18 research outputs found
Comparison of a VLP‐based and GST‐L1‐based multiplex immunoassay to detect vaccine‐induced HPV‐specific antibodies in first‐void urine
No full textVaccine-induced human papillomavirus (HPV) antibodies originating from cervicovaginal secretions were recently shown to be detectable in first-void (FV) urine. This presents a novel opportunity for noninvasive sampling to monitor HPV antibody status in women participating in large epidemiological studies and HPV vaccine trials. With a view towards method optimization, this study compared the measurement of HPV antibodies in FV urine using a multiplex L1/L2 virus-like particles (VLP)-based ELISA (M4ELISA) with previously reported results using a glutathione S-transferase (GST)-L1-based immunoassay (GST-L1-MIA). We tested 53 paired FV urine and serum samples from 19- to 26-year-old healthy women, unvaccinated (n = 17) or vaccinated with either the bivalent or quadrivalent HPV-vaccine during adolescence (n = 36). HPV6/11/16/18 antibodies were measured using M4ELISA and compared with GST-L1-MIA results. Inter-assay and inter-specimen correlations were examined using the Spearman's rank test (rs). As expected, lower HPV antibody concentrations were found in FV urine than in serum. Vaccinated women had significantly higher HPV6/11/16/18 antibody levels in both FV urine and serum compared with those unvaccinated (M4ELISA; FV urine P = .0003; serum P <= .0001). HPV antibody levels in FV urine and serum showed a significant positive correlation (M4ELISA anti-HPV6/11/16/18, r(s) = 0.85/0.86/0.91/0.79, P <= .001). Despite assay differences, there was moderate to good correlation between M4ELISA and GST-L1-MIA (FV urine anti-HPV6/11/16/18, r(s) = 0.86/0.83/0.89/0.53, P <= .0001; serum anti-HPV6/11/16/18, r(s) = 0.93/0.89/0.94/0.75, P <= .0001). FV urine HPV antibody detection is comparable with both assays, further supporting this noninvasive sampling method as a possible option for HPV vaccine assessment. Approaches to improve the sensitivity and larger studies are warranted to determine the feasibility of FV urine for vaccine-induced HPV antibody detection.Industrial Research Fund of the University of Antwerp, Belgium, Grant/Award Number: PS ID 32387Pattyn, J (reprint author), Campus Drie Eiken,Bldg R2,Univ Pl 1, B-12610 Antwerp, Belgium.
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Role of chloroquine as an anticancer agent
No full textChloroquine is a prototype antimalarial drug used to prevent and treat malaria, amebiasis and other autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. The drug acts as an autophagy inhibitor were autophagy is a self-destructive process which is needed to balance sources of energy at developmental process and in response to nutrient deprivation. New studies have shown the crucial role of chloroquine in cancer treatment and is been extensively used as a monotherapy or adjunct therapy in various types of cancer. This review summarizes the role of chloroquine and its action as an autophagy inhibitor in cancer treatment and also the various safety issues concerning with the same.
Keywords: Adjuanct therap; Autophagy inhibitor; Chloroquine; Monotherapy</jats:p
Numerical Modeling of Advancing Wave Front in Dam Break Problem by Incompressible Navier-stokes Solver
No full textSerum Immune Profiling for Early Detection of Cervical Disease
No full textabstract: Background: The most recent (2012) worldwide estimates from International Agency for Research on Cancer indicate that approximately 528,000 new cases and 270,000 deaths per year are attributed to cervical cancer worldwide. The disease is preventable with HPV vaccination and with early detection and treatment of pre-invasive cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, CIN. Antibodies (Abs) to HPV proteins are under investigation as potential biomarkers for early detection.
Methods: To detect circulating HPV-specific IgG Abs, we developed programmable protein arrays (NAPPA) that display the proteomes of two low-risk HPV types (HPV6 and 11) and ten oncogenic high-risk HPV types (HPV16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52 and 58). Arrays were probed with sera from women with CIN 0/I (n=78), CIN II/III (n=84), or invasive cervical cancer (ICC, n=83).
Results: Abs to any early (E) HPV protein were detected less frequently in women with CIN 0/I (23.7%) than women with CIN II/III (39.0%) and ICC (46.1%, p<0.04). Of the E Abs, anti-E7 Abs were the most frequently detected (6.6%, 19.5%, and 30.3%, respectively). The least frequently detected Abs were E1 and E2-Abs in CIN 0/I (1.3%) and E1-Abs in CIN II/III (1.2%) and ICC (7.9%). HPV16-specific Abs correlated with HPV16 DNA detected in the cervix in 0% of CIN 0/I, 21.2% of CIN II/III, and 45.5% of ICC. A significant number (29 - 73%) of E4, E7, L1, and L2 Abs had cross-reactivity between HPV types.
