Foot ulcers associated with external trauma among people with diabetes: An integrative review of the origin of trauma and outcomes

Background Foot ulcers are common among people with diabetes. These ulcers are caused by a number of factors including trauma. To date, research findings on the origin of external trauma and the outcome of foot ulcers resulting from an external trauma have not been summarised. Objective To examine the origin of external trauma that contribute to the development of foot ulcers among people with diabetes and the outcome of such ulcers. Design An integrative review. Settings Hospital/community. Participants Patients with diabetes and foot ulcer. Method The Joanna Briggs framework was used to underpin this integrative review. Six different databases (CINAHL +, Medline, SCOPUS, Embase, ProQuest and Web of Science databases) were searched systematically to find research publications reporting traumas that contributed to foot ulcers sustained by people with diabetes. The search was limited to articles published in English. The search revealed 3193 articles that were filtered to 78 articles to be assessed at the full-text level and 45 articles were subsequently included. Quality appraisal was conducted independently by two reviewers, using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal tools. Data were extracted into a form developed for the purpose of this review. Narrative synthesis was used to manage the extracted verbatim details on the origin of external trauma contributing to foot ulcers and the outcomes. Results The origins of external trauma were summarised into two domains and further specified into 16 categories. The identified traumas were mainly minor and originated within the home environment. The most commonly reported origins of external trauma were puncture wounds, ill-fitting shoes and self-care practices that caused foot ulcers. Twenty-seven studies reported outcomes following the development of an ulcer. Twenty-two studies reported amputation as an outcome and mortality was reported in 10 studies. It was not clear whether these outcomes were directly related to the foot ulcer or related to other diabetes-related complications. Conclusions The majority of ulcers occurred in the home environment and were preventable in nature. The assessment of an individual\u27s local context, particularly the home and actions to reduce risk is a priority. The extent of the risks related to external trauma need to be more widely communicated through clinical guidelines and training opportunities for frontline staff. Tweetable abstract The main origins of external foot trauma among people with diabetes were puncture wounds, ill-fitting footwear and self-care practices

The reported external traumas among people with diabetes-related foot ulcers and their outcomes: A systematic review of case reports

The objective of this systematic review was to collate evidence published in case reports on the reported origins of external traumas that contribute to the development of diabetic foot ulcers and their outcomes. The review also aimed to suggest reporting criteria for external traumas contributing to the development of diabetic foot ulcers. The search strategy led to the identification of 1224 articles across six electronic databases. Additional articles were also sourced from other electronic platforms (Google scholar) and the reference lists of the included case reports. Ninety-four articles met the inclusion criteria and were published between 1989 and 2020. The included case reports were independently assessed for methodological quality using a Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist. Following the verbatim extraction of data, the JBI three steps approach to “meta-aggregation” for managing qualitative data was used to synthesise the data on external traumas that contributed to the development of foot ulcers along with the reported outcome. Information on the included case report characteristics was also extracted. The case reports included 155 patients. Average age was 57.2 years with a range from 17 to 86 years. External traumas were mainly experienced in the domestic setting and were categorised into two main categories, mechanical trauma (n = 87, 60%) or burns (n = 58, 40%). The most frequently reported origins of external trauma were contact with a hot surface, animal bites, friction, and puncture wounds. Although healing was the most frequent outcome, a prolonged time was recorded for the ulcers to heal highlighting the importance of prevention. Prevention might not eradicate origins of external trauma 100%, showing the importance of patient and/or family role in monitoring domestic risks, early detection of ulcer and seeking immediate professional care. Foot ulcers need to be reported against standardised criteria considering local characteristics of the ulcer and the individual\u27s general profile

Provably secure and efficient audio compression based on compressive sensing

The advancement of systems with the capacity to compress audio signals and simultaneously secure is a highly attractive research subject. This is because of the need to enhance storage usage and speed up the transmission of data, as well as securing the transmission of sensitive signals over limited and insecure communication channels. Thus, many researchers have studied and produced different systems, either to compress or encrypt audio data using different algorithms and methods, all of which suffer from certain issues including high time consumption or complex calculations. This paper proposes a compressing sensing-based system that compresses audio signals and simultaneously provides an encryption system. The audio signal is segmented into small matrices of samples and then multiplied by a non-square sensing matrix generated by a Gaussian random generator. The reconstruction process is carried out by solving a linear system using the pseudoinverse of Moore-Penrose. The statistical analysis results obtaining from implementing different types and sizes of audio signals prove that the proposed system succeeds in compressing the audio signals with a ratio reaching 28% of real size and reconstructing the signal with a correlation metric between 0.98 and 0.99. It also scores very good results in the normalized mean square error (MSE), peak signal-to-noise ratio metrics (PSNR), and the structural similarity index (SSIM), as well as giving the signal a high level of security

