Publications by authors named "Dona F"

Article Synopsis
  • Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) with velmanase alfa demonstrated effectiveness and safety for up to 12 years in patients with alpha-mannosidosis based on a pooled analysis from two multicenter trials.
  • In pediatric patients, improvements in six-minute walk test (6MWT) and stair climb test (3MSCT) were observed, while adult patients showed stabilization or slight decline in performance.
  • The treatment resulted in sustained clearance of serum oligosaccharides and increased serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels, with most adverse events being mild to moderate in severity, indicating that velmanase alfa is generally well-tolerated.
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  • Research found that exposure to glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides in female rats during pregnancy and lactation led to preimplantation losses and may affect gene transcription through epigenetic changes.* -
  • The study involved treating mother rats with glyphosate or a glyphosate herbicide, then analyzing the offspring's uterine tissues for changes in gene expression, DNA methylation, and histone modifications.* -
  • Results indicated that both glyphosate and its herbicide counterpart resulted in decreased gene expression, increased DNA methylation, and distinct histone modifications, suggesting their potential role in implantation failure.*
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Glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) or its active ingredient, glyphosate (Gly), induce implantation failure in rats. We aimed to elucidate a mechanism of action of these compounds assessing the transcriptional and epigenetic status of the receptivity marker, leukemia inhibitory factor (Lif) gene. F0 rats were orally exposed to GBH or Gly at 3.

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  • Gliosarcoma is a rare brain tumor in cats that has not been previously associated with changes in the hippocampus, but a case was reported involving a cat with complex partial seizures and orofacial symptoms.
  • A 16-year-old cat showed symptoms like disorientation and ataxia, and MRI revealed a tumor in the right piriform lobe along with abnormalities in the hippocampus.
  • Due to insufficient biomaterial, additional testing for associated conditions was not conducted, but the presence of gliosarcoma suggests that similar cases warrant MRI and antibody testing for proper diagnosis.
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Exposure to glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) and consumption of cafeteria (CAF) diet, which are widespread in Western society, seem to be associated with endometrial hyperplasia (EH). Here, we aimed to evaluate the effects of a subchronic low dose of GBH added to the CAF diet on the rat uterus. Female Wistar rats were fed from postnatal day (PND)21 until PND240 with chow (control) or CAF diet.

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Conjugated polymers are organic semiconductors that can be used for fluorescence microscopy of living specimens. Here, we report the encapsulation of the bright-red-emitting conjugated polymer, poly[{9,9-dihexyl-2,7-bis(1-cyanovinylene)fluorenylene}-alt-co-{2,5-bis(,'-diphenylamino)-1,4-phenylene}] (CN-FO-DPD), and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) within poly(styrene--maleic anhydride) (PSMA) micelles. The resulting particles exhibited an emission peak at 657 nm, a fluorescence quantum yield of 21%, an average diameter of 65 nm, and a ζ potential of -30 mV.

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Impairment of postural control and functional mobility are debilitating symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). In addition to limiting performance in activities of daily living, it is associated with a higher prevalence of falls in this population. Particularly, dysfunction in postural control does not respond to dopaminergic replacement therapy, but physiotherapy can improve this outcome in patients with PD.

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Lipids are key constituents of all cells, which express thousands of different lipid species. In most cases, it is not known why cells synthesize such diverse lipidomes, nor what regulates their metabolism. Although it is known that dividing cells specifically regulate their lipid content and that the correct lipid complement is required for successful division, it is unclear how lipids connect with the cell division machinery.

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Background: Alpha-mannosidosis is a rare autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder (LSD) caused by reduced activity of alpha-mannosidase. Clinical manifestations include skeletal dysmorphism, mental impairment, hearing loss and recurrent infections. The severe type of the disease leads to early childhood death, while patients with milder forms can live into adulthood.

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In multicellular organisms, epithelial cells are key elements of tissue organization. In developing tissues, cellular proliferation and differentiation are under the tight regulation of morphogenetic programs, that ensure the correct organ formation and functioning. In these processes, mitotic rates and division orientation are crucial in regulating the velocity and the timing of the forming tissue.

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Background: The long noncoding RNA LIPCAR (Long Intergenic noncoding RNA Predicting CARdiac remodeling) has emerged as a promising biomarker in cardiac disease and cardiac remodeling. To determine whether LIPCAR levels help for a molecular phenotyping of chronic heart failure (HF) patients, this study assessed the association of LIPCAR with severity of the disease and its progression, and with risk of death or hospitalization in HF patients.

Methods: LIPCAR was measured in plasma of 967 HF patients with symptomatic heart failure participating in the Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Sopravvivenza nell'Insufficienza Cardiaca - Heart Failure (GISSI-HF) biohumoral sub-study.

