Antioxidation and the Hypoxic Ventilatory Response
Reactive oxygen species favor the reductive state of iron. Antioxidation, by depleting biologically active ferrous iron, could then have a stabilizing effect, akin to hypoxia, on HIF-1α; the process which controls the genetic responses to hypoxia. However, the influence of antioxidation on the hypoxic ventilatory responses (HVR) is unclear. In this study we set out to determine the influence of mangiferin, a natural polyphenolic compound present in mango trees, with strong antioxidant and iron chelating properties, on the HVR. The study was performed in awake Wistar rats. Acute HVR to 12% and 8% FiO2 before and 40 min after mangiferin (300 mg/kg, i.p.) pretreatment were recorded plethysmogr…
Near-Infrared Hemoencephalography for Monitoring Blood Oxygenation in Prefrontal Cortical Areas in Diagnosis and Therapy of Developmental Dyslexia
The purpose of this study was to check empirically the relevance of the near-infrared hemoencephalography (NIR-HEG), which assesses local brain blood oxygenation, in facilitation of the diagnosis and behavioral therapy in dyslexics. The study was carried out in children and teenagers with physiologically recognized dyslexia, of three increasing age-groups: 6–7, 9–10, and 19–20 years old. Healthy age- and gender-matched subjects were used as controls. Left and right prefrontal cortical areas were targeted for the NIR-HEG measurements that were taken at baseline in both controls and dyslexics and then after a 10-day course of midriff breathing exercise combined with a standard vocal and writi…
Dual orexin receptor blocker suvorexant attenuates hypercapnic ventilatory augmentation in mice
Suvorexant (Belsomra(R)), a dual orexin receptor antagonist widely used in the treatment of insomnia, inhibits the arousal system in the brain. However, the drug’s ventilatory effects have not been fully explored. This study aims to investigate the expression of orexin receptors in respiratory neurons and the effects of suvorexant on ventilation. Immunohistology of brainstem orexin receptor OX2R expression was performed in adult mice (n = 4) in (1) rostral ventral respiratory group (rVRG) neurons projecting to the phrenic nucleus (PhN) retrogradely labeled by Fluoro-Gold (FG) tracer, (2) neurons immunoreactive for paired like homeobox 2b (Phox2b) in the parafacial respiratory group/retrotra…
Pulmonology
Medical Records: A Historical Narrative
The history of medical records is thousand-year-long, with earlier roots in ancient civilizations. Until the 19th century, medical records mainly served educational purposes, later assuming other roles such as in insurance or legal procedures. This article comprehensively describes and reviews the development of medical records from ancient to modern times in Europe and North America, reflecting alterations and adaptations compliant with the mental and technological capabilities of a given period. We searched PubMed and Google Scholar databases to collect pertinent articles. English articles or those having English abstracts were considered. The search terms included “Medical Records,” “Hea…
Compliance with the Surgery Safety Checklist: An Update on the Status
WHO has recommended the implementation of the Surgery Safety Checklist (SSC) to reign in often simple logistic errors that lead to numerous complications, some of them being fatal, in the perioperative period. This study aims to discuss doubts presented in the medical literature concerning the effectiveness of SSC in the currently existing form. The article is based on the literature search performed in PubMed using the command phrase "Surgery Safety Checklist". The search yielded 1,476 articles up to March 2021. Out of this group, we selected 811 articles for further detailed analysis. The selection was based on the meritorious SSC-related topicality and scrutinized content of the articles…
Computer Games and Fine Motor Skills
The study seeks to determine the influence of computer games on fine motor skills in young adults, an area of incomplete understanding and verification. We hypothesized that computer gaming could have a positive influence on basic motor skills, such as precision, aiming, speed, dexterity, or tremor. We examined 30 habitual game users (F/M – 3/27; age range 20–25 years) of the highly interactive game Counter Strike, in which players impersonate soldiers on a battlefield, and 30 age- and gender-matched subjects who declared never to play games. Selected tests from the Vienna Test System were used to assess fine motor skills and tremor. The results demonstrate that the game users scored apprec…
Depressive symptoms in schizophrenic patients
