Search results for "model."
showing 10 items of 23664 documents
Targeted delivery of Cyclosporine A by polymeric nanocarriers improves the therapy of inflammatory bowel disease in a relevant mouse model
2017
The therapy of inflammatory bowel diseases is still rather inefficient, and about 80% of patients require surgery at some stage. Improving the treatments by more efficient medication is, therefore, an urgent medical need. The objective of this project was to demonstrate targeted delivery of Cyclosporine-A (CYA) to the inflamed areas of the intestinal mucosa after oral administration, enabling improved alleviation of the symptoms and, at the same time, reduced systemic drug absorption and associated adverse effects. As had already been demonstrated in previous studies, nano- to micrometer-sized drug particles will accumulate at inflamed mucosal areas, providing a platform for such purposes. …
Abacavir Induces Arterial Thrombosis in a Murine Model.
2018
Background The purinergic system is known to underlie prothrombotic and proinflammatory vascular programs, making the profile of experimental actions demonstrated by abacavir compatible with thrombogenesis. However, direct evidence of a prothrombotic effect by the drug has been lacking. Methods The present study appraised the effects of abacavir in a well-validated animal model of arterial thrombosis. The role of ATP-P2X7 receptors in the actions of the drug was also assessed, and the actions of recognized vascular-damaging agents and other nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) were evaluated and compared to those of abacavir. Results Abacavir dose-dependently promoted thrombu…
Shikonin derivatives for cancer prevention and therapy.
2019
Abstract Phytochemicals gained considerable interest during the past years as source to develop new treatment options for chemoprevention and cancer therapy. Motivated by the fact that a majority of established anticancer drugs are derived in one way or another from natural resources, we focused on shikonin, a naphthoquinone with high potentials to be further developed as preventive or therapeutic drug to fight cancer. Shikonin is the major chemical component of Lithospermum erythrorhizon (Purple Cromwell) roots. Traditionally, the root extract has been applied to cure dermatitis, burns, and wounds. Over the past three decades, the anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects of root extracts, …
A lipidomic cell-based assay for studying drug-induced phospholipidosis and steatosis
2017
Phospholipidosis and steatosis are two toxic effects, which course with overaccumulation of different classes of lipids in the liver. MS-based lipidomics has become a powerful tool for the comprehensive determination of lipids. LC-MS lipid profiling of HepG2 cells is proposed as an in vitro assay to study and anticipate phospholipidosis and steatosis. Cells with and without pre-incubation with a mixture of free fatty acids (FFA) (i.e., oleic and palmitic) were exposed to a set of well-known steatogenic and phospholipidogenic compounds. The use of FFA pre-loading accelerated the accumulation of phospholipids thus leading to a better discrimination of phospholipidosis, and magnified the lipid…
Bisphosphonates, vitamin D, parathyroid hormone, and osteonecrosis of the jaw. Could there be a missing link?
2016
It is estimated that over 190 million bisphosphonates have been prescribed worldwide. But this drug can produce adverse effects, of which osteonecrosis of the jaw and severe hypocalcemia are the most serious. It is evident that bisphosphonate administration affects multiple and diverse biochemical mediators related to bone metabolism. This review of literature investigates four basic parameters in patients treated with bisphosphonates - parathyroid hormone (PTH), bisphosphonates, vitamin D, calcium, and jaw osteonecrosis - which are fundamental for assessing bone metabolism and so the efficacy and correct use of the drug. The imbalances generated by vitamin D and calcium deficiencies, toget…
On a Planar Dynamical System Arising in the Network Control Theory
2016
We study the structure of attractors in the two-dimensional dynamical system that appears in the network control theory. We provide description of the attracting set and follow changes this set suffers under the changes of positive parameters µ and Θ.
A Physiology-Based Model of Human Bile Acid Metabolism for Predicting Bile Acid Tissue Levels After Drug Administration in Healthy Subjects and BRIC …
2019
Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a matter of concern in the course of drug development and patient safety, often leading to discontinuation of drug-development programs or early withdrawal of drugs from market. Hepatocellular toxicity or impairment of bile acid (BA) metabolism, known as cholestasis, are the two clinical forms of DILI. Whole-body physiology-based modelling allows a mechanistic investigation of the physiological processes leading to cholestasis in man. Objectives of the present study were: (1) the development of a physiology-based model of the human BA metabolism, (2) population-based model validation and characterisation, and (3) the prediction and quantification of alter…
Discovering Differential Equations from Earth Observation Data
2020
Modeling and understanding the Earth system is a constant and challenging scientific endeavour. When a clear mechanistic model is unavailable, complex or uncertain, learning from data can be an alternative. While machine learning has provided excellent methods for detection and retrieval, understanding the governing equations of the system from observational data seems an elusive problem. In this paper we introduce sparse regression to uncover a set of governing equations in the form of a system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The presented method is used to explicitly describe variable relations by identifying the most expressive and simplest ODEs explaining data to model releva…
Partial resistance to homologous challenge infections of the digenean Echinostoma caproni in ICR mice
2015
AbstractIn the present paper, we analyse the effect of a primary infection of ICR mice with Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae) on the generation of resistance against homologous challenge infections. In ICR mice, E. caproni induces chronic infections concomitantly with strong responses characterized by the development of T-helper 1 (Th1)-type local immune responses with elevated levels of local interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and inflammatory and antibody responses. Here, the effect of the response generated against a primary infection with E. caproni in the generation of resistance against subsequent homologous infections was analysed. For this purpose, ICR mice were challenged wit…
Consumer interest towards tropical fruit: factors affecting avocado fruit consumption in Italy
2017
Abstract The purpose of this paper is to identify the main factors affecting the consumption of avocado fruit among Italian consumers. In order to respond to the aim of the study, an empirical survey was conducted through the submission of an online questionnaire to 327 consumers. An ordered logit econometric model was adopted to examine the relationship among some explanatory variables and the frequency of consumption of avocado fruit. The findings of this study show that the consumption of avocado fruit is affected by different factors, including fruit consumption habit, neophilia attitudes, and various intrinsic and extrinsic quality attributes (credence attributes in particular). The st…