Recruitment-to-inflation ratio to assess response to PEEP during laparoscopic surgery: A physiologic study.

Study Objective: During laparoscopic surgery, the role of PEEP to improve outcome is controversial. Mechanistically, PEEP benefits depend on the extent of alveolar recruitment, which prevents ventilator-induced lung injury by reducing lung dynamic strain. The hypotheses of this study were that pneumoperitoneum-induced aeration loss and PEEP-induced recruitment are inter-individually variable, and that the recruitment-to-inflation ratio (R/I) can identify patients who benefit from PEEP in terms of strain reduction.

High pro-neurotensin levels in individuals with type 1 diabetes associate with the development of cardiovascular risk factors at follow-up.

Aims: Neurotensin (NT) is a gut hormone that promotes lipids absorption and controls appetite. Elevated circulating pro-NT, the stable precursor of NT, is associated with cardiovascular (CV) disease, metabolic syndrome (MS) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Features of MS and insulin resistance are reported also in type 1 diabetes (T1D), with detrimental impact on the overall CV risk profile.

Circulating pro-neurotensin levels predict bodyweight gain and metabolic alterations in children.

Background And Aims: Neurotensin (NT) is an intestinal peptide released after fat ingestion, which regulates appetite and facilitates lipid absorption. Elevated plasma levels of its stable precursor pro-neurotensin (pro-NT) are associated with type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular mortality in adult populations; no data on pro-NT and metabolic disease are available in children. Aim of the study was to evaluate plasma pro-NT in relation to the presence of obesity in children, and to test if high pro-NT associates with the development of metabolic impairment later in life.

Granzyme B Expression in Visceral Adipose Tissue Associates With Local Inflammation and Glyco-Metabolic Alterations in Obesity.

Granzyme B (GrB) is a serine protease produced by immune and non-immune cells, able to promote multiple processes, like apoptosis, inflammation, extracellular matrix remodeling and fibrosis. GrB expression in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) was associated with tissue damage, local inflammation and insulin resistance in obesity murine model, but there is no data in humans. Aim of this study was to explore the expression of GrB in VAT from obese subjects in relation to adipose tissue injury, inflammation, metabolic alterations and GrB circulating levels.

Effects of work status changes and perceived stress onglycaemiccontrol in individuals with type 1 diabetes during COVID-19 lockdown in Italy.

Aims: To evaluate the effects of COVID-19 lockdown on blood glucose control in individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and to explore determinants of glucose variability.

Methods: Fifty T1D patients undergoing continuous/flash glucose monitoring were recruited. The study's primary outcome was the change of time in range (TIR) from before to lockdown period.

Angiopoietin-Like Protein 4 Overexpression in Visceral Adipose Tissue from Obese Subjects with Impaired Glucose Metabolism and Relationship with Lipoprotein Lipase.

Angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4) regulates lipid partitioning by inhibiting circulating and tissue lipoprotein lipase (LPL); ANGPTL4 loss-of-function variants improve insulin sensitivity and reduce type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk with mechanisms partially unknown. This study was designed to explore metabolic implications of differential ANGPTL4 and LPL expression in human adipose tissue (AT). We recruited eighty-eight obese individuals, with and without abnormal glucose metabolism (AGM), undergoing bariatric surgery; visceral AT (VAT) fragments were obtained intra-operatively and analyzed by immunohistochemistry and mRNA by rt-PCR.

Relationship between hepatic and systemic angiopoietin-like 3, hepatic Vitamin D receptor expression and NAFLD in obesity.

Background & Aims: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease worldwide and an independent risk factor for cardiovascular mortality. Angiopoietin-like proteins (ANGPTLs) are targets for vitamin D receptor (VDR)-mediated gene transcription and this axis may promote NAFLD. ANGPTL3 is a hepatokine which inhibits lipoprotein lipase and its experimentally induced inactivation reduces hepatosteatosis.

Greater circulating DPP4 activity is associated with impaired flow-mediated dilatation in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Background And Aim: Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) is a key enzyme involved in the regulation of the incretin system exerted by cleaving the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1); the blockage of DPP4, exerted by the antidiabetic agents DPP4-inhibitors (DPP4-I), results in greater GLP-1 concentration and improved glycaemic control. DPP4 acts also as a pro-inflammatory molecule and mediates vascular damage in experimental models. The relationship between DPP4 activity and endothelial function in diabetes has not been explored yet.

Reduced biliverdin reductase-A levels are associated with early alterations of insulin signaling in obesity.

Biliverdin reductase-A (BVR-A) is a serine/threonine/tyrosine kinase involved in the regulation of insulin signaling. In vitro studies have demonstrated that BVR-A is a substrate of the insulin receptor and regulates IRS1 by avoiding its aberrant activation, and in animal model of obesity the loss of hepatic BVR-A has been associated with glucose/insulin alterations and fatty liver disease. However, no studies exist in humans.

Neurotensin Is a Lipid-Induced Gastrointestinal Peptide Associated with Visceral Adipose Tissue Inflammation in Obesity.

Neurotensin (NT) is a 13-amino acid peptide localized in the neuroendocrine cells of the small intestine, which promotes fat absorption and fatty acids translocation in response to lipid ingestion. NT-knock-out mice fed with a high-fat diet are protected from obesity, fatty liver, and the development of insulin-resistance. In humans, higher plasma levels of pro-NT, which is the stable circulating precursor of NT, predict obesity, type 2 diabetes (T2D), and cardiovascular disease.

Direct immersion-solid phase microextraction for the determination of chlorinated pesticide residues in tomatoes by gas chromatography with an electron capture detector.

The use of pesticides in agriculture has grown dramatically over the last decades. Environmental exposure of humans to agrochemicals is common and results in both acute and chronic health effects. In this study, direct immersion-solid phase microextraction (SPME) was coupled with electron capture detection for trace determination of 19 chlorinated pesticides in tomato samples, using a 100 pm polydimethylsiloxane fiber.