Telomere length and polymorphisms as biomarkers in asbestos-related diseases.

Background: Asbestos exposure has been proposed as a risk factor for shorter telomere length. The aim of our study was to investigate whether telomere length in leukocytes and genetic polymorphisms may serve as potential biomarkers for the risk of developing asbestos-related diseases and as biomarkers of progression and chemotherapy response rate in malignant mesothelioma (MM).

Subjects And Methods: We conducted two retrospective studies.

Serum Calretinin and Genetic Variability as a Prognostic and Predictive Factor in Malignant Mesothelioma.

Calretinin is a promising diagnostic biomarker for malignant mesothelioma (MM), but less is known about its prognostic role. Our aim was to evaluate the association between serum calretinin concentration or genetic factors and the survival or outcome of cisplatin-based chemotherapy in MM. Our study included 265 MM patients.

The association of genetic factors with serum calretinin levels in asbestos-related diseases.

Background: Asbestos exposure is associated with different asbestos-related diseases, including malignant mesothelioma (MM). MM diagnosis is confirmed with immunohistochemical analysis of several markers, including calretinin. Increased circulating calretinin was also observed in MM.

Pathologic Findings in Severe Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis in Contemporary US Coal Miners.

Context.—: The pathology of coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) and its most severe form-progressive massive fibrosis (PMF)-in US coal miners has changed in recent years. Severe disease is occurring in younger miners and has been linked to an increase in silica dust exposure.

Historical shift in pathological type of progressive massive fibrosis among coal miners in the USA.

Background: Pneumoconiosis among coal miners in the USA has been resurgent over the past two decades, despite modern dust controls and regulatory standards. Previously published studies have suggested that respirable crystalline silica (RCS) is a contributor to this disease resurgence. However, evidence has been primarily indirect, in the form of radiographic features.

Strength of Sense of Coherence among Nurses and the Relationship between Socio-Demographic and Work-Related Factors.

Sense of coherence (SOC) occupies the central place within the salutogenic model. It is an important contributor to the development and maintenance of people's health. This study aimed to assess the strength of sense of coherence (SOC) among nurses and the relationship between the strength of SOC and socio-demographic and work-related factors.

Inceptor correlates with markers of prostate cancer progression and modulates insulin/IGF1 signaling and cancer cell migration.

Objective: The insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) pathway is emerging as a crucial component of prostate cancer progression. Therefore, we investigated the role of the novel insulin/IGF1 signaling modulator inceptor in prostate cancer.

Methods: We analyzed the expression of inceptor in human samples of benign prostate epithelium and prostate cancer.

Mining Tenure and Job Duties Differ Among Contemporary and Historic Underground Coal Miners With Progressive Massive Fibrosis.

Objective: To characterize differences in mining jobs and tenure between contemporary (born 1930+, working primarily with modern mining technologies) and historic coal miners with progressive massive fibrosis (PMF).

Methods: We classified jobs as designated occupations (DOs) and non-DOs based on regulatory sampling requirements. Demographic, occupational characteristics, and histopathological PMF type were compared between groups.

Distant metastasis from morphologically low-grade spiradenocarcinoma: A report of two cases.

Malignant tumors arising from benign eccrine spiradenomas are rare. They are divided by morphology into low-grade and high-grade spiradenocarcinomas, with prognosis and metastatic potential closely linked to their histopathologic features. Tumors with low-grade morphology are known for their indolent behavior, with only two reported instances of metastatic spread.

Applied Machine Learning for IIoT and Smart Production-Methods to Improve Production Quality, Safety and Sustainability.

Industrial IoT (IIoT) has revolutionized production by making data available to stakeholders at many levels much faster, with much greater granularity than ever before. When it comes to smart production, the aim of analyzing the collected data is usually to achieve greater efficiency in general, which includes increasing production but decreasing waste and using less energy. Furthermore, the boost in communication provided by IIoT requires special attention to increased levels of safety and security.

Diabetes and the Prostate: Elevated Fasting Glucose, Insulin Resistance and Higher Levels of Adrenal Steroids in Prostate Cancer.

Although epidemiological studies suggest a lower prostate cancer incidence rate in patients with type 2 diabetes, cancer survival is markedly reduced. Underlying mechanisms that connect the two diseases are still unclear. Potential links between type 2 diabetes and prostate cancer are hallmarks of the metabolic syndrome, such as hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia.

Impact of Sense of Coherence on Work Ability: A Cross-sectional Study Among Croatian Nurses.

Introduction: Aimed at preparing the basis for planning evidence-based public health measures for preservation/ improvement of nurses' work ability (WA), the objective was to assess the relationship between WA and sense of coherence (SOC).

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2018 among 713 nurses in Croatia. The association between poor WA index (PWAI) and SOC score (SOCS), adjusted for possible confounders, was determined by binary logistic regression analysis.

