Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Leg Med (Tokyo) 2021 Apr 7;51:101877. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Department of Law, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Macerata, Macerata, Italy.

Heroin-related mortality is a complex phenomenon involving several factors that make an individual more susceptible to opioid toxicity. Among these, pre-existing pathological conditions play an important role. The current paper reviewed 51 autopsied cases performed over the last 30 years, each subject ("frequent heroin user") having taken heroin intravenously alone before death. Read More

J Chem Neuroanat 2021 Apr 10:101959. Epub 2021 Apr 10.

Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay. Electronic address:

Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) is a hypothalamic neuropeptide synthesized by posterior hypothalamic and incerto-hypothalamic neurons that project throughout the central nervous system. The MCHergic system modulates several important functions such as feeding behavior, mood and sleep. MCH exerts its biological functions through interaction with the MCHR-1 receptor, the only functional receptor present in rodents. Read More

Basic Res Cardiol 2021 Apr 13;116(1):25. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre, 351 Taché Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.

We have previously shown that overexpression of SKI, an endogenous TGF-β repressor, deactivates the pro-fibrotic myofibroblast phenotype in the heart. We now show that SKI also functions independently of SMAD/TGF-β signaling, by activating the Hippo tumor-suppressor pathway and inhibiting the Transcriptional co-Activator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ or WWTR1). The mechanism(s) by which SKI targets TAZ to inhibit cardiac fibroblast activation and fibrogenesis remain undefined. Read More

Memory 2021 Apr 13:1-10. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

Cross-examination is detrimental to the consistency and accuracy of children's reports and a re-direct interview may rehabilitate accuracy. We compared the effects of cross-examination on reports provided by single-event and repeated-event children. Children participated in one or five magic shows. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Apr 12;11(1):7913. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Department of Dentistry and Dental Research Institute, School of Dentistry, Seoul National University, 101, Daehak-ro Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea.

The purpose of the retrospective study was to investigate the long-term result of implant-induced injury on the adjacent tooth. The subjects of this retrospective study were patients who had received implants and had tooth injury; direct invasion of root (group I), root surface contact (group II), or < 1 mm distance of the implant from the root (group III). Clinical and pathological changes were periodically examined using radiographs and intra-oral examinations. Read More

BMC Genomics 2021 Apr 12;22(1):261. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Department of Ocean Sciences, Memorial University, St. John's, NL, A1C 5S7, Canada.

Background: Increases in ocean temperatures and in the frequency and severity of hypoxic events are expected with climate change, and may become a challenge for cultured Atlantic salmon and negatively affect their growth, immunology and welfare. Thus, we examined how an incremental temperature increase alone (Warm & Normoxic-WN: 12 → 20 °C; 1 °C week), and in combination with moderate hypoxia (Warm & Hypoxic-WH: ~ 70% air saturation), impacted the salmon's hepatic transcriptome expr\ession compared to control fish (CT: 12 °C, normoxic) using 44 K microarrays and qPCR.

Results: Overall, we identified 2894 differentially expressed probes (DEPs, FDR < 5%), that included 1111 shared DEPs, while 789 and 994 DEPs were specific to WN and WH fish, respectively. Read More

J Neurosci Res 2021 Apr 12. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC, USA.

Binge drinking is a common occurrence in the United States, but a high concentration of alcohol in the blood has been shown to have reinforcing and reciprocal effects on the neuroimmune system in both dependent and non-dependent scenarios. The first part of this study examined alcohol's effects on the astrocytic response in the central amygdala and basolateral amygdala (BLA) in a non-dependent model. C57BL/6J mice were given access to either ethanol, water, or sucrose during a "drinking in the dark" paradigm, and astrocyte number and astrogliosis were measured using immunohistochemistry. Read More

Cogn Sci 2021 Apr;45(4):e12969

Department of Communication and Performing Arts, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.

The present study examined whether cinematographic editing density affects viewers' perception of time. As a second aim, based on embodied models that conceive time perception as strictly connected to the movement, we tested the hypothesis that the editing density of moving images also affects viewers' eye movements and that these later mediate the effect of editing density on viewers' temporal judgments. Seventy participants watched nine video clips edited by manipulating the number of cuts (slow- and fast-paced editing against a master shot, unedited condition). Read More

Sci Eng Ethics 2021 Apr 12;27(2):27. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Department of Philosophy, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.

While much of the scholarly work on ethics relating to academic authorship examines the fair distribution of authorship credit, none has yet examined situations where a researcher contributes significantly to the project, but whose contributions do not make it into the final manuscript. Such a scenario is commonplace in collaborative research settings in many disciplines and may occur for a number of reasons, such as excluding research in order to provide the paper with a clearer focus, tell a particular story, or exclude negative results that do not fit the hypothesis. Our concern in this paper is less about the reasons for including or excluding data from a paper and more about distributing credit in this type of scenario. Read More

Water Sci Technol 2021 Apr;83(7):1649-1661

Faculty of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1449614535, Iran.