Conclusion: HPV protein arrays provide a valuable high-throughput tool for measuring the breadth, specificity, and heterogeneity of the serologic response to HPV in cervical disease
Parameter Selection of Discrete Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm for the Quadratic Assignment Problems
No full textAbstractQuadratic Assignment Problems (QAPs) are the hardest of combinatorial optimization problems, with some problems of sizes of the order of 30 still remaining unsolved optimally. Solving these problems with exact optimization methods is cumbersome and hence the use of non-traditional optimization methods is advisable. The discrete version of Particle Swarm Optimization (DPSO) is a widely accepted non-conventional optimization algorithm for combinatorial optimization problems. This paper uses Taguchi's robust design approach to determine the best combination of parameters for discrete particle swarm optimization algorithm for solving quadratic assignment problems
Energy-efficient cooperative single-carrier frequency-division multiple-access
No full textA variety of cooperative relaying schemes are designed for the single-carrier frequency-division multiple-access (SC-FDMA) uplink, when communicating over broadband wireless channels. Our goal is to reduce the battery power dissipated both by transmission and signal processing, so that the overall energy-efficiency may be increased. We assume that there are a number of inactive mobile terminals acting as potential relays, which have either fixed or time-variant positions in a cell. Our investigations are focused on the optimum exploitation of all the resources, when considering relay selection, power allocation and channel-quality-aided adaptive subband allocation. We exploit the benefits of combining the path-loss reduction and diversity gains arising from both fixed and opportunistic relaying, user cooperation and from all the propagation paths, as well as from multiple antennas. Novel frequency-domain equalisation and diversity combining approaches are also conceived.Specifically, we firstly conceive two single-relay assisted topologies for the sake of exploiting the achievable cooperative diversity, namely the single-dedicated-relaying (SDR), where each relay is dedicated to a single user, and the single-shared-relaying (SSR), when a single relay assists multiple users. In order to eliminate both the multi-user interference and for the sake of mitigating the noise-amplification imposed by amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying, we propose an efficient subband-based AF scheme, which is benchmarked against the conventional AF regime in the context of both the SDR and SSR topologies. Furthermore, by assuming that the channel state information (CSI) is available at the base station (BS)’s receiver, a joint frequency-domain equalisation and diversity-combining scheme is proposed for the sake of increasing the achievable cooperative diversity gain. In this case, when considering the different number of available relays that are geographically dispersed across a large-scale environment subject to both path-loss and shadowing, we propose three different dynamic relay selection schemes, namely single-user relay selection (SU-RS), multi-user relay selection (MU-RS), and multiple-access relay selection (MA-RS), combined with source/relay vi power allocation in the context of opportunistic cooperation (OC) for the sake of increasing the multi-user system’s throughput. By contrast, when the source-to-destination (S-D) direct links are of low quality and hence are deemed to be unavailable, we exploit the relays which are roaming within each other’s vicinity in geographically localised manner in a cluster. Therefore, by assuming that these cooperating relays are capable of exchanging their channel quality information (CQI), we propose two first-hop-quality-aware (FHQA) joint dynamic resource allocation (DRA) schemes for opportunistic relaying (OR) based SCFDMA uplink, which beneficially combines channel-quality-aware subband allocation with efficient relay selection. The FHQA joint DRA schemes optimise the multi-user multi-relay networks relying on whether it is the source-to-relay (S-R) or the relay-to-destination (R-D) link, which dominates the attainable performance, when the BS’s receiver employs either single or multiple antennas. Additionally, the benefits of OR are quantified in the context of interleaver-aided decode-and-forward (DF) relaying for transmission over correlated fading channels. Therefore, the length of the interleavers combined with channel coding may be shortened. As a result, we benefit from a reduced interleaving delay and/or from a total transmit power reduction. In comparison to the benchmark schemes considered in the literature, the reliability and energy-efficiency of our proposed systems are significantly improved
Efficacy and Safety of Magnetic Resonance‐Guided Focused Ultrasound Thalamotomy in Essential Tremor: A Systematic Review and Metanalysis
