Effect of Ph on the Physicochemical Properties of a Cassava Peel Starch Biopolymer.

Background/aims: This study investigates how pH levels affect the characteristics of biopolymer films manufactured from cassava peel starch. Cassava peel starch's abundance and biodegradability make it a promising candidate for sustainable packaging. The study seeks to improve film qualities such as thickness, density, moisture content, solubility, and optical properties by altering pH levels.

Intraoperative intra-aortic balloon pump insertion: step by step.

A 76-year-old patient with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction was admitted to our hospital. Coronary angiography revealed significant left main and two-vessel coronary artery disease. Preoperative testing indicated severe left ventricular dysfunction.

Endothelial Cell Loss in Corneal Grafts From Donors Who Sustained Gunshot Wound to the Head or Airbag Deployment in a Motor Vehicle Accident.

Purpose: To compare the endothelial cell density (ECD) and quality of corneal grafts from young donors who sustained airbag deployment in motor vehicle accidents (MVA) or gunshot wounds (GSW) to the head with grafts from donors of similar age who died of other causes.

Methods: This is a retrospective comparative series of 65 corneal grafts from 33 young donors (mean age, 29.60 ± 8.

Effects of Virgin Olive Oil on Bone Health in Ovariectomized Rats.

Osteoporosis is a pressing concern facing public health, thus making research into the effects of nutrients on bone health particularly important. Evidence from preclinical studies using animal models and a limited number of studies in human suggests that olive oil (OO) is a protective agent for bone. The aim of this work is to study the effects of virgin olive oil (VOO) consumption by ovariectomized rats on bone health.

Comparative study of the effects of osteoprotegerin and testosterone on bone quality in male orchidectomised rats.

The aim of this work is to compare the effects of osteoprotegerin (OPG) and testosterone on bone quality in a model of orchidectomised (ORX) rats. Three-month-old ORX or SHAM operated groups ( = 15 each group) were used. The SHAM and ORX groups received saline.

Effects of Cyclosporine, Tacrolimus, and Rapamycin on Osteoblasts.

Purpose: One factor that can contribute to severe bone loss after transplantation is the direct action of immunosuppressants on bone cells. The aim of this work was to study the effects of cyclosporine (CsA), tacrolimus (FK-506), and rapamycin (RAPA) on the release of three local factors directly implicated in bone-remodeling regulation and apoptosis of human osteoblasts: interleukin (IL)-6, osteoprotegerin, and receptor activator of nuclear factor κβ (RANKL).

Basic Procedures: Human osteoblasts were obtained from five different patients who underwent orthopedic surgery.

Differences between 2nd and 3rd generation seric parathormone determination methods on mortality in haemodialysis patients.

Unlabelled: Parathormone plays a key role in controlling mineral metabolism. PTH is considered a uremic toxin causing cardiovascular damage and cardiovascular mortality in dialysis patients. There are two different assays to measure PTH called 2nd generation or intact PTH (iPTH) and 3rd generation or bioPTH (PTHbio).

A decrease in intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) levels is associated with higher mortality in prevalent hemodialysis patients.

Background: The mortality of dialysis patients is 10- to 100-fold higher than in the general population. Baseline serum PTH levels, and more recently, changes in serum PTH levels (ΔPTH) over time, have been associated to mortality in dialysis patients.

Methods: We explored the relationship between ΔPTH over 1 year with mortality over the next year in a prospective cohort of 115 prevalent hemodialysis patients from a single center that had median baseline iPTH levels within guideline recommendations.

The Usefulness of Bone Biomarkers for Monitoring Treatment Disease: A Comparative Study in Osteolytic and Osteosclerotic Bone Metastasis Models.

Background: The skeleton is the most common site of colonization by metastatic cancers. Zoledronic acid (ZA) has been shown to be effective for the treatment of bone metastases regardless of whether the bone lesions are osteolytic or osteoblastic. Biochemical markers of bone turnover may be useful tools to quantify the degree of bone remodeling in the presence of bone metastases.

Vitamin D deficiency in chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases: results of the cardiovascular in rheumatology [CARMA] study.

Introduction: The aim was to study the association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels and the clinical characteristics of patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases (CIRD).

Methods: We studied a cross-section from the baseline visit of the CARMA project (CARdiovascular in rheuMAtology), a 10-year prospective study evaluating the risk of cardiovascular events in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients, and non-CIRD patients who attended rheumatology outpatient clinics from 67 hospitals in Spain. Non-CIRD group was frequency matched by age with the joint distribution of the three CIRD groups included in the study.

Sirolimus and tacrolimus rather than cyclosporine A cause bone loss in healthy adult male rats.

The aim of this work was to study the effects of cyclosporine (CsA), tacrolimus (FK-506), and rapamycin (RAPA) on bone mass, femoral microstructure, femoral biomechanical properties, and bone remodeling in healthy adult male rats. Forty-eight 5-month-old male Wistar rats were used. CsA (2 mg/kg/day), FK-506 (3 mg/kg/day), RAPA (1.

Tailored atrial substrate modification based on low-voltage areas in catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation.

Background: Reduced electrogram amplitude has been shown to correlate with diseased myocardium. We describe a novel individualized approach for catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) based on low-voltage areas (LVAs) in the left atrium (LA). We sought to assess (1) the incidence of LVAs in patients undergoing AF catheter ablation, (2) the distribution of LVAs within the LA, and (3) the effect of an individualized ablation strategy on long-term rhythm outcomes.

Bone turnover markers as predictive indicators of outcome in patients with breast cancer and bone metastases treated with bisphosphonates: results from a 2-year multicentre observational study (ZOMAR study).

