Patients with chronic,but not episodic,migraine display altered activity of their neck extensor muscles

The current study aimed to investigate differences in activity of neck flexor and extensor muscles in women with migraine considering the chronicity of their condition. Thirty-one subjects with episodic migraine, 21 with chronic migraine and 31 healthy controls participated. Surface electromyography signals were recorded bilaterally from the sternocleidomastoid, anterior scalene, splenius capitis and upper trapezius muscles as subjects performed 5 stages of cranio-cervical flexion (CCF), representing a progressive increase in range of CCF motion. Comparison of normalized root-mean-square among groups was conducted with 3 × 5 ANCOVA with task level as the within-subject variable, group as the between-subject variable, and the presence of neck pain and disability as co-variates. The group with chronic migraine exhibited increased activity of their extensor muscles compared to the control and episodic migraine groups (splenius capitis: F = 3.149, P = 0.045; upper trapezius: F = 3.369, P = 0.041). No significant between-group differences were found for the superficial neck flexors (sternocleidomastoid: F = 1.161, P = 0.320; anterior scalene: F = 0.135, P = 0.874). In conclusion, women with chronic migraine exhibit increased activity of their superficial neck extensor muscles when acting as antagonists during low-load isometric CCF contractions in comparison to non-headache subjects.     

Dissolved methane oxidation and competition for oxygen in down-flow hanging sponge reactor for post-treatment of anaerobic wastewater treatment

Post-treatment of anaerobic wastewater was undertaken to biologically oxidize dissolved methane, with the aim of preventing methane emission. The performance of dissolved methane oxidation and competition for oxygen among methane, ammonium, organic matter, and sulfide oxidizing bacteria were investigated using a lab-scale closed-type down-flow hanging sponge (DHS) reactor. Under the oxygen abundant condition of a hydraulic retention time of 2h and volumetric air supply rate of 12.95m(3)-airm(-3)day(-1), greater than 90% oxidation of dissolved methane, ammonium, sulfide, and organic matter was achieved. With reduction in the air supply rate, ammonium oxidation first ceased, after which methane oxidation deteriorated. Sulfide oxidation was disrupted in the final step, indicating that COD and sulfide oxidation occurred prior to methane oxidation. A microbial community analysis revealed that peculiar methanotrophic communities dominating the Methylocaldum species were formed in the DHS reactor operation.     

TGF-beta mediated Msx2 expression controls occipital somites-derived caudal region of skull development

Craniofacial development involves cranial neural crest (CNC) and mesoderm-derived cells. TGF-beta signaling plays a critical role in instructing CNC cells to form the craniofacial skeleton. However, it is not known how TGF-beta signaling regulates the fate of mesoderm-derived cells during craniofacial development. In this study, we show that occipital somites contribute to the caudal region of mammalian skull development. Conditional inactivation of Tgfbr2 in mesoderm-derived cells results in defects of the supraoccipital bone with meningoencephalocele and discontinuity of the neural arch of the C1 vertebra. At the cellular level, loss of TGF-beta signaling causes decreased chondrocyte proliferation and premature differentiation of cartilage to bone. Expression of Msx2, a critical factor in the formation of the dorsoventral axis, is diminished in the Tgfbr2 mutant. Significantly, overexpression of Msx2 in Myf5-Cre;Tgfbr2flox/flox mice partially rescues supraoccipital bone development. These results suggest that the TGF-beta/Msx2 signaling cascade is critical for development of the caudal region of the skull.     

The number distribution for involved lymph nodes in cancer

The number of involved lymph nodes exhibits considerable heterogeneity within populations. Here, the implications of population heterogeneity are explored with respect to the kinematics of nodal metastases. Data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program for 224656 breast, 12404 gastric, 18015 rectal, 4117 cervical and 2443 laryngeal cancers as well as 9118 melanomas were used to construct frequency distributions for the number of involved nodes which were then fitted to the negative binomial distribution. The negative binomial distribution described the heterogeneity in nodal involvement well. The patterns of nodal involvement can be explained by either of two models: one where involved nodes could seed further nodal metastases, the other where the number of nodal metastases in any individual was randomly distributed, with the deviations between patients accounted for by population heterogeneity. Since the number of sampled nodes similarly approximated a negative binomial distribution, random involvement with superimposed population heterogeneity would more credibly explain both sets of observations.     

