Bird on the wire: Landscape planning considering costs and benefits for bird populations coexisting with power lines.

Power-line grids are increasingly expanding worldwide, as well as their negative impacts on avifauna, namely the direct mortality through collision and electrocution, the reduction of breeding performance, and the barrier effect. On the other hand, some bird species can apparently benefit from the presence of power lines, for example perching for hunting purposes or nesting on electricity towers. In this perspective essay, we reviewed the scientific literature on both costs and benefits for avifauna coexisting with power lines.

Treatment of coronary artery disease with a new-generation drug-coated balloon: final results of the Italian Elutax SV rEgistry-DCB-RISE.

Aims: Drug-coated balloons (DCBs) are a recognized alternative to stents for the treatment of in-stent restenosis (ISR), and there is some initial clinical evidence about their efficacy for the treatment of small coronary vessels. Newer-generation DCBs were developed to overcome the reduced deliverability of the previous generation, also warranting a more effective drug delivery to vessel wall. However, the vast majority of new-generation DCBs still lack of reliability due to paucity of clinical data.

EU protected area network did not prevent a country wide population decline in a threatened grassland bird.

Background: Few studies have assessed the effectiveness of the Protected Area networks on the conservation status of target species. Here, we assess the effectiveness of the Portuguese Natura 2000 (the European Union network of protected areas) in maintaining a species included in the Annex I of the Bird Directive, namely the population of a priority farmland bird, the little bustard .

Methods: We measured the effectiveness of the Natura 2000 by comparing population trends across time (2003-2006 and 2016) in 51 areas, 21 of which within 12 Special Protection Areas (SPA) that were mostly designated for farmland bird conservation and another 30 areas without EU protection.

Intraperitoneal Administration of Oxygen/Ozone to Rats Reduces the Pancreatic Damage Induced by Streptozotocin.

The rat model of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced pancreatic damage was used to examine whether a systemic oxygen/ozone mixture could be beneficial for the pancreas by reducing the machinery of the local detrimental mediators released by STZ. The results showed that oxygen/ozone administration (150 µg/Kg i.p.

Aerobic Training Improves Angiogenic Potential Independently of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Modifications in Postmenopausal Women.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of walking-training on the balance between pro- and antiangiogenic signals and on the angiogenic potential in postmenopausal women.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-four postmenopausal women (56.18 ± 4.

Comparison of Adaptive Neuroprotective Mechanisms of Sulforaphane and its Interconversion Product Erucin in in Vitro and in Vivo Models of Parkinson's Disease.

Several studies suggest that an increase of glutathione (GSH) through activation of the transcriptional nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) in the dopaminergic neurons may be a promising neuroprotective strategy in Parkinson's disease (PD). Among Nrf2 activators, isothiocyanate sulforaphane (SFN), derived from precursor glucosinolate present in Brassica vegetables, has gained attention as a potential neuroprotective compound. Bioavailability studies also suggest the contribution of SFN metabolites, including erucin (ERN), to the neuroprotective effects of SFN.

Designing a lifestyle intervention to reduce risk of type 2 diabetes in postpartum mothers following gestational diabetes: An online survey with mothers and health professionals.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify what components of a postpartum lifestyle intervention would engage postpartum mothers who had a diagnosis of gestational diabetes.

Study Design: Two online surveys were conducted, one involving postnatal mothers with GDM (n=83), and a second for health professionals (n=46).

Results: Seventy-eight percent of mothers were aware that healthy eating, exercise and weight management were all important to reduce risk of subsequent type 2 diabetes.

GRK2 as a therapeutic target for heart failure.

G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) kinase-2 (GRK2) is a regulator of GPCRs, in particular β-adrenergic receptors (ARs), and as demonstrated by decades of investigation, it has a pivotal role in the development and progression of cardiovascular disease, like heart failure (HF). Indeed elevated levels and activity of this kinase are able to promote the dysfunction of both cardiac and adrenal α- and β-ARs and to dysregulate other protective signaling pathway, such as sphingosine 1-phospate and insulin. Moreover, recent discoveries suggest that GRK2 can signal independently from GPCRs, in a 'non-canonical' manner, via interaction with non-GPCR molecule or via its mitochondrial localization.

The combined activation of K3.1 and inhibition of K11.1/hERG1 currents contribute to overcome Cisplatin resistance in colorectal cancer cells.

Background: Platinum-based drugs such as Cisplatin are commonly employed for cancer treatment. Despite an initial therapeutic response, Cisplatin treatment often results in the development of chemoresistance. To identify novel approaches to overcome Cisplatin resistance, we tested Cisplatin in combination with K channel modulators on colorectal cancer (CRC) cells.

Clinical states of cirrhosis and competing risks.

The clinical course of cirrhosis is mostly determined by the progressive increase of portal hypertension, hyperdynamic circulation, bacterial translocation and activation of systemic inflammation. Different disease states, encompassing compensated and decompensated cirrhosis and a late decompensated state, are related to the progression of these mechanisms and may be recognised by haemodynamic or clinical characteristics. While these disease states do not follow a predictable sequence, they correspond to varying mortality risk.

Circulating Endothelial Progenitor Cells in Type 1 Diabetic Patients: Relation with Patients' Age and Disease Duration.

Objectives: Circulating endothelial progenitor cells (cEPCs) have been reported to be dysfunctional in diabetes mellitus (DM) patients, accounting for the vascular damage and the ensuing high risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) characteristic of this disease. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the number of circulating cEPCs in type 1 DM (T1DM) patients, without clinical vascular damage, of different ages and with different disease duration.

