Východiská: Na význam stresu pri nádorových chorobách poukazovali lekári už od čias Galéna. Avšak až v posledných dvoch desaťročiach umožnil kombinovaný onkologický a neurovedný výskum exaktne preskúmať tento vzťah a popísať dráhy a mechanizmy, ktoré sprostredkúvajú stimulačný vplyv stresu na nádorový proces. Tento nepriaznivý účinok stresu je sprostredkovaný hlavne mediátormi sympatikoadrenálneho systému, noradrenalínom a adrenalínom. Tieto katecholamíny aktiváciou adrenergických receptorov v nádorovom mikro- a makroprostredí stimulujú proliferáciu nádorových buniek a neoangiogenézu a inhibujú protinádorovú imunitu a znižujú účinnosť štandardnej protinádorovej liečby. Zistilo sa tiež, že intervencie obmedzujúce pôsobenie stresu na organizmus nie len že zlepšujú kvalitu života onkologických pacientov, ale môžu zlepšovať aj ich prežívanie. Vzhľadom na komplexnosť vplyvu stresu na organizmus sa experimentálne a klinické štúdie v prevažnej väčšine zameriavajú na skúmanie účinku jednej intervencie obmedzujúcej stimulačný vplyv sympatikoadrenálneho systému na nádorový proces. Cieľ: Zámerom tohto názorového článku je poukázať na možnosť synergického účinku kombinácie viacerých intervencií obmedzujúcich aktiváciu sympatikoadrenálneho systému a na základe dostupných údajov navrhnúť takú kombináciu týchto intervencií, ktorá je aplikovateľná v podpornej liečbe onkologických pacientov už aj v súčasnosti. Záver: Protokol Synergy, ktorý zahŕňa nefarmakologické intervencie zamerané na obmedzenie pôsobenia stresu, má potenciál zlepšiť kvalitu života a u určitých pacientov aj prognózu ich choroby. Zavedenie tohto protokolu do bežnej klinickej praxe síce bude vyžadovať vyriešenie personálnych a finančných aspektov, ktoré s jeho implikáciou súvisia, výsledkom ale môže byť významné zvýšenie úrovne starostlivosti o onkologických pacientov.
Background: The importance of stress in cancer has been noted by physicians since the time of Galen. However, it is only in the last two decades that combined oncological and neuroscientific research has allowed to explore this relationship in an exact way and to describe the pathways and mechanisms that mediate the stimulatory effect of stress on cancer. This adverse effect of stress is mediated mainly by the mediators of the sympathoadrenal system, norepinephrine and epinephrine, which, by activating adrenergic receptors in the tumor micro- and macro-environment, stimulate tumor cell proliferation and neoangiogenesis and inhibit antitumor immunity, reducing the efficacy of standard anticancer therapies. It has also been found that interventions reducing the effects of stress on the body not only improve the quality of life of cancer patients but may also improve their survival. Given the complexity of the impact of stress on the organism, experimental and clinical studies have overwhelmingly focused on investigating the effect of a single intervention reducing the stimulatory influence of the sympathoadrenal system on the cancer process. Purpose: The aim of this opinion article is to highlight the possibility of a synergistic effect of a combination of several interventions limiting the activation of the sympathoadrenal system and, based on the available data, to propose a combination of these interventions that is applicable in the supportive treatment of cancer patients even nowadays. Conclusion: The Protocol Synergy, which includes non-pharmacological interventions aimed at reducing the effects of stress on the cancer patient, has the potential to improve the quality and, in certain patients, the prognosis of their disease. Although the introduction of this protocol into routine clinical practice will require addressing the personnel and financial aspects associated with its implementation, it has the potential to significantly improve the level of care for cancer patients.
- MeSH
- Adrenergic beta-Antagonists therapeutic use MeSH
- Exercise MeSH
- Clinical Protocols * MeSH
- Quality of Life psychology MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Neoplasms * etiology psychology MeSH
- Cold Temperature adverse effects MeSH
- Stress, Psychological * MeSH
- Psychotherapy methods MeSH
- Relaxation Therapy MeSH
- Heart Rate MeSH
- Self-Help Groups MeSH
- Sympathoadrenal System MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
Cell dysplasia is a currently used term describing various cellular developmental abnormalities visible by microscopy. However, detailed description of these developmental abnormalities might provide useful information not only on the cell state but also on the abnormal developmental steps of cell lineages, tissues and organs. The frequently noted visualized cell dysplastic features reflect nuclear- or nucleolar-cytoplasmic anarchy (asynchrony), premature heterochromatin condensation state, marked aneuploidy, abnormal nucleus-cytoplasm ratio, abnormality of cell organelles including mitochondria, abnormal presence or absence of cell lineage-specific granules, and formation of peripheral buds or blebbing on the cell surface. The description of these frequently occurring cell dysplastic features might also be helpful in recognizing and studying defined specific disorders of the "whole macro-body" expressed as a disease.