Transcriptomic study for identification of major nitrogen stress responsive genes in Australian bread wheat cultivars

High nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in bread wheat is pivotal to sustain high productivity. Knowledge about the physiological and transcriptomic changes that regulate NUE, in particular how plants cope with nitrogen (N) stress during flowering and the grain filling period, is crucial in achieving high NUE. Nitrogen response is differentially manifested in different tissues and shows significant genetic variability. A comparative transcriptome study was carried out using RNA-seq analysis to investigate the effect of nitrogen levels on gene expression at 0 days post anthesis (0 DPA) and 10 DPA in second leaf and grain tissues of three Australian wheat (Triticum aestivum) varieties that were known to have varying NUEs. A total of 12,344 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified under nitrogen stress where down-regulated DEGs were predominantly associated with carbohydrate metabolic process, photosynthesis, light-harvesting, and defense response, whereas the up-regulated DEGs were associated with nucleotide metabolism, proteolysis, and transmembrane transport under nitrogen stress. Protein–protein interaction and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways analysis further revealed that highly interacted down-regulated DEGs were involved in light-harvesting and photosynthesis, and up-regulated DEGs were mostly involved in steroid biosynthesis under N stress. The common down-regulated genes across the cultivars included photosystem II 10 kDa polypeptide family proteins, plant protein 1589 of uncharacterized protein function, etc., whereas common up-regulated genes included glutamate carboxypeptidase 2, placenta-specific8 (PLAC8) family protein, and a sulfate transporter. On the other hand, high NUE cultivar Mace responded to nitrogen stress by down-regulation of a stress-related gene annotated as beta-1,3-endoglucanase and pathogenesis-related protein (PR-4, PR-1) and up-regulation of MYB/SANT domain-containing RADIALIS (RAD)-like transcription factors. The medium NUE cultivar Spitfire and low NUE cultivar Volcani demonstrated strong down-regulation of Photosystem II 10 kDa polypeptide family protein and predominant up-regulation of 11S globulin seed storage protein 2 and protein transport protein Sec61 subunit gamma. In grain tissue, most of the DEGs were related to nitrogen metabolism and proteolysis. The DEGs with high abundance in high NUE cultivar can be good candidates to develop nitrogen stress-tolerant variety with improved NUE

Recent Advances in Understanding the Microbiology of the Female Reproductive Tract and the Causes of Premature Birth

Data derived from molecular microbiological investigations of the human vagina have led to the discovery of resident bacterial communities that exhibit marked differences in terms of species composition. All undergo dynamic changes that are likely due to intrinsic host and behavioral factors. Similar types of bacteria have been found in both amniotic fluid and the vagina, suggesting a potential route of colonization. Given that not all of the species involved in intrauterine infections are readily cultivated, it is important that culture-independent methods of analysis must be used to understand the etiology of these infections. Further research is needed to establish whether an ascending pathway from the vagina to the amniotic cavity enables the development of intrauterine infections

Cloned genes and genetic regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis in maize, a comparative review

Anthocyanins are plant-based pigments that are primarily present in berries, grapes, purple yam, purple corn and black rice. The research on fruit corn with a high anthocyanin content is not sufficiently extensive. Considering its crucial role in nutrition and health it is vital to conduct further studies on how anthocyanin accumulates in fruit corn and to explore its potential for edible and medicinal purposes. Anthocyanin biosynthesis plays an important role in maize stems (corn). Several beneficial compounds, particularly cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, perlagonidin-3-O-glucoside, peonidin 3-O-glucoside, and their malonylated derivatives have been identified. C1, C2, Pl1, Pl2, Sh2, ZmCOP1 and ZmHY5 harbored functional alleles that played a role in the biosynthesis of anthocyanins in maize. The Sh2 gene in maize regulates sugar-to-starch conversion, thereby influencing kernel quality and nutritional content. ZmCOP1 and ZmHY5 are key regulatory genes in maize that control light responses and photomorphogenesis. This review concludes the molecular identification of all the genes encoding structural enzymes of the anthocyanin pathway in maize by describing the cloning and characterization of these genes. Our study presents important new understandings of the molecular processes behind the manufacture of anthocyanins in maize, which will contribute to the development of genetically modified variants of the crop with increased color and possible health advantages