Methods: An observational, clinical-based prospective study was performed on T1DM patients enrolled in two clinical centers.

Diagnostic specificity of autoantibodies to M-type phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) in differentiating idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) from secondary forms and other glomerular diseases.

Autoantibody against phospholipase A2 receptor (anti-PLA2R) is a sensitive and specific biomarker of idiopathic membranous nephropathy (iMN), being found in approximately 70% of iMN patients and only occasionally in other glomerular diseases. However, whereas its diagnostic specificity vs. normal controls and other glomerulonephritides (GN) has been firmly established, its specificity vs.

Impact of design of coronary stents and length of dual antiplatelet therapies on ischaemic and bleeding events: a network meta-analysis of 64 randomized controlled trials and 102 735 patients.

Aims: The differential impact on ischaemic and bleeding events of the type of drug-eluting stent [durable polymer stents [DES] vs. biodegradable polymer stents vs. bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS)] and length of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) remains to be defined.

Provisional versus elective two-stent strategy for unprotected true left main bifurcation lesions: Insights from a FAILS-2 sub-study.

Background: This study sought to investigate the optimal percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) strategy for true unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA) bifurcations.

Methods: The FAILS-2 was a retrospective multi-center study including patients with ULMCA disease treated with second-generation drug-eluting stents. Of these, we compared clinical outcomes of a provisional strategy (PS; n=216) versus an elective two-stent strategy (E2S; n=161) for true ULMCA bifurcations.

Impact of chronic kidney disease on mortality in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention. A long-term single-center mortality study.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with increased risk of mortality. We examined the impact of moderate and severe CKD at presentation on short- and long-term mortality among unselected patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI).

Methods: The study cohort consists of 501 patients (pts), enrolled from October 2005 to December 2012.

Nordic walking increases circulating VEGF more than traditional walking training in postmenopause.

Objectives: Nordic walking (NW) is widely practiced by postmenopausal women. Its effects are peculiar owing to the involvement of more muscle groups than in traditional walking training (WT). Since mechanical load promotes secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) from both skeletal muscle and muscle endothelium, the aim of the study was to compare the effect of NW and WT on VEGF levels.

Which is the best antiaggregant or anticoagulant therapy after TAVI? A propensity-matched analysis from the ITER registry. The management of DAPT after TAVI.

Aims: The safety and efficacy of single vs. dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in patients undergoing TAVI remain to be addressed. The aim of our study was to evaluate the usefulness of a DAPT compared to a single platelet therapy in patients undergoing TAVI with a balloon-expandable prosthesis.

Functional characterisation of the methionine sulfoxide reductase repertoire in Trypanosoma brucei.

To combat the deleterious effects that oxidation of the sulfur atom in methionine to sulfoxide may bring, aerobic cells express repair pathways involving methionine sulfoxide reductases (MSRs) to reverse the above reaction. Here, we show that Trypanosoma brucei, the causative agent of African trypanosomiasis, expresses two distinct trypanothione-dependent MSRs that can be distinguished from each other based on sequence, sub-cellular localisation and substrate preference. One enzyme found in the parasite's cytosol, shows homology to the MSRA family of repair proteins and preferentially metabolises the S epimer of methionine sulfoxide.

Knock-out of a mitochondrial sirtuin protects neurons from degeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Sirtuins are NAD⁺-dependent deacetylases, lipoamidases, and ADP-ribosyltransferases that link cellular metabolism to multiple intracellular pathways that influence processes as diverse as cell survival, longevity, and cancer growth. Sirtuins influence the extent of neuronal death in stroke. However, different sirtuins appear to have opposite roles in neuronal protection.

3D quantitative evaluation of spine proprioceptive perception/motor control through instinctive self-correction maneuver in healthy young subjects' posture: an observational study.

Background: Conservative treatment in spine deformities and spine related disorders is mainly based on proper individual proprioceptive and motor control training. For these reasons, conservative treatment involves the stimulation of individual capability of perceiving/reducing deformities, blocks and/or improper spine posture by voluntary control. The literature describes that habitually adopted relaxed postures often exacerbate low back pain.

Culprit plaque characteristics in younger versus older patients with acute coronary syndromes: An optical coherence tomography study from the FORMIDABLE registry.

Objectives: Culprit plaque characteristics in young patients who experience an Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) evaluated by OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) have to be defined. The OCT-FORMIDABLE is a multicentre retrospective registry enrolling consecutive patients with ACS who performed OCT in 9 European centres.

Methods: Patients were divided in two groups according to age at presentation: juvenile-ACS (age ≤ 50 years) and not juvenile-ACS (age > 50 years).

New concepts on the clinical course and stratification of compensated and decompensated cirrhosis.

The clinical course of cirrhosis has been typically described by a compensated and a decompensated state based on the absence or, respectively, the presence of any of bleeding, ascites, encephalopathy or jaundice. More recently, it has been recognized that increasing portal hypertension and several major clinical events are followed by a marked worsening in prognosis, and disease states have been proposed accordingly in a multistate model. The development of multistate models implies the assessment of the probabilities of more than one possible outcome from each disease state.

Contrast-induced kidney injury: how does it affect long-term cardiac mortality?

Aims: Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CIAKI) is a common complication after coronary angiography or percutaneous revascularization (PCI). This study aimed to investigate the association of CIAKI with long-term cardiovascular adverse events.

Methods: In total, 980 patients undergoing coronary angiography/PCI were assessed in this prospective cohort study.