Time to initiation of dialysis and length of stay in hospitalized patients with kidney damage: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Universal healthcare is a cornerstone of Brazil's public health system. However, delayed diagnosis and treatment of chronic kidney disease (CKD) remain substantial issues. The scarcity of outpatient dialysis facilities contributes to extended hospital stays.

A proof-of-concept study in small and large animal models for coupling liver normothermic machine perfusion with mesenchymal stromal cell bioreactors.

To fully harness mesenchymal-stromal-cells (MSCs)' benefits during Normothermic Machine Perfusion (NMP), we developed an advanced NMP platform coupled with a MSC-bioreactor and investigated its bio-molecular effects and clinical feasibility using rat and porcine models. The study involved three work packages: 1) Development (n = 5): MSC-bioreactors were subjected to 4 h-liverless perfusion; 2) Rat model (n = 10): livers were perfused for 4 h on the MSC-bioreactor-circuit or with the standard platform; 3) Porcine model (n = 6): livers were perfused using a clinical device integrated with a MSC-bioreactor or in its standard setup. MSCs showed intact stem-core properties after liverless-NMP.

Göttingen Minipigs as a Model for Assessing the Impact of Drugs on the Gut and Milk Microbiota-A Preliminary Study.

Background: Early gut microbiota (GM) dysbiosis can affect a child's health and has been linked to the onset of pathologies later in life. Breast milk is recognized as a major driver of the structure and dynamics of an infant's GM. In addition to nutritious and prebiotic compounds, milk contains a microbiota that is shaped by several maternal factors, including gut microorganisms and medications.

Inside-out submitochondrial particles affect the mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening under conditions of mitochondrial dysfunction.

The inside-out submitochondrial particles (IO-SMPs) showed a strong protective effect against mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) opening in mitochondria isolated from swine hearts 3 h after explantation. The latter condition was used to emulate situation of mitochondrial damage. We identified that the protective effect of IO-SMPs cannot be attributed to a functional modulation of the enzymatic complexes involved in mPTP formation.

A DNA base-specific sequence interposed between CRX and NRL contributes to RHODOPSIN expression.

Gene expression emerges from DNA sequences through the interaction of transcription factors (TFs) with DNA cis-regulatory sequences. In eukaryotes, TFs bind to transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) with differential affinities, enabling cell-specific gene expression. In this view, DNA enables TF binding along a continuum ranging from low to high affinity depending on its sequence composition; however, it is not known whether evolution has entailed a further level of entanglement between DNA-protein interaction.

The coevolution of fungus-ant agriculture.

Fungus-farming ants cultivate multiple lineages of fungi for food, but, because fungal cultivar relationships are largely unresolved, the history of fungus-ant coevolution remains poorly known. We designed probes targeting >2000 gene regions to generate a dated evolutionary tree for 475 fungi and combined it with a similarly generated tree for 276 ants. We found that fungus-ant agriculture originated ~66 million years ago when the end-of-Cretaceous asteroid impact temporarily interrupted photosynthesis, causing global mass extinctions but favoring the proliferation of fungi.

Evaluation of d-dimer as outcome biomarker in COVID-19 acute respiratory distress patients.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome is a significant complication in critical care patients. COVID-19 (C19)-associated severe respiratory failure is related to it, and d-dimer rise predicts a worse outcome. To investigate the association between d-dimer and the severity of this respiratory syndrome, we conducted a study in C19 intubated patients.

Protective effects of mesenchymal stem cells-derived extracellular vesicles against ischemia-reperfusion injury of hearts donated after circulatory death: Preliminary study in a pig model.

Introduction: Insufficient supply of cardiac grafts represents a severe obstacle in heart transplantation. Donation after Circulatory Death (DCD), in addition to conventional donation after brain death, is one promising option to overcome the organ shortage. However, DCD organs undergo an inevitable more extended period of warm unprotected ischemia between circulatory arrest and graft procurement.

Origami-inspired soft fluidic actuation for minimally invasive large-area electrocorticography.

Electrocorticography is an established neural interfacing technique wherein an array of electrodes enables large-area recording from the cortical surface. Electrocorticography is commonly used for seizure mapping however the implantation of large-area electrocorticography arrays is a highly invasive procedure, requiring a craniotomy larger than the implant area to place the device. In this work, flexible thin-film electrode arrays are combined with concepts from soft robotics, to realize a large-area electrocorticography device that can change shape via integrated fluidic actuators.

FADS1/2 control lipid metabolism and ferroptosis susceptibility in triple-negative breast cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has limited therapeutic options, is highly metastatic and characterized by early recurrence. Lipid metabolism is generally deregulated in TNBC and might reveal vulnerabilities to be targeted or used as biomarkers with clinical value. Ferroptosis is a type of cell death caused by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation which is facilitated by the presence of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA).

Lactate supports cell-autonomous ECM production to sustain metastatic behavior in prostate cancer.

Extracellular matrix (ECM) is a major component of the tumor environment, promoting the establishment of a pro-invasive behavior. Such environment is supported by both tumor- and stromal-derived metabolites, particularly lactate. In prostate cancer (PCa), cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are major contributors of secreted lactate, able to impact on metabolic and transcriptional regulation in cancer cells.

Mercury and rare earth elements (REEs) show different spatial trends in feathers of Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) breeding along the Adriatic Sea coast, Italy.

