Realistic Aspects of Cardiac Ultrasound in Rats: Practical Tips for Improved Examination.

Echocardiography is a reliable and non-invasive method for assessing cardiac structure and function in both clinical and experimental settings, offering valuable insights into disease progression and treatment efficacy. The successful application of echocardiography in murine models of disease has enabled the evaluation of disease severity, drug testing, and continuous monitoring of cardiac function in these animals. However, there is insufficient standardization of echocardiographic measurements for smaller animals.

Improving the Antimicrobial Potency of Berberine for Endodontic Canal Irrigation Using Polymeric Nanoparticles.

To address the challenges posed by biofilm presence and achieve a substantial reduction in bacterial load within root canals during endodontic treatment, various irrigants, including nanoparticle suspensions, have been recommended. Berberine (BBR), a natural alkaloid derived from various plants, has demonstrated potential applications in dentistry treatments due to its prominent antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. This study aimed to produce and characterize a novel polymeric nanoparticle of poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) loaded with berberine and evaluate its antimicrobial activity against relevant endodontic pathogens, , and .

Unveiling a Outbreak in a Rabbit Farm: Clinical Manifestation, Antimicrobial Resistance, Genomic Insights and Environmental Investigation.

poses a threat to both human and animal health. This work describes an outbreak in a Portuguese rabbit farm, detailing the isolates' clinical manifestations, necropsy findings, and phenotypic and genomic profiles. Clinical signs, exclusively observed in does, included lethargy and reproductive signs.

Health Conditions in Older Adults Suspected of Being Maltreated: A 20-Year Real-World Study.

Older adult maltreatment (OAM) is a global problem that has attracted increasing attention due to the ageing population and its severe impact on victim health. Thus, this study aims to analyse the prevalence of certain health conditions in people ≥ 60 years old whom physicians from a local healthcare unit suspected to be victims of maltreatment. The specific objectives are to determine the prevalence rates of health-related risk factors, traumatic injuries and intoxications, mental disorders, and physical disorders.

Realistic aspects behind the application of the rat model of chemically-induced mammary cancer: Practical guidelines to obtain the best results.

Cancer is one of the most important public health problems worldwide. Despite the great contribution of studies for biomedical research, animals are essential to study diseases' biopathology and diagnosis, and searching for new preventive and therapeutic strategies. Breast cancer is currently the most common cancer globally, accounting for 12.

Are There Any Differences in Road Traffic Injury Outcomes between Older and Younger Adults? Setting the Grounds for Posttraumatic Senior Personal Injury Assessment Guidelines.

Injury outcomes seem to be more severe in older than younger persons. This may make personal injury assessment (PIA) particularly difficult, mainly because of seniors' previous health frailties. To set the grounds for seniors' PIA guidelines, we compared an older with a younger adult population of trauma victims and, secondarily, identified differences between the groups regarding and medico-legal damage parameters assessment.

One image is worth more than a thousand words: producing an atlas of medical signs for teaching clinical and forensic toxicology.

Clinical and forensic toxicology are critically involved in the acquisition of basic skills to correctly suspect intoxication, collect biological and non-biological materials for toxicological analysis, comprehend the complexities inherent to laboratory activity, and understand the fundamentals of toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics that underlie the interpretation of results. This works presents a pedagogical innovation proposal for the teaching of clinical and forensic toxicology based on a compilation of more than 3 000 cases where the image was fulcra for suspicion. The experience in this article follows the model practiced in bachelors, masters, and PhD degrees, as well as in other continuing training courses, where we are teaching toxicology for more than 15 years.

Analysis of Salivary Levels of IL-1β, IL17A, OPG and RANK-L in Periodontitis Using the 2017 Classification of Periodontal Diseases-An Exploratory Observational Study.

Periodontitis is a chronic disease with a high overall prevalence. It involves a complex interplay between the immune-inflammatory pathways and biofilm changes, leading to periodontal attachment loss. The aims of this study were (i) to assess whether the salivary IL-1β, IL-17A, RANK-L and OPG levels have the potential to discriminate between the mild and severe periodontitis conditions; and (ii) to enable diagnostic/prognostic actions to differentiate between distinct levels of the disease.

Health Outcomes in Women Victims of Intimate Partner Violence: A 20-Year Real-World Study.

Intimate partner violence is characterized by violent actions against a person perpetrated by his or her former or current partner, regardless of cohabitation. It most frequently affects women, and one of its most relevant outcomes is the health problems associated with the experience of repeated violence. Thus, the main objective of this study is to analyse the prevalence of health problems among women for whom there was a medical suspicion of being victims of intimate partner violence.

Cardiovascular Risk Profile and Lipid Management in the Population-Based Cohort Study LATINO: 20 Years of Real-World Data.

The rising prevalence of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors in Portugal has translated into more than 35,000 annual deaths due to CV diseases. We performed a multicenter observational cohort study encompassing clinical activities performed between 2000 and 2019 to characterize the CV risk profile and LDL-C management of patients in every CV risk category using electronic health records of a regional population in Portugal. We analyzed data from 14 health centers and 1 central hospital in the north of Portugal of patients between 40 and 80 years that had at least 1 family medicine appointment at these institutions.

Safety Climate Evaluation in Primary Health Care: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The perception of the existence of deficits in patient safety, the associated costs and the limitation of resources have made it essential to define improvement strategies. Important concepts have emerged, such as safety climate, which evaluates the perceptions of safety status held by professionals in relation to their organization. The aim of this study is to characterize the safety climate in primary health care (PHC) using the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ)-Short Form 2006 PT and to assess associations between SAQ-Short Form 2006 PT scores and demographic and professional characteristics.

Sedentary Behaviour Impairs Skeletal Muscle Repair Modulating the Inflammatory Response.