Wastewater effluents usually involve dyes that are dangerous for aquatic life and other environments. Many of these dyes are toxic, carcinogenic, and can cause skin and eye irritation. In this study, firstly aminized cellulose acetate was prepared from cellulose acetate and applied for the adsorption of Acid Brown 354 from aqueous solutions. Read More

Front Nutr 2021 25;8:625596. Epub 2021 Mar 25.

Research Unit for Dietary Studies at the Parker Institute, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and trans fatty acids (TFAs) may have an impact on offspring weight development. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis according to PRISMA guidelines to evaluate whether levels of these fatty acids during pregnancy influenced offspring weight development. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with DHA and/or EPA supplementation or cohort studies, which examined levels of DHA, EPA, or TFAs in maternal or neonatal blood samples and recorded offspring weight, were included. Read More

Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2021 24;11:648847. Epub 2021 Mar 24.

Bihar Technical Support Program, CARE-India Solutions for Sustainable Development, Patna, India.

Background: India has made major progress in improving control of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in recent years, in part through shortening the time infectious patients remain untreated. Active case detection decreases the time from VL onset to diagnosis and treatment, but requires substantial human resources. Targeting approaches are therefore essential to feasibility. Read More

Front Oncol 2021 25;11:636057. Epub 2021 Mar 25.

Translational Cell and Tissue Research, Department of Imaging and Pathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.

The emergence of immune checkpoint inhibitors has dramatically changed the therapeutic landscape for patients with advanced melanoma. However, relatively low response rates and a high incidence of severe immune-related adverse events have prompted the search for predictive biomarkers. A positive predictive value has been attributed to the aberrant expression of Human Leukocyte Antigen-DR (HLA-DR) by melanoma cells, but it remains unknown why this is the case. Read More

Chin Med J (Engl) 2021 Apr 8. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing 100081, China Central Laboratory, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing 100081, China.

Background: Histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4) regulates chondrocyte hypertrophy and bone formation. The aim of the present study was to explore the effects of HDAC4 on Interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β)-induced chondrocyte extracellular matrix degradation and whether it is regulated through the WNT family member 3A (WNT3A)/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Methods: Primary chondrocytes (CC) and human chondrosarcoma cells (SW1353 cells) were treated with IL-1β and the level of HDAC4 was assayed using Western blotting. Read More

Dig Dis 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Background: The pathophysiology of hepatic encephalopathy is incompletely understood. It remains illusive how the contributing factors of neuronal ammonia accumulation, cell swelling and inflammation interact.

Objective: Correlation of neuronal autoantibody levels to the degree of hepatic encephalopathy as first indication of immune mediated pathogenesis. Read More

Aging (Albany NY) 2021 Apr 4;13. Epub 2021 Apr 4.

The Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.

Autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) is an effective method for treating chronic articular cartilage injury and degeneration; however, it requires large numbers of hyaline chondrocytes, and human hyaline chondrocytes often undergo dedifferentiation . Moreover, although long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate gene expression in many pathological and physiological processes, their role in human hyaline chondrocyte dedifferentiation remains unclear. Here, we examined lncRNA and mRNA expression profiles in human hyaline chondrocyte dedifferentiation using microarray analysis. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2021 Mar 27;782:146766. Epub 2021 Mar 27.

CNR-IRSA National Research Council-Water Research Institute, Via del Mulino 19, I-20861 Brugherio, MB, Italy. Electronic address:

River sediments generally act as a sink for trace elements but, when resuspended, they contribute to long-term downstream transport of contamination, which may finally reach the marine environment. This study analyzed these processes in a complex aquatic system that includes a contaminated tributary, the Lambro River (Northern Italy) and its recipient and main Italian watercourse, the Po River, with the prodelta in the Adriatic Sea. The study was conducted from a historical perspective which, covering the last 50 years, examined the main driving events such as the inputs of contaminants, the construction of WWTPs and the evolution of environmental legislation. Read More

Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2021 Apr 8. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Leeds Institute of Medical Research at St. James's, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK; Leeds Gastroenterology Institute, St. James's University Hospital, Leeds, UK. Electronic address:

Objectives: Disorders of gut-brain interaction, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional dyspepsia (FD) frequently overlap, but the impact of this on the natural history is unknown. We examined this issue in a longitudinal follow-up study conducted in a large cohort of individuals.

Methods: We collected complete demographic, symptom, mood, and psychological health data from 1374 adults who self-identified as having IBS. Read More