Embolic complications in a large contemporary cohort of infective endocarditis: do we need score model?

Purpose: Infective endocarditis (IE) is a heterogeneous disease undergoing epidemiological changes. Whether those changes have an impact on the correlates of embolic events (EE) remains unclear. We analyzed the correlates of EE and proposed a diagnostic score model in a large contemporary cohort.

A supergene controls facultative diapause in the crop pest Helicoverpa armigera.

Many insect species, including the economically important pest Helicoverpa armigera, avoid unfavorable conditions by suspending development. This form of phenotypic plasticity-facultative diapause-is a complex trait, though its evolution and intricate genetic architecture remain poorly understood. To investigate how such a polygenic trait could be locally adapted, we explore its genetic architecture.

Impact of organic contaminants in soils from Important Bird and Biodiversity areas.

Soils act as sinks for many organic contaminants, posing a threat to biodiversity and essential ecosystem services. In this study, we assessed the contamination status of soils in 140 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Spain. Fifty-two organic contaminants including organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and plasticizers or plastic related such as phthalates, bisphenol A, nonylphenol, and organophosphate esters (OPEs) were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS).

A pipeline for STED super-resolution imaging and Imaris analysis of nanoscale synapse organization in mouse cortical brain slices.

Advances in super-resolution imaging enable us to delve into its intricate structural and functional complexities with unprecedented detail. Here, we present a pipeline to visualize and analyze the nanoscale organization of cortical layer 1 apical dendritic spines in the mouse prefrontal cortex. We describe steps for brain slice preparation, immunostaining, stimulated emission depletion super-resolution microscopy, and data analysis using the Imaris software package.

Racial, Age, and Regional Disparities in Maternal Mortality in the USA, 1999-2020.

Background: The health and well-being of mothers are essential for a thriving and prosperous society, yet maternal mortality remains a pressing public health problem in the USA. We aimed to examine the US trends in maternal mortality from 1999 to 2020 based on age, race/ethnicity, and census region.

Methods: Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research were used to identify maternal mortality cases.

Water pollution threats in important bird and biodiversity areas from Spain.

Chemical pollution is still an underestimated threat to surface waters from natural areas. This study has analysed the presence and distribution of 59 organic micropollutants (OMPs) including pharmaceuticals, lifestyle compounds, pesticides, organophosphate esters (OPEs), benzophenone and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in 411 water samples from 140 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) from Spain, to evaluate the impact of these pollutants in sites of environmental relevance. Lifestyle compounds, pharmaceuticals and OPEs were the most ubiquitous chemical families, while pesticides and PFASs showed a detection frequency below 25% of the samples.

Baroreflex Sensitivity Assessment Using the Sequence Method with Delayed Signals in End-Stage Renal Disease Patients.

Impaired baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) is partially responsible for erratic blood pressure fluctuations in End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients on chronic hemodialysis (HD), which is related to autonomic nervous dysfunction. The sequence method with delayed signals allows for the measurement of BRS in a non-invasive fashion and the investigation of alterations in this physiological feedback system that maintains BP within healthy limits. Our objective was to evaluate the modified delayed signals in the sequence method for BRS assessment in ESRD patients without pharmacological antihypertensive treatment and compare them with those of healthy subjects.

Association of the Heart Rate Variability Response to Active Standing with the Severity of Calcific Aortic Valve Disease: Novel Insights of a Neurocardiovascular Pathology.

The aim of this work was to obtain insights of the participation of the autonomic nervous system in different stages of calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) by heart rate variability (HRV) analysis. Studying subjects with no valve impairments and CAVD patients, we also sought to quantify the independent contribution or explanatory capacity of the aortic valve echocardiographic parameters involved in the HRV changes caused by active standing using hierarchical partitioning models to consider other variables or potential confounders. We detected smaller adjustments of the cardiac autonomic response at active standing caused specifically by the aortic valve deterioration.

Correlation between Angiotensin Serum Levels and Very-Low-Frequency Spectral Power of Heart Rate Variability during Hemodialysis.

