bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Functional effect of mir-27b on myostatin expression: a relationship in piedmontese cattle with double-muscled phenotype
Authors: Miretti Silvia , Martignani Eugenio , Accornero Paolo , Baratta Mario 
Published: March 2013

Abstract

Background
In Piedmontese cattle the double-muscled phenotype is an inherited condition associated to a point mutation in the myostatin (MSTN) gene. The Piedmontese MSTN missense mutation G938A is translated to C313Y myostatin protein. This mutation alters MSTN function as a negative regulator of muscle growth, thereby inducing muscle hypertrophy. MiRNAs could play a role in skeletal muscle hypertrophy modulation by down-regulating gene expression.

Results
After identifying a 3′-UTR consensus sequence of several negative and positive modulator genes involved in the skeletal muscle hypertrophy pathway, such as IGF1, IGF1R, PPP3CA, NFATc1, MEF2C, GSK3b, TEAD1 and MSTN, we screened miRNAs matching to it. This analysis led to the identification of miR-27b, miR-132, miR-186 and miR-199b-5p as possible candidates. We collected samples of longissimus thoracis from twenty Piedmontese and twenty Friesian male bovines. In Piedmontese group miR-27b was up-regulated 7.4-fold (p < 0.05). Further, we report that the level of MSTN mRNA was about 5-fold lower in Piedmontese cattle vs Friesian cattle (p < 0.0001) and that less mature MSTN protein was detected in the Piedmontese one (p < 0.0001). Cotransfection of miR-27b and psi-check2 vector with the luciferase reporter gene linked to the bovine wild-type 3′-UTR of MSTN strongly inhibited the luciferase activity (79%, p < 0.0001).

Conclusions
These data demonstrate that bovine MSTN is a specific target of miR-27b and that miRNAs contribute to explain additive phenotypic hypertrophy in Piedmontese cattle selected for the MSTN gene mutation, possibly outlining a more precise genetic signature able to elucidate differences in muscle conformation.
The development of academic family medicine in central and eastern Europe since 1990
Authors: Krztoń-Królewiecka Anna , Švab Igor , Oleszczyk Marek , Seifert Bohumil , Smithson W Henry , Windak Adam 
Published: March 2013

Abstract

Background
Since the early 1990s former communist countries have been reforming their health care systems, emphasizing the key role of primary care and recognizing family medicine as a specialty and an academic discipline. This study assesses the level of academic development of the discipline characterised by education and research in central and eastern European (CEE) countries.

Methods
A key informants study, using a questionnaire developed on the basis of a systematic literature review and panel discussions, conducted in 11 central and eastern European countries and Russia.

Results
Family medicine in CEE countries is now formally recognized as a medical specialty and successfully introduced into medical training at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Almost all universities have FM/GP departments, but only a few of them are led by general practitioners. The specialist training programmes in all countries except Russia fulfil the recommendations of the European Parliament. Structured support for research in FM/GP is not always available. However specific scientific organisations function in almost all countries except Russia. Scientific conferences are regularly organised in all the countries, but peer-reviewed journals are published in only half of them.

Conclusions
Family medicine has a relatively strong position in medical education in central and eastern Europe, but research in family practice is less developed. Although the position of the discipline at the universities is not very strong, most of the CEE countries can serve as an example of successful academic development for countries southern Europe, where family medicine is still not fully recognised.
Relationship between children’s oral health-related behaviors and their caregiver’s sense of coherence
Authors: Qiu Rong Min , Wong May CM , Lo Edward CM , Lin Huan Cai 
Published: March 2013

Abstract

Background
Sense of coherence (SOC) is hypothesized to be an important psychological factor that enables people to cope with stressors and successfully maintain and improve health. Mother’s SOC has been shown to be an important psychological factor associated with oral health and oral health-related behaviors of adolescents and 11- to 12-year-old children. However, little is known about the relationship between the caregiver’s SOC and oral health-related behaviors of the preschool children. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between oral health-related behaviors of 5-year-old children in Southern China and SOC of their caregiver.

Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted in a randomized sample of 1332 children aged 5 years and their caregivers in Guangzhou, Southern China. Data were collected through questionnaires completed by the caregivers. The Chinese short version of Antonovsky’s SOC scale (13 items) was employed to assess the caregiver’s SOC. The outcome variables were the child’s oral health-related behaviors, including frequency of sugary snack intake, toothbrushing frequency, utilization of dental service, and pattern of dental visits. Multiple logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between the variables.

Results
No association was found between the children’s sugary snack intake and the mother’s or the father’s SOC. After adjustment for other significant factors related to the child’s oral health-related behaviors, 8.9% of the children whose grandparents (as caregivers) had higher SOC scores had a lower frequency of sugary snack intake, compared with the children whose grandparents had lower SOC scores (OR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.50–0.73, p = 0.008). The other measures of oral health-related behaviors of the child were not significantly associated with the caregiver’s SOC.

