96 results match your criteria: "Free University Brussels (VUB)[Affiliation]"

Resveratrol attenuates doxorubicin-induced toxicity during culture of mouse-isolated preantral follicles.

Zygote

August 2024

Nucleus of Biotechnology Applied to Ovarian Follicle Development, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Vale do São Francisco - UNIVASF, Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil.

The aims of this study were to evaluate the doxorubicin concentration that induces toxic effects on culture of isolated mouse secondary follicles and to investigate whether resveratrol can inhibit or reduce this toxicity. Secondary follicles were isolated and cultured for 12 days in control medium (α-MEM) or in α-MEM supplemented with doxorubicin (0.1 µg/ml) or different concentrations of resveratrol (0.

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Background And Aims: Severe tricuspid regurgitation is associated with increased mortality rates, but benefit of its correction and ideal timing are not clearly determined. This study aimed to identify patient subsets who might benefit from the surgery.

Methods: In TRIGISTRY, an international cohort study of consecutive patients with severe isolated functional tricuspid regurgitation (33 centres, 10 countries), survival rates up to 10 years were compared between patients who underwent isolated tricuspid valve surgery (repair or replacement) and those conservatively managed, overall and according to TRI-SCORE category (low: ≤3, intermediate: 4-5, and high: ≥6).

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Article Synopsis
  • * It found that patients with mild residual TR had an 85% survival rate, while those with moderate and severe TR had significantly lower rates of 70% and 44%, respectively.
  • * The research emphasizes the need for a more detailed classification of TR severity to better predict patient outcomes and highlights the goal of achieving at least mild to moderate residual TR for successful interventions.
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(1) Background: Left ventricular global longitudinal (LVGLS) and right ventricular free wall strain (RVFWS) demonstrated separate prognostic values in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS). However, studies evaluating the combined assessment of LVGLS and RVFWS have shown contradictory results. This study explored the prognostic value of combining LVGLS and RVFWS in a large group of severe AS patients referred for transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

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Microcirculatory Alterations in Cardiac Surgery: A Comprehensive Guide.

J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth

March 2024

Free University Brussels VUB, Brussels, Belgium; Department Anesthesiology, ICU and Chronic Pain Therapy, Maria Middelares, Ghent, Belgium.

Microcirculation is essential for cellular life and its functions. It comprises a complex network of capillaries, arterioles, and venules, which distributes oxygenated blood across and within organs based on regional metabolic demands. Because previous research indicated that organ function is linked to microcirculatory function, it is crucial to maintain sufficient and effective microcirculatory function during major surgery.

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Background And Aims: Benefit of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) correction and timing of intervention are unclear. This study aimed to compare survival rates after surgical or transcatheter intervention to conservative management according to a TR clinical stage as assessed using the TRI-SCORE.

Methods: A total of 2,413 patients with severe isolated functional TR were enrolled in TRIGISTRY (1217 conservatively managed, 551 isolated tricuspid valve surgery, and 645 transcatheter valve repair).

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Risk Factors for Short-Term Versus Long-Term Mortality in Patients Who Underwent Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy.

Am J Cardiol

June 2023

Department of Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands; Heart Center, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland. Electronic address:

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is an effective therapy in selected patients with advanced heart failure that reduces all-cause mortality at short-term follow-up. However, data regarding long-term mortality after CRT implantation are scarce, with no separate analysis available of the covariates associated with respectively short-term and long-term outcomes. Accordingly, the present study evaluated the risk factors associated with short-term (2-year follow-up) versus long-term (10-year follow-up) mortality after CRT implantation.

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This study was conducted to evaluate the protective effects of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) against ovarian toxicity in cyclophosphamide-treated mice and to verify the possible involvement of phosphorylated Akt, FOXO3a and rpS6 in the EGCG actions. Mice received saline solution (i.p.

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This study characterized the expression of melatonin receptor type 1 (MT ) protein in sheep ovaries, evaluated melatonin effects on primordial follicle survival and development after in vitro culture of ovarian tissue and verified the possible involvement of the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/protein kinase B/forkhead box O3a (PI3K/Akt/FOXO3a) pathway in the melatonin actions. Ovine ovarian fragments were cultured in α-modified minimum essential medium alone (α-MEM ) or supplemented with 100, 500, or 1000 pg/ml melatonin for 7 days. PI3K inhibition was performed through pretreatment of ovarian fragments with LY294002.

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Protective Effects of Antioxidants on Cyclophosphamide-Induced Ovarian Toxicity.

Biopreserv Biobank

April 2023

Nucleus of Biotechnology Applied to Ovarian Follicle Development, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of São Francisco Valley-UNIVASF, Petrolina, Brazil.

The most common limitation of anticancer chemotherapy is the injury to normal cells. Cyclophosphamide, which is one of the most widely used alkylating agents, can cause premature ovarian insufficiency and infertility since the ovarian follicles are extremely sensitive to their effects. Although little information is available about the pathogenic mechanism of cyclophosphamide-induced ovarian damage, its toxicity is attributed to oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis.

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Human mitochondrial disease exhibits large variation of clinical phenotypes, even in patients with the same causative gene defect. We illustrate this heterogeneity by confronting clinical and biochemical data of two patients with the uncommon pathogenic homoplasmic NC_012920.1(MT-ATP6):m.