Feather analysis is an ethical and effective method for assessing the exposure of wild birds to environmental contamination due to trace elements and organic pollutants. We used feather to monitor the exposure to three toxic and non-essential metals (Hg, Cd, and Pb) and rare earth elements (REEs) of Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) breeding in different coastal areas (Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Marche, Abruzzo, and Apulia) along the Italian coast of the Adriatic Sea. Feathers (n = 113) were collected from April to June.

Can environmental nebulization of lavender essential oil (L. angustifolia) improve welfare and modulate nasal microbiota of growing pigs?

The use of phytoextracts has been proposed as a method to improve animal welfare, also in pigs, by reducing stress and anxiety and improving performances. Lavandula angustifolia (Miller) essential oil (LaEO) is an interesting calming phytoextract that could be administered by inhalation for prolonged periods of time to help pigs coping with on-farm conditions. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of daily inhalation of vaporized LaEO on pigs' welfare and health indicators, and nasal microbiota, trying to understand whether this phytoextract represents a feasible tool to improve animal welfare under intensive farming conditions.

Acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 controls a lipid droplet-peroxisome axis and is a vulnerability of endocrine-resistant ER breast cancer.

Targeting aromatase deprives ER breast cancers of estrogens and is an effective therapeutic approach for these tumors. However, drug resistance is an unmet clinical need. Lipidomic analysis of long-term estrogen-deprived (LTED) ER breast cancer cells, a model of aromatase inhibitor resistance, revealed enhanced intracellular lipid storage.

Influence of age and seasonality on boar seminal plasma steroids quantification: A preliminary study.

Background And Aim: Seasonal changes, especially temperature and photoperiod, are well-known determining factors of swine reproductive capacity, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. This study aimed to investigate the effect of age and seasonal variations on boar seminal plasma steroids (dehydroepiandrosterone [DHEA], cortisol [CORT], and testosterone [TEST]) over 1 year.

Materials And Methods: Four commercial hybrid adult boars (Large White × Duroc), aged between 12 and 44 months, were repeatedly evaluated at the Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences of the University of Bologna.

Recombinant C1 inhibitor in the prevention of severe COVID-19: a randomized, open-label, multi-center phase IIa trial.

Background: Conestat alfa (ConA), a recombinant human C1 inhibitor, may prevent thromboinflammation.

Methods: We conducted a randomized, open-label, multi-national clinical trial in which hospitalized adults at risk for progression to severe COVID-19 were assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive either 3 days of ConA plus standard of care (SOC) or SOC alone. Primary and secondary endpoints were day 7 disease severity on the WHO Ordinal Scale, time to clinical improvement within 14 days, and safety, respectively.

A systematic review of artificial intelligence algorithms for predicting acute kidney injury.

Objective: Acute kidney injury (AKI) increases mortality and costs in hospitalized patients. New methods for early AKI identification have been developed with targeted biomarkers and electronic health records data analysis. Machine learning (ML) use in diagnostics and health data analysis has recently increased.

Comparative evaluation of the effects of different activating media and temperatures on European eel (Anguilla anguilla) sperm motility assessed by computer assisted sperm analysis.

The European eel is a critically endangered teleost fish with very poor success rate for captive breeding and artificial reproduction. Therefore, to support its conservation, new strategies are needed to ensure fertilization. Objective analysis of sperm motility may be critical as it potentially represents one of the most important reproductive quality parameters.

Value of Diaphragm Ultrasonography for Extubation: A Single-Blinded Randomized Clinical Trial.

Introduction: Daily evaluation of mechanically ventilated (MV) patients is essential for successful extubation. Proper withdrawal prevents complications and reduces the cost of hospitalization in the intensive care unit (ICU). Diaphragm ultrasonography (DUS) has emerged as a potential instrument for determining whether a patient is ready to be extubated.

Persistent dysexecutive syndrome after pneumococcal meningitis complicated by recurrent ischemic strokes: A case report.

Background: Meningitis is a possible complication of pneumococcal infection concerning acute otitis media and sinusitis. It might compromise cognitive function, both for the infection itself and the vascular events that sometimes follow the acute phase.

Case Summary: Here we describe the case of a 32-year-old female patient admitted to the emergency room due to extensive pneumococcal meningitis as a consequence of sinus outbreak.

A comparison of numerical approaches for statistical inference with stochastic models.

Unlabelled: Due to our limited knowledge about complex environmental systems, our predictions of their behavior under different scenarios or decision alternatives are subject to considerable uncertainty. As this uncertainty can often be relevant for societal decisions, the consideration, quantification and communication of it is very important. Due to internal stochasticity, often poorly known influence factors, and only partly known mechanisms, in many cases, a stochastic model is needed to get an adequate description of uncertainty.

Oxidative phosphorylation is a metabolic vulnerability of endocrine therapy and palbociclib resistant metastatic breast cancers.

Resistance to endocrine treatments and CDK4/6 inhibitors is considered a near-inevitability in most patients with estrogen receptor positive breast cancers (ER + BC). By genomic and metabolomics analyses of patients' tumours, metastasis-derived patient-derived xenografts (PDX) and isogenic cell lines we demonstrate that a fraction of metastatic ER + BC is highly reliant on oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Treatment by the OXPHOS inhibitor IACS-010759 strongly inhibits tumour growth in multiple endocrine and palbociclib resistant PDX.