Tracing Zinc's Role in Preterm Infants' Health: A Narrative Review.

Zinc (Zn) is a trace element involved in numerous physiological processes, including enzyme function, gene transcription, and cell signaling. Its importance is especially pronounced in preterm infants, who are at high risk of Zn deficiency due to disrupted transplacental transfer, high nutrient demands, and medical complications. The inherent risk of Zn deficiency in this population is further increased by poor Zn dietary intake.

Impact of Open Surgical Descending Repair on Aortic Stiffness in an Ex Vivo Porcine Model.

Background: Previous studies have strongly suggested that stent-graft deployment and acute arch angulation increase aortic stiffness, the impact of surgical interposition grafting remains unclear. We investigated the impact of open surgery on aortic stiffness and compared this with stent-graft induced aortic stiffening, utilising an ex vivo model.

Methods: Porcine thoracic aortas were connected to a mock circulatory loop.

The First Lugano Workshop on the role of adenomyosis in ART.

Adenomyosis is an important clinical condition with uncertain prevalence, and clinical focus on adenomyosis in patients undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) has increased during recent years. Recognizing the limited clinical knowledge on the impact of adenomyosis on ART outcomes, the First Lugano Adenomyosis Workshop was a symposium involving experts in the field of adenomyosis, covering basic research, imaging, surgery and infertility to highlight current advances and future research areas over a wide range of topics related to adenomyosis. Adenomyosis is characterized by altered oestrogen and progesterone signalling pathways.

GsMTx-4 venom toxin antagonizes biophysical modulation of metastatic traits in human osteosarcoma cells.

Despite their genetic diversity, metastatic cells converge on similar physical constraints during tumor progression. At the nanoscale, these forces can induce substantial molecular deformations, altering the structure and behavior of cancer cells. To address the challenges of osteosarcoma (OS), a highly aggressive cancer, we explored the mechanobiology of OS cells, in vitro.

Comparing anesthesia protocols in high intensity focused ultrasound treatments: The HIFU-pain study.

Background: to compare different anesthesia protocols during High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) for saphenous trunk (GSV/SSV) and/or varicosities incompetence treatment.

Material And Methods: patients with GSV/SSV incompetence with varicose veins underwent HIFU under different anesthesia protocols. The primary endpoint was the pain score during HIFU using a 10-point scale.

The oral GnRH antagonists, a new class of drugs in gynecology: from pharmacokinetics to possible clinical applications.

Introduction: In ovarian steroid-dependent diseases such as uterine fibroids, endometriosis and adenomyosis, oral GnRH antagonists have emerged as new therapeutic alternatives. These oral GnRH antagonists offer key advantages, including oral administration, dose-dependent estrogen suppression and rapid reversibility.

Areas Covered: This review examines the pharmacological, clinical and therapeutic profiles of the latest non-peptide oral GnRH antagonists, through an analysis of clinical evidence and randomized clinical trials, to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of their clinical applications and potential benefits.

Post-transplant glomerular diseases: update on pathophysiology, risk factors and management strategies.

In recent years, advancements in immunosuppressive medications and post-transplant management have led to a significant decrease in acute rejection rates in renal allografts and consequent improvement in short-term graft survival. In contrast, recent data have shown an increased incidence of post-transplant glomerular diseases, which currently represent a leading cause of allograft loss. Although pathogenesis is not fully understood, growing evidence supports the role of inherited and immunological factors and has identified potential pre- and post-transplant predictors.

Extracellular Vesicles from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Exhibit a Unique MicroRNA and CircRNA Signature.

Extracellular vesicles (EV) have emerged as promising cell-free therapeutics in regenerative medicine. However, translating primary cell line-derived EV to clinical applications requires large-scale manufacturing and several challenges, such as replicative senescence, donor heterogeneity, and genetic instability. To address these limitations, we used a reprogramming approach to generate human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) from the young source of cord blood mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (CBMSC).

Dual Activation-Induced Marker Combinations Efficiently Identify and Discern Antigen-Specific and Bystander-Activated Human CD4 T Cells.

