Serum level of interleukin-6 in patients with oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma

Introduction: The clinical outcome of patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) located in the head and neck has remained poor despite ongoing advances in diagnosis and management. Interleukin-6(IL-6) is a multi-functional cytokine that plays an important role in the process of cell differentiation and is increased in several malignancies. The aim of this study was to investigate the serum levels of interleukin-6 in patients with oral tongue SCC. Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 17 patients with oral tongue SCC were compared with the same number of age- and gender-matched healthy subjects. Serum IL-6 level fluctuation was determined using an immunological technique, before detecting its possible association with the subjects' age, gender, drinking and smoking history, cancer site, and disease severity. Results: The intensity of serum IL-6 in patients with oral tongue SCC was statistically significantly higher than that in healthy subjects (P<0.001). Serum IL-6 level was independent of the patients' age, gender, smoking and drinking history as well as cancer stage. Conclusion: IL-6 is a valuable biomarker in the diagnosis of oral tongue SCC. Its high sensitivity makes prediction of this condition possible, while this biomarker can also be used to screen high-risk patients

Serum level of interleukin-6 in patients with oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma

Introduction: The clinical outcome of patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) located in the head and neck has remained poor despite ongoing advances in diagnosis and management. Interleukin-6(IL-6) is a multi-functional cytokine that plays an important role in the process of cell differentiation and is increased in several malignancies. The aim of this study was to investigate the serum levels of interleukin-6 in patients with oral tongue SCC. Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 17 patients with oral tongue SCC were compared with the same number of age- and gender-matched healthy subjects. Serum IL-6 level fluctuation was determined using an immunological technique, before detecting its possible association with the subjects' age, gender, drinking and smoking history, cancer site, and disease severity. Results: The intensity of serum IL-6 in patients with oral tongue SCC was statistically significantly higher than that in healthy subjects (P<0.001). Serum IL-6 level was independent of the patients' age, gender, smoking and drinking history as well as cancer stage. Conclusion: IL-6 is a valuable biomarker in the diagnosis of oral tongue SCC. Its high sensitivity makes prediction of this condition possible, while this biomarker can also be used to screen high-risk patients

Ciliomotor circuitry underlying whole-body coordination of ciliary activity in the Platynereis larva

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Ciliated surfaces harbouring synchronously beating cilia can generate fluid flow or drive locomotion. In ciliary swimmers, ciliary beating, arrests, and changes in beat frequency are often coordinated across extended or discontinuous surfaces. To understand how such coordination is achieved, we studied the ciliated larvae of Platynereis dumerilii, a marine annelid. Platynereis larvae have segmental multiciliated cells that regularly display spontaneous coordinated ciliary arrests. We used whole-body connectomics, activity imaging, transgenesis, and neuron ablation to characterize the ciliomotor circuitry. We identified cholinergic, serotonergic, and catecholaminergic ciliomotor neurons. The synchronous rhythmic activation of cholinergic cells drives the coordinated arrests of all cilia. The serotonergic cells are active when cilia are beating. Serotonin inhibits the cholinergic rhythm, and increases ciliary beat frequency. Based on their connectivity and alternating activity, the catecholaminergic cells may generate the rhythm. The ciliomotor circuitry thus constitutes a stop-and-go pacemaker system for the whole-body coordination of ciliary locomotion.The research leading to these results received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/European Research Council Grant Agreement 260821. This project is supported by the Marie Curie ITN ‘Neptune’, GA 317172, funded under the FP7, PEOPLE Work Programme of the European Commission. This project is supported by the DFG - Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Reference no. JE 777/3–1).Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft 777/3-1 Gaspar JekelyMax-Planck-Gesellschaft Open-access funding Gaspar JekelyEuropean Commission GA 317172 Gaspar Jekel

A serial multiplex immunogold labeling method for identifying peptidergic neurons in connectomes.

This is the final version of the article.Available from eLife Sciences Publications via the DOI in this record.Electron microscopy-based connectomics aims to comprehensively map synaptic connections in neural tissue. However, current approaches are limited in their capacity to directly assign molecular identities to neurons. Here, we use serial multiplex immunogold labeling (siGOLD) and serial-section transmission electron microscopy (ssTEM) to identify multiple peptidergic neurons in a connectome. The high immunogenicity of neuropeptides and their broad distribution along axons, allowed us to identify distinct neurons by immunolabeling small subsets of sections within larger series. We demonstrate the scalability of siGOLD by using 11 neuropeptide antibodies on a full-body larval ssTEM dataset of the annelid Platynereis. We also reconstruct a peptidergic circuitry comprising the sensory nuchal organs, found by siGOLD to express pigment-dispersing factor, a circadian neuropeptide. Our approach enables the direct overlaying of chemical neuromodulatory maps onto synaptic connectomic maps in the study of nervous systems.The research leading to these results received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/European Research Council Grant Agreement 260821. This project is supported by the Marie Curie ITN "Neptune", GA 317172, funded under the FP7, PEOPLE Work Programme of the European Commission

Neuronal connectome of a sensory-motor circuit for visual navigation.

