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Science (New York, N.Y.) Oct 2019The intracellular transport system in neurons is specialized to an extraordinary degree, enabling the delivery of critical cargo to sites in axons or dendrites that are... (Review)
Review
The intracellular transport system in neurons is specialized to an extraordinary degree, enabling the delivery of critical cargo to sites in axons or dendrites that are far removed from the cell center. Vesicles formed in the cell body are actively transported by kinesin motors along axonal microtubules to presynaptic sites that can be located more than a meter away. Both growth factors and degradative vesicles carrying aged organelles or aggregated proteins take the opposite route, driven by dynein motors. Distance is not the only challenge; precise delivery of cargos to sites of need must also be accomplished. For example, localized delivery of presynaptic components to hundreds of thousands of "en passant" synapses distributed along the length of a single axon in some neuronal subtypes provides a layer of complexity that must be successfully navigated to maintain synaptic transmission. We review recent advances in the field of axonal transport, with a focus on conceptual developments, and highlight our growing quantitative understanding of neuronal trafficking and its role in maintaining the synaptic function that underlies higher cognitive processes such as learning and memory.
Topics: Animals; Axonal Transport; Humans; Mice; Microtubules; Protein Isoforms; Protein Processing, Post-Translational; Synapses; Tubulin
PubMed: 31601744
DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw9997 -
Journal of Diabetes Science and... May 2020When used in hospital settings, glucose meter performance issues involve analytic comparability to lab-based testing, patient and sample variables, and clinical affects... (Review)
Review
When used in hospital settings, glucose meter performance issues involve analytic comparability to lab-based testing, patient and sample variables, and clinical affects such as insulin treatment protocol outcomes and morbidity or outcome risk factors. Different tools are available to assess these issues, including accuracy and precision statistics along with clinical risk measures such as error grids or simulation testing. Regulatory, guidance, and professional bodies have advocated a number of varying recommendations for glucose meter performance in different situations and under different patient conditions. These are summarized and compared, but reconciling these guidelines can be confusing or difficult for providers. Blood glucose meters are useful in the management of patients in acute or assisted care facilities, but users must appreciate the variables that affect measurements and provide for oversight that can manage risk factors and maintain meter performance expectations.
Topics: Biomarkers; Blood Chemical Analysis; Blood Glucose; Equipment Design; Guideline Adherence; Hospitals; Humans; Point-of-Care Systems; Point-of-Care Testing; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Predictive Value of Tests; Reproducibility of Results
PubMed: 31983225
DOI: 10.1177/1932296819898277 -
Brain and Behavior Nov 2020Music is ubiquitous and powerful in the world's cultures. Music listening involves abundant information processing (e.g., pitch, rhythm) in the central nervous system...
INTRODUCTION
Music is ubiquitous and powerful in the world's cultures. Music listening involves abundant information processing (e.g., pitch, rhythm) in the central nervous system and can also induce changes in the physiology, such as heart rate and perspiration. Yet, previous studies tended to examine music information processing in the brain separately from physiological changes. In the current study, we focused on the temporal structure of music (i.e., beat and meter) and examined the physiology, neural processing, and, most importantly, the relation between the two areas.
METHODS
Simultaneous MEG and ECG data were collected from a group of adults (N = 15) while they passively listened to duple and triple rhythmic patterns. To characterize physiology, we measured heart rate variability (HRV), indexing the parasympathetic nervous system function (PSNS). To characterize neural processing of beat and meter, we examined the neural entertainment and calculated the beat-to-meter ratio to index the relation between beat-level and meter-level entrainment. Specifically, the current study investigated three related questions: (a) whether listening to musical rhythms affects HRV; (b) whether the neural beat-to-meter ratio differed between metrical conditions, and (c) whether neural beat-to-meter ratio is related to HRV.
RESULTS
Results suggest that while at the group level, both HRV and neural processing are highly similar across metrical conditions, at the individual level, neural beat-to-meter ratio significantly predicts HRV, establishing a neural-physiological link.
CONCLUSION
This observed link is discussed under the theoretical "neurovisceral integration model," and it provides important new perspectives in music cognition and auditory neuroscience research.
Topics: Acoustic Stimulation; Auditory Perception; Brain; Cognition; Music
PubMed: 32920995
DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1836 -
IEEE Transactions on Bio-medical... Sep 2022Bacteria in the dental biofilm produceacid after consumption of carbohydrates which if left unmonitored leads to caries formation. We present O-pH, a device that can...
OBJECTIVE
Bacteria in the dental biofilm produceacid after consumption of carbohydrates which if left unmonitored leads to caries formation. We present O-pH, a device that can measure dental biofilm acidity and provide quantitative feedback to assist in oral health monitoring.
