Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Growth inhibition of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells by overexpression of G‐protein‐coupled receptor kinase 2

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the deadliest forms of human liver cancer and does not respond well to conventional therapies. Novel effective treatments are urgently in need. G‐protein‐coupled kinase 2 (GRK2) is unique serine/threonine kinase that involves in many signaling pathways and regulates various essential cellular processes. Altered levels of GRK2 have been linked with several human diseases including cancer. In this study, we investigated a novel approach for HCC treatment by inducing overexpression of GRK2 in human HCC cells. We found that overexpression of GRK2 through recombinant adenovirus transduction inhibits the growth of human HCC cells. BrdU incorporation assay showed that the growth inhibition caused by elevated GRK2 level was due to reduced cell proliferation but not apoptosis. To examine the anti‐proliferative function of increased GRK2 level, we performed cell cycle analysis using propidium iodide staining. We found that the proliferation suppression was associated with G2/M phase cell cycle arrest by the wild‐type GRK2 but not its kinase‐dead K220R mutant. Furthermore, increased levels of wild‐type GRK2 induced upregulation of phosphor‐Ser15 p53 and cyclin B1 in a dose‐dependent manner. Our data indicate that the anti‐proliferative function of elevated GRK2 is associated with delayed cell cycle progression and is GRK2 kinase activity‐dependent. Enforced expression of GRK2 in human HCC by molecular delivery may offer a potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of human liver cancer. J. Cell. Physiol. 227: 2371–2377, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
4.1G promotes arborization and tight junction formation of oligodendrocyte cell line OLN‐93

4.1G belongs to the membrane‐associated band 4.1 protein family, which plays important roles in establishing and maintaining the links between transmembrane proteins and the cytoskeleton. Till date, expression and functions of 4.1G in the central nervous system (CNS) have not been fully elucidated. We investigated expression, cellular/subcellular distribution, and biological roles of 4.1G in the rat CNS and in cultured oligodendrocyte cell line OLN‐93. Immunoblotting (IB) and immunoprecipitation revealed CNS 4.1G protein isoforms with molecular weights ranging from ∼80 to ∼180 kDa. In subconfluent OLN‐93 cell culture, overexpression of full‐length 4.1G and C‐terminal‐domain‐deleted 4.1G, but not the FERM‐domain‐deleted 4.1G, promoted cellular arborization. In confluent cells, endogenous 4.1G was upregulated and clustered in the cytoplasmic periphery together with tight junction protein ZO‐1. FERM domain seemed essential for this recruitment of 4.1G to OLN‐93 cell periphery. Calcium switch experiment demonstrated that overexpressed 4.1G promoted tight junction reassembly, whereas siRNA knockdown of endogenous 4.1G inhibited tight junction formation among confluent OLN‐93 cells. Together, these results suggest functional roles of 4.1G in cellular arborization and tight junction formation. In the CNS, 4.1G might be involved in maturation of host cells as well as in interaction among neurons/neuroglia. J. Cell. Physiol. 227: 2730–2739, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Developing early diagnostics for prion diseases

SUMMARY The diagnosis of prion disease is typically made late in the clinical course, by which time patients are in an advanced state of neurological decline. This is despite the presence of pathology in many tissues, particularly those of the lymphoreticular and central nervous systems. The recent description of an effective blood assay for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease clearly demonstrates the potential for routine pre-mortem diagnosis, although further progress is required for the detection of sporadic forms of the disease.
Mycotoxins in Food and the Plague of Athens

It is suggested that the outbreak of the ‘plague’ in Athens in the fifth century BC was caused by mouldy food containing immunosuppressive mycotoxins, including the irritant T-2 toxin produced by certain Fusarium micro-fungi. Attica, a small hilly, coastal city-state, had to import its cereal grains from overseas; however, because of the Peloponnesian war and the occupation of its port, Peiraeus, by enemy forces, scarcity of food may have forced the population of the overcrowded Athens to consume any food, even when mouldy. This happened in the Orenburg district of the USSR during World War II, when an outbreak of ‘alimentary toxic aleukia' caused a great number of fatalities.
Elderly patients hospitalized in the ICU in France: a population-based study using secondary data from the national hospital discharge database.

