Targeted drug delivery plays a significant role in disease treatment associated with the colon, affording therapeutic responses for a prolonged period of time with low side effects. Colorectal cancer ...is the third most common cancer in both men and women with an estimated 102,480 cases of colon cancer and 40,340 cases of rectal cancer in 2013 as reported by the American Cancer Society. In the present investigation, we developed an improved oral delivery system for existing anticancer drugs meant for colon cancer via prebiotic and probiotic approaches. The system comprises three components, namely, nanoparticles of drug coated with natural materials such as guar gum, xanthan gum (that serve as prebiotics), and probiotics. The natural gums play a dual role of protecting the drug in the gastric as well as intestinal conditions to allow its release only in the colon. In vitro results obtained from these experiments indicated the successful targeted delivery of 5-fluorouracil to the colon. Electron microscopy results demonstrated that the prepared nanoparticles were spherical in shape and 200 nm in size. The in vitro release data indicated that the maximum release occurs at pH 7.2 and 7.4 with 93% of the drug released in the presence of 4% (w/v) of rat cecal content. In vivo results conclude a practical mechanism to maintain the integrity and intactness of the intestinal/colonic microflora, in the face of a "chemical attack" by oral colon-targeted drug delivery for colon cancer treatment.
Antropomorfizm insana has özelliklerin insan dışı varlıklara atfedilmesi olgusudur. Bu çalışma antropomorfizm olgusunun kavramsallaşma sürecini, olgunun gündelik hayattaki yaygınlığını, olguyu ...açıklamaya çalışan teorileri ve tüketici davranışları bağlamında yürütülen ampirik antropomorfizm araştırmalarının bulgularını incelemektedir. Bu amaçla, öncelikle antropomorfizm olgusunun ve kavramının geçmişine yönelik bir araştırma yapılmış, olguya açıklama getirmeye çalışan teoriler eleştirel bir yaklaşımla sunulmuş ve daha sonra tüketici davranışları bağlamında antropomorfizm ile ilgili 2020 yılı başına kadar yapılmış olan ampirik araştırmaların bulguları özetlenerek nitel bir değerlendirmede bulunulmuştur. Tüketici davranışları literatüründeki ampirik araştırmaların sonuçları bir bütün olarak değerlendirildiğinde, firmaların ürün ve markalarını antropomorfize etmelerinin, tüketicilerce hoş karşılanmayan davranışlara (fiyat yükseltme, yanıltıcı reklam, gizlilik ihlâli, adaletsizlik vb.) girişmedikleri sürece, daha çok dikkat çekme, daha sıcak algılanma, daha çok beğenilme, daha çok güvenilme, daha hatırlanır olma, daha yüksek satın alma niyeti vs. gibi olumlu sonuçlara yol açtığı görülmüştür. Tüketiciler açısından bakıldığında ise, antropomorfik ürün ve markaların tüketicilerin birtakım psikolojik ihtiyaçlarını (aidiyet, kontrol, etkisellik vb.) karşılayabildiği fakat bireysel ve durumsal farklılıklara bağlı olarak bazı durumlarda da olumsuz sonuçlara yol açabildiği görülmüştür. Sonuç olarak, antropomorfizmin firmalar için genellikle olumlu çıktılar sunduğu, tüketiciler üzerinde ise koşullu etkilere sahip olduğu fakat son yıllarda davranışsal araştırmalardaki tekrarlama kriziyle gündeme gelen kaygılardan dolayı literatürdeki bulguların tekrarlanma çalışmalarıyla desteklenmedikleri sürece ihtiyatla ele alınmaları gerektiği kanaatine varılmıştır.
