What we see is what we touch? Sex estimation on the skull in virtual anthropology.

Background: The increased use of virtual bone images in forensic anthropology requires a comprehensive study on the observational errors between dry bones and CT reconstructions. Here, we focus on the consistency of nonmetric sex estimation traits on the human skull.

Materials And Methods: We scored nine nonmetric traits on dry crania and mandibles (n = 223) of archaeological origin and their CT reconstructions.

Periodontal pockets: Predictors for site-related worsening after non-surgical therapy-A long-term retrospective cohort study.

Aim: To evaluate site-related changes in periodontal pocket depth (PPD) after non-surgical periodontal therapy and to identify predictors for PPD changes in a retrospective patient data analysis.

Materials And Methods: PPD, clinical attachment level, bleeding on probing, tooth mobility (TM), furcation involvement (FI), abutment status, adherence to supportive periodontal care (SPC) and SPC follow-ups were obtained from fully documented patient data before periodontal therapy (baseline, T0), after active periodontal therapy (APT, T1) and during SPC (T2). PPD changes were classified into deteriorated or unchanged/improved at the site level.

What we see is what we touch? Sex estimation on the pelvis in virtual anthropology.

Background: Computed tomography (CT) scans are a convenient means to study 3D reconstructions of bones. However, errors associated with the different nature of the observation, e.g.

Analysis of RAS and drug induced homo- and heterodimerization of RAF and KSR1 proteins in living cells using split Nanoluc luciferase.

The dimerization of RAF kinases represents a key event in their activation cycle and in RAS/ERK pathway activation. Genetic, biochemical and structural approaches provided key insights into this process defining RAF signaling output and the clinical efficacy of RAF inhibitors (RAFi). However, methods reporting the dynamics of RAF dimerization in living cells and in real time are still in their infancy.

Perimortem Skeletal Sharp Force Trauma: Detection Reliability on CT Data, Demographics and Anatomical Patterns from a Forensic Dataset.

The increasing importance of trauma analysis by means of postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) is insufficiently reflected in forensic curricula, nor are best practice manuals available. We attempt to detect sharp force bone lesions on PMCT of closed forensic cases with the aims of assessing errors and pointing out patterns in anatomical location and manner of death (MOD). We investigated 41 closed sharp force fatality cases, with available PMCT and forensic reports.

[Transcultural adaptation and validation of the Self-efficacy/Temptations Scale in Argentina].

Self-efficacy is the confidence in one's own abilities to avoid smoking in situations that can trigger desire. It is considered an important predictor of relapses. In Argentina there is no valid instrument to evaluate it.

Identification and characterization of a BRAF fusion oncoprotein with retained autoinhibitory domains.

Fusion proteins involving the BRAF serine/threonine kinase occur in many cancers. The oncogenic potential of BRAF fusions has been attributed to the loss of critical N-terminal domains that mediate BRAF autoinhibition. We used whole-exome and RNA sequencing in a patient with glioblastoma multiforme to identify a rearrangement between TTYH3, encoding a membrane-resident, calcium-activated chloride channel, and BRAF intron 1, resulting in a TTYH3-BRAF fusion protein that retained all features essential for BRAF autoinhibition.

Design and Synthesis of Type-IV Inhibitors of BRAF Kinase That Block Dimerization and Overcome Paradoxical MEK/ERK Activation.

Despite the clinical success of BRAF inhibitors like vemurafenib in treating metastatic melanoma, resistance has emerged through "paradoxical MEK/ERK signaling" where transactivation of one protomer occurs as a result of drug inhibition of the other partner in the activated dimer. The importance of the dimerization interface in the signaling potential of wild-type BRAF in cells expressing oncogenic Ras has recently been demonstrated and proposed as a site of therapeutic intervention in targeting cancers resistant to adenosine triphosphate competitive drugs. The proof of concept for a structure-guided approach targeting the dimerization interface is described through the design and synthesis of macrocyclic peptides that bind with high affinity to BRAF and that block paradoxical signaling in malignant melanoma cells occurring through this drug target.

Exposure to Alcohol Use in Movies and Problematic Use of Alcohol: A Longitudinal Study Among Latin American Adolescents.

Objective: This study assesses the association between exposure to alcohol in movies and alcohol use transitions among Latin American adolescents.

Method: A school-based longitudinal study involving 33 secondary schools in Argentina and 57 in Mexico was performed. The baseline sample included 1,504 never drinker adolescents in Argentina and 5,264 in Mexico (mean age = 12.

B-Raf deficiency impairs tumor initiation and progression in a murine breast cancer model.

Copy number gains, point mutations and epigenetic silencing events are increasingly observed in genes encoding elements of the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signaling axis in human breast cancer. The three Raf kinases A-Raf, B-Raf, and Raf-1 have an important role as gatekeepers in ERK pathway activation and are often dysregulated by somatic alterations of their genes or by the aberrant activity of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) and Ras-GTPases. B-Raf represents the most potent Raf isoform and a critical effector downstream of RTKs and RAS proteins.

Movies promote tobacco use amongst adolescents: The need for policies to prevent this phenomenon.

Tobacco use is the primary preventable cause of death and disability in the world. To combat the tobacco epidemic, most countries have signed and ratified the World Health Organzation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). Article 13 of this treaty requires implementation of a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.

Smoking susceptibility as a predictive measure of cigarette and e-cigarette use among early adolescents.

Objective: To assess the validity of a standard measure of smoking susceptibility for predicting cigarette and e-cigarette use in a sample of early adolescents in Argentina and Mexico.

