To assess the effect of voice therapy on pitch in professional singers with faulty respiratory kinematics. In this prospective interventional study, professional singers with easy voice fatigability and inability to reach higher pitches, following appropriate selection criteria, were subjected to a 1-month structured voice therapy that transformed their predominant breathing pattern from thoracic to diaphragmatic-abdominal. Acoustic parameters (pitch range and its extreme values before/after therapy, and difference in pitch range) were analyzed using Praat software and compared using standard statistical methods (paired -test).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is a debilitating complication of diabetes mellitus, affecting nearly 50% of diabetic patients and leading to chronic pain, numbness and progressive sensory and motor function loss. This study investigates the potential of siRNA-mediated silencing of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) to alleviate DPN in a rat model. PARP1 overactivation, driven by hyperglycaemia-induced oxidative stress, exacerbates neuronal damage in DPN.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHyperglycemia induces an excessive production of superoxide by the mitochondria's electron-transport chain triggers several pathways of injury contributing to the development of diabetic complications. This increase in oxidative and nitrosative stress triggers the activation of PARP-1, a nuclear enzyme, through mechanisms such as DNA damage. siRNA-chitosan nanoparticles were formed based on electrostatic interaction, their particle size, zeta potential, STEM, and cellular uptake were characterized.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCNS Neurol Disord Drug Targets
September 2024
Neuropathies, which encompass a wide array of peripheral nervous system disorders, present significant challenges due to their varied causes, such as metabolic diseases, toxic exposures, and genetic mutations. This review article, focused on the critical role of neurotrophins in peripheral neuropathy, highlights the intricate balance of neurotrophins necessary for nerve health and the pathophysiological consequences when this balance is disturbed. Neurotrophins, including Nerve Growth Factor (NGF), Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), Neurotrophin- 3 (NT-3), and Neurotrophin-4 (NT-4), are essential for neuronal survival, axonal growth, and synaptic plasticity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArthropod-borne pathogens are responsible for hundreds of millions of infections in humans each year. The blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, is the predominant arthropod vector in the United States and is responsible for transmitting several human pathogens, including the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi and the obligate intracellular rickettsial bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum, which causes human granulocytic anaplasmosis. However, tick metabolic response to microbes and whether metabolite allocation occurs upon infection remain unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUncovering the complexity of systems in non-model organisms is critical for understanding arthropod immunology. Prior efforts have mostly focused on Dipteran insects, which only account for a subset of existing arthropod species in nature. Here we use and develop advanced techniques to describe immune cells (hemocytes) from the clinically relevant tick Ixodes scapularis at a single-cell resolution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Introduction- Endoscopic minimally invasive pituitary surgery (MIPS) is advantageous over microscopic technique, as it provides superior close up, wide angle view of surgical target area. Image guided navigation system (IGNS) guides the surgeon to localize the lesion. In the present study we analyzed the Image Guided Surgical procedure and outcome of Endoscopic minimally invasive pituitary surgery and shared our experiences regarding disease clearance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWound healing has been extensively studied through the lens of inflammatory disorders and cancer, but limited attention has been given to hematophagy and arthropod-borne diseases. Hematophagous ectoparasites, including ticks, subvert the wound healing response to maintain prolonged attachment and facilitate blood-feeding. Here, we unveil a strategy by which extracellular vesicles (EVs) ensure blood-feeding and arthropod survival in three medically relevant tick species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStreptococcus mutans is commonly associated with dental caries and the ability to form biofilms is essential for its pathogenicity. We recently identified the Pgf glycosylation machinery of S. mutans, responsible for the post-translational modification of the surface-associated adhesins Cnm and WapA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMonoclonal antibodies (mAbs) form viscoelastic gel-like layers at the air-water interface due to their amphiphilic nature, and this same protein characteristic can lead to undesired aggregation of proteins in therapeutic formulations. We hypothesize that the interfacial viscoelasticity and surface pressure of mAbs at the air-water interface will correlate with their long-term stability. To test this hypothesis, the interfacial viscoelastic rheology and surface pressure of five different antibodies with varying visible particle counts from a three-year stability study were measured.