Association between clinical factors and the choice of palliative care setting among cancer patients: A post-hoc analysis of a cohort study.

Introduction: In the literature, the data about the factors related to the choice of the setting at patient's first palliative care admission visit are scanty. In fact it seems that the choice between home or hospice care is mainly based on the opinions and needs of patients, families and physicians. This study aims to address the association between the clinical factors detected at the first palliative visit in advanced cancer patients and the choice of palliative care setting (i.

Memantine-induced functional rewiring of the glutamate synapse in the striatum of dopamine transporter knockout rats.

Background And Purpose: Slow-acting biogenic amines, such as dopamine, are known to modulate fast neurotransmitters e.g. glutamate.

Prenatal ethanol exposure impairs hippocampal plasticity and cognition in adolescent mice.

Background: Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) induces a wide range of neurodevelopmental disabilities that are grouped under the term 'fetal alcohol spectrum disorders' (FASD). The effects of PAE on brain development are dependent on complex neurochemical events, including modification of AMPA receptors (AMPARs). We have recently found that chronic ethanol (EtOH) exposure decreases AMPA-mediated neurotransmission and expression through the overexpression of the specific microRNA (miR)137 and 501-3p, which target GluA1 AMPA subunit, in the developing hippocampus in vitro.

Translation and cultural adaptation of the Italian version of the Paediatric Palliative Screening Scale.

Unlabelled: The number of children eligible for Paediatric Palliative Care has dramatically increased over the years, with few tools that can help with early identification. The Paediatric Palliative Screening Scale is a dedicated German, English, and Portuguese screening tool. We aimed to translate and perform a cultural adaptation to the Italian setting of the Paediatric Palliative Screening Scale.

Developmental activity-based anorexia alters hippocampal non-genomic stress response and induces structural instability and spatial memory impairment in female rats.

Objective: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is characterized by hyperactivation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and cognitive deficits. However, little is known about the rapid non-genomic stress response involvement. This study investigates the molecular, structural and behavioral signatures of the anorexic phenotype induction in female rats on stress-related mechanisms in the hippocampus.

Communal nesting shapes the sex-dependent glutamatergic response to early life stress in the rat prefrontal cortex.

Introduction: Early social environment, either positive or negative, shapes the adult brain. Communal nesting (CN), a naturalistic setting in which 2-3 females keep their pups in a single nest sharing care-giving behavior, provides high level of peer interaction for pups. Early social isolation (ESI) from dam and siblings represents, instead, an adverse condition providing no peer interaction.

Anorexia-Induced Hypoleptinemia Drives Adaptations in the JAK2/STAT3 Pathway in the Ventral and Dorsal Hippocampus of Female Rats.

Leptin is an appetite-regulating adipokine that is reduced in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN), a psychiatric disorder characterized by self-imposed starvation, and has been linked to hyperactivity, a hallmark of AN. However, it remains unknown how leptin receptor (LepR) and its JAK2-STAT3 downstream pathway in extrahypothalamic brain areas, such as the dorsal (dHip) and ventral (vHip) hippocampus, crucial for spatial memory and emotion regulation, may contribute to the maintenance of AN behaviors. Taking advantage of the activity-based anorexia (ABA) model (i.

Kidney supportive care for advanced chronic and end-stage kidney disease: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Kidney supportive care is an interdisciplinary model of person-centred medicine, suitable for patients with advanced Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and with End-Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD). There is little information on routine care, and palliative care remains poorly integrated into standard nephrology care. The aim of this study was to describe our experience in integrating a palliative care approach into the nephrology care of advanced chronic and end-stage kidney disease.

Temporal dynamics of BDNF signaling recruitment in the rat prefrontal cortex and hippocampus following a single infusion of a translational dose of ketamine.

Despite several decades of investigations, the mechanisms underlying the rapid action of ketamine as antidepressant are still far from being completely understood. Several studies indicated Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) as critical for the fast antidepressant action of ketamine, due to its contribution in early and rapid synaptic adaptations. However, previous reports have been essentially based on ketamine dosing modes that differ from the clinical route of administration (slow intravenous infusion).

Chronic Lithium Treatment Alters NMDA and AMPA Receptor Synaptic Availability and Dendritic Spine Organization in the Rat Hippocampus.

Background: The mechanisms underlying the action of lithium (LiCl) in bipolar disorder (BD) are still far from being completely understood. Previous evidence has revealed that BD is characterized by glutamate hyperexcitability, suggesting that LiCl may act, at least partially, by toning down glutamatergic signaling abnormalities.

Objective: In this study, taking advantage of western blot and confocal microscopy, we used a combination of integrative molecular and morphological approaches in rats exposed to repeated administration of LiCl at a therapeutic dose (between 0.

Development and external validation of a predictive multivariable model for last-weeks survival of advanced cancer patients in the palliative home care setting (PACS).

Purpose: Various prognostic indexes have been proposed to improve physicians' ability to predict survival time in advanced cancer patients, admitted to palliative care (PC) with a survival probably to a few weeks of life, but no optimal score has been identified. The study aims therefore to develop and externally validate a new multivariable predictive model in this setting.

Methods: We developed a model to predict short-term overall survival in cancer patients on the basis of clinical factors collected at PC admission.

Recency memory is altered in cocaine-withdrawn adolescent rats: Implication of cortical mTOR signaling.

