Discoveries (Craiova, Romania)最新文献

{"title":"Understanding Brain-Skeletal Muscle Crosstalk Impacting Metabolism and Movement.","authors":"Bhanu P Jena,&nbsp;Lars Larsson,&nbsp;Domenico L Gatti,&nbsp;Ionita Ghiran,&nbsp;Won Jin Cho","doi":"10.15190/d.2022.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15190/d.2022.3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Metabolism and movement, among the critical determinants in the survival and success of an organism, are tightly regulated by the brain and skeletal muscle. At the cellular level, mitochondria -that powers life, and myosin - the molecular motor of the cell, have both evolved to serve this purpose. Although independently, the skeletal muscle and brain have been intensively investigated for over a century, their coordinated involvement in metabolism and movement remains poorly understood. Therefore, a fundamental understanding of the coordinated involvement of the brain and skeletal muscle in metabolism and movement holds great promise in providing a window to a wide range of life processes and in the development of tools and approaches in disease detection and therapy. Recent developments in new tools, technologies and approaches, and advances in computing power and machine learning, provides for the first time the opportunity to establish a new field of study, the 'Science and Engineering of Metabolism and Movement'. This new field of study could provide substantial new insights and breakthrough into how metabolism and movement is governed at the systems level in an organism. The design and approach to accomplish this objective is briefly discussed in this article.</p>","PeriodicalId":72829,"journal":{"name":"Discoveries (Craiova, Romania)","volume":"10 1","pages":"e144"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9748637/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10398536","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 and the mental health implications","authors":"N. Walia, Jessica O. Lat, R. Tariq, S. Tyagi, A. Qazi, S. Salari, Amina Jafar, T. Kousar, Sherrie Bieniek","doi":"10.15190/d.2021.19","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15190/d.2021.19","url":null,"abstract":"Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) or more commonly known as Long COVID-19, is the term given to persistent symptoms 12 weeks from the initial presentation of COVID-19 infection. Several multi-organ symptoms have been reported by patients. Some common symptoms include headaches, fatigue, memory impairment and mental health complications such as anxiety and depression. People with previous psychiatric diagnosis are at greater risk of developing longer mental health implications from persistent COVID-19 symptoms. Additionally, healthcare workers are at increased risk of being long haulers leading to burnout and exhaustion. The objective of this review article is to provide comprehensive evidence from existing literature on various symptoms reported by patients experiencing Long COVID-19 and the rate of occurrence of such symptoms in different populations. A long-term disease surveillance is required to further understand the persistent symptoms or the long-term impact of this infection.","PeriodicalId":72829,"journal":{"name":"Discoveries (Craiova, Romania)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47384362","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Screening for prostate cancer: a study on the free and total prostate specific antigen","authors":"R. Mediu, Ariol Rama, Naim Mediu","doi":"10.15190/d.2021.18","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15190/d.2021.18","url":null,"abstract":"Background: A variety of biomarkers have been developed to monitor growth of cancerous diseases and to detect them at an early stage. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a valuable prostate cancer biomarker that is now widely used for population screening, diagnosis, and monitoring of patients with prostate cancer. Other factors than prostate cancer can cause elevation of PSA levels therefore, free prostate specific antigen measurements in serum have been proposed in order to improve the specificity of laboratory identification of prostate cancer. Aim: The aim of our study was to evaluate the diagnostic significance of both total PSA and Free PSA in discriminating prostate cancer from other prostate diseases. Materials and methods: Our study group consisted of 1201 males admitted at outpatient clinic aged between 35 and 84 years old (mean age 63 years). All laboratory measurements were performed on serum samples. The data were statistically analyzed by using descriptive statistics for Windows. Results: The mean total PSA concentration evaluated among 1038 patients was 16.17 ng/mL whereas only Free PSA concentration was evaluated in 163 serum samples and resulted in a mean value of 2.67 ng/ml. In order to calculate the correlation between total and free PSA, data among 69 /1038 patients were further analyzed through statistical program software package for data analysis. Conclusions: Measuring serum free PSA concentrations along with PSA concentrations may provide