Estimating Cardiovascular Benefits of Tirzepatide in Sleep Apnea and Obesity: Insight from the SURMOUNT-OSA Trials.

Purpose Of Commentary: This commentary aims to offer a perspective on the effect of tirzepatide on hypoxic burden and provide indirect evidence of cardiovascular risk reduction after tirzepatide for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea and obesity. It also discusses the role of tirzepatide-induced weight loss in the management of obstructive sleep apnea.

Recent Findings: In the SURMOUNT-OSA phase 3 trials, tirzepatide, a new GIP/GLP-1 receptor co-agonist, reduced the apnea-hypopnea index, hypoxic burden, and body weight in adults with moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea and obesity.

PRONTO-TK: a user-friendly PROtein Neural neTwOrk tool-kit for accessible protein function prediction.

Associating one or more Gene Ontology (GO) terms to a protein means making a statement about a particular functional characteristic of the protein. This association provides scientists with a snapshot of the biological context of the protein activity. This paper introduces PRONTO-TK, a Python-based software toolkit designed to democratize access to Neural-Network based complex protein function prediction workflows.

Eicosapentaenoic Acid: between Cardiovascular Benefits and the Risk of Atrial Fibrillation.

In recent years, scientific research has increasingly focused on the cardiovascular benefits of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) supplements. The most promising results emerged from the new trials on a high-dose eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)-only approach, instead of the previously prescribed therapy with EPA + docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The evidence of the reduction of cardiovascular events in patients at high cardiovascular risk with EPA is intriguing.

Application of Microsatellites to Trace the Dairy Products Back to the Farm of Origin.

The increasing number of food frauds, mainly targeting high quality products, is a rising concern among producers and authorities appointed to food controls. Therefore, the development or implementation of methods to reveal frauds is desired. The genetic traceability of traditional or high-quality dairy products (i.

Special Issue: New Advances in Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering Using Machine Learning Techniques, IWBBIO-2022.

Bioinformatics is revolutionizing Biomedicine in the way we treat and diagnose pathologies related to biological manifestations resulting from variations or mutations of our DNA [...

The Effects of Omega 3 and Omega 6 Fatty Acids on Glucose Metabolism: An Updated Review.

Massive changes have occurred in our diet. A growing consumption of vegetal oils rich in omega-6 (ω-6) and a depletion of omega-3 (ω-3) fatty acids (FAs) in our food has led to an imbalance between ω-3 and ω-6. In particular, eicosapentaenoic (EPA)/arachidonic acid (AA) ratio seems to be an indicator of this derangement, whose reduction is associated to the development of metabolic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus.

Long-term efficacy of empagliflozin as an add-on treatment for chronic SIAD: a case report and literature review.

Background: SLGT-2 inhibitors have recently been investigated as a promising therapy for syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis (SIAD). However, to our knowledge, no report has been published about their use for this indication in the long term.

Case Presentation: We report the case of a 68-year-old male with type 2 diabetes and chronic SIAD, in whom serum sodium levels were not adequately controlled by urea monotherapy.

The integration of clinical data in the assessment of multiple sclerosis - A review.

Background And Objectives: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a neurological disease associated with various and heterogeneous clinical characteristics. Given its complex nature and its unpredictable evolution over time, there isn't an established and exhaustive clinical protocol (or tool) for its diagnosis nor for monitoring its progression. Instead, different clinical exams and physical/psychological evaluations need to be taken into account.

In Patients with Obesity, Are Affective Temperaments Associated with Attrition? An Evaluation during and before the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic.

Timely data on attrition from weight loss programs for patients with obesity during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic are lacking, so we aimed to contribute to filling this gap in the literature by comparing attrition during or outside of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and its possible association with patients' affective temperaments, psychopathology, and clinical variables. Two-hundred and eleven outpatients with obesity were recruited and completed the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, and San Diego Auto-questionnaire, Binge Eating Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Those who dropped out during the pandemic period were mostly men, with younger age of weight gain, and with a larger waist circumference than completers.

Nets-within-nets for modeling emergent patterns in ontogenetic processes.

Ontogenesis is the development of an organism from its earliest stage to maturity, including homeostasis maintenance throughout adulthood despite environmental perturbations. Almost all cells of a multicellular organism share the same genomic information. Nevertheless, phenotypic diversity and complex supra-cellular architectures emerge at every level, starting from tissues and organs.

Affective temperaments and obesity: Is there an association with binge eating episodes and multiple weight cycling?

Background: affective temperaments have been so far understudied in the field of obesity. Therefore, we aimed to assess affective temperaments in outpatients with obesity reporting symptoms of binge eating (BE) and multiple weight cycling (MWC) and to investigate the likelihood of an association between affective temperaments and risk of both conditions.

Methods: A total of 300 individuals with obesity seeking treatment at the Obesity Unit of an academic hospital were asked to complete self-report measures of affective temperaments, BE, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and quality of life.

Neuroendocrine predictors of vasoplegia after cardiopulmonary bypass.

Purpose: Vasoplegia often complicates on-pump cardiac surgery. Systemic inflammatory response induced by extracorporeal circulation represents the major determinant, but adrenal insufficiency and postoperative vasopressin deficiency may have a role. Pathophysiological meaning of perioperative changes in endocrine markers of hydro-electrolyte balance has not still fully elucidated.