The apoptotic effect of intercalating agents on HPV-negative cervical cancer C-33A cells

Summary. Cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of female cancer death worldwide with about 500,000 deaths per year. Both mitomycin C and cisplatin are alkylating agents, which bind and intercalate DNA, and thus used as anti-cancer drugs. In these studies, we focused on investigating the apoptotic effects of intercalating agents on HPV-negative cervical cancer C-33A cells. Accordingly, C-33A cells were treated with carboplatin, mitomycin C or cisplatin. Cell cycle analysis revealed that treatment with mitomycin C and cisplatin but not with carboplatin resulted in apoptosis. Both mitomycin C and cisplatin induced apoptosis in C-33A cells via caspase-8 and -3 processing in a Fas/FasL-dependent manner and also suppressed IL-18 expression, while they down-regulated IκB expression and up-regulated p65 expression. These results suggest that both mitomycin C and cisplatin induce apoptosis, not only via the caspase-8 and -3 dependent Fas/FasL pathway, but also via the regulation of NF-κB activity and IL-18 expression in HPV-negative cervical cancer C-33A cells.     

Metric and morphological study of the upper cervical spine from the Sima de los Huesos site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain)

In this article, the upper cervical spine remains recovered from the Sima de los Huesos (SH) middle Pleistocene site in the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain) are described and analyzed. To date, this site has yielded more than 5000 human fossils belonging to a minimum of 28 individuals of the species Homo heidelbergensis. At least eleven individuals are represented by the upper cervical (C1 and C2) specimens: six adults and five subadults, one of which could represent an adolescent individual. The most complete adult vertebrae (three atlases and three axes) are described, measured, and compared with other fossil hominins and modern humans. These six specimens are associated with one another and represent three individuals. In addition, one of these sets of cervical vertebrae is associated with Cranium 5 (Individual XXI) from the site. The metric analysis demonstrates that the Sima de los Huesos atlases and axes are metrically more similar to Neandertals than to our modern human comparative sample. The SH atlases share with Neandertals a sagittally elongated canal. The most remarkable feature of the SH (and Neandertal) axes is that they are craniocaudally low and mediolaterally wide compared to our modern male sample. Morphologically, the SH sample shares with Neandertals a higher frequency of caudally projected anterior atlas arch, which could reflect greater development of the longus colli muscle. In other features, such as the frequency of weakly developed tubercles for the attachment of the transverse ligament of the atlas, the Sima de los Huesos fossils show intermediate frequencies between our modern comparative samples and the Neandertals, which could represent the primitive condition. Our results are consistent with the previous phylogenetic interpretation of H. heidelbergensis as an exclusively European species, ancestral only to H. neanderthalensis.     

Molecular screening of compounds to the predicted Protein-Protein Interaction site of Rb1-E7 with p53- E6 in HPV

Cervical cancer is malignant neoplasm of the cervix uteri or cervical area. Human Papillomaviruses (HPVs) which are heterogeneous groups of small double stranded DNA viruses are considered as the primary cause of cervical cancer, involved in 90% of all Cervical Cancers. Two early HPV genes, E6 and E7, are known to play crucial role in tumor formation. E6 binds with p53 and prevents its translocation and thereby inhibit the ability of p53 to activate or repress target genes. E7 binds to hypophosphorylated Rb and thereby induces cells to enter into premature S-phase by disrupting Rb-E2F complexes. The strategy of the research work was to target the site of interaction of Rb1 -E7 & p53-E6. A total of 88 compounds were selected for molecular screening, based on comprehensive literature survey for natural compounds with anti-cancer activity. Molecular docking analysis was carried out with Molegro Virtual Docker, to screen the 88 chosen compounds and rank them according to their binding affinity towards the site of interaction of the viral oncoproteins and human tumor suppressor proteins. The docking result revealed that Nicandrenone a member of Withanolides family of chemical compounds as the most likely molecule that can be used as a candidate drug against HPV induced cervical cancer. ABBREVIATIONS: HPV - Human Papiloma Virus, HTSP - Human Tumor Suppressor Proteins, VOP - Viral oncoproteins.     