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInvestigating the RNA regulation landscape primarily relies on understanding how RNA-protein interactions are governed in various cell types, including neurons. Analysis of RNA-protein interactions in physiological environments warrants the development of new tools that rely on RNA manipulation. Recently, a CRISPR-based RNA-editing tool (dCas13b-ADAR2 ) was developed to mitigate disease-associated point mutations in cell lines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHomocysteine (Hcy), produced physiologically in all cells, is an intermediate metabolite of methionine and cysteine metabolism. Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) resulting from an in-born error of metabolism that leads to accumulation of high levels of Hcy, is associated with vascular damage, neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. Using a HHcy model in neuronal cells, primary cortical neurons and transgenic zebrafish, we demonstrate diminished autophagy and Hcy-induced neurotoxicity associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, fragmentation and apoptosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUncovering the complexity of systems in non-model organisms is critical for understanding arthropod immunology. Prior efforts have mostly focused on Dipteran insects, which only account for a subset of existing arthropod species in nature. Here, we describe immune cells or hemocytes from the clinically relevant tick using bulk and single cell RNA sequencing combined with depletion via clodronate liposomes, RNA interference, Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats activation (CRISPRa) and RNA-fluorescence hybridization (FISH).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRegulation of the microtubule cytoskeleton is crucial for the development and maintenance of neuronal architecture, and recent studies have highlighted the significance of regulated RNA processing in the establishment and maintenance of neural circuits. In a genetic screen conducted using mechanosensory neurons of C. elegans, we identified a mutation in muscleblind-1/mbl-1 as a suppressor of loss of kinesin-13 family microtubule destabilizing factor klp-7.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEsophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is a rapidly increasing lethal tumor. It commonly arises from a metaplastic segment known as Barrett's esophagus (BE), which delineates the at-risk population. Ample research has elucidated the pathogenesis of BE and its progression from metaplasia to invasive carcinoma; and multiple molecular pathways have been implicated in this process, presenting several points of cancer interception.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Small interference RNA (siRNA) has emerged as the most desired method for researchers and clinicians who wish to silence a specific gene of interest and has been extensively developed as a therapeutic agent. This review points to collecting all clinical trials on siRNA and understanding its benefits, pharmacokinetics and safety by reading articles published in the last 5 years.
Materials And Methods: Searching in the PubMed database using 'siRNA' and 'in vivo' with limits to articles published in the previous 5 years, article type 'clinical trials' and language 'English' to acquire papers on in vivo studies on siRNA approaches.
Arthropod-borne microbes rely on the metabolic state of a host to cycle between evolutionarily distant species. For instance, arthropod tolerance to infection may be due to redistribution of metabolic resources, often leading to microbial transmission to mammals. Conversely, metabolic alterations aids in pathogen elimination in humans, who do not ordinarily harbor arthropod-borne microbes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUCL Open Environ
December 2022
This paper discusses community participation drawing on ongoing disaster recovery and preparedness projects (RPP) in the communities affected by the Heavy Rain Event of 2018 in western Japan. Participatory approaches have become a mainstream methodology for community-based disaster risk reduction (DRR) as advocated in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. The majority of participation research addresses either 'success' factors for participation or the types of participation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
May 2023
The immune deficiency (IMD) pathway directs host defense in arthropods upon bacterial infection. In Pancrustacea, peptidoglycan recognition proteins sense microbial moieties and initiate nuclear factor-κB-driven immune responses. Proteins that elicit the IMD pathway in non-insect arthropods remain elusive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIndian J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg
December 2022
The estimated prevalence of adult onset hearing deafness in India is 7.6% and childhood onset hearing loss is 2%. But there are very few studies which highlight the prevalence of various types of hearing loss.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Clin Gastroenterol
March 2023
Colorectal cancer (CRC) continues to be a significant public health problem worldwide. CRC screening programs have reduced the incidence rates of CRCs but still suffer from the problems of missed lesions and interval cancers. Chemopreventive strategies against CRC would benefit high-risk populations but trials testing synthetic and naturally occurring compounds have not yielded a front runner.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStreptococcus mutans is a key pathogen associated with dental caries and is often implicated in infective endocarditis. This organism forms robust biofilms on tooth surfaces and can use collagen-binding proteins (CBPs) to efficiently colonize collagenous substrates, including dentin and heart valves. One of the best characterized CBPs of S.
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