Far-Infrared Radiation (FIR) is emerging as a novel non-invasive tool for mitigating inflammation and oxidative stress, offering potential benefits for certain medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease and chronic inflammatory disorders. We previously demonstrated that the application of patch-based FIR therapy on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) reduced the expression of inflammatory biomarkers and the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Several in vitro studies have shown the inhibitory effects of FIR therapy on cell growth in different cancer cells (including murine melanoma cells), mainly using the wound healing assay, without direct cell motility or tracking analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany lateral biases exist in human behavior, often implicit and not deliberated. Romantic kissing and embracing received experimental attention in the last three decades. We investigated laterality in paintings depicting these social interactions using two methodologies to assess whether painters depicted such biases and whether these biases could be due to observers' aesthetic preferences or painters' ability in portraying naturalistic interactions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImmortal time bias (ITB) is common in cohort studies and distorts the association estimates between the treated and untreated. We used data from an Italian study on COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness, with a large cohort, long follow-up, and adjustment for confounding factors, affected by ITB, with the aim to verify the real impact of the vaccination campaign by comparing the risk of all-cause death between the vaccinated population and the unvaccinated population. We aligned all subjects on a single index date and considered the "all-cause deaths" outcome to compare the survival distributions of the unvaccinated group versus various vaccination statuses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe left-cradling bias (i.e., the motor asymmetry for cradling infants on the left side) has often been associated to the right-hemispheric social-emotional specialization, and it has often been reported to be stronger in females than in males.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Cardiovasc Dev Dis
March 2024
Background: The impact of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) on platelet function is still unclear. We conducted a comprehensive ex vivo study aimed at assessing the effect of the four currently marketed NOACs on platelet function.
Methods: We incubated blood samples from healthy donors with concentrations of NOACs (50, 150 and 250 ng/mL), in the range of those achieved in the plasma of patients during therapy.