Role of Simulated Digests in Shaping Gut Microbiota and Short-Chain Fatty Acid Levels.

The connection between gut microbiota and factors like diet is crucial for maintaining intestinal balance, which in turn impacts the host's overall health. microalgae is a sustainable source of bioactive compounds, mainly known for its used in aquaculture and extraction of bioactive lipids, with potential health benefits whose effects on human gut microbiota are still unknown. Therefore, the goal of this work was to assess the impact of on human gut microbiota composition and derived metabolites by combining the INFOGEST protocol and in vitro colonic fermentation process to evaluate potential effects on human gut microbiota conformation through 16S rRNA gene sequencing and its metabolic functionality.

Study of the cortico-anorectal neurophysiology in women with fecal incontinence.

Background: Fecal incontinence (FI) is a prevalent condition that disproportionately impacts women. Although sphincter biomechanics are well studied, the integrity of the cortico-anal motor pathway remains elusive. We evaluated the cortico-spino-anorectal pathway in women with FI against age-matched (AM-HV) and young healthy (Y-HV) volunteers.

Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy: a paradigm for advancing precision medicine.

Development of specific therapies addressing the underlying diseases' mechanisms constitutes the basis of precision medicine. Transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CM) is an exemplar of precise therapeutic approach in the field of heart failure and cardiomyopathies. A better understanding of the underlying pathophysiology, more precise data of its epidemiology, and advances in imaging techniques that allow non-invasive diagnosis have fostered the development of new and very effective specific therapies for ATTR-CM.

Gender-specific effects of delay in cardiology consultation following primary care physician referral in atrial fibrillation patients: Impact on one-year outcomes.

Background And Objectives: Over the last two decades, reductions in cardiovascular (CV) and cerebrovascular events for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) have been observed, but the non-cardiovascular rates have increased. Early initiation of oral anticoagulation helps reduce AF complications; however, the impact of delayed cardiology care after referral by a Primary Care Physician (PCP) is unknown. The aim of our study is to investigate the association between the elapsed time to cardiology care following a PCP referral and one-year outcomes among patients with AF and analyses gender-specific differences in these outcomes.

Organoids, tissue slices and organotypic cultures: Advancing our understanding of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma through in vitro and ex vivo models.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has one of the worst prognoses of all common solid cancers. For the large majority of PDAC patients, only systemic therapies with very limited efficacy are indicated. In addition, immunotherapies have not brought the advances seen in other cancer types.

Clinical Implications of Functional Imaging in the Assessment of Bronchiectasis-Associated Sarcopenia.

Introduction: Bronchiectasis is a complex lung disease with poorly studied systemic manifestations. Patients with bronchiectasis-associated sarcopenia exhibit a specific differential profile of functional muscle phenotype (vastus lateralis, VL), which may be analyzed using imaging (ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging, MRI).

Methods: Ultrasound and MRI were used to explore functional imaging parameters in quadriceps of 20 patients with stable bronchiectasis and 10 healthy controls.

Telomere length in relation to fecundability and use of assisted reproductive technologies: the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study.

Background: Telomere length (TL) has been reported to be associated with conditions such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome, with some studies finding associations with shorter TL and others with longer TL. In men, studies mostly report associations between shorter TL and sperm quality. To our knowledge, no studies have thus far investigated associations between TL and fecundability or the use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART).

Urinary tartaric acid as a biomarker of wine consumption and cardiovascular risk: the PREDIMED trial.

Background And Aims: Moderate wine consumption has been associated with lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in older populations. However, wine consumption information through self-reports is prone to measurement errors inherent to subjective assessments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between urinary tartaric acid, an objective biomarker of wine consumption, and the rate of a composite clinical CVD event.

Dietary Intake of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Is Associated with Blood Glucose and Diabetes in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Objectives: The present study was conducted to examine the cross-sectional associations between the dietary intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and cardiometabolic risk factors in a large sample of Italian community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Longevity Check-up 8+ (Lookup 8+) is an ongoing project that started in June 2015.

A robust benchmark for detecting low-frequency variants in the HG002 Genome In A Bottle NIST reference material.

Somatic mosaicism is an important cause of disease, but mosaic and somatic variants are often challenging to detect because they exist in only a fraction of cells. To address the need for benchmarking subclonal variants in normal cell populations, we developed a benchmark containing mosaic variants in the Genome in a Bottle Consortium (GIAB) HG002 reference material DNA from a large batch of a normal lymphoblastoid cell line. First, we used a somatic variant caller with high coverage (300x) Illumina whole genome sequencing data from the Ashkenazi Jewish trio to detect variants in HG002 not detected in at least 5% of cells from the combined parental data.

Detection of germline CNVs from gene panel data: benchmarking the state of the art.

Germline copy number variants (CNVs) play a significant role in hereditary diseases. However, the accurate detection of CNVs from targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) gene panel data remains a challenging task. Several tools for calling CNVs within this context have been published to date, but the available benchmarks suffer from limitations, including testing on simulated data, testing on small datasets, and testing a small subset of published tools.

Association of Liver Damage and Quasispecies Maturity in Chronic HCV Patients: The Fate of a Quasispecies.

