Adv Exp Med Biol
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The oral microbiota represents an important part of the human microbiota, and includes several hundred to several thousand diverse species. It is a normal part of the oral cavity and has an important function to protect against colonization of extrinsic bacteria which could affect systemic health. On the other hand, the most common oral diseases caries, gingivitis and periodontitis are based on microorganisms. ⋯ On any non-shedding surfaces of the oral cavity dental plaque starts to form, which meets all criteria for a microbial biofilm and is subject to the so-called succession. When the sensitive ecosystem turns out of balance - either by overload or weak immune system - it becomes a challenge for local or systemic health. Therefore, the most common strategy and the golden standard for the prevention of caries, gingivitis and periodontitis is the mechanical removal of this biofilms from teeth, restorations or dental prosthesis by regular toothbrushing.
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Endobronchial ultrasound guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) had an enormous impact on the current advancement in diagnostic bronchoscopy. The aims of the present study were: (1) to evaluate the added value of EBUS-TBNA to routine diagnostic bronchoscopy performed in patients with mediastinal lymph node enlargement and (2) to identify factors that affect the diagnostic yield of EBUS-TBNA. We retrospectively analyzed 712 EBUS-TBNA procedures out of the 4081 bronchoscopies performed in the years 2009-2014. ⋯ We conclude that EBUS-TBNA is a valuable diagnostic method in an unselected group of patients with mediastinal lymph node enlargement. The percentage of positive EBUS-TBNA diagnoses is related to lymph node dimensions. The overall efficacy of EBUS-TBNA improves with increasing years of experience.
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Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a widely used noninvasive method for measuring human brain activation based on the cerebral haemodynamic response. However, systemic changes can influence the signal's parameters. Our study aimed to investigate the relationships between NIRS signals and skin blood flow (SBF) or blood pressure during dynamic movement. ⋯ The correlation coefficients for O2Hb and MAP during warm-up, 30 % VO2peak, and 50 % VO2peak were 0.725 (P < 0.01), 0.472 (P < 0.01), and 0.939 (P < 0.01), respectively. Changes in the state of the cardiovascular system influenced O2Hb signals positively during low and moderate-intensity exercise, whereas a negative relationship was observed during high-intensity exercise. These results suggest that the relationship between the O2Hb signal and systemic changes is affected by exercise intensity.
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Biological systems function via intricate cellular processes and networks in which RNAs, metabolites, proteins and other cellular compounds have a precise role and are exquisitely regulated (Kumar and Mann, FEBS Lett 583(11):1703-1712, 2009). The development of high-throughput technologies, such as the Next Generation DNA Sequencing (NGS) and DNA microarrays for sequencing genomes or metagenomes, have triggered a dramatic increase in the last few years in the amount of information stored in the GenBank and UniProt Knowledgebase (UniProtKB). GenBank release 210, reported in October 2015, contains 202,237,081,559 nucleotides corresponding to 188,372,017 sequences, whilst there are only 1,222,635,267,498 nucleotides corresponding to 309,198,943 sequences from Whole Genome Shotgun (WGS) projects. ⋯ Meanwhile, UniProtKB/TrEMBL (release 2015_12 of December 9 2015) contains 1,838,851,8871 amino acids corresponding to 555,270,679 entries. Proteomics has also improved our knowledge of proteins that are being expressed in cells at a certain time of the cell cycle. It has also allowed the identification of molecules forming part of multiprotein complexes and an increasing number of posttranslational modifications (PTMs) that are present in proteins, as well as the variants of proteins expressed.
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Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide with a 5-year overall survival rate of less than 20 %. Considering the treatments currently available, this statistics is shocking. A possible explanation for the disconnect between sophisticated treatments and the survival rate can be related to the post-treatment enrichment of Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs), which is one of a sub-set of drug resistant tumor cells with abilities of self-renewal, cancer initiation, and further maintenance of tumors. ⋯ Through the processes of EMT, epithelial cells lose their epithelial phenotype and gain mesenchymal properties, rendering EMT phenotypic cells acquire drug-resistance. In this chapter, we will further discuss the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) especially because miRNA-based therapies are becoming attractive target with respect to therapeutic resistance and CSCs. Finally, the potential role of the natural agents and synthetic derivatives of natural compounds with anti-cancer activity, e.g. curcumin, CDF, and BR-DIM is highlighted in overcoming therapeutic resistance, suggesting that the above mentioned agents could be important for better treatment of lung cancer in combination therapy.