bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Concise Review: Cancer Cells, Cancer Stem Cells, and Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Influence in Cancer Development
Authors: Papaccio Federica , Paino Francesca , Regad Tarik , Papaccio Gianpaolo , Desiderio Vincenzo , Tirino Virginia 
Published: October 2017

Abstract
Tumors are composed of different types of cancer cells that contribute to tumor heterogeneity. Among these populations of cells, cancer stem cells (CSCs) play an important role in cancer initiation and progression. Like their stem cells counterpart, CSCs are also characterized by self-renewal and the capacity to differentiate. A particular population of CSCs is constituted by mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that differentiate into cells of mesodermal characteristics. Several studies have reported the potential pro-or anti-tumorigenic influence of MSCs on tumor initiation and progression. In fact, MSCs are recruited to the site of wound healing to repair damaged tissues, an event that is also associated with tumorigenesis. In other cases, resident or migrating MSCs can favor tumor angiogenesis and increase tumor aggressiveness. This interplay between MSCs and cancer cells is fundamental for cancerogenesis, progression, and metastasis. Therefore, an interesting topic is the relationship between cancer cells, CSCs, and MSCs, since contrasting reports about their respective influences have been reported. In this review, we discuss recent findings related to conflicting results on the influence of normal and CSCs in cancer development. The understanding of the role of MSCs in cancer is also important in cancer management.
Posttranscriptional control of airway inflammation
Authors: Ezegbunam Wendy , Foronjy Robert 
Published: October 2017

Acute inflammation in the lungs is a vital protective response, efficiently and swiftly eliminating inciters of tissue injury. However, in respiratory diseases characterized by chronic inflammation, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, enhanced expression of inflammatory mediators leads to tissue damage and impaired lung function. Although transcription is an essential first step in the induction of proinflammatory genes, tight regulation of inflammation requires more rapid, flexible responses. Increasing evidence shows that such responses are achieved by posttranscriptional mechanisms directly affecting mRNA stability and translation initiation. RNA‐binding proteins, microRNAs, and long noncoding RNAs interact with messenger RNA and each other to impact the stability and/or translation of mRNAs implicated in lung inflammation. Recent research has shown that these biological processes play a central role in the pathogenesis of several important pulmonary conditions. This review will highlight several posttranscriptional control mechanisms that influence lung inflammation and the known associations of derangements in these mechanisms with common respiratory diseases.WIREs RNA2018, 9:e1455. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1455This article is categorized under:RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in DiseaseRNA Structure and Dynamics > Influence of RNA Structure in Biological SystemsRNA Interactions with Proteins and Other Molecules > Protein–RNA Interactions: Functional ImplicationsRNA Turnover and Surveillance > Regulation of RNA Stability
Outcomes for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Treated with Curative Intent in a Western Cohort: Should Multimodal Therapy Be the Gold Standard?
Authors: Sheil Fiachra , Donohoe Claire L. , King Sinéad , O’Toole Dermot , Cunningham Moya , Cuffe Sinéad , Ravi Narayanasamy , Reynolds John V. 
Published: October 2017