Viral diversity and disease progression in chronic infections, and particularly how quasispecies structure affects antiviral treatment, remain key unresolved issues. Previous studies show that advanced liver fibrosis in long-term viral infections is linked to higher rates of antiviral treatment failures. Additionally, treatment failure is associated with high quasispecies fitness, which indicates greater viral diversity and adaptability.

Estimating the prevalence of chronic infections among asymptomatic migrants: results of a screening programme in Catalonia, Spain.

Background: Migrants are disproportionately affected by several infectious diseases differing the risk within migrant groups. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of six chronic infections in asymptomatic migrants attended at primary care or specialized units where health assessments are offered.

Methods: A multicentric cross-sectional study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B and C virus, spp, and infections in the migrant population who participated in a screening programme implemented at six primary health care centres, and two infectious diseases outpatient clinics in Catalonia, Spain.

[Analysis of notifications made in the Patient Safety Notification and Learning System in an autonomous community].

Objective: Analyze the notifications made by Primary Care (PC) professionals of Galicia, in the Notification and Learning system for Patient Safety (SiNASP), of the Ministry of Health of Spain, its variables and the factors that contribute to its appearance for thus characterize security incidents in this healthcare field.

Materials And Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive study of notifications made in PC, between October 2010 and December 2019, in the SiNASP, in the Autonomous Community of Galicia. The data are presented using absolute and relative frequencies.

Generation of chimeric antigen receptor T cells targeting p95HER2 in solid tumors.

The redirection of T lymphocytes against tumor-associated or tumor-specific antigens, using bispecific antibodies or chimeric antigen receptors (CAR), has shown therapeutic success against certain hematological malignancies. However, this strategy has not been effective against solid tumors. Here, we describe the development of CAR T cells targeting p95HER2, a tumor-specific antigen found in HER2-amplified solid tumors.

[Anxiety and Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Elite Athletes].

Physical activity is recommended as a strategy for promoting mental health, and it can even be integrated into treatment plans for psychiatric disorders affecting the general population. However, elite athletes are a subpopulation with protective and risk factors inherent to high-level competition and are not shielded from psychiatric symptoms and conditions. The mental health of elite athletes has been the subject of increasing attention, driven in part by the initiatives of the International Olympic Committee and the growing importance of sports psychiatry.

Forecast skill assessment of an operational continental heat-cold-health forecasting system: New avenues for health early warning systems.

More than 110,000 Europeans died as a result of the record-breaking temperatures of 2022 and 2023. A new generation of impact-based early warning systems, using epidemiological models to transform weather forecasts into health forecasts for targeted population subgroups, is an essential adaptation strategy to increase resilience against climate change. Here, we assessed the skill of an operational continental heat-cold-health forecasting system.

Gaps in biomedical research in frontotemporal dementia: A call for diversity and disparities focused research.

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is one of the leading causes of young-onset dementia before age 65, typically manifesting as abnormal behavior (in behavioral variant FTD) or language impairment (in primary progressive aphasia). Although FTD affects all populations across the globe, knowledge regarding the pathophysiology and genetics derives primarily from studies conducted in North America and Western Europe. Globally, biomedical research for FTD is hindered by variable access to diagnosis, discussed in this group's earlier article, and by reduced access to expertise, funding, and infrastructure.

Balance and Health-Related Quality of Life After 1 Year of COVID-19 Social Restriction Measures: A Cross-Sectional Study in Two Samples from Spain.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the well-being of the general population. However, more information is needed regarding the relationship between participation-related outcomes. This study aimed to analyze the impact of the pandemic on occupational balance (OB) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) before and after social restrictions and to explore their relationship with COVID-19 diagnosis.

Efficacy and safety of asunercept, a CD95L-selective inhibitor, in hospitalised patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19: ASUNCTIS, a multicentre, randomised, open-label, controlled, phase 2 trial.

Background: The phase 2 ASUNCTIS study assessed the efficacy and safety of asunercept, a fully human CD95 (Fas) ligand-binding protein, in hospitalised patients with moderate-to-severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to assess the clinical benefit of CD95 ligand inhibition in this viral disease.

Methods: In this open-label, multicentre, randomised, controlled, phase 2 trial, patients with COVID-19-induced pneumonia and respiratory deterioration were randomly assigned (1:1:1:1) in 12 Russian and Spanish hospitals using an interactive web-response system to receive standard of care (SOC) or SOC plus weekly asunercept 25 mg, 100 mg, or 400 mg, administered intravenously for up to 4 weeks, or until hospital discharge or death. The randomisation was stratified according to the respiratory support methods at the time of enrolment, corresponding to categories 4-6 of a clinical severity assessment scale comprising 9 levels that was recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) at the time of the study.

Breakfast energy intake and dietary quality and trajectories of cardiometabolic risk factors in older adults.

Objectives: Not skipping breakfast is associated with a better overall diet quality and lower cardiometabolic risk. However, the impact of calorie intake and dietary quality of breakfast on cardiovascular health remains unexplored. We aimed to study the associations between breakfast energy intake and quality and time trajectories of cardiometabolic traits in high cardiovascular risk participants.