The acute effect of verbal instructions on performance and landing when dropping from different heights: the ground reaction force-time profile of drop vertical jumps in female volleyball athletes.

Introduction: The drop vertical jump (DVJ) is extensively utilized for conditioning and evaluating physical performance, as well as reducing the likelihood of injury by enhancing joint stability through the coactivation of muscles acting on the joint. The execution of DVJ can be controlled by verbal instructions and evaluated by the vertical ground reaction force (vGRF)-time profile.

Methods: Our hypothesis was that varying verbal instructions could have an impact on the DVJ's parameter, thereby optimizing vertical performance and minimizing the impact during landing in young female volleyball players.

Locomotion and Postural Control in Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Novel Kinesiological Assessment.

: The purposes of the present study were to assess gait by using a novel approach that plots two adjacent joint angles and the postural control in individuals with autism (ASD) and individuals with typical neurodevelopmental (TD). : The surface electromyography (sEMG) activity was measured synchronously with the other variables. Twenty young adult men, 10 with TD and 10 with a diagnosis of ASD, took part in this study.

COVID-19 and Female Fertility: An Observational Prospective Multicenter Cohort Study: Upholding Reproductive Rights in Emergency Circumstances.

Objectives: Currently available research data points to COVID-19-related multi-organ system damage. This study aims to evaluate the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the reproductive health, that is, plasma levels of FSH, LH, estradiol, AMH, and antral follicular count, of women undergoing level II ART techniques.

Methods: This is a multicenter, prospective, and observational study by the reproductive medicine centers of Palermo's Ospedali Riuniti Villa Sofia-Cervello Hospital and Vanvitelli University.

Parents' 'fault' must not weigh on their children. Surrogacy as a universal crime in Italy: Is it compatible with bioethical principles?

Assisted reproduction techniques (ARTs) have given rise to novel, non-traditional family models. Still, among the various applications and approaches of 'medically assisted procreation' (MAP), the most divisive one undoubtedly is 'gestational surrogacy' (GS), also in light of the rising number of couples who have chosen it over the past twenty years. Another major implication of ARTs is the creation of intentional (or intended) parenthood in addition to genetic one: the genetic parent's partner is thus defined as the intentional (or second) parent, who by free choice, shares the family project with the genetic parent, even without any biological tie with the child.

The legally charged issue of cross-border surrogacy: Current regulatory challenges and future prospects.

The article aims to shed a light on the unique complexities inherent in surrogacy and the legal-ethical challenges that currently exists even in many advanced democracies, which frequently result in uneven and ill-defined standards and processes. The recent proposal of making surrogacy a "universal crime", meant to prevent cross-border surrogacy, i.e.

Essential role of p21 in the modulation of post-traumatic hippocampal Neural Stem Cells response.

Background: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) represents one of the main causes of brain damage in young people and the elderly population with a very high rate of psycho-physical disability and death. TBI is characterized by extensive cell death, tissue damage and neuro-inflammation with a symptomatology that varies depending on the severity of the trauma from memory loss to a state of irreversible coma and death. Recently, preclinical studies on mouse models have demonstrated that the post-traumatic adult Neural Stem/Progenitor cells response could represent an excellent model to shed light on the neuro-reparative role of adult neurogenesis following damage.

Patient's last wish: organ donation after euthanasia. What conditions should be met to fulfill it?

Organ donation after euthanasia (ODE) is a complex procedure involving the patient, the family, and the medical staff. Most organ donations occur from patients declared brain dead, and healthcare professionals rely on surrogate decisions, or the possible expression of ante-mortem will. Organ donation from deceased individuals is thus feasible under rigorous conditions, while direct donation after euthana-sia is not possible.

Automated online safety margin (GLIOVIS) for glioma surgery model.

Purpose: Glioblastoma is the most common type of primary brain malignancy and has a poor prognosis. The standard treatment strategy is based on maximal safe surgical resection followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Surgical resection can be optimized by using 5-delta-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA)-induced fluorescence, which is the current mainstay.

Stem Cells and Infertility: A Review of Clinical Applications and Legal Frameworks.

Infertility is a condition defined by the failure to establish a clinical pregnancy after 12 months of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse or due to an impairment of a person's capacity to reproduce either as an individual or with their partner. The authors have set out to succinctly investigate, explore, and assess infertility treatments, harnessing the potential of stem cells to effectively and safely treat infertility; in addition, this paper will present the legal and regulatory complexities at the heart of stem cell research, with an overview of the legislative state of affairs in six major European countries. For couples who cannot benefit from assisted reproductive technologies (ART) to treat their infertility, stem-cells-based approaches have been shown to be a highly promising approach.

