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Pediatric COVID-19 vaccination is effective in preventing COVID-19-related hospitalization, but duration of protection of the original monovalent vaccine during SARS-CoV-2 Omicron predominance merits evaluation, particularly given low coverage with updated COVID-19 vaccines. During December 19, 2021-October 29, 2023, the Overcoming COVID-19 Network evaluated vaccine effectiveness (VE) of ≥2 original monovalent COVID-19 mRNA vaccine doses against COVID-19-related hospitalization and critical illness among U.S. children and adolescents aged 5-18 years, using a case-control design. Too few children and adolescents received bivalent or updated monovalent vaccines to separately evaluate their effectiveness. Most case-patients (persons with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result) were unvaccinated, despite the high frequency of reported underlying conditions associated with severe COVID-19. VE of the original monovalent vaccine against COVID-19-related hospitalizations was 52% (95% CI = 33%-66%) when the most recent dose was administered

Abstract The European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is designed to promote carbon reduction in a cost-effective and economically efficient manner. To meet their compliance requirements, participants within the EU ETS can either invest in carbon abatement, thereby improving their environmental performances, or purchase carbon allowances from the market. Our analysis aims to investigate the structural features of the EU ETS trade network of allowances and assess its robustness to spillovers propagated from energy commodities. We build the EU ETS trade network of allowances on a daily basis by leveraging a granular dataset comprising over 32k accounts that performed approximately 720k trades, involving more than 127 billion of allowances from 2005 to 2020. Importantly, our analysis is able to cover entirely the first three phases of the EU ETS, thus providing an updated view on the functioning of the EU ETS. We find that the EU ETS trade network of allowances is disassortative and characterized by very active nodes belonging to the energy sector. Moreover, we detect that energy commodity transmission channels can be substantial and may shape the way nodes transfer allowances, with the configuration of the EU ETS often being a net receiver of spillovers. These findings are robust even when we analyze extreme quantiles of the distribution to account for distressed periods. Our study shows how the functioning of the EU ETS can be influenced by spillovers imported from energy commodity markets. We discuss how investors can build portfolios that either hedge or amplify the impact of such spillovers, depending on their risk appetite. Given that energy commodities are significant inputs in the production processes of energy firms—who are highly active participants in the trade network of allowances—analyzing market responses to shocks in energy commodities is crucial for the effective implementation of the policy.

Infants aged

Summary: Background: We apply endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy to cytopathologically diagnose and sample nucleic acids from primary tumours regardless of the disease stage. Methods: 397 patients with proven pancreatic adenocarcinoma were included and followed up in a multicentre prospective study. DNA and mRNA were extracted from materials of primary tumours obtained by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy and analysed using targeted deep sequencing and RNAseq respectively. Findings: The variant allele frequency of the KRAS mutation was used to evaluate the tumour cellularity, ranging from 15 to 20% in all cells, regardless of the tumour stage. The molecular profile of metastatic primary tumours significantly differed from other types of tumours, more frequently having TP53 mutations (p = 0.0002), less frequently having RNF43 mutations, and possessing more basal-like mRNA component (p = 0.001). Molecular markers associated with improved overall survival were: mutations in homologous recombination deficiency genes in patients who received first-line platinum-based chemotherapy (p = 0.025) and wild-type TP53 gene in patients with locally advanced tumours who received radio-chemotherapy (p = 0.01). The GemPred transcriptomic profile was associated with a significantly better overall survival in patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer who received a gemcitabine-based first-line treatment (p = 0.019). Interpretation: The combination of genomic and transcriptomic analyses of primary pancreatic tumours enables us to distinguish metastatic tumours from other tumour types. Our molecular strategy may assist in predicting overall survival outcomes for platinum or gemcitabine-based chemotherapies, as well as radio-chemotherapy. Funding: Institut National Du Cancer (BCB INCa_7294), CHU of Toulouse, Inserm and Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer (CIT program).

Created in 2010, the DEPHY-Vigne network is formed of winegrowers who are committed to reducing the use of pesticides, and thus aims to demonstrate that such a change is possible using currently available techniques. The DEPHY-Vigne network showed an average reduction in pesticide use of 32 % over 10 years, with high inter- and intra-annual variability indicating a wide range of pesticide reduction pathways (Fouillet et al., 2022).

