Specialized pediatric palliative care in Italy: where are we going? The Palliped 2022-2023 study.

Background: The PalliPed project is a nationwide, observational, cross-sectional study designed with the aim of providing a constantly updated national database for the census and monitoring of specialized pediatric palliative care (PPC) activities in Italy. This paper presents the results of the first monitoring phase of the PalliPed project, which was developed through the PalliPed 2022-2023 study, to update current knowledge on the provision of specialized PPC services in Italy.

Methods: Italian specialized PPC centers/facilities were invited to participate and asked to complete a self-reporting, ad-hoc, online survey regarding their clinical activity in 2022-2023, in the revision of the data initially collected in the first PalliPed study of 2021.

The Impact of Learning Curve on Robotic Living Donor Nephrectomy Outcomes: Retrospective Analysis.

Background: We aimed to investigate the outcome of patients after RDN at different time points.

Methods: We studied the outcomes of 77 living robotic living donor nephrectomies (RDN). Donors were separated into three groups: learning curve period (LCP), stabilisation period (SP), and teaching period (TP).

Cross-cultural translation, validation, and responsiveness of the Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale - Italian version (PFS-I) in a mixed-sample of older adults.

Introduction: Older adults experience fatigue which impacts health-related quality of life. The Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale (PFS) was specifically designed to assess perceived physical and mental fatigability in older adults. The aim of this study was to translate the PFS into Italian (PFS-I) and to investigate its psychometric properties.

Machine learning predicts pulmonary Long Covid sequelae using clinical data.

Long COVID is a multi-systemic disease characterized by the persistence or occurrence of many symptoms that in many cases affect the pulmonary system. These, in turn, may deteriorate the patient's quality of life making it easier to develop severe complications. Being able to predict this syndrome is therefore important as this enables early treatment.

Familial Mediterranean fever in children from central-southern Italy: a multicentric retrospective cohort study.

Introduction: Although familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a relevant disease in countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, there are still few reports from Italy.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated patients with FMF diagnosed according to the EuroFever/PRINTO classification criteria in three pediatric rheumatology referral centers in central-southern Italy. Logistic regression analysis assessed the associations between age at disease onset and symptoms.

Environmental Diagnosis through a Flow Cytometric Approach.

In an era when ecological and environmental needs and responsibilities apply pressure on the world's countries and sustainability takes centre stage, ecologic/environmental (E/E) laboratories stand as beacons of scientific inquiry, innovating, optimising, and applying various tests for a better knowledge of our natural resources and the quality status of ecosystems. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the use of flow cytometry (FC) as a tool for assessing environmental quality, mainly using living organisms and their biological changes as bioindicators. Cytometric approaches applied to both marine and terrestrial ecosystems ensure the detection of biochemical and functional status of the cells composing either an organ thereof or the organism itself.

Conserved allomorphs of MR1 drive the specificity of MR1-restricted TCRs.

Background: Major histocompatibility complex class-1-related protein (MR1), unlike human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class-1, was until recently considered to be monomorphic. MR1 presents metabolites in the context of host responses to bacterial infection. MR1-restricted TCRs specific to tumor cells have been described, raising interest in their potential therapeutic application for cancer treatment.

Osteopontin Promotes Cholangiocyte Secretion of Chemokines to Support Macrophage Recruitment and Fibrosis in MASH.

Background And Aims: Osteopontin (OPN) promotes the ductular reaction and is a major driver of chronic liver disease (CLD) progression. Although CLD is characterised by the accumulation of inflammatory cells including macrophages around the peri-portal regions, the influence of OPN on recruitment is unclear. We investigated the role of OPN in cholangiocyte chemokine production and macrophage recruitment by combining in vivo, in vitro, and in silico approaches.

Gaps in evidence in the treatment of prevalent patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension at intermediate risk: An expert consensus.

Despite the innovations introduced in the 2022 European Society of Cardiology/European Respiratory Society Guidelines on Pulmonary Hypertension, risk discrimination and management of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients at intermediate risk still represents a grey zone. Additionally, clinical evidence derived from currently available studies is limited. This expert panel survey intends to aid physicians in choosing the best therapeutic strategy for patients at intermediate risk despite ongoing oral therapy.

A 15-year experience in pediatric palliative care: a retrospective hospital-based study.

Background: The current Italian scenario of pediatric palliative care (PPC) services is characterized by inadequate coverage of the territory. Therefore, it is important to improve the referral of patients to the most appropriate setting (community care, general PPC, or specialized PPC) and to improve the delivery of PPC care.

Methods: Aiming at obtaining information about the referrals to the Padua Pediatric Hospice that could help estimate the investments needed to improve the provision of care, a retrospective analysis has been carried out.

A Nationwide Study to Evaluate Accessibility to Specialized Pediatric Palliative Care in Italy-Patients, Needs, and Critical Issues: The PalliPed Study.

PalliPed is the first Italian nationwide project aimed at describing the characteristics of patients accessing specialized pediatric palliative care (PPC) and their families, in the main care settings (hospice, home care, and hospital). The project's secondary aim is to assess the extent and quality of regional PPC networks/facilities and the number of dedicated resources. In this article, we present the results of the first part of the project.

Application of Combined Donor-Derived Cell-Free DNA and Transcriptome in Diagnosis of Kidney Transplant Rejection.

