Exposure to brominated flame retardants and through lactation delays the development of DMBA-induced mammary cancer: potential effects on subtypes?

Introduction: Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are chemical compounds used to reduce the flammability of various products; some BFRs exhibit endocrine-disrupting properties and can leach into the environment leading to human and wildlife exposure. The mammary gland has specific vulnerability windows during which it is more sensitive to the effects of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), such as the life, puberty and pregnancy. Our previous studies revealed precocious mammary gland development, disruptions in junctional proteins, and altered proliferation-apoptosis balance during puberty in rats exposed to BFRs and through lactation.

Exposure to an environmentally representative mixture of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) alters zebrafish neuromuscular development.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a prevalent group of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) added to several products such as electronics, plastics, and textiles to reduce their flammability. They are reported as endocrine disruptors and neurodevelopmental toxicants that can accumulate in human and wildlife tissues, thus making their ability to leach out of products into the environment a great cause for concern. In this study, zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos and larvae were exposed to a wide concentration range (1.

Accelerating whole-sample polarization-resolved second harmonic generation imaging in mammary gland tissue via generative adversarial networks.

Polarization second harmonic generation (P-SHG) imaging is a powerful technique for studying the structure and properties of biological and material samples. However, conventional whole-sample P-SHG imaging is time consuming and requires expensive equipment. This paper introduces a novel approach that significantly improves imaging resolution under conditions of reduced imaging time and resolution, utilizing enhanced super-resolution generative adversarial networks (ESRGAN) to upscale low-resolution images.

It takes two: examining the dynamic nature of cooperative behavior in adolescents.

Cooperating with those around us is an important facet of functioning in modern-day society. Forming successful cooperative relationships requires trust, reciprocity, and other interpersonal skills that continue to develop during adolescence. This study examined the dynamic nature of how trust is formed and broken among 248 adolescents (Males = 110,  = 15.

Hormonal regulation of miRNA during mammary gland development.

The mammary gland is a unique organ as most of its development occurs after birth through stages of proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis that are tightly regulated by circulating hormones and growth factors. Throughout development, hormonal cues induce the regulation of different pathways, ultimately leading to differential transcription and expression of genes involved in this process, but also in the activation or inhibition of post-transcriptional mechanisms of regulation. However, the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the different phases of mammary gland remodeling is still poorly understood.

Understanding boys' underrepresentation in private and enriched programmes during the transition to secondary school.

Background: In the past decades, there has been a growing concern to understand why boys struggle in school. One of the turning points in students' educational trajectories likely to exacerbate boys' academic difficulties is students' enrolment in private or enriched school programmes, as boys are underrepresented in such programmes.

Method: To better understand this gender imbalance, our research draws on a longitudinal design to examine whether grade 6 students' externalizing behaviours, school engagement and school grades in mathematics and language arts relate to secondary school programme attendance, among a sample size of 577 students (277 boys).

Effects of a Participation in a Structured Writing Retreat on Doctoral Mental Health: An Experimental and Comprehensive Study.

Challenges faced by doctoral researchers led to a concerning "doctoral mental health crisis" within academia. Recognizing the pressing need to address mental health concerns, notably among doctoral students, the Quebec Ministry of Higher Education introduced the Higher Education Student Mental Health Action Plan 2021-2026. One potentially relevant intervention approach is the implementation of tailored structured writing retreats for graduate students.

Learning to embrace one's stress: the selective effects of short videos on youth's stress mindsets.

Background And Objectives: Stress is not inherently negative. As youth will inevitably experience stress when facing the various challenges of adolescence, they can benefit from developing a stress-can-be-enhancing mindset rather than learning to fear their stress responses and avoid taking on challenges. We aimed to verify whether a rapid intervention improved stress mindsets and diminished perceived stress and anxiety sensitivity in adolescents.

Using latent profile analysis to uncover the combined role of anxiety sensitivity and test anxiety in students' state anxiety.

Background: Studies report a growing tendency for students to experience state anxiety in schools. However, the combination of individual susceptibilities likely to trigger students' anxious states remains unclear.