- MeSH
- Cell Nucleolus * MeSH
- Cell Nucleus * metabolism MeSH
- Cell Lineage MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
Renální vaskulární trombóza je vzácné onemocnění s rizikem trvalého poškození parenchymu ledvin. U většiny novorozenců se projeví alespoň jedním ze 3 příznaků - makro nebo mikroskopická hematurie, trombocytopenie, hmatná rezistence v břiše. Mnohem častěji je trombózou postižena renální žíla než tepna. Renální žilní trombóza vzniká spontánně nebo v souvislosti s kanylací umbilikální žíly. V diagnostice se uplatňuje sonografie včetně dopplerovského zobrazení. Léčba spočívá v podpůrné terapii, podávání antikoagulancií, v závažných a život ohrožujících případech lze využít trombolytickou terapii. Recentní diagnostické a terapeutické postupy jsou demonstrovány na 2 případech renální venózní trombózy u donošených novorozenců ve druhé části článku.
Renal vascular thrombosis is a rare disease with possible serious outcome. At least one of the three cardinal signs is present in majority of pacients: macro or microscopic hematuria, thrombocytopenia, palpable abdominal mass. The occurence of renal vein thrombosis is more common than renal arterial thrombosis. Standard diagnostic methods are ultrasound and Doppler ultrasound scan. Management and treatment options include supportive therapy, anticoagulation therapy and thrombolytic therapy, which is preferably used for organ or life threatening events. Recent diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines are illustrated by presentation of two cases of renal vein thrombosis in term newborns in the second part of the article.
BACKGROUND: Snakebite envenoming is a neglected tropical disease that kills an estimated 81,000 to 138,000 people and disables another 400,000 globally every year. The World Health Organization aims to halve this burden by 2030. To achieve this ambitious goal, we need to close the data gap in snake ecology and snakebite epidemiology and give healthcare providers up-to-date knowledge and access to better diagnostic tools. An essential first step is to improve the capacity to identify biting snakes taxonomically. The existence of AI-based identification tools for other animals offers an innovative opportunity to apply machine learning to snake identification and snakebite envenoming, a life-threatening situation. METHODOLOGY: We developed an AI model based on Vision Transformer, a recent neural network architecture, and a comprehensive snake photo dataset of 386,006 training photos covering 198 venomous and 574 non-venomous snake species from 188 countries. We gathered photos from online biodiversity platforms (iNaturalist and HerpMapper) and a photo-sharing site (Flickr). PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The model macro-averaged F1 score, which reflects the species-wise performance as averaging performance for each species, is 92.2%. The accuracy on a species and genus level is 96.0% and 99.0%, respectively. The average accuracy per country is 94.2%. The model accurately classifies selected venomous and non-venomous lookalike species from Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this model's taxonomic and geographic coverage and performance are unprecedented. This model could provide high-speed and low-cost snake identification to support snakebite victims and healthcare providers in low-resource settings, as well as zoologists, conservationists, and nature lovers from across the world.
- MeSH
- Antivenins therapeutic use MeSH
- Global Health MeSH
- Snakes MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Neglected Diseases diagnosis epidemiology MeSH
- Artificial Intelligence MeSH
- Snake Bites * diagnosis epidemiology therapy MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
- Geographicals
- Africa South of the Sahara MeSH
Microorganisms and eukaryotic human cells coexist in synergistic relationships in nearly every niche of the human body. The female genital tract consisting of the vagina, uterus with its cervix and endometrium, uterine tubes and ovaries - harbors its own typical microbiota, which accounts for 9 % of the total bacterial population in females. To this organ system, we also assigned the microbiome of the placenta, which has not been studied much until now. Among the spectrum of microbial species, the female genital tract is mainly dominated by Lactobacillus species, which are considered to be one of the simplest yet most important microbial communities. However, this relationship between macro- and micro-organisms seems to have a number of physiological functions, e.g., the vaginal and cervical microbiota have unique impact on reproductive health. The aim of this review was to provide current view on female genital tract microbiota and its role in reproductive health. We describe in detail the association of vaginal or tubal epithelium with microbiota or the role of microbiota in normal placental function.
- MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Microbiota * physiology MeSH
- Placenta MeSH
- Pregnancy MeSH
- Vagina microbiology MeSH
- Fallopian Tubes * microbiology MeSH
- Genitalia, Female MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Pregnancy MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Review MeSH
Makroenzym aspartátaminotransferáza (dále makro‑AST) je jednou z příčin izolovaného zvýšení aspartátaminotransferázy (AST) v séru. Uvádíme kazuistiku normálně prospívající dívky s náhodně zachycenou přetrvávající izolovanou elevací AST. Podrobným vyšetřením bylo zjištěno, že se jedná o elevaci sérové AST na podkladě cirkulujících makro-AST bez přítomnosti dalšího organického onemocnění.
The macroenzyme of aspartate aminotransferase (macro-AST) is one of the causes of the isolated increase in serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST). We present a case report of a well-thriving girl with an accidentally detected persistent isolated AST elevation. A detailed laboratory analysis revealed this was due to an elevation of serum AST based on circulating macro-AST without the presence of another organic disease.
- MeSH
- Aspartate Aminotransferases * analysis blood metabolism MeSH
- Diagnosis, Differential MeSH
- Liver Function Tests MeSH
- Liver enzymology MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Liver Diseases diagnosis blood MeSH
- Polyethylene Glycols MeSH
- Child, Preschool MeSH
- Enzyme Stability MeSH
- Treatment Outcome MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Child, Preschool MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Publication type
- Case Reports MeSH
Biomass feedstock is an efficient and harmless source of energy. There are various sources of feedstock, such as plant, microbial, macro, and microalgae, and agricultural waste. The major component in biomass feedstock material is a polysaccharide, such as cellulose, cellobiose, starch, and alginate. Alginate is mainly found in macroalgae as one of the significant polysaccharide components. It is made up of β-d-mannuronate (M) and α-l-guluronate (G) blocks. Alginate lyase is an enzyme that degrades alginate by breaking the glycosidic linkage between the poly M and G blocks to liberate oligosaccharides. Several organisms, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and algae can produce alginate lyases. The species of bacteria, such as Bacillus, Vibrio, Pseudomonas, and Microbulbifer, are some of the important sources of alginate lyases. They are industrially essential enzymes used in food, biofuel, and biomedical industries. There are various assays available to determine the alginate lyase activity qualitatively as well as quantitatively. Qualitatively, different dyes like Gram's iodine, cetyl pyridinium chloride, and rutanium red can be used to visualize the zone formed due to the alginate lyase activity. DNS assay, UV absorption, and the Somogyi-Nelson method help to determine the alginate lyase activity quantitatively. Since the alginate lyase production in the native organisms is relatively lower, the genes encoding alginate lyases are heterologously cloned and expressed in E. coli to maximize the production and to characterize the enzyme. Different chromatographic techniques like size exclusion, affinity, gel permeation, and ion-exchange chromatography are used to purify the protein. In this paper, the source of alginate and alginate lyases, the mechanism of action of the enzyme, the engineering approaches to enhance the enzyme production, its purification strategy, and the potential applications of alginate lyases has been discussed.
- MeSH
- Alginates chemistry MeSH
- Bacteria metabolism MeSH
- Bacterial Proteins genetics metabolism MeSH
- Biotechnology * MeSH
- Genetic Engineering * MeSH
- Fungi metabolism MeSH
- Metagenome MeSH
- Seaweed metabolism MeSH
- Polysaccharide-Lyases chemistry genetics metabolism MeSH
- Substrate Specificity MeSH
- Viruses MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Review MeSH
Obezita (nejčastější metabolické onemocnění) a arteriální hypertenze (nejčastější kardiovaskulární choroba) se často vyskytují společně, což přináší velmi vysoké kardiometabolické riziko, tj. riziko aterosklerotických vaskulárních nemocí a diabetu 2. typu. Hypertenze u obézních pacientů je často rezistentní k léčbě, je sůl senzitivní a provázejí ji častěji orgánové komplikace a další onemocnění. Jsou uvedeny společné patofyziologické mechanismy obou chorob, které vedou k rozvoji makro- i mikrovaskulárních komplikací a vyplývají z nich i farmakologické přístupy v léčbě hypertenze u obézních pacientů. Kombinace inhibitoru ACE a metabolicky neutrálního diuretika indapamidu se zdá být vhodná pro zahájení léčby hypertenze u obézního pacienta.
