Characterizing disrupted nighttime sleep and associated functional outcomes in youth with narcolepsy type 1.

Study Objectives: Disrupted nighttime sleep (DNS) and sleep instability are common in children and adolescents with Narcolepsy Type 1 (NT1), but optimal objective sleep measures have not been determined. We compared self-reported and objective sleep measures between young people with NT1 and healthy controls (HC) and test the hypotheses that the Wake/N1 Index is the best objective measure of perceived nocturnal wakings vs. other DNS measures reported in the literature and is associated with daytime functional problems.

Estimating Insulin Sensitivity and Beta-Cell Function from the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test: Validation of a new Insulin Sensitivity and Secretion (ISS) Model.

Efficient and accurate methods to estimate insulin sensitivity (S) and beta-cell function (BCF) are of great importance for studying the pathogenesis and treatment effectiveness of type 2 diabetes. Many methods exist, ranging in input data and technical requirements. Oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs) are preferred because they are simpler and more physiological.

Hypoglycemia in children and young adults with cystic fibrosis during oral glucose tolerance testing vs. continuous glucose monitoring.

Background: Hypoglycemia is common in people with cystic fibrosis (pwCF) during oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs) and in the free-living setting, yet its pathophysiology remains unclear.

Objective: To evaluate hypoglycemia in children and young adults with CF by OGTT and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM).

Methods: A 3-h OGTT was performed in children and young adults with CF and healthy controls (HC).

Women's mood at high altitude. sexual dimorphism in hypoxic stress modulation by the tryptophan-melatonin axis.

Sexual (and gender)-dimorphism in tolerance to hypobaric hypoxia increasingly matters for a differential surveillance of human activities at high altitude (HA). At low altitudes, the prevalence of anxiety and depression in women has already been found to double when compared with men; it could be expected to even increase on exposure to HA. In purposefully caring for the health of women at HA, the present work explores the potential involvement of the tryptophan (Trp)-melatonin axis in mood changes on exposure to hypobaric hypoxia.

Varicocele at High Altitude; Venous Outflow Restriction by Hypobaric Hypoxia.

Background: Testicular aches have been reported to occur on exposure to high altitude (HA). As a painful expression of venous congestion at the pampiniform plexus, varicocele (VC) might be a consequence of cardiovascular adjustments at HA. Chile's National Social Security Regulatory Body (SUSESO) emphasized evaluating this condition in the running follow-up study "Health effects of exposure to chronic intermittent hypoxia in Chilean mining workers.

High sensitivity of melatonin suppression response to evening light in preschool-aged children.

Light at night in adults suppresses melatonin in a nonlinear intensity-dependent manner. In children, bright light of a single intensity before bedtime has a robust melatonin suppressing effect. To our knowledge, whether evening light of different intensities is related to melatonin suppression in young children is unknown.

A Vibrissa-Inspired Highly Flexible Tactile Sensor: Scanning 3D Object Surfaces Providing Tactile Images.

Just as the sense of touch complements vision in various species, several robots could benefit from advanced tactile sensors, in particular when operating under poor visibility. A prominent tactile sense organ, frequently serving as a natural paragon for developing tactile sensors, is the vibrissae of, e.g.

Good agreement between hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp and 2 hours oral minimal model assessed insulin sensitivity in adolescents.

Background/objective: Rates of dysglycemia are increasing in youth, secondary to obesity and decreased insulin sensitivity (IS) in puberty. The oral minimal model (OMM) has been developed in order to measure IS using an easy oral glucose load, such as an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), instead of an hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp (HE-clamp), a more invasive and time-consuming procedure. However, this model, following a standard 2 hour- OGTT has never been validated in youth, a population known for a different physiologic response to OGTT than adults.

Mechanical Ventilation in Pregnancy Due to COVID-19: A Cohort of Three Cases.

We describe our experience with three pregnant women with novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who required mechanical ventilation. Recent data suggest a mortality of 88% in nonpregnant patients with COVID-19 who require intubation and mechanical ventilation. The three women we report were intubated and mechanically ventilated during pregnancy due to respiratory failure and pneumonia resulting from COVID-19.

Effects of Multi-Point Contacts during Object Contour Scanning Using a Biologically-Inspired Tactile Sensor.

Vibrissae are an important tactile sense organ of many mammals, in particular rodents like rats and mice. For instance, these animals use them in order to detect different object features, e.g.

Melatonin Relations with Energy Metabolism as Possibly Involved in Fatal Mountain Road Traffic Accidents.

Previous results evidenced acute exposure to high altitude (HA) weakening the relation between daily melatonin cycle and the respiratory quotient. This review deals with the threat extreme environments pose on body time order, particularly concerning energy metabolism. Working at HA, at poles, or in space challenge our ancestral inborn body timing system.

An Artificial Vibrissa-Like Sensor for Detection of Flows.

In nature, there are several examples of sophisticated sensory systems to sense flows, e.g., the vibrissae of mammals.

Too Late and Not Enough: School Year Sleep Duration, Timing, and Circadian Misalignment Are Associated with Reduced Insulin Sensitivity in Adolescents with Overweight/Obesity.

Objectives: To examine the relationship between insulin resistance (IR) and sleep/circadian health in overweight/obese adolescents. We hypothesized that insufficient and delayed sleep would be associated with IR in this population.

Study Design: Thirty-one adolescents (mean age, 16.

Melatonin and sleep responses to normobaric hypoxia and aerobic physical exercise: A randomized controlled trial.

