Publications by authors named "Freije A"

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a non-invasive therapeutic modality that uses precise acoustic energy to ablate cancerous tissues through coagulative necrosis. In this context, we investigate the efficacy of HIFU ablation in two distinct cellular configurations, namely 2D monolayers and 3D spheroids of epithelial breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB 231 and MCF7). The primary objective is to compare the response of these two in vitro models to HIFU while measuring their ablation percentages and temperature elevation levels.

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: HIV infection is a global public health problem that can lead to the progression of AIDS. Nutritional status and biochemical markers can significantly contribute to the progression of AIDS in HIV/AIDS patients. The main objective of this study is to examine the association between nutritional and biochemical markers as well as BMI in HIV/AIDS patients in the kingdom of Bahrain.

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This study aimed to analyze the fatty acid content in human milk and to find its relationship with the growth velocity of preterm infants. Mature milk samples from 15 mothers of preterm infants were collected from three different hospitals, followed by lipid extraction, fatty acid methylation, and finally gas chromatography analysis to determine the fatty acids composition. The average total lipid content was 3.

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Background: Vitamin D deficiency has reached pandemic levels in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, even though sunshine is abundant all year round for the cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D through the skin. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and risk factors associated with serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) in children and adolescents aged from 10 to 19 years, as well as the possible associations of vitamin D with calcium, magnesium and phosphate levels.

Methods: A multi-center, cross-sectional study was conducted between May and August 2019 at the Ministry of Health in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

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Article Synopsis
  • Epithelial transdifferentiation, like squamous metaplasia (SQM), often occurs in tissue hyperplasia and can lead to diseases, with SQM being a precursor to aggressive lung cancer but less common in mammary glands.
  • Research conducted on human lung and mammary cells reveals that exposure to genotoxic drugs, such as Doxorubicin and carcinogens like DMBA, can trigger SQM and polyploidization, suggesting a link between DNA damage and this cellular change.
  • Enhancing DNA repair or inhibiting specific mitotic checkpoints reduces the extent of SQM, highlighting potential targets for treatments aimed at lung squamous cell carcinoma and explaining the frequency of SCC in the
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Background: The drinking of bottled water has remarkably increased at a global scale even in the regions possessing other adequate water sources. This study elaborates on the factors influencing the consumption of tap, filtered, and bottled water in the Kingdom of Bahrain and on the environmental consequences of bottled water consumption.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on 483 participants in the Kingdom of Bahrain between April and May 2019.

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Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effect of bariatric surgery on degree of weight loss, as well as the prevalence of nutritional deficiencies, postoperative complications and adherence to dietary and lifestyle recommendations in a cohort of patients from Bahrain.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study took place between March and September 2018 at two hospitals in Bahrain. All adult patients who had undergone bariatric surgery between 2012-2017 were included.

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The control of cell fate is critical to homeostasis and cancer. Cell cycle cdk inhibitor p21CIP1 has a central and paradoxical role in the regulatory crossroads leading to senescence, apoptosis, or differentiation. p21 is an essential target of tumor suppressor p53, but it also is regulated independently.

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How rapid cell multiplication leads to cell differentiation in developing tissues is still enigmatic. This question is central to morphogenesis, cell number control, and homeostasis. Self-renewal epidermoid epithelia are continuously exposed to mutagens and are the most common target of cancer.

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Sarcopenia is defined as a syndrome characterized by progressive and generalized loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength and it is diagnosed by measurements of muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical performance. Sarcopenia affects quality of life and is associated with several adverse health effects. Muscle decline is aggravated by a sedentary lifestyle and can be prevented through proper nutrition, together with adequate physical activity.

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Background: Foliar fungicide applications to corn (Zea mays L.) occur at one or more application timings ranging from early vegetative growth stages to mid-reproductive stages. Previous studies indicated that fungicide applications are profitable under high disease pressure when applied during the tasseling to silking growth stages.

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Article Synopsis
  • Keratinocytes are challenging to genetically modify, and viral vectors are effective alternatives for this purpose.
  • A traditional method involves using retroviral vectors and co-culturing keratinocytes with virus-producing cells, which is efficient in high-calcium environments but can be labor-intensive.
  • This chapter offers enhanced protocols for stable genetic modification of human primary keratinocytes using lentiviral vectors, suitable for both low- and high-calcium conditions.
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The epidermis is continuously exposed to environmental hazard and undergoes continuous cell renewal. The maintenance of the epidermal balance between proliferation and differentiation is essential for the homeostasis of the skin. Proliferation and terminal differentiation are compartmentalized in basal and suprabasal layers, respectively.

