Search results for "TC"

Quantitatively characterizing drug-induced arrhythmic contractile motions of human stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.

2018

Quantification of abnormal contractile motions of cardiac tissue has been a noteworthy challenge and significant limitation in assessing and classifying the drug-induced arrhythmias (i.e. Torsades de pointes). To overcome these challenges, researchers have taken advantage of computational image processing tools to measure contractile motion from cardiomyocytes derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC-CMs). However, the amplitude and frequency analysis of contractile motion waveforms doesn't produce sufficient information to objectively classify the degree of variations between two or more sets of cardiac contractile motions. In this paper, we generated contractile motion dat…

Human fascioliasis infection sources, their diversity, incidence factors, analytical methods and prevention measures

2018

AbstractHuman fascioliasis infection sources are analysed for the first time in front of the new worldwide scenario of this disease. These infection sources include foods, water and combinations of both. Ingestion of freshwater wild plants is the main source, with watercress and secondarily other vegetables involved. The problem of vegetables sold in uncontrolled urban markets is discussed. Distinction between infection sources by freshwater cultivated plants, terrestrial wild plants, and terrestrial cultivated plants is made. The risks by traditional local dishes made from sylvatic plants and raw liver ingestion are considered. Drinking of contaminated water, beverages and juices, ingestio…

2017

Abstract. Endolithic microbial communities are prominent features of intertidal marine habitats, where they colonize a variety of substrates, contributing to their erosion. Almost 2 centuries worth of naturalistic studies focused on a few true-boring (euendolithic) phototrophs, but substrate preference has received little attention. The Isla de Mona (Puerto Rico) intertidal zone offers a unique setting to investigate substrate specificity of endolithic communities since various phosphate rock, limestone and dolostone outcrops occur there. High-throughput 16S rDNA genetic sampling, enhanced by targeted cultivation, revealed that, while euendolithic cyanobacteria were dominant operational tax…

NOTCH signalling in ovarian cancer angiogenesis

2020

The Notch signalling pathway is involved in the new vessel formation process by regulating tip and stalk cells, which are key cells in the sprout formation. This process is essential in both normal ovary and cancer angiogenesis and is regulated by Notch-VEGF crosstalk. Furthermore, Notch has been linked in ovary with stem cell maintenance and epithelial mesenchymal transition processes. Dysregulation of the Notch pathway is frequent in ovarian cancer (OC) and it has been associated with impaired survival and advanced stages or lymph node involvement. Notch also plays a role in chemoresistance to platinum. In this context, this pathway has emerged as an attractive target for precision medici…

Towards patient stratification and treatment in the autoimmune disease lupus erythematosus using a systems pharmacology approach

2015

Drug development in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) has been hindered by poor translation from successful preclinical experiments to clinical efficacy. This lack of success has been attributed to the high heterogeneity of SLE patients and to the lack of understanding of disease physiopathology. Modelling approaches could be useful for supporting the identification of targets, biomarkers and patient subpopulations with differential response to drugs. However, the use of traditional quantitative models based on differential equations is not justifiable in a sparse data situation. Boolean networks models are less demanding on the required data to be implemented and can provide insights into…

The emergence of loss of efficacy during antidepressant drug treatment for major depressive disorder: An integrative review of evidence, mechanisms, …

2018

The re-emergence (i.e. ‘breakthrough’) of depressive symptoms despite maintenance treatment of depression with antidepressant drugs is a complex clinical phenomenon referred to as tolerance. Herein we critically appraise evidence from both pre-clinical and clinical studies, focusing on putative mechanisms as well as clinical correlates and implications of the emergence tolerance during antidepressant treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD). It is firstly unclear to what extent this phenotype reflects a pharmacological effect of an antidepressant, is driven by non-adherence, is a marker of latent bipolarity or another comorbidity, a marker of neuroprogression of the underlying disorder…

Evaluation of three different rotary systems during endodontic retreatment - Analysis by scanning electron microscopy

2015

Background: Endodontic therapy is considered a series of important and interdependent steps, and failure of any of these steps may compromise the treatment outcome. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of three different rotary systems in removing obturation materials during endodontic retreatment using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. Material and Methods: Thirty-six endodontically treated teeth were selected and divided into 3 groups of 10 and 1 control group with 6 dental elements. The groups were divided according to the rotary system used for removing gutta-percha, as follows: G1: ProTaper system; G2: K3 system; G3: Mtwo system; and G4: Control group. Thereafter, …

Microparticles harbouring Sonic hedgehog morphogen improve the vasculogenesis capacity of endothelial progenitor cells derived from myocardial infarc…

2019

Aims Endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) play a role in endothelium integrity maintenance and regeneration. Decreased numbers of EPC or their impaired function correlates with an increase in cardiovascular events. Thus, EPC are important predictors of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Microparticles carrying Sonic hedgehog (Shh) morphogen (MPShh+) trigger pro-angiogenic responses, both in endothelial cells and in ischaemic rodent models. Here, we propose that MPShh+ regulates EPC function, thus enhancing vasculogenesis, and correcting the defects in dysfunctional EPC obtained from acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients. Methods and results The mechanisms underlying Shh pathway func…

Application of modern computer algebra systems in food formulations and development: A case study

2017

Abstract Background Nutritional security determines the level of public health within a population while inadequate nutrition is one of the major factors in development of various health problems. This can be alleviated with sufficient and affordable access to currently available or newly designed nutritious foods. Scope and approach Formulation of new foods can be very costly, so methods able to lower design expanses are of utmost importance to the industry. Hence, the purpose of this work was to rationalize utilization of modern computerized algebraic systems (CAS) in solving traditional problems for formulating food mixtures by food combinatoric principles (FCP). Key findings and conclus…

Kinetics of vinyl acetate biodegradation by Pseudomonas fluorescens PCM 2123

2018

Abstract The microbial degradation of vinyl acetate (VA) by Pseudomonas fluorescens PCM 2123 strain was studied in both batch and continuous modes. The purpose of the experiments was to determine the kinetic model of the cell growth and biodegradation rate of vinyl acetate (VA), which was the sole carbon and energy source for tested microorganisms. The experiments, carried out in a batch reactor for several initial concentrations of growth substrate in the liquid phase ranging from 18.6 to 373 gsubstrate·m−3 (gs·m−3) made it possible to choose the kinetic model and to estimate its constants. The Haldane inhibitory model with the values of constants: μm = 0.1202 h−1, KS = 17.195 gs·m−3, Ki =…