Clinical outcomes and anti-inflammatory mechanisms predict maximum heart rate improvement after physical activity training in individuals with psychiatric disorders and comorbid obesity.

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the predictive validity and discriminatory ability of clinical outcomes, inflammatory activity, oxidative and vascular damage, and metabolic mechanisms for detecting significant improve maximum heart rate after physical activity training in individuals with psychiatric disorders and obesity comorbid using a longitudinal design and transdiagnostic perspective.

Methods: Patients with major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and, schizophrenia and with comorbid obesity (n = 29) were assigned to a 12-week structured physical exercise program. Peripheral blood biomarkers of inflammation, oxidative stress, vascular mechanisms, and metabolic activity, as well as neurocognitive and functional performance were assessed twice, before and after intervention.

Sphingolipid profiling as a biomarker of type 2 diabetes risk: evidence from the MIDUS and PREDIMED studies.

Background: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has become a worldwide pandemic. While ceramides may serve as intermediary between obesity-related lipotoxicity and T2D, the relationship with simple glycosphingolipids remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to characterize the associations between blood glycosphingolipid and ceramide species with T2D and to identify a circulating sphingolipid profile that could serve as novel biomarker for T2D risk.

Interplay between platelets and coagulation: from protective haemostasis to pathological arterial thrombosis.

Haemostasis refers to the physiological process aimed at repairing vessel injury and preventing bleeding. It involves four interlinked stages culminating in the formation of a platelet-fibrin haemostatic plug that is eventually dissolved once the vessel heals. In contrast, arterial thrombosis is a pathological condition resulting from atheroma exposure, triggering the formation of a platelet-rich thrombus that may obstruct blood flow, leading to the clinical manifestations of ischaemic cardiovascular disease.

Asymptomatic carriage of intestinal protists is common in children in Lusaka Province, Zambia.

Background: PCR-based screenings on the presence of diarrhoea-causing intestinal protist species are limited in Zambia, resulting in inaccurate current prevalence and epidemiological data. Sensitive PCR-based methods are particularly well suited for detecting subclinical infections in apparently healthy carriers.

Methodology: In this prospective cross-sectional study, we investigated the occurrence of the most common intestinal protists in an apparently healthy paediatric population (5-18 years) in Lusaka Province, Zambia.

Free-Ranging Wolves (Canis lupus) are Natural Reservoirs of Intestinal Microeukaryotes of Public Health Significance in Southwestern Europe.

Introduction: Intestinal microeukaryote parasites are major contributors to the burden of diarrhoea in humans and domestic animals, but their epidemiology in wildlife is not fully understood. We investigated the frequency, genetic diversity and zoonotic potential of protists of animal and public health significance in free-ranging grey wolf (Canis lupus) populations in south-western Europe.

Methods: Individually formed faecal samples collected from necropsied wolves or scat trails in Italy (n = 47), Portugal (n = 43) and Spain (n = 225) during the period 2011-2023 were retrospectively analysed using molecular (PCR and Sanger sequencing) methods.

Are the Culex pipiens biotypes pipiens, molestus and their hybrids competent vectors of avian Plasmodium?

The common house mosquito Culex pipiens s.l., widely distributed in Europe, Africa, and North America has two recognized biotypes, Cx.

GPR88 impairs the signaling of kappa opioid receptors in a heterologous system and in primary striatal neurons.

The physiological role of GPR88, an orphan G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) predominantly expressed in the striatum, remains unclear, despite its altered expression in parkinsonian animal models. GPR88 is known to interact with other GPCRs. Specifically, GPR88 expression inhibits signaling mediated by the μ-opioid receptor in cells coexpressing both receptors.

Autistic Sensory Traits and Psychological Distress: Mediating Role of Worry and Intolerance of Uncertainty.

Background/objectives: Autistic adults exhibit core and comorbid features that can have an impact on their daily functioning and lead to considerable psychological distress. Significant and consistent associations have been identified between autism characteristics-restricted repetitive behaviors and sensory features-and high levels of stress and anxiety. For a better understanding of the issue, it is necessary to consider the cognitive aspects that can help explain variations in stress and anxiety levels among adults with autism.

Efficacy and safety of antistaphylococcal penicillin or cephazolin-based combinations versus monotherapy for methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus infective endocarditis: A propensity score analysis of nationwide prospective cohort.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the usefulness of antistaphylococcal penicillin (ASP) or cephazolin-based combinations versus monotherapy in patients with native-valve infective endocarditis (IE) caused by methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA).