The intestinal microbiota represents a key element in maintaining the homeostasis and health conditions of the host. Vascular pathologies and other risk factors such as aging have been recently associated with dysbiosis. The qualitative and quantitative alteration of the intestinal microbiota hinders correct metabolic homeostasis, causing structural and functional changes of the intestinal wall itself. Impairment of the intestinal microbiota, combined with the reduction of the barrier function, worsen the pathological scenarios of peripheral tissues over time, including the vascular one. Several experimental evidence, collected in this review, describes in detail the changes of the intestinal microbiota in dysbiosis associated with vascular alterations, such as atherosclerosis, hypertension, and endothelial dysfunction, the resulting metabolic disorders and how these can impact on vascular health. In this context, the gut-vascular axis is considered, for the first time, as a merged unit involved in the development and progression of vascular pathologies and as a promising target. Current approaches for the management of dysbiosis such as probiotics, prebiotics and dietary modifications act mainly on the intestinal district. Postbiotics, described as preparation of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confers health benefits on the host, represent an innovative strategy for a dual management of intestinal dysbiosis and vascular pathologies. In this context, this review has the further purpose of defining the positive effects of the supplementation of bacterial strains metabolites (short‑chain fatty acids, exopolysaccharides, lipoteichoic acids, gallic acid, and protocatechuic acid) restoring intestinal homeostasis and acting directly on the vascular district through the gut-vascular axis.

Aging is one of the main risk factors for neurodegenerative disorders, which represent a global burden on healthcare systems. Therefore, identifying new strategies to slow the progression of brain aging is a compelling challenge. In this article, we first assessed the potential anti-aging effects of the Citrus flavanone naringenin (NAR), an activator of the enzyme sirtuin-1 (SIRT1), in a 3R-compliant and short-lived aging model (i.e., the nematode C. elegans). Then, we investigated the preventive effects of a 6-month treatment with NAR (100 mg/kg, orally) against brain aging and studied its mechanism of action in middle-aged mice. We demonstrated that NAR (100 μM) extends lifespan and improves healthspan in C. elegans. In the brain of middle-aged mice, NAR promotes the activity of metabolic enzymes (citrate synthase, cytochrome C oxidase) and increases the expression of the SIRT1 enzyme. Consistently, NAR up-regulates the expression of downstream antioxidant (Foxo3, Nrf2, Ho-1), anti-senescence (p16), and anti-inflammatory (Il-6, Il-18) markers. Our findings support NAR supplementation to slow the signs of brain aging.

BackgroundAutoantibodies against type I IFNs occur in approximately 10% of adults with life-threatening coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The frequency of anti-IFN autoantibodies in children with severe sequelae of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is unknown.ObjectiveWe quantified anti-type I IFN autoantibodies in a multicenter cohort of children with severe COVID-19, multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), and mild SARS-CoV-2 infections.MethodsCirculating anti-IFN-α2 antibodies were measured by a radioligand binding assay. Whole-exome sequencing, RNA sequencing, and functional studies of peripheral blood mononuclear cells were used to study any patients with levels of anti-IFN-α2 autoantibodies exceeding the assay's positive control.ResultsAmong 168 patients with severe COVID-19, 199 with MIS-C, and 45 with mild SARS-CoV-2 infections, only 1 had high levels of anti-IFN-α2 antibodies. Anti-IFN-α2 autoantibodies were not detected in patients treated with intravenous immunoglobulin before sample collection. Whole-exome sequencing identified a missense variant in the ankyrin domain of NFKB2, encoding the p100 subunit of nuclear factor kappa-light-chain enhancer of activated B cells, aka NF-κB, essential for noncanonical NF-κB signaling. The patient's peripheral blood mononuclear cells exhibited impaired cleavage of p100 characteristic of NFKB2 haploinsufficiency, an inborn error of immunity with a high prevalence of autoimmunity.ConclusionsHigh levels of anti-IFN-α2 autoantibodies in children and adolescents with MIS-C, severe COVID-19, and mild SARS-CoV-2 infections are rare but can occur in patients with inborn errors of immunity.