Anthropomorphism is the phenomenon of attributing human qualities to non-human entities. This study examines the historical process of the conceptualization of anthropomorphism, its prevalence in daily life, the theories that try to explain the phenomenon, and the findings of empirical anthropomorphism research conducted in the context of consumer behavior. To this end, the history of both the phenomenon and the concept of anthropomorphism was investigated, theories that try to provide an explanation to the phenomenon were presented in a critical approach, and the findings of empirical research conducted until the beginning of 2020 on anthropomorphism in the context of consumer behavior were summarized and evaluated in a qualitative manner. When the results of the empirical research in the consumer behavior literature were evaluated as a whole, it was observed that firms' anthropomorphizing of their products and brands leads to positive consequences such as attracting more attention, being perceived as warmer, being liked more, being trusted more, being more memorable, higher consumer willingness to buy, etc., unless they engage in behaviors that are deemed unfavorable by consumers (e.g., raising prices, false advertising, privacy violations, injustice). As for the consumers, it was found that anthropomorphic products and brands can meet consumers' particular psychological needs (e.g., belongingness, control, effectance) but may also lead to negative consequences in some cases depending on the individual and situational differences. As a result, it was concluded that anthropomorphism generally has positive outcomes for companies and conditional effects on consumers, but given the concerns that have come to the fore with the replication crisis in behavioral research in recent years, the findings in the literature should be treated with caution unless they are supported by replication studies.
Complications of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass Sima, L V; Sima, A C; Dan, R G ...
Chirurgia (Bucharest, Romania : 1990),
03/2013, Letnik:
108, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Bariatric surgery is a method of treating morbid obesity, which has been raising more and more interest in the past years. Among all types of intervention, the most frequently used is Roux-en-Y ...gastric bypass, an intervention both restrictive and malabsorptive, which leads to best results in weight loss. In Romania, bariatric surgery, and especially Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, is not widely practiced due to poor addressability of patients, both due to lack of information, and to poor recommendation from general practitioners and specialists in metabolic diseases.
The study group includes 14 patients aged between 18 and 65 years old, with BMI above 40 kg m2. The study aims to present the complications that occurred in this group of patients in which we performed Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in the Surgery Department of the Emergency City Hospital Timişoara. The surgery was performed by xifo-umbilical laparotomy technique. Subsequently, patients were followed postoperatively at 1 month, and then every 3 months, up to 2 years.
The only complications we found were wound infections (7/14 - 50%) and incisional hernias (5/14 - 35.71%).
We only found in our group only complications related to the postoperative wound that can be minimized by modifying the suturing technique of the abdominal wall. Gastric bypass should be performed despite all incriminated risks, providing a better lifestyle to obese patients.
Background. In 2010, mass vaccination with a then-new meningococcal A polysaccharide–tetanus toxoid protein conjugate vaccine (PsA-TT, or MenAfriVac) was undertaken in 1- to 29-year-olds in Bamako, ...Mali. Whether vaccination with PsA-TT effectively boosts tetanus immunity in a population with heterogeneous baseline tetanus immunity is not known. We assessed the impact of PsA-TT on tetanus toxoid (TT) immunity by quantifying age-and sex-specific immunity prior to and 2 years after introduction. Methods. Using a household-based, age-stratified design, we randomly selected participants for a prevaccination serological survey in 2010 and a postvaccination survey in 2012. TT immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies were quantified and geometric mean concentrations (GMCs) pre- and postvaccination among all age groups targeted for vaccination were compared. The probability of TT IgG levels ≥0.1 IU/mL (indicating short-term protection) and ≥1.0 IU/mL (indicating long-term protection) by age and sex was determined using logistic regression models. Results. Analysis of 793 prevaccination and 800 postvaccination sera indicated that while GMCs were low pre-PsA-TT, significantly higher GMCs in all age–sex strata were observed 2 years after PsA-TT introduction. The percentage with short-term immunity increased from 57.1% to 88.4% (31.3-point increase; 95% confidence interval CI, 26.6–36.0;, P < .0001) and with long-term immunity increased from 20.0% to 58.5% (38.5-point increase; 95% CI, 33.7–43.3; P < .0001) pre- and postvaccination. Conclusions. Significantly higher TT immunity was observed among vaccine-targeted age groups up to 2 years after Mali's PsA-TT mass vaccination campaign. Our results, combined with evidence from clinical trials, strongly suggest that conjugate vaccines containing TT such as PsA-TT should be considered bivalent vaccines because of their ability to boost tetanus immunity.