AbstractIntroductionThe standard of care for treatment of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) continues to evolve. Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (neoCRT) provides a significant survival benefit compared to surgery alone but it is unclear whether definitive chemoradiation (dCRT) is superior.MethodsRetrospective analysis of outcomes from patients treated in a national high‐volume centre (2000–2014) where both neoCRT and dCRT are used with curative intent. Propensity score match analysis was used to match patients undergoing dCRT with those undergoing surgery ± neoCRT.ResultsA total of 668 patients were treated for SCC in this time period, 361 (54.0%) of whom were treated with curative intent. In patients treated with curative intent, 179 (49.6%) had dCRT, and of these 32 (18%) did not complete the treatment regimen. One hundred and seven patients (29.6%) underwent surgery only, and 75 patients (20.8%) had multimodal therapy. The proportion of patients treated with curative intent increased over this time period. The five‐year disease‐specific and overall survival rate of patients treated with multimodal therapy was 62 and 50%, respectively, compared with 25 and 20% for patients the dCRT group and 44 and 38%, respectively, for the surgery only cohort (p < 0.001). Patients with a complete pathological response had a 90% five‐year disease‐specific survival and 76% overall survival rate. Multimodal treatment rather than dCRT was a significant predictor of overall survival (OR 1.7 95% CI 1.3–2.4, p = 0.002). In 106 patients matched, those undergoing dCRT had a significantly poorer overall survival versus those receiving surgery as a component of their care (20.47 ± 3.74 months versus 30.65 ± 10.07 months, p = 0.002).ConclusionThis study provides evidence, consistent with CROSS data, that multimodal therapy for SCC can provide excellent outcomes with respect to overall survival, pathologic complete response rates, R0 resections and treatment‐related mortality. A large RCT with specific arms for multimodal, dCRT and surgery alone is required.
Transformation of Methyl Linoleate to its Conjugated Derivatives with Simple Pd(OAc)2/Lewis Acid Catalyst
Authors: Senan Ahmed M. , Zhang Sicheng , Qin Shuhao , Chen Zhuqi , Yin Guochuan 
Published: October 2017

AbstractWith the rapid depletion of fossil resources, the exploitation of biomass to partly replace fossil resources as the source of carbon in the chemical industry constitutes a promising alternative for the near future. This work introduces catalytic transformation of vegetable oil, i.e., methyl linoleate, to its conjugated esters by a simple Pd(OAc)2/Sc(OTf)3 catalyst, which has extensive applications in industry. It was found that adding non‐redox metal ions like Sc(III) to a simple Pd(OAc)2 catalyst can effectively improve its isomerization activity in toluene/t‐BuOH solvent, whereas Pd(OAc)2 alone is inactive. Preliminary mechanistic investigations together with previous studies suggested that the in situ‐generated heterobimetallic Pd(II)/Sc(III) dimer serves as the key species for methyl linoleate isomerization, and the reaction proceeds by [1,3]‐hydrogen shift mechanism involving a formal Pd(II)/Pd(IV) cycle.
Influence analysis of propeller location parameters on wings using a panel/viscous vortex particle hybrid method
Authors: Wang H.B. , Zhou Z. , Xu X.P. , Zhu X.P. 
Published: October 2017

ABSTRACTFor aircraft that employ distributed propeller propulsion systems, the distributed propeller slipstream increases the analysis complexity. The objective of this paper is to rapidly analyse the influence of propeller slipstream on a wing using a fast prediction approach to perform conceptual design studies. This fast approach is implemented through a panel/viscous vortex particle hybrid method taking into account the air viscosity effect. The parametric studies of propeller streamwise, spanwise, vertical installed position, propeller number and rotational direction are conducted for a rectangular wing platform in two different propeller-wing configurations. The results indicate that the propeller slipstream causes both the augmentations of the wing lift and drag in a traditional tractor propeller layout. For an over-the-wing propeller configuration, however, the obvious lift increase and drag decrease can be obtained. A rear propeller position relative to the wing chord leads to a beneficial increase in lift while a fore propeller location is able to decrease the wing drag. The maximum increment of the lift-to-drag ratio can be achieved by 17.6% when the propeller is located at 30% of the wing chord, which shows a considerable advantage in improving the wing aerodynamic efficiency.
Mobility and Secession in the Early Roman Republic
Authors: Bradley Guy 
Published: October 2017

