Paracrine role of endothelial IGF-1 receptor in depot-specific adipose tissue adaptation in male mice.

During recent decades, changes in lifestyle have led to widespread nutritional obesity and its related complications. Remodelling adipose tissue as a therapeutic goal for obesity and its complications has attracted much attention and continues to be actively explored. The endothelium lines all blood vessels and is close to all cells, including adipocytes.

Inpatient initiation of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors: the prescribing learning curve.

We aimed to describe the safety and tolerability of initiation of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) during hospitalisation with heart failure, and the frequency of, and reasons for, subsequent discontinuation. In total, 934 patients who were not already prescribed a SGLT2i were hospitalised with heart failure, 77 (8%) were initiated on a SGLT2i a median of five (3-8.5) days after admission and two (0.

Echocardiographic screening for heart failure and optimization of the care pathway for individuals with pacemakers: a randomized controlled trial.

Individuals with pacemakers are at increased risk of left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD). Whether screening for and optimizing the medical management of LVSD in these individuals can improve clinical outcomes is unknown. In the present study, in a multicenter controlled trial (OPT-PACE), we randomized 1,201 patients (717 men) with a pacemaker to echocardiography screening or usual care.

Rivaroxaban versus vitamin K antagonist treatment on the progression of coronary calcification: the IRIVASC-trial.

Vitamin K antagonists (VKA) remain the only option of anticoagulation for people with mechanical valve replacement and due to their wider availability and lower acquisition costs, VKA's remain widely used in low- and middle-income countries. It has been suggested that prolonged use of VKAs can increase the development of vascular and valvular calcification, though this effect has not been examined in larger randomized prospective trials. This investigator-initiated multicenter, prospective, randomized, open-label interventional trial randomized patients with baseline coronary or valvular calcification and an indication for prolonged oral anticoagulation therapy to Marcumar or Rivaroxaban.

Development and validation of a model to predict ceiling of care in COVID-19 hospitalized patients.

Background: Therapeutic ceiling of care is the maximum level of care deemed appropiate to offer to a patient based on their clinical profile and therefore their potential to derive benefit, within the context of the availability of resources. To our knowledge, there are no models to predict ceiling of care decisions in COVID-19 patients or other acute illnesses. We aimed to develop and validate a clinical prediction model to predict ceiling of care decisions using information readily available at the point of hospital admission.

The Surprise Question and clinician-predicted prognosis: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The Surprise Question, 'Would you be surprised if this person died within the next year?' is a simple tool that can be used by clinicians to identify people within the last year of life. This review aimed to determine the accuracy of this assessment, across different healthcare settings, specialties, follow-up periods and respondents.

Methods: Searches were conducted of Medline, Embase, AMED, PubMed and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, from inception until 01 January 2024.

Is conduction system pacing a panacea for pacemaker therapy?

Introduction: While supported by robust evidence and decades of clinical experience, right ventricular apical pacing for bradycardia is associated with a risk of progressive left ventricular dysfunction. Cardiac resynchronization therapy for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction can result in limited electrical resynchronization due to anatomical constraints and epicardial stimulation. In both settings, directly stimulating the conduction system below the atrio-ventricular node (either the bundle of His or the left bundle branch area) has potential to overcome these limitations.

Pharmacological modulation of septins restores calcium homeostasis and is neuroprotective in models of Alzheimer's disease.

Abnormal calcium signaling is a central pathological component of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we describe the identification of a class of compounds called ReS19-T, which are able to restore calcium homeostasis in cell-based models of tau pathology. Aberrant tau accumulation leads to uncontrolled activation of store-operated calcium channels (SOCCs) by remodeling septin filaments at the cell cortex.

Studying Adipose Endothelial Cell/Adipocyte Cross-Talk in Human Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue.

Microvascular endothelial cells (MVECs) have many critical roles, including control of vascular tone, regulation of thrombosis, and angiogenesis. Significant heterogeneity in endothelial cell (EC) genotype and phenotype depends on their vascular bed and host disease state. The ability to isolate MVECs from tissue-specific vascular beds and individual patient groups offers the opportunity to directly compare MVEC function in different disease states.

