Applying person-centered research ethics in the design of dementia-specific measures.

There is an emerging call for new strengths-based measures to guide research, care, and support for persons living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Person-centered interventions have demonstrated a positive impact in global quality of life, but many promising approaches lack strengths-based measures with sufficient sensitivity to document relevant outcomes. Human centered design is an innovative method for person-centered instrument development.

Impact of rotavirus vaccination on child mortality, morbidity, and rotavirus-related hospitalizations in Bolivia.

Background: The public health impact of rotavirus vaccination in countries with high child mortality rates remains to be established. The RV1 rotavirus vaccine was introduced in Bolivia in August 2008. This study describes the trends in deaths, hospitalizations, and healthcare visits due to acute gastroenteritis (AGE) and in rotavirus-related hospitalizations, among children <5 years of age, during the pre- and post-vaccination periods.

Primary cilia control the maturation of tubular lumen in renal collecting duct epithelium.

The key role of the primary cilium in developmental processes is illustrated by ciliopathies resulting from genetic defects of its components. Ciliopathies include a large variety of dysmorphic syndromes that share in common the presence of multiple kidney cysts. These observations suggest that primary cilia may control morphogenetic processes in the developing kidney.

Preoperative high-intensity training in frail old patients undergoing pulmonary resection for NSCLC.

Thoracic surgery remains the better therapeutic option for non-small cell lung cancer patients that are diagnosed in early stage disease. Preoperative lung function assessment includes respiratory function tests (RFT) and cardio-pulmonary exercise testing (CPET). Vo2 peak, FEV1 and DLCO as well as recognition of performance status, presence of co-morbidities, frailty indexes, and age predict the potential impact of surgical resection on patient health status and survival risk.

Sustained Effectiveness of Rotavirus Vaccine Against Very Severe Rotavirus Disease Through the Second Year of Life, Bolivia 2013-2014.

Background: In Bolivia, monovalent rotavirus vaccine was introduced in 2008 and a previous evaluation reported a vaccine effectiveness (VE) of 77% with 2 doses of vaccine in children aged <3 years. This evaluation sought to determine if rotavirus vaccine provided protection through the second year of life against circulating genotypes.

Methods: A case-control study was performed in 5 hospitals from April 2013 to March 2014.

Spatially restricted hyaluronan production by Has2 drives epithelial tubulogenesis in vitro.

Generation of branched tubes from an epithelial bud is a fundamental process in development. We hypothesized that induction of hyaluronan synthase (Has) and production of hyaluronan (HA) drives tubulogenesis in response to morphogenetic cytokines. Treatment of J3B1A mammary cells with transforming growth factor-β1 or renal MDCK and mCCD-N21 cells with hepatocyte growth factor induced strong and specific expression of Has2.

[Temporary hearing threshold shift in policemen after firearm training].

Background: The paper involves exposure to noise of the State Police officers connected with the use of firearms. The noise generated by these weapons is of short duration and high intensity.

Methods: The research was carried out during the sessions of firearm training of State Police officers to assess exposure to noise.

Preventing primary liver cancer: the HBV vaccination project in the Gambia (West Africa).

The Gambia Hepatitis Intervention Study (GHIS) consisted in the progressive introduction of HBV plasma-derived vaccine in different zones of this African country during the period 1986-1990. The study was launched and coordinated by IARC and is one of the most effective examples of an intervention project that both substantially contributed to our knowledge and to the health of local populations. Similar intervention studies have been carried out in South-East Asia.

Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) inhibition transforms human mammary gland epithelial cells.

Carriers of mutations in the cell cycle checkpoint protein kinase ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM), which represent 1-2% of the general population, have an increased risk of breast cancer. However, experimental evidence that ATM deficiency contributes to human breast carcinogenesis is lacking. We report here that in MCF-10A and MCF-12A cells, which are well established normal human mammary gland epithelial cell models, partial or almost complete stable ATM silencing or pharmacological inhibition resulted in cellular transformation, genomic instability, and formation of dysplastic lesions in NOD/SCID mice.

Inhibition of basal p38 or JNK activity enhances epithelial barrier function through differential modulation of claudin expression.

Tight junctions (TJs) form a barrier to the paracellular diffusion of ions and solutes across epithelia. Although transmembrane proteins of the claudin family have emerged as critical determinants of TJ permeability, little is known about the signaling pathways that control their expression. The aim of this study was to assess the role of three mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), i.

Unsaturated fatty acids promote hepatoma proliferation and progression through downregulation of the tumor suppressor PTEN.

Background/aims: The impact of dietary fatty acids on the development of cancers is highly controversial. We recently demonstrated that unsaturated fatty acids trigger the downregulation of the tumor suppressor PTEN through an mTOR/NF-kappaB-dependent mechanism in hepatocytes. In this study, we investigated whether unsaturated fatty acids promote hepatoma progression by downregulating PTEN expression.

A model of interaction: aflatoxins and hepatitis viruses in liver cancer aetiology and prevention.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide and has an extremely poor prognosis. The majority of cases occur in south-east Asia and sub-Saharan Africa where the major risk factors are chronic infection with hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV and HCV) as well as dietary exposure to aflatoxins. Aflatoxin B1, the most commonly occurring and potent of the aflatoxins is associated with a specific AGG to AGT transversion mutation at codon 249 of the p53 gene in human HCC, providing mechanistic support to a causal link between exposure and disease.

cAMP-dependent chloride secretion mediates tubule enlargement and cyst formation by cultured mammalian collecting duct cells.