Abstract Distinction between true negative and depressive symptoms in schizophrenia is difficult. In the present study we seek to establish the psychological profile of depression-prone schizophrenic patients. We addressed the issue by comparing the expression of psychological indices, such as the feelings of being in control of events, anxiety, mood, and the style of coping with stress in depressive and non-depressive schizophrenics. We also analyzed the strength of the association of these indices with the presence of depressive symptoms. A total of 49 patients (18 women and 31 men, aged 23-59) were enrolled into the study, consisting of a self-reported psychometric survey. We found that …
Astrocytes play an active role in persistence of respiratory augmentation in the recovery phase after hypoxic exposure
Medical Research and Development
Cytokines and Toll-Like Receptors in the Immune Response to Influenza Vaccination
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are involved in immunogenicity. However, little information is available on the role of TLRs in the immune response to vaccination against influenza virus. The aim of the study was to analyze the relationship between the immunogenic response to influenza vaccine and the presence of soluble forms of TLRs and selected cytokines in the serum. There were two groups of subjects participating in the main protocol of the study: 55 chronically hemodialyzed patients (Group A) and 55 healthy volunteers (Group B) participated in the study. Both groups were vaccinated against influenza using a subunit Agrippal vaccine. The concentrations of human TNF-α, IL-1β/IL-1F2, IL-6, an…
Real-Time Breath Analysis in Type 2 Diabetes Patients During Cognitive Effort
The understanding the functional expression of exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has gradually expanded from the initial identification of breath pathological markers to direct expression of physiological activity. In the present study we investigated the potential application of breath analysis in real-time monitoring of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients versus control subjects while performing a cognitive task. T2DM is associated with cognitive impairment and neural deficits, because of insulin resistance and high expression of insulin receptors in the hippocampus. We set out to seek the evidence for mutual associations among breath exhale, on the one side, and T2DM and cog…
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath as a marker of hypoxia in multiple chemical sensitivity
Abstract In the history of diagnostics, breath analysis was one of the first method used until the breakthrough of biochemical testing technology. Today, breath analysis has made a comeback with the development of gas analyzers and e‐noses, demonstrating its power in its applicability for diagnosing a wide range of diseases. The physical basis of multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), an emerging environmental disease, is difficult to understand because it is based on the scenario of chronic hypoxia, with a complex of chemical compounds that trigger the syndrome and result in multiple symptoms. The aim of this study was to investigate MCS by analyzing exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOCs)…
Depression and religiosity in older age
Abstract We investigated the hypothesis that religious commitment could help counter general affective distress, accompanying depressive symptoms, in older age. A total of 34 older adults, all catholic believers, completed self-reported questionnaires on the presence of depressive symptoms, religiosity, health, worry, and the style of coping with stress. The depressive and non-depressive subgroups were then created. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 50%, with the substantial predominance of females. Regression analyses indicate that health expectations and worry significantly worsen with increasing intensity of depressive symptoms. The results further show that religious engagement …
Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases in the carotid body: an immunohistochemical study
We determined the presence of Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases (CaMKs), a family of multifunctional proteins engaged in Ca(2+)-linked signaling, in carotid body chemoreceptor cells which are critical for the hypoxia-sensing. Carotid bodies were dissected from anesthetized normoxic adult Wistar rats and were double stained for individual CaMKs and for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), a marker of chemoreceptor cells. Immunofluorescence was examined by confocal laser scanning microscopy. We found that CaMKI and CaMKII were expressed in chemoreceptor cells, but their distribution and intensity varied. CaMKI immunoreactivity was distributed throughout the cytoplasm, whereas that of CaMKII w…