No full textBackground: Magnetic resonance‐guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) is an established surgical treatment for essential tremor, providing tremor relief without the need for an incision or general anesthesia. Meta‐analyses have been limited in their exploration of the durability of the treatment effect. Objectives: The study aimed to assess the treatment effect and safety of this procedure over time. Different to other meta‐analyses, this study assessed the durability of efficacy over time from 1 month to 5 years follow‐up. Investigating the recurrence of tremor was an important target of this work. Methods: A systematic search of the literature utilizing set search criteria was conducted with the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane library databases, in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Data analysis was conducted in R, utilizing a random‐effects model for meta‐analysis and a mixed‐effects model for meta‐regression. Results: Forty‐five studies met the inclusion criteria, of which 42 were included in the analyses. Significant changes in hand tremor, total tremor, disability scores, and quality of life scores were demonstrated across the time points investigated, the pooled standardized mean differences being −2.36 (P < 0.0001), −2.08 (P < 0.0001), −2.85 (P < 0.0001), and −1.41 (P < 0.0001) 1 year post‐operation. Sensory symptoms and unsteadiness adverse events were frequently observed, with pooled proportions of 22% (95% CI 15%; 31%) and 23% (95% CI 16%; 31%) 1 month post‐MRgFUS. Conclusion: Although the procedure demonstrated efficacy and safety across the studies evaluated, meta‐regression analysis suggests a decrease in treatment effect over time that requires further investigation. © 2025 The Author(s). Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
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Simple electrocardiographic measures improve sudden arrhythmic death prediction in coronary disease
No full textPublished on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author(s) 2020. For permissions, please email: [email protected]. AIMS: To determine whether the combination of standard electrocardiographic (ECG) markers reflecting domains of arrhythmic risk improves sudden and/or arrhythmic death (SAD) risk stratification in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). METHODS AND RESULTS: The association between ECG markers and SAD was examined in a derivation cohort (PREDETERMINE; N = 5462) with adjustment for clinical risk factors, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and competing risk. Competing outcome models assessed the differential association of ECG markers with SAD and competing mortality. The predictive value of a derived ECG score was then validated (ARTEMIS; N = 1900). In the derivation cohort, the 5-year cumulative incidence of SAD was 1.5% [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-1.9] and 6.2% (95% CI 4.5-8.3) in those with a low- and high-risk ECG score, respectively (P for Δ \u3c 0.001). A high-risk ECG score was more strongly associated with SAD than non-SAD mortality (adjusted hazard ratios = 2.87 vs. 1.38 respectively; P for Δ = 0.003) and the proportion of deaths due to SAD was greater in the high vs. low risk groups (24.9% vs. 16.5%, P for Δ = 0.03). Similar findings were observed in the validation cohort. The addition of ECG markers to a clinical risk factor model inclusive of LVEF improved indices of discrimination and reclassification in both derivation and validation cohorts, including correct reclassification of 28% of patients in the validation cohort [net reclassification improvement 28 (7-49%), P = 0.009]. CONCLUSION: For patients with CHD, an externally validated ECG score enriched for both absolute and proportional SAD risk and significantly improved risk stratification compared to standard clinical risk factors including LVEF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01114269. ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT01114269
Autonomic nervous system education in Europe: EAN/EFAS/INUS survey on curricula and skills in autonomic medicine of European neurology residents and consultants
No full text© 2024 The Author(s). European Journal of Neurology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Academy of Neurology. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.Background and purpose: Centers for training in autonomic nervous system (ANS) disorders are not widely available and the recent coronavirus 2019 pandemic temporarily reduced training opportunities in autonomic medicine across European countries. Here we evaluated the current state of education, clinical skills and postgraduate educational preferences on ANS disorders of European neurology residents and consultants.
Methods: A 23-item questionnaire was developed and distributed online amongst European neurology residents and consultants via mailing lists of the European Academy of Neurology. The questions assessed demographics, current training opportunities and learning preferences in ANS disorders. Six multiple-choice questions were used to self-evaluate knowledge of ANS disorders.
Results: In all, 285 individuals answered the survey (60% female, mostly 25-34 years of age). All respondents considered clinical autonomic skills necessary for good clinical neurological practice, and 92% would like to increase their ANS knowledge. Female respondents and those who trained in Southern/Eastern/Greater Europe more frequently judged ANS skills important for clinical practice than male respondents (p = 0.012) and respondents from Northern/Western Europe (p = 0.011). Female and younger respondents felt less confident in managing ANS disorders (p = 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). Respondents below 45 years of age (p < 0.001) and those with lower confidence in managing ANS disorders (p = 0.004) were more likely to recommend that ANS education is embedded in the residency curriculum.
Conclusions: Most European neurology residents and consultants reported a need for more autonomic education, with additional gender, age and regional differences. These findings underscore the importance of increasing the educational content on autonomic medicine in European medical and postgraduate curricula.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