Postmodern poetry revisits the traditions and subjects myth and history to drastic experimentations. The present paper reacts to Ashbery's postmodern rendition of the myth of Orpheus in his poem ...'Syringa' (Ashbery, 1985). He dismantles and opposes the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and disrupts its totalitarian voice. The main concerns of the paper are to investigate what linguistic potentials Ashbery deploys in his experimentation, how these potentials help him appropriate and then subvert the mythical subtext, and what the consequences of this subversion could be. He disturbs the myth of Orpheus by drawing on the potentials of constructed oppositions. These potentials help Ashbery deconstruct the mythical narrative and adapt it to his postmodern tastes. The theoretical framework comprises Leslie Jeffries's notion of constructed opposition. The methodology is analytic and interpretive; it conducts a close reading of the poem which situates the poem at the intersecting nodes of myth, poetry, and language. The poem is argued to have relied heavily on the oppositions that Ashbery sets up between his text and its mythical subtext. The paper concludes negation and shifts of verb-tenses are the main structural triggers of opposition along with semantic triggers. Keywords: Ashbery; opposition; myth; Orpheus; 'Syringa'; postmodern. A poesia pos-moderna revisita as tradicoes e sujeita o mito e a historia a experimentacoes drasticas. O presente artigo reage a versao pos-moderna de Ashbery do mito de Orfeu em seu poema 'Syringa' (Ashbery, 1985). Ele desmonta e se opoe ao mito de Orfeu e Euridice e perturba sua voz totalitaria. As principais preocupacoes do artigo sao investigar quais potenciais linguisticos Ashbery utiliza em sua experimentacao, como esses potenciais o ajudam a se apropriar e subverter o subtexto mitico e quais poderiam ser as consequencias dessa subversao. Ele perturba o mito de Orfeu recorrendo aos potenciais das oposicoes construidas. Esses potenciais ajudam Ashbery a desconstruir a narrativa mitica e adapta-la aos seus gostos pos-modernos. O quadro teorico compreende a nocao de Leslie Jeffries de oposicao construida. A metodologia e analitica e interpretativa; ela realiza uma leitura atenta do poema, que o situa nos nos de interseccao do mito, da poesia e da linguagem. Argumenta-se que o poema se baseou fortemente nas oposicoes que Ashbery estabelece entre seu texto e seu subtexto mitico. O artigo conclui que a negacao e as mudancas de tempos verbais sao os principais gatilhos estruturais de oposicao, juntamente com os gatilhos semanticos. Palavras-chave: Ashbery; oposicao; mito; Orfeu; 'Syringa'; pos-moderno.
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide. Organized cervical screening and vaccination against human papilloma virus (HPV) have been successful interventions for ...prevention of invasive cervical cancer (ICC). Because of cultural and religious considerations, ICC has low incidence in Iran and many other Muslim countries. There is no organized cervical screening in these countries. Therefore, ICC is usually diagnosed in advanced stages with poor prognosis in these countries. We performed a priority setting exercise and suggested priorities for prevention of ICC in this setting.
We invited experts and researchers to a workshop and asked them to list important suggestions for ICC prevention in Iran. After merging similar items and removing the duplicates, we asked the experts to rank the list of suggested items. We used a strategy grid and Go-zone analysis to determine final list of priorities for ICC prevention in Iran.
From 26 final items suggested as priorities for prevention of ICC, the most important priorities were developing national guidelines for cervical screening and quality control protocol for patient follow-up and management of precancerous lesions. In addition, we emphasized considering insurance coverage for cervical screening, public awareness, and research priorities, and establishment of a cervical screening registry.
A comprehensive approach and implementation of organized cervical screening program is necessary for prevention of ICC in Iran and other low incidence Muslim countries. Because of high cost for vaccination and low incidence of cervical cancer, we do not recommend HPV vaccination for the time being in Iran.