higher accuracy for detecting prostate cancer and might eliminate unnecessary biopsies in the men with PSA of more than 4.0 ng/mL","PeriodicalId":72829,"journal":{"name":"Discoveries (Craiova, Romania)","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66856210","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Substance use during COVID-19 pandemic: impact on the underserved communities","authors":"Natalia C. Chacon, N. Walia, Abigail Allen, Anthony Sciancalepore, J. Tiong, R. Quick, Sanjana Mada, M. A. Diaz, Ivan Rodriguez","doi":"10.15190/d.2021.20","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15190/d.2021.20","url":null,"abstract":"The number of overdose deaths are on the rise all over the world. An estimate of 93,000 drug overdose deaths have been estimated in the United States in 2020. COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the drug crisis. Factors, such as existing health disparities among underserved communities, lack of resources for people of color, lack of belief in available resources, social isolation and economic burden, limited access to treatment, regulatory barriers in telehealth, and stress from the on-going COVID-19 pandemic have been identified as some of the key factors behind the acute health effects of people with substance use disorder. These interrelated factors exacerbate the impact of already existing disparities in the underserved communities. Policy and regulatory changes around telehealth and access of treatment for substance use disorder are warranted. Evidence-based strategies and other safer drug practices should be implemented to mitigate the impact on human health. Investment in programs that increase access to treatment, will be useful for potential future pandemics, where increasing mental health services and overall access to healthcare in disadvantaged communities would lessen the disparities in physical and mental ailments. In this review, we are evaluating and summarizing the acute health effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on individuals with substance use disorder.","PeriodicalId":72829,"journal":{"name":"Discoveries (Craiova, Romania)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41603400","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reversal of hypertensive heart disease: a multiple linear regression model","authors":"S. Ahmed, R. Jhaj, Balakrishnan Sadasivam, R. Joshi","doi":"10.15190/d.2021.17","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15190/d.2021.17","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The development of left ventricular hypertrophy in primary hypertension increases cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Reversal of left ventricular hypertrophy through therapeutic control of blood pressure reduces the risk of adverse cardiovascular incidents. Objective: In our study, we explored for the determinants of left ventricular hypertrophy regression. Methods: A cohort (n=217) of patients with hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy was identified by screening consecutive patients in medical outpatient unit. The primary inclusion criteria were (i) Blood pressure more than140/90 mm of Hg (ii) Left Ventricular Mass Index more than 115 and 95 gm/m2 for males and females respectively. Left Ventricular Mass Index was determined by echocardiography at the time of recruitment and after 24 weeks of standard pharmacotherapy. The change in Left Ventricular Mass Index was modelled using multiple linear regression with both categorical and continuous explanatory variables. The effect of drug therapy on change in Left Ventricular Mass Index was tested in the model with dummy coded variables for the treatment categories. Results: In simple linear regression, the variables significantly correlating with change in Left Ventricular Mass Index were baseline Left Ventricular Mass Index (r=0.62, p<0.001), change in systolic blood pressure (r=0.22, p=0.001), change in mean blood pressure (r=0.16, p=0.02), baseline systolic blood pressure (r=0.15, p=0.02), age (r=0.12, p=0.09) and diabetes (r=0.12, p=0.09). The best fit model (r2=0.408) retained baseline Left Ventricular Mass Index (β=0.59, p<0.001), change in systolic blood pressure (β=0.14, p=0.01) and diabetes (β=-0.104, p=0.05) as the significant predictors. Introduction of treatment effect into the model non-significantly increased the fit of the model (r2=0.414, p=0.27-0.98). Conclusions: Pre-treatment Left Ventricular Mass Index and reduction in systolic blood pressure were the major determinants of left ventricular hypertrophy regression. We also observed that there is lesser left ventricular hypertrophy regression in diabetic patients, warranting future research to explore glycaemic control as a modifiable factor in left ventricular hypertrophy reversal.","PeriodicalId":72829,"journal":{"name":"Discoveries (Craiova, Romania)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45655153","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Pathological Mechanisms and Treatments of Tinnitus","authors":"Sana Saeed, Q. Khan","doi":"10.15190/d.2021.16","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15190/d.2021.16","url":null,"abstract":"Tinnitus