Tumorâ Selective Altered Glycosylation and Functional Attenuation of CD73 in Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151913/1/hep41410_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151913/2/hep41410.pd

Prevalence and determinants of unintended pregnancies amongst women attending antenatal clinics in Pakistan

Background: Unintended pregnancies are a global public health concern and contribute significantly to adverse maternal and neonatal health, social and economic outcomes and increase the risks of maternal deaths and neonatal mortality. In countries like Pakistan where data for the unintended pregnancies is scarce, studies are required to estimate its accurate prevalence and predictors using more specific tools such as the London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancies (LMUP). Methods: We conducted a hospital based cross sectional survey in two tertiary care hospitals in Pakistan. We used a pre tested structured questionnaire to collect the data on socio-demographic characteristics, reproductive history, awareness and past experience with contraceptives and unintended pregnancies using six item the LMUP. We used Univariate and multivariate analysis to explore the association between unintended pregnancies and predictor variables and presented the association as adjusted odds ratios. We also evaluated the psychometric properties of the Urdu version of the LMUP. Results: Amongst 3010 pregnant women, 1150 (38.2%) pregnancies were reported as unintended. In the multivariate analysis age \u3c 20 years (AOR 3.5 1.1-6.5), being illiterate (AOR 1.9 1.1-3.4), living in a rural setting (1.7 1.2-2.3), having a pregnancy interval of = \u3c 12 months (AOR 1.7 1.4-2.2), having a parity of \u3e2 (AOR 1.4 1.2-1.8), having no knowledge about contraceptive methods (AOR 3.0 1.7-5.4) and never use of contraceptive methods (AOR 2.3 1.4-5.1) remained significantly associated with unintended pregnancy. The Urdu version of the LMUP scale was found to be acceptable, valid and reliable with the Cronbach\u27s alpha of 0.85. Conclusions: This study explores a high prevalence of unintended pregnancies and important factors especially those related to family planning. Integrated national family program that provides contraceptive services especially the modern methods to women during pre-conception and post-partum would be beneficial in averting unintended pregnancies and their related adverse outcomes in Pakistan

Oral Candidiasis and Inflammatory Response: a Potential Synergic Contribution to the Onset of Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus

It is known that fungal pathogens activate cellular immune responses involving several inflammatory molecules. On the other hands, it is well known that diabetic patients show a chronic inflammatory state. In this study, we explore the hypothesis that yeast colonization of the oral cavity directly influences the tendency of an individual to develop type 2 Diabetes. According to this hypothesis, oral yeast colonization may influence the pathway in which the immune response handles subsequent responses to glucose intake. The first part of this work presents data concerning oral Candida carriage in subjects with pre-diabetes, the second part explores the potential role of oral Candida infection, related to inflammatory response in promoting insulin resistance

The Pharmacological Treatment of Chronic Pain: From Guidelines to Daily Clinical Practice

In agreement with the International Association for the Study of Pain, chronic pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage. To date, there are several types of pain: nociceptive, neuropathic, and nociplastic. In the present narrative review, we evaluated the characteristics of the drugs used for each type of pain, according to guidelines, and their effects in people with comorbidity to reduce the development of severe adverse events

Oxygen–Ozone Therapy in Cervicobrachial Pain: A Real-Life Experience

This prospective, open-label clinical study was carried out to evaluate both the efficacy and safety of intramuscular paravertebral injections of an oxygen–ozone (O2–O3) mixture in patients with cervicobrachial pain. We enrolled 540 subjects affected by cervicobrachial pain referred to the Ozone Therapy Ambulatory at the Mater Domini Hospital of Catanzaro (Italy) and to the Center of Pain in Taurianova (Reggio Calabria, Italy). All the subjects (n = 540) completed the treatment and the follow-up visits. The subjects received a mean of 11 cervical intramuscular treatments with an O2–O3 mixture (5 mL) with an O3 concentration of 10 μg/mL bis a week. The improvement of pain was measured by a change in the mean of the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score from baseline to the end of treatment and during follow-ups. Patient satisfaction was assessed at the end of treatment using the SF-36 Questionnaire. The development of adverse drug reactions was recorded. The mean (±standard deviation) VAS pain score at baseline, at the end of treatment, and during follow-ups showed a significant reduction in pain over time (p < 0.001). All the patients who were enrolled (n: 540) were pain-free after one year. According to the pain distribution, all subjects showed a significant reduction in pain over time in each group (p < 0.05). No significant differences were observed with respect to sex or age. No adverse events were observed during the study. In conclusion, we documented that the intramuscular injection of an O2–O3 mixture is an effective and safe treatment option for patients with cervicobrachial pain

