Search results for "Original article"
showing 10 items of 1187 documents
Fibronectin urothelial gene expression as a new reliable biomarker for early detection of local toxicity secondary to adjuvant intravesical therapy f…
2020
Background: A marker of urothelial damage could be helpful for early detection and monitoring of local toxicity due to intravesical therapy for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). The aim of the study was to investigate the correlation between fibronectin (FN) gene expression in bladder washings and local toxicity secondary to adjuvant intravesical therapy. Materials and methods: Patients undergoing adjuvant intravesical therapy for NMIBC and age-matched healthy patients were enrolled. Real time polymerase chain reaction was performed to analyze FN expression in bladder washings. Local toxicity was classified as: 0–1 mild (no medical therapy), 2 moderate (medical therapy and/or inst…
Pathogenic lipid‐binding antiphospholipid antibodies are associated with severity of COVID‐19
2021
Abstract Background Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID‐19)–associated coagulopathy is a hallmark of disease severity and poor prognosis. The key manifestations of this prothrombotic syndrome—microvascular thrombosis, stroke, and venous and pulmonary clots—are also observed in severe and catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome. Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) are detectable in COVID‐19 patients, but their association with the clinical course of COVID‐19 remains unproven. Objectives To analyze the presence and relevance of lipid‐binding aPL in hospitalized COVID‐19 patients. Methods Two cohorts of 53 and 121 patients from a single center hospitalized for PCR‐proven severe acute respiratory syndro…
Institutional quality and resource-based economic sustainability: the mediation effects of resource governance
2022
The discovery of extractive resources is associated with multiple opportunities and unbridled optimism on achieving socio-economic development for many countries. However, the question how the host governments meet expectations of indigenous people by ensuring an ideal resource-based economic sustainability (RES) has been receiving less research attention. Using the global panel dataset of 80 resource-endowed economies from 2010 to 2017, we postulate and empirically examine the mediating effect of the resource governance (RESOGV) on the relationship between institutional quality (IQ) and RES. The ANOVA and post hoc ANOVA results revealed significant disparities in terms of IQ, RESOGV, and R…
A critical role for VEGF and VEGFR2 in NMDA receptor synaptic function and fear-related behavior
2016
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is known to be required for the action of antidepressant therapies but its impact on brain synaptic function is poorly characterized. Using a combination of electrophysiological, single-molecule imaging and conditional transgenic approaches, we identified the molecular basis of the VEGF effect on synaptic transmission and plasticity. VEGF increases the postsynaptic responses mediated by the N-methyl-D-aspartate type of glutamate receptors (GluNRs) in hippocampal neurons. This is concurrent with the formation of new synapses and with the synaptic recruitment of GluNR expressing the GluN2B subunit (GluNR-2B). VEGF induces a rapid redistribution of Glu…
Sonic hedgehog promotes angiogenesis and osteogenesis in a coculture system consisting of primary osteoblasts and outgrowth endothelial cells.
2009
A number of previous studies documented the angiogenic potential of outgrowth endothelial cells in vitro and in vivo and provided evidence that therapeutic success could depend on coculture or coimplantation strategies. Thus, deeper insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying this pro-angiogenic effect of cocultures might provide new translational options for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. One promising signaling pathway in bone repair involved in neoangiogenesis and bone formation is the sonic hedgehog (Shh) pathway. In this article, we focus on the effect of Shh on the formation of microvessel-like structures and osteoblastic differentiation in cocultures of primary os…
Iron intake among Lebanese women: sociodemographic factors, iron-rich dietary patterns, and preparation of hummus, a Mediterranean dish
2021
Background: Plant-based foods such as hummus are alternative to animal protein, and when properly pre-pared, they help to alleviate nutritional iron deficiency that leads to anemia, a global health problem. Objective: The objective was to assess iron intake among Lebanese women and related participant’s charac-teristics, discern iron-rich dietary patterns, evaluate their association with nutrients intake and participant’s sociodemographic characteristics, and identify the women preparing hummus traditionally and properly for an enhanced iron bioavailability. Design: A cross-sectional study of 400 Lebanese women (18–74 years old) was conducted in Lebanon. Data from a questionnaire, including…
Mosaic activating mutations in GNA11 and GNAQ are associated with phakomatosis pigmentovascularis and extensive dermal melanocytosis
2016
Common birthmarks can be an indicator of underlying genetic disease but are often overlooked. Mongolian blue spots (dermal melanocytosis) are usually localized and transient, but they can be extensive, permanent, and associated with extracutaneous abnormalities. Co-occurrence with vascular birthmarks defines a subtype of phakomatosis pigmentovascularis, a group of syndromes associated with neurovascular, ophthalmological, overgrowth, and malignant complications. Here, we discover that extensive dermal melanocytosis and phakomatosis pigmentovascularis are associated with activating mutations in GNA11 and GNAQ, genes that encode Gα subunits of heterotrimeric G proteins. The mutations were det…
Wee1 inhibition potentiates Wip1-dependent p53-negative tumor cell death during chemotherapy
2016
AbstractInactivation of p53 found in more than half of human cancers is often associated with increased tumor resistance to anti-cancer therapy. We have previously shown that overexpression of the phosphatase Wip1 in p53-negative tumors sensitizes them to chemotherapeutic agents, while protecting normal tissues from the side effects of anti-cancer treatment. In this study, we decided to search for kinases that prevent Wip1-mediated sensitization of cancer cells, thereby interfering with efficacy of genotoxic anti-cancer drugs. To this end, we performed a flow cytometry-based screening in order to identify kinases that regulated the levels of γH2AX, which were used as readout. Another criter…
Determinants of the distribution of nitrogen-cycling microbial communities at the landscape-scale
2010
Little information is available regarding the landscape-scale distribution of microbial communities and its environmental determinants. However, a landscape perspective is needed to understand the relative importance of local and regional factors and land management for the microbial communities. In this manuscript, we investigated the distribution of functional microbial communities involved in N-cycling and of the total bacterial and crenarchaeal communities over 107 sites using a grid with a 16 km lag distance within Burgundy, a 31 500 km2 region in France. After quantifying the abundances of the total bacterial, crenarchaeal, nitrate-reducing, denitrifying and ammonia-oxidizing communit…
Loss in microbial diversity affects nitrogen cycling in soil
2013
International audience; Microbial communities have a central role in ecosystem processes by driving the Earth's biogeochemical cycles. However, the importance of microbial diversity for ecosystem functioning is still debated. Here, we experimentally manipulated the soil microbial community using a dilution approach to analyze the functional consequences of diversity loss. A trait-centered approach was embraced using the denitrifiers as model guild due to their role in nitrogen cycling, a major ecosystem service. How various diversity metrics related to richness, eveness and phylogenetic diversity of the soil denitrifier community were affected by the removal experiment was assessed by 454 s…