is defined as the ringing, hissing, clicking or roaring sounds an individual consciously perceives in the absence of an external auditory stimulus. Currently, the literature on the mechanism of tinnitus pathology is multifaceted, ranging from tinnitus generation at the cellular level to its perception at the system level. Cellular level mechanisms include increased neuronal synchrony, neurotransmission changes and maladaptive plasticity. At the system level, the role of auditory structures, non-auditory structures, changes in the functional connectivities in higher regions and tinnitus networks have been investigated. The exploration of all these mechanisms creates a holistic view on understanding the changes the pathophysiology of tinnitus undertakes. Although tinnitus percept may start at the level of cochlear nerve deafferentation, the neuronal changes in the central auditory system to the neuronal and connectivity changes in non-auditory regions, such as the limbic system, become cardinal in chronic tinnitus generation. At the present moment, some tinnitus generation mechanisms are well established (e.g., increased neuronal synchrony) whereas other mechanisms have gained more traction recently (e.g., tinnitus networks, tinnitus-distress networks) and therefore, require additional investigation to solidify their role in tinnitus pathology. The treatments and therapeutics designed for tinnitus are numerous, with varied levels of success. They are generally two-fold: some treatments focus on tinnitus cessation (including cochlear implants, deep brain stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation) whereas the other set focuses on tinnitus reduction or masking (including hearing aids, sound therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, tinnitus retraining therapy, and tailor made notched musical training). Tinnitus management has focused on implementing tinnitus masking/reducing therapies more than tinnitus cessation, since cessation treatments are still lacking in streamlined treatment protocols and long-term sustainability and efficacy of the treatment. This review will focus on concisely exploring the current and most relevant tinnitus pathophysiology mechanisms, treatments and therapeutics.","PeriodicalId":72829,"journal":{"name":"Discoveries (Craiova, Romania)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48211958","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Homocysteine as a Predictor Tool in Multiple Sclerosis.","authors":"Radu Razvan Mititelu,&nbsp;Carmen Valeria Albu,&nbsp;Manuela Violeta Bacanoiu,&nbsp;Vlad Padureanu,&nbsp;Rodica Padureanu,&nbsp;Gabriela Olaru,&nbsp;Ana-Maria Buga,&nbsp;Maria Balasoiu","doi":"10.15190/d.2021.14","DOIUrl":"10.15190/d.2021.14","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive and irreversible disease which affects the central nervous system (CNS) with still unknown etiology. Our study aimes to establish the homocysteine pattern that can predict the MS diseases progression and to identify a potential disease progression marker that can be easy to perform and non-invasive, in order to predict the diseases outcome. In order to achieve this goal, we included 10 adult RRMS subjects, 10 adult SPMS subjects and 10 age-matched healthy subjects. The homocysteine plasma level was measured using automated latex enhanced immunoassay and the cobalamin and folate measurements were performed using automated chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA). HCR was calculated by dividing the homocysteine plasma level by cobalamin plasma level. We found that the homocysteine level in plasma of both RRMS patients and SPMS group are significantly increased compared with the control group. There is a significantly higher concentration of homocysteine in SPMS group compared with the RRMS group. In addition, the HCR is significantly increased in SPMS compared with the RRMS group and is a very good index of disease severity.</p>","PeriodicalId":72829,"journal":{"name":"Discoveries (Craiova, Romania)","volume":"9 3","pages":"e135"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8601869/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39652970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Heart function assessment during aging in apolipoprotein E knock-out mice.","authors":"Elisa A Liehn,&nbsp;Ana-Mihaela Lupan,&nbsp;Rodica Diaconu,&nbsp;Mihai Ioana,&nbsp;Ioana Streata,&nbsp;Catalin Manole,&nbsp;Alexandrina Burlacu","doi":"10.15190/d.2021.15","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15190/d.2021.15","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Apolipoprotein (apo) E isoforms have strong correlations with metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. However, it is not clear if apoE has a role in development of non-ischemic cardiomyopathy. Our study aims to analyze the involvement of apoE in non-ischemic cardiomyopathy.