AbstractOne consequence of the globalisation of the modern world in recent years has been to focus historical interest on human migration and movement. Sociologists and historians have argued that mobility is much more characteristic of past historical eras than we might expect given our modern nationalistic perspectives. This paper aims to contribute to this subject by surveying some of the evidence for mobility in central Italy and by examining its implications for early Rome. I will focus primarily on the plebeian movement, which is normally seen in terms of an internal political dispute. Our understanding of the ‘Struggle of the Orders’ is conditioned by the idealising view of our literary sources, which look back on the early Republic from a period when the plebeians provided many of the key members of the nobility. However, if we see the plebeian movement in its contemporary central Italian context, it emerges as much more threatening and potentially subversive. The key plebeian tactic – secession from the state – is often regarded as little more than a military strike. Instead, I argue that it was a genuine threat to abandon the community, and secessions can be seen as ‘paused migrations’. This paper also considers two other episodes that support this picture, the migration to Rome of Attus Clausus and the Claudiangensand the proposed move to Veii by the plebs.
Citizenship as a Reward or Punishment? Factoring Language into the Latin Settlement
Authors: Stewart Owen 
Published: October 2017

AbstractIn the Latin Settlement, which was supposedly initiated in 338BC, Rome organised many of the incorporated communities into either thecivitasorcivitas sine suffragio. Livy, and those scholars who have accepted his explanation, claim that the use of these two types of citizenship was influenced by the political and military circumstances of each community’s incorporation. Such an argument posits that Rome judged each community on the basis of its past behaviour and ‘rewarded’ or ‘punished’ it accordingly, using these different forms of citizenship. However, Livy’s anachronistic and inconsistent approach to the Roman franchise undermines this explanation – at least in its simplest form. This paper highlights the inconsistencies in Livy’s account of the Latin Settlement and offers an alternative explanation for the differing grants of citizenship. It is argued that the pre-existing languages and cultures of the different communities need to be taken into account, as does the legal significance of the use of Latin at Rome. In sum, this paper argues that the decision to incorporate a community as acivitasor as acivitas sine suffragiowas not straightforwardly based on the political or military circumstances of each community’s incorporation, but also (or rather) involved the recognition of cultural and linguistic differences in each community and the consequent practicalities of the inclusion of each in Rome’s legal and political apparatus.
The Roman Nobility, the Early ConsularFasti, and the Consular Tribunate
Authors: Richardson J. H. 
Published: October 2017

AbstractWhile the general absence of Rome’s nobility from the traditions of the regal period has often been noted, the nobility’s prompt appearance at the beginning of the republican period has elicited little comment. This paper argues that the nobility’s appearance is more significant than its earlier absence, precisely on account of its very promptness and also because the nobility appears primarily with the consulship. Given the special importance that the consulship later came to have, following the emergence of Rome’s office-holding nobility, these circumstances inevitably raise questions about the value of the early consularfasti, and indeed even about the whole premise on which the earlyfastiare based, namely that the consulship was established immediately after the expulsion of the kings. It is argued here that this premise is anachronistic, and that the early consularfastiare unreliable and often tendentious; it is further argued that this premise is also responsible for some of the confusion surrounding the mysterious consular tribunate. The consular tribunate was a magistracy about which ancient writers quite clearly knew very little, and their ignorance and the inconsistencies in what they had to say about the tribunate inevitably undermine their claim to possess better and more detailed information about earlier times.
Illiberalism Within: Rule of Law Backsliding in the EU
Authors: PECH Laurent , SCHEPPELE Kim Lane 
Published: October 2017

AbstractHow should the European Union cope with Member States that no longer respect the basic values of the Union? This article reviews the responses of the major European Union institutions to Poland and Hungary as their governments removed checks on their power, eliminated the independence of judiciaries and failed to honour their European commitments. As the article demonstrates, the responses of EU institutions have so far been ineffective in bringing these Member States back into line with European values. We examine the various proposals that have been made to do better, concluding that there is promise in some legal strategies that are available now, but have yet to be tried.
Miraculous healing in rural Malawi: between ‘grace’ and ‘work’
Authors: Wroe Daniel 
Published: October 2017

