Ensembles of realistic power distribution networks.

The power grid is going through significant changes with the introduction of renewable energy sources and the incorporation of smart grid technologies. These rapid advancements necessitate new models and analyses to keep up with the various emergent phenomena they induce. A major prerequisite of such work is the acquisition of well-constructed and accurate network datasets for the power grid infrastructure.

Connexin 43, Bcl-2, Bax, Ki67, and E-cadherin patterns in oral squamous cell carcinoma and its relationship with GJA1 rs12197797 C/G.

Background: To our knowledge, there is no useful and accurate prognostic biomarker or biomarkers for patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), a tumor with uncertain biological behavior, and unpredictable clinical progress. The purposes of this study were: a) to determine the expresión profile of Connexin 43, Bcl-2, Bax, E-cadherin, and Ki67 in patients with OSCC; b) identify the GJCA1 rs12197797 genotypic composition.

Material And Methods: A cross-sectional study using genomic DNA and biopsy samples extracted from the oral mucosa with/without OSCC, older than 18 years, both genders, attended at Facultad de Odontología, Universidad Nacional Córdoba.

Why has the Brazilian economy stagnated in the 2010s? A Minskyan analysis of the behavior of non-financial companies in a financialized economy.

The Brazilian economy entered a deep recession in 2015-2016 and since then has shown a sluggish recovery. In this paper, we offer an interpretation for the slow growth based on Minsky's financial instability hypothesis and recent literature on financialization and growth. We analyze the balance sheet of large non-financial companies over the period 2012-2019, a period that comprises the positive investment cycle-initiated during the commodities boom which lasted from the second half of the 2000s until 2014-the 2015-2016 recession, and the period preceding the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chronic Exposure to Fluoride During Gestation and Lactation Increases Mandibular Bone Volume of Suckling Rats.

We aimed to investigate the effect of maternal exposure to NaF on mandibular bone microarchitecture and phosphocalcic plasma parameters of the offspring. For this purpose, 10-, 15-, and 21-day-old pups (n = 6-8 per group) from two groups of mothers, control and NaF 50mg/L treated dams, were used. Plasma calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) levels and alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) were measured.

Fluoride alters connexin expression in rat incisor pulp.

Objective: Connexins (Cxs) are important to control growth and cell differentiation of dental tissues. The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of chronic exposure to sodium fluoride (NaF) on Cxs expression and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in dental pulp, and on morphometric parameters of adult rat mandible and incisors.

Design: Three groups of male Wistar rats (22 days-old) were given water containing: (a) 0.

Antioxidant and antiapoptotic properties of melatonin restore intestinal calcium absorption altered by menadione.

The intestinal Ca²⁺ absorption is inhibited by menadione (MEN) through oxidative stress and apoptosis. The aim of this study was to elucidate whether the antioxidant and antiapoptotic properties of melatonin (MEL) could protect the gut against the oxidant MEN. For this purpose, 4-week-old chicks were divided into four groups: (1) controls, (2) treated i.

Association of vitamin D receptor gene Cdx2 polymorphism with bone markers in Turner syndrome patients.

Background: Turner syndrome (TS) patients usually have low bone mineral density (BMD) and increased risk of osteoporotic fractures. We have previously demonstrated an association of bb (BsmI polymorphic site) and ff (FokI polymorphic site) vitamin D receptor (VDR) genotypes with reduced BMD in TS patients.

Aim: To analyze the relationship between VDR-Cdx2 polymorphism and BMD as well as bone metabolic variables in TS patients.

Sodium deoxycholate inhibits chick duodenal calcium absorption through oxidative stress and apoptosis.

High concentrations of sodium deoxycholate (NaDOC) produce toxic effects. This study explores the effect of a single high concentration of NaDOC on the intestinal Ca(2+) absorption and the underlying mechanisms. Chicks were divided into two groups: 1) controls and 2) treated with different concentrations of NaDOC in the duodenal loop for variable times.

Vitamin D receptor genotypes are associated with bone mass in patients with Turner syndrome.