Cardiovascular regulatory mechanisms that fail to compensate for ultrafiltration and cause hypovolemia during hemodialysis (HD) are not completely understood. This includes the interaction between the autonomic nervous system and the biochemistry that regulates blood pressure and modulates cardiac activity and vascular tone in response to hypovolemia in patients treated with HD. The objective was to evaluate the association of spectral indices of heart rate variability (HRV) with serum levels of angiotensin II, angiotensin 1-7, nitric oxide and total antioxidant capacity during HD.

Pilot monitoring scheme of water pollutants in Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas.

In this study we have established a monitoring scheme to determine the presence and distribution of widely used pharmaceuticals, pesticides, organophosphate esters (OPEs) and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water bodies from Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) from Spain. The monitoring scheme included the georeferenced sampling of rocky mountain, Atlantic forest, riparian forest, Mediterranean forest, agricultural, inland aquatic and coastal aquatic IBAs, with the aim to evaluate the impact of widely used chemicals in those aquatic resources. Water samples were extracted using a generic solid-phase extraction protocol and analyzed by 3 analytical methods based on liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

Cardiac Autonomic Response to Active Standing in Calcific Aortic Valve Stenosis.

Aortic stenosis is a progressive heart valve disorder characterized by calcification of the leaflets. Heart rate variability (HRV) analysis has been proposed for assessing the heart response to autonomic activity, which is documented to be altered in different cardiac diseases. The objective of the study was to evaluate changes of HRV in patients with aortic stenosis by an active standing challenge.

Dynamical interaction between heart rate and blood pressure of end-stage renal disease patients evaluated by cross recurrence plot diagonal analysis.

The assessment of spontaneous variability of blood pressure and heart rate is based on specific physiological hypotheses about dynamic features, for example, the baroreflex modulation of heart rate over time in daily life. Usually, arterial baroreflex control of heart rate is explored without delays between blood pressure and heart rate data points, within a narrow range of values, excluding the analysis of saturation regions or low-threshold changes. In this work, we examine the dynamic interactions between systolic blood pressure (SBP) and interbeat interval (IBI), in 15-min length time series and for the first time using the analysis of diagonals derived from a cross-recurrence plots in healthy persons and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients.

Development and multi-cohort validation of a clinical score for predicting type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Background And Aims: Many countries lack resources to identify patients at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes mellitus (diabetes). We aimed to develop and validate a diabetes risk score based on easily accessible clinical data.

Methods: Prospective study including 5277 participants (55.

Analysis of diagonals in cross recurrence plots between heart rate and systolic blood pressure during supine position and active standing in healthy adults.

The inter beat interval (IBI) duration and systolic blood pressure (SBP) are cardiovascular variables related through several feedback mechanisms. We propose the analysis of diagonal lines in cross recurrence plots (CRPs) from IBI and SBP embedded within the same phase space to identify events where trajectories of both variables concur. The aim of the study was to describe the relationship between IBI and SBP of healthy subjects using CRP and diagonal analysis during baseline condition-supine position (SP)-and how the relationship changes during the physiological stress of active standing (AS).

Multifractal Analysis Reveals Decreased Non-linearity and Stronger Anticorrelations in Heart Period Fluctuations of Fibromyalgia Patients.

To characterize the multifractal behavior of the beat to beat heart-period or RR fluctuations in fibromyalgia patients (FM) in comparison with healthy-matched subjects. Multifractral detrended fluctuation analysis (MDFA) was used to study multifractality in heartbeat times-series from 30 female healthy subjects and 30 female patients with fibromyalgia during day and night periods.The multifractal changes as derived from the magnitude and sign analysis of these RR fluctuations were also assessed.

Indicators of accumulated fat are stronger associated with prehypertension compared with indicators of circulating fat: A cross-sectional study.