This study investigated whether sedentary behaviour modulates skeletal-muscle repair and tissue inflammatory response after cardiotoxin (CTX)-induced injury. Singly caged rats spent 8 weeks either as a sedentary group (SED, n = 15) or as a control group (EX, n = 15)—caged with running wheels for voluntary running. All rats had each tibial anterior muscle infused either with CTX (CTX; right muscle) or saline solution (Sham; left muscle) and were sacrificed (n = 5 per group) on the 1st, 7th, and 15th day post-injection (dpi).

Exercise training counteracts the cardiac metabolic remodelling induced by experimental pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Exercise training provides several cardiovascular benefits in both physiological and pathological conditions; however, its use as a therapeutic tool for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) has been poorly explored. This study aimed to extend the comprehension of the cardioprotective effects of exercise training in the set of PAH focusing on the metabolic changes promoted by exercise in the right ventricle (RV). The monocrotaline animal model of PAH was used and male Wistar rats were submitted to two weeks of treadmill exercise training (5 days/week, 60 min/day, 25 m/min) following disease establishment.

Unhealthy Diets Induce Distinct and Regional Effects on Intestinal Inflammatory Signalling Pathways and Long-Lasting Metabolic Dysfunction in Rats.

The intestinal epithelium is a principal site for environmental agents' detection. Several inflammation- and stress-related signalling pathways have been identified as key players in these processes. However, it is still unclear how the chronic intake of inadequate nutrients triggers inflammatory signalling pathways in different intestinal regions.

Toxicological Analysis of Drugs in Human Mummified Bodies and Proposed Guidelines.

From palaeopathology to forensic taphonomy, mummified human bodies constitute biological archives of paramount importance. Toxicology analysis of endobiotics and xenobiotics has already shown value to archaeological mummies research with detecting heavy metals, sedative-hypnotic drugs, and stimulants. Thanks to the large window of drug detection in hair and nails, the information from such studies has increased the scientific community's knowledge regarding past populations' lifestyles.

Reconstructed Human Epidermis: An Alternative Approach for In Vitro Bioequivalence Testing of Topical Products.

The use of in vitro human skin permeation tests is of value when addressing the quality and equivalence of topical drug products in Europe and the US. Human skin is the membrane of choice for these studies. The use of human skin as a membrane is hindered by limited access, high variability of results, and limited applicability for drugs with low skin permeability.

Digital Health and Big Data Analytics: Implications of Real-World Evidence for Clinicians and Policymakers.

Real world data (RWD) and real-world evidence (RWE) plays an increasingly important role in clinical research since scientific knowledge is obtained during routine clinical large-scale practice and not experimentally as occurs in the highly controlled traditional clinical trials. Particularly, the electronic health records (EHRs) are a relevant source of data. Nevertheless, there are also significant challenges in the correct use and interpretation of EHRs data, such as bias, heterogeneity of the population, and missing or non-standardized data formats.

JIP3 interacts with dynein and kinesin-1 to regulate bidirectional organelle transport.

The MAP kinase and motor scaffold JIP3 prevents excess lysosome accumulation in axons of vertebrates and invertebrates. How JIP3's interaction with dynein and kinesin-1 contributes to organelle clearance is unclear. We show that human dynein light intermediate chain (DLIC) binds the N-terminal RH1 domain of JIP3, its paralog JIP4, and the lysosomal adaptor RILP.

Infraocclusion level and root resorption of the primary molar in second premolar agenesis: A retrospective cross-sectional study in the Portuguese population.

Background: Mandibular second premolar (M2P) agenesis results in the second primary molar (2pm) retention, infraocclusion, a reduced alveolar height and width, the supraeruption of antagonists, or the movement of the adjacent teeth. Infraocclusion affects the survival of the retained 2pm to a greater extent than root resorption.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate the lifespan of the primary molar as a substitute, with root quality and occlusal adaptation, in cases of M2P agenesis in a low-income population to determine if the attitude of just vigilance could be the best clinical option whenever other clinical problems are absent.

Fatal iatrogenic cardiac tamponade due to central venous catheterization.

Fatal adverse events caused by any health professional as consequence of malpractice are uncommon. In this work, the authors report a fatal cardiac tamponade associated with a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) by the right jugular vein that perforated the right atrium of the heart. The diagnosis of cardiac tamponade was not detected in hospital during the intrapericardial infusion of total parenteral nutrition and was only registered during the autopsy.

spp. in the Stomach of Cats: Successful Colonization and Absence of Relevant Histopathological Alterations Reveals High Adaptation to the Host Gastric Niche.

In addition to , many non- Helicobacters (NHPH) are able to cause gastric disease in humans. Cats are a natural reservoir for many of these species. Accordingly, living in close and intimate contact with animals has been identified as a risk factor, and an important zoonotic significance has therefore been attributed to NHPH.

20 Years of Real-World Data to Estimate the Prevalence of Heart Failure and Its Subtypes in an Unselected Population of Integrated Care Units.

Introduction: Heart failure (HF) is a clinical syndrome caused by structural and functional cardiac abnormalities resulting in the impairment of cardiac function, entailing significant mortality. The prevalence of HF has reached epidemic proportions in the last few decades, mainly in the elderly, but recent evidence suggests that its epidemiology may be changing. Objective: Our objective was to estimate the prevalence of HF and its subtypes, and to characterize HF in a population of integrated care users.

Premature Mortality in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Associated with Heart Failure and Chronic Kidney Disease: 20 Years of Real-World Data.

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) increases the risk of heart failure (HF) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Nonetheless, evidence of cardiovascular (CV) prognosis is relatively scarce in young T2D patients.

Purpose: To estimate the risk of all-cause death, CV death, and non-fatal major CV events (MACEs) in T2D patients younger than 65 years old.