Abstract We employ mobile network data referred to the area of Lombardy in Italy to investigate alternative touristic behaviours, such as same-day visits and overnight stays in Italy. We show that larger availability of tourism accommodations, cultural and natural endowments are relevant factors explaining overnight stays. Conversely, temporary entertainment and transportation facilities increase municipalities attractiveness for same-day visits. The results also highlight a trade-off in the capability of municipalities of being attractive in connection to both the tourism behaviours. For instance, higher tourists arrivals are observed in areas receiving limited visitors, coming from municipalities with low same-day visits outflows. We highlight mobile data offer an adequate level of spatial and temporal granularity and can be thus employed to support policy makers in the design of effective tourist management strategies.

This article provides a panel dataset on four capital dimensions (economic, human, social and physical) to study and promote the attractiveness and resilience of Italian territories.The dataset is articulated at the provincial and municipal level for the period 2010–2022. Data have been sourced from different open data repositories or collected through scraping downloads and have been elaborated in order to generate novel territorial indicators. While traditional datasets are commonly available at the regional and provincial levels, territorial analyses necessitate more granular data. Hence, this dataset allows researchers to study territorial characteristics of Italy at the NUTS3 and municipal levels, granting different degrees of spatial granularity and potentially supporting policymakers in evaluating the effectiveness of territorial policies implemented over the years.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to update our 2015 work in the Second Pediatric Acute Lung Injury Consensus Conference (PALICC-2) guidelines for the diagnosis and management of pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (PARDS), considering new evidence and topic areas that were not previously addressed. DESIGN: International consensus conference series involving 52 multidisciplinary international content experts in PARDS and four methodology experts from 15 countries, using consensus conference methodology, and implementation science. SETTING: Not applicable. PATIENTS: Patients with or at risk for PARDS. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Eleven subgroups conducted systematic or scoping reviews addressing 11 topic areas: 1) definition, incidence, and epidemiology; 2) pathobiology, severity, and risk stratification; 3) ventilatory support; 4) pulmonary-specific ancillary treatment; 5) nonpulmonary treatment; 6) monitoring; 7) noninvasive respiratory support; 8) extracorporeal support; 9) morbidity and long-term outcomes; 10) clinical informatics and data science; and 11) resource-limited settings. The search included MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL Complete (EBSCOhost) and was updated in March 2022. Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation methodology was used to summarize evidence and develop the recommendations, which were discussed and voted on by all PALICC-2 experts. There were 146 recommendations and statements, including: 34 recommendations for clinical practice; 112 consensus-based statements with 18 on PARDS definition, 55 on good practice, seven on policy, and 32 on research. All recommendations and statements had agreement greater than 80%. CONCLUSIONS: PALICC-2 recommendations and consensus-based statements should facilitate the implementation and adherence to the best clinical practice in patients with PARDS. These results will also inform the development of future programs of research that are crucially needed to provide stronger evidence to guide the pediatric critical care teams managing these patients.

OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors for persistent impairments after pediatric hospitalization for acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. METHODS: Across 25 U.S. Overcoming COVID-19 Network hospitals, we conducted a prospective cohort study of patients

This article explores how an Arendtian perspective on natality contributes to transcendence within a humanistic meaning-making framework in the practice of spiritual care. Through such a framework, individuals attribute meaning to the world around them. In this context, meaningfulness is understood as an orientation process within a meaning framework that provides direction towards 'the good'. For Hannah Arendt, natality refers to the capacity to do the unexpected, initiate something new, take action, and 'become someone'. This act of initiating something new can be preceded by significant moments of reflection or entering a moral space. Spiritual counsellors can support individuals in this moral orientation process towards the good. A meaning framework is part of a larger entity, referred to as the epistemic structure of our society, which traditionally focuses on mortality. This conventional understanding of death is crucial for reconciling with life. In contrast, the meaning of natality emphasizes the future, hope, and change through the initiation of new actions. Thus, the concept of natality has the potential to broaden our contemporary epistemic structure of meaning-making. Achieving this, however, requires study, deconstruction, and intentional change.