Aims: This study examined whether distinct profiles of students emerge regarding their susceptibility to anxiety sensitivity and/or test anxiety and evaluated whether students' profile predicted anxious states.

A critical path to producing high quality, reproducible data from quantitative western blot experiments.

Western blotting experiments were initially performed to detect a target protein in a complex biological sample and more recently, to measure relative protein abundance. Chemiluminescence coupled with film-based detection was traditionally the gold standard for western blotting but accurate and reproducible quantification has been a major challenge from this methodology. The development of sensitive, camera-based detection technologies coupled with an updated technical approach permits the production of reproducible, quantitative data.

Gestational and Lactational Exposure to the Emergent Alternative Plasticizer 1,2-Cyclohexane Dicarboxylic Acid Diisononyl Ester (DINCH) Impairs Lipid Metabolism to a Greater Extent Than the Commonly Used Di(2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP) in the Adult Rat Mammary Gland.

Due to their endocrine disruption properties, phthalate plasticizers such as di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) can affect the hormone-dependent development of the mammary gland. Over the past few years, DEHP has been partially replaced by 1,2-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid diisononyl ester (DINCH) which also have potential endocrine disrupting properties. The goal of the present study is to understand the impact of a gestational and lactational exposure to DEHP and DINCH on mammary gland development using Sprague Dawley rats.

How Parents' Stereotypical Beliefs Relate to Students' Motivation and Career Aspirations in Mathematics and Language Arts.

Despite progress, gender gaps persist in mathematical and language-related fields, and gender stereotypes likely play a role. The current study examines the relations between parents' gender-related beliefs and their adolescent child's motivation and career aspirations through a survey of 172 parent-child dyads. Parents reported their gendered beliefs about ability in mathematics and language arts, as well as their prescriptive gender role beliefs.

Relations between prior school performance and later test anxiety during the transition to secondary school.

Background: When exposed to evaluative situations, up to 40% of students develop test anxiety, reflected, namely, by extensive worry, intrusive thoughts, and physiological arousal. Though the negative influence of test anxiety on later school performance is well documented, the role of students' initial achievement in the development of later test anxiety is less clear.

Aims And Sample: To better capture the nature of the relations between prior mathematics and language arts achievement and later test anxiety across genders, this study examined linear and curvilinear relationships among 1,569 French-speaking Canadian students followed across the transition to secondary school, a critical period for test anxiety.

Environmental Exposure to Brominated Flame Retardants: Unraveling Endocrine and Mammary Gland Effects That May Increase Disease Risk.

Brominated flame retardants (BFR) are molecules added to consumer products to reduce fire hazards. They were banned in North America and Europe because of their persistence and biomagnification. However, BFR are still released in the environment due to continued use of products manufactured before restriction, and from waste and recycling processes of those products.

Killing two birds with one stone: Pregnancy is a sensitive window for endocrine effects on both the mother and the fetus.

Pregnancy is a complex process requiring tremendous physiological changes in the mother in order to fulfill the needs of the growing fetus, and to give birth, expel the placenta and nurse the newborn. These physiological modifications are accompanied with psychological changes, as well as with variations in habits and behaviors. As a result, this period of life is considered as a sensitive window as impaired functional and physiological changes in the mother can have short- and long-term impacts on her health.

The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: Reliability, Factor Structure, and Related Clinical Factors among Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults with Chronic Pain.

This study is aimed at assessing the psychometric properties and the factorial structure of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) in a clinical sample of children, adolescents, and young adults with chronic pain. Data of 482 participants (aged 8-21 years) from two crosssectional studies and a chronic pain services outpatient clinic were analyzed. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analysis of PSQI component scores were performed.

Dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced mammary tumorigenesis in mice.

Every year, over 2 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer. Although considerable progress was made within the last years in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment, breast cancer is still responsible for over 600,000 of deaths per year. Over the years, numerous mouse models have been developed to understand breast cancer etiology and progression.

