The European legislation on the restriction on intentionally added microplastics. Commentary.

The potential impacts of microplastics pollution on the environment and possibly human health have raised concerns in various parts of the world. Once in the environment, microplastics do not biodegrade and cannot be removed. Several Member States have adopted or proposed specific measures.

Incidence of type 1 diabetes in Sardinian children aged 0-14 years has almost doubled in the last twenty years. On top of the world.

Aims: The primary objectives were to investigate the incidence rate (IR) of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in Sardinian children aged 0-14 years in 2019-2022 and to examine the temporal trend from 1989-1999.

Methods: Data from new-onset T1D patients aged 0-14 years who were residents of Sardinia were collected from all pediatric diabetology clinics. The overall, sex- and age specific (groups 0-4, 5-9, and 10-14 years), and calendar year IRs were calculated.

Morphological Characterization of Fossil L. Seeds from the Gelasian of Italy by Seed Image Analysis.

The discovery of well-preserved fossil L. seeds from the Gelasian stage in Italy has provided a unique opportunity to investigate the systematics of fossilized species. Through seed image analyses and elliptical Fourier transforms of fossil seeds from the sites Buronzo-Gifflenga and Castelletto Cervo II, we pointed out a strong relationship to the group of extant Eurasian species.

Metabolic and immune dysfunctions in post-traumatic stress disorder: what can we learn from animal models?

Highly stressful experiences such as terrorist attacks, domestic and sexual violence may lead to persistent pathological symptoms such as those seen in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There is growing evidence of multiple metabolic and immune disorders underlying the etiology and maintenance of PTSD. However, changes in the functioning of various systems and organs associated with PTSD are not well understood.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency accelerates arterial aging in diabetes.

Aims: High glucose levels and Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PDd) have both tissue inflammatory effects. Here we determined whether G6PDd accelerates arterial aging (information linked stiffening) in diabetes.

Methods: Plasma glucose, interleukin 6 (IL6), and arterial stiffness (indexed as carotid-femoral Pulse Wave Velocity, PWV) and red blood cell G6PD activity were assessed in a large (4448) Sardinian population.

A new point-of-care test for the rapid antimicrobial susceptibility assessment of uropathogens.

Bacterial resistance to antimicrobials is considered a major issue worldwide. This condition may account for treatment failure of urinary tract infections, which are among the most common infections both in community and healthcare settings. Therapy against uropathogens is generally administered empirically, possibly leading to unsuccessful therapy, recurrence and development of antibiotic resistance.

Computer-aided detection of arrhythmogenic sites in post-ischemic ventricular tachycardia.

Nowadays, catheter-based ablation in patients with post-ischemic ventricular tachycardia (VT) is performed in arrhythmogenic sites identified by electrophysiologists by visual inspection during electroanatomic mapping. This work aims to present the development of machine learning tools aiming at supporting clinicians in the identification of arrhythmogenic sites by exploiting innovative features that belong to different domains. This study included 1584 bipolar electrograms from nine patients affected by post-ischemic VT.

Towards a common language in neurosurgical outcome evaluation: the NEON (NEurosurgical Outcome Network) proposal.

Background: The aim of this study was to achieve a consensus on the minimum set of outcome measures and predictors to be used in the neurosurgical practice and on the timing of outcome assessment.

Methods: A consensus building approach was employed. All neurosurgical departments in Lombardy (Italy) were invited to participate by the Carlo Besta Neurologic Institute IRCCS Foundation.

Patient-reported outcome and cognitive measures to be used in vascular and brain tumor surgery: proposal for a minimum set.

Background: The standardization of outcome measures is needed for comparing studies and using common measures in clinical practice. We aimed to identify cognitive and patient-reported outcomes and timing of assessment for glioma, meningioma, and vascular surgery.

Method: A consensus study was conducted.

Spectral characterisation of ventricular intracardiac potentials in human post-ischaemic bipolar electrograms.

Abnormal ventricular potentials (AVPs) are frequently referred to as high-frequency deflections in intracardiac electrograms (EGMs). However, no scientific study performed a deep spectral characterisation of AVPs and physiological potentials in real bipolar intracardiac recordings across the entire frequency range imposed by their sampling frequency. In this work, the power contributions of post-ischaemic physiological potentials and AVPs, along with some spectral features, were evaluated in the frequency domain and then statistically compared to highlight specific spectral signatures for these signals.

Morpho-Colorimetric Characterization of the Sardinian Endemic Taxa of the Genus L. by Seed Image Analysis.

