Assessment of fetal cardiac function in early fetal life: feasibility, reproducibility, and early fetal nomograms.

Background: Fetal cardiology has shown a rapid development in the past decades. Fetal echocardiography is not only used for the detection of structural anomalies but also to assess fetal cardiac function. Assessment of the fetal cardiac function is performed mostly in the second and third trimesters.

Prevalence of corpus callosum pathology in an unselected population. Should assessment of the corpus callosum be included in the routine 20 weeks scan?

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of abnormalities of the corpus callosum (AbnCC) in a non-selected population, to propose a systematic screening protocol for AbnCC in all populations through direct assessment, and to describe the follow-up and prognosis of all AbnCC cases diagnosed in our clinical setting.

Methods: This was a retrospective review of the prevalence of AbnCC over 11 years. We included a sagittal assessment of the corpus callosum (CC) in the second-trimester scan.

Treatment with the senolytics dasatinib/quercetin reduces SARS-CoV-2-related mortality in mice.

The enormous societal impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly harsh for some social groups, such as the elderly. Recently, it has been suggested that senescent cells could play a central role in pathogenesis by exacerbating the pro-inflammatory immune response against SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, the selective clearance of senescent cells by senolytic drugs may be useful as a therapy to ameliorate the symptoms of COVID-19 in some cases.

Outcome in a series of 1135 twin pregnancies: does the type of conception play a role?

Background: The rate of twin pregnancies conceived via assisted reproductive technology has increased markedly in recent years. The elevated number of multiple pregnancies is the most serious and frequent complication of assisted reproductive technology. Twin pregnancies are associated with higher rates of obstetrical complications, preterm delivery, and perinatal morbidity and mortality than singleton pregnancies.

The Clinical Impact of Neoadjuvant Endocrine Treatment on Luminal-like Breast Cancers and Its Prognostic Significance: Results from a Single-Institution Prospective Cohort Study.

Purpose: Neoadjuvant endocrine treatment (NET) has become a useful tool for the downstaging of luminal-like breast cancers in postmenopausal patients. It enables us to increase breast- conserving surgery (BCS) rates, provides an opportunity for us to assess in vivo NET effectiveness, and allows us to study any biological changes that may act as valid biomarkers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of NET, and to assess the role of Ki67 proliferation rate changes as an indicator of endocrine responsiveness.

Goiter surgery recommendations in sub-Saharan Africa in humanitarian cooperation.

Background: The standard treatment for endemic goiter is usually total thyroidectomy. In low- and middle-income countries, the management of thyroid disease, which is commonplace in fully developed countries, is not always possible. The purpose of this study is to establish a treatment algorithm to calculate the extent of thyroidectomy based on the risk factors of each patient.

Fumonisin B1 Accumulates in Chicken Tissues over Time and This Accumulation Was Reduced by Feeding Algo-Clay.

The toxicokinetics of the food and feed contaminant Fumonisin B (FB) are characterized by low oral absorption and rapid plasma elimination. For these reasons, FB is not considered to accumulate in animals. However, recent studies in chicken and turkey showed that, in these species, the hepatic half-elimination time of fumonisin B1 (FB1) was several days, suggesting that FB1 may accumulate in the body.

Insights into the Microstructural Evolution Occurring during Pyrolysis of Metal-Modified Ceramers Studied through Selective SiO Removal.

Silicon oxycarbide ceramers containing 5% aluminum, zirconium, and cobalt with respect to the total Si amount are prepared from a commercial polysiloxane and molecular precursors and pyrolyzed at temperatures ranging from 500 to 1000 °C. HF etching is carried out to partially digest the silica phase, thus revealing structural characteristics of the materials, which depend upon the incorporated heteroatom. From the structural and textural characterization, it was deduced that when Al enters into the ceramer structure, the crosslinking degree is increased, leading to lower carbon domain size and carbon incorporation as well.

[Senior-friendly hospital: The hospital of the 21st century].