Pathology and Mineralogy Demonstrate Respirable Crystalline Silica Is a Major Cause of Severe Pneumoconiosis in U.S. Coal Miners.

The reasons for resurgent coal workers' pneumoconiosis and its most severe forms, rapidly progressive pneumoconiosis and progressive massive fibrosis (PMF), in the United States are not yet fully understood. To compare the pathologic and mineralogic features of contemporary coal miners with severe pneumoconiosis with those of their historical counterparts. Lung pathology specimens from 85 coal miners with PMF were included for evaluation and analysis.

Bezafibrate Reduces Elevated Hepatic Fumarate in Insulin-Deficient Mice.

Glucotoxic metabolites and pathways play a crucial role in diabetic complications, and new treatment options which improve glucotoxicity are highly warranted. In this study, we analyzed bezafibrate (BEZ) treated, streptozotocin (STZ) injected mice, which showed an improved glucose metabolism compared to untreated STZ animals. In order to identify key molecules and pathways which participate in the beneficial effects of BEZ, we studied plasma, skeletal muscle, white adipose tissue (WAT) and liver samples using non-targeted metabolomics (NMR spectroscopy), targeted metabolomics (mass spectrometry), microarrays and mitochondrial enzyme activity measurements, with a particular focus on the liver.

Prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infection following rituximab treatment: clinical course and response to therapeutic interventions correlated with quantitative viral cultures and cycle threshold values.

Background: Detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA is completed through reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR) from either oropharyngeal or nasopharyngeal swabs, critically important for diagnostics but also from an infection control lens. Recent studies have suggested that COVID-19 patients can demonstrate prolonged viral shedding with immunosuppression as a key risk factor.

Case Presentation: We present a case of an immunocompromised patient with SARS-CoV-2 infection demonstrating prolonged infectious viral shedding for 189 days with virus cultivability and clinical relapse with an identical strain based on whole genome sequencing, requiring a multi-modal therapeutic approach.

Serum Calretinin as a Biomarker in Malignant Mesothelioma.

The early diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma (MM) could improve the prognosis of MM patients. To confirm an MM diagnosis, an immunohistochemical analysis of several tumor tissue markers, including calretinin, is currently required. Our aim is to evaluate serum calretinin as a potential biomarker in asbestos-related diseases, especially in MM.

The role of polymorphisms in glutathione-related genes in asbestos-related diseases.

Background: The study investigated the influence of and polymorphisms, as well as the influence of interactions between polymorphism and interactions between polymorphisms and asbestos exposure, on the risk of developing pleural plaques, asbestosis and malignant mesothelioma (MM).

Subjects And Methods: The cross sectional study included 940 asbestos-exposed subjects, among them 390 subjects with pleural plaques, 147 subjects with asbestosis, 225 subjects with MM and 178 subjects with no asbestos-related disease. rs17883901, rs41303970, null, null, rs1695 and rs1138272 genotypes were determined using PCR based methods.

Increased Expressions of Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMPs) in Prostate Cancer Tissues of Men with Type 2 Diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with worse prognosis of prostate cancer (PCa). The molecular mechanisms behind this association are still not fully understood. The aim of this study was to identify key factors, which contribute to the more aggressive PCa phenotype in patients with concurrent T2D.

The influence of genetic variability in IL1B and MIR146A on the risk of pleural plaques and malignant mesothelioma.

Background Asbestos exposure is associated with the development of pleural plaques as well as malignant mesothelioma (MM). Asbestos fibres activate macrophages, leading to the release of inflammatory mediators including interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β). The expression of IL-1β may be influenced by genetic variability of IL1B gene or regulatory microRNAs (miRNAs).

Characterization of Hormone-Dependent Pathways in Six Human Prostate-Cancer Cell Lines: A Gene-Expression Study.

Prostate cancer (PCa), the most incident cancer in men, is tightly regulated by endocrine signals. A number of different PCa cell lines are commonly used for in vitro experiments, but these are of diverse origin, and have very different cell-proliferation rates and hormone-response capacities. By analyzing the gene-expression pattern of main hormone pathways, we systematically compared six PCa cell lines and parental primary cells.

Validation of the Croatian Version of the Sense of Coherence 29-Item Scale in Croatian Nurses.

Introduction: The aim of the study was to validate the Croatian version of the Sense of Coherence 29-item instrument (SOC-29) within a nursing population.

Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2017 and June 2018 at the University Hospital Centre Sisters of Mercy (UHCSM) in Zagreb, Croatia. A total of 711 nurses participated in this study.

Validation of the Croatian Version of Work Ability Index (WAI) in Population of Nurses on Transformed Item-Specific Scores.

Aim: To assess the psychometric properties of the Croatian version of a Work Ability Index Questionnaire (WAIQ-CRO) in the population of nurses by using a specific methodological approach.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a sample of 711 Croatian nurses in 2018 in Zagreb, Croatia. The instrument's internal consistency was assessed by using Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α).