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Objective: Sensory information is crucial when performing daily activities, and Parkinson's disease may diminish sensitivity to sensory cues. This study aimed to examine the detection threshold of passive motion of knee and ankle joints in individuals with Parkinson's disease.

Methods: Eighteen individuals in the early stages of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (age: 62.

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Question: What are the effects of immersive virtual reality (IVR) training compared to conventional physiotherapy on body balance and risk of falls in older adults with balance disorders?

Design: A randomized controlled trial with two intervention arms, concealed allocation, per-protocol analysis, and blinded assessment.

Participants: Thirty-seven older adults with balance disorders and risk of falling.

Intervention: Participants were randomized into two groups: a control group, which received balance training with conventional physiotherapy using multimodal circuit exercises, and an experimental group, which received balance training using immersive virtual reality.

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A 2-year-old Bull Mastiff cross Boxer neutered male dog was evaluated because of 2-month history of non-progressive right head tilt and mild vestibular ataxia. MRI of the brain revealed a faint T2W, FLAIR, DWI and ADC heterogenous hyperintense and T1W isointense intra-axial lesion with indistinct margins at the level of the pons and medulla oblongata. The lesion did not show any susceptibility artefact on T2* GRE images or contrast enhancement and CSF analysis was normal.

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(1) Background: Even though rotator cuff tears are the most frequent tendon injuries in adults, the effectiveness of conservatively treated partial-thickness tears still remains a matter of debate. The purpose of this review is to compare corticosteroid injections to other drugs in the treatment of partial rotator cuff tears, focusing on the effectiveness of this therapeutic modality in terms of pain and shoulder functionality. (2) Methods: A systematic electronic search was performed using the PubMed (MEDLINE), EMBASE and Cochrane Library databases.

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This study examined the influence of visual information of different complexities and predictability on the body sway of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) during upright stance. Twenty-one individuals at initial stages of PD (62.1 ± 7.

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Several models of environmental enrichment and physical exercise have been used to explore the experience effects on brain functions and plasticity, mainly in adult animals. In order to examine the early influence of these stimuli on developing brain, the present study used calcium-binding protein parvalbumin as neuroplastic marker in the hippocampal formation of male Wistar rats subjected to environmental enrichment or physical exercise from postnatal days 21 to 60 (P21-P60). In our study, no significant difference in hippocampal expression and distribution of parvalbumin was found between enriched and control rats.

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Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) leads to several changes in motor control, many of them related to informational or cognitive overload. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of knowledge and intention on the postural control performance and on the coupling between visual information and body sway in people with and without PD standing upright.

Methods: Participants were 21 people with PD (62.

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New materials that exhibit tuneable optical properties, notable emission across the visible spectrum, are of immense interest to biologists as they present a broad palette of colours from a single imaging agent that can be utilised in biological detection. Such a flexible system, when combined with the advantages of using conjugated polymer nanoparticles in cell imaging results in a widely useful medical diagnostic system. Here, we describe tuneable emission observed through oxidation of a conjugated polymer followed by the formation of nanoparticles and their subsequent use in cell imaging.

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Introduction: Postural instability is one the most common disabling features in vestibular disorders.

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the limit of stability and the influence of manipulation of visual, somatosensorial and visual-vestibular information on postural control in older adults with vestibular disorder, with and without a history of falls.

Methods: Cross-sectional study.

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In patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), the ability to perform simultaneous tasks may be impaired. However, there is no consensus as to whether the strategy of use dual task (DT) should be used with PD patients during gait and balance training because DT can increase the risk of falls. Therefore, it is necessary to critically analyze the relevant studies and evaluate the indications for the use of DT and its effects as a therapeutic strategy.

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Patellar luxation is a common orthopedic problem in dogs. Medial luxation is more common than lateral luxation and is usually diagnosed in dogs of small breed. Diagnosis is based on clinical evidence of patellar instability; however, diagnostic imaging is required to assess the amount of skeletal deformity and then the most appropriate method of treatment.

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During cytokinesis, a cleavage furrow generated by actomyosin ring contraction is restructured into the midbody, a platform for the assembly of the abscission machinery that controls the final separation of daughter cells. The polymerization state of F-actin is important during assembly, ingression, disassembly, and closure of the contractile ring and for the cytoskeletal remodeling that accompanies midbody formation and progression to abscission. Actin filaments must be cleared from the abscission sites before the final cut can take place.

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Background: There is an association among postural instability, gait dysfunction, and cognitive impairment in subjects with Parkinson's disease (PD). Difficulty in dividing attention, response inhibition, and visuospatial attention deficiencies may contribute to the impairment of motor performance during daily activities. There are strong evidences that physical therapy can prevent physical and cognitive decline in individuals with PD.

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