The University of Utah’s Family Medicine Residency program analyzed and continuously revised the rubric used to select candidates for interviews and introduced structural changes to support residents.
Endoglin is involved in the regulation of endothelial function, but there are no studies concerning its relation with hypertension- and diabetes-associated pathologies. Thus, we studied the ...relationship between plasma levels of soluble endoglin and cardiovascular alterations associated with hypertension and diabetes.
We analyzed 288 patients: 64 with type 2 diabetes, 159 with hypertension and 65 healthy patients. We assessed the relationship of soluble endoglin plasma levels measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with basal glycemia, glycosylated hemoglobin, blood pressure, endothelial dysfunction (assessed by pressure wave velocity), hypertensive retinopathy (by Keith-Wagener classification), left ventricular hypertrophy (by Cornell and Sokolow indexes), cardiovascular risk and target organ (heart, vascular, kidney) damage.
There are significant correlations between endoglin and glycemia, systolic blood pressure, pulse pressure, pressure wave velocity and electrocardiographically assessed left ventricular hypertrophy. Endoglin levels were significantly higher in patients with diabetes who had nondipper and extreme dipper circadian blood pressure patterns than in dipper circadian patterns, in patients with hypertension and diabetes who had riser pattern than in the other patients, and in patients with diabetes but not hypertension who had extreme dipper pattern than in dipper, nondipper and riser groups. There was also a significant correlation between plasma-soluble endoglin and lower levels of systolic night-day ratio. Higher endoglin levels were found in patients with diabetes who had retinopathy, in patients with diabetes who had a high probability of 10-year cardiovascular risk, and in patients with diabetes and hypertension who had three or more damaged target organs (heart, vessels, kidney) than in those with no organs affected.
This study shows that endoglin is an indicator of hypertension- and diabetes-associated vascular pathologies as endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular damage.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Objective
The present study summarizes the current knowledge on the role of bacterial extracellular signaling systems, known as quorum sensing (QS), in oral biofilm formation, and on the possibility ...of blocking these microbial communication systems as a potential approach to prevent and treat oral infectious diseases.
Methods
A detailed literature review of the current knowledge of QS in the oral cavity was performed, using the databases MEDLINE (through PubMed) and Web of Science.
Results
Accumulating direct and indirect evidence indicates an important role of QS molecules in the oral microbial ecosystem.
Conclusions
The mechanisms regulating gene expression through bacterial communication systems constitute a promising target to control oral biofilm formation. Although cell‐to‐cell communication is pivotal for biofilm formation of many pathogenic bacteria, knowledge concerning microbial interactions and signaling processes within multispecies biofilms in the oral cavity is still limited.
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CMK, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Individuals with diabetes mellitus type 1 (DM1) tend to check their blood sugar levels multiple times daily and utilize this information to predict their future glycemic levels. Based on these ...predictions, patients decide on the best approach to regulate their glucose levels with considerations such as insulin dosage and other related factors. Nevertheless, modern developments in Internet of Things (IoT) technology and innovative biomedical sensors have enabled the constant gathering of glucose level data using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in addition to other biomedical signals. With the use of machine learning (ML) algorithms, glycemic level patterns can be modeled, enabling accurate forecasting of this variable. Constrained devices have limited computational power, making it challenging to run complex machine learning algorithms directly on these devices. However, by leveraging edge computing, using lightweight machine learning algorithms, and performing preprocessing and feature extraction, it is possible to run machine learning algorithms on constrained devices despite these limitations. In this paper we test the burdens of some constrained IoT devices, probing that it is feasible to locally predict glycemia using a smartphone, up to 45 min in advance and with acceptable accuracy using random forest.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Let
ν
be a countably additive vector measure defined on a
σ
-algebra and taking values in a Banach space. In this paper we deal with the following three properties for the Banach lattice
L
1
(
ν
)
of ...all
ν
-integrable real-valued functions: the Dunford-Pettis property, the positive Schur property and being lattice-isomorphic to an AL-space. We give new results and we also provide alternative proofs of some already known ones.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Excellent control performance and high robustness under different operating conditions are primary purposes pursued by many model predictive control algorithms. As a model-based control algorithm, ...the accuracy of the stator current mathematical model has a significant impact on the control performance of the predictive current control (PCC) method. To improve the current tracking accuracy and the robustness against parameter variation, a stator current mathematical model self-regulation strategy, which uses stator current prediction error to calculate parameter changes and design a parameter variation compensation strategy to correct the mathematical model in real-time at each control cycle, based on PCC algorithm is proposed to pursue desired performance. Consequently, the elimination of stator current prediction error, high controlled quality, and better robustness have been achieved in the proposed method. The comparative simulation and experiment results validate the superiority of the proposed method.
Traditional cancer therapy can be successful in destroying tumors, but can also cause dangerous side effects. Therefore, many targeted therapies are in development. The transferrin receptor (TfR) ...functions in cellular iron uptake through its interaction with transferrin. This receptor is an attractive molecule for the targeted therapy of cancer since it is upregulated on the surface of many cancer types and is efficiently internalized. This receptor can be targeted in two ways: 1) for the delivery of therapeutic molecules into malignant cells or 2) to block the natural function of the receptor leading directly to cancer cell death.
