Background: This study aimed to address research gap concerning the perception of the care pathway for knee osteoarthritis (KOA) patients, focusing on both the patient and health professional perspectives in countries with inefficient health systems, such as Slovenia, by examining patient satisfaction with conservative treatment, assessing the perceptions of both patients and health professionals regarding the latter's involvement, and justifying the chosen KOA treatment approaches.
Methods: A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews with KOA patients (n = 82) and healthcare professionals (n = 68).
Results: The care pathway for conservative KOA treatment in Slovenia begins with general practitioners (GPs), who conduct initial examinations, prescribe analgesics, and refer patients to radiologists and orthopaedic surgeons.
Tetra pak packaging is one of the most frequently used types of packaging in the food industry. The recycling of the tetra pak packaging waste presents a difficult task because of its multi-layered, multi-component structure. In this study, the degradation of tetra pak packaging in subcritical (SubCW) and supercritical (SCW) water was investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMental fatigue (MF) arises during prolonged demanding cognitive activity and results in acute feelings of tiredness and a decreased physical and/or cognitive performance capacity. An often-overlooked population that is significantly at risk for the development of MF are university students. The current study investigated the impact of prolonged in-person theoretical classes on the perceptions of MF, boredom, and sleepiness among 27 Slovenian university students (first-year physiotherapy).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPolymers (Basel)
October 2022
Thorac Cardiovasc Surg
October 2022
Objectives: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with higher perioperative mortality and morbidity. Oxidative stress has been proposed as a cause of postoperative AKI. Ascorbic acid (AA) supplementation was suggested as a novel and promising antioxidant.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA fundamental step in developing a protein drug is the selection of a stable storage formulation that ensures efficacy of the drug and inhibits physiochemical degradation or aggregation. Here, we designed and evaluated a general workflow for screening of protein formulations based on small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Our SAXS pipeline combines automated sample handling, temperature control, and fast data analysis and provides protein particle interaction information.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFis one of the oldest medicinal plants used by humans, containing hundreds of bioactive compounds. The biological effects and interplay of these compounds are far from fully understood, although the plant's therapeutic effects are beyond doubt. Extraction methods for these compounds are becoming an integral part of modern -based medicine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntestinal transepithelial transport of glucose is mediated by glucose transporters, and affects postprandial blood-glucose levels. This study investigates the effect of wood extracts rich in hydrolyzable tannins (HTs) that originated from sweet chestnut ( Mill.) and oak () on the expression of glucose transporter genes and the uptake of glucose and HT constituents in a 3D porcine-small-intestine epithelial-cell model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: An unavoidable consequence of cardiac surgery is oxidative stress and resulting peroxidation of biological molecules, in particular unsaturated lipids. The detection of peroxidation metabolites in biological environments is difficult due to their large variety, small concentration, and high reactivity. One of the most studied lipid peroxidation products is malondialdehyde and as such an important marker of oxidative stress.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe current work concerns solid liquid extraction from red and white grapes skin and the rosehip (Rosa canina) to obtain extracts with a high phenolic content. Extracts have been acquired using conventional extraction techniques and extraction with supercritical fluids (SCFs). The effect of extraction method and experimental parameters (time, pressure, temperature and solvent mixture) mostly believed to affect the extraction process was undertaken.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA quantitative analysis of zinc endopeptidases matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) and matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP3) from human blood serum are presented. Both matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) are present in human blood serum and can be used as biomarkers for different diseases. The analysis was performed using LC-MS/MS with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, based on two specific peptides of each MMP in comparison with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe influence of process parameters on supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) was investigated together with scaling-up to the preparative scale. Within this scope, separation of model compounds (caffeine and theophylline), dependencies on pressures, temperatures, types and concentrations of the modifiers, and types of stationary phases, were examined separately. Experiments were performed on analytical scale and on pilot preparative scale SFC apparatus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBisphenol A analogs are a class of chemicals known as diphenylmethanes, which contain two benzene rings separated by one central carbon atom, usually with a para-hydroxy group on both benzene rings. Bisphenol A (BPA) can induce an uterotrophic response in immature CD-1 mice and elicits estrogenic responses in many other experimental systems. Besides highlighting endocrine effects, a number of metabolic studies provide strong support for the idea that reactive species of BPA are formed in vitro and in vivo that can form covalent adducts with nucleophilic macromolecules and/or produce oxidative stress.
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