Nanomaterials Self-Assembly Driven by Beta-Amyloid Peptides

Nanomaterials such as gold nanowires and gold nanoparticles were self-assembled with several peptides derived from betaamyloid peptide. The peptides propensity to form fibrilar structures was exploited. The products obtained by aggregation of the peptides with the nano materials were studied using HPLC, UV-vis spectroscopy, TEM and optical light microscopy

Multimodality Echocardiographic Assessment of Patients Undergoing Atrial Fibrillation Ablation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is most common sustained arrhythmia in clinical practice. The new treatment standard in paroxysmal and persistent AF is the catheter ablation. Echocardiography plays a key role in risk stratification and management of patients with AF and is critical in the assessment of candidates for AF ablation, providing both anatomic and hemodynamic information. Echocardiography is crucial for patient selection, preprocedural left atrial appendage thrombus excluding, intraprocedural guidance, and detection and monitoring for early and late ablation related complications. Transthoracic echocardiography allows rapid and comprehensive assessment of cardiac anatomical structure and function. Transoesophageal echocardiography also provides accurate information about the presence of a thrombus in the atria and thromboembolic risk, making safe the ablation procedure by immediately detection of the complications related procedure. Intracardiac echocardiography has emerged as a popular and useful tool in the everyday practice of interventional electrophysiology, being very useful only during the ablation procedure. This paper presents the role of echocardiography in all these steps concerning AF ablation procedure, and also (1) delineates the role of echocardiographic techniques in guiding the procedure, (2) discusses the critical echocardiographic aspects of this procedure, and (3) underlines the strengths and limitations of various echocardiographic modalities

Biodegradation study of some food packaging biopolymers based on PVA

Abstract Polymers are a common choice as protective materials since they combine flexibility, variable sizes and shapes, relatively light weight, stability, resistance to breaking, barrier properties and perceived high-quality image with cost-effectiveness. Currently, mainly non-biodegradable petroleum-based synthetic polymers are used as packaging materials for foods, because of their availability, low cost and functionality. However, biopolymers can be made from renewable resources without the environmental issues of petroleum-based polymers and with the additional advantage of being available from renewable sources or as by-products or waste-products from the food and agriculture industries. The aim of this study was to test some food packaging biopolymers based on PVA. In this respect, some biopolymers for food packaging applications were subjected to biodegradation tests by covering the tested samples with soil. The samples were incubated in known temperature and humidity conditions. The experiment lasted 45 days, after that the samples were washed, weighed and the biodegradation degree was calculated. The obtained results shows that PVA is a promising material for food packaging usage, as it is made from renewable resources and it is environmentally friendly.Â

Renal Anomalies

This chapter is dedicated to the main renal anomalies detectable by ultrasound. Anomalies of the lower urinary tract will be addressed in a separate chapter. The anomalies presented are renal agenesis, renal development variants, autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease, multicystic dysplastic kidney disease, autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, obstructive cystic dysplasia, pelvis dilatation, renal tumors, and nonchromosomal syndromes associated with renal anomalies. All chapters are structured similar into definition, incidence, pathology, ultrasound findings, differential diagnosis, and clinical facts

Inflammation and Chronic Kidney Disease: Current Approaches and Recent Advances

Despite being a “silent epidemic” disease, chronic kidney disease (CKD) is considered one of the major causes of mortality, together with its main complication, the cardiovascular disease, which contributes to the poor prognosis of these patients. Inflammation has been recognized as an essential part of CKD and is closely linked to cardiovascular complications. The identification of novel biomarkers using omics technologies is rapidly advancing and could improve the early detection in renal diseases. Omics approaches, including proteomics, could provide novel insights into disease mechanisms, identifying at the same time accurate inflammatory biomarker panels with an essential role in disease monitoring and follow-up. Recent advances highlight the gut microbiota as an important source of inflammation in kidney diseases. An increasing body of evidence reveals the cross talk between microbiota and host in CKD; in addition, gut dysbiosis may represent an underappreciated cause of inflammation and subsequently could lead to malnutrition, accelerated cardiovascular disease and CKD progression. This chapter discusses the relationship between inflammation and CKD and highlights the novel approaches regarding microbiota involvement in CKD pathology, as well as their potential to facilitate improving the quality of life

