Forward programming of human induced pluripotent stem cells via the ETS variant transcription factor 2: rapid, reproducible, and cost-effective generation of highly enriched, functional endothelial cells.

Aims: Endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction plays a key role in the initiation and progression of cardiovascular disease. However, studying these disorders in ECs from patients is challenging; hence, the use of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and their in vitro differentiation into ECs represents a very promising approach. Still, the generation of hiPSC-derived ECs (hECs) remains demanding as a cocktail of growth factors and an intermediate purification step are required for hEC enrichment.

Professional quality of life, psychological well-being, and work engagement of healthcare professionals in two Greek hospitals during COVID-19: A cross-sectional study.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the mental health of healthcare professionals has emerged as an issue of great concern.

Objective: To investigate the levels of professional quality of life, psychological well-being, and work engagement among healthcare professionals in two Greek hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in December 2021 in two public hospitals in Greece.

Pertinence of Salt-Related Knowledge and Reported Behaviour on Salt Intake in Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The association between salt-related knowledge, attitude, behaviour (KAB) and actual salt consumption in Greek adults is uncertain. This study investigates the correlation between salt intake, gauged by 24-h urinary sodium excretion, with salt-related KAB. It further explores how socio-demographic factors influence these behaviors.

Dispensing of antibiotics without prescription in the metropolitan area of Athens, Greece, in 2021-Can new legislation change old habits?

Objective: To assess the effect of new legislation on the dispensing of antimicrobials without prescription from pharmacies in Greece.

Design: In-person survey.

Setting: The study included 110 pharmacies in the greater Athens Metropolitan area.

Practices and educational needs of Hellenic Police Officers in providing first aid/cardiopulmonary resuscitation: A cross-sectional survey.

Background: It is well known that police officers (POs) are expected to be the first responders in emergency cases requiring First Aid (FA) such as cardiac arrest.

Objective: Description of practices and educational needs of Hellenic POs in providing FA/Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) in case of medical emergencies and description of the equipment of professional FA kit.

Methods: An anonymous cross-sectional survey was conducted from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2017, using a self-administered questionnaire designed to serve the purposes of this particular survey.

COVID-19-related litter pollution on Greek beaches and nearshore shallow water environments.

COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in certain types of litter, many of which are expected to end up in the marine environment. The present study aimed to monitor the pandemic-related litter pollution along the Greek coastal environment. Overall, 59 beach and 83 underwater clean-ups were conducted.

Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 1B1 Is Implicated in DNA Damage Response in Human Colorectal Adenocarcinoma.

Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1B1 (ALDH1B1) has been correlated with colorectal tumorigenesis and is considered a potential biomarker for colon cancer. Its expression has been associated with attenuation of the cell cycle in the G2/M phase and resistance to DNA damaging agents. The present study examines the role of ALDH1B1 in DNA damage response (DDR) in human colorectal adenocarcinoma.

A patient-friendly 16-channel transmit/64-channel receive coil array for combined head-neck MRI at 7 Tesla.

Purpose: To extend the coverage of brain coil arrays to the neck and cervical-spine region to enable combined head and neck imaging at 7 Tesla (T) ultra-high field MRI.

Methods: The coil array structures of a 64-channel receive coil and a 16-channel transmit coil were merged into one anatomically shaped close-fitting housing. Transmit characteristics were evaluated in a B -field mapping study and an electromagnetic model.

Impaired Endothelial Glycocalyx Predicts Adverse Outcome in Subjects Without Overt Cardiovascular Disease: a 6-Year Follow-up Study.

We investigated whether disturbance of glycocalyx integrity is related with increased cardiovascular risk. In 600 healthy subjects, we measured perfused boundary region (PBR), a marker of glycocalyx integrity, in sublingual microvessels with diameter ranging 5-25 µm using a dedicated camera (Sideview Darkfield Imaging). Increased PBR indicates reduced glycocalyx thickness.

Effects of Anti-Inflammatory Treatment and Surgical Intervention on Endothelial Glycocalyx, Peripheral and Coronary Microcirculatory Function and Myocardial Deformation in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients: A Two-Arms Two-Stage Clinical Trial.

Sixty inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients (45 Crohn disease and 15 ulcerative colitis, 40 ± 13 years, 53% male) were examined at baseline and 4 months after intervention (surgical (35 patients) or anti-TNFa treatment (25 patients)). IBD severity, using Mayo score, Harvey-Bradshaw Index (HBI) and biomarkers, was correlated with cardiovascular markers. At baseline, the disease severity, the white blood cells (WBC) values and the reducing power (RP) were significantly correlated with the aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) ( = 0.

