Thinking by metaphor, fast and slow: Deliberate Metaphor Theory offers a new model for metaphor and its comprehension.

The immense increase in metaphor theory and research over the past decades is posing a threat of fragmentation to the field, which has been responded to by calls for new and more encompassing approaches to virtually all aspects metaphorical. This article argues that the opposite response may be more productive. By focusing on a different way of theorizing metaphor and its comprehension, existing theories and data can be re-ordered in an alternative and coherent way, which moreover breaks new grounds in tying up both with a general theory for all utterance comprehension as well as a general theory for all cognition as involving fast and slow thinking.

Let-7a mimic transfection reduces chemotherapy-induced damage in a mouse ovarian transplantation model.

Pharmacological approaches offer a non-invasive and promising option for fertility preservation in young female cancer patients undergoing gonadotoxic therapy. The GnRH-agonists are the only clinically available drugs in this indication, but their use and mechanisms of protection are still controversial. Recently, we have investigated new targeted drugs based on microRNA (miRNA) replacement therapy, and have identified the let-7a miRNA as candidate for fertility preservation strategies.

Treatment Challenges When Stopping Denosumab.

Introduction Denosumab is commonly used to treat osteoporosis. However, discontinuation results in rebound bone loss and increased vertebral fracture risk. We report a clinical case series, illustrating the dilemma in deciding the best treatment should denosumab be stopped.

Ovarian toxicity of carboplatin and paclitaxel in mouse carriers of mutation in BRIP1 tumor suppressor gene.

More than 10% of women diagnosed with breast cancer during reproductive age carry hereditary germline pathogenic variants in high-penetrance BRCA genes or in others genes involved in DNA repair mechanisms such as PALB2, BRIP or ATM. Anticancer treatments may have an additional negative impact on the ovarian reserve and subsequently on the fertility of young patients carrying such mutations. Recently, the combination of carboplatin and paclitaxel is being recommended to these BRCA-mutated patients as neoadjuvant therapy.

Letrozole-associated controlled ovarian hyperstimulation in breast cancer patients versus conventional controlled ovarian hyperstimulation in infertile patients: assessment of oocyte quality related biomarkers.

Background: Fertility preservation (FP) protocols in case of breast cancer (BC) include mature oocyte cryopreservation following letrozole associated controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (Let-COH). To date, the impact of Let-COH on the follicular microenvironment has been poorly investigated, although a high androgen/estrogen ratio was previously associated with low oocyte quality.

Methods: In this prospective study, follicular fluid (FF) steroid levels (estradiol, testosterone, progesterone) and cumulus cell (CC) gene expression related to oocyte quality (HAS2, PTGS2, GREM1) were compared between 23 BC patients undergoing Let-COH for FP and 24 infertile patients undergoing conventional COH without letrozole.

Role of temperature in de-mixing absorbance spectra composed of compound electrolyte solutions.

This work is focused on the role of temperature in the de-mixing of absorbance spectra measured in mixed aqueous NaSO and NaNO solutions. First, the influence of temperature on the absorbance spectrum of demineralized water was determined. Second, the absorbance spectra of five separate electrolytes (NaNO, NaNO, CaCl, KCO, and NaOH) at three temperatures (4°C, 25°C, and 50°C) for concentrations ranging from 0.

Treatment of osteoporosis with recombinant parathyroid hormone, utilisation of total body DXA to observe treatment effects on total body composition and factors determining response to therapy.

Purpose: Recombinant parathyroid hormone (rPTH) increases bone mineral density (BMD). However, certain other potential effects of rPTH remain to be studied. The aim of this study is to identify whether bone turnover markers, relevant biochemical parameters or total body fat and muscle composition affect the response to rPTH and to establish if these parameters in particular change during treatment.

Editors' Introduction: Abstract Concepts: Structure, Processing, and Modeling.

Our ability to deal with abstract concepts is one of the most intriguing faculties of human cognition. Still, we know little about how such concepts are formed, processed, and represented in mind. For example, because abstract concepts do not designate referents that can be experienced through our body, the role of perceptual experiences in shaping their content remains controversial.

Both in vivo FSH depletion and follicular exposure to Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues in vitro are not effective to prevent follicular depletion during chemotherapy in mice.

Study Question: Does fertility preservation using gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues during chemotherapy act through a direct effect on the ovary or through inhibition of FSH secretion?

Summary Answer: The absence of FSH in vivo and the direct exposition of ovarian follicles to GnRH analogues in vitro did not prevent chemotherapy-induced ovarian damage.

What Is Known Already: The potential mechanisms of action of GnRH analogues in protecting ovaries against chemotherapy damage remain poorly understood. We previously showed that GnRH analogues have a limited inhibitory effect on gonadotropin secretion and follicular growth in mice.

"Smoking Is Sóóó ... Sandals and White Socks": Co-Creation of a Dutch Anti-Smoking Campaign to Change Social Norms.

This article considers co-creation as a new persuasive strategy in health campaigns. Co-creation enables target audience members to become active campaign producers. A recent Dutch anti-smoking campaign applied co-creation, inviting the target audience to complete the slogan "smoking is sóóó .

Diffusion Tensor Imaging: A Possible Biomarker in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury and Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage?

Background: A great need exists in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) for objective biomarkers to better characterize the disease process and to serve as early endpoints in clinical studies. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has shown promise in TBI, but much less is known about aSAH.

Objective: To explore the use of whole-brain DTI tractography in TBI and aSAH as a biomarker and early endpoint.

Folliculogenesis Is Not Fully Inhibited during GnRH Analogues Treatment in Mice Challenging Their Efficiency to Preserve the Ovarian Reserve during Chemotherapy in This Model.

