A new alternative to the Ober test for evaluating the difference between right and left iliotibial band stiffness: A reliability study.

Introduction: A dysfunctional stiffness of the iliotibial band can be related to pathologies of the pelvis/lumbar spine and the knee. The classic and modified Ober tests are the gold standard for assessing iliotibial band stiffness. However, to the authors' knowledge, this test lacks adequate validation, and its specificity is questionable.

Dysglycemia and liver lipid content determine the relationship of insulin resistance with hepatic OXPHOS capacity in obesity.

Background & Aims: Hepatic mitochondrial respiration is higher in steatosis, but lower in overt type 2 diabetes. We hypothesized that hepatic oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) capacity increases with a greater degree of insulin resistance in obesity, independent of other metabolic diseases.

Methods: We analyzed 65 humans without diabetes (BMI 50 ± 7 kg/m, hemoglobin A1c 5.

The Association Between Mindfulness Facets and Substance Use Emotional Psychopathology and Coping Motives in Argentinian College Students.

Prior studies suggest that lower levels of mindfulness contribute to the motivation of using alcohol to cope with distress. Research examining this possibility is scarce or limited to alcohol, but not marijuana, related outcomes. We examined separate models (for alcohol and for marijuana) to determine the associations between trait mindfulness (describing, acting with awareness, non-judging, non-reactivity) and alcohol and marijuana outcomes (use indicators and negative consequences) via emotional psychopathology (i.

Updating on pregnancy in rheumatoid arthritis.

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the most prevalent autoimmune disease in reproductive years, exhibits a higher incidence in females, suggesting involvement of estrogens, genetics and environmental factors in disease onset. Literature shows smaller families in RA patients, driving increased interest in Assisted Reproductive Techniques.

Areas Covered: This review elucidates how immunotolerance mechanisms contribute to favorable pregnancy outcomes in RA, emphasizing the need for a careful pregnancy planning to mitigate fetal complications and postnatal flares, which surpass those in the general population.

An in-silico modeling approach to separate exogenous and endogenous plasma insulin appearance, with application to inhaled insulin.

The aim of this study was to develop a dynamic model-based approach to separately quantify the exogenous and endogenous contributions to total plasma insulin concentration and to apply it to assess the effects of inhaled-insulin administration on endogenous insulin secretion during a meal test. A three-step dynamic in-silico modeling approach was developed to estimate the two insulin contributions of total plasma insulin in a group of 21 healthy subjects who underwent two equivalent standardized meal tests on separate days, one of which preceded by inhalation of a Technosphere Insulin dose (22U or 20U). In the 30-120 min test interval, the calculated endogenous insulin component showed a divergence in the time course between the test with and without inhaled insulin.

Circulating hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell subsets contribute to human hematopoietic homeostasis.

In physiological conditions, few circulating hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (cHSPCs) are present in the peripheral blood, but their contribution to human hematopoiesis remain unsolved. By integrating advanced immunophenotyping, single-cell transcriptional and functional profiling, and integration site (IS) clonal tracking, we unveiled the biological properties and the transcriptional features of human cHSPC subpopulations in relationship to their bone marrow (BM) counterpart. We found that cHSPCs reduced in cell count over aging and are enriched for primitive, lymphoid, and erythroid subpopulations, showing preactivated transcriptional and functional state.

Effects of Consuming Beverages Sweetened with Fructose, Glucose, High-Fructose Corn Syrup, Sucrose, or Aspartame on OGTT-Derived Indices of Insulin Sensitivity in Young Adults.

(1) Background: Clinical results on the effects of excess sugar consumption on insulin sensitivity are conflicting, possibly due to differences in sugar type and the insulin sensitivity index (ISI) assessed. Therefore, we compared the effects of consuming four different sugars on insulin sensitivity indices derived from oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT). (2) Methods: Young adults consumed fructose-, glucose-, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)-, sucrose-, or aspartame-sweetened beverages (SB) for 2 weeks.

The dual incretin co-agonist tirzepatide increases both insulin secretion and glucose effectiveness in model experiments in mice.

Tirzepatide is a dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor co-agonist which is approved for glucose-lowering therapy in type 2 diabetes. Here, we explored its effects on beta cell function, insulin sensitivity and insulin-independent glucose elimination (glucose effectiveness) in normal mice. Anesthetized female C57/BL/6 J mice were injected intravenously with saline or glucose (0.

GATA transcription factors drive initial Xist upregulation after fertilization through direct activation of long-range enhancers.

X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) balances gene expression between the sexes in female mammals. Shortly after fertilization, upregulation of Xist RNA from one X chromosome initiates XCI, leading to chromosome-wide gene silencing. XCI is maintained in all cell types, except the germ line and the pluripotent state where XCI is reversed.

Interactions between carnivore species: limited spatiotemporal partitioning between apex predator and smaller carnivores in a Mediterranean protected area.

