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Background: Obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have been increasing at an alarming rate worldwide. Bifidobacterium longum (BL), a common member of the human gut microbiota, has important health benefits through several mechanisms. Objectives: We evaluated the BL supplementation effects on body metabolism and renin-angiotensin components hepatic expression in mice fed a high-fat diet. Methods: Thirty-two male mice were divided into four groups: standard diet + placebo (ST), standard diet + Bifidobacterium longum (ST + BL), high-fat diet + placebo (HFD) and high-fat diet + Bifidobacterium longum (HFD + BL). Following the obesity induction period, the ST + BL and HFD + BL groups were supplemented with Bifidobacterium longum for 4 weeks. Then, body, biochemical, histological and molecular parameters were evaluated. Results: HFD + BL mice had a significant decrease in adipose tissue mass and blood glucose levels, as well as a significant reduction in blood glucose during an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test. The treatment also resulted in reduced levels of total cholesterol and hepatic fat accumulation. Moreover, we observed an increase in angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and Mas receptor (MASR) expression levels in BL-treated obese mice. Conclusions: These data demonstrate that BL may have the potential to prevent obesity and NAFLD by modulating the mRNA expression of renin-angiotensin system components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Increased expression of micro RNAs (mi RNAs), mi R-21, mi R-345, and mi R-181b has been demonstrated in oral leukoplakia ( OL) that progresses to oral squamous cell carcinoma ( OSCC), suggesting a mi RNA signature with potential prognostic value. On the basis of these findings, this pilot study aimed to investigate the cytological and histopathological features that are used to grade oral dysplasia and determine associations with the expression of these 3 potentially cancer-related mi RNAs. We also compared the expression levels of these mi RNAs in OL with normal oral mucosa and OSCC. Methods We evaluated mi RNA expression by q PCR in 22 samples of OL demonstrating different grades of dysplasia, as well as 17 cases of OSCC, and 6 samples of normal oral mucosa. We associated the mi RNAs expression profiles with cytological and histopathological features of OL. Results OSCC cases showed increased expression of all 3 mi RNAs when compared with OL and normal oral mucosa. Increased expression of mi R-21 was also observed in OL when compared with normal oral mucosa. We found a higher expression of mi R-21 and mi R-181b in OL that presented with an increased number of mitotic figures, increased nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio, or hyperchromasia. Increased expression of mi R-21 was also detected in OL with abnormally superficial mitosis. Higher expression of miR-345 was observed in OL with an increased number and size of nucleoli or increased nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio. Conclusions In conclusion, the present study shows that some cytological and histopathological parameters used to grade dysplasia are associated with altered mi RNA expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing from the concept of entropy in open systems theory, this article contributes to organizational theory by illuminating organizational life cycle theory and exploring open source software development communities (OSSDC) with quantitative longitudinal data. In particular, this study uses functional data analysis to uncover the development patterns of open source software projects in terms of effectiveness and activity levels. Our findings show that the life cycles of OSSDC display an inverted-U shape in terms of effectiveness level and an inverted-S shape in terms of activity level. Although our results provide some evidence of distinct states, they do not imply that such states are predetermined or irreversible. On the contrary, these numerous states are viewed here as intrinsically dynamic. These findings not only give empirical support to the organizational life cycle metaphor in the context of OSSDC, but also aid practitioners and policy-makers in assessing online communities. Taking an open systems view of organizations, this study aids in reconciling some issues in life cycle theory, such as the irreversibility and predeterminacy of life cycle models, and adds to a young but fast growing stream of literature on open source projects. Lastly, our findings remark the importance of fostering active communities for superior effectiveness and long-term survival of the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expression of metalloproteinases and their inhibitors has been related to different invasive and metastatic potentials in cancer. This study aims to investigate the immunohistochemical expression of TIMP-3 and MMP-9 in samples of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma of the skin (SCC), and actinic keratosis (AK). Immunohistochemistry was performed to evaluate the expression of TIMP-3 and MMP-9 in samples of BCC (n=22), SCC (n=10), and AK (n=15). Ten fields of both tumor parenchyma and tumor stroma were photographed and counted in image software. The ratio of positive cells to total cells was used to quantify the staining. A higher expression of MMP-9 was found in tumor stroma of SCC compared to BCC and AK. No significant differences in TIMP-3 expression were observed among the groups. Considering the well-described differences between these neoplasms, these results provide additional evidence of the role of MMP-9 in tumor invasiveness of keratinocyte-derived tumors., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Cancer cells need to develop microvessels in order to grow and to establish metastatic foci. A role for the p53 protein in the regulation of the angiogenic process is suggested. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between immunohistochemical expression of microvessel density (MVD), measured by CD31 staining, and p53 protein with clinicopathologic factors, and survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (n=70). Tumor angiogenesis was estimated by determining MVD in areas with the highest number of stained microvessels (hot spots). Clinicopathologic factors and immunohistochemical data were evaluated by χ statistical test and were submitted to binary logistic regression to analyze the risk of presence of lymph node metastasis. Factors that might predict survival were investigated using Cox proportional hazards tests. Differences were considered statistically significant when P<0.05. The percentage of p53-positive cells showed no association with clinicopathologic parameters and MVD. Patients with locoregional metastasis presented statistically significant higher MVD (P=0.043). Individuals presenting head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in posterior sites (P=0.022; OR=3.644) and higher MVD (P=0.039; OR=3.247) had a significant increase in risk of metastasis occurrence. Multivariate analysis showed that presence of lymph node metastasis was statistically significant for overall survival of head and neck carcinoma patients (P=0.006; OR =2.917). The present data suggest that MVD represents a promising diagnostic tool to identify individuals with increased risk for the development of metastatic disease, which is very indicative of poor prognosis.