AbstractThe way in which people approach ill health and its relief is often explained as a function of pragmatic evaluation. Through looking at a case of illness in the family of David Kaso, a Baptist pastor living in rural Malawi, this article suggests that trust or faithfulness may be more appropriate terms with which to describe people's approaches to healing and their social antecedents and outcomes. Pentecostal churches had grown in influence in the area where the churches David led were located. Pentecostal leaders often emphasized that experiencing divine healing, or successfully bringing it about, were the results of the ‘work’ that Christians did for God. David and his congregants recognized the difficult questions this perspective could raise about their status in church and emphasized instead that healing happened in God's ‘grace’, largely irrespective of the actions of the Christian. This being the case, the efficacy of prayer as a way of bringing about healing could not really be tested nor, as a corollary, could the outcome of prayer for healing stand as a proxy for evaluating the Christian. The uncertainties David and his church members admitted over healing meant that the basis of their relationships was better described in terms of trust or faithfulness than pragmatism.
Geology, biostratigraphy and carbon isotope chemostratigraphy of the Palaeogene fossil-bearing Dakhla sections, southwestern Moroccan Sahara
Authors: BENAMMI MOULOUD , ADNET SYLVAIN , MARIVAUX LAURENT , YANS JOHAN , NOIRET CORENTIN , TABUCE RODOLPHE , SURAULT JÉRÔME , EL KATI IMAD , ENAULT SÉBASTIEN , BAIDDER LAHSSEN , SADDIQI OMAR , BENAMMI MOHAMED 
Published: October 2017

AbstractNew Palaeogene vertebrate localities were recently reported in the southern Dakhla area (southwestern Morocco). The Eocene sediment strata crops out on cliffs along the Atlantic Ocean coast. Vertebrate remains come from five conglomeratic sandstone beds and are principally represented by isolated teeth belonging to micromammals, selachians and bony fishes, a proboscidean assigned to ?Numidotheriumsp. and many remains of archaeocete whales (Basilosauridae). From fieldwork five lithostratigraphic sections were described, essentially based on the lithological characteristic of sediments. Despite the lateral variations of facies, correlations between these five sections were possible on the basis of fossil-bearing beds (A1, B1, B2, C1 and C2) and five lithological units were identified. The lower part of the section consists of rhythmically bedded, chert-rich marine siltstones and marls with thin black phosphorite with organic matter at the base. The overlying units include coarse-grained to microconglomeratic sandstones interbedded with silts, indicating deposition in a shallow-marine environment with fluvial influence. The natural remanence magnetization of a total of 50 samples was measured; the intensity of most of the samples is too weak however, before or after the first step of demagnetization. The palaeomagnetic data from the samples are very unstable, except for eight from three similar sandstone levels which show a normal polarity. Matched with biostratigraphic data on rodents, primates, the selachian, sirenian and cetacean faunas, the new carbon isotope chemostratigraphy on organics (1) refines the age of the uppermost C2 fossil-bearing bed to earliest Oligocene time and (2) confirms the Priabonian age of the B1 to C1 levels.
Alive but not well: the limited validity but continued utility of the concept of schizophrenia
Authors: Zoghbi Anthony W. , Lieberman Jeffrey A. 
Published: October 2017

AbstractGuloksuz & van Os boldly challenge the status quo as pertains to schizophrenia. In ‘The Slow Death of the Concept of Schizophrenia, and the Painful Birth of the Psychosis Spectrum’ (Guloksuz & van Os, 2017) they thoughtfully review long-standing concerns about this diagnostic category and present a new conceptualization. The authors question the validity of the schizophrenia concept citing variable clinical outcomes, transdiagnostic manifestations of psychosis, and the difficulty in identifying biomarkers, among other concerns. They also point toward the over-representation of schizophrenia in the psychosis literature and lament that patients and clinicians have come to associate this illness with predominantly poor outcomes. Finally, they propose removing the diagnosis of schizophrenia from the diagnostic nomenclature and instituting a broad new classification system, ‘psychosis spectrum disorder’ (PSD), to capture the many manifestations of psychosis. In this commentary, we advise against the institution of a psychosis spectrum due to the potential negative effects this framework would have on clinical care and progress in biological research.
Observation and interpretation of neutron origin prior to hard X rays and pinch in a hundred joules plasma focus device
Authors: Jain J. , Moreno J. , Morales D. , Davis S. , Bora B. , Avaria G. , Inestrosa-Izurieta M.J. , Soto L. 
Published: October 2017