In this work, the seed morpho-colorimetric differentiation of the Sardinian endemic species of (Boraginaceae) was evaluated. In Sardinia, the genus includes the following seven taxa: , ssp. , ssp.

Impact of Stiffer Arteries on the Response to Antihypertensive Treatment: A Longitudinal Study of the SardiNIA Cohort.

Objectives: Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), an index of arterial stiffness and a proxy of arterial aging, has been reported to be an independent determinant of cardiovascular health. Whether the effects of antihypertensive treatment vary in the presence of accelerated arterial aging (stiffer artery, ie, PWV >10 m/s) has not been established. We tested this hypothesis in a longitudinal study in a large community-dwelling population.

A new point-of-care test for the rapid detection of urinary tract infections.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common infections in all age groups. Fast and accurate diagnosis is essential to ensure a timely and effective therapy. Alongside with reference culture-based methods, several point-of-care tests (POCTs) for early detection of UTIs have been developed, but they have not been significantly implemented in current clinical practice.

Arterial stiffness and multiple organ damage: a longitudinal study in population.

Aims: Previous cross-sectional observation identified arterial aging, indexed as pulse-wave velocity (PWV), as a key determinant of the simultaneous multiple organ damage (heart, carotid artery, and kidney). The aim of the present cohort study is to investigate trajectories of repeated measures of PWV and traditional CV risk factors in subjects who eventually presented clinical evidence of multiple organ damage in the SardiNIA study.

Methods And Results: Organ damage was measured in the heart (left ventricular hypertrophy, LVH), the common carotid artery (intima-media thickness > 0.

Anticholinergic medications in patients admitted with cognitive impairment or falls (AMiCI). The impact of hospital admission on anticholinergic cognitive medication burden. Results of a multicentre observational study.

What Is Known And Objective: Drugs with anticholinergic properties increase the risk of falls, delirium, chronic cognitive impairment, and mortality and counteract procholinergic medications used in the treatment of dementia. Medication review and optimisation to reduce anticholinergic burden in patients at risk is recommended by specialist bodies. Little is known how effective this review is in patients who present acutely and how often drugs with anticholinergic properties are used temporarily during an admission.

Discovery of novel heart rate-associated loci using the Exome Chip.

Resting heart rate is a heritable trait, and an increase in heart rate is associated with increased mortality risk. Genome-wide association study analyses have found loci associated with resting heart rate, at the time of our study these loci explained 0.9% of the variation.

Re-vegetation processes in cutaway peat production fields in Estonia in relation to peat quality and water regime.

Eighty-one cutaway peat production fields with a total area of about 9000 ha exist and were studied in Estonia in 2005-2015. Only a very small number of the fields (seven) have been restored-either afforested or used for growing berries. The re-vegetation of Estonian cutaway peat production fields is mainly the result of natural processes, which are generally very slow due to an unfavourable water regime or a too thin remaining peat layer.

Equilibrative nucleoside transporter ENT1 as a biomarker of Huntington disease.

The initial goal of this study was to investigate alterations in adenosine A receptor (AR) density or function in a rat model of Huntington disease (HD) with reported insensitivity to an AR antagonist. Unsuspected negative results led to the hypothesis of a low striatal adenosine tone and to the search for the mechanisms involved. Extracellular striatal concentrations of adenosine were measured with in vivo microdialysis in two rodent models of early neuropathological stages of HD disease, the Tg51 rat and the zQ175 knock-in mouse.

Gender specific profiles of white coat and masked hypertension impacts on arterial structure and function in the SardiNIA study.

Background: There is no definite consensus on the CV burden associated to Masked hypertension (MH) or White Coat Hypertension (WCH) — conditions that can be detected by out-of-office blood pressure measurements (24 hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring, 24 h ABPM).

Methods: We investigated the association of WCH and MH with arterial aging, indexed by a range of parameters of large artery structure and function in 2962 subjects, taking no antihypertensive medications, who are participating in a large community-based population of both men and women over a broad age range (14–102 years).

Results: The overall prevalence of WCH was 9.

Overview of elagolix for the treatment of endometriosis.

Introduction: Suppression of sex-steroid secretion is required in a variety of gynecological conditions. This can be achieved using gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists that bind pituitary gonadotropin receptors and antagonize the link-receptor of endogenous GnRH, inhibiting the mechanism of GnRH pulsatility. On the other hand, GnRH antagonists immediately reduce gonadal steroid levels, avoiding the initial stimulatory phase of the agonists.