Background: There is need of information on ecological interactions that keystone species such as apex predators establish in ecosystems recently recolonised. Interactions among carnivore species have the potential to influence community-level processes, with consequences for ecosystem dynamics. Although avoidance of apex predators by smaller carnivores has been reported, there is increasing evidence that the potential for competitive-to-facilitative interactions is context-dependent.

A Systematic Review of Aminaphtone from Pathophysiology to Clinical Applications: Focus on New Rheumatological Acquisitions.

Aminaphtone is a chemical drug that has been used for more than thirty years to treat a variety of vascular disorders, with good clinical results and a satisfying safety profile. In the last two decades, multiple clinical studies have reported the efficacy of the drug in different clinical scenarios of altered microvascular reactivity, describing the downregulation of adhesion molecules (i.e.

Persistence of remission after lengthening of golimumab in inflammatory joint diseases.

Objectives: In refractory inflammatory joint diseases (IJDs) biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) may achieve remission. EULAR recommends bDMARD tapering when remission persists. However, guidelines on tapering modalities and criteria for patient selection are lacking.

Management of Small Bowel Obstruction (SBO) in older adults (>80 years): a propensity score-matched analysis on predictive factors for a (un)successful non-operative management (NOM).

Objective: Small Bowel Obstruction (SBO) is a common emergency in older patients. The most appropriate treatment strategy is still matter of debate. The aim of this study was to compare a non-operative management (NOM) vs.

Phase 2 trial with imeglimin in patients with Type 2 diabetes indicates effects on insulin secretion and sensitivity.

Introduction: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of 18-week monotherapy with imeglimin on glucose tolerance and on insulin secretion/sensitivity in type 2 diabetic (T2D) patients.

Methods: The study was an 18-week, double-blind clinical trial in T2D subjects previously treated with stable metformin therapy and washed out for 4 weeks. Subjects were randomized 1:1 to receive a 1500 mg bid of imeglimin or placebo.

Understanding the value of non-specific abnormal capillary dilations in presence of Raynaud's phenomenon: a detailed capillaroscopic analysis.

Background: Nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC) non-specific abnormalities may be present in subjects with isolated Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) before the potential transition to systemic sclerosis (SSc) specific microvascular alterations ('scleroderma pattern'). This study aims to investigate NVC non-specific abnormalities, notably capillary dilations, in RP patients, as possible forerunners of the 'scleroderma pattern'.

Methods: A 10-year retrospective NVC-based investigation evaluated 55 RP patients sorted into 3 sex-matched and age-matched groups according to clinical evolution: 18 later developing SSc (cases), 19 later developing other connective tissue disease and 18 maintaining primary RP at long-term follow-up (controls).

Mathematical model of insulin kinetics accounting for the amino acids effect during a mixed meal tolerance test.

Amino acids (AAs) are well known to be involved in the regulation of glucose metabolism and, in particular, of insulin secretion. However, the effects of different AAs on insulin release and kinetics have not been completely elucidated. The aim of this study was to propose a mathematical model that includes the effect of AAs on insulin kinetics during a mixed meal tolerance test.

"Guess Who's Coming to Dinner": Molecular Tools to Reconstruct Genetic Profiles from Wild Canid Consumption Remains.

Non-invasive genetic sampling is a practical tool to monitor pivotal ecological parameters and population dynamic patterns of endangered species. It can be particularly suitable when applied to elusive carnivores such as the Apennine wolf () and the European wildcat (), which can live in overlapping ecological contexts and sometimes share their habitats with their domestic free-ranging relatives, increasing the risk of anthropogenic hybridisation. In this case study, we exploited all the ecological and genetic information contained in a single biological canid faecal sample, collected in a forested area of central Italy, to detect any sign of trophic interactions between wolves and European wildcats or their domestic counterparts.

Medullary Thyroid Cancer with Ectopic Cushing's Syndrome: A Case Report and Systematic Review of Detailed Cases from the Literature.

Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is a neuroendocrine tumor arising from parafollicular C-cells of the thyroid gland that, in rare cases, can cause a paraneoplastic ectopic Cushing's syndrome (ECS). The development of Cushing's syndrome (CS) in MTC patients is generally associated with advanced disease and poor prognosis. We described a case of severe CS due to MTC in a young male.

The rs10830963 Polymorphism of the MTNR1B Gene: Association With Abnormal Glucose, Insulin and C-peptide Kinetics.

Background: The gene encodes a receptor for melatonin, a hormone regulating biorhythms. Disruptions in biorhythms contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Genetic studies suggest that variability in the gene affects T2DM development.

Assessing the Effect of Incretin Hormones and Other Insulin Secretagogues on Pancreatic Beta-Cell Function: Review on Mathematical Modelling Approaches.

Mathematical modelling in glucose metabolism has proven very useful for different reasons. Several models have allowed deeper understanding of the relevant physiological and pathophysiological aspects and promoted new experimental activity to reach increased knowledge of the biological and physiological systems of interest. Glucose metabolism modelling has also proven useful to identify the parameters with specific physiological meaning in single individuals, this being relevant for clinical applications in terms of precision diagnostics or therapy.