Recently, prehypertension has been considered as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease because it can progress to hypertension. The association between obesity and dyslipidemia with raised blood pressure has been reported in some studies; however, the ability of indicators of such conditions to predict prehypertension has been scarcely explored. In this cross-sectional study, we compared the ability of indicators of accumulated and circulating fat to discriminate between prehypertensive and normotensive Mexico City residents (n = 1377).

Sign and magnitude scaling properties of heart rate variability in patients with end-stage renal failure: Are these properties useful to identify pathophysiological adaptations?

The scaling properties of heart rate variability data are reliable dynamical features to predict mortality and for the assessment of cardiovascular risk. The aim of this manuscript was to determine if the scaling properties, as provided by the sign and magnitude analysis, can be used to differentiate between pathological changes and those adaptations basically introduced by modifications of the mean heart rate in distinct manoeuvres (active standing or hemodialysis treatment, HD), as well as clinical conditions (end stage renal disease, ESRD). We found that in response to active standing, the short-term scaling index (α) increased in healthy subjects and in ESRD patients only after HD.

Effects of Orthostatism and Hemodialysis on Mean Heart Period and Fractal Heart Rate Properties of Chronic Renal Failure Patients.

The aim of this work was to evaluate the short-term fractal index (α ) of heart rate variability (HRV) in chronic renal failure (CRF) patients by identifying the effects of orthostatism and hemodialysis (HD), and by evaluating the correlation between α and the mean RR interval from sinus beats (meanNN). HRV time series were derived from ECG data of 19 CRF patients and 20 age-matched healthy subjects obtained at supine and orthostatic positions (lasting 5 min each). Data from CRF patients were collected before and after HD.

Hemodynamic Response to Hemodialysis With Ultrafiltration Rate Profiles Either Gradually Decreasing or Gradually Increasing.

Hemodialysis (HD) is usually performed with the gradually decreasing ultrafiltration rate (UFR) profile (dUFR). The aim of the present study was to compare the hemodynamic response to HD with the dUFR to that of HD with the gradually increasing UFR profile (iUFR). The study population included 10 patients (three women, mean age: 28 ± 8 years) undergoing maintenance HD who had reached dry weight without taking antihypertensive medications.

Fibromyalgia beyond reductionism. Heart rhythm fractal analysis to assess autonomic nervous system resilience.

Objectives: The prevailing linear reductionist medical model seems unable to explain complex multisymptomatic illnesses such as fibromyalgia (FM) and similar maladies. Paradigms derived from the complexity theory may provide a coherent framework for these elusive illnesses. Along these lines is the proposal that FM represents a degradation of our main complex adaptive system (the autonomic nervous system, ANS), in a failed effort to adjust to a hostile environment.

Cardiac Autonomic Response to Active Standing in Adults With Vasovagal Syncope.

Purpose: Little is known about the autonomic response to active standing in vasovagal syncope, and most works have focused on children or adolescents. The aim of this work was to study the changes in cardiac autonomic modulation in adult patients with vasovagal syncope through heart rate variability analysis with linear and short-term complexity (alpha-1) indexes during supine position and active standing, in patients with positive or negative head-up tilt test (HUTT).

Methods: Twenty-five patients with vasovagal syncope were included.

Preserved autonomic heart rate modulation in chronic renal failure patients in response to hemodialysis and orthostatism.

Background: The aim of this work was to measure the impact of active orthostatism and hemodialysis (HD) upon heart rate variability (HRV) in chronic renal failure (CRF) patients before and after HD.

Methods: Nineteen healthy subjects (age 27 ± 8 years old, 13 were female) and 19 unmedicated CRF patients with HD thrice per week (average HD vintage = 12 months, age 32 ± 9 years old, 11 were female) were included. Five-minute length HRV time series were obtained during supine position and orthostatism.

Baroreflex sensitivity estimation by the sequence method with delayed signals.

Objective: To evaluate a modified sequence method with delayed time series for baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) estimation during supine position and orthostatism in healthy human beings.

Methods: Nineteen clinically healthy volunteers (12 men, age 28.4 ± 6.