Aim: Asphyxiated neonates should be resuscitated with air, but it remains unclear if oxygen supplementation is needed in ineffectively ventilated newborn infants. We studied the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) with oxygen or air in an experimental model of inadequate ventilation. Methods: Asphyxia was induced in 16 newborn piglets until their heart rate was

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that modulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. Current evidence suggests that miR-21 plays a significant role in the progression of fibrosis in muscle diseases. Laminin-deficient congenital muscular dystrophy (LAMA2-CMD) is a severe form of congenital muscular dystrophy caused by mutations in the gene encoding laminin α2 chain. Mouse models dy3K/

Objective: Metabolic complications are frequent in childhood leukaemia (ALL) survivors treated with cranial radiotherapy (CRT). These complications are potentially mediated by damage to the hypothalamus (HT), as childhood onset (CO) craniopharyngioma (CP) survivors without HT involvement are spared overt obesity. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) shows brain tissue microstructure alterations, by frac

Background/Aim: To compare human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA detection in self-collected vaginal and urine samples with clinician-taken cervical samples in relation to histology. Materials and Methods: Self-collected vaginal, urine and clinician-taken cervical samples were analyzed from 218 women with the Cobas 4800 HPV test (Roche Molecular Diagnostics). Results: The sensitivity for detection of HPV

Predicting the sign of press perturbation responses in ecological networks is challenging, due to the poor knowledge of the strength of the direct interactions among the species, and to the entangled coexistence of direct and indirect effects. We show in this paper that, for a class of networks that includes mutualistic and monotone networks, the sign of press perturbation responses can be qualita

Objectives To study the association between lifestyle risk factors and chronic hypertension by history of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP: gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia) and investigate the extent to which these risk factors modify the association between HDP and chronic hypertension. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Nurses' Health Study II (1991-2013). Participants 5

Complex dynamical networks can often be analysed as the interconnection of subsystems, to simplify the model and better understand the global behaviour. Some biological networks can be analysed as aggregates of monotone subsystems. Yet, monotonicity is a strong requirement and relies on the knowledge of an explicit state model. Systems with a Monotonic Step Response (MSR), which include input-outp

For a vast class of dynamical networks, including chemical reaction networks (CRNs) with monotonic reaction rates, the existence of a polyhedral Lyapunov function (PLF) implies structural (i.e., parameter-free) local stability. Global structural stability is ensured under the additional assumption that each of the variables (chemical species concentrations in CRNs) is subject to a spontaneous infi

This paper investigates the topology-independent stability of homogeneous dynamical networks, composed of interconnected equal systems. Precisely, dynamical systems with identical nominal transfer function F(s) are associated with the nodes of a directed graph whose arcs account for their dynamic interactions, described by a common nominal transfer function G(s). It is shown that topology-independ

In stable biological and ecological networks, the steady-state influence matrix gathers the signs of steady-state responses to step-like perturbations affecting the variables. Such signs are difficult to predict a priori, because they result from a combination of direct effects (deducible from the Jacobian of the network dynamics) and indirect effects. For stable monotone or cooperative networks,

We have recently considered the problem of tuning a static plant described by a differentiable input-output function, which is completely unknown, but whose Jacobian takes values in a known polytope of matrices: to drive the output to a given desired value, we have suggested an integral feedback scheme, whose convergence is ensured if the polytope of matrices is robustly full row rank. The suggest

To simplify the analysis of complex dynamical networks, we have recently proposed an approach that decomposes the overall system into the sign-definite interconnection of subsystems with a Positive Impulse Response (PIR). PIR systems include and significantly generalise input-output monotone systems, and the PIR property (or equivalently, for linear systems, the Monotonic Step Response property) c

Atrial fibrosis is common in atrial fibrillation (AF). Experimental studies have provided convincing evidence that fibrotic transformation of atrial myocardium results in deterioration of atrial conduction, increasing anisotropy of impulse propagation and building of boundaries that promote re-entry in the atrial walls that maybe directly relevant for the mechanisms responsible for maintaining AF.

Background: The total cost of bile duct injuries (BDIs) in an unselected national cohort of patients undergoing cholecystectomy are unknown. The aim was to evaluate costs associated with treatment of cholecystectomy-related BDIs and to calculate cost effectiveness of routine vs. on-demand intraoperative cholangiography (IOC). Methods: Data from Swedish patients suffering a BDI during a 5 year peri

Objectives This study sought to determine the mechanistic effects of a novel balloon-based lithoplasty system on heavily calcified coronary lesions and subsequent stent placement using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Background The Shockwave Coronary Rx Lithoplasty System (Shockwave Medical, Fremont, California) delivers localized, lithotripsy-enhanced disruption of calcium within the target l