Ultra-high field (7T) functional magnetic resonance imaging in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a pilot study.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system that results in a progressive loss of motor function and ultimately death. It is critical, yet also challenging, to develop non-invasive biomarkers to identify, localize, measure and/or track biological mechanisms implicated in ALS. Such biomarkers may also provide clues to identify potential molecular targets for future therapeutic trials.

Willingness of Greek general population to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Background: Epidemiological data indicate that a large part of population needs to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity. Hence, it is of high importance for public health officials to know whether people are going to get vaccinated for COVID-19. The objective of the present study was to examine the willingness of adult residents in Greece to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

Perioperative antimicrobial prophylaxis in adult patients: The first multicenter clinical practice audit with intervention in Greek surgical departments.

Objective: To audit clinical practice and implement an intervention to promote appropriate use of perioperative antimicrobial prophylaxis (PAP).

Design: Prospective multicenter before-and-after study.

Setting: This study was conducted in 7 surgical departments of 3 major Greek hospitals.

Length of stay, cost, and mortality of healthcare-acquired bloodstream infections in children and neonates: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To estimate the attributable mortality, length of stay (LOS), and healthcare cost of pediatric and neonatal healthcare-acquired bloodstream infections (HA-BSIs).

Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: A systematic search (January 2000-September 2018) was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane, and CINAHL databases.

Aggravating factors and assessment tools for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in children after hospitalization.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder caused by several distressing events that are related with psychotrauma. It is very frequent in childhood and untreated traumatic stress symptoms in children and adolescents often result in debilitating consequences on development with increased risks for a variety of physical and mental disorders. Ιt has been found that PTSD symptoms are reduced as soon as therapeutic interventions have been applied.

Endothelial and Cardiac Dysfunction in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: Does Treatment Modify the Inflammatory Load on Arterial and Cardiac Structure and Function?

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), largely represented by Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), alter gastrointestinal physiology and mucosal immunity through a complex inflammatory process. These diseases can lead to significant arterial endothelial dysfunction. There is also evidence linking IBD with a modification of cardiac structure and function.

Resting-State Functional Connectivity of the Subthalamic Nucleus to Limbic, Associative, and Motor Networks.

The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is a small structure situated deep in the midbrain that exhibits wide-ranging functionality. In addition to its role in motor control, the STN is considered a hub for synchronizing aspects of emotion and cognition including attention, inhibitory control, motivation, and working memory. Evidence from neuroanatomical tracer studies suggests that the medial, ventromedial, and dorsolateral parts of the STN correspond to limbic, associative, and motor subdivisions, respectively.

Ultra high-field (7tesla) magnetic resonance spectroscopy in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

The main objective of this study was to utilize high field (7T) in vivo proton magnetic resonance imaging to increase the ability to detect metabolite changes in people with ALS, specifically, to quantify levels of glutamine and glutamine separately. The second objective of this study was to correlate metabolic markers with clinical outcomes of disease progression. 13 ALS participants and 12 age-matched healthy controls (HC) underwent 7 Tesla MRI and MRS.

Coil-to-coil physiological noise correlations and their impact on functional MRI time-series signal-to-noise ratio.

Purpose: Physiological nuisance fluctuations ("physiological noise") are a major contribution to the time-series signal-to-noise ratio (tSNR) of functional imaging. While thermal noise correlations between array coil elements have a well-characterized effect on the image Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR ), the element-to-element covariance matrix of the time-series fluctuations has not yet been analyzed. We examine this effect with a goal of ultimately improving the combination of multichannel array data.

Brain bases of reading fluency in typical reading and impaired fluency in dyslexia.

Although the neural systems supporting single word reading are well studied, there are limited direct comparisons between typical and dyslexic readers of the neural correlates of reading fluency. Reading fluency deficits are a persistent behavioral marker of dyslexia into adulthood. The current study identified the neural correlates of fluent reading in typical and dyslexic adult readers, using sentences presented in a word-by-word format in which single words were presented sequentially at fixed rates.

Hyper-connectivity of subcortical resting-state networks in social anxiety disorder.

Social anxiety disorder-related alterations in basal ganglia regions, such as striatum and globus pallidus, though evident from metabolic imaging, remain to be explored using seed-based resting-state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging. Capitalizing on the enhanced sensitivity of a multichannel array coil, we collected high-resolution (2-mm isotropic) data from medication-naive patients and healthy control participants. Subcortical resting-state networks from structures including the striatum (caudate and putamen), globus pallidus, thalamus, amygdala, and periaqueductal gray were compared between the two groups.