Machine learning approaches to detect hepatocyte chromatin alterations from iron oxide nanoparticle exposure.

This study focuses on developing machine learning models to detect subtle alterations in hepatocyte chromatin organization due to Iron (II, III) oxide nanoparticle exposure, hypothesizing that exposure will significantly alter chromatin texture. A total of 2000 hepatocyte nuclear regions of interest (ROIs) from mouse liver tissue were analyzed, and for each ROI, 5 different parameters were calculated: Long Run Emphasis, Short Run Emphasis, Run Length Nonuniformity, and 2 wavelet coefficient energies obtained after the discrete wavelet transform. These parameters served as input for supervised machine learning models, specifically random forest and gradient boosting classifiers.

Cross-platform social dynamics: an analysis of ChatGPT and COVID-19 vaccine conversations.

The role of social media in information dissemination and agenda-setting has significantly expanded in recent years. By offering real-time interactions, online platforms have become invaluable tools for studying societal responses to significant events as they unfold. However, online reactions to external developments are influenced by various factors, including the nature of the event and the online environment.

Brachial flow-mediated dilation and carotid intima-media thickness in glaucoma patients.

Background: The purpose of the study was to assess the ultrasound measurements of the brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) and their relationship in glaucoma patients.

Methods: Thirty-seven patients with glaucoma and thirty-one healthy controls were included in the study. All glaucoma patients and controls underwent ultrasound measurement of FMD of the brachial artery and ultrasound measurement of IMT of the carotid artery.

Widespread haploid-biased gene expression enables sperm-level natural selection.

Sperm are haploid but must be functionally equivalent to distribute alleles equally among progeny. Accordingly, gene products are shared through spermatid cytoplasmic bridges that erase phenotypic differences between individual haploid sperm. Here, we show that a large class of mammalian genes are not completely shared across these bridges.

Intracellular cathepsin C levels determine sensitivity of cells to leucyl-leucine methyl ester-triggered apoptosis.

L-leucyl-leucine methyl ester (LLOMe) is a lysosomotropic detergent, which was evaluated in clinical trials in graft-vs-host disease because it very efficiently killed monocytic cell lines. It was also shown to efficiently trigger apoptosis in cancer cells, suggesting that the drug might have potential in anticancer therapy. Using U-937 and THP-1 promonocytes as models for monocytic cells, U-87-MG and HeLa cells as models for cancer cells, and noncancerous HEK293 cells, we show that the drug triggers rapid cathepsin C-dependent lysosomal membrane permeabilization, followed by the release of other cysteine cathepsins into the cytosol and subsequent apoptosis.

Host Cell Protein Profiling in Biopharmaceutical Harvests.

Biopharmaceuticals contain residual host cell protein (HCP) impurities, a complex mixture of endogenous proteins from production cell lines such as Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. The composition of HCP impurities at harvest hinges on multiple factors, e.g.

Quantitative profiling of oxylipins in plasma and atherosclerotic plaques of hypercholesterolemic rabbits.

Oxylipins are oxidation products of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that affect a broad range of physiological processes, including cell proliferation, inflammation, inflammation resolution, and vascular function. Moreover, oxylipins are readily detectable in plasma, and certain subsets of oxylipins have been detected in human atherosclerotic lesions. Taken together, we set out to produce a detailed quantitative assessment of plasma and plaque oxylipins in a widely used model of atherosclerosis, to identify potential biomarkers of disease progression.

Prevalence and risk factors for developing oral allergy syndrome in adult patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis.

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of oral allergy syndrome (OAS) in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) and the possible risk factors for its development. This cross-sectional study was conducted in primary care offices in the Split-Dalmatia County during the period from March 1 to September 30, 2012. Data sources were medical history with confirmation of SAR (positive skin-prick test to seasonal inhalant allergens: grass, tree and weed pollens), anthropometric patient data (age, sex, weight and height), and a questionnaire in which patients evaluated their nasal and ocular symptoms, comorbidities and lifestyle.

Left ventricular systolic function in selected type 1 diabetic patients with or without diabetic retinopathy and microalbuminuria.

Vascular endothelial dysfunction is a basic etiologic factor for the development of late clinical complications in patients with diabetes mellitus type 1, such as diabetic retinopathy, diabetic nephropathy (which is characterized at the very beginning by microalbuminuria), and left ventricular cardiac dysfunction. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction in patients with diabetes mellitus type 1 and with or without diabetic retinopathy and microalbuminuria, and to correlate the duration of diabetes with the dynamics of diabetic retinopathy, microalbuminuria and asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction development in these patients. One-hundred and twenty selected patients with diabetes mellitus type 1 were examined by ophthalmologist and cardiologist.

Lipidome of atherosclerotic plaques from hypercholesterolemic rabbits.

The cellular, macromolecular and neutral lipid composition of the atherosclerotic plaque has been extensively characterized. However, a comprehensive lipidomic analysis of the major lipid classes within atherosclerotic lesions has not been reported. The objective of this study was to produce a detailed framework of the lipids that comprise the atherosclerotic lesion of a widely used pre-clinical model of plaque progression.

PPARδ activation attenuates hepatic steatosis in Ldlr-/- mice by enhanced fat oxidation, reduced lipogenesis, and improved insulin sensitivity.

