Activity

Response to chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (RC) is quite variable and it is urgent to find predictive biomarkers of response. We investigated miR-21 as tissue and plasma biomarker of response to CRT in a prospective cohort of RC patients; The expression of miR-21 was analyzed in pre- and post-CRT rectal tissue and plasma in 37 patients with RC. AP-III-a4 Two groups were defined Pathological responders (TRG 0, 1 and 2) and non-responders (TRG 3). The association between miR-21, clinical and oncological outcomes was assessed; miR-21 was upregulated in tumor tissue and we found increased odds of overexpression in pre-CRT tumor tissue (OR 1.63; 95% CI 0.40-6.63, p = 0.498) and pre-CRT plasma (OR 1.79; 95% CI 0.45-7.19, p = 0.414) of non-responders. The overall recurrence risk increased with miR-21 overexpression in pre-CRT tumor tissue (HR 2.175, p = 0.37); Significantly higher miR-21 expression is observed in tumor tissue comparing with non-neoplastic. Increased odds of non-response is reported in patients expressing higher miR-21, although without statistical significance. This is one of the first studies on circulating miR-21 as a potential biomarker of response to CRT in RC patients.Acute kidney injury (AKI), caused mainly by ischemia-reperfusion, sepsis, or nephrotoxins (such as contrast medium), is identified by an abrupt decline in kidney function and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Despite decades of efforts, the pathogenesis of AKI remains poorly understood, and effective therapies are lacking. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the posttranscriptional level to control cell differentiation, development, and homeostasis. Additionally, extracellular miRNAs might mediate cell-cell communication during various physiological and pathological processes. Recently, mounting evidence indicates that miRNAs play a role in the pathogenesis of AKI. Moreover, emerging research suggests that because of their remarkable stability in body fluids, microRNAs can potentially serve as novel diagnostic biomarkers of AKI. Of note, our previous finding that miR-494 is rapidly elevated in urine but not in serum provides insight into the ultimate role of urine miRNAs in AKI. Additionally, exosomal miRNAs derived from stem cells, known as the stem cell secretome, might be a potential innovative therapeutic strategy for AKI. This review aims to provide new data obtained in this field of research. It is hoped that new studies on this topic will not only generate new insights into the pathophysiology of urine miRNAs in AKI but also might lead to the precise management of this fatal disease.This study aims to develop an intervention based on TARGET strategies in young people practicing rhythmic gymnastics, with the aim of observing whether motivation, discipline, self-concept and flexibility are improved. This research is a longitudinal study of a quasi-experimental nature. A total of 104 young adolescents between the ages of 11 and 12 years (11.66 ± 0.47) participated in the study, of which 60 belong to the control group and 44 to the experimental group. The intervention programme lasted two months (17 sessions). TARGET strategies were applied to the experimental group during training. While the experimental group continued with its routine training. To measure the psychological variables, the instrument used were the Youth Physical Self-Concept Scale (C-PSQ), Reason Scale for Discipline (RSD) and Success Perception Questionnaire (SPQ), and for flexibility, the tests were applied to the Sit and Reach and Deep trunk flexion test. The results showed that those teenagers who participated in the intervention, obtained an increased climate task, which entails an enjoyment by the practice of physical activity itself, more optimal levels of physical self-concept and discipline, subsequently, obtaining better results of flexibility. While in the control group gymnasts the ego climate and demotivation increased. TARGET strategies applied to young adolescents have positive effects, improve motivation towards physical activity, self-concept and discipline. This results in greater performance in flexibility. This will encourage young adolescents to continue to engage in physical activity in the future.The palhinine family of Lycopodium alkaloids were first reported in 2010, which feature an intriguing isotwistane carbon cage and a nine-membered azonane ring. It is noteworthy that the tetracyclic 5/6/6/9 skeleton was unprecedented in Lycopodium alkaloids before their seminal discovery. Over the past decade, extensive synthetic efforts stemming from seven research groups have resulted in two racemic total syntheses to date. This review article takes the opportunity to survey these efforts and achievements so as to promote further research towards the asymmetric total synthesis of palhinine alkaloids.Poly(2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate-co-divinylbenzene) (poly(DEAEMA-co-DVB)) microspheres with mixed-mode weak anion-exchange (WAX) character were successfully fabricated for the first time via facile one-step Pickering emulsion polymerization. The obtained poly(DEAEMA-co-DVB) particles had good spherical geometry, uniform particle size in the range of 30-40 µm, a large specific surface area of 575 m2/g, and a pore size range of 5-30 nm, according to the SEM and nitrogen adsorption-desorption results. Using these mixed-mode WAX microspheres as packing material, a reliable and robust analytical method based on solid phase extraction and high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection (SPE-HPLC-UV) was developed for simultaneous determination of six strongly and weakly acidic nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs, niflumic acid, diflunisal, naproxen, ketoprofen, mefenamic acid, and diclofenac) in reservoir water. Under optimized conditions, it was applicable to preconcentrate up to 500 mL of reservoir water samples on the WAX cartridges with satisfying recoveries (88-96%) for all the NSAIDs tested. The limits of detection were in the range of 0.002-0.025 μg L-1, respectively. Our results showed that the developed mixed-mode WAX poly(DEAEMA-co-DVB) phase containing a tertiary amine with a pKa value of approximately 10.7 could be used for simultaneous clean-up and preconcentration of strongly and weakly acidic organic pollutants in real environmental water, which could not be achieved by single use of quaternary ammonium strong anion-exchange phase or weaker primary and secondary amine anion-exchange.