Excitatory-inhibitory synaptic imbalance induced by acute intra-hippocampus injections of amyloid-β oligomers.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the accumulation of soluble amyloid-β oligomers (AβOs) in the brain, which disrupt synaptic function and promote cognitive decline. Here, we investigated the effects of AβOs on excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission and plasticity by performing stereotaxic injections of AβOs directly into the hippocampal CA1 region, followed by hippocampal slice isolation for electrophysiological measurements. AβOs injections altered basal excitatory synaptic transmission, reducing field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs) and impairing excitatory long-term potentiation (LTP).

Complementarity and sensitivity of benthic state indicators to bottom-trawl fishing disturbance.

Many indicators have been developed to assess the state of benthic communities and identify seabed habitats most at risk from bottom trawling disturbance. However, the large variety of indicators and their development and application under specific geographic areas and management contexts has made it difficult to evaluate their wider utility. We compared the complementarity/uniqueness, sensitivity, and selectivity of 18 benthic indicators to pressure of bottom trawling.

What was missed in child protection responses during COVID-19? Perceptions of professionals from various countries.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic increased the likelihood of child maltreatment and made already difficult circumstances for children and their families much worse. This increased the significance of the child protection system's role in responding to child maltreatment and ensuring children's rights, including their right to a safe life without violence. Unfortunately, accumulating evidence has indicated that the rates of child maltreatment increased during the pandemic.

Experiences and responses of child protection professionals during COVID-19: Lessons learned from professionals around the globe.

Background: COVID-19 significantly worsened already challenging circumstances for children and their families and globally increased the likelihood of child maltreatment. This risk heightened the urgency of child protection professionals in preventing child maltreatment and defending children's rights. The vast and growing body of research on protecting children from child maltreatment during COVID-19 has emphasized practitioners' tremendous difficulty in this arena.

Proposing new path-planning metrics for operating rovers on Mars.

The on-ground operation of Mars rovers is a complex task that requires comprehensive planning in which path planning plays a fundamental role. The selection of paths has to be carefully chosen considering the scientific objectives, terrain, energy, and safety. In this regard, operators are assisted by path-planning algorithms that generate candidate paths based on cost functions.

Local characterization of collagen architecture and mechanical failure properties of fibrous plaque tissue of atherosclerotic human carotid arteries.

Atherosclerotic plaque rupture in carotid arteries is a major cause of cerebrovascular events. Plaque rupture is the mechanical failure of the heterogeneous fibrous plaque tissue. Local characterization of the tissue's failure properties and the collagen architecture are of great importance to have insights in plaque rupture for clinical event prevention.

Long-term potentiation and spatial memory training stimulate the hippocampal expression of RyR2 calcium release channels.

Neuronal Ca signals generated through the activation of Ca-induced Ca release in response to activity-generated Ca influx play a significant role in hippocampal synaptic plasticity, spatial learning, and memory. We and others have previously reported that diverse stimulation protocols, or different memory-inducing procedures, enhance the expression of endoplasmic reticulum-resident Ca release channels in rat primary hippocampal neuronal cells or hippocampal tissue. Here, we report that induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) by Theta burst stimulation protocols of the CA3-CA1 hippocampal synapse increased the mRNA and protein levels of type-2 Ryanodine Receptor (RyR2) Ca release channels in rat hippocampal slices.

Obesogenic Diet-Induced Neuroinflammation: A Pathological Link between Hedonic and Homeostatic Control of Food Intake.

Obesity-induced neuroinflammation is a chronic aseptic central nervous system inflammation that presents systemic characteristics associated with increased pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) and interleukin 18 (IL-18) and the presence of microglia and reactive astrogliosis as well as the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. The obesity pandemic is associated with lifestyle changes, including an excessive intake of obesogenic foods and decreased physical activity. Brain areas such as the lateral hypothalamus (LH), lateral septum (LS), ventral tegmental area (VTA), and nucleus accumbens (NAcc) have been implicated in the homeostatic and hedonic control of feeding in experimental models of diet-induced obesity.

The Transcranial Light Therapy Improves Synaptic Plasticity in the Alzheimer's Disease Mouse Model.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the main cause of dementia worldwide. Emerging non-invasive treatments such as photobiomodulation target the mitochondria to minimize brain damage, improving cognitive functions. In this work, an experimental design was carried out to evaluate the effect of transcranial light therapy (TLTC) on synaptic plasticity (SP) and cognitive functions in an AD animal model.

[Chilean consensus on diagnosis and management of pancreatic cystic neoplasms].

Pancreatic cystic neoplasms (PCN) are frequently detected on abdominal images performed for non-pancreatic indications. Their prevalence in asymptomatic population ranges from 2.7 to 24.

Long-term comparison between blind and ultrasound-guided corticoid injections in Morton neuroma.

Objectives: This work compares the effectiveness of blind versus ultrasound (US)-guided injections for Morton neuroma (MN) up to 3 years of follow-up.