In humans, cocaine abuse during adolescence poses a significant risk for developing cognitive deficits later in life. Among the regions responsible for cognitive processes, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) modulates temporal order information via mechanisms involving the mammalian-target of rapamycin (mTOR)-mediated pathway and protein synthesis regulation. Accordingly, our goal was to study the effect of repeated cocaine exposure during both adolescence and adulthood on temporal memory by studying the mTOR pathway in the mPFC.

Effects of Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation Enhanced with Neuropsychological Treatment on Post-Acute SARS-CoV-2 Cognitive Impairment (Brain Fog): An Observational Study.

Concentration and memory impairment (named "brain fog") represents a frequent and disabling neuropsychological sequela in post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS) patients. The aim of this study was to assess whether neurocognitive function could improve after a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program enhanced with individualized neuropsychological treatment. A prospective monocentric registry of PACS patients consecutively admitted to our Rehabilitation Unit was created.

Dysregulation of AMPA Receptor Trafficking and Intracellular Vesicular Sorting in the Prefrontal Cortex of Dopamine Transporter Knock-Out Rats.

Dopamine (DA) and glutamate interact, influencing neural excitability and promoting synaptic plasticity. However, little is known regarding the molecular mechanisms underlying this crosstalk. Since perturbation of DA-AMPA receptor interaction might sustain pathological conditions, the major aim of our work was to evaluate the effect of the hyperactive DA system on the AMPA subunit composition, trafficking, and membrane localization in the prefrontal cortex (PFC).

Long-lasting BDNF signaling alterations in the amygdala of adolescent female rats exposed to the activity-based anorexia model.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by a pathological fear of gaining weight, excessive physical exercise, and emotional instability. Since the amygdala is a key region for emotion processing and BDNF has been shown to play a critical role in this process, we hypothesized that alteration in the amygdalar BDNF system might underline vulnerability traits typical of AN patients. To this end, adolescent female rats have been exposed to the Activity-Based Anorexia (ABA) protocol, characterized by the combination of caloric restriction and intense physical exercise.

Motor imagery and action-observation in neurorehabilitation: A study protocol in Parkinson's disease patients.

Introduction: Action Observation Treatment (AOT) and Motor Imagery (MI) represent very promising cognitive strategies in neuro-rehabilitation. This study aims to compare the effectiveness of the two cognitive strategies, taken alone or combined, in Parkinson's disease patients.

Material And Methods: This study is designed as a prospective randomized controlled trial, with four arms.

Prevalence of Delirium in End-of-Life Palliative Care Patients: An Observational Study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of delirium, using the Assessment Test for Delirium and Cognitive Impairment (4AT) in end-of-life palliative care patients.

Subjects And Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on end-of-life patients in a hospice or at home. All patients were evaluated with the 4AT for the presence of delirium.

Using highly stabilized digestate and digestate-derived ammonium sulphate to replace synthetic fertilizers: The effects on soil, environment, and crop production.

Recovered fertilizers (a highly stabilized digestate and ammonium sulphate) obtained from anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge, were used on plot trials with a maize crop, in a comparison with synthetic fertilizers. After three consecutive cropping seasons, the soils fertilized with the recovered fertilizers (RF), compared to those fertilized with synthetic fertilizers (SF), did not show significant differences either in their chemical characteristics or in the accumulation of inorganic and organic pollutants (POPs). The RF ensured an ammonia N availability in the soil equal to that of the soil fertilized with SF, during the whole period of the experiment.

Measuring ammonia and odours emissions during full field digestate use in agriculture.

The use of digestate in agriculture represents an opportunity for reducing the use of synthetic fertilizers while promoting nutrient and organic matter recycling, i.e. contributing to a circular economy.

Anticholinergic load and delirium in end-of-life patients.

Background: Delirium is a neuropsychiatric syndrome associated with negative outcomes, including worsening of cognitive and functional status and an increased burden on patients and caregivers. Medications with anticholinergic effect have been associated with delirium symptoms, but the relationship is still debated.

Objective: To assess the relation between delirium and anticholinergic load according to the hypothesis that the cumulative anticholinergic burden increases the risk of delirium.

Customised pediatric palliative care: Integrating oncological and palliative care priorities.

Aim: To describe the experience involving the early introduction of palliative care (PC) in oncological patients treated within the paediatric oncology unit of the Istituto Nazionale Tumori of Milan and compare this cohort with a cohort of patients resident in the same area treated before the introduction of early palliative care.

Methods: A virtual team was assembled in 2015. The PC providers operate outside the hospital.

Inappropriate medications among end-of-life patients living at home: an Italian observational study.

Purpose: To determine the use of avoidable medications in end-of-life patients living at home when they were moved from the general practice setting to the palliative medicine physician (T) and before death (T).

Methods: This retrospective longitudinal study describes the prevalence of end-of-life patients cared for at home between April 2016 and December 2018 receiving preventive and symptomatic drug treatments. Socio-demographic data, diagnosis and drug treatments for each patient were collected in a web-based Case Report Form.

Microbial recycling cells (MRCs): A new platform of microbial electrochemical technologies based on biocompatible materials, aimed at cycling carbon and nutrients in agro-food systems.

This article reviews the mechanisms that drive nutrients and carbon sequestration from wastewaters by microbial electrochemical technologies (METs). In this framework, a new generation of METs is also presented (to be called microbial recycling cells, MRCs), based on 100%-recyclable materials (biomass-derived char coal, clay, terracotta, paper, ligno-cellulosic plant materials, etc.), which can act as bio-electrodes, separators and structural frames.