As many chemotherapy regimens induce follicular depletion, fertility preservation became a major concern in young cancer patients. By maintaining follicles at the resting stage, gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues (GnRHa) were proposed as an ovarian-protective option during chemotherapy. However, their efficacy and mechanisms of action remain to be elucidated.

Identification and quantification of 16 inorganic ions in water by Gaussian curve fitting of near-infrared difference absorbance spectra.

This study shows two novel fitting strategies applied to differential absorbance spectra for identification and quantification of electrolytes. The effects of 16 dissolved salts were investigated in the wavelength range from 14000 to 9091 wavenumbers (714-1100 nm) by linear fits of the differential absorbance values (Y(υ,c)=offset(υ)+b(υ)×c) recorded for each wavenumber (υ) and concentration (c) ranges from 500 to 30 mM. The slopes (b) of these fits resulted in clear fingerprints of the electrolytes.

Evaluation of quantitative polymerase chain reaction markers for the detection of breast cancer cells in ovarian tissue stored for fertility preservation.

Objective: To develop molecular tools increasing the sensitivity of breast cancer micrometastases detection within ovarian tissue cryopreserved for fertility preservation.

Design: Expression of breast markers was evaluated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction in ovarian tissue from patients with benign or cancerous diseases. Suspected tissues were long-term xenografted into mice.

When do natural language metaphors influence reasoning? A follow-up study to Thibodeau and Boroditsky (2013).

In this article, we offer a critical view of Thibodeau and Boroditsky who report an effect of metaphorical framing on readers' preference for political measures after exposure to a short text on the increase of crime in a fictitious town: when crime was metaphorically presented as a beast, readers became more enforcement-oriented than when crime was metaphorically framed as a virus. We argue that the design of the study has left room for alternative explanations. We report four experiments comprising a follow-up study, remedying several shortcomings in the original design while collecting more encompassing sets of data.

SOX9 regulates ERBB signalling in pancreatic cancer development.

Objective: The transcription factor SOX9 was recently shown to stimulate ductal gene expression in pancreatic acinar-to-ductal metaplasia and to accelerate development of premalignant lesions preceding pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Here, we investigate how SOX9 operates in pancreatic tumourigenesis.

Design: We analysed genomic and transcriptomic data from surgically resected PDAC and extended the expression analysis to xenografts from PDAC samples and to PDAC cell lines.

Web-based depression treatment: associations of clients' word use with adherence and outcome.

Background: The growing number of web-based psychological treatments, based on textual communication, generates a wealth of data that can contribute to knowledge of online and face-to-face treatments. We investigated whether clients' language use predicted treatment outcomes and adherence in Master Your Mood (MYM), an online group course for young adults with depressive symptoms.

Methods: Among 234 participants from a randomised controlled trial of MYM, we tested whether their word use on course application forms predicted baseline levels of depression, anxiety and mastery, or subsequent treatment adherence.

Evaluation of 3-epi-25-hydroxyvitamin D3 cross-reactivity in the Roche Elecsys Vitamin D Total protein binding assay.

Background: Presence of the 3-epi-25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [3-epi-25(OH)D3] metabolite affects accurate determination of 25(OH)D3 by most routine liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods and to an unknown extent in present immuno- and protein binding assays. We studied 3-epi-25(OH)D3 cross-reactivity in a competitive protein binding (CPB) assay (Roche Elecsys).

Methods: Neonatal samples, containing up to 58% of 3-epi-25(OH)D3 were used for measurement by the CPB assay and by an LC-MS/MS method separating 25(OH)D3 and 3-epi-25(OH)D3.

Active and passive control of zinc phthalocyanine photodynamics.

In this work we report on the ultrafast photodynamics of the photosensitizer zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) and manipulation thereof. Two approaches are followed: active control via pulse shaping and passive control via strategic manipulation in the periphery of the molecular structure. The objective of both of these control experiments is the same: to enhance the yield of the functional pathway and to minimize loss channels.

Characterization of β-cell plasticity mechanisms induced in mice by a transient source of exogenous insulin.

β-Cell plasticity governs the adjustment of β-cell mass and function to ensure normoglycemia. The study of how β-cell mass is controlled and the identification of alternative sources of β-cells are active fields of research. β-Cell plasticity has been implicated in numerous physiological and pathological conditions.

Role of the ductal transcription factors HNF6 and Sox9 in pancreatic acinar-to-ductal metaplasia.

Objective: Growing evidence suggests that a phenotypic switch converting pancreatic acinar cells to duct-like cells can lead to pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia and eventually to invasive pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Histologically, the onset of this switch is characterised by the co-expression of acinar and ductal markers in acini, a lesion called acinar-to-ductal metaplasia (ADM). The transcriptional regulators required to initiate ADM are unknown, but need to be identified to characterise the regulatory networks that drive ADM.

Feasibility of nonselective testing for hemoglobinopathies in early pregnancy in The Netherlands.

Objective: To examine the feasibility of standardized hemoglobinopathy (HBP) carrier testing for pregnant women in The Netherlands in addition to the standard anemia screening.

Methods: We assessed the prevalence of HBP in women at the time of the first pregnancy visit using both a prospective cohort (N = 703) and a retrospective series of women selected at random (N = 588). For the purpose of analysis, the population was divided into a high risk and a low risk group for HBP based on maternal ethnicity.

Rapid ventricular pacing for flow arrest during cerebrovascular surgery: revival of an old concept.

Background: Intraoperative rupture of a cerebral aneurysm can be a devastating event that increases operative morbidity and mortality. Rapid ventricular pacing (RVP) is a technique used in interventional cardiology to obtain flow arrest for short periods of time.

Objective: To present our experience using RVP for flow arrest during cerebrovascular surgery.