IL6-mediated HCoV-host interactome regulatory network and GO/Pathway enrichment analysis.

During these days of global emergency for the COVID-19 disease outbreak, there is an urgency to share reliable information able to help worldwide life scientists to get better insights and make sense of the large amount of data currently available. In this study we used the results presented in [1] to perform two different Systems Biology analyses on the HCoV-host interactome. In the first one, we reconstructed the interactome of the HCoV-host proteins, integrating it with highly reliable miRNA and drug interactions information.

Predictors of attrition from a weight loss program. A study of adult patients with obesity in a community setting.

Purpose: Obesity unit attrition is frequent and contributes to treatment failure. Many studies evaluating attrition predictors were part of randomized trials, and different terminology and criteria were used in the engagement field. We aimed to investigate the factors potentially implicated in early (< 12 weeks) and late (> 12 weeks) attrition from an obesity unit in a community setting METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of 250 patients with obesity who were followed-up at our obesity unit.

Severe and moderate seasonal influenza epidemics among Italian healthcare workers: A comparison of the excess of absenteeism.

Background: This study aims to quantify the excess of sickness absenteeism among healthcare workers (HCWs), to estimate the impact of a severe versus moderate influenza season and to determine whether the vaccination rates are associated with reduced sickness absence.

Methods: We investigated the excess absenteeism that occurred in a large Italian hospital, 5300 HCWs, during the severe influenza season of 2017/2018 and compared it with three moderate flu seasons (2010/2013). Data on influenza vaccinations and absenteeism were obtained from the hospital's databases.

Changes in Weight and Nutritional Habits in Adults with Obesity during the "Lockdown" Period Caused by the COVID-19 Virus Emergency.

Our aim is evaluating the changes in weight and dietary habits in a sample of outpatients with obesity after 1 month of enforced lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Italy. In this observational retrospective study, the patients of our Obesity Unit were invited to answer to a 12-question multiple-choice questionnaire relative to weight changes, working activity, exercise, dietary habits, and conditions potentially impacting on nutritional choices. A multivariate regression analysis was performed to evaluate the associations among weight/BMI changes and the analyzed variables.

Determinants Associated With the Risk of Emergency Department Visits Among Patients Receiving Integrated Home Care Services: A 6-Year Retrospective Observational Study in a Large Italian Region.

Background: Allowing patients to remain at home and decreasing the number of unnecessary emergency room visits have become important policy goals in modern healthcare systems. However, the lack of available literature makes it critical to identify determinants that could be associated with increased emergency department (ED) visits in patients receiving integrated home care (IHC).

Methods: A retrospective observational study was carried out in a large Italian region among patients with at least one IHC event between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2017.

Prevalence of primary aldosteronism and association with cardiovascular complications in patients with resistant and refractory hypertension.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of primary aldosteronism and its association with cardiometabolic complications in patients with resistant and refractory hypertension.

Methods: One hundred and ten consecutive patients with true resistant hypertension [insufficient blood pressure control despite appropriate lifestyle measures and treatment with at least three classes of antihypertensive medication, including a diuretic] and without previous cardiovascular events were screened for secondary hypertension. Refractory hypertension was diagnosed in case of uncontrolled blood pressure despite the use of at least five antihypertensive drugs.

Advanced glycation end products and chronic inflammation in adult survivors of childhood leukemia treated with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Background: Among survivors of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), those who received hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) conditioned with total-body irradiation (TBI) show the highest risk of late complications, including cardiovascular (CV) disease. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) have been associated with CV disease in diabetes mellitus and other clinical conditions. This study explores AGEs plasma levels, inflammatory status, and lipid profile in survivors of pediatric ALL who received HSCT conditioned with TBI.

The CAFA challenge reports improved protein function prediction and new functional annotations for hundreds of genes through experimental screens.

Background: The Critical Assessment of Functional Annotation (CAFA) is an ongoing, global, community-driven effort to evaluate and improve the computational annotation of protein function.

Results: Here, we report on the results of the third CAFA challenge, CAFA3, that featured an expanded analysis over the previous CAFA rounds, both in terms of volume of data analyzed and the types of analysis performed. In a novel and major new development, computational predictions and assessment goals drove some of the experimental assays, resulting in new functional annotations for more than 1000 genes.

'One DB to rule them all'-the RING: a Regulatory INteraction Graph combining TFs, genes/proteins, SNPs, diseases and drugs.

In the last decade, genomics data have been largely adopted to sketch, study and better understand the complex mechanisms that underlie biological processes. The amount of publicly available data sources has grown accordingly, and several types of regulatory interactions have been collected and documented in literature. Unfortunately, often these efforts do not follow any data naming/interoperability/formatting standards, resulting in high-quality but often uninteroperable heterogeneous data repositories.

Cost of Sickness Absenteeism during Seasonal Influenza Outbreaks of Medium Intensity among Health Care Workers.

This study aims to estimate the economic costs of sickness absenteeism of health care workers in a large Italian teaching hospital during the seasonal flu periods. A retrospective observational study was performed. The excess data of hospital's sickness absenteeism during three seasonal influenza periods (2010/2011; 2011/2012; 2012/2013) came from a previous study.