Obesity (the most common metabolic disease) and arterial hypertension (the most common cardiovascular disease) are often occurring together, which brings very high cardiometabolic risk, i.e. risk for atherosclerotic vascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. Hypertension in obese patients is often resistant to drug treatment, represents the salt sensitive hypertension and many organ damages and other diseases are present. The common pathophysiological mechanisms of the both diseases are mentioned. Those mechanisms stimulate the development of macro- and micro-vascular complications and from those mechanisms arise the management of hypertension in obese patients. Combination of ACE inhibitor and metabolically neutral diuretic indapamide seems to be suitable for the pharmacological treatment of hypertension in obese patient.
- MeSH
- Antihypertensive Agents pharmacology therapeutic use MeSH
- Diuretics pharmacology therapeutic use MeSH
- Hypertension * drug therapy MeSH
- Drug Therapy, Combination MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Obesity * MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Publication type
- Review MeSH
Selenium (Se) is a natural trace element, which shifts its action in a relatively narrow concentration range from nutritional role to toxicity. Although it has been well established that in plants chloroplasts are among the primary targets, the mechanism of toxicity on photosynthesis is not well understood. Here, we compared selenate and red-allotrope elemental selenium nanoparticles (red nanoSe) in in vitro tobacco cultures to investigate their effects on the structure and functions of the photosynthetic machinery. Selenate at 10 mg/L concentration retarded plant growth; it also led to a decreased chlorophyll content, accompanied with an increase in the carotenoid-to-chlorophyll ratio. Structural examinations of the photosynthetic machinery, using electron microscopy, small-angle neutron scattering and circular dichroism spectroscopy, revealed significant perturbation in the macro-organization of the pigment-protein complexes and sizeable shrinkage in the repeat distance of granum thylakoid membranes. As shown by chlorophyll a fluorescence transient measurements, these changes in the ultrastructure were associated with a significantly diminished photosystem II activity and a reduced performance of the photosynthetic electron transport, and an enhanced capability of non-photochemical quenching. These changes in the structure and function of the photosynthetic apparatus explain, at least in part, the retarded growth of plantlets in the presence of 10 mg/L selenate. In contrast, red nanoSe, even at 100 mg/L and selenate at 1 mg/L, exerted no negative effect on the growth of plantlets and affected only marginally the thylakoid membrane ultrastructure and the photosynthetic functions.
Poor neuromuscular control and fatigue have been proposed as a risk factor for non-contact injuries especially around peak height velocity (PHV). This study explored the effects of competitive soccer match-play on neuromuscular performance and muscle damage in male youth soccer players. 24 youth players aged 13-16y were split into a PHV group (-0.5 to 0.5y) and post PHV group (1.0-2.5y) based on maturity off-set. Leg stiffness, reactive strength index (RSI), muscle activation, creatine kinase (CK), and muscle soreness were determined pre and post a competitive soccer match. Paired t-tests were used to explore differences pre and post competitive match play and independent sample t-tests for between groups differences for all outcome measures. There was no significant fatigue-related change in absolute and relative leg stiffness or muscle activation in both groups, except for the gastrocnemius in the post PHV group. RSI, CK and perceived muscle soreness were significantly different after soccer match-play in both groups with small to large effects observed (ES:0.41-2.82). There were no significant differences between the groups pre match-play except for absolute and relative leg stiffness (P < 0.001; ES = 1.16 and 0.63 respectively). No significant differences were observed in the fatigue related responses to competitive match play between groups except for perceived muscle soreness. The influence of competitive match-play on neuromuscular function and muscle damage is similar in male youth around the time of PHV and those post-PHV indicating that other factors must contribute to the heightened injury risk around PHV.
- MeSH
- Soccer * MeSH
- Competitive Behavior MeSH
- Muscle, Skeletal physiopathology MeSH
- Creatine Kinase blood MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Adolescent MeSH
- Myalgia physiopathology MeSH
- Youth Sports MeSH
- Athletic Performance * MeSH
- Muscle Fatigue * MeSH
- Age Factors MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Adolescent MeSH
- Male MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