This is the final version of the article. Available from eLife Sciences Publications via the DOI in this record.Animals use spatial differences in environmental light levels for visual navigation; however, how light inputs are translated into coordinated motor outputs remains poorly understood. Here we reconstruct the neuronal connectome of a four-eye visual circuit in the larva of the annelid Platynereis using serial-section transmission electron microscopy. In this 71-neuron circuit, photoreceptors connect via three layers of interneurons to motorneurons, which innervate trunk muscles. By combining eye ablations with behavioral experiments, we show that the circuit compares light on either side of the body and stimulates body bending upon left-right light imbalance during visual phototaxis. We also identified an interneuron motif that enhances sensitivity to different light intensity contrasts. The Platynereis eye circuit has the hallmarks of a visual system, including spatial light detection and contrast modulation, illustrating how image-forming eyes may have evolved via intermediate stages contrasting only a light and a dark field during a simple visual task.The research leading to these results received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/European Research Council Grant Agreement 260821

Heterogeneous determinants of quality of life in different phenotypes of Parkinson's disease

Objectives Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is considered a very important outcome indicator in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). A broad list of motor and non-motor features have been shown to affect HRQoL in PD, however, there is a dearth of information about the complexity of interrelationships between determinants of HRQoL in different PD phenotypes. We aimed to find independent determinates and the best structural model for HRQoL, also to investigate the heterogeneity in HRQoL between PD patients with different phenotypes regarding onset-age, progression rate and dominant symptom. Methods A broad spectrum of demographic, motor and non-motor characteristics were collected in 157 idiopathic PD patients, namely comorbidity profile, nutritional status, UPDRS (total items), psychiatric symptoms (depression, anxiety), fatigue and psychosocial functioning through physical examination, validated questionnaires and scales. Structural equation model (SEM) and multivariate regressions were applied to find determinants of Parkinson's disease summary index (PDSI) and different domains of HRQoL (PDQ-39). Results Female sex, anxiety, depression and UPDRS-part II scores were the significant independent determinants of PDSI. A structural model consisting of global motor, global non-motor and co-morbidity indicator as three main components was able to predict 89 of the variance in HRQoL. In older-onset and slow-progression phenotypes, the motor domain showed smaller contribution on HRQoL and the majority of its effects were mediated through non-motor features. Comorbidity component was a significant determinant of HRQoL only among older-onset and non-tremor-dominant PD patients. Fatigue was not a significant indicator of non-motor component to affect HRQoL in rapid-progression PD. Conclusions Our findings showed outstanding heterogeneities in the pattern and determinants of HRQoL among PD phenotypes. These factors should be considered during the assessments and developing personalized interventions to improve HRQOL in PD patients with different phenotypes or prominent feature. © 2015 Fereshtehnejad et al

Quantification of rigidity in Parkinson's disease

In this paper, a new method for quantification of rigidity in elbow joint of Parkinsonian patients is introduced. One of the most known syndromes in Parkinson's disease (PD) is increased passive stiffness in muscles, which leads to rigidity in joints. Clinical evaluation of stiffness in wrist and/or elbow, commonly used by clinicians, is based on Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating System (UPDRS). Subjective nature of this method may influence the accuracy and precision of evaluations. Hence, introducing an objective standard method based on quantitative measurements may be helpful. A test rig was designed and fabricated to measure range of motion and viscous and elastic components of passive stiffness in elbow joint. Measurements were done for 41 patients and 11 controls. Measures were extracted using Matlab-R14 software and statistic analyses were done by Spss-13. Relation between each computed measure and the level of illness were analyzed. Results showed a better correlation between viscous component of stiffness and UPDRS score compared to the elastic component. Results of this research may help to introduce a standard objective method for evaluation of PD. © 2007 Biomedical Engineering Society

Analysis of scalp EEG recorded in a low-noise environment

This study investigates the effects of a low-noise environment when used for recording the scalp electroencephalogram (EEG). Analysis of the EEG recordings from three volunteers confirms that clean EEG signals can be acquired in the LSBB shielded capsule without the need for notch filtering. Also, using different setups for acquiring EEG, statistical analysis reveals that the laptop computer and the patient module do not introduce any noise on the recorded signals. Moreover, the current study shows that the counting task as a mental activity can be better detected using the EEG acquired in the capsule since the relative energy of the beta band is significantly higher in this environment. Those results demonstrate the potential of the LSBB capsule for novel EEG studies

Germination changes the isoflavone profile and increases the antioxidant potential of soybean.

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