BackgroundCongenital toxoplasmosis is a treatable, preventable disease, but untreated causes death, prematurity, loss of sight, cognition and motor function, and substantial costs worldwide.ObjectivesWe asked whether high performance of an Immunochromatographic-test (ICT) could enable accurate, rapid diagnosis/treatment, establishing new, improved care-paradigms at point-of-care and clinical laboratory.MethodsData were obtained in 12 studies/analyses addressing: 1-feasibility/efficacy; 2-false-positives; 3-acceptability; 4-pink/black-line/all studies; 5-time/cost; 6-Quick-Information/Limit-of-detection; 7, 8-acute;-chronic; 9-epidemiology; 10-ADBio; 11,12-Commentary/Cases/Chronology.FindingsICT was compared with gold-standard or predicate-tests. Overall, ICT performance for 1093 blood/4967 sera was 99.2%/97.5% sensitive and 99.0%/99.7% specific. However, in clinical trial, FDA-cleared-predicate tests initially caused practical, costly problems due to false-positive-IgM results. For 58 persons, 3/43 seronegative and 2/15 chronically infected persons had false positive IgM predicate tests. This caused substantial anxiety, concerns, and required costly, delayed confirmation in reference centers. Absence of false positive ICT results contributes to solutions: Lyon and Paris France and USA Reference laboratories frequently receive sera with erroneously positive local laboratory IgM results impeding patient care. Therefore, thirty-two such sera referred to Lyon's Reference laboratory were ICT-tested. We collated these with other earlier/ongoing results: 132 of 137 USA or French persons had false-positive local laboratory IgM results identified correctly as negative by ICT. Five false positive ICT results in Tunisia and Marseille, France, emphasize need to confirm positive ICT results with Sabin-Feldman-Dye-test or western blot. Separate studies demonstrated high performance in detecting acute infections, meeting FDA, CLIA, WHO REASSURED, CEMark criteria and patient and physician satisfaction with monthly-gestational-ICT-screening.Conclusions/significanceThis novel paradigm using ICT identifies likely false positives or raises suspicion that a result is truly positive, rapidly needing prompt follow up and treatment. Thus, ICT enables well-accepted gestational screening programs that facilitate rapid treatment saving lives, sight, cognition and motor function. This reduces anxiety, delays, work, and cost at point-of-care and clinical laboratories.Trial registrationNCT04474132, https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04474132 ClinicalTrials.gov.

The isoproterenol (ISO)-induced myocardial fibrosis is considered a reliable and repeatable experimental model characterized by a relatively low mortality rate. Although is well-known that ISO stimulates the β1 adrenergic receptors at the myocardial level, a high degree of heterogeneity emerges around the doses and duration of the treatment generating unclear results. Therefore, we propose to gain insights into the progression of ISO-induced myocardial fibrosis, in order to critically analyze and optimize the experimental model. Male Wistar rats (12–14-week-old) were submitted to subcutaneous injection of ISO, in particular, two doses were selected: the commonly used dose of 5 mg/kg and a lower dose of 1 mg/kg, administered for 3 and 6 days. Biochemical and histological examinations were conducted either immediately after the last administration or after a recovering period of 7 or 14 days from the initial administration. Noteworthy, from our investigation emerged that even the lower dose of ISO was able to induce the maximal biochemical and histological alterations, suggesting that lower doses should be considered to control the progression of the damage more precisely and to identify a prodromic phase in which intervention with pharmacological or nutraceutical tools can be effectively attempted.

Justificativa e Objetivos: crianças ainda são afetadas pelo HIV e pela tuberculose (TB). Dessa forma, o objetivo do estudo foi identificar a ocorrência de casos de HIV e TB em crianças. Métodos: trata-se de estudo epidemiológico, não experimental, retrospectivo, em que a população foi constituída pelo registro de casos infantis de HIV e TB residentes em um município do interior do estado de São Paulo, no período de 2012 a 2022, na faixa etária de zero a 13 anos de idade. Após a coleta de dados, foi realizada a verificação de consistência e validade dos dados, seguida do tratamento categorizado das informações para análises descritivas e apresentação em tabelas de frequência absoluta e relativa. Resultados: no período de estudo, foram identificados seis casos de HIV e sete de TB em crianças com média anual respectiva de 0,033 e 0,031 casos/1.000 habitantes com idade até 13 anos. Verificaram-se 146 notificações de criança exposta ao HIV. Houve diferença de meses a anos entre as datas de diagnóstico e de notificação, o que diverge do recomendado pelo Ministério da Saúde. Foi verificada a incompatibilidade entre plataformas de registro de âmbito municipal e estadual, o que evidencia uma quebra do fluxo de informação das notificações. Conclusão: houve ocorrência de casos de HIV e TB infantil nos últimos dez anos. Foram identificados problemas estruturais na fragmentação do fluxo da informação que subsidia ações de saúde de acordo com as necessidades da população, o que ofusca a capacidade de resposta do sistema de saúde.

