ABSTRACT
Stroke has become the first cause of functional disability and one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Therefore, it is of crucial importance to develop accurate biomarkers to assess stroke risk and prognosis. Emerging evidence suggests that neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) levels may serve as a valuable biomarker to predict stroke occurrence and functional outcome. NETs are known to create a procoagulant state by serving as a scaffold for tissue factor (TF) and platelets inducing thrombosis by activating coagulation pathways and endothelium. A literature search was conducted in two databases (MEDLINE and Scopus) to trace all relevant studies published between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2022, addressing the potential utility of NETs as a stroke biomarker. Only full-text articles in English were included. The current review includes thirty-three papers. Elevated NET levels in plasma and thrombi seem to be associated with increased mortality and worse functional outcomes in stroke, with all acute ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, and subarachnoid hemorrhage included. Additionally, higher NET levels seem to correlate with worse outcomes after recanalization therapies and are more frequently found in strokes of cardioembolic or cryptogenic origin. Additionally, total neutrophil count in plasma seems also to correlate with stroke severity. Overall, NETs may be a promising predictive tool to assess stroke severity, functional outcome, and response to recanalization therapies.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Oregano essential oil and neem have been reported to be effective against soil-borne pathogens and nematodes. The possibility of having an effect on soil properties was the aim of this investigation. Moreover, thiram, a common widely used chemical pesticide, was used for comparison. RESULTS: The effects of all three above-mentioned substances were investigated during an incubation experiment, for 15 weeks. Crushed neem pellets were added at 1.0, 2.0 or 3.0 g per 50 g of soil. Oregano dry matter was applied at 0.2, 0.4 or 0.6 g per 50 g of soil. Finally, thiram was applied at 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 g per 50 g of soil. The addition of neem resulted in a decrease in organic carbon mineralisation, higher than that of oregano, but not as prominently as thiram. The addition of neem resulted in an increase in the content of nitrate, organic P, bioavailable P, bioavailable K and bioavailable Mn. Oregano had a slight negative effect on organic matter biodegradation, but caused an increase of nutritional mineral elements. Microbe colonies in soil were increased by the addition of neem cake granules, whereas oregano and thiram treatments caused a decrease. The addition of thiram reduced nitrate and available Mn contents, but at the lowest dose increased organic P and available K. Thiram reduced prominently available Cu at the upper rates, but it increased these forms at the lowest rate, while available Zn content was increased in two lowest rates. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicated that neem or oregano could be applied to the soil without any extremely negative effect on the available forms of nutritional mineral elements, as thiram does.