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES In the global context of population ageing, understanding and monitoring intensive care use by the elderly is a strategic issue. National-level data are needed to overcome sampling biases that often limit epidemiologic studies of the critically ill elderly. The objective of this study was to describe intensive care use for hospitalized elderly patients using secondary data from the French national hospital discharge database. METHOD Structured assessment of the national database coverage and accuracy; cross-sectional analysis of hospitalizations including at least one admission in an intensive care unit (ICU) for patients aged ≥ 80 years from 1 January to 31 December 2009. RESULTS In 2009, people aged ≥ 80 years accounted for 5.4% of the population but 15.3% of the 215 210 adult hospitalizations involving intensive care in France. In this elderly group, the mean age was 84.0 (± 3.56) years, and 51.6% were male. In-hospital mortality was 33.9%. The median time spent in the ICU was 3 [interquartile range (IQR), 2-8] days, the median time spent in hospital was 14 (IQR, 8-24) days and 9% of hospitalizations ended by the patient's death involved intensive care. A surgical procedure was included in 43% of hospitalizations. Medical and surgical diagnosis-related group hospitalizations were characterized by significant differences in volume, mortality, ICU days and costs. CONCLUSIONS There was marked clinical heterogeneity in the population of elderly patients hospitalized in the ICU. These data provide baseline information and prompt further studies comparing intensive care utilization across age groups, between countries and over time.
Critical design parameters in laser Doppler perfusion imaging

Laser Doppler Perfusion Imaging (LDPI) is a method for visualization of tissue blood perfusion. A low power laser beam is used to step-wise scan a tissue area of interest and a perfusion estimate based on the backscattered, partially Doppler broadened, light is generated. Although the basic operating principle of LDPI is the same as that of conventional Laser Doppler Perfusion Monitoring (LDPM), significant differences exist between the implementation of the methods which must be taken into account in order to generate high quality perfusion images. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relevance of a number of LDPI design parameters, such as: (1) The influence of artifact noise when using a continuously moving laser beam instead of a step-wise moving beam to scan the image. (2) The signal processor output's dependency on the distance between the measurement object and the scanner head when using collimated laser light. (3) The speed and mode of the scanning. The results show a substantial rise in the noise level when using a continuously moving beam as opposed to a step-wise. Skin measurements using a collimated laser beam demonstrated an amplification factor dependency on the distance between the skin surface and the scanner head not present when using a divergent laser beam. The scanning speed is limited by the trade-off between the Doppler signal lower cut-off frequency and the image quality.
Silicon nanowire-based solar cells

The fabrication of silicon nanowire-based solar cells on silicon wafers and on multicrystalline silicon thin films on glass is described. The nanowires show a strong broadband optical absorption, which makes them an interesting candidate to serve as an absorber in solar cells. The operation of a solar cell is demonstrated with n-doped nanowires grown on a p-doped silicon wafer. From a partially illuminated area of 0.6 cm2 open-circuit voltages in the range of 230–280 mV and a short-circuit current density of 2 mA cm−2 were obtained.
AKT as locus of cancer multidrug resistance and fragility

Complexity and robustness of cancer hypoxic microenvironment are supported by the robust signaling networks of autocrine and paracrine elements creating powerful interactome for multidrug resistance. These elements generate a positive feedback loops responsible for the extreme robustness and multidrug resistance in solid cancer, leukemia, myeloma, and lymphoma. Phosphorylated AKT is a cancer multidrug resistance locus. Targeting that locus by oxidant/antioxidant balance modulation, positive feedback loops are converted into negative feedback loops, leading to disappearance of multidrug resistance. This is a new principle for targeting cancer multidrug resistance by the locus chemotherapy inducing a phenomenon of loops conversion. J. Cell. Physiol. 228: 671–674, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The pur protein family: Genetic and structural features in development and disease

The Pur proteins are an ancient family of sequence‐specific single‐stranded nucleic acid‐binding proteins. They bind a G‐rich element in either single‐ or double‐stranded nucleic acids and are capable of displacing the complementary C‐rich strand. Recently several reports have described Pur family member knockouts, mutations, and disease aberrations. Together with a recent crystal structure of Purα, these data reveal conserved structural features of these proteins that have been adapted to serve functions unique to higher eukaryotes. In humans Pur proteins are critical for myeloid cell development, muscle development, and brain development, including trafficking of mRNA to neuronal dendrites. Pur family members have been implicated in diseases as diverse as cancer, premature aging, and fragile‐X mental retardation syndrome. J. Cell. Physiol. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma of the Facial Bone

The epithelioid hemangioendothelioma is an uncommon vascular neoplasm. Numerous sites of involvement are possible, but these tumors most commonly arise in the soft tissues, liver, and lung. We report a case of epithelioid hemangioendothelioma presenting as a single lesion on the nasal portion of the maxilla. Histologically, the tumor within bone and skin exhibited cords and nests of plump, epithelioid-appearing cells exhibiting rudimentary vascular differentiation within a myxohyaline stroma. Immunohistochemical reactivities for factor VIII-related antigen, CD31, CD34, and vimentin were demonstrated. Wide local excision with close clinical follow-up seems to be the treatment of choice for these tumors.
Quaternized chitosan/rectorite intercalative materials for a gene delivery system

