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Cytotechnology Feb 2019MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are RNA molecules at about 22 nucleotide in length that are non-coding, which regulate gene expression in the post-transcriptional level by performing... (Review)
Review
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are RNA molecules at about 22 nucleotide in length that are non-coding, which regulate gene expression in the post-transcriptional level by performing degradation or blocks translation of the target mRNA. It is known that they play roles in mechanisms such as metabolic regulation, embryogenesis, organogenesis, differentiation and growth control by providing post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. With these properties, miRNAs play important roles in the regulation of biological processes such as proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, drug resistance mechanisms in eukaryotic cells. In addition, there are miRNAs that can be used for cancer therapy. Tumor cells and tumor microenvironment have different miRNA expression profiles. Some miRNAs are known to play a role in the onset and progression of the tumor. miRNAs with oncogenic or tumor suppressive activity specific to different cancer types are still being investigated. This review summarizes the role of miRNAs in tumorigenesis, therapeutic strategies in human cancer and current studies.
PubMed: 30600466
DOI: 10.1007/s10616-018-0291-8 -
Jornal de Pediatria 2017To analyze the available evidence regarding the efficacy of using therapeutic play on behavior and anxiety in children undergoing invasive procedures. (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
To analyze the available evidence regarding the efficacy of using therapeutic play on behavior and anxiety in children undergoing invasive procedures.
DATA SOURCE
The systematic review search was performed in the MEDLINE, LILACS, CENTRAL and CINAHL databases. There was no limitation on the year or language.
SYNTHESIS OF DATA
The literature search found 1892 articles and selected 22 for full reading. Eight articles were excluded, as they did not address the objectives assessed in this review. Twelve studies, representing 14 articles, were included. The studies were conducted between 1983 and 2015, five in Brazil, one in the United States, five in China, one in Lebanon, one in Taiwan, and one in Iran. Most studies showed that intervention with therapeutic play promotes reduction in the level of anxiety and promotes collaborative behavior and acceptance of the invasive procedure.
CONCLUSIONS
Evidence related to the use of therapeutic play on anxiety and behavior of children undergoing invasive procedures is still questionable. The absence, in most studies, of the creation of a random sequence to assign the subjects to either the control or the experimental group, as well as allocation concealment, are factors that contribute to these questions. Another issue that characterizes an important source of bias is the absence of blinded evaluators. It is necessary to perform further studies that will take into account greater methodological stringency.
Topics: Anxiety; Child; Elective Surgical Procedures; Humans; Play Therapy; Preoperative Care
PubMed: 27485756
DOI: 10.1016/j.jped.2016.06.005 -
Current Neuropharmacology 2017Positive emotions have been shown to induce resilience to depression and anxiety in humans, as well as increase cognitive abilities (learning, memory and problem... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Positive emotions have been shown to induce resilience to depression and anxiety in humans, as well as increase cognitive abilities (learning, memory and problem solving) and improve overall health. In rats, frequency modulated 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (Hedonic 50-kHz USVs) reflect a positive affective state and are best elicited by rough-and-tumble play.
METHODS
The effect of positive affect induced by rough-and tumble play was examined on models of depression and learning and memory. The molecular and pharmacological basis of play induced positive affect was also examined.
RESULTS
Rough-and-tumble play induced Hedonic 50-kHz USVs, lead to resilience to depression and anxiety, and facilitation of learning and memory. These effects are mediated, in part, by increased NMDAR expression and activation in the medial prefrontal cortex.
CONCLUSIONS
We hypothesize that positive affect induces resilience to depression by facilitating NMDAR-dependent synaptic plasticity in the medial prefrontal cortex. Targeting MPFC synaptic plasticity may lead to novel treatments for depression.
Topics: Animals; Antidepressive Agents; Anxiety; Depression; Disease Models, Animal; Emotions; Gene Expression Regulation; Humans; Learning; Neuronal Plasticity; Rats; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; Vocalization, Animal
PubMed: 27102428
DOI: 10.2174/1570159x14666160422110344 -
Discover Oncology Jul 2023Radiation therapy is an important tool for malignant tumors, and its tolerance needs to be addressed. In recent years, several studies have shown that regulators of... (Review)
Review
Radiation therapy is an important tool for malignant tumors, and its tolerance needs to be addressed. In recent years, several studies have shown that regulators of aberrant m6A methylation play an important role in the formation, development and invasion and metastasis of tumors. A large number of studies have confirmed aberrant m6A methylation as a new target for tumour therapy, but research on whether it can play a role in tumor sensitivity to radiotherapy has not been extensive and thorough enough. Recent studies have shown that all three major enzymes of m6A methylation have significant roles in radioresistance, and that the enzymes that play a role differ in different tumor types and by different mechanisms, including regulating tumor cell stemness, affecting DNA damage and repair, and controlling the cell cycle. Therefore, elucidating the mechanisms of m6A methylation in the radiotherapy of malignant tumors is essential to counteract radioresistance, improve the efficacy of radiotherapy, and even propose targeted treatment plans for specific tumors. The latest research progress on m6A methylation and radioresistance is reviewed in this article.
