Maverick total disc replacement in a real-world patient population: a prospective, multicentre, observational study

http://ift.tt/2o1THko

Changes in perfusion and diffusion in the endplate regions of degenerating intervertebral discs: a DCE-MRI study

http://ift.tt/2oMuRSD

Labor: Studies in Working-Class History

Labor: Studies in Working-Class History, published by Duke University Press, last updated on 2017-04-18, available at http://ift.tt/2o2hBw3

from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2o2hBw3
via IFTTT

Mindfulness and its efficacy for psychological and biological responses in women with breast cancer

Abstract

Many breast cancer survivors have to deal with a variety of psychological and physiological sequelae including impaired immune responses. The primary purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to determine the efficacy of a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention for mood disorders in women with breast cancer. Secondary outcomes were symptom experience, health status, coping capacity, mindfulness, posttraumatic growth, and immune status. This RTC assigned 166 women with breast cancer to one of three groups: MBSR (8 weekly group sessions of MBSR), active controls (self-instructing MBSR) and non-MBSR. The primary outcome measure was the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Secondary outcome measures were: Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale, SF-36, Sense of Coherence, Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire, and Posttraumatic Growth Index. Blood samples were analyzed using flow cytometry for NK-cell activity (FANKIA) and lymphocyte phenotyping; concentrations of cytokines were determined in sera using commercial high sensitivity IL-6 and IL-8 ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) kits. Results provide evidence for beneficial effects of MBSR on psychological and biological responses. Women in the MBSR group experienced significant improvements in depression scores, with a mean pre-MBSR HAD-score of 4.3 and post-MBSR score of 3.3 (P = 0.001), and compared to non-MBSR (P = 0.015). Significant improvements on scores for distress, symptom burden, and mental health were also observed. Furthermore, MBSR facilitated coping capacity as well as mindfulness and posttraumatic growth. Significant benefits in immune response within the MBSR group and between groups were observed. MBSR have potential for alleviating depression, symptom experience, and for enhancing coping capacity, mindfulness and posttraumatic growth, which may improve breast cancer survivorship. MBSR also led to beneficial effect on immune function; the clinical implications of this finding merit further research.

MBSR alleviates depression and symptom experience and enhance coping capacity which may improve breast cancer survivorship. MBSR also led to changes in immune response.

from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2pzm3SW
via IFTTT

Purification and characterization of Cc-Lec, C-type lactose-binding lectin: A platelet aggregation and blood-clotting inhibitor from Cerastes cerastes venom

Publication date: September 2017
Source:International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Volume 102
Author(s): Saoud Samah, Chérifi Fatah, Berjeaud Jean-Marc, Kellou-Taîri Safia, Laraba-Djebari Fatima
In this study, we reported for the first time the biochemical and structural characterization of Cc-Lec, a C-type lectin purified from Cerastes cerastes venom by affinity chromatography. This lectin was homogeneous by SDS-PAGE, and was shown to be a 34 271.59Da polypeptide by Electrospray mass spectrometry MS-ES-TOF. Its identified sequence of 160 amino acids corresponding to one subunit, revealed a high identity with other related proteins. Cc-Lec modeled 3D structure appeared as homodimer cross-linked by one disulfide bridge. Cc-Lec exhibited a calcium dependent hemagglutinating activity against human group O erythrocytes. Cc-Lec inhibited platelet aggregation induced by ADP, arachidonic acid or fibrinogen suggesting its interaction with their specific receptors namely P2Y1 and/or P2Y12, GPIIb/IIIa and TPα respectively. Cc-Lec was not lethal for mice until 10mg/kg administered by i.p. route. The lectin displayed a lasting anticoagulation on mice plasma even two days post-injection. This anticoagulation seems to be related to its interaction with coagulation factors Xa and IXa. Therefore, Cc-Lec prevented FXa amidolytic activity with Km=4.3310⁻⁴μg/mL and ki=14.4μg/mL. It seems to interact with these targets through CRD domain which could make it a good target as a pharmacological promising molecule in thrombosis diagnosis and therapy.



from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2oMk5vI
via IFTTT

Antiageing activities of water-soluble chitosan from Clanis bilineata larvae

Publication date: September 2017
Source:International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Volume 102
Author(s): Shengjun Wu, Mingsheng Lu, Shujun Wang
Water extracts were prepared using water-soluble chitosan from Clanis bilineata larva skin. This study also investigated antioxidant and antiageing activities of water-soluble chitosan. Water-soluble chitosan of Clanis bilineata larva skin (CBLSWSC) showed considerable scavenging activities on superoxide anion and hydroxyl radicals and reducing capacity. Different doses of CBLSWSC were intragastrically administered on a d-galactose-induced-aged mouse model over a period of six weeks. Intragastric CBLSWSC administration significantly increased activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase and inhibited formation of malondialdehyde in brains and sera of mice in a dose-dependent manner. Results suggest that CBLSWSC exhibits high antioxidant activity and can be developed as potential dietary supplement to retard ageing in humans.



