Exosome-derived microRNAs (miRNAs) are potential biomarkers for lung cancer detection and monitoring through liquid biopsy. These small, non-coding RNA molecules are found within exosomes, which are extracellular vesicles released from cells. Their stability in biofluids, such as blood, positions them as candidates for minimally invasive diagnostics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrain metastasis is a significant clinical challenge for patients with advanced lung cancer, occurring in about 20-40% of cases. Brain metastasis causes severe neurological symptoms, leading to a poor prognosis and contributing significantly to lung cancer-related mortality. However, the underlying molecular mechanism behind brain metastasis remains largely unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: As part of a larger mixed-methods study into harm reduction in the hospital setting and people with lived experience of methamphetamine use, stigma was found to be a prominent issue. The aim of this secondary analysis was to investigate the issue of stigma.
Design: Participants completed a one-time qualitative interview component to assess their experiences in the hospital setting.
Objective: Common femoral endarterectomy (CFE) comprises the current standard-of-care for symptomatic common femoral artery occlusive disease. Although it provides effective inflow revascularization via a single incision, it remains an invasive procedure in an often-frail patient population. The purpose of this retrospective clinical study was to assess the morbidity and mortality of CFE in a contemporary cohort.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe high mortality from lung cancer is mainly attributed to the presence of metastases at the time of diagnosis. Despite being the leading cause of lung cancer death, the underlying molecular mechanisms driving metastasis progression are still not fully understood. Recent studies suggest that tumor cell exosomes play a significant role in tumor progression through intercellular communication between tumor cells, the microenvironment, and distant organs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Despite an increase in methamphetamine use and subsequent hospitalizations, the majority of Canadian hospitals currently lack harm reduction strategies for substance use. This can mean that people with lived experience of methamphetamine use are faced with a number of difficult decisions to make when admitted to hospital. Caring for people with lived experience of methamphetamine use can also be problematic with zero tolerance policies requiring abstinence to be maintained.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: People who use substances may access hospital services for treatment of infections and injuries, substance use disorder, mental health issues and other reasons. Our aim was to identify the experiences, issues and recommendations of people who use methamphetamine and have accessed hospital services.
Methods: Of the 114 people with lived and living experience of methamphetamine use recruited for a mixed-methods study conducted in southwestern Ontario, Canada, 104 completed the qualitative component.
Introduction: Substance use can occur in the hospital setting among people with substance use disorder, including intravenous use. However, the provision of sharps boxes is not typically offered in Canadian hospitals. This study set out to explore the current issues due to the lack of harm reduction in the hospital setting.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Harm reduction strategies for substance use disorder are not currently offered in Canadian hospitals. Previous research has suggested that substance use may continue to occur which can lead to further complications such as new infections. Harm reduction strategies may be a solution to this issue.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAppropriate support in the home may not be readily available for people living in the community with mental illness and physical comorbidities. This mixed-method study evaluated a smart home technology intervention for individuals within this population as well as providing health care providers with health monitoring capabilities. The study recruited 13 participants who were offered a smartphone, a touchscreen monitor, and health devices, including smartwatches, weigh scales, and automated medication dispensers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSmart home technologies present an unprecedented opportunity to improve health and health care by providing greater communication and connectivity with services and care providers and by supporting the daily activities of people managing both mental and physical health problems. Based on our experience from conducting smart technology health studies, including a smart home intervention, we provide guidance on developing and implementing such interventions. First, we describe the need for an overarching principle of security and privacy that must be attended to in all aspects of such a project.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNatural killer (NK) cells have the dual ability to produce pro-inflammatory (IFNγ) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokines during systemic infection, which points to their crucial role both as inflammatory effectors for infection clearance and as regulators to counterbalance inflammation to limit immune-mediated damage to the host. In particular, immunosuppressive IL-10 secretion by NK cells has been described to occur in systemic, but not local, infections as a recent immunoregulatory mechanism of inflammation that may be detrimental or beneficial, depending on the timing of release, type of disease, or the infection model. Understanding the factors that drive the production of IL-10 by NK cells and their impact during dualistic inflammatory states, such as sepsis and other non-controlled inflammatory diseases, is relevant for achieving effective therapeutic advancements.