In Utero and Lactational Exposure to an Environmentally Relevant Mixture of Brominated Flame Retardants Induces a Premature Development of the Mammary Glands.

In utero and prepubertal development of the mammary glands occurs minimally in a hormone independent manner until puberty where maturation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis drives an extensive remodeling. Nevertheless, because the immature glands contain functional hormone receptors, they are especially vulnerable to the effects of endocrine disruptors, such as brominated flame retardants (BFRs). BFRs are widespread chemicals added to household objects to reduce their flammability, and to which humans are ubiquitously exposed.

The Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia: Structural Validation among Adolescents with Idiopathic Scoliosis Undergoing Spinal Fusion Surgery.

Aims: Spinal fusion surgery is one of the most invasive orthopedic surgeries. Pain while moving or a fear of experiencing pain after surgery may delay return to function and cause prolonged disability. The purpose of the study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK) in pediatric patients undergoing scoliosis surgery.

Gestational and Lactational Exposure to an Environmentally Relevant Mixture of Brominated Flame Retardants Downregulates Junctional Proteins, Thyroid Hormone Receptor α1 Expression, and the Proliferation-Apoptosis Balance in Mammary Glands Post Puberty.

Mammary gland development requires hormonal regulation during puberty, pregnancy, and lactation. Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are endocrine disruptors; they are added to consumer products to satisfy flammability standards. Previously, we showed that gestational and lactational exposure to an environmentally relevant mixture of BFRs disrupts proteins of the adherens junctions in rat dam mammary glands at weaning.

Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) increases proliferation of epithelial breast cancer cells through progesterone receptor dysregulation.

The di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is a plasticizer incorporated to plastic matrices of widely used consumer products. However, it is gradually released from these products, resulting in a chronic exposure for humans. Although DEHP, similar to other members of the phthalates family, is generally considered as an endocrine disruptor, the mechanisms implicated in its toxicity are yet poorly understood.

Luminal MCF-12A & myoepithelial-like Hs 578Bst cells form bilayered acini similar to human breast.

Unlabelled: The epithelium's functional unit is the bilayered acinus, made of a layer of luminal cells, surrounded by a layer of basal cells mainly composed of myoepithelial cells.

Aim: The aim of this study was to develop a reproducible and manipulable 3D co-culture model of the bilayered acinus to study the interactions between the two layers.

Materials & Methods: Two different combinations of cell lines were co-cultured in Matrigel: SCp2 and SCg6 mice cells, or MCF-12A and Hs 578Bst human cell lines.

The Complex Subtype-Dependent Role of Connexin 43 (GJA1) in Breast Cancer.

Gap junction transmembrane channels allow the transfer of small molecules between the cytoplasm of adjacent cells. They are formed by proteins named connexins (Cxs) that have long been considered as a tumor suppressor. This widespread view has been challenged by recent studies suggesting that the role of Connexin 43 (Cx43) in cancer is tissue- and stage-specific and can even promote tumor progression.

Strategies included in cognitive behavioral therapy programs to treat internalized disorders: a systematic review.

This review aimed to identify the strategies used in programs based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to prevent and treat symptoms of anxiety, depression, and internalized behaviors of children and adolescents. Based on an online search (ERIC, PsycInfo, Virtuose UQAM, and Google Scholar), 61 studies describing different cognitive behavioral programs were selected. Results showed that 40 strategies were implemented in at least one program.

From the Cover: Exposure to an Environmentally Relevant Mixture of Brominated Flame Retardants Decreased p-β-Cateninser675 Expression and Its Interaction With E-Cadherin in the Mammary Glands of Lactating Rats.

Proper mammary gland development and function require precise hormonal regulation and bidirectional cross talk between cells provided by means of paracrine factors as well as intercellular junctions; exposure to environmental endocrine disruptors can disturb these processes. Exposure to one such family of chemicals, the brominated flame retardants (BFRs), is ubiquitous. Here, we tested the hypothesis that BFR exposures disrupt signaling pathways and intercellular junctions that control mammary gland development.