Background: Transcriptomic kidney profile testing and donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) testing are new methods shown to provide early markers of graft inflammation during the post-transplant period. This study focused on utilizing clinical data to evaluate the application of these tests in detecting transplant rejection by comparing tests results to biopsy reports.

Material And Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected database of all adult kidney transplant patients at SUNY Upstate Medical Hospital from 1 January 2014 to 1 December 2022.

Radiologists' perceptions on AI integration: An in-depth survey study.

Purpose: To assess the perceptions and attitudes of radiologists toward the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in clinical practice.

Methods: A survey was conducted among members of the SIRM Lombardy. Radiologists' attitudes were assessed comprehensively, covering satisfaction with AI-based tools, propensity for innovation, and optimism for the future.

Research Priorities on the Role of α-Synuclein in Parkinson's Disease Pathogenesis.

Various forms of Parkinson's disease, including its common sporadic form, are characterized by prominent α-synuclein (αSyn) aggregation in affected brain regions. However, the role of αSyn in the pathogenesis and evolution of the disease remains unclear, despite vast research efforts of more than a quarter century. A better understanding of the role of αSyn, either primary or secondary, is critical for developing disease-modifying therapies.

Right ventricular phenotyping in incident patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Background: Right ventricular (RV) imaging has not a definite role in risk stratification of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients. We tested the hypothesis that echocardiography-derived phenotypes, depicting different degrees of RV remodeling and dysfunction, may provide additional prognostic information to current risk stratification tools.

Methods: Consecutive incident PAH patients aged ≥18 years, diagnosed between January 2005 and December 2021, underwent clinical assessment, right heart catheterization, standard echocardiography.

Efficient and highly reproducible production of red blood cell-derived extracellular vesicle mimetics for the loading and delivery of RNA molecules.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are promising natural nanocarriers for the delivery of therapeutic agents. As with any other kind of cell, red blood cells (RBCs) produce a limited number of EVs under physiological and pathological conditions. Thus, RBC-derived extracellular vesicles (RBCEVs) have been recently suggested as next-generation delivery systems for therapeutic purposes.

International consensus on sleep problems in pediatric palliative care: Paving the way.

Objective: Sleep problems constitute a common and heterogeneous complaint in pediatric palliative care (PPC), where they often contribute to disease morbidity and cause additional distress to children and adolescents and their families already facing the burden of life-threatening and life-limiting conditions. Despite the significant impact of sleep problems, clinical evidence is lacking. The application of general pediatric sleep recommendations appears insufficient to address the unique challenges of the PPC dimension in terms of disease variability, duration, comorbidities, complexity of needs, and particular features of sleep problems related to hospice care.

Lifileucel, an Autologous Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte Monotherapy, in Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Resistant to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.

In this phase 2 multicenter study, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of lifileucel (LN-145), an autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte cell therapy, in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (mNSCLC) who had received prior immunotherapy and progressed on their most recent therapy. The median number of prior systemic therapies was 2 (range, 1-6). Lifileucel was successfully manufactured using tumor tissue from different anatomic sites, predominantly lung.

Nodule Detection and Generation on Chest X-Rays: NODE21 Challenge.

Pulmonary nodules may be an early manifestation of lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among both men and women. Numerous studies have established that deep learning methods can yield high-performance levels in the detection of lung nodules in chest X-rays. However, the lack of gold-standard public datasets slows down the progression of the research and prevents benchmarking of methods for this task.

Radiomics and Artificial Intelligence in Renal Lesion Assessment.

Radiomics, the extraction and analysis of quantitative features from medical images, has emerged as a promising field in radiology with the potential to revolutionize the diagnosis and management of renal lesions. This comprehensive review explores the radiomics workflow, including image acquisition, feature extraction, selection, and classification, and highlights its application in differentiating between benign and malignant renal lesions. The integration of radiomics with artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, such as machine learning and deep learning, can help patients' management and allow the planning of the appropriate treatments.

Adoption of AI in Oncological Imaging: Ethical, Regulatory, and Medical-Legal Challenges.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms have shown great promise in oncological imaging, outperforming or matching radiologists in retrospective studies, signifying their potential for advanced screening capabilities. These AI tools offer valuable support to radiologists, assisting them in critical tasks such as prioritizing reporting, early cancer detection, and precise measurements, thereby bolstering clinical decision-making. With the healthcare landscape witnessing a surge in imaging requests and a decline in available radiologists, the integration of AI has become increasingly appealing.

Artificial Intelligence in Lung Cancer Imaging: From Data to Therapy.

Lung cancer remains a global health challenge, leading to substantial morbidity and mortality. While prevention and early detection strategies have improved, the need for precise diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment remains crucial. In this comprehensive review article, we explore the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in reshaping the management of lung cancer.

The specialized pediatric palliative care service in Italy: how is it working? Results of the nationwide PalliPed study.

Background: Accurate estimation of the specialized pediatric palliative care (PPC) burden and the definition of the extent and quality of PPC service in Italy represent urgent needs to enable the proper allocation of PPC resources and the definition of prevention and educational plans. The PalliPed project aimed to provide the first comprehensive assessment of the characteristics of Italian patients requiring PPC, the quality and extent of regional PPC networks/facilities, and the number of dedicated resources. In this paper, we present the results of the second part of the project, regarding the implementation and quality of PPC services in Italy.