Conclusion
Sugary snack intake behavior of the 5-year-old children was not associated with the mother’s or the father’s SOC. It was associated with the SOC of their grandparents, who are a small group of the caregivers in China.
The endothelial lipase protein is promising urinary biomarker for diagnosis of gastric cancer
Authors: Dong Xueyan , Wang Guoqing , Zhang Guoqing , Ni Zhaohui , Suo Jian , Cui Juan , Cui Ai , Yang Qing , Xu Ying , Li Fan 
Published: March 2013

Abstract

Background
Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world. Finding effective diagnostic biomarkers in urine or serum would represent the most ideal solution to detecting gastric cancer during annual physical examination. This study was to evaluate the potential of endothelial lipase (EL) as a urinary biomarker for diagnosis of gastric cancer.

Methods
The expression levels of EL was measured using Western blotting and immunohistochemical staining experiments on (tissue, serum, and urine) samples of gastric cancer patients versus healthy people. We also checked the EL levels in the urine samples of other cancer types (lung, colon and rectum cancers) and benign lesions (gastritis and gastric leiomyoma) to check if EL was specific to gastric cancer.

Result
We observed a clear separation between the EL expression levels in the urine samples of 90 gastric cancer patients and of 57 healthy volunteers. It was approximately 9.9 fold average decrease of the EL expression levels in the urine samples of gastric cancer compared to the healthy controls (P <0.0001), achieving a 0.967 AUC value for the ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curve, demonstrating it’s highly accurate as a diagnostic marker for gastric cancer. Interestingly, the expression levels of EL in tissue and serum samples were not nearly as discriminative as in urine samples (P = 0.90 and P = 0.79). In immunohistochemical experiments, positive expression of the EL protein was found in 67% (8/12) of gastric adjacent noncancerous and in 58% (7/12) of gastric cancer samples. There was no significant statistical in the expression levels of this protein between the gastric cancer and the matching noncancerous tissues (P =0.67).

Conclusions
The urinary EL as a highly accurate gastric cancer biomarker that is potentially applicable to the general screening with high sensitivity and specificity.

Virtual Slides
The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/4527331618757552
Modelling the widespread effects of TOC1 signalling on the plant circadian clock and its outputs
Authors: Pokhilko Alexandra , Mas Paloma , Millar Andrew J 
Published: March 2013

Abstract

Background
24-hour biological clocks are intimately connected to the cellular signalling network, which complicates the analysis of clock mechanisms. The transcriptional regulator TOC1 (TIMING OF CAB EXPRESSION 1) is a founding component of the gene circuit in the plant circadian clock. Recent results show that TOC1 suppresses transcription of multiple target genes within the clock circuit, far beyond its previously-described regulation of the morning transcription factors LHY (LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL) and CCA1 (CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED 1). It is unclear how this pervasive effect of TOC1 affects the dynamics of the clock and its outputs. TOC1 also appears to function in a nested feedback loop that includes signalling by the plant hormone Abscisic Acid (ABA), which is upregulated by abiotic stresses, such as drought. ABA treatments both alter TOC1 levels and affect the clock’s timing behaviour. Conversely, the clock rhythmically modulates physiological processes induced by ABA, such as the closing of stomata in the leaf epidermis. In order to understand the dynamics of the clock and its outputs under changing environmental conditions, the reciprocal interactions between the clock and other signalling pathways must be integrated.

Results
We extended the mathematical model of the plant clock gene circuit by incorporating the repression of multiple clock genes by TOC1, observed experimentally. The revised model more accurately matches the data on the clock’s molecular profiles and timing behaviour, explaining the clock’s responses in TOC1 over-expression and toc1 mutant plants. A simplified representation of ABA signalling allowed us to investigate the interactions of ABA and circadian pathways. Increased ABA levels lengthen the free-running period of the clock, consistent with the experimental data. Adding stomatal closure to the model, as a key ABA- and clock-regulated downstream process allowed to describe TOC1 effects on the rhythmic gating of stomatal closure.

Conclusions
The integrated model of the circadian clock circuit and ABA-regulated environmental sensing allowed us to explain multiple experimental observations on the timing and stomatal responses to genetic and environmental perturbations. These results crystallise a new role of TOC1 as an environmental sensor, which both affects the pace of the central oscillator and modulates the kinetics of downstream processes.
Aphonia induced by simultaneous bilateral ischemic infarctions of the putamen nuclei: a case report and review of the literature
Authors: Senatorov Vladimir V , Satpute Shirish , Perry Katherine , Kaylie David M , Cole John W 
Published: March 2013

Abstract

Introduction
Isolated aphonia induced by acute stroke is a rare phenomenon with only a few cases reported in the literature.

