Autonomic Nervous System Activity before Atrial Fibrillation Onset as Assessed by Heart Rate Variability.

Background: Neuromodulation has been shown to increase the efficacy of atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation procedures. However, despite its ability to influence the autonomic nervous system (ANS), the exact mechanism of action remains unclear. The activity of the ANS via the intracardiac nervous system (ICNS) can be inferred from heart rate variability (HRV).

The effect of swimmer position during prone ventilation on the onset of brachial plexus injury in the intensive care unit: A multiprofessional clinical study protocol.

Background: Prone positioning improves oxygenation in adults with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and has been extensively applied in intensive care units (ICU) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although some complications due to the manoeuvre are well known, brachial plexus injury after prone positioning is reported as a rare complication and the phenomenon could be either very rare or underestimated.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of swimmer position during prone ventilation on the onset of brachial plexus injury in patients admitted to ICU for ARDS.

Exploring the Impact of a Structured Educational Approach on Peristomal Skin Complications: An Interim Analysis.

This study, employing an interim analysis, investigates the effects of the Dermamecum protocol, a structured educational and tailored approach that stratifies ostomy patients into risk paths (green, yellow, red) based on pre-operative and post-operative characteristics. The green path indicates a low risk of peristomal skin complications (PSCs), focusing on sustaining healthy behaviours and basic stoma care. The yellow path represents a moderate risk, emphasizing the need for patients to self-monitor and recognize early signs of complications.

Upper limb peripheral nerve injuries in patients with ARDS requiring prone positioning: A systematic review with proportion meta-analysis.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of upper limb peripheral nerve injuries (PNI) in adult patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) undergoing prone positioning.

Methods: This systematic review with meta-analysis was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) reporting guidelines. Four electronic databases including PubMed, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), The Cochrane Library, and EMBASE were searched from inception to January 2024.

How the Interplay between SnO and Zn(II) Porphyrins Impacts on the Electronic Features of Gaseous Acetone Chemiresistors.

Herein, the integration of SnO nanoparticles with two Zn(II) porphyrins─Zn(II) 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP) and its perfluorinated counterpart, Zn(II) 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrin (ZnTPPF)─was investigated for the sensing of gaseous acetone at 120 °C, adopting three Zn-porphyrin/SnO weight ratios (1:4, 1:32, and 1:64). For the first time, we were able to provide evidence of the correlation between the materials' conductivity and these nanocomposites' sensing performances, obtaining optimal results with a 1:32 ratio for ZnTPPF/SnO and showcasing a remarkable detection limit of 200 ppb together with a boosted sensing signal with respect to bare SnO. To delve deeper, the combination of experimental data with density functional theory calculations unveiled an electron-donating behavior of both porphyrins when interacting with tin dioxide semiconductor, especially for the nonfluorinated one.

Chronic Drug-Resistant Cystitis Treated with a Sequence of Modulated Extremely Low-Frequency Electromagnetic Fields: A Randomized Study of 148 Cases.

This study investigated the effects of sequenced electromagnetic fields, modulated at extremely low frequencies and intensities, in the treatment of drug-resistant ()-induced chronic bacterial cystitis. A total of 148 female participants, aged 18 to 80 years diagnosed with chronic bacterial cystitis caused by drug-resistant , were recruited for this study. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups: an experimental group (n = 74) with osteopathic palpation and assessment treated with a sequence of electromagnetic fields, and a control group (n = 74) receiving a placebo treatment.

PAAQ: Paired Alternating AcQuisitions for virtual high frame rate multichannel cardiac fluorescence microscopy.

In vivo fluorescence microscopy is a powerful tool to image the beating heart in its early development stages. A high acquisition frame rate is necessary to study its fast contractions, but the limited fluorescence intensity requires sensitive cameras that are often too slow. Moreover, the problem is even more complex when imaging distinct tissues in the same sample using different fluorophores.

Selenoprotein deficiency disorder predisposes to aortic aneurysm formation.

Aortic aneurysms, which may dissect or rupture acutely and be lethal, can be a part of multisystem disorders that have a heritable basis. We report four patients with deficiency of selenocysteine-containing proteins due to selenocysteine Insertion Sequence Binding Protein 2 (SECISBP2) mutations who show early-onset, progressive, aneurysmal dilatation of the ascending aorta due to cystic medial necrosis. Zebrafish and male mice with global or vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC)-targeted disruption of Secisbp2 respectively show similar aortopathy.

Efficient compressed sensing reconstruction for 3D fluorescence microscopy using OptoMechanical Modulation Tomography (OMMT) with a 1+2D regularization.

OptoMechanical Modulation Tomography (OMMT) exploits compressed sensing to reconstruct high resolution microscopy volumes from fewer measurement images compared to exhaustive section sampling in conventional light sheet microscopy. Nevertheless, the volumetric reconstruction process is computationally expensive, making it impractically slow to use on large-size images, and prone to generating visual artefacts. Here, we propose a reconstruction approach that uses a 1+2D Total Variation (TV) regularization that does not generate such artefacts and is amenable to efficient implementation using parallel computing.

Short-Term Exposure to Benzo(a)Pyrene Causes Disruption of GnRH Network in Zebrafish Embryos.

Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, is considered a common endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) with mutagenic and carcinogenic effects. In this work, we evaluated the effects of BaP on the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPG) of zebrafish embryos. The embryos were treated with 5 and 50 nM BaP from 2.

Pressure ulcers after prone positioning in patients undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: A cross-sectional study.

Background: The combination of prone positioning and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is recognized as safe but its use has been limited due to potential complications.

Aim: To report the prevalence of pressure ulcers and other complications due to prone positioning in adult patients receiving veno-venous ECMO.

Study Design: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary level intensive care unit (ICU) in Milan (Italy), between January 2015 and December 2019.

