Search results for "RICS"

Long-term vitamin D treatment decreases human uterine leiomyoma size in a xenograft animal model

2019

Objective To study the effects of short- and long-term vitamin D treatment on uterine leiomyomas in vivo through cell proliferation, extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation, and apoptosis. Design Preclinical study of human leiomyoma treatment with vitamin D in an nonhuman animal model. Setting Hospital and university laboratories. Patient(s)/Animal(s) Human leiomyomas were collected from patients and implanted in ovariectomized NOD-SCID mice. Intervention(s) Mice were treated with vitamin D (0.5 μg/kg/d or 1 μg/kg/d) or vehicle for 21 or 60 days. Main Outcome Measure(s) Vitamin D effect in xenograft tissue was assessed by monitoring tumor size (18F-FDG positron-emission tomography/computeriz…

Computational Fluid Dynamics Suggests Ecological Diversification among Stem-Gnathostomes.

2020

Summary The evolutionary assembly of the vertebrate bodyplan has been characterized as a long-term ecological trend toward increasingly active and predatory lifestyles, culminating in jawed vertebrates that dominate modern vertebrate biodiversity [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. This contrast is no more stark than between the earliest jawed vertebrates and their immediate relatives, the extinct jawless, dermal armor-encased osteostracans, which have conventionally been interpreted as benthic mud-grubbers with poor swimming capabilities and low maneuverability [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. Using computational fluid dynamics, we show that osteostracan headshield morphology is compatible with a dive…

Clinical Correlates of Functional Motor Disorders: An Italian Multicenter Study

2020

Background\ud Functional motor disorders (FMDs) are abnormal movements that are significantly altered by distractive maneuvers and are incongruent with movement disorders seen in typical neurological diseases.\ud \ud Objective\ud The objectives of this article are to (1) describe the clinical manifestations of FMDs, including nonmotor symptoms and occurrence of other functional neurological disorders (FND); and (2) to report the frequency of isolated and combined FMDs and their relationship with demographic and clinical variables.\ud \ud Methods\ud For this multicenter, observational study, we enrolled consecutive outpatients with a definite diagnosis of FMDs attending 25 tertiary movement …

Stability of stationary solutions in models of the Calvin cycle

2017

Abstract In this paper results are obtained concerning the number of positive stationary solutions in simple models of the Calvin cycle of photosynthesis and the stability of these solutions. It is proved that there are open sets of parameters in the model of Zhu et al. (2009) for which there exist two positive stationary solutions. There are never more than two isolated positive stationary solutions but under certain explicit special conditions on the parameters there is a whole continuum of positive stationary solutions. It is also shown that in the set of parameter values for which two isolated positive stationary solutions exist there is an open subset where one of the solutions is asym…

The most well kept secret, embryo culture media: a smart reveal from an expert.

2017

Evaluation of DNA Methylation Episignatures for Diagnosis and Phenotype Correlations in 42 Mendelian Neurodevelopmental Disorders

2020

Contains fulltext : 218274.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Genetic syndromes frequently present with overlapping clinical features and inconclusive or ambiguous genetic findings which can confound accurate diagnosis and clinical management. An expanding number of genetic syndromes have been shown to have unique genomic DNA methylation patterns (called "episignatures"). Peripheral blood episignatures can be used for diagnostic testing as well as for the interpretation of ambiguous genetic test results. We present here an approach to episignature mapping in 42 genetic syndromes, which has allowed the identification of 34 robust disease-specific episignatures. We examine emerging pa…

The use of morphokinetic as a predictor of implantation.

2017

In recent years the increased efforts intended for improving future outcomes in the laboratory have focused mostly on the search of additional markers of embryo quality to add up present embryo selection criteria. Time-lapse system involves an alternative tool in assisted reproduction techniques, being able to improve the embryo selection from a dynamic and interactive approach while standard embryo assessment implies a subjective and static morphology evaluation and consequently reducing the information gained for embryo selection, time-lapse technology adds several morphokinetic parameters, providing additional input for embryo evaluation. This further information represents a challenge f…

Elderly Onset Celiac Disease: A Narrative Review.

2016

Celiac sprue is a chronic disease, which usually occurs in children and young adults. However, it can develop in any age group, and the prevalence is increasing even in the elderly population. The atypical patterns of clinical presentation in this age group sometimes can cause a delay in diagnosis. Given the lower sensitivity and specificity of serological tests in the aged population, clinical suspect often arises in the presence of complications (autoimmune disorders, fractures, and finally, malignancy) and must be supported by endoscopic and imaging tools. In this review, we highlight the incidence and prevalence of celiac disease in the elderly, the patterns of clinical presentation, d…

Plasma polyunsaturated fatty acids are directly associated with cognition in overweight children but not in normal weight children

2016

Aim Polyunsaturated fatty acids are essential nutrients for the normal development of the brain. We investigated the associations between plasma polyunsaturated fatty acids and cognition in normal weight and overweight children. Methods The study recruited 386 normal weight children and 58 overweight children aged six to eight years and blood samples were drawn after a 12-hour fast. We assessed plasma polyunsaturated fatty acids using gas chromatography, cognition using Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices, and overweight and obesity using the age-specific and sex-specific cut-offs from the International Obesity Task Force. The data were analysed by linear regression analyses adjusted for …

The still under-investigated role of cognitive deficits in PML diagnosis

2017

Background: Despite cognitive deficits frequently represent the first clinical manifestations of Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML) in Natalizumab-treated MS patients, the importance of cognitive deficits in PML diagnosis is still under-investigated. The aim of the current study is to investigate the cognitive deficits at PML diagnosis in a group of Italian patients with PML. Methods: Thirty-four PML patients were included in the study. The demographic and clinical data, the lesion load and localization, and the longitudinal clinical course was compared between patients with (n = 13) and without (n = 15) cognitive deficit upon PML suspicion (the remaining six patients were asy…