from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2o1TYDU
via IFTTT

Effect of acidity on the physicochemical properties of α- and β-chitin nanofibers

Publication date: September 2017
Source:International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Volume 102
Author(s): Shin Suenaga, Kazuhide Totani, Yoshihiro Nomura, Kazuhiko Yamashita, Iori Shimada, Hiroshi Fukunaga, Nobuhide Takahashi, Mitsumasa Osada
We have investigated whether acidity can be used to control the physicochemical properties of chitin nanofibers (ChNFs). In this study, we define acidity as the molar ratio of dissociated protons from the acid to the amino groups in the raw chitin powder. The effect of acidity on the physicochemical properties of α- and β-ChNFs was compared. The transmittance and viscosity of the β-ChNFs drastically and continuously increased with increasing acidity, while those of the α-ChNFs were not affected by acidity. These differences are because of the higher ability for cationization based on the more flexible crystal structure of β-chitin than α-chitin. In addition, the effect of the acid species on the transmittance of β-ChNFs was investigated. The transmittance of β-ChNFs can be expressed by the acidity regardless of the acid species, such as hydrochloric acid, phosphoric acid, and acetic acid. These results indicate that the acidity defined in this work is an effective parameter to define and control the physicochemical properties of ChNFs.



from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2oMjRoh
via IFTTT

Chitosan: A potential biopolymer for wound management

Publication date: September 2017
Source:International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Volume 102
Author(s): Ijaz Bano, Muhammad Arshad, Tariq Yasin, Muhammad Afzal Ghauri, Muhammad Younus
It has been seen that slow healing and non-healing wounds conditions are treatable but still challenging to humans. Wound dressing usually seeks for biocompatible and biodegradable recipe. Natural polysaccharides like chitosan have been examined for its antimicrobial and healing properties on the basis of its variation in molecular weight and degree of deacetylation. Chitosan adopts some vital characteristics for treatment of various kinds of wounds which include its bonding nature, antifungal, bactericidal and permeability to oxygen. Chitosan therefore has been modified into various forms for the treatment of wounds and burns. The purpose of this review article is to understand the exploitation of chitosan and its derivatives as wound dressings. This article will also provide a concise insight on the properties of chitosan necessary for skin healing and regeneration, particularly highlighting the emerging role of chitosan films as next generation skin substitutes for the treatment of full thickness wounds.



from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2o2bk3u
via IFTTT

Spectroscopic studies on the gemini surfactant mediated refolding of human serum albumin

Publication date: September 2017
Source:International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Volume 102
Author(s): Nuzhat Gull, Javed Masood Khan, Rukhsana, Rizwan Hassan Khan
Refolding of guanidinium hydrochloride (GdCl) denatured human serum albumin (HSA) using a combination of cationic gemini surfactants; pentanediyl-α,ω-bis(cetyldimethylammonium bromide) (C16H33(CH3)2N⁺–(CH2)5–N⁺(CH3)2C16H33)2Br⁻ designated as G5 and methyl- β-cyclodextrin, is attempted in the present study. The studies were carried out in an aqueous medium (pH 7.4) using dynamic light scattering (DLS), circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence spectroscopy. A careful study of the DLS data indicates that against the hydrodynamic radius (Rh) of 3.5nm in native human serum albumin (HSA), hydrodynamic radius after attempting refolding by simple dilution increases to 33.8nm. The large Rh values of the diluted protein sample is associated with the formation of aggregates as dilution is an aggregation prone pathway. Hydrodynamic radii equal to 5.4nm, that is very near to the native protein (3.5nm), is obtained on the sequential addition of G5 and methyl- β-cyclodextrin to the denatured protein. The results obtained from the multi-technique approach are associated with the presence of two charged head-groups and two hydrocarbon tails in the gemini surfactants resulting in very strong electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions.The present study suggests that gemini surfactants may be utilised in the protein refolding studies and may prove to be inexpensive and efficient folding agents.



from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2oMs3F6
via IFTTT

Purification, in vitro antioxidant and in vivo anti-aging activities of exopolysaccharides by Agrocybe cylindracea

