Effects of apparatus dead space on volumetric capnograms in neonates with healthy lungs: a simulation study.

Background: Volumetric capnography in healthy ventilated neonates showed deformed waveforms, which are supposedly due to technological limitations of flow and carbon dioxide sensors.

Aims: This bench study analyzed the role of apparatus dead space on the shape of capnograms in simulated neonates with healthy lungs.

Methods: We simulated mechanical breaths in neonates of 2, 2.

Development of a Novel Infant Volumetric Capnography Simulator: Making the Invisible Visible Improves Understanding and Safety.

Introduction: Volumetric capnography depicts volumetric capnograms [ie, the plot of expired carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) over the tidal volume]. This bench study aimed to determine the reliability, accuracy, and precision of a novel infant simulator for volumetric capnography. This simulator would be clinically valuable for teaching purposes because it reflects the entire cardiopulmonary physiology within 1 breath.

Compound heterozygosis in AADC deficiency: A complex phenotype dissected through comparison among heterodimeric and homodimeric AADC proteins.

Compound heterozygosis is the most diffuse and hardly to tackle condition in aromatic amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, a genetic disease leading to severe neurological impairment. Here, by using an appropriate vector, we succeeded in obtaining high yields of AADC protein and characterizing two new heterodimers, T69M/S147R and C281W/M362T, detected in two AADC deficiency patients. We performed an extensive biochemical characterization of the heterodimeric recombinant proteins and of the related homodimers, by a combination of dichroic and fluorescence spectroscopy and activity assays together with bioinformatic analyses.

Structural Features and Toxicity of α-Synuclein Oligomers Grown in the Presence of DOPAC.

The interplay between α-synuclein and dopamine derivatives is associated with oxidative stress-dependent neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease (PD). The formation in the dopaminergic neurons of intraneuronal inclusions containing aggregates of α-synuclein is a typical hallmark of PD. Even though the biochemical events underlying the aberrant aggregation of α-synuclein are not completely understood, strong evidence correlates this process with the levels of dopamine metabolites.

A serine protease secreted from Bacillus subtilis cleaves human plasma transthyretin to generate an amyloidogenic fragment.

Aggregation of human wild-type transthyretin (hTTR), a homo-tetrameric plasma protein, leads to acquired senile systemic amyloidosis (SSA), recently recognised as a major cause of cardiomyopathies in 1-3% older adults. Fragmented hTTR is the standard composition of amyloid deposits in SSA, but the protease(s) responsible for amyloidogenic fragments generation in vivo is(are) still elusive. Here, we show that subtilisin secreted from Bacillus subtilis, a gut microbiota commensal bacterium, translocates across a simulated intestinal epithelium and cleaves hTTR both in solution and human plasma, generating the amyloidogenic fragment hTTR(59-127), which is also found in SSA amyloids in vivo.

C-terminal tails mimicking bioactive intermediates cause different plasma degradation patterns and kinetics in neuropeptides γ-MSH, α-MSH, and neurotensin.

Peptides are attractive drugs because of their specificity and minimal off-target effects. Short half-lives are within their major drawbacks, limiting actual use in clinics. The golden standard in therapeutic peptide development implies identification of a minimal core sequence, then modified to increase stability through several strategies, including the introduction of nonnatural amino acids, cyclization, and lipidation.

Maysin plays a protective role against α-Synuclein oligomers cytotoxicity by triggering autophagy activation.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a widespread neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the progressive loss of neurons. The accumulation of aggregated forms of the α-Synuclein (Syn) protein is the main cause of neurotoxicity in PD by disrupting cellular homeostasis until neuronal death. Scientific research is constantly looking for natural products as preventive agents against the progression of several neurodisorders due their safety and non-toxic nature.

Insight into the molecular mechanism underlying the inhibition of α-synuclein aggregation by hydroxytyrosol.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease in the elderly people. To date, drugs able to reverse the disease are not available; the gold standard is levodopa that only relieves clinical symptoms, yet with severe side effects after prolonged administration. Many efforts are underway to find alternative targets for PD prevention or treatment, the most promising being α-synuclein (Syn).

Proteomic Analysis of MeJa-Induced Defense Responses in Rice against Wounding.

The role of jasmonates in defense priming has been widely recognized. Priming is a physiological process by which a plant exposed to low doses of biotic or abiotic elicitors activates faster and/or stronger defense responses when subsequently challenged by a stress. In this work, we investigated the impact of MeJA-induced defense responses to mechanical wounding in rice ().

α-Synuclein and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: Molecular Basis of the Interaction and Implication in Neurodegeneration.

α-Synuclein (α-syn) is a 140-amino acid protein, the physiological function of which has yet to be clarified. It is involved in several neurodegenerative disorders, and the interaction of the protein with brain lipids plays an important role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are highly abundant in the brain where they play critical roles in neuronal membrane fluidity and permeability, serve as energy reserves and function as second messengers in cell signaling.

Oleuropein aglycone stabilizes the monomeric α-synuclein and favours the growth of non-toxic aggregates.

α-synuclein plays a key role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD); its deposits are found as amyloid fibrils in Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites, the histopathological hallmarks of PD. Amyloid fibrillation is a progressive polymerization path starting from peptide/protein misfolding and proceeding through the transient growth of oligomeric intermediates widely considered as the most toxic species. Consequently, a promising approach of intervention against PD might be preventing α-synuclein build-up, misfolding and aggregation.

Erector spinae plane block for inguinal hernia repair in preterm infants.

Neuro-axial anesthesia has been the preferred technique for inguinal hernia repair when attempting to avoid general anesthesia in neonates and preterm infants. We present a case where an erector spinae plane block was used successfully for this surgery. Hemodynamic stability, minimal anesthetic requirements, and excellent pain control were documented.

Erector Spinae Plane Block for Surgery of the Posterior Thoracic Wall in a Pediatric Patient.

Objective: Historically, regional anesthesia for surgery on the posterior thoracic wall has been limited to neuraxial and paravertebral nerve blocks. The erector spinae plane (ESP) block is a novel technique that anesthetizes the dorsal rami of the spinal nerves innervating the posterior thoracic wall. We report the use of the ESP block for this clinical application in a pediatric patient.

Data standards and controlled vocabularies for proteomics.

Proteomics data can be diverse and complex, and are typically produced on a large scale. To allow sharing and centralized storage and dissemination of such results, the Human Proteome Organization (HUPO) Proteomics Standards Initiative (PSI) has created a set of community standards for the exchange of mass spectrometry and protein interaction data. We describe the origins and overall concepts behind these standards, as well as the individual efforts that are ongoing in the field of mass spectrometry proteomics and protein interactions.

MINT: the Molecular INTeraction database.

The Molecular INTeraction database (MINT, http://mint.bio.uniroma2.

Comparative interactomics.

The behavior, morphology and response to stimuli in biological systems are dictated by the interactions between their components. These interactions, as we observe them now, are therefore shaped by genetic variations and selective pressure. Similar to what has been achieved by comparing genome structures and protein sequences, we hope to obtain valuable information about systems' evolution by comparing the organization of interaction networks and by analyzing their variation and conservation.

Behavioral and psychiatric manifestations in dementia patients in a community: caregiver burden and outcome.

The aim of the present study was to document behavioral disturbances in dementia patients in a sample not specifically referred to a clinic. Ninety patients with dementia in a community were studied in relation to the behavioral and psychiatric manifestations as perceived by their caregivers. They were categorized into two subgroups based on severity of the illness, namely mild and moderate-severe, for the purpose of comparison.