Short-Term Exposure Effects of the Environmental Endocrine Disruptor Benzo(a)Pyrene on Thyroid Axis Function in Zebrafish.

Benzo(a)Pyrene (BaP) is one of the most widespread polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with endocrine disrupting properties and carcinogenic effects. In the present study, we tested the effect of BaP on thyroid development and function, using zebrafish as a model system. Zebrafish embryos were treated with 50 nM BaP from 2.

Clinical Consequences of Variable Results in the Measurement of Free Thyroid Hormones: Unusual Presentation of a Family with a Novel Variant in the Gene Causing Resistance to Thyroid Hormone Syndrome.

Introduction: Resistance to thyroid hormone β (RTHβ) is an inherited syndrome caused by dominant negative variants in the gene (NM_000461.5). The clinical picture of RTHβ is variable, and patients harboring the same variant may display different degrees of disease severity.

Structure-Guided Approach to Relieving Transcriptional Repression in Resistance to Thyroid Hormone α.

Mutations in thyroid hormone receptor α (TRα), a ligand-inducible transcription factor, cause resistance to thyroid hormone α (RTHα). This disorder is characterized by tissue-specific hormone refractoriness and hypothyroidism due to the inhibition of target gene expression by mutant TRα-corepressor complexes. Using biophysical approaches, we show that RTHα-associated TRα mutants devoid of ligand-dependent transcription activation function unexpectedly retain the ability to bind thyroid hormone.

Muscle strength and functional outcome after prone positioning in COVID-19 ICU survivors.

Objective: To evaluate the muscle strength and functional level of patients discharged from intensive care unit (ICU) in relation to the swimmer position as a nurse intervention during pronation.

Methods: Prospective study conducted in the hub COVID-19 center in Milan (Italy), between March and June 2020. All patients with COVID-19 discharged alive from ICU who received invasive mechanical ventilation were included.

Complications of prone positioning in patients with COVID-19: A cross-sectional study.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of complications in patients with COVID-19 undergone prone positioning, focusing on the development of prone-related pressure ulcers.

Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted in the hub COVID-19 centre in Milan (Italy), between March and June 2020. All patients with COVID-19 admitted to intensive care unit on invasive mechanical ventilation and treated with prone positioning were included.

From Endoderm to Progenitors: An Update on the Early Steps of Thyroid Morphogenesis in the Zebrafish.

The mechanisms underlying thyroid gland development have a central interest in biology and this review is aimed to provide an update on the recent advancements on the early steps of thyroid differentiation that were obtained in the zebrafish, because this teleost fish revealed to be a suitable organism to study the early developmental stages. Physiologically, the thyroid precursors fate is delineated by the appearance among the endoderm cells of the foregut of a restricted cell population expressing specific transcription factors, including , , and . The committed thyroid primordium first appears as a thickening of the pharyngeal floor of the anterior endoderm, that subsequently detaches from the floor and migrates to its final location where it gives rise to the thyroid hormone-producing follicles.

Nursing Management of Prone Positioning in Patients With COVID-19.

Background: At the height of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Italy had the highest number of deaths in Europe; most occurred in the Lombardy region. Up to 4% of patients with COVID-19 required admission to an intensive care unit because they developed a critical illness (eg, acute respiratory distress syndrome). Numerous patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome who had been admitted to the intensive care unit required rescue therapy like prone positioning.

LGR4 deficiency results in delayed puberty through impaired Wnt/β-catenin signaling.

The initiation of puberty is driven by an upsurge in hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion. In turn, GnRH secretion upsurge depends on the development of a complex GnRH neuroendocrine network during embryonic life. Although delayed puberty (DP) affects up to 2% of the population, is highly heritable, and is associated with adverse health outcomes, the genes underlying DP remain largely unknown.

Publisher Correction: Prokineticin receptor 2 affects GnRH3 neuron ontogeny but not fertility in zebrafish.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Knocking-down of the Prokineticin receptor 2 affects reveals its complex role in the regulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis in the zebrafish model.

Prokineticin receptors (PROKR1 and PROKR2) are G protein-coupled receptors which control human central and peripheral reproductive processes. Importantly, allelic variants of PROKR2 in humans are associated with altered migration of GnRH neurons, resulting in congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH), a heterogeneous disease characterized by delayed/absent puberty and/or infertility. Although this association is established in humans, murine models failed to fully recapitulate the reproductive and olfactory phenotypes observed in patients harboring PROKR2 mutations.

Thyroid Hormone Hyposensitivity: From Genotype to Phenotype and Back.

Thyroid hormone action defects (THADs) have been classically considered conditions of impaired sensitivity to thyroid hormone (TH). They were originally referring to alterations in TH receptor genes ( and ), but the discovery of genetic mutations and polymorphisms causing alterations in cell membrane transport (e.g.

as a Critical Regulator of Thyroid Primordium Specification.

GLIS3 (GLI-Similar protein 3) is a transcription factor involved in several cellular processes. Homozygous mutations in the gene have been typically associated with neonatal diabetes and congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in a syndrome called NDH. NDH patients present developmental abnormalities including endocrine pancreas defects and a spectrum of thyroid abnormalities, mainly including thyroid dysgenesis (TD).

and Thyroid: A Pleiotropic Candidate Gene for Congenital Hypothyroidism.

Variations in the transcription factor Gli-similar 3 () gene have been associated to variable congenital endocrine defects, including both morphogenetic and functional thyroid alterations. Evidence from Glis3 knockout mice indicates a relevant role for in thyroid hormone biosynthesis and postnatal thyroid gland growth, with a mechanism of action downstream of the TSH/TSHR interaction. However, the pathophysiological role of this transcription factor during the embryonic thyroid development remains unexplored.