Breast cancer remains one of the leading causes of death among women worldwide, and recent research highlights its growing connection to alterations in the microbiota. This review delves into the intricate relationship between microbiotas and breast cancer, exploring its presence in healthy breast tissue, its changes during cancer progression, and its considerable impact on both the tumor microenvironment (TME) and the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). We extensively analyze how the microbiota influences cancer growth, invasion, metastasis, resistance to drugs, and the evasion of the immune system, with a special focus on its effects on the TIME.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper presents a comprehensive study of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si)-based detectors, utilizing electrical characterization, Raman spectroscopy, photoemission, and inverse photoemission techniques. The unique properties of a-Si have sparked interest in its application for radiation detection in both physics and medicine. Although amorphous silicon (a-Si) is inherently a highly defective material, hydrogenation significantly reduces defect density, enabling its use in radiation detector devices.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOphthalmol Ther
October 2024
Introduction: To evaluate the long-term effects of intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy on patients with dry eye disease (DED) associated with meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD).
Methods: A retrospective case series was performed with 110 participants undergoing IPL therapy. Assessments included the eye fitness test (EFT) to gauge subjective symptoms, along with objective measures using the Tearcheck device (ESW Vision, Houdan, France) noninvasive first breakup time (NIFBUT), noninvasive average breakup time (NIABUT), central tear meniscus height (CTMH), thinnest tear meniscus height (TTMH), and ocular surface inflammatory risk evaluation (OSIE) assessed using the SCHWIND SIRIUS device (SCHWIND eye-tech-solutions GmbH, Kleinostheim, Germany).
Detectors that can provide accurate dosimetry for microbeam radiation therapy (MRT) must possess intrinsic radiation hardness, a high dynamic range, and a micron-scale spatial resolution. In this work we characterize hydrogenated amorphous silicon detectors for MRT dosimetry, presenting a novel combination of flexible, ultra-thin and radiation-hard features.Two detectors are explored: an n-type/intrinsic/p-type planar diode (NIP) and an NIP with an additional charge selective layer (NIP + CSC).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrecision measurements by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) on the International Space Station of the deuteron (D) flux are presented. The measurements are based on 21×10^{6} D nuclei in the rigidity range from 1.9 to 21 GV collected from May 2011 to April 2021.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroglial cells play a pivotal role in the brain's health and operation through all stages of life and in the face of illness. The contributions of microglia during the developmental phase of the brain markedly contrast with their contributions in the brain of adults after injury. Enhancing our understanding of the pathological mechanisms that involve microglial activity in brains as they age and in cerebrovascular conditions is crucial for informing the creation of novel therapeutic approaches.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The increasing use of complex and high dose-rate treatments in radiation therapy necessitates advanced detectors to provide accurate dosimetry. Rather than relying on pre-treatment quality assurance (QA) measurements alone, many countries are now mandating the use of in vivo dosimetry, whereby a dosimeter is placed on the surface of the patient during treatment. Ideally, in vivo detectors should be flexible to conform to a patient's irregular surfaces.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aims to investigate the association between anemia and early recurrence in endometrial cancer patients. We retrospectively analyzed the data of 473 endometrial cancer patients treated at our hospital from January 2015 to December 2020. Patients were divided into two groups based on their hemoglobin (Hb) level: anemia group (Hb < 12 g/dL) and non-anemia group (Hb ≥12 g/dL).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Risk of postoperative transient or permanent hypoparathyroidism represents one of the most common complications following total thyroidectomy. This risk increases if a cervical lymphadenectomy procedure must also be performed, as is usually the case in thyroid carcinoma patients. Parathyroid autofluorescence (AF) is a non-invasive method that aids intraoperative identification of parathyroid glands.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: With the growing incidence of breast cancer, efficient and correct staging is essential for further treatment decisions. Axillary ultrasound (US) remains the most common method for regional nodal involvement assessment. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether high-risk US features can accurately predict axillary lymph node metastasis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe present the precision measurements of 11 years of daily cosmic positron fluxes in the rigidity range from 1.00 to 41.9 GV based on 3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many aspects of society, including medical education. In response to the pandemic, Romanian medical schools and universities have turned to online learning as a means of continuing instruction while maintaining social distancing protocols. While online learning in medical education was utilized prior to the pandemic, its widespread adoption has brought both challenges and opportunities to the field.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF. Microbeam radiation therapy (MRT) is an alternative emerging radiotherapy treatment modality which has demonstrated effective radioresistant tumour control while sparing surrounding healthy tissue in preclinical trials. This apparent selectivity is achieved through MRT combining ultra-high dose rates with micron-scale spatial fractionation of the delivered x-ray treatment field.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this paper, by means of high-resolution photoemission, soft X-ray absorption and atomic force microscopy, we investigate, for the first time, the mechanisms of damaging, induced by neutron source, and recovering (after annealing) of p-i-n detector devices based on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H). This investigation will be performed by mean of high-resolution photoemission, soft X-Ray absorption and atomic force microscopy. Due to dangling bonds, the amorphous silicon is a highly defective material.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Small photon beams used in radiotherapy techniques have inherent characteristics of charge particle disequilibrium and high-dose gradient making accurate dosimetry for such fields very challenging. By means of a 3D manufacturing technique, it is possible to create arrays of pixels with a very small sensitive volume for radiotherapy dosimetry. We investigate the impact of 3D pixels size on absorbed dose sensitivity, linearity of response with dose rate, reproducibility and beam profile measurements.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Chronic post-thoracotomy pain (PTPS) is a frequent complication of thoracic operations. Sometimes the pain is excruciating enough to impair activities of daily living (ADL). All thoracic procedures have the potential to cause trauma to the intercostal nerves due to retractor use, chest closure techniques, and or wound healing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: Chronic post-thoracotomy pain syndrome (PTPS) is a very common and uncomfortable complication, occurring frequently after thoracic operations, leading to the necessity of further medication and hospitalizations. One important risk factor in developing chronic pain is the chest closure technique, which can lead to chronic intercostal nerve damage. This study proposes an alternative nerve-sparring closure technique to standard peri-costal sutures, aimed toward minimizing the risk of chronic pain in selected patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe measurement of the energy spectrum of cosmic ray helium nuclei from 70 GeV to 80 TeV using 4.5 years of data recorded by the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) is reported in this work. A hardening of the spectrum is observed at an energy of about 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
April 2021
Considering the constant increase in breast cancer patients, identifying factors that influence the moment of diagnosis is essential for optimizing therapeutic management and associated cost. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the impact of the economic crisis on the moment of a breast cancer diagnosis. This retrospective observational study analyzed a cohort of 4929 patients diagnosed with breast cancer over the course of 19 years in the Western region of Romania.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe precise measurement of the spectrum of protons, the most abundant component of the cosmic radiation, is necessary to understand the source and acceleration of cosmic rays in the Milky Way. This work reports the measurement of the cosmic ray proton fluxes with kinetic energies from 40 GeV to 100 TeV, with 2 / years of data recorded by the DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE). This is the first time that an experiment directly measures the cosmic ray protons up to ~100 TeV with high statistics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObesity is an age-independent, lifestyle-triggered, pandemic disease associated with both endothelial and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) dysfunction leading to cardiometabolic complications mediated via increased oxidative stress and persistent chronic inflammation. The purpose of the present study was to assess the oxidative stress in VAT and vascular samples and the effect of in vitro administration of vitamin D. VAT and mesenteric artery branches were harvested during abdominal surgery performed on patients referred for general surgery ( = 30) that were randomized into two subgroups: nonobese and obese.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMonoamine oxidases (MAO) with 2 isoforms, A and B, located at the outer mitochondrial membrane are flavoenzyme membranes with a major role in the metabolism of monoaminergic neurotransmitters and biogenic amines in the central nervous system and peripheral tissues, respectively. In the process of oxidative deamination, aldehydes, hydrogen peroxide, and ammonia are constantly generated as potential deleterious by-products. While being systematically studied for decades as sources of reactive oxygen species in brain diseases, compelling evidence nowadays supports the role of MAO-related oxidative stress in cardiovascular and metabolic pathologies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCan J Physiol Pharmacol
September 2019
Medicine (Baltimore)
September 2018
With the increasing incidence of gynecologic malignancy, radical hysterectomy represents an important part of the adequate treatment of these patients. The pelvic lymphocele is a known side effect of pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy. The aim of our study was to assess the role of the lymphocele in the development of early postoperative complications.
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