In the present article we discuss the strategies used to target the TfR for the delivery of therapeutic agents into cancer cells. We provide a summary of the vast types of anti-cancer drugs that have been delivered into cancer cells employing a variety of receptor binding molecules including Tf, anti-TfR antibodies, or TfR-binding peptides alone or in combination with carrier molecules including nanoparticles and viruses.
Targeting the TfR has been shown to be effective in delivering many different therapeutic agents and causing cytotoxic effects in cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.
The extensive use of TfR for targeted therapy attests to the versatility of targeting this receptor for therapeutic purposes against malignant cells. More advances in this area are expected to further improve the therapeutic potential of targeting the TfR for cancer therapy leading to an increase in the number of clinical trials of molecules targeting this receptor. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Transferrins: molecular mechanisms of iron transport and disorders.
► Summary of delivery strategies targeting the transferrin receptor. ► Summary of complexes with targeting moiety directly conjugated to the therapeutic. ► Summary of approaches where targeted carriers are loaded with the therapeutic.
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GEOZS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPUK
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of cognitive functions, reflecting pathological damage to the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) as well as ...to the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex. Astrocytes maintain the internal homeostasis of the CNS and are fundamentally involved in neuropathological processes, including AD. Here, we analysed the astrocytic cytoskeletal changes within the mPFC of a triple transgenic mouse model of AD (3 × Tg‐AD) by measuring the surface area and volume of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)‐positive profiles in relation to the build‐up and presence of amyloid‐β (Aβ), and compared the results with those found in non‐transgenic control animals at different ages. 3 × Tg‐AD animals showed clear astroglial cytoskeletal atrophy, which appeared at an early age (3 months; 33% and 47% decrease in GFAP‐positive surface area and volume, respectively) and remained throughout the disease progression at 9, 12 and 18 months old (29% and 36%; 37% and 35%; 43% and 37%, respectively). This atrophy was independent of Aβ accumulation, as only a few GFAP‐positive cells were localized around Aβ aggregates, which suggests no direct relationship with Aβ toxicity. Thus, our results indicate that the progressive reduction in astrocytic branching and domain in the mPFC can account for the integrative dysfunction leading to the cognitive deficits and memory disturbances observed in AD.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Astrocytes are fundamental for brain homeostasis and the progression and outcome of many neuropathologies including Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the triple transgenic mouse model of AD (3xTg-AD) ...generalised hippocampal astroglia atrophy precedes a restricted and specific β-amyloid (Aβ) plaque-related astrogliosis. Astrocytes are critical for CNS glutamatergic transmission being the principal elements of glutamate homeostasis through maintaining its synthesis, uptake and turnover via glutamate-glutamine shuttle. Glutamine synthetase (GS), which is specifically expressed in astrocytes, forms glutamine by an ATP-dependent amination of glutamate. Here, we report changes in GS astrocytic expression in two major cognitive areas of the hippocampus (the dentate gyrus, DG and the CA1) in 3xTg-AD animals aged between 9 and 18 months. We found a significant reduction in Nv (number of cell/mm3) of GS immunoreactive (GS-IR) astrocytes starting from 12 months (28.59%) of age in the DG, and sustained at 18 months (31.65%). CA1 decrease of GS-positive astrocytes Nv (33.26%) occurs at 18 months. This Nv reduction of GS-IR astrocytes is paralleled by a decrease in overall GS expression (determined by its optical density) that becomes significant at 18 months (21.61% and 19.68% in DG and CA1, respectively). GS-IR Nv changes are directly associated with the presence of Aβ deposits showing a decrease of 47.92% as opposed to 23.47% in areas free of Aβ. These changes in GS containing astrocytes and GS-immunoreactivity indicate AD-related impairments of glutamate homeostatic system, at the advanced and late stages of the disease, which may affect the efficacy of glutamatergic transmission in the diseased brain that may contribute to the cognitive deficiency.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
To better understand the detraining effects in soccer, the purpose of the study was to analyse if performance level of soccer players modulate repeated-sprint ability (RSA) and intermittent endurance ...changes during 2-weeks of detraining (i.e., in-season break). Seventeen professional and sixteen young elite soccer players of two different teams performed, before and after 2-weeks of detraining, the RSA test and the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test, level 1 (YYIR1). Before detraining, professional players perform better (p < 0.05) RSA best time (RSAbest) than young players. A decrease (p < 0.05) in RSAbest, RSA total time (RSAtotal) and mean time (RSAmean) performance was observed in both teams, without changes in RSA fatigue index (Sdec). No significant changes in distance covered during YYIR1 was observed in any team. Before detraining, faster players from both teams (FG) (following the median split technique, soccer players with RSAbest ≤ 3.95 s) performed better (p < 0.01) in RSAtotal, RSAmean and RSAbest, but worse (p < 0.01) in Sdec. Although FG and the slower players (SG, RSAbest > 3.95 s) showed a worse (p < 0.05) RSAtotal, RSAbest and RSAmean performance after detraining (ES = 1.5, 1.4 and 2.9; ES = 0.6, 1.2 and 0.6; for FG and SG, respectively), the deterioration was greater in the FG for RSAbest (p < 0.05) and RSAtotal (ES = 1.46). After detraining, FG improved (p < 0.05) Sdec performance. In conclusion, a 2-week in-season break (detraining) period induced a worse RSA, with no effect on intermittent endurance in professional and elite young soccer players, with greater detrimental effects on RSAtotal and RSAbest in FG. In addition, Sdec does not seem to be sensitive to changes in RSA after a 2-week in-season break.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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