Ram seminal plasma improves pregnancy rates in ewes cervically inseminated with ram semen stored at 5 °C for 24 hours

In this study, we compared pregnancy rates obtained using ram semen stored at 5 °C for 24 h, with ram or bull seminal plasma (SP) added to TRIS-egg yolk extender. During the breeding period, 670 adult Corriedale ewes were cervically inseminated with semen (2 × 10⁸ sperm in a volume of 0.2 mL) from eight adult Corriedale rams. Ejaculates, obtained using an artificial vagina, were split into three aliquots and diluted with the following: TRIS-egg yolk based extender (T), T + 30% ram SP (R), or T + 30% bull SP (B). Samples were refrigerated and stored at 5 °C for 24 h until used for AI. Pregnancy was assessed by ultrasonography 35 to 40 d after AI. Pregnancy rate was not affected by ram (P = 0.77) or breeding period (P = 0.43), and there were no interactions between extender and ram (P = 0.94), or extender and breeding period (P = 0.24). However, there was an effect of extender (P = 0.0009) on pregnancy rates; ram SP, but not bull SP, increased pregnancy rates compared with extender without SP (49.7, 38.1, and 31.1%, for R, B, and T respectively). In conclusion, ram SP added to TRIS-egg yolk extender had a beneficial effect on the pregnancy rate of ram sperm stored at 5 °C for 24 h and used for cervical insemination of ewes.     

Isolation and characterization of cancer stem cells from cervical cancer HeLa cells

Cervical cancer is one of the most common gynecologic malignancies and poses a serious health problem worldwide. Identification and characterization of cervical cancer stem cells may facilitate the development of novel strategies for the treatment of advanced and metastatic cervical cancer. Breast cancer-resistance protein (Bcrp1)-positive cells were selected from a population of parent HeLa cells using flow cytometry. The invasion capacity of Bcrp1-positive and -negative cells was analyzed with a Boyden chamber invasion test. The tumorigenicity of these cells was determined by in vivo transplantation in non-obesity diabetes/severe combined immunodeficiency (NOD/SCID) mice. The Bcrp1-positive subpopulation accounted for about 7% of the parent HeLa cell population. The proliferative capacity of the Bcrp1-positive cells was greater than that of the Bcrp1-negative cells (P < 0.05). In the invasion assay, the Bcrp1-positive cells demonstrated a greater invasive capacity through the artificial basement membrane than their Bcrp1-negative counterparts. Following transplantation of 10⁴ cells, only the Bcrp1-positive cells formed tumors in NOD/SCID mice. When 10⁵ or 10⁶ cells were transplanted, the tumor incidence and the tumor mass were greater in the Bcrp1-positive groups than those in the Bcrp1-negative groups (P < 0.05). The Bcrp1-positive subpopulation cervical cancer stem cells.     

HPV-DNA 和TCT 检测在宫颈癌前病变筛查中的诊断价值

目的:探讨乳头瘤病毒定性检测( HPV- DNA)与液基薄层细胞学检查技术(TCT)在宫颈癌前病变中的诊断价值.方法:分别采用HPV- DNA及TCT法检测1536例患者,对TCT阳性、HPV- DNA阳性病例者进行阴道镜下活检.结果:随着病理诊断级别的升高,高危型HPV感染率上升,而低危型HPV感染多见于轻度不典型增生(CINⅠ)及其以下病变,HPV混合感染在各组间未见明显趋势.HPV-DNA检测与宫颈活检的符合率为66.78％.随着病理级别的升高,不典型鳞状细胞(ASCUS)组的感染率呈降低趋势,鳞状上皮内低度病变(LSIL)组感染率亦呈下降趋势,而鳞状上皮内高度病变(HSIL)组和鳞癌(SCC)组感染率均呈上升趋势,TCT检测与组织学诊断的符合率为66.67％,与HPV-DNA检查比较,差异无统计学意义(x=0.001,P＞0.05).结论:HPV-DNA、TCT及宫颈活检三者检测相结合,能明显提高诊断的正确性.