<b>Cognitive functioning of the prelingually deaf adults </b>
Deafness is a model of brain adaptation to sensory deprivation which entails psychomotor and cognitive domains. This study seeks to determine the level of emotional intelligence, assessed from the ability to discern emotions from facial expressions, visual and mental attention, and non-verbal fluency in the deaf people as compared with the hearing counterparts. Participants were 29 prelingually deaf, hearing loss of >70 dB, communicating only in sign language, and 30 hearing persons. The age range of all subjects was 40–50 years. Psychometric tools consisted of the Emotional Intelligence Scale-Faces, the d2 Test of Attention, and the Figural Fluency Test. Data elaboration took gender into a…
Cognitive Functioning of the Prelingually Deaf Adults
Deafness is a model of brain adaptation to sensory deprivation which entails psychomotor and cognitive domains. This study seeks to determine the level of emotional intelligence, assessed from the ability to discern emotions from facial expressions, visual and mental attention, and non-verbal fluency in the deaf people as compared with the hearing counterparts. Participants were 29 prelingually deaf, hearing loss of >70 dB, communicating only in sign language, and 30 hearing persons. The age range of all subjects was 40–50 years. Psychometric tools consisted of the Emotional Intelligence Scale-Faces, the d2 Test of Attention, and the Figural Fluency Test. Data elaboration took gender into a…
Overload of Medical Documentation: A Disincentive for Healthcare Professionals
This review addresses the theories concerning the development and functioning of medical bureaucracy creating an excess of the patient records. An ever-growing number of medical files comply with the typical development of the bureaucratic management of an entrepreneurial organization, an essential feature of which is the life cycle of documentation. When the life cycle ends, an update is created with a multiplication of forms and items to be filled out, resembling that of what happens with the outdated computer program. Yet medical records should have a logical and well-functioning structure using the language of computer science in the form of a cascade or evolutionary model. Further, we …
Psychobehavioral Effects of Meditation
Meditation is an increasingly popular psychobehavioral therapy. Various meditation techniques in use make it hard to objectively scrutinize the psychological benefits. Therefore, in this study we set out to examine the effects of two fundamentally different meditative techniques, Zazen, ‘seated meditation’, in which the body and mind are calmed, and Tai Chi, ‘meditation in motion’, based on energetic martial art performance. The aim was to compare the effects of both techniques on personality structure, emotional intelligence, mood, and coping with stress. The study was conducted in 48 healthy volunteers, aged 39–50, divided into those practicing Zazen, Tai Chi, and the non-meditating contr…
Role of microglia in blood pressure and respiratory responses to acute hypoxic exposure in rats
AbstractMicroglia modulate cardiorespiratory activities during chronic hypoxia. It has not been clarified whether microglia are involved in the cardiorespiratory responses to acute hypoxia. Here we investigated this issue by comparing cardiorespiratory responses to two levels of acute hypoxia (13% O2 for 4 min and 7% O2 for 5 min) in conscious unrestrained rats before and after systemic injection of minocycline (MINO), an inhibitor of microglia activation. MINO increased blood pressure but not lung ventilation in the control normoxic condition. Acute hypoxia stimulated cardiorespiratory responses in MINO-untreated rats. MINO failed to significantly affect the magnitude of hypoxia-induced bl…
Physical Exercise and Aging: Appraisal and Reappraisal
<b>NON-EDUCATIONAL VIDEOGAMES IN EMOTIONAL, COGNITIVE AND ANTI-STRESS TRAINING</b>
Personality and perception of stigma in psychiatric patients with depressive disorders
Objective The study seeks to determine the relationships between neuroticism and extroversion, on the one side, and the perception of various dimensions of social stigma, on the other, in psychiatric in-patients with depressive disorders, such as depressive episodes, or mood and anxiety disorders with the presence of depressive symptoms. Material and methods A total of 72 patients were examined in the study. Twenty four of them (F/M - 12/12; age range 42-65 years) were used for assessing the reliability of a depression stigma questionnaire (DSQ) created specifically for this study. The remaining 48 patients (F/M - 31/17; age range 17-74 years) were then surveyed with the DSQ and other psych…
Artificial Intelligence and Precision Medicine: A Perspective