Background: We evaluated the evolution and predictive value of bone turnover markers (BTMs) and circulating tumor cells (CTCs) with respect to mortality, disease progression (DP) and skeletal-related events (SREs), in patients with bone metastatic breast cancer (BmBCa). The correlation between BTMs and CTCs was also studied.

Methods: In a 2-year observational, multicenter study, the levels of three BTMs (N- and C-terminal telopeptides of collagen I [NTX and αα-CTX], and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase [BSAP]) and CTCs were analyzed every three months.

Nonfluoroscopic catheter visualization in atrial fibrillation ablation: experience from 375 consecutive procedures.

Background: A technological platform (MediGuide) has been recently introduced for nonfluoroscopic catheter tracking. No data on the safety of this technology are yet available in a large cohort of patients.

Methods And Results: Data from a prospective ablation registry were analyzed.

Effects of PTH (1-84) on bone quality in a validated model of osteoporosis due to androgenic deprivation.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of parathyroid hormone (PTH) (1-84) in a model of male osteoporosis induced by orchidectomy in rats.

Methods: Six-month-old Wistar rats were used as follows: SHAM (simulated orchidectomy), orchidectomized (ORX), ORX + PTH1 (ORX and treated with 10 µg/Kg/d of PTH 1-84) and ORX + PTH2 (ORX and treated with 50 µg/Kg/d of PTH 1-84) over 3 months, with treatment beginning three months after orchidectomy.

Results: Orchidectomy resulted in a decreased of femoral and lumbar bone mineral density (BMD), a worsening of trabecular and cortical microarchitecture and a decrease in biomechanical properties.

Bone remodelling is reduced by recovery from iron-deficiency anaemia in premenopausal women.

Iron-deficiency anaemia (IDA), one of the most common and widespread health disorders worldwide, affects fundamental metabolic functions and has been associated with deleterious effects on bone. Our aim was to know whether there are differences in bone remodelling between a group of premenopausal IDA women and a healthy group, and whether recovery of iron status has an effect on bone turnover markers. Thirty-five IDA women and 38 healthy women (control group) were recruited throughout the year.

Biochemical markers of bone turnover and clinical outcome in patients with renal cell and bladder carcinoma with bone metastases following treatment with zoledronic acid: The TUGAMO study.

Background: Levels of bone turnover markers (BTM) might be correlated with outcome in terms of skeletal-related events (SRE), disease progression, and death in patients with bladder cancer (BC) and renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with bone metastases (BM). We try to evaluate this possible correlation in patients who receive treatment with zoledronic acid (ZOL).

Methods: This observational, prospective, and multicenter study analysed BTM and clinical outcome in these patients.

Low iron status as a factor of increased bone resorption and effects of an iron and vitamin D-fortified skimmed milk on bone remodelling in young Spanish women.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine whether there is a relationship between iron status and bone metabolism, and to compare the effects of the consumption, as part of the usual diet, of an iron or iron and vitamin D-fortified skimmed milk on bone remodelling in iron-deficient women.

Methods: Young healthy iron-deficient or iron-sufficient women (serum ferritin ≤30 ng/mL or >30 ng/mL, respectively) were recruited. Iron-deficient women were assigned to a nutritional intervention consisting of a randomised, controlled, double-blind, parallel design trial of 16 weeks during winter.

Usefulness of bone turnover markers as predictors of mortality risk, disease progression and skeletal-related events appearance in patients with prostate cancer with bone metastases following treatment with zoledronic acid: TUGAMO study.

Background: Owing to the limited validity of clinical data on the treatment of prostate cancer (PCa) and bone metastases, biochemical markers are a promising tool for predicting survival, disease progression and skeletal-related events (SREs) in these patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive capacity of biochemical markers of bone turnover for mortality risk, disease progression and SREs in patients with PCa and bone metastases undergoing treatment with zoledronic acid (ZA).

Methods: This was an observational, prospective and multicenter study in which ninety-eight patients were included.

Correction of hypocalcemia allows optimal recruitment of FGF-23-dependent phosphaturic mechanisms in acute hyperphosphatemia post-phosphate enema.

Both parathyroid hormone (PTH) and fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) are phosphaturic hormones. These hormones should increase in response to phosphate excess. However, they also regulate serum calcium; PTH increases serum calcium concentration and FGF23 suppresses renal production of calcitriol, favoring hypocalcemia.

Risk in dosing regimens for 25-OH vitamin D supplementation in chronic haemodialysis patients.

Introduction: 25-OH vitamin D (25-OHvitD) insufficiency or deficiency should be treated in haemodialysis (HD) patients, although the 25-OHvitD target, drug or dosing regimens are unclear.

Aims: To describe factors associated with 25-OHvitD levels in HD patients and to assess the effect of three dosing regimens to supplement 25-OHvitD (calcifediol) on serum calcium (Ca), phosphate (P), parathyroid hormone (PTH), 25-OHvitD and 1,25-OHvitD.

Methods: Two hundred and seventeen patients from three HD units were studied.

miR-326 associates with biochemical markers of bone turnover in lung cancer bone metastasis.

Recent evidence suggests that miRNAs could be used as serum markers in a variety of normal and pathological conditions. In this study, we aimed to identify novel miRNAs associated with skeletal metastatic disease in a preclinical model of lung cancer bone metastasis. We assessed the validity of these miRNAs as reliable serum biochemical markers to monitor the extent of disease and response to treatment in comparison to imaging techniques and standard biochemical markers of bone turnover.