The ex vivo effects of hypoxanthine-tricyclano, a synthetic adenosine analogue, on rat left and right atria.

Hypoxanthine-tricyclano is a synthetic adenosine analogue, in which adenine and ribose have been replaced by hypoxanthine and a morpholino-derived tricyclic moiety, respectively. We investigated whether hypoxanthine-tricyclano could influence atrial inotropy and/or chronotropy, two important functions regulated by the A1 receptor, the main adenosine receptor type of the supraventricular myocardium. Paced left atria and spontaneously beating right atria, isolated from male, 30-35 weeks old, Wistar rats, were used.

Mesocorticolimbic and Cardiometabolic Diseases-Two Faces of the Same Coin?

The risk behaviors underlying the most prevalent chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) encompass alcohol misuse, unhealthy diets, smoking and sedentary lifestyle behaviors. These are all linked to the altered function of the mesocorticolimbic (MCL) system. As the mesocorticolimbic circuit is central to the reward pathway and is involved in risk behaviors and mental disorders, we set out to test the hypothesis that these pathologies may be approached therapeutically as a group.

Operatic voices engage the default mode network in professional opera singers.

Extensive research with musicians has shown that instrumental musical training can have a profound impact on how acoustic features are processed in the brain. However, less is known about the influence of singing training on neural activity during voice perception, particularly in response to salient acoustic features, such as the vocal vibrato in operatic singing. To address this gap, the present study employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain responses in trained opera singers and musically untrained controls listening to recordings of opera singers performing in two distinct styles: a full operatic voice with vibrato, and a straight voice without vibrato.

Association of monoaminergic gene polymorphisms in chronic inflammatory pulmonary disease patients with successful smoking cessation.

Background: Albeit smoking cessation has unequivocal health benefits, attempts to quit are not unanimous, even in patient populations at high risk for smoking-related diseases cessation. Allelic variations of enzymes involved in dopamine metabolism are being considered as candidates for nicotine addiction. We set out to assess whether rs4680 G/A and rs2235186 G/A polymorphisms of COMT and MAO-A, respectively are associated with the ability to quit smoking in chronic inflammatory pulmonary disease patients.

The influence of the way of regression on the results obtained by the receptorial responsiveness method (RRM), a procedure to estimate a change in the concentration of a pharmacological agonist near the receptor.

The receptorial responsiveness method (RRM) enables the estimation of a change in concentration of an (even degradable) agonist, near its receptor, curve fitting to (at least) two concentration-effect (E/c) curves of a stable agonist. One curve should be generated before this change, and the other afterwards, in the same system. It follows that RRM yields a surrogate parameter ("c") as the concentration of the stable agonist being equieffective with the change in concentration of the other agonist.

The effect of a long-term treatment with cannabidiol-rich hemp extract oil on the adenosinergic system of the zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rat atrium.

Cannabidiol (CBD), the most extensively studied non-intoxicating phytocannabinoid, has been attracting a lot of interest worldwide owing to its numerous beneficial effects. The aim of this study was to explore the effect that CBD exerts on the adenosinergic system of paced left atria isolated from obese type Zucker Diabetic Fatty (ZDF) rats, maintained on diabetogenic rat chow, received 60 mg/kg/day CBD or vehicle gavage for 4 weeks. We found that N6-cyclopentyladenosine (CPA), a relatively stable and poorly transported A1 adenosine receptor agonist, elicited a significantly weaker response in the CBD-treated group than in the vehicle-treated one.

An Exploratory Assessment of Factors with Which Influenza Vaccine Uptake Is Associated in Hungarian Adults 65 Years Old and Older: Findings from European Health Interview Surveys.

Influenza vaccination is an imperative public health task for elderly people due to a higher risk of developing more severe complications. The main aim of our study was to determine the influencing factors of being vaccinated against influenza among subjects aged 65 and above. Data were from the Hungarian implementations of the European Health Interview Survey 2009, 2014 and 2019 studies with a final sample size of 3355.

Awareness Related to Cardiometabolic Diseases: A Cross-Sectional Study in Southern Vietnam.

Background: the prevalence of cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs), such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and hypertension, is increasing rapidly in developing countries. This study aims to assess the awareness of CMD among a selected population in Vietnam.