This article aims to present how the advanced solutions of artificial intelligence and precision medicine work together to refine medical management. Multi-omics seems the most suitable approach for biological analysis of data on precision medicine and artificial intelligence. We searched PubMed and Google Scholar databases to collect pertinent articles appearing up to 5 March 2021. Genetics, oncology, radiology, and the recent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic were chosen as representative fields addressing the cross-compliance of artificial intelligence (AI) and precision medicine based on the highest number of articles, topicality, and interconnectedness of the issue. Overall, we i…
PHYSIOLOGY OF AGING AND BRAIN PLASTICITY
Pedobarography: A Review on Methods and Practical Use in Foot Disorders
Pedobarographic examination is a non-invasive method that enables the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of plantar pressure distribution, notably the plantar pressure distribution, referring to the function of the entire musculoskeletal system. This is a scoping review that aims to update knowledge on the practical use of pedobarography in foot disorders. We also attempted to systematize the methodological principles of conducting the pedobarographic examination. We searched Medline/PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews for the articles on the methodology of pedobarography. The search encompassed clinical trials, randomized controlled trials, …
Best Practice in Health Care
This book aims to disseminate and review the latest interdisciplinary medical knowledge to provide information on best clinical practice for difficult-to-treat conditions. The chapters address various aspects and approaches to the management of medical conditions that are not fully understood. This is exemplified by complex immune and inflammatory interactions in cancer development and survival-prolonging repeat surgery for pulmonary metastases or advances in craniotomy techniques for intracranial hemorrhage. Other chapters address the quality of life of patients after pyeloplasty, parathyroidectomy, or physically debilitating ankylosing spondylitis. Additional chapters address primary cili…
Hypoxic Ventilatory Reactivity in Experimental Diabetes
Diabetes, apart from generalized neuropathy and microangiopathy, involves tissue hypoxia, which may drive chronic proinflammatory state. However, studies on the ventilatory control in diabetes are sparse and conflicting. In this study we examined the function and morphology of diabetic carotid bodies (CBs). Diabetes was evoked in Wistar rats with streptozotocin (70 mg/kg, i.p.). The acute hypoxic ventilatory responses (HVR) to 12 and 8 % O(2) were investigated in conscious untreated rats after 2 and 4 weeks in a plethysmographic chamber. CBs were dissected and subjected to morphologic investigations: (1) electron transmission microscopy for ultrastructure and (2) laser scanning confocal mic…
Antioxidant treatment for impaired hypoxic ventilatory responses in experimental diabetes in the rat
Inflammation, tissue hypoxia, and impaired hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR) are the intricately entwined features of diabetes which perpetuate the disease and its sequelae. Hyperglycemia, notably, is an oxygen consuming process due to enhanced cellular metabolism. Oxidative stress underlies diabetic pathogenesis and also is a crucial modulator of the hypoxic chemoreflex. The present study seeks to determine if suppressed ventilation in diabetes could be improved by antioxidant treatment. The study was performed in streptozotocin-induced diabetes in awake rats. Two weeks into full-fledged diabetes, the rats were divided into mangiferin (potent natural antioxidant)-treated and untreated, wi…
Expression of p11 and TASK1 Channels in Rat Carotid Body Glomus Cells Subjected to Chronic Intermittent Hypoxia
Chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) has been used as a model to mimic nocturnal apnea, which is associated with hypertension. One of the mechanisms for hypertension in patients with nocturnal apnea is an enhancement of the plasma membrane response to acute hypoxia in carotid body glomus cells. Hypoxia is known to induce depolarization via inhibiting TWIK-related acid-sensitive K+ (TASK) channels, one type of leak K+ channels, in glomus cells. The present experiment was undertaken to immunocytochemically investigate the effects of CIH on the expression and intracellular localization of TASK1 channels and p11 that critically affect the trafficking of TASK1 to the cell surface. The expression l…
Pulmonary Health and Disorders
Structural and functional identification of two distinct inspiratory neuronal populations at the level of the phrenic nucleus in the rat cervical spinal cord.
