2,157 research outputs found
Relevance of Circulating Nucleosomes, HMGB1 and sRAGE for Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
Background/Aim: Evasion from cell death occurs in prostate cancer (PCa). We verified whether serum levels of cell death markers can have diagnostic value in PCa. Patients and Methods: A total of 233 men scheduled for prostate biopsy [prostate specific antigen (PSA) level: 2-10 ng/ml] were enrolled. Serum nucleosomes, nucleosomes containing the H3 histone (H3), high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), and soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE) were analyzed by enzyme immunoassays. Results: There were no differences (p>0.05) in nucleosomes, H3, and sRAGE levels between patients with and without PCa or clinically significant PCa (csPCa). HMGB1 had lower levels in PCa patients (p=0.023) and was a predictor of PCa (p=0.047), but not of csPCa (p=0.180). Conclusion: In patients with critical PSA levels between 2-10 ng/ml, HMGB1 had some diagnostic value for overall PCa detection, but it was not predictive of csPCa. Nucleosomes, H3 and sRAGE did not discriminate between PCa or csPCa and controls.The Authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article
Comparison of Three Assays for Total and Free PSA Using Hybritech and WHO Calibrations
Background/Aim: Lack of interchangeability between prostate-specific antigen (PSA) assays could have a clinical impact. We compared PSA assays from different manufacturers and calibrations. Patients and Methods: A total of 233 men who underwent prostate biopsy (PSA: 2-10 ng/ml; Beckman Coulter Access® Hybritech® as reference) were enrolled. Total (tPSA) and free PSA (fPSA) were also measured using the Roche cobas® and the Abbott Architect® methods. Results: Roche tPSA values were ≈1% higher than Beckman, while Abbott values were ≈5% lower. Roche had the highest diagnostic sensitivity (92%) compared to Beckman Coulter (87%) and Abbott (85%). Roche fPSA was ≈3% lower and Abbott ≈17% higher than that of Beckman. For the percentage of fPSA, Roche had the highest sensitivity (98%). Conclusion: Roche cobas® and Beckman Coulter Access® Hybritech® tPSA were almost interchangeable. While the agreement was acceptable for tPSA, this did not happen with fPSA and greater efforts for harmonization are required
Factors influencing sleep quality of people in an intensive care unit
Introdução: O sono desempenha um papel fundamental na manutenção de uma boa saúde física e mental. As unidades de cuidados intensivos, devido à sua estrutura e funcionalidade, são locais propícios à alteração do padrão de sono dos pacientes aí internados, contribuindo para a sua privação. Todavia, existem factores nestas unidades que influenciam a qualidade do sono destes pacientes e que podem ser minimizados e/ou modificados pelas equipes de saúde multidisciplinares.
Objectivo: Identificar quais os factores que influenciam a qualidade do sono da pessoa internada em unidade de cuidados intensivos.
Material e método: Pesquisa de revisão sistemática. Para a sua elaboração precedeu-se à leitura de artigos existentes na base de dados EBSCO host entre os anos 2011 a 2016, obtendo-se um total de 84 artigos, tendo sido seleccionados 4 para estudo.
Resultados: A privação do sono ocorre frequentemente em unidades de cuidados intensivos e decorre da existência de determinados factores, como a evidência científica demonstra, tais como o ruído, a luminosidade as actividades desempenhadas pelos próprios profissionais de saúde, sobretudo os enfermeiros.
Conclusão: Os factores apontados prejudicam a qualidade de sono do paciente, entretanto, são por vezes descurados. É fundamental que as equipes de saúde que atuam nestas unidades desenvolvam protocolos ou bundles sobre a qualidade do sono destes pacientesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Paradoxical effects of Worrisome Thoughts Suppression: the influence of depressive mood
Thought suppression increases the persistence of unwanted idiosyncratic worries
thoughts when individuals try to suppress them. The failure of suppression may
contribute to the development and maintenance of emotional disorders. Depressive
people seem particulary prone to engage in unsuccessful mental control strategies such
as thought suppression. Worry has been reported to be elevated in depressed individuals
and a dysphoric mood may also contribute for the failure of suppression. No studies
examine, however, the suppression of worisome thoughts in individuals with depressive
symptoms. To investigate the suppression effects of worrisome thoughts, 46
participants were selected according to the cut-off score of a depressive
symptomatology scale and they were divided in two groups (subclinical and nonclinical
group). All the individuals took part in an experimental paradigm of thought
suppression. The results of the mixed factorial analysis of variance revealed an
increased frequency of worrisome thoughts during the suppression phase on depending
of the depressive symptoms. These findings confirm that depressive mood can reduce
the success of suppression.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Validation of a fluorescence in situ hybridization method using peptide nucleic acid probes for detection of helicobacter pylori clarithromycin resistance in gastric biopsy specimens
Here, we evaluated a previously established peptide nucleic acid-fluorescence in situ hybridization (PNA-FISH) method as a new
diagnostic test for Helicobacter pylori clarithromycin resistance detection in paraffin-embedded gastric biopsy specimens. Both
a retrospective study and a prospective cohort study were conducted to evaluate the specificity and sensitivity of a PNA-FISH
method to determine H. pylori clarithromycin resistance. In the retrospective study (n 30 patients), full agreement between
PNA-FISH and PCR-sequencing was observed. Compared to the reference method (culture followed by Etest), the specificity and
sensitivity of PNA-FISH were 90.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 57.1% to 99.5%) and 84.2% (95% CI, 59.5% to 95.8%), respectively.
