Recently Published Articles
What Do Primary Care Prediabetes Patients Need? A Baseline Assessment of Patients Engaging in A Technology-Enhanced Lifestyle Intervention.
Abstract:
This study assessed the baseline knowledge, perceptions, attitudes and behaviors of prediabetes patients in order to tailor a new technology-enhanced primary care-based lifestyle modification intervention. Patients with a diagnosis of prediabetes were enrolled in a randomized, controlled pilot study, Avoiding Diabetes Thru Action Plan Targeting (ADAPT), a technology-based intervention to promote action plan discussions around patient-selected behavior change goals. A total of 54 adults (82% female) were enrolled in the pilot study. Most (89%) had comorbid conditions and mean BMI was 36. Participants exhibited significant levels of diabetes risk knowledge and diabetes risk perception, as well as...
Discovery and Quantification in Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomics
Abstract:
Mass spectrometry (MS) has been successfully used to analyze biological samples and advances of MS-based approaches have turn MS data from largely qualitative to quantitative. These MS-based quantitative approaches using label-free, tags, or stable isotope labeling have their own strengths and limitations. The variability introduced by different methods prior to quantitative mass spectrometry should be considered, and accuracy and precision of MS measurements can also vary depending on the strategy used for MS quantification. Therefore, the development of methods for accurate protein quantitation is one of the most challenging areas of proteomics. Using these quantitative approaches, one can investigate the dynamics of proteome through differential protein expression in normal biological processes and diseases.
Proteome and Proteomics: from Single Protein to Whole Body
Abstract:
A primer explains how proteomics scales from single‑protein analysis to whole‑organism studies, touching on technologies, bioinformatics, and applications.
The Role of FIP-2 (Optineurin) in Regulation of the Chemokines and Kinases
Abstract:
FIP-2 is a multifunctional protein which is involved in various cellular processes. Using different approaches we investigated its regulatory activity. The microarray analysis has shown that FIP-2 substantially altered the expression of 75 genes (35+/40-) from different functional groups with maximal presentation in “Signal transduction” and “Transcription regulation”. Real time RT-PCR indicated significant elevation in the transcription of chemokines, particularly IL-8 (CXCL8). Production of IL-8 in HEK293 cells dramatically increased with FIP-2 overexpression. We also demonstrated that FIP-2 induced activation of IL-8 promoter activity through NF-kB binding site. Additionally, we showed that FIP-2 could interact with PAK3 and increase its kinase activity. Overall, we demonstrated the role of FIP-2 in the regulation of chemokines (IL-8, MPIF-1, MCP-1) and kinases (PAK3, ALK).
Participant Retention in a HIV Prevention Cohort Study in Kisumu, Kenya
Abstract:
Retention of sufficient numbers of participants in longitudinal research studies is a serious methodological concern, as retention influences the validity of the research findings. An assessment of participant retention or attending all study visits was made quarterly during a 12 month follow-up of an HIV incident cohort in Kisumu, Kenya. The study objectives were to determine 1) the proportion of participants attending all study visits and 2) demographic and behavioral factors associated with missing ≥ 1 visit. The Kisumu Incidence Cohort Study (KICoS) was initiated in January 2007 (N=831). Detailed contact information was collected from each participant to enhance retention. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were used to determine factors associated with missing ≥ 1 visit. Overall retention was 90%. Of those enrolled, 46.4% were females. The adjusted odds of missing ≥ 1 study visit were greater for participants who were female (AOR=2.85; CI=1.90-4.28...
Evaluating the Efficacy of Gene Silencing in Dopaminergic Neuronal Cells In-Vitro using Gold Nanorods (GNR) with Different Surface Properties Complexed to DARPP-32 siRNA.
Abstract:
Gold nanorods (GNRs) are plasmonic nanostructures by virtue of their size-dependent optical properties, offer a bionanotechnology platform in areas of bioimaging, drug delivery etc for disease diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy. GNRs are more sensitive to changes in local environments, and offer strong scattering and absorption efficiencies thus providing opportunities to integrate multiple imaging modes and therapeutic strategies. The hydrodynamic size of these GNR under physiological condition is <100 nm, making them ideal as intracellular delivery agents. RNA interference using small inhibitory RNA (siRNA) has become a powerful tool to downregulate mRNA levels by cellular nucleases that become activated when a sequence homology between the siRNA and a respective mRNA molecule is detected. siRNA is used to silence genes involved in the pathogenesis of various diseases and holds a promising option for the development of novel therapeutic strategies in n...
Phytochemicals May Arrest HIV-1 Progression
Abstract:
This hypothesis‑driven review considers phytochemicals with putative anti‑HIV activity. It summarizes proposed mechanisms, in vitro evidence, and formulation issues, and calls for standardized assays and clinical trials to determine real‑world efficacy and safety.
Hospital Episodes Due to Antidepressant Overdose: An Under-Utilised Source of Pharmacovigilance Data
Abstract:
Antidepressant agents are commonly implicated in drug overdose, and the toxicological profile varies between agents. Clinical data concerning overdoses are not systematically sought or evaluated in pharmacovigilance. The present study sought to examine the feasibility of collecting Emergency Department data concerning antidepressant overdose. Presentations to York Hospital due to intentional antidepressant overdose were studied between 2010 and 2011. Data collected were the type of antidepressant, dose, co-ingested drugs, duration of hospital stay, and need for critical care. Community National Health Service prescription data were evaluated across York and North Yorkshire region. There wer...
Rapid and Sensitive High-Performance Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method for Determination of Danshensu in Rat Plasma
Abstract:
A sensitive, specific and rapid high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (hplc–ms/ms) method has been developed and validated for the determination of danshensu (dss) in rat plasma in the present study. The analytes were separated on a c18 column (50 mm×2.1 mm, 1.7 μm) and a triplequadrupole mass spectrometry equipped with electrospray ionization (esi) source was applied for detection. The simple protein precipitation was applied to extract dss from the plasma (about 80%). The method was linear over the concentration ranges of 50–1000 ng/ml for dss. The lower limit of quantitation (lloq) of dss was 50 ng/ml. The intra-day and inter-day relative standard deviation (rsd) were less than 15% and the relative error (re) were all within 15%. Finally, the method was successfully applied to support the pharmacokinetic study after guanxinsu solution was orally administrated to the sprague–dawley rat, respectively.