Search results for "Computer Science Application"
showing 10 items of 3998 documents
MUC16 Is Overexpressed in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis and Induces Fibrotic Responses Mediated by Transforming Growth Factor-β1 Canonical Pathway
2021
Several transmembrane mucins have demonstrated that they contribute intracellularly to induce fibrotic processes. The extracellular domain of MUC16 is considered as a biomarker for disease progression and death in IPF patients. However, there is no evidence regarding the signalling capabilities of MUC16 that contribute to IPF development. Here, we demonstrate that MUC16 was overexpressed in the lung tissue of IPF patients (n = 20) compared with healthy subjects (n = 17) and localised in fibroblasts and hyperplastic alveolar type II cells. Repression of MUC16 expression by siRNA-MUC16 transfection inhibited the TGF-β1-induced fibrotic processes such as mesenchymal/ myofibroblast transformati…
Simulation study of transcatheter heart valve implantation in patients with stenotic bicuspid aortic valve
2019
Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) anatomy has routinely been considered an exclusion in the setting of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) because of the large dimension of the aortic annulus having a more calcified, bulky, and irregular shape. The study aims to develop a patient-specific computational framework to virtually simulate TAVI in stenotic BAV patients using the Edwards SAPIEN 3 valve (S3) and its improved version SAPIEN 3 Ultra and quantify stent frame deformity as well as the severity of paravalvular leakage (PVL). Specifically, the aortic root anatomy of n.9 BAV patients who underwent TAVI was reconstructed from pre-operative CT imaging. Crimping and deployment of S3 fram…
Neuroprotective Properties of Mildronate, a Small Molecule, in a Rat Model of Parkinson’s Disease
2010
Previously, we have found that mildronate [3-(2,2,2-trimethylhydrazinium) propionate dihydrate], a small molecule with charged nitrogen and oxygen atoms, protects mitochondrial metabolism that is altered by inhibitors of complex I and has neuroprotective effects in an azidothymidine-neurotoxicity mouse model. In the present study, we investigated the effects of mildronate in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease (PD) that was generated via a unilateral intrastriatal injection of the neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6‑OHDA). We assessed the expression of cell biomarkers that are involved in signaling cascades and provide neural and glial integration: the neuronal marker TH (tyrosine hydroxylase); …
Active Surveillance in Prostate Cancer: Role of Available Biomarkers in Daily Practice
2021
Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men. The diagnosis is currently based on PSA levels, which are associated with overdiagnosis and overtreatment. Moreover, most PCas are localized tumours; hence, many patients with low-/very low-risk PCa could benefit from active surveillance (AS) programs instead of more aggressive, active treatments. Heterogeneity within inclusion criteria and follow-up strategies are the main controversial issues that AS presently faces. Many biomarkers are currently under investigation in this setting; however, none has yet demonstrated enough diagnostic ability as an independent predictor of pathological or clinical progression. This work a…
The WHAAM Application: a Tool to Support the Evidence-Based Practice in the Functional Behaviour Assessment
2018
BackgroundThe most recent computing technologies can promote the application of evidence-based practice (EBP) in the field of applied behaviour analysis (ABA).ObjectiveThe study describes how the use of technology can simplify the application of EBPs in ABA.MethodsThe Web Health Application for ADHD Monitoring (WHAAM) application demonstrates this in the following two case studies. We are monitoring dysfunctional behaviours, collecting behavioural data, performing systematic direct observations, creating both visual baseline and intervention charts and evaluating the planned interventions using the TAU-U statistical index.ResultsSignificant positive changes of children’s problem behaviours …
Solitary Fibrous Tumor: Integration of Clinical, Morphologic, Immunohistochemical and Molecular Findings in Risk Stratification and Classification Ma…
2021
Although solitary fibrous tumors (SFTs) have an unpredictable evolution, some specific clinicopathologic factors have been associated with the final outcome. We retrieved clinical, pathological and molecular data of 97 patients with a histological diagnosis of SFT and Signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) positivity. We retrospectively studied the pathological factors predictive of recurrence/metastasis and compared them with the clinical outcome. A wide immunohistochemical study and molecular analysis to detect NAB2/STAT6 gene fusion, tumor protein-53 (TP53) and/or (telomerase reverse transcriptase) TERT promotor mutation were performed. The risk of metastasis was calc…
Comparative Analysis of Chromatin-Delivered Biomarkers in the Monitoring of Sepsis and Septic Shock: A Pilot Study
2021
Sepsis management remains one of the most important challenges in modern clinical practice. Rapid progression from sepsis to septic shock is practically unpredictable, hence the critical need for sepsis biomarkers that can help clinicians in the management of patients to reduce the probability of a fatal outcome. Circulating nucleoproteins released during the inflammatory response to infection, including neutrophil extracellular traps, nucleosomes, and histones, and nuclear proteins like HMGB1, have been proposed as markers of disease progression since they are related to inflammation, oxidative stress, endothelial damage, and impairment of the coagulation response, among other pathological…
Using Virtual Reality to Distract Overweight Children from Bodily Sensations During Exercise
2016
This study analyzes the potential of virtual reality (VR) to enhance attentional distraction in overweight children as they experience bodily sensations during exercise. It has been suggested that one reason why obese children stop exercising is the perception of bodily sensations. In a counterbalanced design, a total of 109 children (33 overweight, 10-15 years old) were asked to walk twice for 6 minutes on a treadmill under one of two conditions: (a) traditional condition (TC)-focusing their attention on their physical feelings and sensations or (b) distraction condition (DC)-focusing their attention on a virtual environment. Attentional focus during exercise, bad-good feeling states (pre-…
A preliminary PET radiomics study of brain metastases using a fully automatic segmentation method
2020
AbstractBackgroundPositron Emission Tomography (PET) is increasingly utilized in radiomics studies for treatment evaluation purposes. Nevertheless, lesion volume identification in PET images is a critical and still challenging step in the process of radiomics, due to the low spatial resolution and high noise level of PET images. Currently, the biological target volume (BTV) is manually contoured by nuclear physicians, with a time expensive and operator-dependent procedure.This study aims to obtain BTVs from cerebral metastases in patients who underwent L-[11C]methionine (11C-MET) PET, using a fully automatic procedure and to use these BTVs to extract radiomics features to stratify between p…
Protein Cargo of Salivary Small Extracellular Vesicles as Potential Functional Signature of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma
2021
The early diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is still an investigative challenge. Saliva has been proposed as an ideal diagnostic medium for biomarker detection by mean of liquid biopsy technique. The aim of this pilot study was to apply proteomic and bioinformatic strategies to determine the potential use of saliva small extracellular vesicles (S/SEVs) as a potential tumor biomarker source. Among the twenty-three enrolled patients, 5 were free from diseases (OSCC_FREE), 6 were with OSCC without lymph node metastasis (OSCC_NLNM), and 12 were with OSCC and lymph node metastasis (OSCC_LNM). The S/SEVs from patients of each group were pooled and properly characterized before perf…