Applying the Participatory Slow Design Approach to a mHealth Application for Family Caregivers in Pediatric Ear, Nose, and Throat Surgery.

Pediatric ear, nose, and throat (ENT) surgery is very common, and its outcomes may improve with family education. In this regard, mobile health (mHealth) applications (apps), which are on the rise due to digital transformation, can be beneficial in healthcare. This study outlines the user-centered design and development of a mHealth app (version 5.

Venipuncture activates the cerebral cortex in children with intellectual disability.

Objective: To evaluate the pattern of cortical activation during a painful procedure, such as a venipuncture, in children with intellectual disability and compare it with that of cognitively healthy children.

Study Design And Setting: A cohort study was conducted and cortical activation was assessed by multichannel cerebral near-infrared spectroscopy to monitor variations in oxyhaemoglobin and deoxyhaemoglobin (Hbb) in children with and without intellectual disability during a venipuncture for blood sampling with topical anaesthesia. Pain and distress were assessed as well using different validated pain scales (visual analogue scale and Non-Communicating Children's Pain Checklist-Postoperative Version for children with intellectual disability), and compared between groups.

A nationwide survey of hereditary angioedema due to C1 inhibitor deficiency in Italy.

Introduction: Hereditary angioedema due to C1-inhibitor deficiency (C1-INH-HAE type I) or dysfunction (C1-INH-HAE type II) is a rare disease characterized by recurrent episodes of edema with an estimated frequency of 1:50,000 in the global population without racial or gender differences. In this study we present the results of a nationwide survey of C1-INH-HAE patients referring to 17 Italian centers, the Italian network for C1-INH-HAE, ITACA.

Methods: Italian patients diagnosed with C1-INH-HAE from 1973 to 2013 were included in the study.

Role of heterotrimeric G protein and calcium in cardiomyocyte hypertrophy induced by IGF-1.

In the heart, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is a peptide with pro-hypertrophic and anti-apoptotic actions. The pro-hypertrophic properties of IGF-1 have been attributed to the extracellular regulated kinase (ERK) pathway. Recently, we reported that IGF-1 also increases intracellular Ca(2+) levels through a pertussis toxin (PTX)-sensitive G protein.

Local control of nuclear calcium signaling in cardiac myocytes by perinuclear microdomains of sarcolemmal insulin-like growth factor 1 receptors.

Rationale: The ability of a cell to independently regulate nuclear and cytosolic Ca(2+) signaling is currently attributed to the differential distribution of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor channel isoforms in the nucleoplasmic versus the endoplasmic reticulum. In cardiac myocytes, T-tubules confer the necessary compartmentation of Ca(2+) signals, which allows sarcomere contraction in response to plasma membrane depolarization, but whether there is a similar structure tunneling extracellular stimulation to control nuclear Ca(2+) signals locally has not been explored.

Objective: To study the role of perinuclear sarcolemma in selective nuclear Ca(2+) signaling.

Expression of ECM proteins fibulin-1 and -2 in acute and chronic liver disease and in cultured rat liver cells.

Fibulin-2 has previously been considered as a marker to distinguish rat liver myofibroblasts from hepatic stellate cells. The function of other fibulins in acute or chronic liver damage has not yet been investigated. The aim of this study has been to evaluate the expression of fibulin-1 and -2 in models of rat liver injury and in human liver cirrhosis.

Lowered tumor necrosis factor receptors, but not increased insulin sensitivity, with infliximab.

Objectives: To verify whether Infliximab could modify insulin sensitivity and TNF-alpha and GLUT4 mRNA expression in muscle and adipose tissue of morbidly obese subjects. Soluble TNF receptors I and II (TNFR-I and TNFR-II) were also assayed.

Research Methods And Procedures: Six obese subjects were investigated before and 2 weeks after a single intravenous administration of 5 mg/kg Infliximab; insulin sensitivity was evaluated by euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp, and TNF-alpha and GLUT4 mRNA expression were assessed by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction on muscle and adipose tissue.

Prevalence and risk factors for latex-related diseases among healthcare workers in an Italian general hospital.

Latex allergy has become an occupational hazard among healthcare workers. Atopy and degree of exposure have been recognized as predisposing factors for latex sensitization. We investigated the prevalence of latex allergy and the potential risk factors for latex sensitization, by distributing a questionnaire to 284 employees of a general hospital in central Italy.

Reduced PDK4 expression associates with increased insulin sensitivity in postobese patients.

Objective: The aim of this study was to verify whether changes in PDK4 mRNA expression in skeletal muscle in formerly obese subjects who underwent malabsorptive bariatric surgery [bilio-pancreatic diversion (BPD)] might be related to insulin sensitivity improvement, and if these possible modifications might correlate with a reduction of the intramyocytic lipid level.

Research Methods And Procedures: Six obese women (body mass index 46.6 +/- 8.

[Genetic composition of the Chilean population. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA polymorphism].

Background: The analysis of mitochondrial DNA restriction site polymorphisms assigns most Latin American aborgines to four haplogroups. These are characterized by determined polymorphic restriction sites and a deletion of 9 base pairs in the intergenic region V.

Aim: To study the distribution of mitochondrial DNA haplogroups in Chilean aboriginal groups, as well as in the mixed population of Santiago.