PPARδ regulates systemic lipid homeostasis and inflammation, but its role in hepatic lipid metabolism remains unclear. Here, we examine whether intervening with a selective PPARδ agonist corrects hepatic steatosis induced by a high-fat, cholesterol-containing (HFHC) diet. Ldlr(-/-) mice were fed a chow or HFHC diet (42% fat, 0.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ agonist GW1516 attenuates diet-induced aortic inflammation, insulin resistance, and atherosclerosis in low-density lipoprotein receptor knockout mice.

Objective: The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) δ regulates systemic lipid homeostasis and inflammation. However, the ability of PPARδ agonists to improve the pathology of pre-established lesions and whether PPARδ activation is atheroprotective in the setting of insulin resistance have not been reported. Here, we examine whether intervention with a selective PPARδ agonist corrects metabolic dysregulation and attenuates aortic inflammation and atherosclerosis.

Diagnostic and prognostic value of gated SPECT MIBI early post-stress imaging in patients with intermediate Duke Treadmill Score.

Purpose Of The Report: The aims of this study were to compare perfusion and functional parameters between early (ES) and standard (SS) post-stress gated SPECT MIBI, to validate ES against coronary angiography, and to determine whether ES parameters can predict future cardiac events.

Patients And Methods: The sample included 63 patients with normal or mildly impaired left ventricular function and intermediate Duke Treadmill Score. They underwent a 2-day stress-rest gated SPECT MIBI with the post-stress data acquired at 15 minutes (ES) and 60 minutes (SS) after i.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ: a multifaceted metabolic player.

Purpose Of Review: Therapeutic strategies to alleviate the growing epidemic of insulin-resistant syndromes (obesity and type 2 diabetes) as well as the conferred cardiovascular disease risk remain sparse. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ (PPARδ) has emerged as a versatile regulator of lipid homeostasis and inflammatory signaling, making it an attractive therapeutic target for the treatment and prevention of type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis.

Recent Findings: PPARδ activation regulates lipid homeostasis and inflammatory signaling in a variety of cell types, conferring protection from metabolic disease and atherosclerosis.

Incidence of acute angle-closure attacks in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia.

The aim of the study was to determine the incidence of acute angle-closure attacks among residents of the Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia, during a 6-year period. In this retrospective, interventional case series study, hospital records of 53 consecutive patients (33 female, mean age 71.7 +/- 16.

Comparing two techniques of panretinal photocoagulation on visual acuity on patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy.

We wanted to examine which of two panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) techniques, classical panretinal photocoagulation (CPRP) and modifield peripheral panretinal photocoagulation PPRP), causes less decline of visual acuity (VA) due to macular edema (ME) in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PRD). This clinical study includes 180 eyes with PDR with initial papillar neovascularization. The patients were divided into two groups according the RP.

Activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ inhibits human macrophage foam cell formation and the inflammatory response induced by very low-density lipoprotein.

Objective: Hypertriglyceridemia is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Elevated plasma very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) puts insulin-resistant patients at risk for atherosclerosis. VLDL readily induces macrophage lipid accumulation and inflammatory responses, for which targeted therapeutic strategies remain elusive.

[The efficacy of the fixed drug combination dorzolamide 2%/timolol 0.5% in patients with primary open angle glaucoma].

The aim was to investigate the effectiveness of the fixed drug combination dorzolamide 2%/timolol 0.5% as monotherapy, substitutive and as adjunctive therapy in patients with primary open angle glaucoma. 130 patients were divided in three different study groups and treated by the combination dorzolamide 2%/timolol 0.

[Clinico-epidemiological analysis of choroidal melanoma in Split Area, Croatia].

Choroidal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular malignant tumour in adults. The aim of the study was to examine epidemiological characteristics of choroidal melanoma in Split-Dalmatia County from 1990 to 2009. In this retrospective study, data on 46 patients from medical documentation of the University Department of Ophthalmology, Split University Hospital Center, were analyzed.

Role of NMO-IgG in distinguishing the type of optic neuritis.

Purpose: To emphasize the importance of neuromyelitis optica (NMO)-immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies testing in patients with typical optic neuritis (ON) refractory to steroid treatment.

Methods: Two patients were evaluated with ON refractory to steroid therapy and poor visual acuity; they were tested for NMO-IgG antibodies.

Results: Brain magnetic resonance imaging was normal in both patients.

The role of oxidative stress after retinal laser photocoagulation in nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) represents the most common chronic complication of diabetes, and it is the leading cause of new cases of blindness in patients between 20-74 years old in developed countries. Laser photocoagulation (LF) represents an efficacious approach to the treatment of DR. Oxidative factors, such as free radicals (FR), are continuously generated in aerobic organisms as a result of different metabolic processes.

Safety and efficacy of monotherapy change to fixed combination (travoprost 0.004%/timolol 0.5%) in 6 months follow up period.

Purpose: To assess the safety and efficacy of changing antiglaucoma therapy to the travoprost 0.004%/timolol 0.5% (TTFC) fixed combination from previous monotherapies.

Importance of circulating platelet aggregates and haemodynamic changes in ophthalmic artery and progression of visual field loss at pseudoexfoliation glaucoma.

The aim of this work is to examine the role of circulating platelet aggregates (CPA) at pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (PXG), haemodynamic changes in the ophthalmic artery by ultrasonic color Doppler, searching for visual field progression. Vascular component at PXG and its role in VF progression dynamics has not been sufficiently explained, as well as CPA influence to ischaemic events related to optic nerve damage and VF progression. The examination included 80 patients, where of 35 (44%) men average age 68.