The aim of this trial was to evaluate the efficacy of a mandibular advancement appliance (MAA) for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Ninety-three patients with OSA and a mean apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) of 34.7 were centrally randomised into three, parallel groups: (a) MAA; (b) mandibular non-advancement appliance (MNA); and (c) no intervention. The appliances were custom made, in one piece. The...

INTRODUCTION Mean nuclear area of 10 nuclei (MNA-10), mitotic activity index (MAI) and Ki-67 are highly reproducible and can be routinely used as adjuncts to histopathological grading in classifying tumors. Assays of these biomarkers are non-invasive, rapid, easy to perform, more objective and accurate, with high sensitivity and specificity, and correlate well with tumor grade. MATERIAL AND M...

Neuroblastomas (NBs) exhibit heterogeneity and show clinically significant prognosis classified by genetic alterations. Among prognostic genes or genome factors, MYCN amplification (MNA) is the most established genomic marker of poor prognosis in patients with NB. However, the prognostic classification of more than 60% of patients without MNA has yet to be clarified. In this study, the applicat...

In recent decades, three generations of thiomers have been developed with the main purpose obtaining enhanced interactions mucosal tissues. Therefore, many different types thiolated ligands generated and attached to polymeric backbones. The aim this study was synthesize all directly compare their properties regarding mucus penetration mucoadhesion. Starting from pectin, unprotected thiomer pect...

M irror neuron-driven embodied simulation, based on the neural exploitation hypothesis has been proposed as a physiological basis of social cognitive abilities in humans (1). Experimental evidence points to a relationship between social cognition and putative mirror neuron activity in neuropsychiatric disorders like schizophrenia (2) and autism (3). Experiments to explore strategies to modulate...

The size of nuclei in histological preparations from excised breast tumors is predictive of patient outcome (large nuclei indicate poor outcome). Pathologists take into account nuclear size when performing breast cancer grading. In addition, the mean nuclear area (MNA) has been shown to have independent prognostic value. The straightforward approach to measuring nuclear size is by performing nu...

BACKGROUND Malnutrition is prevalent in elderly populations. Recommended methods of nutritional screening are often too complicated and time-consuming for routine application in frail, very old, hospitalized patients. OBJECTIVE Our aims were to identify risk factors for development of malnutrition in very old hospitalized patients and to evaluate the total Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) sc...

Amplification of MYCN is the signature genetic aberration of 20-25% of neuroblastoma and a stratifying marker associated with aggressive tumor behavior. The detection of heterogeneous MYCN amplification (hetMNA) poses a diagnostic dilemma due to the uncertainty of its relevance to tumor behavior. Here, we aimed to shed light on the genomic background which permits hetMNA in neuroblastoma and ti...

Malnutrition is common in older adults and often goes unrecognised and untreated. Australian evidence-based guidelines for the management of malnutrition indicate that only the Mini Nutritional Assessment short form (MNA-sf) and Rapid Screen are recommended for use as malnutrition screening tools in the rehabilitation setting. The aim of this secondary analysis was to assess the validity and re...

Two compounds are known as the vitamin niacIn: nicotinic acid (NiA) and nicotinamide (Nam). The physiological functions and metabolic fates of NiA and Nam are identical, but differ when pharmacological doses are administered. Our study aimed to investigate the metabolic interactions between NiA and Nam when their pharmacological doses were administered together. We measured seven major niacin c...