Adrenal Venous Sampling Using Metanephrine in Primary Aldosteronism With or Without Cortisol Co-Secretion.

Context: The role of plasma metanephrine in adrenal venous sampling (AVS) for assessing lateralization in primary aldosteronism (PA) requires further clarification.

Objective: To evaluate the performance of plasma metanephrine in AVS for determining aldosterone lateralization in PA, with or without mild autonomous cortisol secretion (MACS).

Methods: Sequential AVS under cosyntropin stimulation was conducted in 58 consecutive patients with PA and indication for AVS.

Enhancing the European power system resilience with a recommendation system for voluntary demand response.

Climate change, geopolitical tensions, and decarbonization targets are bringing the resilience of the European electric power system to the forefront of discussion. Among various regulatory and technological solutions, voluntary demand response can help balance generation and demand during periods of energy scarcity or renewable energy generation surplus. This work presents an open data service called Interoperable Recommender that leverages publicly accessible data to calculate a country-specific operational balancing risk, providing actionable recommendations to empower citizens toward adaptive energy consumption, considering interconnections and local grid constraints.

Bladder ultrasound: evidence of content validity of a checklist for training nurses.

Objectives: to develop and analyze evidence of content validity of a checklist for training nurses in measuring bladder volume through ultrasound.

Methods: a methodological study, consisting of three stages: literature review; instrument item preparation; and analysis of evidence of content validity. The Content Validity Index (CVI) and Gwet's AC2 were used for content validity analyses.

2024 Standardization of Polysomnography Reports - A Consensus of the Brazilian Sleep Association.

 The absence of standardized reporting for sleep medicine exams across different laboratories can lead to misinterpretation, diagnostic inconsistencies, and suboptimal treatment strategies. This document seeks to establish guidelines for the development of sleep study reports, covering recordings from studies of types 1 to 4, and represents the official position of Associação Brasileira do Sono (ABS; Brazilian Sleep Association) on the standardization of polysomnography (PSG) and cardiorespiratory polygraphies.  The recommendations for the items to be reported in PSG records were developed by means of a Delphi study, comprised of two voting rounds.

Ileocecal Valve Metastasis Inducing Cecal Volvulus in a Patient With Lobular Breast Cancer: A Rare Cause of Bowel Obstruction.

Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) is the second most prevalent form of invasive breast cancer. Characterized by its insidious growth and distinctive histopathological features, ILC often presents with a less predictable metastatic pattern, including potential invasion of the gastrointestinal tract. This report presents the case of a patient with ILC who developed ileocecal valve metastasis leading to cecal volvulus, a rare but critical complication.

Effect of Sexual Partnerships on Zika Virus Transmission in Virus-Endemic Region, Northeast Brazil.

The epidemiologic effects of Zika virus (ZIKV) sexual transmission in virus-endemic countries remain unclear. We conducted a 2-level, linear mixed-effects logistic regression analysis by using a recently acquired population-based ZIKV and chikungunya virus (CHIKV) serologic dataset obtained from persons residing in Northeast Brazil (n = 2,070 participants). We adjusted mathematical models for housing type and age of participants; the models indicated a significantly higher likelihood of ZIKV seropositivity among persons engaged in a sexual relationship within the same household (odds ratio 1.

The Interplay between Dynamics and Structure on the Dielectric Tensor of Nanoconfined Water: Surface Charge and Salinity Effect.

Under confinement, the water dielectric constant is a second-order tensor with an abnormally low out-of-plane element. In our work, we investigate the dielectric tensor of an aqueous NaCl solution confined by a quartz slit-pore. The static dielectric constant is determined from local polarization density fluctuations via molecular dynamics simulations.

Hemopneumothorax Secondary to Pleural Endometriosis in a Woman of Childbearing Age: A Rare Presentation.

Pleural endometriosis is a rare condition characterized by the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterus, involving the pleura. This atypical condition can be asymptomatic or cause respiratory symptoms such as chest pain, dyspnea, and hemothorax. We present a clinical case of a 32-year-old woman who presented to the emergency room with hemothorax due to pleural endometriosis.

Is There a Role for Locoregional Therapies for Non-colorectal Gastrointestinal Malignancies?

The liver is the most common site of metastases from solid gastrointestinal tract tumors. Over the past few decades, the role of locoregional therapies, resection and thermal ablation, for neuroendocrine and colorectal liver metastases has been widely studied. However, for liver metastases originating from other gastrointestinal organs, the role of locoregional treatment remains unclear.

The hormonal trajectory along gestational age: Cortisol and oxytocin levels profiles.

Pregnancy is accompanied by hormonal fluctuation, including increased cortisol and oxytocin (OT). Although the implications of these hormones during pregnancy are extensively studied, their normative variability is not well established. Therefore, we evaluated how serum cortisol and OT levels behave throughout pregnancy.

