Search results for "FEP"
showing 10 items of 39 documents
Role of AxyZ Transcriptional Regulator in Overproduction of AxyXY-OprZ Multidrug Efflux System in Achromobacter Species Mutants Selected by Tobramycin
2017
ABSTRACT AxyXY-OprZ is an RND-type efflux system that confers innate aminoglycoside resistance to Achromobacter spp. We investigated here a putative TetR family transcriptional regulator encoded by the axyZ gene located upstream of axyXY-oprZ . An in-frame axyZ gene deletion assay led to increased MICs of antibiotic substrates of the efflux system, including aminoglycosides, cefepime, fluoroquinolones, tetracyclines, and erythromycin, indicating that the product of axyZ negatively regulates expression of axyXY-oprZ . Moreover, we identified an amino acid substitution at position 29 of AxyZ (V29G) in a clinical Achromobacter strain that occurred during the course of chronic respiratory tract…
Effect of mifepristone on the transcriptomic signature of endometrial receptivity
2018
Study question How does a single dose of mifepristone on Day 2 after the LH peak (LH + 2) affect the endometrial receptivity transcriptome as assessed by the receptive signature established by the endometrial receptivity analysis (ERA)? Summary answer A single dose of mifepristone on day LH + 2 renders the endometrium non-receptive by altering the transcriptome associated with endometrial receptivity. What is known already Mifepristone is a progesterone receptor modulator that has been shown to alter endometrial receptivity. The ERA is a computational predictor that utilizes gene expression data of 248 genes from next generation sequencing to identify endometrial receptivity status. Study d…
Vitamin D and clinical symptoms in First Episode Psychosis (FEP): A prospective cohort study
2019
BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of longitudinal research investigating vitamin D in people with early psychosis.METHOD: Vitamin D levels were measured in 168 patients (64% (n = 108) male, mean age 29.3 (9.8) years) with first episode psychosis (FEP), along with measures of clinical state at baseline and at 12 months follow up. We assessed the a) cross sectional, and; b) longitudinal relationships between continuous and categorical 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels and clinical symptoms at first contact for psychosis and at 12 months.RESULTS: In FEP, 80% (n = 134) at baseline, and 76% at 12 months follow up, had suboptimal vitamin D levels (<20 ng/ml). Suboptimal levels of 25 (OH) D at …
Cannabis users have higher premorbid IQ than other patients with first onset psychosis.
2013
Background: A number of studies have reported that patients with psychosis who use cannabis have better cognitive performance than those who do not. This is surprising as cannabis can impair cognition in healthy subjects. An obvious question is whether the better current performance of psychotic patients who have used cannabis is a reflection of their having a higher premorbid IQ than those psychotic patients who haven't used cannabis. Aim: In a sample of patients at their first episode of psychosis, we tested the hypothesis that patients who smoked cannabis would have a higher premorbid IQ than patients who did not. Methodology: 279 participants (119 patients and 160 healthy controls) were…
P29, an oestrogen receptor-associated protein, is down- regulated by mifepristone in first trimester human placenta and decidua
1991
P29 is an oestrogen receptor-associated protein which acts as a marker of oestrogen action in several systems. The concentration of P29 was measured in placenta and decidua from women following medical termination of pregnancy with the antiprogesterone steroid mifepristone (RU 38,486) and a prostaglandin E1 analogue, and compared with the concentration of P29 found in matched controls undergoing surgical aspiration of pregnancy. Oestrogen receptors were also measured in the same samples. Placental and decidual P29 concentrations (IU/mg protein) in patients treated with mifepristone were 9.6 (4.6-54) and 4.8 (1.3-13.3) (median and range), respectively. These values were significantly lower t…
Screening of pharmacologic adulterant classes in herbal formulations using voltammetry of microparticles.
2013
A solid state electrochemical method for screening different families of adulterant chemicals illegally added to commercial phytotherapuetic formulations is described. The proposed method, based on the voltammetry of microparticles approach, permits a fast and sensitive way to distinguish between anorexics (amfepramone, fenproporex, sibutramine), benzozodiazepinic anxiolytics (clonazepam, flurazepam, alprazolam, midazolam, medazepam, chlordiazepoxide, diazepam), antidepressants (bupropione, fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine), diuretics (hydrochlorothiazide, furosemide, chlortalidone, amiloride, spironolactone), and hypoglycemics (glimepiride, chlorpropamide, glibenclamide) based on charact…
The Proton-Boron Reaction Increases the Radiobiological Effectiveness of Clinical Low- and High-Energy Proton Beams: Novel Experimental Evidence and …
2021
Protontherapy is a rapidly expanding radiotherapy modality where accelerated proton beams are used to precisely deliver the dose to the tumor target but is generally considered ineffective against radioresistant tumors. Proton-Boron Capture Therapy (PBCT) is a novel approach aimed at enhancing proton biological effectiveness. PBCT exploits a nuclear fusion reaction between low-energy protons and 11B atoms, i.e. p+11B→ 3α (p-B), which is supposed to produce highly-DNA damaging α-particles exclusively across the tumor-conformed Spread-Out Bragg Peak (SOBP), without harming healthy tissues in the beam entrance channel. To confirm previous work on PBCT, here we report new in-vitro data obtained…
Differential Promotion of Glutamate Transporter Expression and Function by Glucocorticoids in Astrocytes from Various Brain Regions
2005
Steroids that activate glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) and mineralocorticoid receptors have important regulatory effects on neural development, plasticity, and the body's stress response. Here, we investigated the role of corticosteroids in regulating the expression of the glial glutamate transporters glial glutamate transporter-1 (GLT-1) and glutamate-aspartate transporter (GLAST) in rat primary astrocytes. The synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone provoked a marked increase of GLT-1 transcription and protein levels in cortical astrocytes, whereas GLAST expression remained unaffected. Up-regulation of GLT-1 expression was accompanied by an enhanced glutamate uptake, which could be blocked …
Mutational Events in Cefotaximase Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamases of the CTX-M-1 Cluster Involved in Ceftazidime Resistance
2008
ABSTRACT CTX-M β-lactamases, which show a high cefotaxime hydrolytic activity, constitute the most prevalent extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) type found among clinical isolates. The recent explosive diversification of CTX-M enzymes seems to have taken place due to the appearance of more efficient enzymes which are capable of hydrolyzing both cefotaxime and ceftazidime, especially among the CTX-M-1 cluster. A combined strategy of in vitro stepwise evolution experiments using bla CTX-M-1 , bla CTX-M-3 , and bla CTX-M-10 genes and site-directed mutagenesis has been used to evaluate the role of ceftazidime and other β-lactam antibiotics in triggering the diversity found among enzymes belong…
In situ derivatization for double confirmation of 2C–C in oral fluids by ion mobility spectrometry
2017
Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is a powerful tool to carry out quick and sensitive detection of illicit activities and has been employed for the determination of the psychedelic drug 2,5-dimethoxy-4 chlorophenethylamine (2C–C) in oral fluid samples. Saliva samples were extracted with chloroform and analysed by IMS reaching a limit of detection (LOD) of 14 μg L−1. Nevertheless, IMS has a scarce resolution and selectivity of the method can be often compromised by the presence of potential interferents with similar molecular weights and drift times. Thus, a rapid and in situ derivatization with acetone, to form the corresponding imine, has been proposed in the present study to confirm the pre…