The diaphragm is driven by phrenic motoneurons that are located in the cervical spinal cord. Although the anatomical location of the phrenic nucleus and the function of phrenic motoneurons at a single cellular level have been extensively analyzed, the spatiotemporal dynamics of phrenic motoneuron group activity have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, we analyzed the functional and structural characteristics of respiratory neuron population in the cervical spinal cord at the level of the phrenic nucleus by voltage imaging, together with histological analysis of neuronal and astrocytic distribution in the cervical spinal cord. We found spatially distinct two cellular populations…
Activation of Astrocytes in the Persistence of Post-hypoxic Respiratory Augmentation
Acute hypoxia increases ventilation. After cessation of hypoxia loading, ventilation decreases but remains above the pre-exposure baseline level for a time. However, the mechanism of this post-hypoxic persistent respiratory augmentation (PHRA), which is a short-term potentiation of breathing, has not been elucidated. We aimed to test the hypothesis that astrocytes are involved in PHRA. To this end, we investigated hypoxic ventilatory responses by whole-body plethysmography in unanesthetized adult mice. The animals breathed room air, hypoxic gas mixture (7% O2, 93% N2) for 2min, and again room air for 10min before and after i.p. administration of low (100mg/kg) and high (300mg/kg) doses of a…
Medical and Biomedical Updates
Medical Research and Innovation
This volume is dedicated to multidisciplinary research at the interface between basic biomedicine and clinical practice. This book guides best practice in the diagnosis and therapy while dealing with difficult-to-treat disorders of yet unclear etiology. Chapters address such disorders as granulomatosis with polyangiitis causing autoimmune-related multiorgan inflammation of blood vessels, increasingly widespread allergy to peanuts, occupational exposure to zinc oxide, and immunogenic responses to pneumococcal and influenza vaccination underlying their preventive effectiveness. Other hot issues deal with the proper use of fluid therapy in the perioperative period and a cognitive decline in lu…
JSPS - PAN Webinar - November 2020
Advances in Pulmonary Medicine: Research and Innovations
This book discusses a wide range of investigations and practice-oriented advances in pulmonary medicine and critical care. Pulmonary diseases are a major cause of hospitalization and mortality, affecting millions of people worldwide. Addressing a range of topics, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, sleep apnea, and lung cancer, the book offers insights into the disease mechanisms and risk factors, along with practical aspects concerning the maintenance of quality of life, adherence to therapy, and palliative treatment and care. Further, it explores diagnostic and treatment approaches to respiratory dysfunction and respiratory failure, highlighting the beneficial effects of good…
Inhibition of Peripheral Dopamine Metabolism and the Ventilatory Response to Hypoxia in the Rat
Dopamine (DA) is a putative neurotransmitter in the carotid body engaged in the generation of the hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR). However, the action of endogenous DA is unsettled. This study seeks to determine the ventilatory effects of increased availability of endogenous DA caused by inhibition of DA enzymatic breakdown. The peripheral inhibitor of MAO – debrisoquine, or COMT – entacapone, or both combined were injected to conscious rats. Ventilation and its responses to acute 8 % O2 in N2 were investigated in a whole body plethysmograph. We found that inhibition of MAO augmented the hyperventilatory response to hypoxia. Inhibition of COMT failed to influence the hypoxic response. Ho…
Aerosolized GLP-1 for Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus and Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Diabetes is a global burden and the prevalence of the disease, in particular diabetes mellitus type 2 is rapidly increasing worldwide. After introduction of insulin into clinical therapy about 90 years ago a major number of pharmaceuticals has been developed for treatment of diabetes mellitus type 2. One of these, the incretin glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), like insulin, needs subcutaneous administration causing inconvenience to patients. However, administration of GLP-1 plays also a role for treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). To improve patient convenience inhaled insulin (Exubera®) was developed and approved but failed market acceptance some years ago. Recently, another inhala…