AbstractThe temporal correlation between neutron and hard X-ray (HXR) emissions from a hundred joules plasma focus device (PF-400J) was studied. A method, time history analysis, to estimate the time of origin of neutrons with respect to HXRs is applied. In most of the discharges, it was found that neutrons are originated before HXRs in the axial direction and after HXRs in the radial direction. In some discharges, the time difference between HXRs and neutrons origin was found large enough, so that it can be interpreted that those neutrons would have been originated before the pinch. A qualitative discussion is conjectured to explain the experimental observations.
An asymptotic for the average number of amicable pairs for elliptic curves
Authors: PARKS JAMES 
Published: October 2017

AbstractAmicable pairs for a fixed elliptic curve defined over ℚ were first considered by Silverman and Stange where they conjectured an order of magnitude for the function that counts such amicable pairs. This was later refined by Jones to give a precise asymptotic constant. The author previously proved an upper bound for the average number of amicable pairs over the family of all elliptic curves. In this paper we improve this result to an asymptotic for the average number of amicable pairs for a family of elliptic curves.
Diversification and labor productivity on US permaculture farms
Authors: Ferguson Rafter Sass , Lovell Sarah Taylor 
Published: October 2017

AbstractThe relationship between diversification and labor productivity is a pressing issue for diversified farming systems (DFS), which must compete with the high labor productivity of specialized and mechanized industrial farming systems. Synergies between multiple production systems represent an alternative pathway for enhancing labor productivity, contrasting with the economies of scale achieved by industrial farming. Facing a lack of technical and institutional support for managing diversified systems, DFS turn to grassroots agroecological networks for support. Permaculture is a grassroots network with an emphasis on diversified production that—despite its international scope and high public profile—has received little scholarly attention. In this exploratory study we assessed the relationship between diversification, labor productivity and involvement with permaculture, using data from 196 enterprises (i.e., distinct sources of income or aspects of a farm business) on 36 permaculture farms in the USA. We characterized diversification in two ways: by income at the level of the whole farm, and by labor for production enterprises only. By fitting a multilevel model of labor productivity (enterprises nested within farms) we assessed the evidence for synergies in production, i.e., positive relationships between diversification and returns to labor. Results indicated that both production diversity and level of involvement in the permaculture network had significant positive effects on labor productivity. This effect disappeared, however, when both diversity and participation were at their highest levels. Results also indicate that high levels of diversification shift tree crops from the lowest labor productivity of any type of production enterprise to the highest. Through this first ever (to our knowledge) systematic investigation of permaculture farms, our results provide support for the presence of production synergies in DFS, and for the role of permaculture in helping farmers achieve these synergies.
The impact of tillage regime and row cover use on insect pests and yield in organic cucurbit production
Authors: Skidmore Amanda , Wilson Neil , Williams Mark , Bessin Ricardo 
Published: October 2017

AbstractControl of cucurbit pests, such as striped cucumber beetle (Acalymma vittatum), spotted cucumber beetle (Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi) and squash bug (Anasa tristis), in organic systems is difficult due to a lack of effective insecticide options. This has led to the development of many integrated pest management techniques, such as use of row covers, crop rotation and cover crops. This study explored the novel use of strip tillage and row covers to reduce pest pressure in summer squash (Cucurbita pepe) and muskmelon (Cucumis melo) production systems. Results showed that although strip tillage reduced striped cucumber beetle and squash bug numbers, there was a yield reduction in both crops compared with the plasticulture system. Row cover increased marketable yield in both systems, with the highest yield being in the plasticulture system. Unmarketable fruit directly attributed to insect damage was higher in the plasticulture systems, but was not significantly different when compared with the strip tillage system. Although there are many documented positive attributes of strip tillage, results from this study indicate that a combination of plasticulture and row cover may be a superior system for organic cucurbit production.