Cancer-specific mortality in secondary bladder cancer after nephroureterectomy for upper tract urothelial carcinoma.

Objective: To examine differences in cancer-specific mortality (CSM) in nonmetastatic upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) patients with vs. without secondary bladder cancer (BCa) after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU).

Methods: Within the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (SEER 2000-2021), T1-T4N0M0 UTUC patients treated with RNU and diagnosed with secondary BCa were identified.

In silico prediction of hip fractures: improved fall modeling and expanded validation across cohorts with diverse risk profiles.

Osteoporosis constitutes a significant global health concern, however the development of novel treatments is challenging due to the limited cost-effectiveness and ethical concerns inherent to placebo-controlled clinical trials. Computational approaches are emerging as alternatives for the development and assessment of biomedical interventions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of an In Silico trial technology (BoneStrength) to predict hip fracture incidence by implementing a novel approach designed to reproduce the phenomenology of falls as reported in clinical data, and by testing its accuracy in three virtual cohorts characterised by different risk profiles.

Prognostic immunotherapy score (PIS) in patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma treated with pembrolizumab: real-world data and validation from ARON-2 dataset.

Recent years have seen the development and advent of novel combinatorial strategies based on immunotherapy, and immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) - based treatment has established itself as a mainstay in the treatment of metastatic urothelial carcinoma (UC). Herein, we aimed to validate the prognostic value of a previously developed score, the Prognostic Immunotherapy Score (PIS), including female sex, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG-PS) and liver metastases, in patients treated with pembrolizumab for advanced UC from the ARON-2 dataset. We retrospectively analyzed clinical data from Metastatic UC patients diagnosed at age ≥ 18 years.

Quality of life and Satisfaction With Ospemifene for Treating Vulvovaginal Atrophy in Breast Cancer Survivors: Six-Month Results From the PatiEnt SatisfactiON StudY (PEONY).

Objective: Breast cancer (BC) survivors often experience vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA) due to endocrine therapies, affecting quality of life (QoL) and well-being. We aimed to evaluate impact of ospemifene treatment in postmenopausal women with history of BC and moderate to severe VVA.

Methods: PEONY is a real-world, prospective, multicenter study.

Investigating facilitators and barriers of university-based administrative staff, residents and researchers to implement an active breaks intervention: a mixed-methods study.

Objective: This study aims to analyse the barriers and facilitators towards an implementation of active breaks (ABs) intervention inside the workplace.

Methods: This study used a mixed-methods approach, incorporating virtual focus groups and an online questionnaire, conducted among the workers of Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna (Italy). A total of 30 participants (N=30), including administrative and academic staff, PhD candidates, specialised trainees and research fellows, were involved in the study.

Comparing two anti-inflammatory reflexes: Splanchnic and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal.

Both the autonomic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis respond to systemic immune challenge by initiating anti-inflammatory reflexes. Here we compare those two homeostatic responses in vivo. We first confirmed in male urethane-anaesthetized rats that disabling the autonomic reflex by bilateral section of the splanchnic sympathetic nerves increased plasma tumor necrosis factor α (TNF) responses to systemic lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 60 µg/kg i.

Time-Activity Budget in Horses and Ponies: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on Feeding Dynamics and Management Implications.

The time-activity budget is a key indicator of animal welfare. This meta-analysis integrates data from 14 studies (1979-2020), involving 364 horses across various management conditions (wild, natural-living, and stabled) to evaluate feeding, resting, standing, and locomotion behaviours. Fixed and random effects models, forest plots, and ANOVA were used to assess the influence of management system, sociality, sex, age, body size, and feeding type.

Exploring the role of animal welfare in cow performance and farm profitability in Italian dairy herds.

Good welfare supports dairy herd health, enhances milk production and quality, and offers financial incentives for farmers committed to animal welfare. In Italy, the ClassyFarm system assesses dairy herd welfare through the evaluation of farm biosecurity, management, structures, and animal-based measures. Dairy farms with loose housing systems (LHS) and tied housing systems (THS) are evaluated using distinct ClassyFarm checklists, and an algorithm generates an overall welfare score ranging from 0 % (poor welfare) to 100 % (excellent welfare).

Extracellular vesicle signature is associated with cardio-metabolic improvement after bariatric surgery.

Aims: Bariatric surgery (BS) reduces obesity-associated systemic inflammation leading to multiple cardiovascular (CV) and metabolic benefits. Here, we tested whether measuring vaso-inflammatory cytokines, gut hormones, and circulating extracellular vesicles (EV) provide vaso-inflammatory-metabolic signatures that better correlate to CV-metabolic outcomes after BS, compared to a standard clinical assessment including body weight (BW) loss and traditional CV risk factors.