Non-viral vectors have gained increasing attention in gene therapy because of their safety, but with the shortcoming of low transfection efficiency. We have developed a hybrid material as a novel non-viral vector, which combines the advantages of both biopolymer and clay in a gene delivery system. Quaternized chitosan was intercalated into the interlayers of rectorite to obtain a new polymer/layered silicate nanocomposite. In vitro and in vivo toxicity studies revealed that the nanocomposites were biocompatible and non-toxic. At the nanocomposite:pDNA mass ratio of 8:1, they achieved 100% pDNA adsorption capacity. In vitro cell transfection revealed a transfection efficiency of 32.1% at 96 h as shown by a flow-cytometric study, and the intensive green fluorescence protein (GFP) expression could last for up to 120 h. Furthermore, an in vivo transfection study showed that the most prominent GFP expression was observed in the gastric and duodenum mucosa, and good transfection efficiency was also obtained when injected into the muscle. All the results suggest that quaternized chitosan/rectorite nanocomposite is a novel and potential non-viral gene carrier.
Glagovian remodelling, plaque composition, and stenosis generation.

Necropsy and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) studies in vivo show that while the angiogram is good at detecting high grade stenosis it is very insensitive for demonstrating the actual extent of atherosclerosis. Segments of an angiographically normal coronary artery can harbour many occult plaques.1 There are two reasons for this insensitivity. The first is that behind the plaque itself the media may vanish allowing the plaque to bulge into the adventitia rather than toward the lumen.2 In extreme cases the internal elastic lamina breaks allowing the plaque to be extruded from the artery wall. The second process is that of arterial remodelling (compensatory dilatation) described by Glagov.3 In this process when a plaque develops the arterial media remodels to allow the vessel to increase its cross sectional area and thereby accommodate the plaque without any reduction in lumen area. At the site of a plaque the vessel cross sectional area can be increased by anything up to twice that found at an adjacent reference segment of normal artery. What is interesting, and not well understood, is that the degree of remodelling varies widely from plaque to plaque. Within one coronary artery there may be a plaque with no remodelling, while in another segment of the same artery at the site of a plaque there may be a 100% increase in the artery cross …
Platelets in Tumor Progression: A Host Factor That Offers Multiple Potential Targets in the Treatment of Cancer

While platelets are well known to play a central role in hemostasis and thrombosis, there is emerging experimental evidence to suggest that they also mediate tumor cell growth, dissemination, and angiogenesis. An increase in platelet number (thrombocytosis) and activity is seen in patients with a wide spectrum of malignancies, and the former is correlated with a decrease in overall survival and poorer prognosis. Preclinical data suggest that circulating tumor cell partnerships with platelets in the blood facilitate tumor metastases through direct interactions and secreted bioactive proteins. Platelets form aggregates with tumor cells, thereby protecting them from host immune surveillance through physical shielding and induction of “platelet mimicry. ” There is also laboratory evidence to suggest that activated platelets interact with cancer cells within the tumor microenvironment through paracrine signaling and direct contact, thereby promoting tumor cell growth and survival. For example, platelets release mediators of both tumor angiogenesis and osteoclast resorption. The interplay between platelets and tumor cells is complex and bidirectional with involvement of multiple other components within the tumor microenvironment, including immune cells, endothelial cells, and the extracellular matrix. We review the role of platelets in tumor progression, emphasizing the opportunity these interactions afford to target platelets and platelet function to improve patient outcomes in the cancer prevention and treatment setting. J. Cell. Physiol. 229: 1005–1015, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
SIRT1 Knockdown Promotes Neural Differentiation and Attenuates the Heat Shock Response

Neurons have a limited capacity for heat shock protein (HSP) induction and are vulnerable to the pathogenic consequence of protein misfolding and aggregation as seen in age‐related neurodegenerative diseases. Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), an NAD+‐dependent lysine deacetylase with important biological functions, has been shown to sustain the DNA‐binding state of HSF1 for HSP induction. Here we show that differentiation and maturation of embryonic cortical neurons and N2a neuroprogenitor cells is associated with decreases in SIRT1 expression and heat shock‐dependent induction of HSP70 protein. Tests of a pharmacological activator and an inhibitor of SIRT1 affirm the regulatory role of SIRT1 in HSP70 induction. Protein cross‐linking studies show that nuclear SIRT1 and HSF1 form a co‐migrating high molecular weight complex upon stress. The use of retroviral vectors to manipulate SIRT1 expression in N2a cells show that shRNA‐mediated knock down of SIRT1 causes spontaneous neurite outgrowth coincident with reduced growth rate and decreased induction of hsp70‐reporter gene, whereas SIRT1 over‐expression blocks the induced neural differentiation of N2a cells. Our results suggest that decreased SIRT1 expression is conducive to neuronal differentiation and this decrease contributes to the attenuated induction of HSPs in neurons. J. Cell. Physiol. 229: 1224–1235, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Giant Facial Lymphangioma