METHOD
O-pH utilizes a ratiometric pH sensing method by capturing fluorescence of Sodium Fluorescein, an FDA approved chemical dye. The device was calibrated to a lab pH meter using buffered fluorescein solution with a correlation coefficient of 0.97. The calibration was further verified in vitro on additional buffered solution, artificial, and extracted teeth. An in vivo study on 30 pediatric subjects was performed to measure pH before (rest pH) and after (drop pH) a sugar rinse, and the resultant difference in pH (diff pH) was calculated. The study enrolled subjects with low (Post-Cleaning) and heavy (Pre-Cleaning) biofilm load, having both unhealthy/healthy surfaces. Further, we modified point-based O-pH to an image-based device using a multimode-scanning fiber endoscope (mm-SFE) and tested in vivo on one subject.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION
We found significant difference between Post-Cleaning and Pre-Cleaning group using drop pH and diff pH. Additionally, in Pre-Cleaning group, the rest and drop pH is lower at the caries surfaces compared to healthy surfaces. Similar trend was not noticed in the Post-Cleaning group. mm-SFE pH scope recorded image-based pH heatmap of a subject with an average diff pH of 1.5.
SIGNIFICANCE
This work builds an optical pH prototype and presents a pioneering study for non-invasively measuring pH of dental biofilm clinically.
Topics: Biofilms; Calibration; Child; Dental Enamel; Humans; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
PubMed: 35196222
DOI: 10.1109/TBME.2022.3153659 -
Materials (Basel, Switzerland) Sep 2022Calcium silicate-based cements (CSC), are self-setting hydraulic biomaterials widely used for reparative procedures in dentistry and endodontics. These materials possess...
INTRODUCTION
Calcium silicate-based cements (CSC), are self-setting hydraulic biomaterials widely used for reparative procedures in dentistry and endodontics. These materials possess physical properties, such as ion release, porosity, solubility, and radiopacity. Their biological properties are connected to their alkalizing activity and calcium release capacity.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Six calcium silicate-based materials were selected for this study: TheraCal LC (Bisco Inc., Schaumburg, IL, USA), MTA Plus (PrevestDenpro, Jammu, India Avalon Biomed Inc., Bradenton, FL, USA), Biodentine (Septodont, Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, France), RetroMTA (BioMTA, Seoul, Korea), MTA Flow (Ultradent Products, Inc., South Jordan, UT, USA), and OrthoMTA (BioMTA, Seoul, Korea). The pH was analyzed immediately after immersion (baseline) and after 1 h, 3 h, 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, and 1 year with a pH meter, previously calibrated with solutions of known pH. All testing materials had alkaline pH.
RESULTS
Analysis of the tested materials showed statistically significant differences in terms of pH changes as a function of the time showed a gradual rise in the pH of all materials.
CONCLUSIONS
All tested materials exhibited continuous hydroxyl ion release resulting in a rise in pH until the end of time of experience.
PubMed: 36143794
DOI: 10.3390/ma15186482 -
Annals of Clinical and Translational... Dec 2023We explored various prognostic factors of motor outcomes in corticosteroid-naive boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).
OBJECTIVE
We explored various prognostic factors of motor outcomes in corticosteroid-naive boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).
METHODS
The associations between parent-reported neurodevelopmental concerns (speech delay, speech and language difficulties (SLD), and learning difficulties), DMD mutation location, and motor outcomes (6-minute walk distance (6MWD), North Star Ambulatory Assessment (NSAA) total score, 10-meter walk/run velocity, and rise from floor velocity) were studied in 196 corticosteroid-naive boys from ages 4 to less than 8 years.
RESULTS
Participants with SLD walked 25.8 fewer meters in 6 minutes than those without SLD (p = 0.005) but did not demonstrate statistical differences in NSAA total score, 10-meter walk/run velocity, and rise from floor velocity. Participants with distal DMD mutations with learning difficulties walked 51.8 fewer meters in 6 minutes than those without learning difficulties (p = 0.0007). Participants with distal DMD mutations were slower on 10-meter walk/run velocity, and rise from floor velocity (p = 0.02) than those with proximal DMD mutations. Participants with distal DMD mutations, who reported speech delay or learning difficulties, were slower on rise from floor velocity (p = 0.04, p = 0.01) than those with proximal DMD mutations. The mean NSAA total score was lower in participants with learning difficulties than in those without (p = 0.004).
INTERPRETATION
Corticosteroid-naive boys with DMD with distal DMD mutations may perform worse on some timed function tests, and that those with learning difficulties may perform worse on the NSAA. Pending confirmatory studies, our data underscore the importance of considering co-existing neurodevelopmental symptoms on motor outcome measures.
