Measures of contextuality in cyclic systems and the negative probabilities measure CNT.

Several principled measures of contextuality have been proposed for general systems of random variables (i.e. inconsistently connected systems).

Ventilatory function and oxygen delivery at high altitude in the Himalayas.

This study aimed to evaluate changes in lung function assessed by spirometry and blood gas content in healthy high-altitude sojourners during a trek in the Himalayas. A group of 19 Italian adults (11 males and 8 females, mean age 43 ± 15 years, and BMI 24.2 ± 3.

Aging and the carotid body: A scoping review.

The carotid body (CB) is a neuroepithelial tissue consisting of O-sensitive glomus cells that constantly scan the arterial blood for O and generate a discharge as an inverse function of O content. Aging is a cumulative result of decreased O supply paralleled by a decreased O tissue demand and oxidative damage to cells derived from aerobic metabolism. Here we studied how CB affects the aging process.

COVID-19 Smell Impairment and Crosstalk with Hypoxia Physiology.

Since its apomorphic appearance in 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nowadays circulates as a plesiomorphic human virus in several synapomorphic variants. The respiratory tract is the most important site of infection, the viral effects in the lungs are well described, and more than half of the patients could develop shortness of breath and dyspnea and require ventilatory support. The physiological sign of this condition is the decrease in the partial pressure of oxygen in the blood, leading to acute hypoxia, which could be a factor in the disease.

Fertility Impairment after Trekking at High Altitude: A Proof of Mechanisms on Redox and Metabolic Seminal Changes.

Many authors described negative but reversible effects of high-altitude hypoxic exposure on animal and human fertility in terms of sperm concentration, function, and biochemical alterations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute and chronic effects of high-altitude exposure on classical sperm parameters, redox status, and membrane composition in a group of travellers. Five healthy Italian males, all lowlanders not accustomed to the altitude, were evaluated after 19 days-trekking through low, moderate, and high altitudes in the Himalayas.

Olfactory Response to Altitude Hypoxia: A Pilot Study During a Himalayan Trek.

The adaptation of olfaction to extreme environments is an area of limited understanding. This study aimed to get insights into the factors that constrain olfactory function at high altitudes. To this end, we compared the results of smell tests performed on the same subjects at low (665 m) and high altitude (4,780 m) during the "Kanchenjunga Exploration and Physiology" project in the Himalayas.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath as a marker of hypoxia in multiple chemical sensitivity.

In the history of diagnostics, breath analysis was one of the first method used until the breakthrough of biochemical testing technology. Today, breath analysis has made a comeback with the development of gas analyzers and e-noses, demonstrating its power in its applicability for diagnosing a wide range of diseases. The physical basis of multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), an emerging environmental disease, is difficult to understand because it is based on the scenario of chronic hypoxia, with a complex of chemical compounds that trigger the syndrome and result in multiple symptoms.

The effects of exercise training on lipid profile in patients with sarcoidosis.

This study aimed to determine the use of lipid profiling to assess the effects of moderate intensity exercise training (ET) on patients with sarcoidosis. Fourteen patients with sarcoidosis (mean age, 46.0 ± 9.

Smell and Taste in Severe CoViD-19: Self-Reported vs. Testing.

One of the most striking reported symptoms in CoViD-19 is loss of smell and taste. The frequency of these impairments and their specificity as a potential central nervous system function biomarker are of great interest as a diagnostic clue for CoViD-19 infection as opposed to other similar symptomatologic diseases and because of their implication in viral pathogenesis. Here severe CoViD-19 was investigated by comparing self-report vs.

Role of IP3 Receptors in Shaping the Carotid Chemoreceptor Response to Hypoxia But Not to Hypercapnia in the Rat Carotid Body: An Evidence Review.

This article addresses the disparity in the transduction pathways for hypoxic and hypercapnic stimuli in carotid body glomus cells. We investigated and reviewed the experimental evidence showing that the response to hypoxia, but not to hypercapnia, is mediated by 1,4,5-inositol triphosphate receptors (IPR/s) regulating the intracellular calcium content [Ca] in glomus cells. The rationale was based on the past observations that inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation leads to the explicit inhibition of the hypoxic chemoreflex.

Comparison of the Effectiveness of High-Intensity Interval Training in Hypoxia and Normoxia in Healthy Male Volunteers: A Pilot Study.

Aims: The study investigated the effect of high-intensity interval training in hypoxia and normoxia on serum concentrations of proangiogenic factors, nitric oxide, and inflammatory responses in healthy male volunteers.

Methods: Twelve physically active male subjects completed a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) in normoxia (NorTr) and in normobaric hypoxia (HypTr) (FiO = 15.2%).

Effects of Manual Somatic Stimulation on the Autonomic Nervous System and Posture.

Low back pain frequently involves a multifactorial etiology and requires medical attention. The aim of the study was to assess the associations among pain, posture, and autonomic nervous system function in patients with low back pain, using neuromuscular manual therapy versus a generic peripheral manual stimulation (back massage therapy). Twenty young patients with low back pain were enrolled into the study.