BackgroundPrevious latent class analysis of adults with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) identified two phenotypes, distinguished by the degree of inflammation. We aimed to identify phenotypes in children with ARDS in whom developmental differences might be important, using a latent class analysis approach similar to that used in adults.MethodsThis study was a secondary analysis of data aggregated from the Randomized Evaluation of Sedation Titration for Respiratory Failure (RESTORE) clinical trial and the Genetic Variation and Biomarkers in Children with Acute Lung Injury (BALI) ancillary study. We used latent class analysis, which included demographic, clinical, and plasma biomarker variables, to identify paediatric ARDS (PARDS) phenotypes within a cohort of children included in the RESTORE and BALI studies. The association of phenotypes with clinically relevant outcomes and the performance of paediatric data in adult ARDS classification algorithms were also assessed.Findings304 children with PARDS were included in this secondary analysis. Using latent class analysis, a two-class model was a better fit for the cohort than a one-class model (p

COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for persons who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now, or who might become pregnant in the future, to protect them from COVID-19.§ Infants are at risk for life-threatening complications from COVID-19, including acute respiratory failure (1). Evidence from other vaccine-preventable diseases suggests that maternal immunization can provide protection to infants, especially during the high-risk first 6 months of life, through passive transplacental antibody transfer (2). Recent studies of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy suggest the possibility of transplacental transfer of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies that might provide protection to infants (3-5); however, no epidemiologic evidence currently exists for the protective benefits of maternal immunization during pregnancy against COVID-19 in infants. The Overcoming COVID-19 network conducted a test-negative, case-control study at 20 pediatric hospitals in 17 states during July 1, 2021-January 17, 2022, to assess effectiveness of maternal completion of a 2-dose primary mRNA COVID-19 vaccination series during pregnancy against COVID-19 hospitalization in infants. Among 379 hospitalized infants aged

Neutralization capacity of antibodies against Omicron after a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and adolescents is not well studied. Therefore, we evaluated virus-neutralizing capacity against SARS-CoV-2 Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron variants by age-stratified analyses (5 years of age. As expected, convalescent pediatric COVID-19 and MIS-C cohorts demonstrate higher neutralization titers than hospitalized acute COVID-19 patients. Overall, children and adolescents show some loss of cross-neutralization against all variants, with the most pronounced loss against Omicron. In contrast to SARS-CoV-2 infection, children vaccinated twice demonstrated higher titers against Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron. These findings can influence transmission, re-infection and the clinical disease outcome from emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and supports the need for vaccination in children.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is a transcription factor expressed in many tissues, including skin, where it is essential for maintaining skin barrier permeability, regulating cell proliferation/differentiation, and modulating antioxidant and inflammatory responses upon ligand binding. Therefore, PPARγ activation has important implications for skin homeostasis. Over the past 20 years, with increasing interest in the role of PPARs in skin physiopathology, considerable effort has been devoted to the development of PPARγ ligands as a therapeutic option for skin inflammatory disorders. In addition, PPARγ also regulates sebocyte differentiation and lipid production, making it a potential target for inflammatory sebaceous disorders such as acne. A large number of studies suggest that PPARγ also acts as a skin tumor suppressor in both melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers, but its role in tumorigenesis remains controversial. In this review, we have summarized the current state of research into the role of PPARγ in skin health and disease and how this may provide a starting point for the development of more potent and selective PPARγ ligands with a low toxicity profile, thereby reducing unwanted side effects.

ObjectiveTo identify risk factors for persistent impairments after pediatric hospitalization for acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.MethodsAcross 25 U.S. Overcoming COVID-19 Network hospitals, we conducted a prospective cohort study of patients

Abstract Photosynthetic algae have evolved mechanisms to cope with suboptimal light and CO2 conditions. When light energy exceeds CO2 fixation capacity, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii activates photoprotection, mediated by LHCSR1/3 and PSBS, and the CO2 Concentrating Mechanism (CCM). How light and CO2 signals converge to regulate these processes remains unclear. Here, we show that excess light activates photoprotection- and CCM-related genes by altering intracellular CO2 concentrations and that depletion of CO2 drives these responses, even in total darkness. High CO2 levels, derived from respiration or impaired photosynthetic fixation, repress LHCSR3/CCM genes while stabilizing the LHCSR1 protein. Finally, we show that the CCM regulator CIA5 also regulates photoprotection, controlling LHCSR3 and PSBS transcript accumulation while inhibiting LHCSR1 protein accumulation. This work has allowed us to dissect the effect of CO2 and light on CCM and photoprotection, demonstrating that light often indirectly affects these processes by impacting intracellular CO2 levels.