Methods: This is an evaluator-blinded randomised trial in which 33 patients with MN were injected by an experienced orthopaedic surgeon based on anatomical landmarks (blind injection, group 1) and 38 patients were injected by an experienced musculoskeletal radiologist under US guidance (group 2). Patients were assessed using the visual analogue scale and the Manchester Foot Pain and Disability index (MFPDI).

Child protective services during COVID-19 and doubly marginalized children: International perspectives.

Background: Alongside deficits in children's wellbeing, the COVID-19 pandemic has created an elevated risk for child maltreatment and challenges for child protective services worldwide. Therefore, some children might be doubly marginalized, as prior inequalities become exacerbated and new risk factors arise.

Objective: To provide initial insight into international researchers' identification of children who might have been overlooked or excluded from services during the pandemic.

5G Infrastructure Network Slicing: E2E Mean Delay Model and Effectiveness Assessment to Reduce Downtimes in Industry 4.0.

Fifth Generation (5G) is expected to meet stringent performance network requisites of the Industry 4.0. Moreover, its built-in network slicing capabilities allow for the support of the traffic heterogeneity in Industry 4.

One year into COVID-19: What have we learned about child maltreatment reports and child protective service responses?

Background: A year has passed since COVID-19 began disrupting systems. Although children are not considered a risk population for the virus, there is accumulating knowledge regarding children's escalating risk for maltreatment during the pandemic.

Objective: The current study is part of a larger initiative using an international platform to examine child maltreatment (CM) reports and child protective service (CPS) responses in various countries.

[Clinical dilemmas derived from the need to certify rape for voluntary pregnancy interruption].

Since 2017, women in Chile are allowed to interrupt voluntarily a pregnancy on three grounds: 1) When a woman's life is at risk due to the pregnancy, 2) When there are fetal anomalies incompatible with life, or 3) When pregnancy is result of rape. Women who qualify for any of these three pregnancy interruption requirements are entitled to a psychosocial accompaniment program to promote an integrative approach. In this article we will discuss the role of the psychosocial team in cases of rape resulting pregnancy.

Artificial intelligence for the early detection of colorectal cancer: A comprehensive review of its advantages and misconceptions.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) was the second-ranked worldwide type of cancer during 2020 due to the crude mortality rate of 12.0 per 100000 inhabitants. It can be prevented if glandular tissue (adenomatous polyps) is detected early.

Child maltreatment reports and Child Protection Service responses during COVID-19: Knowledge exchange among Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Germany, Israel, and South Africa.

Background: COVID-19 has become a worldwide pandemic impacting child protection services (CPSs) in many countries. With quarantine and social distancing restrictions, school closures, and recreational venues suspended or providing reduced access, the social safety net for violence prevention has been disrupted significantly. Impacts include the concerns of underreporting and increased risk of child abuse and neglect, as well as challenges in operating CPSs and keeping their workforce safe.

[Euthanasia: is this the law we need?].

The Spanish Euthanasia Law introduces a new right that is added to the portfolio of services provided by the Spanish health system and whose application is guaranteed within a period of 40 days. From the perspective of clinical experience, it is argued that without the effective right to quality palliative care and given the current shortcomings in dependant care, this law may send a threatening message to particularly fragile and dependant individuals that will lead to them feeling like a burden to their families and society. It is reasoned that basing the right to die on the dignity of the individual may have unexpected social repercussions.

Collision Avoidance Resource Allocation for LoRaWAN.

The number of connected IoT devices is significantly increasing and it is expected to reach more than two dozens of billions of IoT connections in the coming years. Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) have become very relevant for this new paradigm due to features such as large coverage and low power consumption. One of the most appealing technologies among these networks is LoRaWAN.

Child maltreatment in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic: A proposed global framework on research, policy and practice.

Background: Child protection is and will be drastically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Comprehending this new reality and identifying research, practice and policy paths are urgent needs.

Objective: The current paper aims to suggest a framework for risk and protective factors that need to be considered in child protection in its various domains of research, policy, and practice during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transform-Based Multiresolution Decomposition for Degradation Detection in Cellular Networks.

Anomaly detection in the performance of the huge number of elements that are part of cellular networks (base stations, core entities, and user equipment) is one of the most time consuming and key activities for supporting failure management procedures and ensuring the required performance of the telecommunication services. This activity originally relied on direct human inspection of cellular metrics (counters, key performance indicators, etc.).

[Variceal and non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Analysis of 249 hospitalized patients].

Background: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is one of the main reasons of hospitalization due to gastrointestinal causes. Reported mortality rates range from 5 to 12%.

Aim: To determine hospital mortality and associated risk factors in hospitalized patients with UGIB.

Astaxanthin Counteracts Excitotoxicity and Reduces the Ensuing Increases in Calcium Levels and Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species Generation.

Astaxanthin (ASX) is a carotenoid pigment with strong antioxidant properties. We have reported previously that ASX protects neurons from the noxious effects of amyloid-β peptide oligomers, which promote excessive mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mROS) production and induce a sustained increase in cytoplasmic Ca concentration. These properties make ASX a promising therapeutic agent against pathological conditions that entail oxidative and Ca dysregulation.