Publication date: September 2017
Source:International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Volume 102
Author(s): Huajie Zhao, Juan Li, Jianjun Zhang, Xiuxiu Wang, Long Hao, Le Jia
The in vitro antioxidant and in vivo anti-aging activities in D-galactose-induced aging mice of exopolysaccharides (EPS) and its fractions (EPS-1, EPS-2 and EPS-3) by Agrocybe cylindraceas were investigated presently. The scavenging effects of EPS-2 on hydroxyl (HO) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals were 97.1±4.25% and 90.23±3.25%, while the reducing power reached 1.18±0.08 at 120mg/L, which were higher than EPS, EPS-1 and EPS-3 at 1000mg/L. The EPS showed potential anti-aging activities via reducing the contents of malonaldehyde (MDA) and total cholesterol (TC), as well as increasing the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities, and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC). Additionally, the monosaccharide analysis showed EPS contained rhamnose and glucose with the molar ratio of 2.8:1. These results demonstrated that EPS could be used as functional foods and natural drugs on preventing and mitigating the aging process.



from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2o23cA9
via IFTTT

An overview on molecular chaperones enhancing solubility of expressed recombinant proteins with correct folding

Publication date: September 2017
Source:International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Volume 102
Author(s): Mina Mamipour, Mohammadreza Yousefi, Mohammad Hasanzadeh
The majority of research topics declared that most of the recombinant proteins have been expressed by Escherichia coli in basic investigations. But the majority of high expressed proteins formed as inactive recombinant proteins that are called inclusion body. To overcome this problem, several methods have been used including suitable promoter, environmental factors, ladder tag to secretion of proteins into the periplasm, gene protein optimization, chemical chaperones and molecular chaperones sets. Co-expression of the interest protein with molecular chaperones is one of the common methods The chaperones are a group of proteins, which are involved in making correct folding of recombinant proteins. Chaperones are divided two groups including; cytoplasmic and periplasmic chaperones. Moreover, periplasmic chaperones and proteases can be manipulated to increase the yields of secreted proteins. In this article, we attempted to review cytoplasmic chaperones such as Hsp families and periplasmic chaperones including; generic chaperones, specialized chaperones, PPIases, and proteins involved in disulfide bond formation.



from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2oMyUyx
via IFTTT

Immobilization of Euphorbia tirucalli peroxidase onto chitosan-cobalt oxide magnetic nanoparticles and optimization using response surface methodology

Publication date: September 2017
Source:International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Volume 102
Author(s): Ankita Shukla, Ravi Kumar Gundampati, Medicherla V. Jagannadham
Euphorbia tirucalli peroxidase (ETP) was immobilized on chitosan beads having magnetic properties for the ease of separation and increasing the reusability of ETP for cost effective assay conditions. The present work reports immobilization of ETP on polymeric support chitosan-cobalt oxide beads subsequently activated with 0.05% cynuric chloride. The magnetic immobilized enzyme was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The immobilized ETP can be reused up to 10 cycles with retention of more than 60% activity. The optimum pH was shifted from 6.0 to 5.5 for soluble ETP to immobilized ETP and optimum temperature from 50°C and 55°C for the immobilized ETP. Based on response surface methodology, the optimal immobilization conditions obtained were: enzyme concentration, 2mg/286mg beads; optimal pH, 4.93; temperature, 28.88; cynuric chloride concentration, 0.17%; reaction time, 14.4h, which resulted 74.51% maximum immobilization. The enzyme magnetic nanoparticles could be separated magnetically for easy reuse. Immobilization of ETP onto the magnetic nanoparticles could be useful for biotechnological applications and bioassay due to its reusability and improved stability.



from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2o1WF8t
via IFTTT

Antidepressants in pregnancy are not associated with autism risk, new study finds

Other factors may explain a proposed increased risk of autism in children of depressed mothers treated with antidepressants during pregnancy, show the findings of two large population based studies...

from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2o2bl7B
via IFTTT

Tax on sugary drinks in California cuts sales by 10%

Sales of sugar sweetened drinks in Berkeley, California, fell by almost 10% after the introduction of an excise tax, research published in PLoS Medicine has shown.1In November 2014 Berkeley...

from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2oMwmAl
via IFTTT

Sixty seconds on . . . teen pregnancies

Are teenage pregnancies a rare example of a problem solved?Numbers have fallen fast and continue to do so. The decline ought to be more celebrated than it is, given that teenage pregnancies used to...

from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2o1WGt3
via IFTTT

The BMJ Awards 2017: Cardiology

Heart failure unitPatients with heart failure rarely get optimum treatment in hospitals, despite their growing numbers and evidence that prompt diagnosis and treatment on cardiology wards can save...

from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2oMotL8
via IFTTT

Encouraging young and old to interact in care settings

bmj;357/apr18_15/j1862/FAF1faDevon Michelle PhotographyCare homes and childcare providers in the UK are taking only baby steps towards collaboration, says Stephen Burke, director of United for All...

from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2o23eru
via IFTTT