold estimation, a domain that has been a major beneficiary of adaptive methods. The results provide insight into conditions that will benefit from optimizing beyond the next trial. Implications for the use of adaptive methods in cognitive science are discussed.
[Significance of membrane type-1 matrix metalloproteinase expression in breast cancer].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE Recent researches manifested that MT1- MMP (Membrane type-1 matrix metalloproteinase) is essential for breast cancer invasion and metastasis, but there are few reports about the clinical value of MT1- MMP. This study was designed to investigate the clinical significance of MT1-MMP protein and mRNA expression in human breast cancers. METHODS Forty-six human breast cancer tissues were collected. MT1-MMP protein and mRNA expression were detected by semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry assay and their correlations with clinicopathological factors were analyzed. RESULTS The expression of MT1-MMP protein was positive in 52.2% of forty-six breast cancer tissues. The positive rates were 12.5%, 54.8% and 85.7% in stageI, stage II and stage III human breast cancers, respectively (P < 0.05), and 11.1%, 59.4% and 80.0% in the group of T(1), T(2) and T(3) (P < 0.05), and 27.3%, 66.7% and 100.0% in the group of N(0), N(1) and N(2) (P < 0.05). MT1-MMP mRNA expression were detected in all of the carcinomas. The means of MT1-MMP mRNA expression relative quantities were 0.4730, 0.6950 and 0.9100 in stageI, stage II and stage III human breast cancers, respectively (P < 0.05), and 0.5240, 0.7150 and 0.8220 in the group of T(1),T(2) and T(3) (P < 0.05), and 0.6305, 0.7022 and 0.8700 in the group of N(0), N(1) and N(2)(P < 0.05). There were no relations between the MT1-MMP protein or mRNA expression and ER, PR or C-erbB-2(P >0.05). CONCLUSION MT1-MMP protein and mRNA expression in human breast cancers had positive correlation with the stage,the tumor size and lymph node metastasis. MT1-MMP can be a predictor for the ability of breast cancer invasion and metastasis.
Interpersonal Relationships, Coping Strategies and Problematic Internet Use in Adolescence: An Italian Study

In a few years the Internet has become one of the most relevant means of socialization and entertainment for Italian adolescents. Studies have established a correlation between poor interpersonal relationship, poor cognitive coping strategies and Problematic Internet Use. The aim of the research was to study the characteristics and correlates of Problematic Internet Use in an Italian sample of adolescents. 98 Italian adolescents aged 14-19 were administered checklists assessing Problematic Internet Use, quality of interpersonal relationships, and cognitive-driven coping strategies. Of the participants, 36.7% are characterized by Problematic Internet Use. This subsample showed poorer interpersonal relationships and cognitive coping strategies compared to the non-problematic subsample. Overall quality of interpersonal relationships and cognitive coping strategies were found to be predictors of the level of Internet Problematic Use.
Improved HSV‐1 amplicon packaging using virion host shutoff mutants lacking mRNAse activity

Given their generous transgene capacity and inherent neurotropism, herpes simplex virus (HSV‐1)‐based viral vectors are promising tools for gene delivery to the central nervous system. Despite their widespread pre‐clinical use, vector toxicity remains a concern with regard to the use of herpes vectors in humans. One potential source of toxicity stems from the tegument‐associated virion host shutoff protein (vhs), which induces translational arrest in the host cell through non‐specific mRNAse activity. In the current study we utilized a series of HSV‐1 viruses containing a deletion in the UL41 open reading frame to investigate: (1) the requirement of intact vhs function in amplicon packaging and (2) whether vhs influences the post‐transduction survival of dissociated cortical neurons. Our results demonstrate that while amplicon yield was reduced an order of magnitude, UL41 deletion was associated with reduced vector toxicity. Furthermore, partial reconstitution of vhs function using mRNAse‐inactive point mutants improved amplicon titers without imparting the toxicity observed with wild‐type controls. These findings offer a novel approach to improving the titer and toxicity profiles of HSV‐based viral vectors. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Optimal sensor placement using gas distribution network models: A case study

A novel method is proposed to interpret sensor data by applying a gas distribution network model based on the steady-state Weymouth equation. The proposed data interpretation method merges data gathered from sensors and models by comparing variances, so that more information is extracted than by applying the methods available in literature. The data interpretation method is subsequently used to define an objective function for finding the optimal sensor locations to minimize the uncertainty of the flows in a gas network. This method is then applied on the real high-pressure network of the island of Texel, for which gas consumption data is created using a Monte Carlo approach. The resulting optimization problem is solved by using a genetic and a greedy algorithm. The greedy algorithm performs best and yields a realistic set of sensor locations.