Ixodes ricinus transmits bacterial, protozoal and viral pathogens, causing disease and forming an increasing health concern in Europe. ANTIDotE is an European Commission funded consortium of seven ...institutes, which aims to identify and characterize tick proteins involved in feeding and pathogen transmission. The knowledge gained will be used to develop and evaluate anti-tick vaccines that may prevent multiple human tick-borne diseases. Strategies encompassing anti-tick vaccines to prevent transmission of pathogens to humans, animals or wildlife will be developed with relevant stakeholders with the ultimate aim of reducing the incidence of tick-borne diseases in humans.
BACKGROUND: Ixodes scapularis is the most common tick species in North America and a vector of important pathogens that cause diseases in humans and animals including Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and ...babesiosis. Tick defensins have been identified as a new source of antimicrobial agents with putative medical applications due to their wide-ranging antimicrobial activities. Two multigene families of defensins were previously reported in I. scapularis. The objective of the present study was to characterise the potential antimicrobial activity of two defensins from I. scapularis with emphasis on human pathogenic bacterial strains and important phytopathogenic fungi. METHODS: Scapularisin-3 and Scapularisin-6 mature peptides were chemically synthesised. In vitro antimicrobial assays were performed to test the activity of these two defensins against species of different bacterial genera including Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Listeria spp. as well as Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa along with two plant-pathogenic fungi from the genus Fusarium. In addition, the tissue-specific expression patterns of Scapularisin-3 and Scapularisin-6 in I. scapularis midgut, salivary glands and embryo-derived cell lines were determined using PCR. Finally, tertiary structures of the two defensins were predicted and structural analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Scapularisin-6 efficiently killed L. grayi, and both Scapularisin-3 and Scapularisin-6 caused strong inhibition (IC₅₀value: ~1 μM) of the germination of plant-pathogenic fungi Fusarium culmorum and Fusarium graminearum. Scapularisin-6 gene expression was observed in I. scapularis salivary glands and midgut. However, Scapularisin-3 gene expression was only detected in the salivary glands. Transcripts from the two defensins were not found in the I. scapularis tick cell lines ISE6 and ISE18. CONCLUSION: Our results have two main implications. Firstly, the anti-Listeria and antifungal activities of Scapularisin-3 and Scapularisin-6 suggest that these peptides may be useful for (i) treatment of antibiotic-resistant L. grayi in humans and (ii) plant protection. Secondly, the antimicrobial properties of the two defensins described in this study may pave the way for further studies regarding pathogen invasion and innate immunity in I. scapularis.
Objectives Salicylate, a potent inducer of the MarA activator in Salmonella enterica, is the principal metabolite of aspirin, which is often consumed for medicinal and cosmetic uses. Our research was ...aimed at testing if salicylate activates the mar regulon in macrophage-associated Salmonella (intracellular bacteria), and investigating its effects on bacterial susceptibility to ciprofloxacin extracellularly and intracellularly. Methods J774 macrophages were infected with S. enterica serovar Typhimurium (wild-type and marA null mutant), treated with ciprofloxacin with and without pre-exposure to salicylate, and the surviving bacteria were counted. Similar experiments were conducted with bacteria in broth (extracellular bacteria). Phe-Arg-β-naphthylamide (PAβN) was added to investigate the role of efflux pumps in resistance. The transcriptional regulation of marRAB, acrAB and micF in extracellular and intracellular Salmonella Typhimurium with and without salicylate and ciprofloxacin was investigated using green fluorescent protein as a marker protein and quantitative real time PCR. Results Pre-exposure of Salmonella to salicylate increased the resistance of extracellular but not intracellular bacteria to ciprofloxacin, although salicylate stimulated the expression of mar genes in intracellular and extracellular bacteria. Using marA mutants and the inhibitor PAβN, we showed that the improved resistance in extracellular bacteria is derived from the induction of acrAB by salicylate, which is mediated by MarA. Conclusions In intracellular bacteria, the expression of acrAB is already higher when compared with extracellular cells; therefore, salicylate does not result in significant acrAB induction intracellularly and subsequent resistance enhancement. Results show that conclusions raised from extracellular studies cannot be applied to intracellular bacteria, although the systems have similar functions.
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