In the prospective cohort (n 93 patients), 21 cases were positive by culture. For the patients harboring clarithromycin-
resistant H. pylori, the method showed sensitivity of 80.0% (95% CI, 29.9% to 98.9%) and specificity of 93.8% (95% CI,
67.7% to 99.7%). These values likely represent underestimations, as some of the discrepant results corresponded to patients infected
by more than one strain. PNA-FISH appears to be a simple, quick, and accurate method for detecting H. pylori clarithromycin
resistance in paraffin-embedded biopsy specimens. It is also the only one of the methods assessed here that allows direct
and specific visualization of this microorganism within the biopsy specimens, a characteristic that allowed the observation that
cells of different H. pylori strains can subsist in very close proximity in the stomach
Gap modification of atomically thin boron nitride by phonon mediated interactions
A theory is presented for the modification of bandgaps in atomically thin
boron nitride (BN) by attractive interactions mediated through phonons in a
polarizable substrate, or in the BN plane. Gap equations are solved, and gap
enhancements are found to range up to 70% for dimensionless electron-phonon
coupling \lambda=1, indicating that a proportion of the measured BN bandgap may
have a phonon origin
Mathematics in Modern Immunology
Mathematical and statistical methods enable multi-disciplinary approaches that catalyse discovery. Together with experimental methods, they identify key hypotheses, de ne measurable observables and reconcile disparate results. We collect a representative sample of studies in cell biology that illustrate the benefits of modelling-experimental collaborations and that have proven valuable or even ground-breaking. We conclude that it is possible to nd excellent examples of synergy between mathematical modelling and experiment in Immunology, which have brought signi cant insight that would not be available without these collaborations, but that much remains to be discovered
The Percentage of [−2]Pro–Prostate-Specific Antigen and the Prostate Health Index Outperform Prostate-Specific Antigen and the Percentage of Free Prostate-Specific Antigen in the Detection of Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer and Can Be Used as Reflex Tests
Context.—: There is a need to avoid the overdiagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa) and to find more specific biomarkers.
Objective.—: To evaluate the clinical utility of [-2]pro-prostate-specific antigen ([-2]proPSA) derivatives in detecting clinically significant PCa (csPCa) and to compare it with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and with the percentage of free PSA (%fPSA).
Design.—: Two hundred thirty-seven men (PSA: 2-10 ng/mL) scheduled for a prostate biopsy were enrolled. Parametric and nonparametric tests, receiver operating characteristic curves, and logistic regression analysis were applied. Outcomes were csPCa and overall PCa.
Results.—: Both [-2]proPSA derivatives were significantly higher in csPCa and overall PCa (P < .001). The areas under the curves for the prediction of csPCa were higher for the percentage of [-2]proPSA (%[-2]proPSA) (0.781) and the prostate health index (PHI) (0.814) than for PSA (0.651) and %fPSA (0.724). There was a gain of 11% in diagnostic accuracy when %[-2]proPSA or PHI were added to a base model with PSA and %fPSA. Twenty-five percent to 29% of biopsies could have been spared with %[-2]proPSA (cutoff: ≥1.25%) and PHI (cutoff: ≥27), missing 10% of csPCas. The same results could have been achieved by using [-2]proPSA as a reflex test, when %fPSA was 25% or less (cutoffs: ≥1.12% and ≥24 for %[-2]proPSA and PHI, respectively).
Conclusions.—: The [-2]proPSA derivatives improve the diagnostic accuracy of csPCa when the PSA value is between 2 and 10 ng/mL, sparing unnecessary biopsies and selecting patients for active surveillance. [-2]proPSA can be used as a reflex test when %fPSA is 25% or less, without reducing the diagnostic accuracy for csPCa and the number of spared biopsies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
- …