Polycystic kidney diseases result from disruption of the genetically defined program that controls the size and geometry of renal tubules. Cysts which frequently arise from the collecting duct (CD) result from cell proliferation and fluid secretion. From mCCD(cl1) cells, a differentiated mouse CD cell line, we isolated a clonal subpopulation (mCCD-N21) that retains morphogenetic capacity.

20 years into the Gambia Hepatitis Intervention Study: assessment of initial hypotheses and prospects for evaluation of protective effectiveness against liver cancer.

Primary hepatocellular carcinoma is the commonest cancer in The Gambia. The Gambia Hepatitis Intervention Study (GHIS) was established in 1986 to evaluate the protective effectiveness of infant hepatitis B immunization in the prevention of chronic liver disease, particularly, hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis later in adult life. This program was designed based on a series of assumptions.

Bone morphogenetic protein-4 strongly potentiates growth factor-induced proliferation of mammary epithelial cells.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are multifunctional cytokines that elicit pleiotropic effects on biological processes such as cell proliferation, cell differentiation and tissue morphogenesis. With respect to cell proliferation, BMPs can exert either mitogenic or anti-mitogenic activities, depending on the target cells and their context. Here, we report that in low-density cultures of immortalized mammary epithelial cells, BMP-4 did not stimulate cell proliferation by itself.

Oncostatin M-induced effects on EMT in human proximal tubular cells: differential role of ERK signaling.

Growing evidence suggests that a proportion of interstitial myofibroblasts detected during renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis originates from tubular epithelial cells by a process called epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The IL-6-type cytokine oncostatin M (OSM) has been recently implicated in the induction of EMT. We investigated OSM effects on the expression of both cell-cell contact proteins and mesenchymal markers and studied OSM-induced intracellular signaling mechanisms associated with these events in human proximal tubular cells.

Raf kinase inhibitor protein positively regulates cell-substratum adhesion while negatively regulating cell-cell adhesion.

Raf kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP) regulates a number of cellular processes, including cell migration. Exploring the role of RKIP in cell adhesion, we found that overexpression of RKIP in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) epithelial cells increases adhesion to the substratum, while decreasing adhesion of the cells to one another. The level of the adherens junction protein E-cadherin declines profoundly, and there is loss of normal localization of the tight junction protein ZO-1, while expression of the cell-substratum adhesion protein beta1 integrin dramatically increases.

Low concentrations of transforming growth factor-beta-1 induce tubulogenesis in cultured mammary epithelial cells.

Background: Formation of branching tubes is a fundamental step in the development of glandular organs. To identify extracellular cues that orchestrate epithelial tubulogenesis, we employed an in vitro assay in which EpH4-J3B1A mammary epithelial cells form spheroidal cysts when grown in collagen gels under serum-free conditions, but form branching tubules in the presence of fetal calf serum (FCS).

Results: Initial experiments showed that the tubulogenesis-inducing activity of FCS was markedly increased by heating (70 degrees C) or transient acidification to pH3.

Bone morphogenetic protein-4 abrogates lumen formation by mammary epithelial cells and promotes invasive growth.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are multifunctional cytokines that regulate key developmental processes, but are also overexpressed in many carcinomas. To assess whether BMPs would influence the three-dimensional architecture of epithelial structures, we took advantage of an in vitro model in which mammary epithelial cells form alveolar-like spherical cysts in collagen gels. We found that BMP-4 has a dramatic, biphasic effect on the organization of epithelial cysts.

Molecular epidemiology of human liver cancer: insights into etiology, pathogenesis and prevention from The Gambia, West Africa.

Human liver cancer, primarily hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is both common and lethal. Notable variation in HCC incidence rates worldwide corresponds to the prevalence and pattern of the primary etiologic factors. In summary of decades of collaborative research centered in The Gambia, West Africa, this review explores the independent and combined effects of hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and dietary aflatoxin exposure in the etiology of HCC.

A role for atm in E-cadherin-mediated contact inhibition in epithelial cells.

Ataxia telangiectasia is a hereditary pleiomorphic syndrome caused by loss of Atm, a phosphoprotein involved in multiple signaling pathways. Here, we propose a novel role for atm in cultured epithelial cells, namely the regulation of cell growth by contact inhibition. We show that atm is upregulated in epithelial cells reaching confluence.

Bovine microvascular endothelial cells immortalized with human telomerase.

Primary cultures of bovine microvascular endothelial cells (BME) isolated from the adrenal cortex, are commonly used to study vascular endothelium, but have a limited life span. To circumvent these limitations, we have immortalized BME cells with either simian virus 40 (SV40) or with a retrovirus containing the coding region of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), and have investigated whether the clonal populations obtained, maintain differentiated properties characteristic of microvascular endothelium. Immortalized cells were characterized for maintenance of typical endothelial morphology, marker expression, and functional characteristics including uptake of Acetylated low-density lipoprotein (Ac-LDL), capillary-like tube formation in three-dimensional collagen gels, as well as metalloproteinase (MMP) and plasminogen activator (PA)-mediated extracellular proteolysis.