Guanosine Protects Glial Cells Against 6-Hydroxydopamine Toxicity
Increasing body of evidence indicates that neuron-neuroglia interaction may play a key role in determining the progression of neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s disease (PD), a chronic pathological condition characterized by selective loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra. We have previously reported that guanosine (GUO) antagonizes MPP+-induced cytotoxicity in neuroblastoma cells and exerts neuroprotective effects against 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) and beta-amyloid-induced apoptosis of SH-SY5Y cells. In the present study we demonstrate that GUO protected C6 glioma cells, taken as a model system for astrocytes, from 6-OHDA-induced neurotoxicity. We show tha…
Development and Aging Are Oxygen-Dependent and Correlate with VEGF and NOS along Life Span
During development and aging, vascular remodeling represents a critical adaptive response to modifications in oxygen supply to tissues. Hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) has a crucial role and is modulated by oxygen levels, with an age-dependent response in neonates, adult, and aged people. ROS are generated under hypoxic conditions and the accumulation of free radicals during life reduces the ability of tissues to their removal. In this immunohistochemical study we investigated the presence and localization of VEGF and iNOS in human carotid bodies (CB) sampled at autopsy from three children (mean age – 2 years), four adult young subjects (mean age – 44.3 years), and four old subjects (mean ag…
Selective expression of galanin in neuronal-like cells of the human carotid body
The carotid body is a neural-crest-derived organ devoted to respiratory homeostasis through sensing changes in blood oxygen levels. The sensory units are the glomeruli composed of clusters of neuronal-like (type I) cells surrounded by glial-like (type II) cells. During chronic hypoxia, the carotid body shows growth, with increasing neuronal-like cell numbers. We are interested in the signals involved in the mechanisms that underlie such response, because they are not well understood and described. Considering that, in literature, galanin is involved in neurotrophic or neuroprotective role in cell proliferation and is expressed in animal carotid body, we investigated its expression in human.…
Role of IP3 Receptors in Shaping the Carotid Chemoreceptor Response to Hypoxia But Not to Hypercapnia in the Rat Carotid Body: An Evidence Review
This article addresses the disparity in the transduction pathways for hypoxic and hypercapnic stimuli in carotid body glomus cells. We investigated and reviewed the experimental evidence showing that the response to hypoxia, but not to hypercapnia, is mediated by 1,4,5-inositol triphosphate receptors (IP3R/s) regulating the intracellular calcium content [Ca2+]c in glomus cells. The rationale was based on the past observations that inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation leads to the explicit inhibition of the hypoxic chemoreflex. [Ca2+]c changes were measured using cellular Ca2+-sensitive fluorescent probes, and carotid sinus nerve (CSN) sensory discharge was recorded with bipolar electrode…
Introducing an Integrated Rehabilitation Approach for the Treatment of Osteoporosis
Volatile organic compounds fingerprint of Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a profoundly life changing condition and once diagnosis occurs, this is typically at a relatively late stage into the disease process. Therefore, a shift to earlier diagnosis, which means several decades before the onset of the typical manifestation of the disease, will be an important step forward for the patient. A promising diagnostic and screening tool to answer this purpose is represented by breath and exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOCs) analysis. In fact, human exhaled breath contains several thousand of VOCs that vary in abundance and number in correlation with the physiological status. The exhaled VOCs reflect the metabolism, including the neuronal …
Chemoresponsiveness and Breath Physiology in Anosmia
Anosmia is a model to study the interaction among chemoreception systems. In the head injury, the traumatic irreversible anosmia caused by damage to olfactory nerve fibers and brain regions is of enviable research interest. In this study, psychophysiological tests for a comprehensive assessment of olfactory function were utilized to investigate anosmia, together with a new technique based on the breath real-time monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). We applied the breath and VOCs analysis to investigate chemoresponsiveness in the long-term irreversible post-traumatic anosmia.