Materials And Methods: A school-based longitudinal survey was conducted in 2014-16 among secondary students. We analyzed students who were never smokers of regular cigarettes or e-cigarettes at baseline and who completed both surveys.

Predictive validity of the tobacco marketing receptivity index among non-smoking youth.

Introduction: In a previous cross-sectional study of early adolescents, we developed a marketing receptivity index (MRI) that integrates point-of-sale (PoS) marketing exposures, brand recall, and ownership of branded merchandise. The MRI had independent, positive associations with smoking susceptibility among never smokers and with current smoking behavior. The current longitudinal study assessed the MRI's predictive validity among adolescents who have never smoked cigarettes METHODS: Data come from a longitudinal, school-based survey of 33 secondary schools in Argentina.

Time trends for tobacco and alcohol use in youth-rated films popular in Mexico and Argentina, from 2004-2012.

Objective:: To examine and compare overall prevalence and time trends in tobacco and alcohol portrayals and brand appearances in youth-rated US and nationally-produced films that were the most successful in Argentina and Mexico from 2004-2012.

Materials And Methods:: Top-grossing nationally produced films from Argentina (n=73), Mexico (n=85) and the US (n=643) were content analyzed. Logistic regression was used to determine differences between Mexican, Argentine and US produced films.

Risk factors associated with tobacco, alcohol and drug use among adolescents attending secondary school in three cities from Argentina.

Tobacco, alcohol and drug use starts at an early age. It is important to identify risk factors associated with initiation. In 2014, a survey was conducted among students attending first year of secondary schools in Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Tucumán.

Validation of Non-Smoking Status by Spouse Following a Cessation Intervention.

Background: Following cessation interventions, self-reported smoking abstinence with biochemical verification is the "gold standard" for defining outcomes. Because obtaining biochemical verification is challenging in community studies, we compared self-reported cessation among smokers completing treatment to the smoking status reported by each participant's spouse or proxy.

Method: Participants were smokers who had reported quitting 12 months after a cessation intervention.

Smoking in Movies and Adolescent Smoking Initiation: A Longitudinal Study among Argentinian Adolescents.

Objective: To assess whether exposure to movie smoking is associated with cigarette smoking among Argentinian adolescents.

Study Design: A school-based longitudinal study involving 33 secondary schools in Argentina was performed. The sample included 2502 never smokers (average age at entry = 12.

Phospho-proteomic analyses of B-Raf protein complexes reveal new regulatory principles.

B-Raf represents a critical physiological regulator of the Ras/RAF/MEK/ERK-pathway and a pharmacological target of growing clinical relevance, in particular in oncology. To understand how B-Raf itself is regulated, we combined mass spectrometry with genetic approaches to map its interactome in MCF-10A cells as well as in B-Raf deficient murine embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and B-Raf/Raf-1 double deficient DT40 lymphoma cells complemented with wildtype or mutant B-Raf expression vectors. Using a multi-protease digestion approach, we identified a novel ubiquitination site and provide a detailed B-Raf phospho-map.

Activation loop phosphorylation regulates B-Raf in vivo and transformation by B-Raf mutants.

Despite being mutated in cancer and RASopathies, the role of the activation segment (AS) has not been addressed for B-Raf signaling in vivo. Here, we generated a conditional knock-in mouse allowing the expression of the B-Raf(AVKA) mutant in which the AS phosphoacceptor sites T599 and S602 are replaced by alanine residues. Surprisingly, despite producing a kinase-impaired protein, the Braf(AVKA) allele does not phenocopy the lethality of Braf-knockout or paradoxically acting knock-in alleles.

Parental Restriction of Mature-rated Media and Its Association With Substance Use Among Argentinean Adolescents.

Objective: To assess the independent relation between parental restrictions on mature-rated media (M-RM) and substance use among South American adolescents.

Methods: Cross-sectional school-based youth survey of 3,172 students (mean age, 12.8 years; 57.

Assessing tobacco marketing receptivity among youth: integrating point of sale marketing, cigarette package branding and branded merchandise.

Background: As countries prohibit tobacco marketing through traditional channels, marketing at point of sale (PoS) and through tobacco packaging is increasingly important for promoting tobacco consumption.

Objectives: Assess the validity of a novel marketing receptivity index that considers frequency of PoS exposures, tobacco brand recall and ownership of branded merchandise.

Methods: Data come from a cross-sectional survey of 3172 secondary school students in Argentina.

Are movies with tobacco, alcohol, drugs, sex, and violence rated for youth? A comparison of rating systems in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and the United States.

Background: This study aimed to determine between-country differences and changes over time in the portrayal of youth risk behaviors in films rated for youth in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and the United States.

Methods: Content and ratings were analyzed for 362 films that were popular across all four countries from 2002 to 2009. Country-specific ratings were classified as either youth or adult, and Generalized Estimating Equations were used to determine between-country differences in the presence of tobacco, alcohol, drugs, sexual content, and violence in youth-rated films.

Desensitization of human CRF2(a) receptor signaling governed by agonist potency and βarrestin2 recruitment.

The primary goal was to determine agonist-specific regulation of CRF2(a) receptor function. Exposure of human retinoblastoma Y79 cells to selective (UCN2, UCN3 or stresscopins) and non-selective (UCN1 or sauvagine) agonists prominently desensitized CRF2(a) receptors in a rapid, concentration-dependent manner. A considerably slower rate and smaller magnitude of desensitization developed in response to the weak agonist CRF.