Consequences of COVID-19 restrictions on adolescent mental health and drug abuse dynamics.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit elderly people the hardest in terms of severity and mortality. However, it is also evident that children and adolescents have been significantly impacted and experienced major disruptions in their lives. The psychological, mental, and developmental repercussions have been major and have led to a reshaping of drug abuse dynamics and substance addiction.

Nasal smooth muscle tumor of uncertain malignant potential: A case report.

Smooth muscle tumors that cannot be histologically classified as leiomyomas or leiomyosarcomas are defined as smooth muscle tumors of uncertain malignant potential. The location of these tumors in the nose is very rare, and the appropriate surgical extent to manage these neoplasms has not been adequately defined. Here we describe the case of a 16-year-old female adolescent who consulted due to a vascular-like tumor in the right nasal cavity who was successfully treated with intranasal surgery.

Sex-specific adipose tissue's dynamic role in metabolic and inflammatory response following peripheral nerve injury.

Epidemiological data and research highlight increased neuropathy and chronic pain prevalence among females, spanning metabolic and normometabolic contexts, including murine models. Prior findings demonstrated diverse immune and neuroimmune responses between genders in neuropathic pain (NeP), alongside distinct protein expression in sciatic nerves. This study unveils adipose tissue's (AT) role in sex-specific NeP responses after peripheral nerve injury.

Neuromuscular Characteristics of Unilateral and Bilateral Maximal Voluntary Isometric Contractions following ACL Reconstruction.

Despite the advancement of diagnostic surgical techniques in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction and rehabilitation protocols following ACL injury, only half of the athletes return to sports at a competitive level. A major concern is neuromechanical dysfunction, which occurs with injuries persisting in operated and non-operated legs following ACL rehabilitation. One of the criteria for a safe return to sports participation is based on the maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) performed unilaterally and a comparison between the 'healthy knee' and the 'operated knee'.

Wheel Running Adversely Affects Disease Onset and Neuromuscular Interplay in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Slow Progression Mouse Model.

Background: Physical activity in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) plays a controversial role. In some epidemiological studies, both recreational or professional sport exercise has been associated to an increased risk for ALS but the mechanisms underlying the effects of exercise have not been fully elucidated in either patients or animal models.

Methods: To better reproduce the influence of this environmental factor in the pathogenesis of ALS, we exposed SOD1 low-copy male mice to multiple exercise sessions at asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic disease stages in an automated home-cage running-wheel system for about 3 months.

Fresh vs. frozen embryo transfer in assisted reproductive techniques: a single center retrospective cohort study and ethical-legal implications.

Objective: Several studies have shown higher pregnancy rates and better perinatal outcomes with frozen embryo transfers than with fresh techniques, with better results in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) but with a higher rate of pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia. This retrospective cohort study aims to compare the cumulative live birth rates, maternal and neonatal complications of fresh embryo transfers (ET) and frozen-embryo transfers (FET) in infertile women who underwent assisted reproduction techniques (ART) at the Azienda Ospedaliera Ospedali Riuniti (AOOR) Villa Sofia Cervello, Palermo, Italy. In addition, the authors have focused on the legislative and ethical complexities which such a procedure entails.

Sex- and Gender-Specific Drug Abuse Dynamics: The Need for Tailored Therapeutic Approaches.

Sex and gender have been gaining ever greater attention due to their associated risks, dynamics, patterns and protective factors underlying substance abuse and addiction. Such differentiations and the clarification of complexities thereof take on even greater relevance in light of drug abuse scope worldwide. According to the 2022 World Drug Report released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in 2020 an estimated 284 million people worldwide aged 15-64 had used a drug within the last 12 months.

Impact of a newly established expert clinical pharmacological advice programme based on therapeutic drug monitoring results in tailoring antimicrobial therapy hospital-wide in a tertiary university hospital: Findings after the first year of implementation.

Objectives: Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) may be helpful in tailoring antimicrobial treatment, and expert interpretation of the results may make it more clinically useful.

Methods: This study aimed to assess retrospectively the first-year impact (July 2021 to June 2022) of a newly established expert clinical pharmacological advice (ECPA) programme based on TDM results in tailoring therapy with 18 antimicrobials hospital-wide in a tertiary university hospital. All patients having ≥1 ECPA were grouped in five cohorts [haematology, intensive care unit (ICU), paediatrics, medical wards and surgical wards].

A Step Forward: About the Progresses Made in the Second Edition of the Special Issue "The Multiple Mechanisms Underlying Neuropathic Pain".

The present editorial intends to comment on the contributions published in the second edition of the Special Issue (SI) "The Multiple Mechanisms Underlying Neuropathic Pain" [...

From the Gender Gap to Neuroactive Steroids: Exploring Multiple Cases to Further Understand Neuropathic Pain.

Neuropathic pain (NeuP) is still an intractable form of highly debilitating chronic pain, resulting from a lesion or disease of the somatosensory nervous system [...