Impact of the Dopamine System on Long-Term Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson Disease: An Exploratory Study.

Background: Little is known about the impact of the dopamine system on development of cognitive impairment (CI) in Parkinson disease (PD).

Objectives: We used data from a multi-site, international, prospective cohort study to explore the impact of dopamine system-related biomarkers on CI in PD.

Methods: PD participants were assessed annually from disease onset out to 7 years, and CI determined by applying cut-offs to four measures: (1) Montreal Cognitive Assessment; (2) detailed neuropsychological test battery; (3) Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) cognition score; and (4) site investigator diagnosis of CI (mild cognitive impairment or dementia).

Levodopa Equivalent Dose of Safinamide: A Multicenter, Longitudinal, Case-Control Study.

Background: Effects of dopaminergic medications used to treat Parkinson's disease (PD) may be compared with each other by using conversion factors, calculated as Levodopa equivalent dose (LED). However, current LED proposals on MAO-B inhibitors (iMAO-B) safinamide and rasagiline are still based on empirical approaches.

Objectives: To estimate LED of safinamide 50 and 100 mg.

Online learning environments to stimulate in students the processes of mutual interaction between digital and analog artefacts to enhance student learning.

In the recent years, numerous papers have discussed the use of concept maps in education. In this paper, we use the Dynamic Concept Maps (DCMs) in online learning environments as tools able to stimulate in students the processes of mutual interaction and hybridization between digital artefacts (DCMs) and analog artefacts (books) so as to encourage the development of significant learning. This method, called "DynaMap Remediation Approach" (DMRA), encourages and stimulates learners to study topics in greater detail, and supports the development of their own learning.

Identification of mesothelial cells in intraoperative blood salvage.

Intraoperative auto-transfusion with the use of cell saver systems is routinely used to reduce the rate of packed red blood transfusion in major surgery. Nevertheless some concerns have been raised on possible risks of coagulation disorders. The aim of the study was to analyze the blood processed by the cell saver, ready to be re-infused to the patient, in order to individuate unexpected cellular components, that can favor coagulopathy.

Use of Leukocyte Platelet (L-PRF) Rich Fibrin in Diabetic Foot Ulcer with Osteomyelitis (Three Clinical Cases Report).

In this study, the use of fibrin rich in leukocytes and platelets (L-PRF) was explored to heal osteomyelitis ulcers in a diabetic foot. The goal was to standardize the utilization of L-PRF in patients with osteomyelitis to direct it for healing. L-PRF was obtained autologously from the peripheral blood of the diabetic patients ( = 3) having osteomyelitis and skin lesions for at least six months.

Bariatric Surgery and Infertility: A Prospective Study.

Background: Obesity is a worldwide disease affecting 13% of the world's adult female population. The reasons and the fetal risk are still unclear. The effect of weight loss as a result of bariatric surgery seems to induce an improvement in fertility in obese women.

Reference ranges and determinants of right ventricle outflow tract acceleration time in healthy adults by two-dimensional echocardiography.

The right ventricular outflow tract acceleration time (RVOT-AT) has shown to progressively shorten with increasing degrees of pulmonary pressure. However, the physiologic ranges of RVOT AT are based on small sample sizes and have not been investigated regarding their determining factors. The aim of this study was to investigate reference values and determining factors of RVOT-AT in a large population of healthy subjects and by values described in the literature.

The effect of human-mattress interface's temperature on perceived thermal comfort.

In recent years, methods that allow for an objective evaluation of perceived comfort, in terms of postural, physiological, cognitive and environmental comfort, have received a great deal of attention from researchers. This paper focuses on one of the factors that influences physiological comfort perception: the temperature difference between users and the objects with which they interact. The first aim is to create a measuring system that does not affect the perceived comfort during the temperatures' acquisition.

Change of right heart size and function by long-term therapy with riociguat in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.

Background: Riociguat is a soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator approved for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). The objective of this study was to evaluate the change of right heart size and function assessed by echocardiography during long-term treatment with riociguat.

Methods: We assessed patients who started riociguat treatment (1.

Adenosine limits the therapeutic effectiveness of anti-CTLA4 mAb in a mouse melanoma model.

Combination therapies for melanoma that target immune-regulatory networks are entering clinical practice, and more are under investigation in preclinical or clinical studies. Adenosine plays a key role in regulating melanoma progression. We investigated the effectiveness of cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) antibody (mAb) in combination with either modulators of adenosine receptors (AR) activation or an inhibitor of adenosine production in a murine model of melanoma.