Lymphatic malformation (LM) is a benign cystic entity resulting from aberrant lymphatic drainage. Often evident at birth, most LMs have declared themselves by 2 years of age. They can be concerning when they occur near vital structures such as the airway or orbit. The natural history varies considerable from spontaneous gradual regression to long-term growth and debilitation. Depending on the location, structures involved, and clinical course of the LM, therapeutic options include observation, intralesional sclerosis, laser therapy, and surgical excision. The literature provides guidelines for treatment options that must be carefully applied to the facial region. We present a newborn infant who presented to our institution with giant facial lymphangioma who underwent a combination of sclerosis, laser ablation, and surgery with reconstruction.
Ribosome Biogenesis: Emerging Evidence for a Central Role in the Regulation of Skeletal Muscle Mass

The ribosome is a supramolecular ribonucleoprotein complex that functions at the heart of the translation machinery to convert mRNA into protein. Ribosome biogenesis is the primary determinant of translational capacity of the cell and accordingly has an essential role in the control of cell growth in eukaryotes. Cumulative evidence supports the hypothesis that ribosome biogenesis has an important role in the regulation of skeletal muscle mass. The purpose of this review is to, first, summarize the main mechanisms known to regulate ribosome biogenesis and, second, put forth the hypothesis that ribosome biogenesis is a central mechanism used by skeletal muscle to regulate protein synthesis and control skeletal muscle mass in response to anabolic and catabolic stimuli. The mTORC1 and Wnt/β‐catenin/c‐myc signaling pathways are discussed as the major pathways that work in concert with each of the three RNA polymerases (RNA Pol I, II, and III) in regulating ribosome biogenesis. Consistent with our hypothesis, activation of these two pathways has been shown to be associated with ribosome biogenesis during skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Although further study is required, the finding that ribosome biogenesis is altered under catabolic states, in particular during disuse atrophy, suggests that its activation represents a novel therapeutic target to reduce or prevent muscle atrophy. Lastly, the emerging field of ribosome specialization is discussed and its potential role in the regulation of gene expression during periods of skeletal muscle plasticity. J. Cell. Physiol. 229: 1584–1594, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Analysis of Global Changes in Gene Expression Induced by Human Polynucleotide Phosphorylase (hPNPaseold‐35)

As a strategy to identify gene expression changes affected by human polynucleotide phosphorylase (hPNPaseold‐35), we performed gene expression analysis of HeLa cells in which hPNPaseold‐35 was overexpressed. The observed changes were then compared to those of HO‐1 melanoma cells in which hPNPaseold‐35 was stably knocked down. Through this analysis, 90 transcripts, which positively or negatively correlated with hPNPaseold‐35 expression, were identified. The majority of these genes were associated with cell communication, cell cycle, and chromosomal organization gene ontology categories. For a number of these genes, the positive or negative correlations with hPNPaseold‐35 expression were consistent with transcriptional data extracted from the TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) expression datasets for colon adenocarcinoma (COAD), skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM), ovarian serous cyst adenocarcinoma (OV), and prostate adenocarcinoma (PRAD). Further analysis comparing the gene expression changes between Ad.hPNPaseold‐35 infected HO‐1 melanoma cells and HeLa cells overexpressing hPNPaseold‐35 under the control of a doxycycline‐inducible promoter, revealed global changes in genes involved in cell cycle and mitosis. Overall, this study provides further evidence that hPNPaseold‐35 is associated with global changes in cell cycle‐associated genes and identifies potential gene targets for future investigation. J. Cell. Physiol. 229: 1952–1962, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
El Cuestionario de Necesidades de los Familiares de Pacientes de Cuidados Intensivos (CCFNI) versión breve: adaptación y validación en población española

Relatives play an important role in the disease process of patients admitted to Intensive Care Units (ICU). It is therefore important to know the needs of people close to the patient in order to try to improve their adaption to a situation as difficult as an ICU admission. The aim of this study was the adaptation and validation of the short version of the Critical Care Family Needs Inventory (CCFNI) for a Spanish sample. The inventory was applied to 55 relatives of patients admitted to the ICU of the Hospital General de Castellon. After the removal of three items for different reasons, we performed an Exploratory Factor Analysis with the 11 remaining items to determine the factor structure of the questionnaire. We also made a descriptive analysis of the items, and internal consistency and construct validity were calculated through Cronbach's α and Pearson correlation coefficient respectively. The results of the principal components factor analysis using varimax rotation indicated a four-factor solution. These four factors corresponded to: medical attention to the patient, personal attention to the relatives, communication between the family and the doctor, and perceived improvements in the Unit. The short version of CCFNI showed good internal consistency for both the total scale and factors. The results suggest that the CCFNI is a suitable measure for assessing the different needs presented by the relatives of patients admitted to an Intensive Care Unit, showing adequate psychometric properties.