Case presentation
We report an unusual case of a 44-year-old African-American man with a history of hypertension, smoking and cocaine use who developed acute aphonia secondary to simultaneous ischemic infarctions of the bilateral putamen nuclei.

Conclusion
We describe the clinical presentation of acute aphonia induced by bilateral putamen nuclei ischemic infarctions, correlating clinical symptoms with injury localization. We further highlight the anatomic and functional organization of the neural pathways involved.
Reverse takotsubo cardiomyopathy: two case reports and review of the literature
Authors: Patankar Gautam R , Choi James W , Schussler Jeffrey M 
Published: March 2013

Abstract

Introduction
Reverse takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a rare variant of classic takotsubo cardiomyopathy that presents within a different patient profile and with its own hemodynamic considerations. Its recognition is important for prognostic, evaluation and treatment considerations.

Case presentation
Case 1: A 69-year-old Caucasian woman presented with substernal chest pain following a motor vehicle accident. During her evaluation, she was found to have positive results for cardiac enzymes and underwent left heart cardiac catheterization. The results of the catheterization demonstrated no significant coronary stenosis. However, her ventriculogram showed basal and anterior akinesis.
Case 2: A 62-year-old Caucasian woman began having substernal chest pain that radiated to her shoulder blades. She was taken to a local area hospital where she was found to have elevated troponins. A left heart catheterization showed an ejection fraction of 35% with hypokinesis of the anterior and posterobasal walls of her heart, with 30% stenosis of her left anterior descending artery but no other significant coronary artery stenosis.

Conclusion
The cases in this report illustrate a lesser-known variant of takotsubo cardiomyopathy.
Chromosomal mapping of microsatellite repeats in the rock bream fish Oplegnathus fasciatus, with emphasis of their distribution in the neo-Y chromosome
Authors: Xu Dongdong , Lou Bao , Bertollo Luiz Antonio Carlos , Cioffi Marcelo de Bello 
Published: March 2013

Abstract
Despite the theoretical and experimental progress, our understanding on sex chromosome differentiation is still diagrammatic. The accumulation of repetitive DNA sequences is believed to occur in early stages of such differentiation. As fish species present a wide range of sex chromosome systems they are excellent models to examine the differentiation of these chromosomes. In the present study, the chromosomal distribution of 9 mono-, di- and tri-nucleotide microsatellites were analyzed using fluorescence in situ hybrization (FISH) in rock bream fish (Oplegnathus fasciatus), which is characterized by an X1X2Y sex chromosome system. Generally, the males and females exhibited the same autosomal pattern of distribution for a specific microsatellite probe. The male specific Y chromosome displays a specific amount of distinct microsatellites repeats along both arms. However, the accumulation of these repetitive sequences was not accompanied by a huge heterochromatinization process. The present data provide new insights into the chromosomal constitution of the multiple sex chromosomes and allow further investigations on the true role of the microsatellite repeats in the differentiation process of this sex system.
Intestinal microbiota, probiotics and mental health: from Metchnikoff to modern advances: Part I – autointoxication revisited
Authors: Bested Alison C , Logan Alan C , Selhub Eva M 
Published: March 2013

Abstract
Mental health disorders, depression in particular, have been described as a global epidemic. Research suggests that a variety of lifestyle and environmental changes may be driving at least some portion of the increased prevalence. One area of flourishing research involves the relationship between the intestinal microbiota (as well as the related functional integrity of the gastrointestinal tract) and mental health. In order to appreciate the recent scientific gains in this area, and its potential future directions, it is critical to review the history of the topic. Probiotic administration (e.g. Lactobacillus) and fecal microbiota transfer for conditions associated with depression and anxiety is not a new concept. Here, in the first of a 3-part series, we begin by reviewing the origins of the contemporary research, providing a critical appraisal of what has become a revisionist history of the controversial term ‘autointoxication’. We argue that legitimate interests in the gut-brain-microbiota connection were obscured for decades by its association with a narrow historical legacy. Historical perspectives provide a very meaningful context to the current state of the contemporary research as outlined in parts II and III.
Focus on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of hypertension in children and adolescents
Authors: Spagnolo Amedeo , Giussani Marco , Ambruzzi Amalia Maria , Bianchetti Mario , Maringhini Silvio , Matteucci Maria Chiara , Menghetti Ettore , Salice Patrizia , Simionato Loredana , Strambi Mirella , Virdis Raffaele , Genovesi Simonetta 
Published: March 2013