Methods: In 111 patients with severe obesity, conventional clinical-biochemical parameters and non-conventional vaso-inflammatory-metabolic markers were analyzed at baseline, after 1- (T12) and 3-years (T36) post-BS and were associated to post-surgical BW loss and improvement of patients' CV-metabolic profile.

RAASi, MRA and FGF-23 in CKD progression: the usual suspects?

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects almost 10% of the global population and is a significant health issue. The presence of CKD increases the risk of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, overall mortality, and progression of renal damage leading to kidney failure. Inhibiting the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) through angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin II receptor blockers reduces proteinuria and slows eGFR decline in CKD patients.

Genetically determined body mass index is associated with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in polygenic and Mendelian randomization analyses.

Obesity has been associated with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), but the evidence is inconclusive. We examined the association between genetically determined adiposity and four common NHL subtypes: diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), follicular lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and marginal zone lymphoma, using eight genome-wide association studies of European ancestry (N = 10,629 cases, 9505 controls) and constructing polygenic scores for body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI (WHRadjBMI). Higher genetically determined BMI was associated with an increased risk of DLBCL [odds ratio (OR) per standard deviation (SD) = 1.

The gut microbiota's role in bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder: etiological insights and therapeutic implications from a scoping review.

This scoping review synthesizes emerging evidence on the relationship between gut microbiota and eating disorders (EDs), particularly bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED). An electronic search was conducted in the PubMed/MEDLINE and Web of Science databases, spanning from their inception until December 2023. From an initial pool of 166 records, 14 articles were included and qualitatively synthesized.

Primary immunodeficiency diseases, inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction.

Primary immunodeficiency diseases (PIDs) are a heterogeneous group of inherited disorders characterized by impaired immune function, leading to increased susceptibility to infections, autoimmunity, and malignancies. While traditionally defined by immune cell defects, emerging evidence highlights the critical role of inflammation in PID pathogenesis. This review explores the intricate relationship between mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammation in PIDs.

Analysis of explanted Essure® devices.

Objective: The objective of this study was to understand the behavior of explanted Essure® devices in humans, focusing on the atomic composition of the device in different areas.

Methods: We collected 50 explanted Essure® devices (Bayer, Switzerland), in 29 patients. The following systematic investigations were performed on each devices: eye-nacked and optical microscopy, X-ray Faxitron, spectral analysis, elemental analysis of the metallic structure to accurately define the metallic composition of the spire and correlate these findings with macroscopic and microscopic observations.

Diagnosed Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B and Delta Virus in Italy in 2024: An Estimation From a National Real-World Database.

Background And Aims: Hepatitis B (HBV) and Hepatitis Delta virus (HDV) infection have undergone significant changes in Italy over the past few decades, but reliable and updated prevalence of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and Delta (CHD) data are lacking. The aim of the study was to describe the epidemiology of CHB and CHD in Italy in 2024, based on real-world data.

Methods: The number of patients with a healthcare expenditure exemption for CHB (016.

Learning Curve of the Transvaginal Ultrasound Exam for Adenomyosis: A CUSUM Analysis.

Objectives: Adenomyosis is challenging to diagnose with transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) and requires operator expertise to recognize its sonographic features; however, little is known about the learning curve for trainees. This study aimed to assess the learning curve of inexperienced residents in diagnosing adenomyosis and identifying its key ultrasound signs using the learning curve-cumulative summation test (LC-CUSUM) method.

Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted in 2 tertiary care centers specializing in endometriosis and adenomyosis.

Sensitivity of Pediatric Myelodysplastic Syndromes With Excess of Blasts With UBTF-TD to Venetoclax/Azacitidine.

UBTF-TD has been reported in a significant percentage of childhood MDS-EB and has been associated with inferior survival compared to that of patients with the wild-type gene. We treated three consecutive pediatric patients affected by UBTF-TD MDS-EB with venetoclax and azacitidine (ven/aza) in combination as 28-day cycles on a compassionate use basis three consecutive pediatric patients affected by UBTF-TD MDS-EB as a bridge to allogeneic HSCT. Treatment with ven/aza was well-tolerated, and all patients responded to the ven/aza course, achieving CR with flow-cytometry negativity.

Home-based Video-Polysomnography for Sleep-Related Motor Behaviors: Development, Feasibility, and Diagnostic Performance at the Bologna Sleep Center.

Study Objectives: For most sleep disorders, in-laboratory video-polysomnography (VPSG) is currently considered the gold diagnostic standard. However, a growing need for more accessible diagnostic tools has been highlighted. This study aims to describe the experience of the Bologna Sleep Center in evaluating sleep-related motor behaviors using home VPSG.