Cranial Masses in Sickle Cell Disease

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Detection of Fusobacterium spp in colorectal tissue samples using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction with minor groove binder probes: an exploratory research

An unhealthy microbiome is intimately correlated with several disease states, including colorectal cancer, wherein bacteria might be the key to neoplastic initiation and progression. Recent studies revealed an enrichment of Fusobacterium in colorectal tumor tissues relative to surrounding normal mucosa. Given the available evidence, we conducted an exploratory study quantifying the relative expression of Fusobacterium spp in 28 tissue samples from patients treated at Centro Hospitalar de São João belonging to 4 different groups: adenomas, paired normal tissue from patients with adenomas, carcinomas, and paired normal tissue from patients with colorectal carcinomas. To increase reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction quantification sensitivity, minor groove binders fluorescent probes were used, having in mind its implementation into routine clinical practice. Differences of Fusobacterium spp relative abundance between paired neoplastic lesions/normal tissue were examined by Wilcoxon signed-rank test and for all the other 2-group comparisons the Mann-Whitney U test was used. Most of the adenomas studied belonged to clinical specimens showing either tubular or villous low-grade dysplasia and an enrichment of Fusobacterium relative to paired normal tissue was not found (P = .180). In the carcinoma group, 57% of samples displayed a positive status for this bacterium with the highest burden of detectable Fusobacterium belonging to a specimen with positive regional lymph node metastasis. This is the first Portuguese study confirming a trend toward an overabundance of Fusobacterium in colorectal carcinomas compared to adenomas and paired samples of normal-looking mucosa, in keeping with the role of this bacterium in colorectal carcinogenesis. Further studies are needed to elucidate the relevance of Fusobacterium detection for the prevention and treatment of colorectal cancer

Systems analysis of iron metabolism: the network of iron pools and fluxes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Every cell of the mammalian organism needs iron as trace element in numerous oxido-reductive processes as well as for transport and storage of oxygen. The very versatility of ionic iron makes it a toxic entity which can catalyze the production of radicals that damage vital membranous and macromolecular assemblies in the cell. The mammalian organism maintains therefore a complex regulatory network of iron uptake, excretion and intra-body distribution. Intracellular regulation in different cell types is intertwined with a global hormonal signalling structure. Iron deficiency as well as excess of iron are frequent and serious human disorders. They can affect every cell, but also the organism as a whole.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here, we present a kinematic model of the dynamic system of iron pools and fluxes. It is based on ferrokinetic data and chemical measurements in C57BL6 wild-type mice maintained on iron-deficient, iron-adequate, or iron-loaded diet. The tracer iron levels in major tissues and organs (16 compartment) were followed for 28 days. The evaluation resulted in a whole-body model of fractional clearance rates. The analysis permits calculation of absolute flux rates in the steady-state, of iron distribution into different organs, of tracer-accessible pool sizes and of residence times of iron in the different compartments in response to three states of iron-repletion induced by the dietary regime.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This mathematical model presents a comprehensive physiological picture of mice under three different diets with varying iron contents. The quantitative results reflect systemic properties of iron metabolism: dynamic closedness, hierarchy of time scales, switch-over response and dynamics of iron storage in parenchymal organs.</p> <p>Therefore, we could assess which parameters will change under dietary perturbations and study in quantitative terms when those changes take place.</p

Rationale and design of the Apixaban for the Reduction of Thrombo-Embolism in Patients With Device-Detected Sub-Clinical Atrial Fibrillation (ARTESiA) trial.

BACKGROUND: Device-detected subclinical atrial fibrillation (AF) refers to infrequent, short-lasting, asymptomatic AF that is detected only with long-term continuous monitoring. Subclinical AF is common and associated with an increased risk of stroke; however, the risk of stroke with subclinical AF is lower than for clinical AF, and very few patients with subclinical AF alone have been included in large AF anticoagulation trials. The net benefit of anticoagulation in patients with subclinical AF is unknown. DESIGN: ARTESiA is a prospective, multicenter, double-blind, randomized controlled trial, recruiting patients with subclinical AF detected by an implanted pacemaker, defibrillator, or cardiac monitor, and who have additional risk factors for stroke. Patients with clinical AF documented by surface electrocardiogram will be excluded from the study. Participants will be randomized to receive either apixaban (according to standard AF dosing) or aspirin 81mg daily. The primary outcome is the composite of stroke, transient ischemic attack with diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging evidence of cerebral infarction, and systemic embolism. Approximately 4,000 patients will be enrolled from around 230 clinical sites, with an anticipated mean follow-up of 36months until 248 adjudicated primary outcome events have occurred. SUMMARY: ARTESiA will determine whether oral anticoagulation therapy with apixaban compared with aspirin reduces the risk of stroke or systemic embolism in patients with subclinical AF and additional risk factors