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The epidermis is a self-renewal epithelium continuously exposed to the genotoxic effects of ultraviolet (UV) light, the main cause of skin cancer. Therefore, it needs robust self-protective mechanisms facing genomic damage. p53 has been shown to mediate apoptosis in sunburn cells of the epidermis.

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  • Squamous epithelia in the head and neck experience constant cell turnover and exposure to cancer-causing agents, yet it's unclear how they maintain balance when the cell cycle is disrupted.
  • Researchers investigated human keratinocytes from various sites in the head and neck using drugs that induce DNA damage and affect cell division, as well as inhibitors targeting specific kinases.
  • The treatments led to DNA damage and issues with cell division, causing the cells to undergo differentiation and polyploidization, ultimately resulting in a loss of their ability to grow indefinitely, suggesting a protective mechanism against cancer.
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  • Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a common and aggressive skin cancer that generally maintains its squamous differentiation, which is unique compared to other types of cancers.
  • Research shows that normal skin cells under stress can either stop dividing permanently or become polyploid—gaining extra chromosomes; however, SCC cells only partially respond to this stress, allowing them to continue dividing despite damage.
  • The study indicates that while non-metastatic SCCs exhibit more chromosomal instability and express higher levels of specific markers like Cyclin E and γH2AX, metastatic SCCs lose these signals, suggesting that cell cycle stress may have a complex role in either hindering or promoting cancer malignancy.
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Tumour suppressor p53 or proto-oncogene MYC is frequently altered in squamous carcinomas, but this is insufficient to drive carcinogenesis. We have shown that overactivation of MYC or loss of p53 via DNA damage triggers an anti-oncogenic differentiation-mitosis checkpoint in human epidermal keratinocytes, resulting in impaired cell division and squamous differentiation. Forkhead box M1 (FOXM1) is a transcription factor recently proposed to govern the expression of a set of mitotic genes.

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The role of p53, the original "guardian of the genome", in skin has remained elusive. We have explored p53 function in human epidermal cells and demonstrated the importance of a mitosis-differentiation checkpoint to suppress potentially precancerous cells. This model places epidermal endoreplication as an antioncogenic mechanism in the face of irreparable genetic alterations.

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Tumor suppressor p53 is a major cellular guardian of genome integrity, and its inactivation is the most frequent genetic alteration in cancer, rising up to 80% in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). By adapting the small hairpin RNA (shRNA) technology, we inactivated endogenous p53 in primary epithelial cells from the epidermis of human skin. We show that either loss of endogenous p53 or overexpression of a temperature-sensitive dominant-negative conformation triggers a self-protective differentiation response, resulting in cell stratification and expulsion.

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There is likely general consensus within the skin research community that cell cycle control is critical to epidermal homeostasis and disease. The current predominant model proposes that keratinocytes switch off DNA replication and undergo cell cycle and cell growth arrest as they initiate terminal differentiation. However, this model cannot explain key physiological features of the skin, mainly why squamous differentiation prevails over proliferation in benign hyperproliferative disorders.

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Human epidermis is continuously exposed to environmental mutagenic hazard and is the most frequent target of human cancer. How the epidermis coordinates proliferation with differentiation to maintain homeostasis, even in hyperproliferative conditions, is unclear. For instance, overactivation of the proto-oncogene MYC in keratinocytes stimulates differentiation.

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How human self-renewal tissues co-ordinate proliferation with differentiation is unclear. Human epidermis undergoes continuous cell growth and differentiation and is permanently exposed to mutagenic hazard. Keratinocytes are thought to arrest cell growth and cell cycle prior to terminal differentiation.

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We compared the fatty acid compositions including the n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids families in the red blood cell membranes of 26 healthy normal subjects to those with coronary heart disease. The main finding was a significant decrease in the level of docosahexanoic acid (DHA, 22:6 n-3) in coronary heart disease patients. In addition, an increase in n-6/n-3 ratio, and a decrease in the ratio of 22:6/18:3 (n-3) and in omega-3 index was also observed in coronary heart disease patients.

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