Advances in Biomedicine
Pathologies currently identified by exhaled biomarkers.
Ancient Greek physicians already knew that the smell of human breath could provide a clue to the pathology. Nowadays, volatile breath biomarkers are known to be released in a broad range of diseases. However, their identification, isolation, and quantification as indicative of relevant alterations in clinical status have required the development of new techniques and analytical methods. Breath sample analysis encounters several obstacles. Particularly, there is a need of a system that could work in a continuous manner, with the low concentration and small volume of a sample. Herein we review, in the light of literature and our experience, clinical applications of the metal oxide semiconduct…
In Silico Analysis of Bone Tension During Fixation of the Medial Malleolus Fracture After Ankle Joint Endoprosthesis
Total ankle arthroplasty (TAR) is a procedure alternative to arthrodesis which enables the biomechanical stabilization of the ankle joint. The procedure is associated with a high risk of complications, including fractures of the medial malleolus. In this study, the finite element method (FEM), based on CT examinations, was used to model the ankle fracture fixation after TAR. Three types of fracture stabilization were considered: screw, Blount staple, and both screw and Blount staple. In the in silico model, the maximum stress tension was found at prosthetic junctions with the base, cone, and talar components of the tibial prosthesis. When the fracture was stabilized with the Blount staple, …
Expression of p11 and Heteromeric TASK Channels in Rat Carotid Body Glomus Cells and Nerve Growth Factor–differentiated PC12 Cells
Psychological stress activates the hypothalamus, augments the sympathetic nervous output, and elevates blood pressure via excitation of the ventral medullary cardiovascular regions. However, anatomical and functional connectivity from the hypothalamus to the ventral medullary cardiovascular regions has not been fully elucidated. We investigated this issue by tract-tracing and functional imaging in rats. Retrograde tracing revealed the rostral ventrolateral medulla was innervated by neurons in the ipsilateral dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH). Anterograde tracing showed DMH neurons projected to the ventral medullary cardiovascular regions with axon terminals in contiguity with tyrosine hydroxyl…
Breathing and its stimulatory responses in parkinsonism: repercussions for physiotherapy
This study addresses respiratory and motor impairments in an experimental reserpine-induced model of parkinsonism in rats. The role of chronic hypoxia due to diminished ventilation in the development and course of neurodegeneration is addressed. An attempt was made to distinguish between central and peripheral dopamine pathways in the mechanisms of neurodegeneration. A dissociation of putative mechanisms of respiratory and motor impairments is tackled as well. Although this purely experimental study cannot be directly extrapolated to human pathophysiology, the corollaries have been drawn concerning the potential repercussions of the respiratory and motor impairments for the physiotherapeuti…
Altruistic Aptitude: Age-Dependent Influence of Temperament and Emotional Intelligence
It is unclear why some people behave altruistically and others do not. This study seeks to determine what psychological features could help predict altruistic behavior. We addressed the issue by examining distinct dimensions of temperament and emotional intelligence and their associations with the level of proaltruistic aptitude in two distant age-groups, young (20–29 years) and senior (60–79 years) persons. The study was one of a self-reported psychometric survey. The major findings were that emotional intelligence, rather than temperament, is strongly associated with the expression of altruistic behavior in both young and senior subjects, despite a general decrease in the characteristics …
Health and Medicine
Real time analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in centenarians.