In Situ Visualization of Natural Microbial Communities in Black Sea Coastal Shelf Sediments

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Role of Nutraceuticals in Modulation of Gut-Brain Axis in Elderly Persons

A rather new and somewhat unusual concept connects brain functions to gut microbiota. It is called “gut-brain axis” (or “microbiota-gut-brain axis”) and states that probiotics consumption and a healthy gut microbiota positively influence brain functions related to behavior and cognition. Synergistic with a low chronic grade peripheral inflammation, this faulty barrier exposes the aged brain to negative extra-cerebral signals. Given the quasi-constant failure of pharmacological treatments in neurodegenerative diseases, increased interest is directed toward allopathic medicine, including dietary supplements. Interplay between gut microbiota and central nervous system by immune, neural and metabolic pathways is being explored as a possible modulator of cognitive impairment and behavior disorders. In elderly persons, this axis has been reported to be altered, contributing to systemic inflammation and was also indicated as a possible marker for early frailty in younger population. Currently, there are several clinical trials addressing the relationship between gut microbiota and central nervous system psychiatric disorders and at least one directly investigating whether there is a correlation between composition of gut microbiome, permeability of intestinal barrier and systemic inflammation in patients with dementia. This chapter discusses evidence-based data on positive modulation of gut-brain axis to alleviate behavior and cognition alterations in the elderly

One time a day mometasone/indacaterol fixed-dose combination versus two times a day fluticasone/salmeterol in patients with inadequately controlled asthma:pooled analysis from PALLADIUM and IRIDIUM studies

BACKGROUND: Despite currently available standard-of-care inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)/long-acting β(2)-agonist therapies, a substantial proportion of patients with asthma remain inadequately controlled. This pooled analysis evaluated efficacy and safety of mometasone furoate/indacaterol acetate (MF/IND) versus fluticasone propionate/salmeterol xinafoate (FLU/SAL) in patients with inadequately controlled asthma. METHODS: This analysis included patients from PALLADIUM (NCT02554786) and IRIDIUM (NCT02571777) studies who received high-dose MF/IND (320/150 µg) or medium-dose MF/IND (160/150 µg) one time a day or high-dose FLU/SAL (500/50 µg) two times a day for 52 weeks. Reduction in asthma exacerbations, improvement in lung function, asthma control, and safety were evaluated for 52 weeks. RESULTS: In total, 3154 patients (high-dose MF/IND, n=1054; medium-dose MF/IND, n=1044; high-dose FLU/SAL, n=1056) were included. High-dose MF/IND showed 26%, 22% and 19% reductions in rate of severe, moderate or severe, and all (mild, moderate and severe) exacerbations versus high-dose FLU/SAL, respectively, over 52 weeks (all, p<0.05). High-dose MF/IND improved trough FEV(1) versus high-dose FLU/SAL at weeks 26 (Δ, 43 mL, p=0.001) and 52 (Δ, 51 mL, p<0.001). Reductions in asthma exacerbation rate and improvement in trough FEV(1) with medium-dose MF/IND were comparable with high-dose FLU/SAL over 52 weeks. All treatments improved Asthma Control Questionnaire-7 score from baseline to 52 weeks with no difference between treatments. Safety was comparable between high-dose MF/IND and high-dose FLU/SAL. CONCLUSIONS: One time a day, single-inhaler, high-dose MF/IND reduced asthma exacerbations and improved lung function versus two times a day, high-dose FLU/SAL in patients with inadequately controlled asthma. Similarly, improved outcomes were seen with one time a day, medium-dose MF/IND and two times a day, high-dose FLU/SAL, but at a lower ICS dose