</p><p><strong>Methods and results: </strong>Serial echo-cardiographic measurements were performed in old wildtype and apoE deficient (apoE-/-) mice. Morphological and functional cardiac parameters were in normal range in both groups at the age of 12 month. At the age of 18 months, both groups had shown ventricular dilation and increased heart rates. However, the apoE-/- mice presented signs of diastolic dysfunction by hypertrophic changes in left ventricle, due probably to arterial hypertension. The right ventricle was not affected by age or genotype.  CONCLUSION: Even in the absence of high fat diet, apoE deficiency in mice induces mild changes in the cardiac function of the left ventricle during aging, by developing diastolic dysfunction, which leads to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. However, further studies are necessary to conclude over the role of apoE in cardiac physiology and its involvement in development of heart failure.</p>","PeriodicalId":72829,"journal":{"name":"Discoveries (Craiova, Romania)","volume":"9 3","pages":"e136"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8605688/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39765323","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cytologic Categorization with Risk Stratification of Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration from Pancreatic Lesions Based on Guidelines of the Papanicolaou Society of Cytopathology: 12-Year Tertiary Care Experience.","authors":"Nilay Nishith,&nbsp;Ram Nawal Rao,&nbsp;Praveer Rai","doi":"10.15190/d.2021.13","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15190/d.2021.13","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and aims: </strong>Pancreatic malignancy is an important cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) plays a crucial role in the pre-operative diagnosis of pancreatic lesions. In this study, we have analyzed the cytological spectrum of pancreatic lesions in the Indian population over 12 years, categorized them according to the Papanicolaou Society of Cytopathology System for Reporting Pancreaticobiliary Cytology (PSCPC), and assessed the risk of malignancy (ROM) for each of the categories.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A computerized data search from January 2008 to December 2019 revealed 581 pancreatic EUS-FNA samples, among which surgical follow-up was available for 73 cases. All cytological specimens were reviewed and prospectively classified into one of the six diagnostic categories proposed by the PSCPC. Subsequently, a cytohistological correlation was performed and the ROM was calculated for each category.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The cytologic diagnoses included 50 nondiagnostic (category I), 175 negative for malignancy (category II), 19 atypical (category III), 27 neoplastic:benign (category IVA), 30 neoplastic:other (category IVB), 26 suspicious (category V), and 254 malignant (category VI) cases. ROM for non-diagnostic aspirates, nonneoplastic benign specimens, atypical cases, neoplastic:benign, neoplastic:other, suspicious for malignancy, and the malignant category was 16.7%, 7.1%, 33.3%, 0.0%, 20.0%, 100%, and 78.6%, respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>We document an increased risk of malignancy from category I to category VI of the PSCPC. The malignancy risk for category VI (malignant) was statistically significant in our study but was lower in comparison to the values reported by other authors. Nonetheless, such an approach would establish transparent communication between the pathologist and the clinician, as well as aid the clinician in decision making, particularly in intermediate categories.</p>","PeriodicalId":72829,"journal":{"name":"Discoveries (Craiova, Romania)","volume":"9 3","pages":"e134"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8605790/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39765321","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Macro Photography with Lightsheet Illumination Enables Whole Expanded Brain Imaging with Single-cell Resolution.","authors":"Chia-Ming Lee,&nbsp;Xuejiao Tian,&nbsp;Chieh Tsao,&nbsp;Peilin Chen,&nbsp;Tzyy-Nan Huang,&nbsp;Yi-Ping Hsueh,&nbsp;Bi-Chang Chen","doi":"10.15190/d.2021.12","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15190/d.2021.12","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Macro photography allows direct visualization of the enlarged whole mouse brain by a combination of lightsheet illumination and expansion microscopy with single-cell resolution.  Taking advantage of the long working distance of a camera lens, we imaged a 3.7 cm thick, transparent, fluorescently-labeled expanded brain. In order to improve 3D sectioning capability, we used lightsheet excitation confined as the depth of field of the camera lens. Using 4x sample expansion and 5x optical magnification, macro photography enables imaging of expanded whole mouse brain with an effective resolution of 300 nm, which provides the subcellular structural information at the organ level.</p>","PeriodicalId":72829,"journal":{"name":"Discoveries (Craiova, Romania)","volume":"9 3","pages":"e133"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8626140/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39793175","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}