Abstract
The European Society of Hypertension has recently published its recommendations on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure in children and adolescents. Taking this contribution as a starting point the Study Group of Hypertension of the Italian Society of Pediatrics together with the Italian Society of Hypertension has conducted a reappraisal of the most recent literature on this subject. The present review does not claim to be an exhaustive description of hypertension in the pediatric population but intends to provide Pediatricians with practical and updated indications in order to guide them in this often unappreciated problem.
This document pays particular attention to the primary hypertension which represents a growing problem in children and adolescents. Subjects at elevated risk of hypertension are those overweight, with low birth weight and presenting a family history of hypertension. However, also children who do not present these risk factors may have elevated blood pressure levels. In pediatric age diagnosis of hypertension or high normal blood pressure is made with repeated office blood pressure measurements that show values exceeding the reference values. Blood pressure should be monitored at least once a year with adequate methods and instrumentation and the observed values have to be interpreted according to the most updated nomograms that are adjusted for children’s gender, age and height. Currently other available methods such as ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and home blood pressure measurement are not yet adequately validated for use as diagnostic instruments. To diagnose primary hypertension it is necessary to exclude secondary forms. The probability of facing a secondary form of hypertension is inversely proportional to the child’s age and directly proportional to blood pressure levels. Medical history, clinical data and blood tests may guide the differential diagnosis of primary versus secondary forms. The prevention of high blood pressure is based on correct lifestyle and nutrition, starting from childhood age. The treatment of primary hypertension in children is almost exclusively dietary/behavioral and includes: a) reduction of overweight whenever present b) reduction of dietary sodium intake c) increase in physical activity. Pharmacological therapy will be needed rarely and only in specific cases.
Cyclin D1 overexpression is associated with poor prognosis in oropharyngeal cancer
Authors: Lin Rui Jun , Lubpairee Tarinee , Liu Kelly Y , Anderson Donald W , Durham Scott , Poh Catherine F 
Published: March 2013

Objectives To determine the biological characteristics of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OpSCC) and related outcome. Design Retrospective study. Methods Patients (N=60) with primary OpSCC from 2000 to 2005 were retrospectively identified from Pathology database and the outcome was confirmed through chart review. Among these, 41 biopsy samples with enough tissues were retrieved to construct a tissue microarray for detection of the presence of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) using Chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) as well as the expression of p16 and cyclin D1 using immunohistochemistry. Main outcome measures Disease-free survival. Results Among 60 patients, 39 (65%) patients had no recurrence or died without disease at the last follow-up (disease-free survival or Group 1), and 21 (35%) patients had persistent disease or died of disease (progression-free survival or Group 2). Although follow-up time was twice as long in group 1 (4.7 ± 2.2 vs. 2.0 ± 1.6 years; P < 0.0001), there was no difference between the 2 groups in age, gender, smoking/alcohol habits, TNM staging and treatment modalities. Among those 41 cases with available tumour tissues, there was no difference in HPV status and p16 expression between the 2 groups but a significant difference in cyclin D1 expression ( P = 0.05). Using Kaplan-Meir survival analysis and log-rank test, cyclin D1 overexpression was highly associated with a poor prognosis when comparing time to outcome ( P < 0.0001). Conclusion Cyclin D1 overexpression is a potential prognostic marker of OpSCC.
Generation of PVP fibers by electrospinning in one-step process under high-pressure CO2
Authors: Wahyudiono  , Machmudah Siti , Murakami Kanako , Okubayashi Satoko , Goto Motonobu 
Published: March 2013

Abstract

Background
Electrospinning is a process of electrostatic fiber formation using electrical forces to produce polymer fibers from polymer solution in nano/micrometer scale diameters. Various polymers have been successfully electrospun into ultrafine particles and fibers in recent years, mostly in solvent solution and some in melt form. In this work, electrospinning was conducted under high-pressure carbon dioxide (CO2) to reduce the viscosity of polymer solution. The experiments were conducted at 313 K and approximately 8.0 MPa. Polyvinylpyrrolidone in dichloromethane was used as a polymer solution with 4 wt.% of concentration. The applied voltage was 17 kV, and the distance of nozzle and collector was 8 cm. The morphology and structure of the fibers produced were observed by scanning electron microscopy.

Results
When the CO2 pressure was 5 MPa, the resultant fibers had an average diameter of 2.28 ± 0.38 to 4.93 ± 1.02 μm. The ribbon-like morphology was formed with increasing pressure of CO2 at 8 MPa with a tip 0.75-mm inside diameter.

Conclusions
The results show that the depressurization of CO2 at the end of experiment assists the removal process of the polymer solvent and produces the porous nature of fibers without collapsing or foaming. These behaviors hold the potential to considerably improve devolatilization electrospinning processes.