This work evaluated the effects of moderate physical exercise performed under hypoxic conditions on melatonin and sleep. Forty healthy men were randomized into four groups: Normoxia (N) (n = 10); Hypoxia (H) (n = 10); Exercise under Normoxia (EN) (n = 10); and Exercise under Hypoxia (EH) (n = 10). The observation period for all groups was approximately 36 h, beginning with a first night devoid of any intervention.

Melatonin Relations With Respiratory Quotient Weaken on Acute Exposure to High Altitude.

High altitude (HA) exposure may affect human health and performance by involving the body timing system. Daily variations of melatonin may disrupt by HA exposure, thereby possibly affecting its relations with a metabolic parameter like the respiratory quotient (RQ). Sea level (SL) volunteers (7 women and 7 men, 21.

Impact of Sleep and Circadian Disruption on Energy Balance and Diabetes: A Summary of Workshop Discussions.

A workshop was held at the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases with a focus on the impact of sleep and circadian disruption on energy balance and diabetes. The workshop identified a number of key principles for research in this area and a number of specific opportunities. Studies in this area would be facilitated by active collaboration between investigators in sleep/circadian research and investigators in metabolism/diabetes.

Circadian and Sex Differences After Acute High-Altitude Exposure: Are Early Acclimation Responses Improved by Blue Light?

Objective: The possible effects of blue light during acute hypoxia and the circadian rhythm on several physiological and cognitive parameters were studied.

Methods: Fifty-seven volunteers were randomly assigned to 2 groups: nocturnal (2200-0230 hours) or diurnal (0900-1330 hours) and exposed to acute hypoxia (4000 m simulated altitude) in a hypobaric chamber. The participants were illuminated by blue LEDs or common artificial light on 2 different days.

The transition from subsonic to supersonic cracks.

We present the full analytical solution for steady-state in-plane crack motion in a brittle triangular lattice. This allows quick numerical evaluation of solutions for very large systems, facilitating comparisons with continuum fracture theory. Cracks that propagate faster than the Rayleigh wave speed have been thought to be forbidden in the continuum theory, but clearly exist in lattice systems.

Age-related arrhythmogenesis on ascent and descent: "autonomic conflicts" on hypoxia/reoxygenation at high altitude?

Purpose: To discern whether arrhythmogenesis at high-altitude (HA) may differ depending on ascent or descent, as well as on age.

Methods: Male subjects (37.9±12.

Recruitment of histone deacetylases HDAC1 and HDAC2 by the transcriptional repressor ZEB1 downregulates E-cadherin expression in pancreatic cancer.

Objective: Pancreatic cancer is characterised by invasive tumour spread and early metastasis formation. During epithelial-mesenchymal transition, loss of the cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin is frequent and can be caused by genetic or epigenetic modifications, recruitment of transcriptional activators/repressors or post-translational modifications. A study was undertaken to investigate how E-cadherin expression in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma and pancreatic cancer cell lines is regulated.

Effects of oxygen supplementation on acute mountain sickness symptoms and functional capacity during a 2-kilometer walk test on Chajnantor plateau (5050 meters, Northern Chile).

Objective: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that administration of low-flow oxygen will improve physical performance in subjects unacclimatized to altitude. We evaluated the effects of oxygen supplementation on functional capacity and acute mountain sickness (AMS) symptoms in young, healthy male and female subjects who performed a 2-km fast walk test following rapid ascent to the Chajnantor plateau (5050 m above sea level) in Northern Chile.

Methods: The participants were randomly distributed into 2 groups according to oxygen supplementation levels: 1 or 3 L O(2) · min(-1).

Environmental risk factors for chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.

Chronic pancreatitis has long been thought to be mainly associated with immoderate alcohol consumption. The observation that only ∼10% of heavy drinkers develop chronic pancreatitis not only suggests that other environmental factors, such as tobacco smoke, are potent additional risk factors, but also that the genetic component of pancreatitis is more common than previously presumed. Either disease-causing or protective traits have been indentified for mutations in different trypsinogen genes, the gene for the trypsin inhibitor SPINK1, chymotrypsinogen C, and the cystic fibrosis transmembane conductance regulator (CFTR).

Dynamic interactions between orexin and dynorphin may delay onset of functional orexin effects: a modeling study.

Orexin (also known as hypocretin) neurons play a key role in regulating sleep-wake behavior, but the links between orexin neuron electrophysiology and function have not been explored. Orexin neurons are wake-active, and spiking activity in orexin neurons may anticipate transitions to wakefulness by several seconds. However, it is suggested that while the orexin system is necessary to maintain sustained wake bouts, orexin has little effect on brief wake bouts.

Antioxidant capacity and oxidative damage determination in synovial fluid of chronically damaged equine metacarpophalangeal joint.

In order to determine oxidative stress in equine joints with degenerative processes, we analyzed synovial fluid (SF) antioxidant capacity and the concentration of oxidative damage biomarkers in healthy and chronically damaged metacarpophalangeal joints. SF samples were collected from joints of thirty 2-5 year-old crossbreed male equine, macroscopically classified at post mortem inspection and later histologically confirmed. The antioxidant capacity was determined measuring uric acid and the concentration of sulfhydryl groups and the total radical trapping antioxidant potential (TRAP).

Simulations and experiments of the balloon dilatation of airway stenoses.

This article investigates the mechanics of balloon dilatation in the treatment of bronchotracheal stenosis. The "scar stricture"-type stenosis examined in this paper is typically dilated manually, using a dilatation balloon. If indicated, this is followed by stent implantation.