Centenarians are a model to study human longevity and the physiological process of aging. A plethora of studies on this model show the complexity of the system. Laboratory studies fail to find a biomarker of senescence. The real time exhaled breath volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has been suggested as a new biomarker to detect and monitor physiological processes in the respiratory system. VOCs exhaled by centenarians have not been studied in the general population and across-age-groups. In the present study we investigated, in real time, the breath properties and VOC exhaled content in healthy centenarians as compared with non-centenarian seniors and young healthy subjects. We found disti…
Editorial: Hypoxia and Cardiorespiratory Control
To maintain adequate oxygen levels in the body, which is essential for a healthy life, the respiratory and cardiovascular systems play vitally important roles. When the oxygen content is insufficient, i.e., when hypoxia is loaded, respiratory and cardiovascular systems respond to restore, compensate, or adapt to hypoxia, e.g., by increasing ventilation and blood flow to maintain oxygen transport to vital organs. Traditionally, it has been thought that hypoxia is detected solely by carotid and aortic bodies, i.e., by peripheral chemoreceptors, and information from the peripheral chemoreceptors is transmitted to respiratory and cardiovascular centers in the brainstem whose respiratory and car…
In Silico Finite Element Modeling of Stress Distribution in Osteosynthesis after Pertrochanteric Fractures
A stabilization method of pertrochanteric femur fractures is a contentious issue. Here, we assess the feasibility of rapid in silico 2D finite element modeling (FEM) to predict the distribution of stresses arising during the two most often used stabilization methods: gamma nail fixation (GNF) and dynamic hip screw (DHS). The modeling was based on standard pre-surgery radiographs of hip joints of 15 patients with pertrochanteric fractures of type A1, A2, and A3 according to the AO/OTA classification. The FEM showed that the stresses were similar for both GNF and DHS, with the medians ranging between 53–60 MPa and consistently lower for A1 than A3 fractures. Stresses also appeared in the fixa…
Causes and Effects of Introducing Surgery Safety Checklist: A Review
The medical treatment process, particularly surgery, is inescapably bound to potential complications or undesirable adverse events. This narrative review aims to present the causes and effects of the introduction of the WHO Surgery Safety Checklist (SSC), the use of which is expected to reduce the number of perioperative errors, complications, and mortality. To achieve this objective, we performed a bibliometric analysis of medical citations indexed in the PubMed database using the SSC subject heading. Findings revealed a total of 1441 articles meeting inclusion status, with 1171 published during the last decade. After the screening of titles and abstracts, the members of the research team …
Respiratory Carcinogenesis
The book blends basic and clinical research on respiratory carcinogensis. The contributions tackle a variety of respiratory-related cancers, notably non-small cell lung carcinoma, pleural mesothelioma, mediastinal tumors, or larynx cancer. The focus is on the search for novel molecular markers, derived from easily accessible tissues in clinical settings, such as the serum or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, which could help diagnose cancer at an early stage and have a prognostic therapeutic value. The transcriptional mechanisms which endow cells with the capacity for unlimited proliferation are considered, with silencing of tumor suppressor genes is the exemplar. Chapters provide insight into …
Environment Exposure to Pollutants
Effects of exposure to welding fume on lung function: results from the German WELDOX study. M. Lehnert, F. Hoffmeyer, K. Gawrych, A. Lotz, E. Heinze, H. Berresheim, R. Merget, V. Harth, R. Van Gelder, J.-U. Hahn, A. Hartwig, T. Weiss, B. Pesch, and T. Bruning, for the WELDOX Study Group Disability-Adjusted Life Years in the Assessment of Health Effects of Traffic-Related Air Pollution. L. Adamkiewicz, A.J. Badyda, A. Gayer, and D. Mucha Impact of Traffic-Related Air Pollution on Health. J. Jakubiak-Lasocka, J. Lasocki, R. Siekmeier, and Z. Chlopek Traffic-related air pollution and respiratory tract efficiency. A.J. Badyda, P. Dabrowiecki, P.O. Czechowski, G. Majewski, and A. Doboszynska Dif…