Method: a cross-sectional random sample of 402 Vietnamese citizens in two districts (Thu Duc and 12th district) in Ho Chi Minh City were interviewed.

A Body of Circumstantial Evidence for the Irreversible Ectonucleotidase Inhibitory Action of FSCPX, an Agent Known as a Selective Irreversible A Adenosine Receptor Antagonist So Far.

In previous studies using isolated, paced guinea pig left atria, we observed that FSCPX, known as a selective A adenosine receptor antagonist, paradoxically increased the direct negative inotropic response to A adenosine receptor agonists (determined using concentration/effect (E/c) curves) if NBTI, a nucleoside transport inhibitor, was present. Based on mathematical modeling, we hypothesized that FSCPX blunted the cardiac interstitial adenosine accumulation in response to nucleoside transport blockade, probably by inhibiting CD39 and/or CD73, which are the two main enzymes of the interstitial adenosine production in the heart. The goal of the present study was to test this hypothesis.

Vestibular Stimulation May Drive Multisensory Processing: Principles for Targeted Sensorimotor Therapy (TSMT).

At birth, the vestibular system is fully mature, whilst higher order sensory processing is yet to develop in the full-term neonate. The current paper lays out a theoretical framework to account for the role vestibular stimulation may have driving multisensory and sensorimotor integration. Accordingly, vestibular stimulation, by activating the parieto-insular vestibular cortex, and/or the posterior parietal cortex may provide the cortical input for multisensory neurons in the superior colliculus that is needed for multisensory processing.

Predicting the epidemic curve of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) disease (COVID-19) using artificial intelligence: An application on the first and second waves.

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic is considered a major threat to global public health. The aim of our study was to use the official epidemiological data to forecast the epidemic curves (daily new cases) of the COVID-19 using Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs), then to compare and validate the predicted models with the observed data.

Methods: We used publicly available datasets from the World Health Organization and Johns Hopkins University to create a training dataset, then we employed RNNs with gated recurring units (Long Short-Term Memory - LSTM units) to create two prediction models.

Association between Oral Hygiene and Metabolic Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Emerging evidence has linked poor oral hygiene to metabolic syndrome (MetS), but previously, no summary of evidence has been conducted on the topic. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate the associations of oral hygiene status and care with MetS. A systematic search of the PubMed and Web of Science databases from inception to 17 March 2021, and examination of reference lists was conducted to identify eligible observational studies.

Acute stroke awareness of family physicians: translation of policy to practice.

Background: Translating clinical guidelines into routine clinical practice is mandatory to achieve population level improvement of health. Emergence of specific therapy for acute stroke yielded the 'time is brain' concept introducing the need for emergency treatment, pointing to the need for increasing stroke awareness of the general population. General practitioners (GPs) manage chronic diseases and could hence catalyse stroke awareness.

Socioeconomic Factors Predicting Depression Differ in the Acute Stage and at 1 year After Ischemic Stroke or TIA.

Introduction: Considerable depressive symptoms follow stroke in about one third of patients. Initial depressive symptoms may wane after the acute phase of stroke, but persisting depressive symptoms adversely affect rehabilitation and quality of life. We set forth to evaluate predictors of depressive symptoms with a focus on socioeconomic factors.

Anterior segment parameters associated with extramuscular manifestations in polymyositis and dermatomyositis.

Aim: To evaluate detailed anterior segment parameters of patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM), including polymyositis (PM), and dermatomyositis (DM), and to clarify the associations between these data and clinical variables of IIM.

Methods: Totally 57 PM, 41 DM patients and 62 controls were enrolled in this cross-sectional, observational, case-control study. All study participants underwent Pentacam evaluation.

Assessment of patient flow and optimized use of lean thinking transformation from the perspective of graph theory and spectral graph theory: A case study.

Background: Hospital re-engineering initiatives aiming to meet the requirement for patient-centered care often face significant barriers. Opportunities from the optimization of patient flow logistics are often overlooked due to the perception that patient transport related services are ancillary.

Objectives: To reorganize patient pathways by optimizing inpatient assignment and outpatient unit relocation.

Negative Inotropic Effect of BGP-15 on the Human Right Atrial Myocardium.

Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality carry great socioeconomic burden worldwide that mandates the development of new, efficacious therapeutic agents with limited adverse effects. O-(3-piperidino-2-hydroxy-1-propyl) nicotinic acid amidoxime (BGP-15) is a known, well-tolerable drug candidate that exerts beneficial effects in several disease models. As BGP-15 has a significant structural similarity with propranolol, it arose that BGP-15 might also have a direct effect on the heart.

Accuracy and Precision of the Receptorial Responsiveness Method (RRM) in the Quantification of A Adenosine Receptor Agonists.

The receptorial responsiveness method (RRM) is a procedure that is based on a simple nonlinear regression while using a model with two variables (X, Y) and (at least) one parameter to be determined (c). The model of RRM describes the co-action of two agonists that consume the same response capacity (due to the use of the same postreceptorial signaling in a biological system). While using RRM, uniquely, an acute increase in the concentration of an agonist (near the receptors) can be quantified (as c), via evaluating E/c curves that were constructed with the same or another agonist in the same system.

Corneal Manifestations of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

: To evaluate detailed corneal parameters of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients, including Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) patients, and to assess associations between anterior segment values and other clinical variables.: This prospective cross-sectional case-control study at a tertiary referral center included 30 CD patients, 36 UC patients and 80 age- and gender-matched controls with no ocular symptoms or ocular surface disorders. All study participants underwent a comprehensive ophthalmological evaluation with special interest in dry eye disease (DED).

Notification Strategy and Predictors of Outcome in Stroke Ineligible for Reperfusion Therapies.

At least 70% of all stroke patients are ineligible for recanalization therapy. We identified predictors of outcome among these patients, with special focus on notification of emergency medical services (EMS). We prospectively collected data of 250 consecutive patients with acute cerebrovascular diseases ineligible for recanalization therapy.

A Wide Spectrum of Ocular Manifestations Signify Patients with Systemic Sclerosis.

: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare, chronic connective tissue disease involving multiple organ systems, including the eye. We evaluated the detailed clinical ocular manifestations of outpatients with SSc.: Demographics, disease duration and subtype, nailfold capillaroscopy (NFC) patterns and laboratory parameters encompassing the autoantibody profile of 51 SSc patients were evaluated, and a general ocular examination was performed for each participant.

An Advanced In Silico Modelling of the Interaction between FSCPX, an Irreversible A Adenosine Receptor Antagonist, and NBTI, a Nucleoside Transport Inhibitor, in the Guinea Pig Atrium.

In earlier studies, we generated concentration-response (E/c) curves with CPA (-cyclopentyladenosine; a selective A adenosine receptor agonist) or adenosine, in the presence or absence of -(2-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzyl)-6-thioinosine (NBTI, a selective nucleoside transport inhibitor), and with or without a pretreatment with 8-cyclopentyl--[3-(4-(fluorosulfonyl)-benzoyloxy)propyl]--propylxanthine (FSCPX, a chemical known as a selective, irreversible A adenosine receptor antagonist), in isolated, paced guinea pig left atria. Meanwhile, we observed a paradoxical phenomenon, i.e.

Altered irisin/BDNF axis parallels excessive daytime sleepiness in obstructive sleep apnea patients.

Study Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is a sleep-related breathing disorder, characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), paralleled by intermittent collapse of the upper airway. EDS may be the symptom of OSAHS per se but may also be due to the alteration of central circadian regulation. Irisin is a putative myokine and has been shown to induce BDNF expression in several sites of the brain.

Evaluation of Objective Signs and Subjective Symptoms of Dry Eye Disease in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Aim: To evaluate tear film parameters and relationship of objective clinical signs and subjective symptoms of dry eye disease (DED) in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) subgroups.

Methods: 39 patients with Crohn's disease (CD), 26 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), and 39 control persons with no ocular symptoms or surface disorders were included in this prospective, case-control, and cross-sectional study. The ocular surface disease index (OSDI) questionnaire was applied to evaluate dry eye symptoms, and objective tests of DED were performed on both eyes of each subject.

Corneal Involvement of Patients with Polymyositis and Dermatomyositis.

: To evaluate corneal parameters in patients with polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM) and compare them with those of healthy controls.: A total of 43 PM and 32 DM patients and 93 controls were enrolled in this cross-sectional, observational, case-control study. Corneal parameters were evaluated by Pentacam.