Diabetes mellitus does not alter mortality or hospitalisation risk in patients with newly diagnosed heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: Time to rethink pathophysiological models of disease progression.

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes is a common and adverse prognostic co-morbidity for patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). The effect of diabetes on long-term outcomes for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is less established.

Methods: Prospective cohort study of patients referred to a regional HF clinic with newly diagnosed with HFrEF and HFpEF according to the 2016 European Society of Cardiology guidelines.

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors influence skeletal muscle pathology in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction.

Aims: Patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) exhibit skeletal muscle pathology, which contributes to symptoms and decreased quality of life. Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) improve clinical outcomes in HFrEF but their mechanism of action remains poorly understood. We aimed, therefore, to determine whether SGLT2i influence skeletal muscle pathology in patients with HFrEF.

A small-molecule TNIK inhibitor targets fibrosis in preclinical and clinical models.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is an aggressive interstitial lung disease with a high mortality rate. Putative drug targets in IPF have failed to translate into effective therapies at the clinical level. We identify TRAF2- and NCK-interacting kinase (TNIK) as an anti-fibrotic target using a predictive artificial intelligence (AI) approach.

Soft X-ray absorption and fragmentation of tin-oxo cage photoresists.

"Tin-oxo cage" organometallic compounds are considered as photoresists for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photolithography. To gain insight into their electronic structure and reactivity to ionizing radiation, we trapped bare gas-phase -butyltin-oxo cage dications [(BuSn)O(OH)] in an ion trap and investigated their fragmentation upon soft X-ray photoabsorption by means of mass spectrometry. In complementary experiments, the tin-oxo cages with hydroxide and trifluoroacetate counter-anions were cast in thin films and studied using X-ray transmission spectroscopy.

Molecular and functional changes in neutrophilic granulocytes induced by nicotine: a systematic review and critical evaluation.

Background: Over 1.1 billion people smoke worldwide. The alkaloid nicotine is a prominent and addictive component of tobacco.

Outcomes following cardiac resynchronisation therapy in older people.

Introduction: Older patients may be less likely to receive cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) for the management of heart failure. We aimed to describe the differences in clinical response, complications, and subsequent outcomes following CRT implantation compared to younger patients.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of unselected, consecutive patients implanted with CRT devices between March 2008 and July 2017.

The CINCH-FMR postmarket registry: Real-world long-term outcomes with percutaneous mitral valve repair with the Carillon Mitral Contour System®.

Background: The Carillon® Mitral Contour System® has been studied in 4 prospective controlled studies in the treatment of functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) where it has been found to reduce mitral regurgitation, reduce left ventricular and atrial volumes, and be associated with improvements in clinical parameters.

Aims: The CINCH post-market registry is designed to evaluate immediate, mid-term and long-term outcomes from a post-approval study of the Carillon® device evaluated in real-world practice.

Methods: The CINCH post-market registry is a single-arm study of percutaneous mitral annuloplasty with the Carillon device in patients with functional (secondary) mitral regurgitation and symptomatic congestive heart failure when utilized in real-world conditions.

Measurement Accuracy of the HTC VIVE Tracker 3.0 Compared to Vicon System for Generating Valid Positional Feedback in Virtual Reality.

For realistic and reliable full-body visualization in virtual reality, the HTC VIVE Tracker could be an alternative to highly complex and cost- and effort-intensive motion capture systems such as Vicon. Due to its lighter weight and smaller dimensions, the latest generation of trackers is proving to be very promising for capturing human movements. The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy of the HTC VIVE Tracker 3.

Targeting Metabolic Syndrome in Hidradenitis Suppurativa by Phytochemicals as a Potential Complementary Therapeutic Strategy.

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the appearance of painful inflamed nodules, abscesses, and pus-draining sinus tracts in the intertriginous skin of the groins, buttocks, and perianal and axillary regions. Despite its high prevalence of ~0.4-1%, therapeutic options for HS are still limited.