PubMed: 37522921
DOI: 10.1007/s12672-023-00759-3 -
Journal of Animal Science and Technology Nov 2019The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of group combined intervention that combined animal-assisted therapy and integrated elderly play therapy on the...
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of group combined intervention that combined animal-assisted therapy and integrated elderly play therapy on the depression, self-esteem, and emotional expression of geriatric patients residing in nursing homes. This was achieved by providing cognitive, physical, and emotional activities and social interaction at the same time. The group combined intervention method was applied to twelve elderly patients (six in the control group, six in the experimental group) aged 65 or older who live in a nursing home for the elderly in C province, from May 3, 2019 to June 21, 2019, for a total of 8 times (once a week, 50 minutes at a time). The quantitative evaluation was analyzed through SPSS 21.0 for comparison before and after the program was implemented, using the Korean version of the depression and the self-esteem scale. The qualitative evaluation compared emotional expression pre-test and post-test. The major results of the study were as follows: First, the group combined intervention was effective in reducing depression levels of the experimental group among the elderly patients. Second, it was effective in improving the self-esteem of the experimental group among the elderly patients. Third, it showed a significant difference in the emotional expression of the experimental group among the elderly patients. Therefore, it was found that group combined intervention reduces depression and improves self-esteem and emotional expression of the elderly. Based on these results, it is hoped that this study will be a cornerstone in the development of concrete programs for the benefit of elderly patients living in facilities.
PubMed: 31844548
DOI: 10.5187/jast.2019.61.6.371 -
Journal of the American Veterinary... Oct 2022Dietary fiber describes a diverse assortment of nondigestible carbohydrates that play a vital role in the health of animals and maintenance of gastrointestinal tract...
Dietary fiber describes a diverse assortment of nondigestible carbohydrates that play a vital role in the health of animals and maintenance of gastrointestinal tract homeostasis. The main roles dietary fiber play in the gastrointestinal tract include physically altering the digesta, modulating appetite and satiety, regulating digestion, and acting as a microbial energy source through fermentation. These functions can have widespread systemic effects. Fiber is a vital component of nearly all commercial canine and feline diets. Key features of fiber types, such as fermentability, solubility, and viscosity, have been shown to have clinical implications as well as health benefits in dogs and cats. Practitioners should know how to evaluate a diet for fiber content and the current knowledge on fiber supplementation as it relates to common enteropathies including acute diarrhea, chronic diarrhea, constipation, and hairball management. Understanding the fundamentals of dietary fiber allows the practicing clinician to use fiber optimally as a management modality.
Topics: Cats; Dogs; Animals; Cat Diseases; Digestion; Dog Diseases; Dietary Fiber; Diet; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Diarrhea; Animal Feed
PubMed: 36288203
DOI: 10.2460/javma.22.08.0351 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2023Many children with Williams syndrome struggle with fears and phobias that significantly impact their daily lives. Yet, there is sparse literature about the impact of...
Many children with Williams syndrome struggle with fears and phobias that significantly impact their daily lives. Yet, there is sparse literature about the impact of behavioral interventions to treat anxiety and phobias among children with Williams syndrome. Using observational coding of intervention videos, the current study examines patterns of the therapist's use of play and humor and relations to child behavioral responses for four children with Williams syndrome who were identified as treatment responders to humor- and play-infused exposure therapy for fears and anxieties. Sessions were coded for therapist behaviors (exposure with or without play/humor, stimulus type used during exposure, passive or invited attention to feared stimulus, and spontaneous parent participation in exposure) as well as positive, negative, and neutral child behaviors (verbalizations and behaviors). Temporal patterns between therapist and child behaviors were analyzed using lag sequential analyses. The results showed that tolerance of feared stimuli improved for two of the four children following this play- and humor-infused exposure therapy approach, and the remaining two participants demonstrated progress beyond tolerating the feared stimulus and showed increased positive behaviors with the feared stimulus across sessions. Findings also showed patterns of therapist attunement to the child's anxiety level demonstrated through efforts to flexibly adjust the degrees of exposure. Therapist-initiated invited attention behaviors, indicative of the therapist's use of narration and priming, were associated with child tolerance and positive behaviors during exposure to the feared stimulus. Limitations of this study include a very small sample size, short duration of intervention, and a single-subject research design, which limit the generalizability of findings. Implications and future directions of this research are discussed.
PubMed: 37599735
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1098449 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2019Group therapy for autism confronts the core of the syndrome. Non-directed dynamic approaches, in which moment-to-moment spontaneous expressions drive the content of... (Review)
Review
Group therapy for autism confronts the core of the syndrome. Non-directed dynamic approaches, in which moment-to-moment spontaneous expressions drive the content of group sessions, are even more intricate. The implementation of nonverbal creative techniques holds the key to self-expression and self-other exploration, promoting communication and play. This manuscript offers an integrative conceptual model and a case report regarding such mind-body therapeutic perspective. The creative arts intervention is presented a small group of young minimally verbal children with autism, deprived of communicative language, offering an interdisciplinary perspective to delineate group challenges and rationale, process, and outcomes. Vignettes are provided to illustrate the group development. A thorough discussion follows, addressing three intertwining axes: firstly, the implications of nonverbal creative means are considered; secondly, the psychophysiological processes set in motion through sensory-motor experiences are deliberated; and thirdly, the emergence of "moments of meeting" and spontaneously generated playful group activities are enlightened.
PubMed: 30914987
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00417 -
Frontiers in Oncology 2022Malignant ovarian tumors bear the highest mortality rate among all gynecological cancers. Both late tumor diagnosis and tolerance to available chemotherapy increase... (Review)
Review
Malignant ovarian tumors bear the highest mortality rate among all gynecological cancers. Both late tumor diagnosis and tolerance to available chemotherapy increase patient mortality. Accumulating evidence demonstrates that histone modifications play a key role in cancerization and progression. Histone deacetylases is associated with chromatin condensed structure and transcriptional repression and play a role in chromatin remodeling and epigenetics. Histone deacetylases are promising targets for therapeutic interventions intended to reverse aberrant epigenetic associated with cancer. Therefore, histone deacetylases inhibitors could be used as anti-cancer drugs. Preclinical studies have shown promising outcomes of histone deacetylases inhibitors in ovarian cancer while clinical trials have had mixed results and limited success as monotherapy. Therefore, combination therapy with different anticancer drugs for synergistic effects and newly selective histone deacetylases inhibitors development for lower toxicity are hot issues now. In this review, we summarize the latest studies on the classification and mechanisms of action of histone deacetylase and the clinical application of their inhibitors as monotherapy or combination therapy in ovarian cancer.
PubMed: 36505774
DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.1057186 -
JMIR Serious Games Oct 2023Innovative technologies such as game consoles and smart toys used with games or playful approaches have proven to be successful and attractive in providing effective and... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Innovative technologies such as game consoles and smart toys used with games or playful approaches have proven to be successful and attractive in providing effective and motivating hand therapy for children with cerebral palsy (CP). Thus, there is an increased interest in designing and implementing interventions that can improve the well-being of these children. However, to understand how and why these interventions are motivating children, we need a better understanding of the playful elements of technology-supported hand therapy.
OBJECTIVE
This scoping review aims to identify the playful elements and the innovative technologies currently used in hand therapy for children with CP.
METHODS
We included studies that design or evaluate interventions for children with CP that use innovative technologies with game or play strategies. Data were extracted and analyzed based on the type of technology, description of the system, and playful elements according to the Lenses of Play, a play design toolkit. A total of 31 studies were included in the analysis.
RESULTS
Overall, 54 papers were included in the analysis. The results showed high use of consumer technologies in hand therapy for children with CP. Although several studies have used a combination of consumer technologies with therapeutic-specific technologies, only a few studies focused on the exclusive use of therapeutic-specific technologies. To analyze the playfulness of these interventions that make use of innovative technologies, we focused our review on 3 lenses of play: Open-ended Play, where it was found that the characteristics of ludus, such as a structured form of play and defined goals and rules, were the most common, whereas strategies that relate to paidia were less common. The most commonly used Forms of Play were physical or active form and games with rules. Finally, the most popular Playful experiences were control, challenge, and competition.
CONCLUSIONS
The inventory and analysis of innovative technology and playful elements provided in this study can be a starting point for new developments of fun and engaging tools to assist hand therapy for children with CP.
PubMed: 37843886
DOI: 10.2196/44904