MicroRNA (miRNA)-21 and miRNA-155 are important regulators of gene expression of different immunological molecules. This study aimed to investigate the role of miRNA-21 and miRNA-155 as biomarkers in asthma by comparing their serum expression levels in asthmatic patients to those in healthy controls and correlating their levels with serum IL-4. The expression levels of miRNA-21 and miRNA-155 were evaluated by quantitative RT-PCR. Serum levels of IL-4 were determined using ELISA. Asthmatic patients showed significantly higher serum miRNA-21 and miRNA-155 expression levels compared to controls. A statistically significant positive correlation between the expression levels of miRNA-21 and IL-4 serum levels in asthmatic patients was detected. Nonetheless, no correlation was detected between miRNA-155 expression and each of IL-4 and miRNA-21. A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that at a cut-off value of 1.37, the sensitivity of miRNA-21 as an asthma biomarker was 100% and the specificity was 95%. At a cut-off value of 1.96, the sensitivity of miRNA-155 as an asthma biomarker was 100% and the specificity was 100%. It can be concluded that miRNA-21 and miRNA-155 are potential non-invasive biomarkers in the diagnosis of eosinophilic asthma and its response to therapy.
The efficiency of excited-state interaction between Tb(3+) and the industrial product Cilostazol (CIL) has been studied in different solvents. High luminescence intensity peak at 545 nm of terbium complex in acetonitrile was obtained. The photophysical properties of the green emissive Tb(3+) complex have been elucidated, the terbium was used as optical sensor for the assessment of CIL in the pharmaceutical tablets and body fluids at pH 3.1 and λ(ex) = 320 nm with a concentration range 1.0 × 10(-9)-1.0 × 10(-6) mol L(-1) of CIL, correlation coefficient of 0.998 and detection limit of 7.5 × 10(-10) mol L(-1).
The use of suboptimal concentrations of sodium hypochlorite and didecyldimonium chloride can lead to the evolution of antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas strains.
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