Contrariamente al significado etimológico de la palabra, la jubilación no siempre representa un periodo de alegría. Hasta una tercera parte de los trabajadores encuentran dificultades para adaptarse a esta nueva situación. La profesión y los antecedentes laborales, el grado de identificación y satisfacción con las tareas desarrolladas, así como una adecuada anticipación y expectativas de futuro condicionarán el éxito en el tránsito a la nueva situación, así como el pleno disfrute de la nueva etapa. El relato que de la jubilación hacemos parte, por supuesto, de nuestro punto de vista como trabajadores de la sanidad con las peculiaridades que ello pueda representar.

Cardiovascular disease shows, or may even be caused by, changes in metabolism. Hyperpolarized magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging is a technique that could assess the role of different aspects of metabolism in heart disease, allowing real-time metabolic flux assessment in vivo. In this review, we introduce the main hyperpolarization techniques. Then, we summarize the use of dedicated radiofrequency 13C coils, and report a state of the art of 13C data acquisition. Finally, this review provides an overview of the pre-clinical and clinical studies on cardiac metabolism in the healthy and diseased heart. We furthermore show what advances have been made to translate this technique into the clinic in the near future and what technical challenges still remain, such as exploring other metabolic substrates.

Irisin is a myokine secreted under the influence of physical activity and exposure to low temperatures and through different exogenous stimuli by the cleavage of its precursor, fibronectin type III domain-containing protein 5 (FNDC5). It is mainly known for maintaining of metabolic homeostasis, promoting the browning of white adipose tissue, the thermogenesis process, and glucose homeostasis. Growing experimental evidence suggests the possible central role of irisin in the regulation of cardiometabolic pathophysiological processes. On the other side, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is well recognized as a pleiotropic gasotransmitter that regulates several homeostatic balances and physiological functions and takes part in the pathogenesis of cardiometabolic diseases. Through the S-persulfidation of cysteine protein residues, H2S is capable of interacting with crucial signaling pathways, exerting beneficial effects in regulating glucose and lipid homeostasis as well. H2S and irisin seem to be intertwined; indeed, recently, H2S was found to regulate irisin secretion by activating the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1α)/FNDC5/irisin signaling pathway, and they share several mechanisms of action. Their involvement in metabolic diseases is confirmed by the detection of their lower circulating levels in obese and diabetic subjects. Along with the importance of metabolic disorders, these modulators exert favorable effects against cardiovascular diseases, preventing incidents of hypertension, atherosclerosis, heart failure, myocardial infarction, and ischemia–reperfusion injury. This review, for the first time, aims to explore the role of H2S and irisin and their possible crosstalk in cardiovascular diseases, pointing out the main effects exerted through the common molecular pathways involved.

Derangement of the epidermal barrier lipids and dysregulated immune responses are key pathogenic features of atopic dermatitis (AD). The Th2-type cytokines interleukin IL-4 and IL-13 play a prominent role in AD by activating the Janus Kinase/Signal Transduction and Activator of Transcription (JAK/STAT) intracellular signaling axis. This study aimed to investigate the role of JAK/STAT in the lipid perturbations induced by Th2 signaling in 3D epidermal equivalents. Tofacitinib, a low-molecular-mass JAK inhibitor, was used to screen for JAK/STAT-mediated deregulation of lipid metabolism. Th2 cytokines decreased the expression of elongases 1, 3, and 4 and serine-palmitoyl-transferase and increased that of sphingolipid delta(4)-desaturase and carbonic anhydrase 2. Th2 cytokines inhibited the synthesis of palmitoleic acid and caused depletion of triglycerides, in association with altered phosphatidylcholine profiles and fatty acid (FA) metabolism. Overall, the ceramide profiles were minimally affected. Except for most sphingolipids and very-long-chain FAs, the effects of Th2 on lipid pathways were reversed by co-treatment with tofacitinib. An increase in the mRNA levels of CPT1A and ACAT1, reduced by tofacitinib, suggests that Th2 cytokines promote FA beta-oxidation. In conclusion, pharmacological inhibition of JAK/STAT activation prevents the lipid disruption caused by the halted homeostasis of FA metabolism.