Comparative study of nonlinear properties of EEG signals of a normal person and an epileptic patient

Background: Investigation of the functioning of the brain in living systems has been a major effort amongst scientists and medical practitioners. Amongst the various disorder of the brain, epilepsy has drawn the most attention because this disorder can affect the quality of life of a person. In this paper we have reinvestigated the EEGs for normal and epileptic patients using surrogate analysis, probability distribution function and Hurst exponent. Results: Using random shuffled surrogate analysis, we have obtained some of the nonlinear features that was obtained by Andrzejak \textit{et al.} [Phys Rev E 2001, 64:061907], for the epileptic patients during seizure. Probability distribution function shows that the activity of an epileptic brain is nongaussian in nature. Hurst exponent has been shown to be useful to characterize a normal and an epileptic brain and it shows that the epileptic brain is long term anticorrelated whereas, the normal brain is more or less stochastic. Among all the techniques, used here, Hurst exponent is found very useful for characterization different cases. Conclusions: In this article, differences in characteristics for normal subjects with eyes open and closed, epileptic subjects during seizure and seizure free intervals have been shown mainly using Hurst exponent. The H shows that the brain activity of a normal man is uncorrelated in nature whereas, epileptic brain activity shows long range anticorrelation.Comment: Keywords:EEG, epilepsy, Correlation dimension, Surrogate analysis, Hurst exponent. 9 page

Artificial Neural Network Inference (ANNI): A Study on Gene-Gene Interaction for Biomarkers in Childhood Sarcomas

Objective: To model the potential interaction between previously identified biomarkers in children sarcomas using artificial neural network inference (ANNI). Method: To concisely demonstrate the biological interactions between correlated genes in an interaction network map, only 2 types of sarcomas in the children small round blue cell tumors (SRBCTs) dataset are discussed in this paper. A backpropagation neural network was used to model the potential interaction between genes. The prediction weights and signal directions were used to model the strengths of the interaction signals and the direction of the interaction link between genes. The ANN model was validated using Monte Carlo cross-validation to minimize the risk of over-fitting and to optimize generalization ability of the model. Results: Strong connection links on certain genes (TNNT1 and FNDC5 in rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS); FCGRT and OLFM1 in Ewing’s sarcoma (EWS)) suggested their potency as central hubs in the interconnection of genes with different functionalities. The results showed that the RMS patients in this dataset are likely to be congenital and at low risk of cardiomyopathy development. The EWS patients are likely to be complicated by EWS-FLI fusion and deficiency in various signaling pathways, including Wnt, Fas/Rho and intracellular oxygen. Conclusions: The ANN network inference approach and the examination of identified genes in the published literature within the context of the disease highlights the substantial influence of certain genes in sarcomas

The sulfur pathway and diagnosis of sulfate depletion in grapevine

Sulfur is an essential nutrient to all plant species. Plants assimilate sulfur in a well-described pathway, which has been taken up by roots. Regulatory mech- anism has been the subject of many research papers. However, recent studies highlighted differences between crop plants and the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Our work focuses on the identification of genes involved in the sulfur metabolism in the Vitis vinifera genome, and their response to sulfur deficiency and other abiotic stress endured by grapevine in the field, namely water stress. Here, we describe the identification and brief characterization of the first assimilation enzymes involved in the sulfur pathway, the enzyme responsible for sulfur activa- tion, ATP sulfurylase (ATPS), and the two enzymes that reduce sulfate to sulfide, Adenosine 50-phosphosulate reductase (APR) and Sulfite reductase (SiR). A reduc- tion was observed in the number of ATPS and APR isoforms identified in V. vinifera genome when compared to A. thaliana or Glycine max genomes. Two ATPS isoforms were present in the Vitis genome, of which only ATPS1 transcript was detected in the tested tissues, and one APR isoform, suggesting an absence of redundancy in the role of both enzymes. ATPS1, APR and SiR transcript level was up-regulated in response to 2 days exposure to sulfur deficiency in V. vinifera cell cultures, which was completely reversed by the addition of GSH to the culture medium. Apparently, oxidative stress triggered GSH has a pivotal role in the regulation of ATPS1, APR and SiR transcription level, since their up-regulation was observed in mRNA from field grapevine berries under water stress, which is known to induce oxidative stress.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio