VCAM-1 targeted nanocarriers of shRNA-Smad3 mitigate endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition triggered by high glucose concentrations and osteogenic factors in valvular endothelial cells.

Endothelial to mesenchymal transition (EndMT) of valvular endothelial cells (VEC) is a key process in the development and progression of calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD). High expression of the Smad3 transcription factor is crucial in the transition process. We hypothesize that silencing Smad3 could hinder EndMT and provide a novel treatment for CAVD.

Land degradation: Addressing the vulnerability of local people through the lens of transformative change.

Land degradation (LD) is driven by many factors resulting from the intricate interplay between natural and socio-economic systems, which adds dynamism and complexity to this phenomenon. The study highlights LD as a source of social vulnerability in the Baragan Plain (Romania), often called the "granary of Europe" due to its century-long history of industrial crop production. We explore the community's perceptions of vulnerability due to LD and the community-based solutions to sustainable transformations through governance using a community-based causal-effect analysis (CBCEA).

Low-Protein Diets Could Be Effective and Safe in Elderly Patients with Advanced Diabetic Kidney Disease.

Low-protein diets (LPDs) seem to improve metabolic complications of advanced CKD, thus postponing kidney replacement therapy (KRT) initiation. However, the nutritional safety of LPDs remains debatable in patients with diabetic kidney disease (DKD), especially in the elderly. This is a sub-analysis of a prospective unicentric interventional study which assessed the effects of LPD in patients with advanced DKD, focusing on the feasibility and safety of LPD in elderly patients.

Low Protein Diet Reduces Proteinuria and Decline in Glomerular Filtration Rate in Advanced, Heavy Proteinuric Diabetic Kidney Disease.

Low protein diet (LPD) seems beneficial in ameliorating the complications of chronic kidney disease (CKD), in reducing proteinuria and the decline in kidney function, thus postponing the need for kidney replacement therapy (KRT). However, this type of intervention was less investigated in diabetic kidney disease (DKD). This is a single-center, prospective, interventional study that aims to assess the efficacy of reducing proteinuria and the rate of decline in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).

A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Management of Eales Disease: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Eales disease manifests as an obliterative periphlebitis affecting the retina; it originates from the periphery and progresses posteriorly. It is characterized by retinal vessel wall inflammation, ischemia, and retinal neovascularization. In this report, we present the case of a 34-year-old male who attended our clinic with a sudden blurring of vision in his right eye.

Correlations between Retinal Microvascular Parameters and Clinical Parameters in Young Patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: An Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Study.

Objectives: In the current study, we investigated the correlations between retinal microvascular parameters using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and clinical parameters for a group of 69 young patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).

Materials And Methods: This retrospective, exploratory study enrolled 69 patients between 5 years old and 30 years old who met the inclusion criteria. All the study participants underwent a comprehensive ophthalmic examination and OCTA scans for the evaluation of the retinal microcirculation.

Retinal Functional Impairment in Diabetic Retinopathy.

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a neurodegenerative disease of the retina. The aim of our study was to analyze latency changes in a full-field electroretinogram (ERG) in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Material: This prospective study included 15 diabetic patients without DR, 16 diabetic patients with non-proliferative DR, 14 patients with pre-proliferative DR, 15 patients with proliferative DR, and 14 age-matched controls.

Cognitive disorders in patients with chronic kidney disease: Approaches to prevention and treatment.

Background: Cognitive impairment is common in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and early intervention may prevent the progression of this condition.

Methods: Here, we review interventions for the complications of CKD (anemia, secondary hyperparathyroidism, metabolic acidosis, harmful effects of dialysis, the accumulation of uremic toxins) and for prevention of vascular events, interventions that may potentially be protective against cognitive impairment. Furthermore, we discuss nonpharmacological and pharmacological methods to prevent cognitive impairment and/or minimize the latter's impact on CKD patients' daily lives.

Actin nucleators safeguard replication forks by limiting nascent strand degradation.

Accurate genome replication is essential for all life and a key mechanism of disease prevention, underpinned by the ability of cells to respond to replicative stress (RS) and protect replication forks. These responses rely on the formation of Replication Protein A (RPA)-single stranded (ss) DNA complexes, yet this process remains largely uncharacterized. Here, we establish that actin nucleation-promoting factors (NPFs) associate with replication forks, promote efficient DNA replication and facilitate association of RPA with ssDNA at sites of RS.

Early Retinal Microvascular Alterations in Young Type 1 Diabetic Patients without Clinical Retinopathy.

The purpose of this study is to identify and quantify preclinical changes with the help of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) within the retinal microcirculation of young type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients without clinical signs of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and to compare these results with those obtained from healthy age-matched subjects. OCTA is currently used for monitoring diabetic retinopathy; however, there is no current consensus on which OCTA parameter alterations predict the first clinical signs of diabetic retinopathy. The main challenge that young patients with T1D face during the course of the disease is that they can rapidly progress to the development of DR, especially during adolescence.

Nanocarriers of shRNA-Runx2 directed to collagen IV as a nanotherapeutic system to target calcific aortic valve disease.

Runx2 is a key transcription factor involved in valvular interstitial cells (VIC) osteodifferentiation, a process actively entwined with the calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD). We hypothesize that a strategy intended to silence Runx2 could be a valuable novel therapeutic option for CAVD. To this intent, we aimed at (i) developing targeted nanoparticles for efficient delivery of short hairpin (sh)RNA sequences specific for Runx2 to the aortic valve employing a relevant mouse model for CAVD and (ii) investigate their therapeutic potential in osteoblast-differentiated VIC (oVIC) cultivated into a 3D scaffold.

Actin nucleators safeguard replication forks by limiting nascent strand degradation.

Accurate genome replication is essential for all life and a key mechanism of disease prevention, underpinned by the ability of cells to respond to replicative stress (RS) and protect replication forks. These responses rely on the formation of Replication Protein A (RPA)-single stranded (ss) DNA complexes, yet this process remains largely uncharacterized. Here we establish that actin nucleation-promoting factors (NPFs) associate with replication forks, promote efficient DNA replication and facilitate association of RPA with ssDNA at sites of RS.

Optic neuropathies post-Covid 19 - review.

The Corona virus infection started at the end of 2019 in Wuhan - China and spread rapidly throughout the world, generating the Covid 19 pandemic. The manifestations of the Covid disease were extremely varied, from a simple flu, with fever, cough, weakness, headache, joint pain, up to severe pneumonia, with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-Cov2) and even death. The symptomatology of the disease, the evolution and the complications that appeared varied, depending on the associated pathology - diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HT), the age and the immune status of the patient.

Ambulatory transcutaneous carbon dioxide monitoring for children with neuromuscular disease.

Objective: Early screening and diagnosis of nocturnal hypoventilation can slow progression to diurnal hypercapnia and mortality in children with neuromuscular disease (NMD). However, gold standard, laboratory-based polysomnography (PSG) testing is a limited resource. Therefore, we evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of ambulatory transcutaneous carbon dioxide (tcCO) monitoring used in the home compared to PSG in children with NMD.

Retinal morphological and functional response to Idebenone therapy in Leber hereditary optic neuropathy.

Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is a mitochondrial disease leading to optic atrophy due to degeneration of the retinal ganglion cell. A curative treatment is not available at the moment, but a new antioxidant drug, Idebenone, is expected to reduce the progression of the disorder. Two male patients, genetically confirmed with LHON, were clinically, morphologically, and electrophysiologically evaluated, before and three, six, nine and 12 months after starting the treatment.

Predictors of Economic Outcomes among Romanian Youth: The Influence of Education-An Empirical Approach Based on Elastic Net Regression.

Young people have to be provided with opportunities to access prosperous, resilient and fulfilling lives. Investing in education and skills is considered one of the most important ways to support young people's well-being and to enable them to enjoy good career prospects. Using the framework of human capital theory, we explored the role of education among the factors explaining wage variation among Romanian youth.

A computational study of metal ions interaction with amyloid-β 1-42 peptide structure in hyperpyrexia: Implications for Alzheimer disease.

Given the current context of the SARS-CoV-19 pandemic, among the interfering risky factors with the Aβ peptide aggregation in the brains of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients can be hyperpyrexia and increased intracranial pressure (ICP). According to our hypothesis on the relationship between hyperpyrexia and cognitive decline in AD, two models of Aβ peptides were used in this study: the structure of AD amyloid beta-peptide and near-atomic resolution fibril structures of the Aβ peptide. Therefore, the binding templates were constructed for Aβ peptide regions able to bind 9 different metal ions.

Pediatric Chronic Tracheostomy Care: An Evaluation of an Innovative Competency-Based Education Program for Community Health Care Providers.

Objective: To evaluate the immediate and sustained knowledge retention and sense of self-efficacy of homecare nurses following completion of a standardized competency-based tracheostomy education course. Safe discharge of children requiring tracheostomy with or without ventilation relies on the competence of homecare nurses.

Study Design: Pragmatic, randomized controlled trial of 44 homecare nurses.

VLA4-Enhanced Allogeneic Endothelial Progenitor Cell-Based Therapy Preserves the Aortic Valve Function in a Mouse Model of Dyslipidemia and Diabetes.

The number and function of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are reduced in diabetes, contributing to deteriorated vascular repair and the occurrence of cardiovascular complications. Here, we present the results of treating early diabetic dyslipidemic mice or dyslipidemic with disease-matched EPCs modified to overexpress VLA4 (VLA4-EPCs) as compared with the treatment of EPCs transfected with GFP (GFP-EPCs) as well as EPCs from healthy animals. Organ imaging of injected PKH26-stained cells showed little pulmonary first-pass effects and distribution in highly vascularized organs, with splenic removal from circulation, mostly in non-diabetic animals.

Kaposi Sarcoma, a Trifecta of Pathogenic Mechanisms.

Kaposi's sarcoma is a rare disease with four known variants: classic, epidemic, endemic and iatrogenic (transplant-related), all caused by an oncogenic virus named Human Herpes Virus 8. The viral infection in itself, along with the oncogenic properties of HHV8 and with immune system dysfunction, forms the grounds on which Kaposi's Sarcoma may develop. Infection with HHV8 occurs through saliva via close contacts, blood, blood products, solid organ donation and, rarely, vertical transmission.