Topics: Male; Humans; Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne; Walking; Adrenal Cortex Hormones; Outcome Assessment, Health Care; Language Development Disorders
PubMed: 37804000
DOI: 10.1002/acn3.51914 -
Archivos Espanoles de Urologia Jan 2022Usefulness and Acceptability of a Smart pH Meter and Mobile Medical App as a Monitoring Tool in Patients with Urolithiasis: Short-term Prospective Study.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Usefulness and Acceptability of a Smart pH Meter and Mobile Medical App as a Monitoring Tool in Patients with Urolithiasis: Short-term Prospective Study.
OBJECTIVE
An accurate strategy for regularly measuring urine pH is the use of portable electronic pH meters. This study evaluated the usefulness and acceptability of the smart Lit-Control® pH Meter connected with a companion mobile medical application (myLit-Control(R) App) used by patients with urolithiasis for home monitoring of urine pH. We also examined adherence and compliance rates, and users´ satisfaction levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a multicenter, prospective study conducted in 10 centers from Spain. Adult patients with a history of urolithiasis were recruited and instructed to carry out a pH measurement with the pH meter three times per day for two weeks. User tasks included turning on the device, registration and on boarding processes in the App, sync the device and the App, and data dumping. At the end of the trial, we evaluated the level of adherence and usage compliance. Participants' perceptions about the usefulness, acceptability, and satisfaction with the device/App were collected through the Computer System Usability Questionnaire (CSUQ) and subjective surveys. RESULTS: Participants were 27 men and 10 women. The mean age of participants was 48.7 (SD = 10.4) years, ranging from 25 to 66. The predominant type of stone was calcium oxalate. The mean pH of all readings was 5.83 (SD = 0.41). Seventy-three (73%) patients met the "good adherence" criterion (not being more than 2 days without recording any pH value). The compliance (actual vs. theoretical readings) was 87.6%. Participants rated the usability of the App 5.4 and above (on a 7-point scale) in all the items of CSUQ. Satisfaction was high, as indicated by the mean score of 6.0 in item 16. In the subjective questionnaire (0 to 3 scale), nearly all mean values were above 2. Patients scored their probability to recommend the App with an average of 8.2 on a 0 to 10 scale.
CONCLUSION
The new smart Lit-Control® pH Meter and the accompanying medical App were deemed useful and acceptable by urolithiasis patients as a portable tool for urine pH monitoring at home. The usage compliance rates were high and the satisfaction with the products was good.
Topics: Adult; Calcium Oxalate; Female; Humans; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Male; Middle Aged; Mobile Applications; Prospective Studies; Urolithiasis
PubMed: 35173078
DOI: No ID Found -
American Journal of Clinical and... 2022To evaluate the correlation between the pH readings in 24-h urine and the random fasting specimen in patients with urolithiasis using 2 methods.
PURPOSE
To evaluate the correlation between the pH readings in 24-h urine and the random fasting specimen in patients with urolithiasis using 2 methods.
METHODS
A total of 114 patients with urinary lithiasis using potassium citrate were prospectively analyzed. All patients collected 24-h urine and an additional sample, after nocturnal fasting, collected on the day they brought the 24-h sample at the lab. Two different methods (test strip and digital meter) were used to determine pH values.
RESULTS
The pH analysis using strips in the 24-h urine presented a mean value similar to the one obtained in the fasting sample (6.07 ± 0.74 vs. 6.02 ± 0.82, respectively; P > 0.05). The same behavior was seen considering the readings with a digital pH meter (5.8 ± 0.78 vs. 5.75 ± 0.83; P > 0.05). However, readings conducted in the same specimen with pH meter and test strip were dissonant (P < 0.05), suggesting that the colorimetric method is not reliable in the assessment of urinary pH in this population.
CONCLUSION
pH assessment in a random urinary specimen proved as efficient as the 24-h urine standard method to monitor patients with kidney stones in the use of potassium citrate. Classical test strip analysis is not sensitive enough to evaluate the urine pH in this population and digital pH meter reading is preferred.
PubMed: 35874289
DOI: No ID Found -
Archivos Espanoles de Urologia Jan 2021Urinary pH is a factor that influences in urinary lithogenesis. It can condition the heterogeneous nucleation of calcium oxalate and the crystallization or dissolution...