Metabolic Syndrome Is Associated With Impaired Insulin-Stimulated Myocardial Glucose Metabolic Rate in Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes: A Cardiac Dynamic 18F-FDG-PET Study

Metabolic syndrome is a condition characterized by a clustering of metabolic abnormalities associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. An impaired insulin-stimulated myocardial glucose metabolism has been shown to be a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease in patients with type 2 diabetes. Whether cardiac insulin resistance occurs in subjects with metabolic syndrome remains uncertain. To investigate this issue, we evaluated myocardial glucose metabolic rate using cardiac dynamic 18F-FDG-PET combined with euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp in three groups: a group of normal glucose tolerant individuals without metabolic syndrome (n = 10), a group of individuals with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome (n = 19), and a group of subjects with type 2 diabetes without metabolic syndrome (n = 6). After adjusting for age and gender, individuals with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome exhibited a significant reduction in insulin-stimulated myocardial glucose metabolic rate (10.5 ± 9.04 μmol/min/100 g) as compared with both control subjects (32.9 ± 9.7 μmol/min/100 g; P < 0.0001) and subjects with type 2 diabetes without metabolic syndrome (25.15 ± 4.92 μmol/min/100 g; P = 0.01). Conversely, as compared with control subjects (13.01 ± 8.53 mg/min x Kg FFM), both diabetic individuals with metabolic syndrome (3.06 ± 1.7 mg/min × Kg FFM, P = 0.008) and those without metabolic syndrome (2.91 ± 1.54 mg/min × Kg FFM, P = 0.01) exhibited a significant reduction in whole-body insulin-stimulated glucose disposal, while no difference was observed between the 2 groups of subjects with type 2 diabetes with or without metabolic syndrome. Univariate correlations showed that myocardial glucose metabolism was positively correlated with insulin-stimulated glucose disposal (r = 0.488, P = 0.003), and negatively correlated with the presence of metabolic syndrome (r = −0.743, P < 0.0001) and with its individual components. In conclusion, our data suggest that an impaired myocardial glucose metabolism may represent an early cardio-metabolic defect in individuals with the coexistence of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, regardless of whole-body insulin resistance

GRIP1 and 2 regulate activity-dependent AMPA receptor recycling via exocyst complex interactions

PSD-95/SAP90/DLG/ZO-1 (PDZ) domain-mediated protein–protein interactions play important roles in regulating AMPA receptor trafficking and neuronal plasticity. GRIP1 and GRIP2 are homologous multi-PDZ domain-containing proteins that bind to the C-termini of AMPA-R GluA2 and GluA3 subunits. Previous attempts to determine the cellular roles of GRIP1 and GRIP2 in neurons have been complicated by nonspecific reagents, and by the embryonic lethality of conventional GRIP1 KO mice. To circumvent these issues we developed a conditional targeted deletion strategy to knock out GRIP1 in postnatal neurons derived from GRIP2 KO mice. Loss of GRIP1 and 2 did not affect normal AMPA-R steady-state trafficking and endocytosis, but strikingly impaired activity-dependent AMPA-R recycling. This previously uncharacterized role for GRIP1 appears to be mediated by novel interactions with the cellular trafficking machinery via the exocyst protein complex. Indeed, disruption of GRIP1-exocyst binding caused a strikingly similar deficit in AMPA-R recycling. Together these findings reveal a previously unidentified role for AMPA-R-GRIP1-exocyst protein complexes in activity-dependent AMPA-R trafficking

Impact of Market Concentration on the Profitability of Lithuanian Banking Sector

The performance of the bank can be measured in many different ways. However, profitability is the primary instrument depending on various factors one of which is market structure having the most significant indicator – industry concentration that can be defined as the number and distribution of competitors with reference to a simple index. The conducted research is based on the most frequently used concentration measures: the Herfindahl­Hirschman index, the k bank concentration ratio and profitability indicators such as return on assets and return on equity. The analysis of the results of changes in the ratios of banking sector concentration and profitability has disclosed no direct connection between these indexes