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Beyond biopolitics: the importance of the later work of Foucault to understand care practices of healthcare workers caring for undocumented migrants.

BMC Med Ethics

November 2021

Department of History, Archaeology/Art Studies, Philosophy and Ethics (HARP), Free University Brussels (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium.

Background: Undocumented migrants experience multiple institutional and legal barriers when trying to access healthcare services. Due to such limitations, healthcare workers often experience ethical dilemmas when caring for undocumented migrants. This article aims to understand how individual healthcare workers who regularly take care of undocumented migrants deal with these dilemmas in practice.

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This study evaluated the protective effect of melatonin before cyclophosphamide administration on ovarian function and its potential mechanism in a mouse model. Two studies were performed. In the first, mice were pretreated with melatonin (10, 20, or 30 mg/kg body weight, i.

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In this work, we designed and fabricated a CaP composite bio-coating with different surface morphologies on a carbon/carbon (C/C) matrix by means of hybrid supersonic atmospheric plasma spraying (SAPS) and microwave-hydrothermal (MH) technologies. We found that all studied coating materials can support mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) proliferation with prolonged culture time (3 days and 7 days) in vitro. Furthermore, according to the (Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy) CLSM results, the MSCs also showed good attachment and different spreading morphologies on SAPS/MH coatings.

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The spectroscopic study of pathological calcifications (including kidney stones) is extremely rich and helps to improve the understanding of the physical and chemical processes associated with their formation. While Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) imaging and optical/electron microscopies are routine techniques in hospitals, there has been a dearth of solid-state NMR studies introduced into this area of medical research, probably due to the scarcity of this analytical technique in hospital facilities. This work introduces effective multinuclear and multidimensional solid-state NMR methodologies to study the complex chemical and structural properties characterizing kidney stone composition.

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Detection of amyloid in intraportal islet implants of type 1 diabetes patients has been proposed as cause in their functional decline. The present study uses cultured adult human islets devoid of amyloid to examine conditions of its formation. After intraportal injection in patients, amyloid deposits <15 µm diameter were identified in 5%-12% of beta cell containing aggregates, 3-76 months posttransplant.

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Physical exercise is an important component in the management of type 1 diabetes across the lifespan. Yet, acute exercise increases the risk of dysglycaemia, and the direction of glycaemic excursions depends, to some extent, on the intensity and duration of the type of exercise. Understandably, fear of hypoglycaemia is one of the strongest barriers to incorporating exercise into daily life.

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Physical exercise is an important component in the management of type 1 diabetes across the lifespan. Yet, acute exercise increases the risk of dysglycaemia, and the direction of glycaemic excursions depends, to some extent, on the intensity and duration of the type of exercise. Understandably, fear of hypoglycaemia is one of the strongest barriers to incorporating exercise into daily life.

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Early-life exposure to multiple persistent organic pollutants and metals and birth weight: Pooled analysis in four Flemish birth cohorts.

Environ Int

December 2020

Division of Environmental Epidemiology, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Background And Aims: Prenatal chemical exposure has frequently been associated with reduced fetal growth although results have been inconsistent. Most studies associate single pollutant exposure to this health outcome, even though this does not reflect real life situations as humans are exposed to many pollutants during their life time. The objective of this study is to investigate the association between prenatal exposure to a mixture of persistent environmental chemicals and birth weight using multipollutant models.

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Effect of sprayed techniques on the surface microstructure and in vitro behavior of nano-HAp coatings.

Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl

December 2020

School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, PR China. Electronic address:

Supersonic atmospheric plasma spray (SAPS) technique is a classical method which is employed to coat the carbon/carbon (C/C) composites by nano-hydroxyapatite (HAp) powders to decrease the biologically inert, hydrophobic drawbacks of substrate surfaces. In recent years, profiting from the promoting of energy conservation and environmental protection, more emphasis was placed on industrial manufacturing to simplify the experimental steps. This paper aims to study the preparation of nano-HAp coatings by suspension plasma spray (SPS) instead of the original SAPS technique.

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Modeling of Complex Interfaces: From Surface Chemistry to Nano Chemistry.

Nanomaterials (Basel)

March 2020

General Chemistry (ALGC), Materials Modelling Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Free University Brussels-VUB), Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussel, Belgium.

For a few years now, quantum chemical modeling of materials has experienced a tremendousboost due to the increasing computational power [...

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For decades, plastic surgeons have spent considerable effort exploring anatomical regions for free flap design. More recently, tissue-engineering approaches have been utilised in an attempt to grow transplantable tissue flaps in vivo. The aim of this study was to engineer a fat flap with a vascular pedicle by combining autologous fat grafts and a novel acellular hydrogel (Adipogel) in an established tissue-engineering model comprising a chamber and blood vessel loop.

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Introduction: The development of biopolymers for the synthesis of Gd(III) nanoparticles, as therapeutics, could play a key role in nanomedicine. Biocompatible polymers are not only used for complex monovalent biomolecules, but also for the realization of multivalent active targeting materials as diagnostic and/or therapeutic hybrid nanoparticles. In this article, it was reported for the first time, a novel synthesis of Gd(III)-biopolymer-Au(III) complex, acting as a key ingredient of core-shell gold nanoparticles (Gd(@AuNPs).

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