Immunomodulatory effect of bovine lactoferrin during SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Introduction: Lactoferrin (Lf) is an important immunomodulator in infections caused by different agents. During SARS-CoV-2 infection, Lf can hinder or prevent virus access to the intracellular environment. Severe cases of COVID-19 are related to increased production of cytokines, accompanied by a weak type 1 interferon response.

Thiol-Mediated Uptake (TMU, TIMEUP).

This account briefly summarizes objectives and progress made so far with the Swiss-ERC AdG entitled Translational Dynamic Covalent Exchange Cascades (TIMEUP).

The Miniaturized Isolation of Neutrophil Granules (MING) method allowed a deep proteome mapping of human neutrophil granules.

Neutrophils are the innate immune system's first line of defense, and their storage organelles are essential to their function. The storage organelles are divided into three different granule types named azurophilic, specific, and gelatinase granules, besides a fourth component called secretory vesicles. The isolation of neutrophil's granules is challenging, and the existing procedures rely on large sample volumes, about 400 mL of peripheral blood, precluding the use of multiple biological and technical replicates.

Dose of phytase from either or on performance of nursery piglets.

Supplementing swine diets with phytase increases phosphorus release by approximately 50% from cereal phytates. The increase in phosphorus availability allows for a reduction in dietary phosphorus supplementation from mineral sources and decreases the environmental impact of pork production through a decrease in phosphorus excretion. Superdosing phytase has been reported to boost swine productivity, improve the digestibility of other nutrients, and mitigate the antinutritional effects of phytates.

Predicting intradialytic hypotension in critically ill patients undergoing intermittent hemodialysis: a prospective observational study.

Background: Hypotension during dialysis arises from vasomotor tone alterations and hypovolemia, with disrupted counterregulatory mechanisms in acute kidney injury (AKI) patients. This study investigated the predictive value of preload dependency, assessed by the passive leg raising (PLR) test, and arterial tone, measured by dynamic elastance (Eadyn), for intradialytic hypotension (IDH).

Methods: In this prospective observational study conducted in a tertiary hospital ICU, hemodynamic parameters were collected from critically ill AKI patients undergoing intermittent hemodialysis using the FloTrac/Vigileo system.

Association between papillary thyroid cancer and primary aldosteronism in individuals with hypertension.

Background: Aldosterone excess chronically induces oxidative stress and cell proliferation. Previously, a single study investigated primary aldosteronism (PA) in patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), albeit without a matched control group.

Methods: We conducted a propensity score matched case-control study to investigate the association between PA and PTC in individuals with arterial hypertension (HT).

Endovenous laser ablation for saphenous veins and tributaries - the LEST technique.

Endovenous thermal ablation is now one of the most important techniques for treating chronic venous insufficiency. Technical refinements and technological innovations have made it possible to employ the method not only in the saphenous veins, but also to treat superficial veins such as varicose tributaries. We describe a technique for surgical treatment of varicose veins using endovenous laser thermal ablation employing multiple punctures and present the experience at our service with analysis of 601 cases operated using this technique.

Delphi Technique on Nursing Competence Studies: A Scoping Review.

This scoping review was conducted under the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) framework. It included primary studies published until 30 April 2023, obtained through a systematic search across PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, and MEDLINE databases. The review focused on primary studies that used the Delphi technique in nursing competence research, especially those related to defining core competency frameworks and developing instruments to assess professional competence.

Leishmania amazonensis-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) induce neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs).

Neutrophils interact with Leishmania when the sandfly vector inoculates these parasites in the host with saliva and promastigotes-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs). It has been shown that this co-injection induces inflammation and exacerbates leishmaniasis lesions. EVs are a heterogeneous group of vesicles released by cells that play a crucial role in intercellular communication.

Artificial intelligence for predicting response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy for bladder cancer A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Neoadjuvant cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy (NAC) followed by radical cystectomy is the standard of care for cisplatin-fit patients harboring muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). Prediction of response to NAC is essential for clinical decision-making regarding alternatives in case of non-response, and bladder-sparing in case of complete response. This research aimed to assess the performance of machine learning in predicting therapeutic response following NAC treatment in patients with MIBC.

DNA methylation impacts soybean early development by modulating hormones and metabolic pathways.

Genomic DNA methylation patterns play a crucial role in the developmental processes of plants and mammals. In this study, we aimed to investigate the significant effects of epigenetic mechanisms on the development of soybean seedlings and metabolic pathways. Our analyses show that 5-azaC-treatment affects radicle development from two Days After Imbibition (DAI), as well as both shoot and root development.