Magnetic resonance (MR) with sodium (23Na) is a noninvasive tool providing quantitative biochemical information regarding physiology, cellular metabolism, and viability, with the potential to extend MR beyond anatomical proton imaging. However, when using clinical scanners, the low detectable 23Na signal and the low 23Na gyromagnetic ratio require the design of dedicated radiofrequency (RF) coils tuned to the 23Na Larmor frequency and sequences, as well as the development of dedicated phantoms for testing the image quality, and an MR scanner with multinuclear spectroscopy (MNS) capabilities. In this work, we propose a hardware and software setup for evaluating the potential of 23Na magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a clinical scanner. In particular, the reliability of the proposed setup and the reproducibility of the measurements were verified by multiple acquisitions from a 3T MR scanner using a homebuilt RF volume coil and a dedicated sequence for the imaging of a phantom specifically designed for evaluating the accuracy of the technique. The final goal of this study is to propose a setup for standardizing clinical and research 23Na MRI protocols.

Radiofrequency (RF) coils for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) applications serve to generate RF fields to excite the nuclei in the sample (transmit coil) and to pick up the RF signals emitted by the nuclei (receive coil). For the purpose of optimizing the image quality, the performance of RF coils has to be maximized. In particular, the transmit coil has to provide a homogeneous RF magnetic field, while the receive coil has to provide the highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Thus, particular attention must be paid to the coil simulation and design phases, which can be performed with different computer simulation techniques. Being largely used in many sectors of engineering and sciences, machine learning (ML) is a promising method among the different emerging strategies for coil simulation and design. Starting from the applications of ML algorithms in MRI and a short description of the RF coil’s performance parameters, this narrative review describes the applications of such techniques for the simulation and design of RF coils for MRI, by including deep learning (DL) and ML-based algorithms for solving electromagnetic problems.

The purpose of this study is to assess the cardiometabolic responses of a lifestyle intervention (LI) conducted at home among breast cancer (BC) survivors during the two years of COVID-19 pandemic. A 3-month LI focused on diet and exercise was performed on thirty BC survivors (women; stages 0-II; non-metastatic; aged 53.6 ± 7.6 years; non-physically active) with a risk factor related to metabolic/endocrine diseases. Anthropometrics, cardiorespiratory fitness (V˙ O2max), physical activity level (PAL), adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MeDiet modified questionnaire), and several biomarkers (i.e., glycemia, insulin, insulin resistance [HOMA-IR] index, triglycerides, high- [HDL] and low- [LDL] density lipoproteins, total cholesterol, progesterone, testosterone, and hs-troponin) were evaluated before and 3-, 6-, 12-, and 24-month after the LI. Beneficial effects of the LI were observed on several variables (i.e., body mass index, waist circumference, MeDiet, PAL, V˙ O2max, glycemia, insulin, HOMA-IR index, LDL, total cholesterol, triglycerides, testosterone) after 3-month. The significant effect on Mediterranean diet adherence and V˙ O2max persisted up to the 24-month follow-up. Decreases in HOMA-IR index and triglycerides were observed up to 12-month, however did not persist afterward. This study provides evidence on the positive association between LI and cardiometabolic health in BC survivors.

Insulin affects metabolic processes in different organs, including the skin. The sebaceous gland (SG) is an important appendage in the skin, which responds to insulin-mediated signals, either directly or through the insulin growth factor 1 (IGF-1) axis. Insulin cues are differently translated into the activation of metabolic processes depending on several factors, including glucose levels, receptor sensitivity, and sebocyte differentiation. The effects of diet on both the physiological function and pathological conditions of the SG have been linked to pathways activated by insulin and IGF-1. Experimental evidence and theoretical speculations support the association of insulin resistance with acne vulgaris, which is a major disorder of the SG. In this review, we examined the effects of insulin on the SG function and their implications in the pathogenesis of acne.