Publications by authors named "Leo F"

Acute infectious diarrhea (AID) represents an important clinical entity both regarding morbidity and mortality rates, even in industrialized countries, and it leads to one of the major public health burdens, among gastroenterological diseases, with significant healthcare costs. Oral rehydration solution is the cornerstone of the therapy, but despite its proven efficacy in avoiding dehydration, it is still underused as it does not reduce the duration of diarrhea; hence, it is perceived as ineffective by caregivers. In this narrative review, we collected literature regarding the use of racecadotril, deeply discussing its role in the treatment of AID in both adults and children.

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Neurological complications in the course of community-acquired pneumonia indicate that may be the causative pathogen. Parsonage-Turner-Syndrome, characterized by neuralgic shoulder pain and amyotrophy, has rarely been reported in this context.

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Psoriasis (PSO) involves about 1-3% of the population, and around 75% of women develop PSO before the age of 40. Official guidelines on the treatment of woman with anti-IL17 and anti-IL23 during this potential childbearing time are not currently available. To investigate the effectiveness and safety of biologic treatments in women of childbearing age.

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Nitric oxide (NO) produced by endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in the vessel wall regulates blood pressure and cardiovascular hemodynamics. In this study, we generated conditional eNOS knock out (KO) mice characterized by a duplicated/inverted exon 2 flanked with two pairs of loxP regions (eNOS); a Cre-recombinase activity induces cell-specific reactivation of eNOS, as a result of a flipping of the inverted exon 2 (eNOS). This work aimed to test the efficiency of the Cre-mediated cell-specific recombination and the resulting eNOS expression/function.

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  • Subglottic cysts (SGCs) are rare but serious causes of breathing problems in premature infants, often linked to factors like male gender and invasive ventilation.
  • A case study details a premature male infant born at 25 weeks who developed SGCs after extended intubation, leading to severe airway obstruction treated by tracheotomy and cyst removal.
  • The findings highlight the importance of considering SGCs in similarly affected preterm infants, emphasizing the need for early diagnosis and intervention to improve outcomes.
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Stroke-induced spasticity is a prevalent condition affecting stroke survivors, significantly impacting their quality of life. Botulinum Toxin A injections are widely used for its management, yet the long-term effects and optimal management strategies remain uncertain. This retrospective study analyzed medical records of 95 chronic stroke patients undergoing long-term BoNT-A treatment for spasticity.

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Marine space is three dimensional, the turnover of life forms is rapid, defining a fourth dimension: time. The definition of ecologically significant spatial units calls for the spatio-temporal framing of significant ecological connections in terms of extra-specific (biogeochemical cycles), intra-specific (life cycles), and inter-specific (food webs) fluxes. The oceanic volume can be split in sub-systems that can be further divided into smaller sub-units where ecosystem processes are highly integrated.

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The Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) cabled video-observatory at the Barkley Canyon Node (British Columbia, Canada) was recently the site of a Fish Acoustics and Attraction Experiment (FAAE), from May 21, 2022 to July 16, 2023, combining observations from High-Definition (HD) video, acoustic imaging sonar, and underwater sounds at a depth of 645 m, to examine the effects of light and bait on deep-sea fish and invertebrate behaviors. The unexpected presence of at least eight (six recurrent and two temporary) sub-adult male northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) was reported in 113 and 210 recordings out of 9737 HD and 2805 sonar videos at the site, respectively. Elephant seals were found at the site during seven distinct periods between June 22, 2022 and May 19, 2023.

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Thymus is considered a non-functional remnant in adults, but some evidence suggest that it may harbor residual activity. Lung cancer patients represent the ideal model to study thymic residual activity, as their thymus can be easily harvested during surgery. This study was designed to confirm the presence of residual thymic activity both in adult mice (step 1) and in humans (step 2).

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Introduction: the selective IL-17 inhibitor secukinumab has demonstrated efficacy and safety in the treatment of moderate-severe psoriasis in recent years.

