169 research outputs found
Highlights in toxicology
Every year our cooperating journal, the Archives of Toxicology, publishes and analyzes its most cited articles. In 2009/2010 the most popular articles focussed on ethanol-induced liver damage, tea polyphenols as anti-carcinogens and concepts of dose-response modelling. To keep our readers informed about recent developments in toxicology we reproduce a table
summarizing the take home messages of the most cited articles (Table; from: Bolt and Hengstler, 2011)
The Study on the Applicability of AHO-CORASICK Algorithm in Identifying Tests' Validity
Aho-Corasick Algorithm (ACA) is a kind of dictionary-matching algorithm that locates elements of finite set of strings within an input text. It matches all patterns “at once”, so the complexity of the algorithm is linear in the length of the patterns plus the length of the searched text plus the number of output matches. This paper discusses the applicability of Aho-Corasick algorithm in identifying test validity using the standard Guidelines in Evaluating Tests. A proposed Quiz-Zone system was developed in order to evaluate and test the applicability of the algorithm used. Quiz-Zone allows the user to create exam that will check the test's validity. It also allows the user to choose five types of exam namely: Matching Type, Multiple Choice, Essay, True or False and Short-Answer. The researchers revealed that there are some rules in identifying test validity that ACA can't be applied
A phase II study on safety and efficacy of high-dose N-acetylcysteine in patients with cystic fibrosis
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>We conducted a single-centre, randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled phase II clinical study to test safety and efficacy of a 12-week therapy with low-dose (700 mg/daily) or high-dose (2800 mg/daily) of NAC.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty-one patients (ΔF508 homo/heterozygous, FEV<sub>1 </sub>> 40% pred.) were included in the study. After a 3-weeks placebo run-in phase, 11 patients received low-dose NAC, and 10 patients received high-dose NAC. Outcomes included safety and clinical parameters, inflammatory (total leukocyte numbers, cell differentials, TNF-α, IL-8) measures in induced sputum, and concentrations of extracellular glutathione in induced sputum and blood.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>High-dose NAC was a well-tolerated and safe medication. High-dose NAC did not alter clinical or inflammatory parameters. However, extracellular glutathione in induced sputum tended to increase on high-dose NAC.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>High-dose NAC is a well-tolerated and safe medication for a prolonged therapy of patients with CF with a potential to increase extracellular glutathione in CF airways.</p
Untargeted LC-HRMS-based metabolomics to identify novel biomarkers of metastatic colorectal cancer
Colorectal cancer is one of the main causes of cancer death worldwide, and novel biomarkers are
urgently needed for its early diagnosis and treatment. The utilization of metabolomics to identify
and quantify metabolites in body fluids may allow the detection of changes in their concentrations
that could serve as diagnostic markers for colorectal cancer and may also represent new therapeutic
targets. Metabolomics generates a pathophysiological ‘fingerprint’ that is unique to each individual.
The purpose of our study was to identify a differential metabolomic signature for metastatic colorectal
cancer. Serum samples from 60 healthy controls and 65 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer were
studied by liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry in an untargeted
metabolomic approach. Multivariate analysis revealed a separation between patients with metastatic
colorectal cancer and healthy controls, who significantly differed in serum concentrations of one
endocannabinoid, two glycerophospholipids, and two sphingolipids. These findings demonstrate that
metabolomics using liquid-chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry offers a
potent diagnostic tool for metastatic colorectal cancer.This study was supported by a grant (n° 15CC056/DTS17/00081- ISCIII-FEDER) from the Fundación para la
Investigación Biosanitaria de Andalucía Oriental (FIBAO) and Roche Pharma S.L. Authors from the Fundación
MEDINA acknowledge the receipt of financial support from this public-private partnership of Merck Sharp &
Dohme de España S.A. with the University of Granada and Andalusian Regional Government (PIN-0474-2016)
Mechanism of RPE Cell Death in α-Crystallin Deficient Mice: A Novel and Critical Role for MRP1-Mediated GSH Efflux
Absence of α-crystallins (αA and αB) in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells renders them susceptible to oxidant-induced cell death. We tested the hypothesis that the protective effect of α-crystallin is mediated by changes in cellular glutathione (GSH) and elucidated the mechanism of GSH efflux. In α-crystallin overexpressing cells resistant to cell death, cellular GSH was >2 fold higher than vector control cells and this increase was seen particularly in mitochondria. The high GSH levels associated with α-crystallin overexpression were due to increased GSH biosynthesis. On the other hand, cellular GSH was decreased by 50% in murine retina lacking αA or αB crystallin. Multiple multidrug resistance protein (MRP) family isoforms were expressed in RPE, among which MRP1 was the most abundant. MRP1 was localized to the plasma membrane and inhibition of MRP1 markedly decreased GSH efflux. MRP1-suppressed cells were resistant to cell death and contained elevated intracellular GSH and GSSG. Increased GSH in MRP1-supressed cells resulted from a higher conversion of GSSG to GSH by glutathione reductase. In contrast, GSH efflux was significantly higher in MRP1 overexpressing RPE cells which also contained lower levels of cellular GSH and GSSG. Oxidative stress further increased GSH efflux with a decrease in cellular GSH and rendered cells apoptosis-prone. In conclusion, our data reveal for the first time that 1) MRP1 mediates GSH and GSSG efflux in RPE cells; 2) MRP1 inhibition renders RPE cells resistant to oxidative stress-induced cell death while MRP1 overexpression makes them susceptible and 3) the antiapoptotic function of α-crystallin in oxidatively stressed cells is mediated in part by GSH and MRP1. Our findings suggest that MRP1 and α crystallin are potential therapeutic targets in pathological retinal degenerative disorders linked to oxidative stress
Low exposure long-baseline neutrino oscillation sensitivity of the DUNE experiment
The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) will produce world-leading
neutrino oscillation measurements over the lifetime of the experiment. In this
work, we explore DUNE's sensitivity to observe charge-parity violation (CPV) in
the neutrino sector, and to resolve the mass ordering, for exposures of up to
100 kiloton-megawatt-years (kt-MW-yr). The analysis includes detailed
uncertainties on the flux prediction, the neutrino interaction model, and
detector effects. We demonstrate that DUNE will be able to unambiguously
resolve the neutrino mass ordering at a 3 (5) level, with a 66
(100) kt-MW-yr far detector exposure, and has the ability to make strong
statements at significantly shorter exposures depending on the true value of
other oscillation parameters. We also show that DUNE has the potential to make
a robust measurement of CPV at a 3 level with a 100 kt-MW-yr exposure
for the maximally CP-violating values \delta_{\rm CP}} = \pm\pi/2.
Additionally, the dependence of DUNE's sensitivity on the exposure taken in
neutrino-enhanced and antineutrino-enhanced running is discussed. An equal
fraction of exposure taken in each beam mode is found to be close to optimal
when considered over the entire space of interest
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