Methods: Post-hoc analysis of a multicentre prospective cohort. We include patients from 2008 to 2022 with definite native-valve, left-side IE due to MSSA treated primarily with ASP/cephazolin.

Occurrence and assemblage distribution of Giardia Duodenalis in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients in southeastern Iran (2019-2022).

Background: The ubiquitous protozoan parasite Giardia duodenalis is a major contributor to the global burden of diarrhoea, particularly in young children living in poor-resource regions. Although rarely mortal, giardiasis is associated with growth retardation and cognitive impairment in early childhood. Here we investigate the epidemiology of human giardiasis in Iranshahr (south-eastern Iran), a region where this information was previously lacking.

How to prevent postextubation respiratory failure.

Purpose Of Review: Postextubation respiratory support treatment approaches, indications, and subgroups of patients with different responses to those therapies are rapidly changing. Planning optimal therapy in terms of choosing devices, timing of application and selecting settings with the goal of minimizing extubation failure is becoming a challenge. This review aims to analyze all the available evidence from a clinical point of view, trying to facilitate decision making at the bedside.

Equally vs. unequally keyed blocks in forced-choice questionnaires: Implications on validity and reliability.

Forced-choice (FC) questionnaires have gained scientific interest over the last decades. However, the inclusion of unequally keyed item pairs in FC questionnaires remains a subject of debate, as there is evidence supporting both their usage and avoidance. Designing unequally keyed pairs may be more difficult when considering social desirability, as they might allow the identification of ideal responses.

Exploring the longitudinal course of motor dexterity in first-episode psychosis: a 10-year follow-up.

This study aimed to examine longitudinal changes in motor dexterity (MD) performance in first episode of psychosis (FEP), focusing on diagnosis-specific trajectories. Participants were recruited from the project PAFIP in Spain (134 FEP, 84 HC). MD was assessed using the Grooved Pegboard Test at baseline and at 10-year follow-up.

Olfactory receptors in neural regeneration in the central nervous system.

Olfactory receptors are crucial for detecting odors and play a vital role in our sense of smell, influencing behaviors from food choices to emotional memories. These receptors also contribute to our perception of flavor and have potential applications in medical diagnostics and environmental monitoring. The ability of the olfactory system to regenerate its sensory neurons provides a unique model to study neural regeneration, a phenomenon largely absent in the central nervous system.

Unequal impact of COVID-19 on excess deaths, life expectancy, and premature mortality in Spanish regions (2020-2021).

Objective: We aimed to estimate regional inequalities in excess deaths and premature mortality in Spain during 2020 and 2021, before high vaccination coverage against COVID-19.

Method: With data from the National Institute of Statistics, within each region, sex, and age group, we estimated the excess deaths, the change in life expectancy at birth (e) and age 65 (e) and years of life lost as the difference between the observed and expected deaths using a time series analysis of 2015-2019 data and life expectancies based on Lee-Carter forecasting using 2010-2019 data.

Results: From January 2020 to June 2021, an estimated 89,200 (men: 48,000; women: 41,200) excess deaths occurred in Spain with a substantial regional variability (highest in Madrid: 22,000, lowest in Canary Islands: -210).

Safety and efficacy of personalised versus standard dosing of linezolid in patients with sepsis (SePkLin): a pragmatic, multicentre, randomised, controlled and superiority clinical trial protocol.

Introduction: Linezolid is a broadly used antibiotic to treat complicated infections caused by gram-positive bacteria. Therapeutic drug monitoring of linezolid concentrations is recommended to maximise its efficacy and safety, mainly haematological toxicity. Different pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic targets have been proposed to improve linezolid exposure: the ratio of the area under the concentration-time curve during a 24-hour period to minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) between 80 and 120; percentage of time that the drug concentration remains above the MIC during a dosing interval greater than 85% and the trough concentration between 2 and 7 mg/L.

Multicentric Study on Enteric Protists Occurrence in Zoological Parks in Portugal.

Parasitic infections of the gastrointestinal tract of domestic animals play a major role in the transmission of disease, which in turn may result in financial and productive losses. Notwithstanding, studies on the burden and distribution of diarrheagenic protists in zoological gardens are still insufficient. Given the close animal-animal and animal-human interaction in these settings, Public Health concerns under the One Health context are raised.

Exercise as a promoter of neurocognitive improvement in people with psychiatric disorders and comorbid obesity: A randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: The psychiatric disorders and obesity comorbidity is related to neurocognitive impairment and inflammation. Exercise is crucial to improve and maintain healthy lifestyles. This randomized controlled trial tested the efficacy of aerobic exercise as promoter of neurocognitive improvement across psychiatric disorders with comorbid obesity (OB).