The current health system must be revolutionized to meet the specific and real requirements of the largest population attended, older adults, and tailor the hospital to their needs, not the other way round. This is the goal of Hospital Universitario Infanta Leonor: senior-friendly hospital. The project was established as a business process management system integrated into the management's hospital map.

Three dimensional ultrasonography for advanced neurosonography (Neurosofe-3d). Analysis of acquisition-related factors influencing the quality of the brain volumes.

Objective: To evaluate the acquisition-related factors influencing the quality of the brain volumes for further study of advanced neurosonography.

Methods: This was a prospective multicentre study. Five centres were asked to include five cases each, acquiring two volumes per case, at different gestational ages.

GDF-15 Is Elevated in Children with Mitochondrial Diseases and Is Induced by Mitochondrial Dysfunction.

Background: We previously described increased levels of growth and differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) in skeletal muscle and serum of patients with mitochondrial diseases. Here we evaluated GDF-15 as a biomarker for mitochondrial diseases affecting children and compared it to fibroblast-growth factor 21 (FGF-21). To investigate the mechanism of GDF-15 induction in these pathologies we measured its expression and secretion in response to mitochondrial dysfunction.

Prenatal Evaluation of the Fetal Conus Medullaris on a Routine Scan.

Objective: To assess the ability to identify the conus medullaris (CM) and measure the conus-sacrum distance (CS distance) on a routine scan and the relationship with maternal and fetal factors.

Methods: This was a prospective study. The assessment of the CM and the CS distance and the influence of the body mass index (BMI), gestational age (GA) and fetal position were analyzed.

Initial experience with non-invasive prenatal testing of cell-free DNA for major chromosomal anomalies in a clinical setting.

Objective: To evaluate non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) as a screening method for major chromosomal anomalies (CA) in a clinical setting.

Methods: From January to December 2013, Panorama™ test or Harmony™ prenatal test were offered as advanced NIPT, in addition to first-trimester combined screening in singleton pregnancies.

Results: The cohort included 333 pregnant women with a mean maternal age (MA) of 37 years who underwent testing at a mean gestational age of 14.

Sonographic evaluation of the fetal conus medullaris.

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the most reproducible method in the sonographic evaluation of the conus medullaris (CM) and its relationship with gestational age (GA).

Methods: This is a prospective study of singleton structurally normal fetuses between 20 and 30 weeks' gestation. Sonographic evaluation of the CM was performed using two methodologies: a qualitative assessment of the CM level in relation to the lumbar vertebrae and a quantitative measurement of the distance from the CM to the last spine ossification centre (conus-sacrum or CS distance).

Concordance between prenatal ultrasound and autopsy findings in a tertiary center.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the ultrasound (US)/autopsy concordance in elective termination of pregnancies (TOP) due to fetal causes.

Methods: We performed a retrospective evaluation of elective TOP from 2004 to 2012. Inclusion criteria were gestational age at termination <24 weeks, fetal pathology and availability of US/autopsy data.

Stability of genomic imprinting and gestational-age dynamic methylation in complicated pregnancies conceived following assisted reproductive technologies.

For the past three decades, assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have revolutionized infertility treatments. The use of ART is thought to be safe. However, early investigations suggested that children born as a result of ART had higher risk of diseases with epigenetic etiologies, including imprinting disorders caused by a lack of maternal methylation at imprinting control elements.

Prenatal Diagnosis of Chromosome Abnormalities: A 13-Year Institution Experience.

Objective: To analyze trends in screening and invasive prenatal diagnosis of chromosome abnormalities (CA) over a 13-year period and correlate them to changes in the national prenatal screening policy.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed Down syndrome (DS) screening tests and fetal karyotypes obtained by prenatal invasive testing (IT) in our fetal medicine unit between January 1999 and December 2011.

Results: A total of 24,226 prenatal screening tests for DS and 11,045 invasive procedures have been analyzed.