A randomized, triple-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial evaluating immune responses of Typhim Vi and PPSV23 vaccines in healthy adults: The PREP study.

Rapid and early identification of emergent infections is essential for delivering prompt clinical care. To advance the development of algorithms for the clinical management of infection identification, we performed a vaccination clinical trial to investigate the potential of using vaccination as a model for studying mild inflammation responses associated with different infections (NCT05346302). We collected data at various time points over 4 weeks from blood samples, wearable devices, and questionnaires.

Machine learning-based clinical decision support for infection risk prediction.

Background: Healthcare-associated infection (HAI) remains a significant risk for hospitalized patients and a challenging burden for the healthcare system. This study presents a clinical decision support tool that can be used in clinical workflows to proactively engage secondary assessments of pre-symptomatic and at-risk infection patients, thereby enabling earlier diagnosis and treatment.

Methods: This study applies machine learning, specifically ensemble-based boosted decision trees, on large retrospective hospital datasets to develop an infection risk score that predicts infection before obvious symptoms present.

Factor analysis as a tool to explore the heterogeneity of type 2 diabetes: A feasibility study.

Aim: Diabetes is currently classified based on pathogenetic mechanisms and Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) can be considered a residual heterogeneous category. Factor analysis (FA) identifies a limited number of calculated variables related to a larger number of measured parameters, capable of explaining most of their variance. Aim of the present study was to verify the feasibility of the application of FA for the development of pathogenetic models of individual cases of T2DM, using three available databases.

Radioecological studies of the main naturally occurring radionuclides in the area of Gela Phosphate Industry (Italy) through radioanalytical separation and measurement techniques.

Radioecological studies have been carried out in area of Gela Phosphate Industry. As a part of the project, some achievements have been described in the paper, including: (1) determination of the activity concentrations of Po, Pb, uranium, and radium isotopes in phosphogypsum, phosphoric acid, soil, and marine sediment, (2) inventory estimation of the NORM in the residual product and by-product, and (3) the radioecological investigation and evaluation on the NORM contamination in the sea area of Gela. The obtained data showed that the Po, Pb, uranium, and radium isotope contamination due to discharge of phosphogypsum from 1960s to 1990s is not observable through sediment analyses.

Prolonged non-invasive respiratory supports in a COVID-19 patient with severe acute hypoxemic respiratory failure.

A pandemic caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 was declared in 2020. Severe cases were characterized by the development of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF) requiring advanced respiratory support. However, intensive care units (ICU) were saturated, and many patients had to be treated out of ICU.

Pulse arrival time, a novel sleep cardiovascular marker: the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis.

Background: Pulse arrival time (PAT) is commonly used to estimate blood pressure response. We hypothesised that PAT response to obstructive respiratory events would be associated with increased cardiovascular risk in people with obstructive sleep apnoea.

Methods: PAT, defined as the time interval between electrocardiography R wave and pulse arrival by photoplethysmography, was measured in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis Sleep study participants.

Sensitive and accurate methods for determination of low activity level of Sr and Cs in grass/vegetable samples.

Sensitive, precise and accurate methods for determination of low activity level of Sr and Cs in grass/vegetable samples by a low background β-counter were developed. The method for Sr determination was based on coprecipitation as carbonate, elimination of Bi and iron with a Microthene-TOA column, separation of Y with a Microthene-HDEHP column, and source preparation as Y(CO). The method for Cs determination was based on Cs adsorption on ammonium molybdophosphate and precipitation as CsBiI for source preparation.

Genetic mutations in primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus: case report and literature review.

The most frequent genetic aberrations in mucosal melanoma are activating mutations of c-KIT. Primary malignant melanomas of esophagus (PMME) are uncommon entities, with aggressive biological behavior and poor prognosis. The better definition of their genotype could improve therapeutic options.

Macro and micro sleep architecture and cognitive performance in older adults.

We sought to determine which facets of sleep neurophysiology were most strongly linked to cognitive performance in 3,819 older adults from two independent cohorts, using whole-night electroencephalography. From over 150 objective sleep metrics, we identified 23 that predicted cognitive performance, and processing speed in particular, with effects that were broadly independent of gross changes in sleep quality and quantity. These metrics included rapid eye movement duration, features of the electroencephalography power spectra derived from multivariate analysis, and spindle and slow oscillation morphology and coupling.

Lung to finger circulation time in sleep study and coronary artery calcification: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Background: Lung to finger circulation time (LFCT) measured from sleep studies may represent a novel physiologic marker for cardiovascular risk in patients with sleep disordered breathing (SDB). We hypothesized that sleep study-derived LFCT would improve risk classification of markers of subclinical cardiovascular disease.

Methods: We included participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) Sleep cohort with moderate-severe SDB (apnea hypopnea index [AHI] ≥ 15/hr) (N = 598).

Characterization of lung-to-finger circulation time in sleep study assessment: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Objectives: Lung-to-finger circulation time (LFCT) measured from sleep studies may reflect underlying cardiac dysfunction. We aimed to examine the distribution of LFCT in community-dwelling men and women in order to better understand the factors determining LFCT between and within subjects.

Approach: We included participants of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) Sleep with polysomnography-based evidence of sleep apnea (defined by apnea hypopnea index >15 hr).

Difference in spectral power density of sleep EEG between patients with simple snoring and those with obstructive sleep apnoea.

Patients with simple snoring (SS) often complain of poor sleep quality despite a normal apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI). We aimed to identify the difference in power spectral density of electroencephalography (EEG) between patients with SS and those with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). We compared the absolute power spectral density values of standard EEG frequency bands between the SS (n = 42) and OSA (n = 129) groups during the non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep period, after controlling for age and sex.

Metastatic colorectal cancer prior to expanded RAS assessment: evidence from long-term outcome analysis of a real-life cohort within a dedicated colorectal cancer unit.