Ageing of the carotid body.

The ageing process is characterized by a decline in several physiological functions resulting in a reduced capability to maintain homeostasis. The lowered homeostatic capacity seems to involve the carotid body (CB), whose role is to modulate ventilation and tissue oxygen supply. It thus plays a prime role in all ageing processes.

Physiological effects of high-altitude trekking on gonadal, thyroid hormones and macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) responses in young lowlander women.

Altitude hypoxia is often associated with impairment of human reproduction. In this study, hormones and macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF, a proinflammatory cytokine with key roles in human reproduction) were determined in seven regularly menstruating, lowlander native women living at sea level participating in 14 days of trekking at moderate and high altitude. Blood and saliva samples were collected from each subject at high altitude (5050 m a.

The companion dog as a unique translational model for aging.

The dog is a unique species due to its wide variation among breeds in terms of size, morphology, behaviour and lifespan, coupled with a genetic structure that facilitates the dissection of the genetic architecture that controls these traits. Dogs and humans co-evolved and share recent evolutionary selection processes, such as adaptation to digest starch-rich diets. Many diseases of the dog have a human counterpart, and notably Alzheimer's disease, which is otherwise difficult to model in other organisms.

Functional and neurochemical interactions within the amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex circuit and their relevance to emotional processing.

The amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) circuit plays a key role in emotional processing. GABA-ergic inhibition within the mPFC has been suggested to play a role in the shaping of amygdala activity. However, the functional and neurochemical interactions within the amygdala-mPFC circuits and their relevance to emotional processing remain unclear.

The influence of altitude hypoxia on uroflowmetry parameters in women.

There is scientific evidence to suggest a correlation between hypoxia and the physiology of micturition. During a Himalayan Scientific and Mountaineering Expedition, we performed tests to investigate the functional interactions between altitude hypoxia and uroflowmetry parameters in women. The tests were carried out in seven women (36.

Olfactory phenotypic expression unveils human aging.

The mechanism of the natural aging of olfaction and its declinein the absence of any overt disease conditions remains unclear. Here, we investigated this mechanism through measurement of one of the parameters of olfactory function, the absolute threshold, in a healthy population from childhood to old age. The absolute olfactory threshold data were collected from an Italian observational study with 622 participants aged 5-105 years.

Coexpression of Galanin and Nestin in the Chemoreceptor Cells of the Human Carotid Body.

The carotid body is a highly specialized chemoreceptive organ of neural crest origin whose role is to detect changes in arterial oxygen content. The sensory units are the chemoreceptor cells, which are neuronal-like cells, surrounded by sustentacular or glial-like cells. It is suggested that the carotid body contains self-renewing multipotent stem cells, which are putatively represented by glial-like sustentacular cells.

Selective Expression of Galanin in Neuronal-Like Cells of the Human Carotid Body.

The carotid body is a neural-crest-derived organ devoted to respiratory homeostasis through sensing changes in blood oxygen levels. The sensory units are the glomeruli composed of clusters of neuronal-like (type I) cells surrounded by glial-like (type II) cells. During chronic hypoxia, the carotid body shows growth, with increasing neuronal-like cell numbers.

Tissue Dynamics of the Carotid Body Under Chronic Hypoxia: A Computational Study.

The carotid body (CB) increases in volume in response to chronic continuous hypoxia and the mechanisms underlying this adaptive response are not fully elucidated. It has been proposed that chronic hypoxia could lead to the generation of a sub-population of type II cells representing precursors, which, in turn, can give rise to mature type I cells. To test whether this process could explain not only the observed changes in cell number, but also the micro-anatomical pattern of tissue rearrangement, a mathematical modeling approach was devised to simulate the hypothetical sequence of cellular events occurring within the CB during chronic hypoxia.

Real time analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in centenarians.

Centenarians are a model to study human longevity and the physiological process of aging. A plethora of studies on this model show the complexity of the system. Laboratory studies fail to find a biomarker of senescence.

Effects of hyperoxic exposure on signal transduction pathways in the lung.

Exposure to supraphysiological concentrations of oxygen is often applied in clinical practice to enhance oxygenation in acute or chronic lung injury. However, hyperoxic exposure is associated with increased reactive oxygen species production, which can be toxic to pulmonary endothelial and alveolar epithelial cells. Oxidative stress activates the pathways of the mitogen-activated protein kinases family: extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2), C-Jun-terminal protein kinase (JNK1/2), and p38 kinase.

In the carotid body, galanin is a signal for neurogenesis in young, and for neurodegeneration in the old and in drug-addicted subjects.

The carotid body is a highly specialized chemoreceptive structure for the detection of and reaction to hypoxia, through induction of an increase in hypoxia inducible factor. As tissue hypoxia increases with aging and can have dramatic effects in respiratory depression induced by drug addiction, we investigated the carotid body in young and old healthy subjects in comparison with drug-addicted subjects, including the expression of the neurotransmitter galanin. Galanin expression was recently reported for neuronal-like cells of the human carotid body, and it is implicated in several functions in neurons.