Gas turbulence modulation in a two-fluid model for gas-solid flows

Recent rapid progress in the theoretical and experimental study of turbulence modulation has led to greater understanding of the physics of particle-gas turbulence interactions. A new two-fluid model incorporating these advances for relatively dilute gas-solid flows containing high-inertia particles is established. The effect of aerodynamic forces upon the particulate stresses is considered in this kinetic theory-based model, and the influence of the particles on the turbulent gas is addressed: the work associated with drag forces contributes to the gas turbulent energy, and the space occupied by particles restricts the turbulent length scale. The interparticle length scale, which is usually ignored, has been incorporated into a new model for determining the turbulent length scale. This model also considers the transport effect on the turbulent length scale. Simulation results for fully developed steady flows in vertical pipes are compared with a wide range of published experimental data and, generally, good agreement is shown. This comprehensive and validated model accounts for many of the interphase interactions that have been shown to be important

The ocean sampling day consortium

Ocean Sampling Day was initiated by the EU-funded Micro B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology) project to obtain a snapshot of the marine microbial biodiversity and function of the world’s oceans. It is a simultaneous global mega-sequencing campaign aiming to generate the largest standardized microbial data set in a single day. This will be achievable only through the coordinated efforts of an Ocean Sampling Day Consortium, supportive partnerships and networks between sites. This commentary outlines the establishment, function and aims of the Consortium and describes our vision for a sustainable study of marine microbial communities and their embedded functional traits

The ocean sampling day consortium.

Ocean Sampling Day was initiated by the EU-funded Micro B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology) project to obtain a snapshot of the marine microbial biodiversity and function of the world's oceans. It is a simultaneous global mega-sequencing campaign aiming to generate the largest standardized microbial data set in a single day. This will be achievable only through the coordinated efforts of an Ocean Sampling Day Consortium, supportive partnerships and networks between sites. This commentary outlines the establishment, function and aims of the Consortium and describes our vision for a sustainable study of marine microbial communities and their embedded functional traits

Therapeutic potential of cladribine in combination with STAT3 inhibitor against multiple myeloma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cladribine or 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine (2-CDA) is a well-known purine nucleoside analog with particular activity against lymphoproliferative disorders, such as hairy cell leukemia (HCL). Its benefits in multiple myeloma (MM) remain unclear. Here we report the inhibitory effects of cladribine on MM cell lines (U266, RPMI8226, MM1.S), and its therapeutic potential in combination with a specific inhibitor of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>MTS-based proliferation assays were used to determine cell viability in response to cladribine. Cell cycle progression was examined by flow cytometry analysis. Cells undergoing apoptosis were evaluated with Annexin V staining and a specific ELISA to quantitatively measure cytoplasmic histone-associated DNA fragments. Western blot analyses were performed to determine the protein expression levels and activation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Cladribine inhibited cell proliferation of MM cells in a dose-dependent manner, although the three MM cell lines exhibited a remarkably different responsiveness to cladribine. The IC50 of cladribine for U266, RPMI8226, or MM1.S cells was approximately 2.43, 0.75, or 0.18 μmol/L, respectively. Treatment with cladribine resulted in a significant G1 arrest in U266 and RPMI8226 cells, but only a minor increase in the G1 phase for MM1.S cells. Apoptosis assays with Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining indicated that cladribine induced apoptosis of U266 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Similar results were obtained with an apoptotic-ELISA showing that cladribine dramatically promoted MM1.S and RPMA8226 cells undergoing apoptosis. On the molecular level, cladribine induced PARP cleavage and activation of caspase-8 and caspase-3. Meanwhile, treatment with cladribine led to a remarkable reduction of the phosphorylated STAT3 (P-STAT3), but had little effect on STAT3 protein levels. The combinations of cladribine and a specific STAT3 inhibitor as compared to either agent alone significantly induced apoptosis in all three MM cell lines.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Cladribine exhibited inhibitory effects on MM cells <it>in vitro</it>. MM1.S is the only cell line showing significant response to the clinically achievable concentrations of cladribine-induced apoptosis and inactivation of STAT3. Our data suggest that MM patients with the features of MM1.S cells may particularly benefit from cladribine monotherapy, whereas cladribine in combination with STAT3 inhibitor exerts a broader therapeutic potential against MM.</p