Objective: evaluate effectiveness and drug survival (DS) of secukinumab in patients with psoriasis for up to 5 years.

Methods: This is a retrospective study on a monocentric cohort of patients with psoriasis on secukinumab evaluating the achievement of PASI100, PASI90, and PASI ≤ 3 and DS analysis up to 260 weeks.

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  • This study investigates the effectiveness of two surfactant administration methods—INtubate-RECruit-SURfactant-Extubate (IN-REC-SUR-E) and less invasive surfactant administration (LISA)—on improving BPD-free survival in preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).
  • A total of 382 preterm infants, born at 24-27 weeks' gestation and not intubated at birth, will be randomly assigned to either method within the first 24 hours of life. The primary outcome being measured is a combination of death or bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) at 36 weeks' postmenstrual age.
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  • The Pearl River Estuary (PRE) is a major global e-waste recycling hub facing pollution from Liquid Crystal Monomers (LCMs), toxic substances found in electronic devices.
  • Dredging activities for coastal land reclamation in the region increase sediment re-suspension, which can harm marine life and ecosystems.
  • This study introduces a new risk assessment strategy using machine learning and simulations to evaluate the effects of dredging operations on sediment contamination and its impact on the local marine environment.
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Vaccines have reduced severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) morbidity and mortality, yet emerging variants challenge their effectiveness. The prevailing approach to updating vaccines targets the antibody response, operating under the presumption that it is the primary defense mechanism following vaccination or infection. This perspective, however, can overlook the role of T cells, particularly when antibody levels are low or absent.

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Chemokine heterodimers activate or dampen their cognate receptors during inflammation. The CXCL12 chemokine forms with the fully reduced (fr) alarmin HMGB1 a physiologically relevant heterocomplex (frHMGB1•CXCL12) that synergically promotes the inflammatory response elicited by the G-protein coupled receptor CXCR4. The molecular details of complex formation were still elusive.

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  • * The study identifies MdpS as a mucin-degrading protease that shows high sequence conservation and specific physicochemical properties, crucial for degrading MUC5B and influencing oral biofilm dynamics.
  • * MdpS's ability to hydrolyze MUC5B and other proteins may have implications for the management of oral health, as it could inform strategies for modifying oral biofilm composition and promoting a healthier microbiome.
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Background: Brodalumab is a monoclonal antibody and IL-17 RA inhibitor that is approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis. The present study aims to estimate the drug survival (DS), effectiveness, and safety of brodalumab over a period of 156 weeks.

Methods: The primary objectives were: (i) to determine the treatment response rate at Weeks 16, 28, 52, 78, 104, and 156 as defined by PASI100, PASI90, and an absolute PASI ≤ 3 and (ii) long-term DS.

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Introduction: Ixekizumab proved to be effective and safe for psoriasis treatment in several randomized clinical trials and real-life studies. Nevertheless, long-term real-world experiences are still lacking, with little data up to 4 years of treatment.

Objectives: To analyse survival, effectiveness and safety of ixekizumab in a real-life cohort of patients affected by moderate-to-severe psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis up to 260 weeks (5 years).

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We assessed fungal diversity in water and sediment samples obtained from five Arctic lakes in Ny-Ålesund (Svalbard Islands, High Arctic) and five Antarctic lakes on Livingston and Deception Islands (South Shetland Islands), using DNA metabarcoding. A total of 1,639,074 fungal DNA reads were detected and assigned to 5980 ASVs amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), with only 102 (1.7%) that were shared between the two Polar regions.

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Focused on physical education (PE), this study examined the association between teachers' communication and students' psychological needs, enjoyment/boredom, PE usefulness, and students' grade perception. Participants were 1,000 students (572 girls; Mage = 14.58 ± 0.

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The main goal of this study was to examine the links between class cohesion and teachers' relatedness teaching style with students' relatedness needs, motivation, and positive and negative outcomes in Physical Education. A total of 1294 students 10-18 years old (M = 14.40, SD = 1.

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