Background: Turner syndrome (TS) patients present low bone mineral density (BMD) and increased fracture risk, probably due to a genetic defect aggravated by hormonal deficiency.

Aim: To study the relationship between vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms and BMD and bone parameters in TS patients.

Methods: DNA from 65 TS patients and 110 controls was amplified by PCR and digested with FokI, BsmI and ApaI restrictases.

Intestinal Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger protein and gene expression are regulated by 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) in vitamin D-deficient chicks.

The role of 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) on the intestinal NCX activity was studied in vitamin D-deficient chicks (-D) as well as the hormone effect on NCX1 protein and gene expression and the potential molecular mechanisms underlying the responses. Normal, -D and -D chicks treated with cholecalciferol or 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) were employed. In some experiments, -D chicks were injected with cycloheximide or with cycloheximide and 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) simultaneously.

Molecular mechanisms involved in the enhancement of mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase activity by calcitriol in chick intestine.

Mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase (mMDH) from the intestine is the NAD-linked oxidoreductase of the tricarboxylic acid cycle with the highest activity and response to vitamin D treatment in vitamin D-deficient chicks (-D). The aim of this study was to elucidate potential molecular mechanisms by which cholecalciferol or calcitriol enhances the activity of this enzyme. One group of animals used was composed of -D and -D treated with cholecalciferol or with calcitriol.

Molecular mechanisms triggered by low-calcium diets.

Ca is not only essential for bone mineralisation, but also for regulation of extracellular and intracellular processes. When the Ca2+ intake is low, the efficiency of intestinal Ca2+ absorption and renal Ca2+ reabsorption is increased. This adaptive mechanism involves calcitriol enhancement via parathyroid hormone stimulation.

[Metabolic alterations triggered by low calcium diets].

Calcium is essential for bone and tooth formation, achievement of optimal peak bone mass and also for regulation of physiological processes. The calcium demand depends on age, gender and different physiological processes. These requirements are higher during childhood, pregnancy and lactation.

Genotypes and clinical aspects associated with bone mineral density in Argentine postmenopausal women.

The aim of this study was to determine genotypes and clinical aspects associated with bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women from Córdoba, Argentina. Polymorphisms were assessed by RFLP-PCR technique using BsmI and FokI for vitamin D receptor gene (VDR) and XbaI and PvuII for estrogen receptor-alpha gene (ERalpha) as restrictases. Sixty-eight healthy, 54 osteopenic, and 64 osteoporotic postmenopausal women were recruited.

Cellular expression levels of the vitamin D receptor are critical to its transcriptional regulation by the pituitary transcription factor Pit-1.

The biological role of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) has generally been related to calcium homeostasis, but this hormone also has fundamental effects on processes of cellular proliferation and differentiation. The genomic actions of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) are mediated by the vitamin D receptor (VDR) present in target cells. However, VDR transcriptional regulation is not well understood, probably attributable to the complexity of the VDR gene and its promoter.

Dietary calcium deficiency increases Ca2+ uptake and Ca2+ extrusion mechanisms in chick enterocytes.

Ca2+ uptake and Ca2+ extrusion mechanisms were studied in enterocytes with different degree of differentiation from chicks adapted to a low Ca2+ diet as compared to animals fed a normal diet. Chicks adapted to a low Ca2+ diet presented hypocalcemia, hypophosphatemia and increased serum 1,25(OH)2D3 and Ca2+ absorption. Low Ca2+ diet increased the alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity, independently of the cellular maturation, but it did not alter gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase activity.

Effects of a single dose of menadione on the intestinal calcium absorption and associated variables.

The effect of a single large dose of menadione on intestinal calcium absorption and associated variables was investigated in chicks fed a normal diet. The data show that 2.5 micro mol of menadione/kg of b.

Chronic treatment with desipramine: effect on endocrine and behavioral responses induced by inescapable stress.

Inescapable shock (IS) exposure induces behavioral inactivity, related to behavioral alterations in subsequent tests (i.e. escape failure during shuttle box task).