Identifying activated T lymphocytes and differentiating antigen-specific from bystander T cells is crucial for understanding adaptive immune responses. This study investigates the efficacy of activation-induced markers (AIMs) in distinguishing these cell populations. We measured the expression of commonly used AIMs (CD25, CD38, CD40L, CD69, CD137, HLA-DR, ICOS, and OX40) in an in vitro T-cell activation system and evaluated their sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value.

Validating the Core Set for Vocational Rehabilitation in a Population of Cancer Survivors: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Purpose: The Core Set for Vocational Rehabilitation (CS-VR), a checklist based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), captures the work functioning of individuals requiring VR. By listening to cancer survivors' experiences and stakeholders' perspectives, the CS-VR-Onco of 85 ICF-based categories was obtained. The aim of this study was to assess the concurrent validity of the CS-VR-Onco by measuring this tool's ability to detect differences among cancer survivors in terms of perceived return to work (RTW)-related difficulties.

The effect of body mass index at diagnosis on survival of patients with squamous cell head and neck carcinoma.

The aim of this study is to investigate the prognostic role of body mass index (BMI) on survival from head and neck cancer (HNC). We performed a pooled analysis of studies included in the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology consortium. We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate the adjusted hazard ratios (HR) for overall survival and HNC-specific survival, and we stratified the results according to cancer site.

COmplexity of CARE and Discharge barriers: the 'modern internal medicine patient'. Results from the CO-CARED Study.

The ongoing demographic, epidemiological and social changes are dramatically raising the clinical and care complexity of patients admitted to internal medicine (IM) departments. Collecting evidence for a better characterization of patients is crucial to tailor future interventions based on patient's real needs. The aim of this prospective multicenter study was to describe the complexity of care of patients hospitalized in IM by calculating the complexity of care (ICC) score, through the combination of clinical instability (NEWS score) and care dependency scales (mICD).

related disorders, attempt to better define clinical assessment.

Background: -related disorders are uncommonly reported. The clinical features of the disorders are wide and heterogeneous mainly consisting of undistinctive facial dysmorphism, mild to severe intellectual and speech delay, epileptic seizures, and motor dysfunction. Defects in gene have been identified in cases diagnosed as Pitt-Hopkins-like-syndrome 2 (PTHLS2; OMIM#614325).

Connected health: Ventricular tachycardia detection with Apple Watch-A case report.

Background: Traditional screening methods, such as 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs) and Holter monitors, often fall short in detecting transient arrhythmias. However, advancements in wearable technology, like the Apple Watch®, enable real-time rhythm monitoring and specific arrhythmia detection through dedicated algorithms.

Case Description: A 60-year-old man with a history of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy and an implanted cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), during a walk, experienced palpitations and dizziness; the Apple Watch® alerted him of an elevated heart rate.

Effect of rapid maxillary expansion on nasomaxillary structure and sleep disordered breathing in children with obstructive sleep apnoea.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of RME on upper airway structure and its relationship to improvements in sleep disordered breathing.

Methods: The study was carried out in 23 children with malocclusion and OSA. Clinical assessment visits, daytime sleepiness questionnaire, polysomnography and orthognatodontic examination were performed before (T0) and 4 (T1) and 12 (T2) months after RME.

Indices of healthy and unhealthy plant-based diets and the risk of selected digestive cancers.

Background & Aims: The relation between various types of plant-based diets and cancer risk is still unclear. We examined the association of the overall plant-based diet index (PDI) and healthy (hPDI) and unhealthy plant-based diet indices (uPDI) with the risk of selected digestive cancers.

Methods: We used data from a network of hospital-based case-control studies including 942 oral/pharyngeal, 304 esophageal, 230 stomach, 1953 colorectal, and 326 pancreatic cancer cases.

Active listening modulates the spatial hearing experience: a multicentric study.

Although flexible and portable virtual reality technologies have simplified measuring participants' perception of acoustic space, their clinical adoption remains limited, often lacking ecological fidelity. In clinical practice, participants are typically instructed to remain still when testing sound localization, whereas head movements are crucial in daily life. Additionally, assessing spatial hearing extends beyond measuring accuracy to include meta-cognitive evaluations like perceived effort and confidence, which are rarely adopted.