Background: Molecular assessment and treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) quickly evolved during the last decades, hampering longitudinal evaluation of prognostic markers. The aim of this study was to evaluate prognostic predictors of long-term survival in a retrospective series of mCRC, treated prior to the expanded RAS assessment era.

Methods: mCRC cases treated at the Città della Salute e della Scienza University Hospital (Turin, Italy) between January 2004 and December 2012 were evaluated, including cases with ≥ 5-year follow-up only.

Spectral sleep electroencephalographic correlates of sleep efficiency, and discrepancies between actigraphy and self-reported measures, in older men.

Discrepancies between actigraphic and self-reported sleep measures are common. Studies of people with insomnia, in whom both sleep disturbances and discrepancy are common, suggest disturbances and discrepancy reflect differences in the sleeping brain's activity measurable using spectral electroencephalogram (EEG). Disentangling effects of discrepancy and disturbance on sleep EEG could help target research on the consequences and treatments of different sleep phenotypes.

Sleep Irregularity and Risk of Cardiovascular Events: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Background: The cardiovascular system exhibits strong circadian rhythms to maintain normal functioning. Irregular sleep schedules, characterized by high day-to-day variability in sleep duration or timing, represent possibly milder but much more common and chronic disruption of circadian rhythms in the general population than shift work.

Objectives: This study aimed to prospectively examine the association between sleep regularity and risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Sleep cardiac dysautonomia and EEG oscillations in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Study Objectives: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease due to loss of motor neurons. However, the autonomic nervous system (ANS) can also be involved. The aim of this research was to assess the sleep macro- and microstructure, the cardiac ANS during sleep, and the relationships between sleep, autonomic features, and clinical parameters in a cohort of ALS patients.

Bidirectional, Daily Temporal Associations between Sleep and Physical Activity in Adolescents.

This study evaluated the daily, temporal associations between sleep and daytime physical activity and sedentary behavior among adolescents from the Fragile Families & Child Wellbeing Study. A sub-sample of the cohort at age 15 (N = 417) wore actigraphy monitors for one week during the school year from which we derived daily minutes in sedentary and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and nighttime sleep measures. Multilevel models tested temporal associations of nightly sleep onset, offset, duration, and sleep maintenance efficiency, with daily MVPA and sedentary behavior.

Association of Daily Rest-Activity Patterns With Adiposity and Cardiometabolic Risk Measures in Teens.

Purpose: Emerging data indicate that the timing and rhythms of energetic behaviors may influence metabolism and obesity risk. Our aim was to derive diurnal rest-activity patterns from actigraphy in adolescents and analyze associations with adiposity measures and cardiometabolic risk factors.

Methods: Adolescents in the Project Viva cohort wore a wrist actigraph over 7 days.

Quantifying the magnitude of pharyngeal obstruction during sleep using airflow shape.

Rationale And Objectives: Non-invasive quantification of the severity of pharyngeal airflow obstruction would enable recognition of obstructive central manifestation of sleep apnoea, and identification of symptomatic individuals with severe airflow obstruction despite a low apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI). Here we provide a novel method that uses simple airflow--time ("shape") features from individual breaths on an overnight sleep study to automatically and non-invasively quantify the severity of airflow obstruction without oesophageal catheterisation.

Methods: 41 individuals with suspected/diagnosed obstructive sleep apnoea (AHI range 0-91 events·h) underwent overnight polysomnography with gold-standard measures of airflow (oronasal pneumotach: "flow") and ventilatory drive (calibrated intraoesophageal diaphragm electromyogram: "drive").

Promoter Mutations are Associated with Visceral Spreading in Melanoma of the Trunk.

Survival predictions are currently determined on the basis of mutations, even though promoter mutations have been recently associated with a poor prognosis in stage I-II melanomas. Usually, it is not recommended to perform a mutational test on primary melanoma, as the results do not always reflect the mutational status of metastases. In particular, trunk melanomas have been reported to have an unfavourable prognosis.

Associations Between Timing of Meals, Physical Activity, Light Exposure, and Sleep With Body Mass Index in Free-Living Adults.

Background: This study tested if the timing of meals, physical activity, light exposure, and sleep cluster within individuals and are associated with body mass index (BMI) in a sample of free-living adults (N = 125).

Methods: Data were collected between November 2015 and March 2016 at the University of California, San Diego, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Washington University in St Louis. Height and weight were measured, and BMI (kg/m) was calculated.

Composition of nocturnal hypoxaemic burden and its prognostic value for cardiovascular mortality in older community-dwelling men.

Aims: To investigate the composition of nocturnal hypoxaemic burden and its prognostic value for cardiovascular (CV) mortality in community-dwelling older men.

Methods And Results: We analysed overnight oximetry data from polysomnograms obtained in 2840 men from the Outcomes of Sleep Disorders in Older Men (MrOS Sleep) study (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00070681) to determine the number of acute episodic desaturations per hour (oxygen desaturation index, ODI) and time spent below 90% oxygen saturation (T90) attributed to acute desaturations (T90desaturation) and to non-specific drifts in oxygen saturation (T90non-specific), respectively, and their relationship with CV mortality.

Validating an Algorithm for Automatic Scoring of Inspiratory Flow Limitation Within a Range of Recording Settings.

Inspiratory Flow Limitation (IFL) is a phenomenon associated with narrowing of the upper airway, preventing an increase in inspiratory airflow despite an elevation in intrathoracic pressure. It has been shown that quantification of IFL might complement information provided by standard indices such as the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) in characterizing sleep disordered breathing and identifying subclinical disease. Defining guidelines for visual scoring of IFL has been of increasing interest, and automated methods are desirable to avoid inter-scorer variability and allow analysis of large datasets.