OBJECTIVE
Urinary pH is a factor that influences in urinary lithogenesis. It can condition the heterogeneous nucleation of calcium oxalate and the crystallization or dissolution of other substances such as uricacid, cystine and phosphates. Its exact and precise measurement is a tool to guide the treatment and prevention. The most accurate way to measure the pH is to use a glass electrode and a pH-meter, but this device is used in hospital's environment and is not portable. Test strips are not adequate for proper measurement. Recently, a portable and electronic device for measuring urinary pH has shown greater precision and accuracy in the measurement of urinary pH, with good acceptance by patients.
METHOD
We carried out a bibliographic search inPUBMED and EMBASE using the terms "URINARY pH", "Lithiasis", "Uro-Lihitiasis", "Urinary Stone", "Urinary pH measurement", in order to compile articles, books, abstracts and the most relevant clinical guides in English and Spanish on this topic.
RESULTS
We select a total of 66 articles, 3 books, an abstract of a study unpublished presented at the American urology congress and the European Guidelines on urolithiasis on the effect of pH on the formation and prevention of urolithiasis. Four articles deal specifically with the effect of urinary pH on urolithiasis, 5 articles deal with a new portable electronic device for measuring urinary pH, 5 articles dealt with the measurement of urinary pH with test strips and 1 article dealt with the modification of urinary pH to reduce fouling of double J catheters, 2 articles deal about the urinary acidification with oral methionine. The selected abstract deals with the new portable device for measuring urinary pH in cystinuric patients. The 3 selected books have specific sections where the role of urinary pH in urolithiasis is discussed. Finally, in the European Urology Guidelines, the control of urinary pH is emphasized in the sections of prevention of urolithiasis formation, treatment of uric lithiasis, infectious/non-infectious phosphocalcic and cystine.
CONCLUSIONS
Urinary pH is a recognized factor in the scientific-urological community for the study, monitoring, treatment and prevention of lithiasic patients. Urinary pH measurement is a very useful tool, but test strips are not suitable for pH measurement and medical decision making. Currently, several studies have evaluated a new device to achieve the measurement of urinary pH effectively and easily by the patient, keeping urinary pH innon-lithogenic ranges with the association of medical and non-medical treatments, and good acceptability from the patients.
Topics: Calcium Oxalate; Humans; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Urinary Calculi; Urolithiasis
PubMed: 33459626
DOI: No ID Found -
Journal of the International Society of... Jan 2021Accurate and reliable monitoring of blood ketone and glucose levels is useful for athletes adhering to a ketogenic diet who want to verify that they are in a state of... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
BACKGROUND
Accurate and reliable monitoring of blood ketone and glucose levels is useful for athletes adhering to a ketogenic diet who want to verify that they are in a state of ketosis and, therefore, accruing performance adaptations. However, the cost of devices and testing materials may prohibit their use. More affordable field testing systems are available, but their accuracy and reliability remain in question. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the agreement between a previously validated ketone and glucose meter (Meter 1 - Precision Xtra) and a more affordable meter that has not been validated (Meter 2 - Keto-Mojo), and also to assess the diagnostic performance of Meter 2 for identifying nutritional ketosis.
METHODS
Thirteen participants (7 females and 6 males; 21.6 ± 3.0 years old) visited the laboratory three times in this randomized, double-blind cross-over design study. Ketone and glucose levels were measured with Meter 1 and Meter 2 twice before and twice after ingestion of a racemic ketone, natural ketone, or maltodextrin supplement. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) estimates and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated to evaluate interrater reliability for Meter 1 and Meter 2. Bland-Altman plots were constructed to visually assess the agreement between devices. Area under the ROC curve analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic ability of Meter 2 to detect nutritional ketosis at a threshold ketone level of 0.5 mM as identified by Meter 1.
RESULTS
Reliability between the meters was excellent for measuring ketones (ICC = .968; .942-.981) and good for measuring glucose (ICC = .809; .642-.893), though the Bland-Altman plot revealed substantial differences in agreement for measuring glucose. Area under the ROC curve (Area = 0.913; 0.828-0.998) was excellent for diagnosing nutritional ketosis.
CONCLUSIONS
Both Meter 1 and Meter 2 displayed excellent agreement between each other for ketone measurement. Meter 2 also displayed an excellent level of accuracy for diagnosing nutritional ketosis at a threshold value of 0.5 mM, making it an effective and affordable alternative to more expensive testing devices.
Topics: 3-Hydroxybutyric Acid; Area Under Curve; Athletes; Blood Glucose; Cross-Over Studies; Diagnostic Equipment; Diet, Ketogenic; Dietary Supplements; Double-Blind Method; Female; Humans; Ketone Bodies; Ketones; Ketosis; Male; Polysaccharides; Reproducibility of Results; Young Adult
PubMed: 33413456
DOI: 10.1186/s12970-020-00404-2