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/aims: Biologics are increasingly used to manage ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). However, even with earlier usage of biologic therapy, a significant proportion of patients will require surgery. Vedolizumab is an anti-integrin antibody that is increasingly used given that it is more gut selective and associated with fewer side effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) are at increased risk for infections such as Clostridium difficile and cytomegalovirus (CMV) colitis due to chronic immunosuppression. These patients often undergo multiple surgeries putting them at risk for recurrence of the infection. However, rates of recurrence in this setting and outcomes are not well understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAtherosclerosis is caused by a monocyte-mediated inflammatory process that, in turn, is stimulated by cytokines and adhesion molecules. Monocytes are then differentiated into macrophages, leading to the formation of arterial atherosclerotic plaques. Recently, guavirova leaf extracts from Campomanesia xanthocarpa (EG) have shown potential effects on the treatment of plaque formation by reducing cholesterol, LDL levels and serum oxidative stress.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCircular RNA (circRNA) is an unusual class of RNA-like structures composed by exonic and/or intronic sequences that are regulated by the backsplicing mechanism and by the spliceosome-mediated machinery. These circular transcripts tend to accumulate during aging in several human tissues, especially in the mammalian brain, and their expression is correlated with the occurrence of several human pathologies, including a broad spectrum of neurological disorders. Previous findings have also shown that circRNAs are significantly present in the neuronal tissue and are up-regulated during neurogenesis, with a significant number been derived from neural genes, suggesting these circular molecules are involved in the cellular and molecular phenotype of our brain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite the benefits of bacterial endophytes, recent studies on the mostly Gram-negative bacteria lack of regard for formulation strategies. The encapsulation into biopolymeric materials such as amidated pectins hydrogels is a suitable alternative. Here, this research aimed at supporting the capability of the plant growth-promoting bacteria DSM16656 to endophytically colonize plant seedlings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt is well known that one of the main problems in galactooligosaccharide production (GOS) via tranglycosylation of lactose is the presence of monosaccharides that contribute to increasing the glycaemic index, as is the case of glucose. In this work, as well as studying the effect of ultrasound (US) on glucose oxidase (Gox) activation during gluconic acid (GA) production, we have carried out an investigation into the selective oxidation of glucose to gluconic acid in multienzymatic reactions (β-galactosidase (β-gal) and Gox) assisted by power US using different sources of lactose as substrate (lactose solution, whey permeate, cheese whey). In terms of the influence of matrix on GOS and GA production, lactose solution gave the best results, followed by cheese whey and whey permeate, salt composition being the most influential factor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGalactooligosaccharides (GOS), recognised prebiotic, can be industrially produced from lactose and commercial β-galactosidase (β-gal) from Kluyveromyces lactis. Residual lactose and glucose limit GOS applications. To handle this problem, a multienzymatic system, with β-gal and glucose oxidase (Gox), was proposed to reduce glucose content in reaction media through its oxidation to gluconic acid (GA).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose/objective: To examine potential differences in cognitions and traitlike factors that relate to stress among individuals diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared to those with chronic pain (CP). Research Method/Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted with participants recruited from outpatient rheumatology and CP clinics. Participants completed self-report questionnaires of demographics, disease characteristics, cognitions, and traitlike constructs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Spinal infarction accounts for 1% of all strokes. Cardioembolism is a rare cause. Common areas of ischemic spinal damage are watershed in the dorsal or lumbar regions; however cervical spinal cord infarction has been reported previously.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe cell cycle has fundamental effects on cell cultures and their products. Tools to synchronize cultured cells allow the study of cellular physiology and metabolism at particular cell cycle phases. However, cells are most often arrested by methods that alter their homeostasis and are then cultivated in poorly controlled environments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground. Anxiety sensitivity (AS) and experiential avoidance (EA) have been shown to have an interactive effect on the response an individual has to chronic pain (CP) potentially resulting in long term negative outcomes. Objective.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the food industry, osmotic dehydration can be an important stage to obtain partially dry foodstuffs. However, the remaining spent osmotic solution at the end of the process could become a waste with an important environmental impact due to the large amount of organic compounds that it might contain. Since one of the most important osmotic agents used in osmotic dehydration is sucrose, this spent osmotic solution could be used to be biotransformed to produce fructooligosaccharides by a fructosyltransferase.
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