Formulating O/W Emulsions with Plant-Based Actives: A Stability Challenge for an Effective Product

Quality, safety, and efficacy concerns added to instability, poor absorption, and the dispersion of actives are common problems while formulating plant-based cosmetics. Furthermore, a correct balance between the stability of the emulsion, the sensory profile, and the high efficacy has to be considered to formulate an effective product. In this paper, we demonstrate that rheology is a methodological tool that can be used while designing a new product. In particular, we developed an O/W emulsion which is easy to spread on irritated skin, and that can soothe the redness and discomfort caused by the exposure to both physical and chemical irritating agents. The green active mixture consists of three natural raw materials: Bosexil\uae, Zanthalene\uae, and Xilogel\uae. Each ingredient has a well-demonstrated efficacy in terms of soothing, anti-itching, and moisturizing properties respectively. Starting from the selection of a new green emulsifying system, through the analysis of the rheological properties, we obtained a stable and easy-to-apply o/w emulsion. The efficacy of the optimized product was assessed in vitro on intact and injured skin using the SkinEthic\u2122 Reconstituted Human Epidermis (RHE) as a biological model

Green Polymers in Personal Care Products: Rheological Properties of Tamarind Seed Polysaccharide

Tamarind seed polysaccharide (TSP) is a xyloglucan of vegetable origin, recently proposed for the cosmetic and pharmaceutical market as a "green" alternative to hyaluronic acid. In this study, TSP water dispersions, at different concentrations, were characterized by means of rheological measurements, both in continuous and oscillatory flow conditions. The results were compared with those of hyaluronic acid of two different molecular weights. The results pointed out the close rheological behaviors between TSP and hyaluronic acid with comparable molecular weight. Afterwards, the structural features of binary and ternary polysaccharide associations prepared with TSP, hyaluronic acid (very high MW) and dehydropolysaccharide gum, a modified xanthan gum, with high stabilizing properties, were investigated. The rheological properties were significantly affected by the polysaccharide ratios in the mixture, suggesting that the combination of TSP with other polymers can lead to a modulation of the texture and functional properties of cosmetics

Evaluating Natural Alternatives to Synthetic Acrylic Polymers: Rheological and Texture Analyses of Polymeric Water Dispersions

The natural cosmetics market is growing, in line with the interest of public opinion on environmental safety. The availability of polysaccharides for cosmetic use is very wide; each raw material has its own sensorial specificities and hardly matches the performance of synthetic polymers. We developed an instrumental protocol based on rheology and texture analysis to evaluate alternatives to acrylic polymers. The study has been carried out on a set of water dispersions prepared with different synthetic, semisynthetic, and natural polymers at different concentrations. Using statistical principal component analysis, three different clusters have been identified: group A includes polymers with a stringy viscoelastic behavior, group B includes polymers with low firmness and a weak-gel rheological pattern, and group C includes polymers which formed soft and elastic gels. This work showed that this instrumental approach is a powerful toolto comprehensively characterize new rheological modifiers and to forecast their contribution to the formulation based on their applicative features. Moreover, rheology and texture analysis turned out to be complementary tools useful to compare polymeric raw materials and to identify appropriate alternatives to synthetic ones in order to formulate green cosmetic products

Is there a difference in phenotype between males and females with non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia? A cross-sectional evaluation.

Non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia includes a variety of phenotypes and genotypes that rarely require regular transfusions. However, these patients can experience a wide range of complications. The objective of this retrospective study was to verify whether there is a significant difference in non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia-related complications and treatment among males and females.We performed a re-analysis of samples evaluated in a previously published cross-sectional study, regarding 96 non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients followed at the 'UOSD Malattie Rare del Globulo Rosso' Centre of the Cardarelli Hospital in Naples, Italy.We found that females were more anemic than males, but there was no significant difference in prevalence of common complications among genders, except for hypogonadism. Furthermore, the transitory regular transfusions regimen in women who had been pregnant does not seem to have a significant impact on overall prognosis.In non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients, the lower levels of hemoglobin found in females do not seem to indicate a higher prevalence of complications.This data should be considered in studies with experimental treatments aiming to correct anemia in patients with non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia. It should probably also be taken into account in order to set up different transfusion regimens among genders in transfusion-dependent patients

Exploring resting-state functional connectivity invariants across the lifespan in healthy people by means of a recently proposed graph theoretical model

In this paper we investigate the changes in the functional connectivity intensity, and some related properties, in healthy people, across the life span and at resting state. For the explicit computation of the functional connectivity we exploit a recently proposed model, that bases not only on the correlations data provided by the acquisition equipment, but also on different parameters, such as the anatomical distances between nodes and their degrees. The leading purpose of the paper is to show that the proposed approach is able to recover the main aspects of resting state condition known from the available literature, as well as to suggest new insights, perspectives and speculations from a neurobiological point of view. Our study involves 133 subjects, both males and females of different ages, with no evidence of neurological diseases or systemic disorders. First, we show how the model applies to the sample, where the subjects are grouped into 28 different groups (14 of males and 14 of females), according to their age. This leads to the construction of two graphs (one for males and one for females), that can be realistically interpreted as representative of the neural network during the resting state. Second, following the idea that the brain network is better understood by focusing on specific nodes having a kind of centrality, we refine the two output graphs by introducing a new metric that favours the selection of nodes having higher degrees. As a third step, we extensively comment and discuss the obtained results. In particular, it is remarkable that, despite a great overlapping exists between the outcomes concerning males and females, some intriguing differences appear. This motivates a deeper local investigation, which represents the fourth part of the paper, carried out through a thorough statistical analysis. As a result, we are enabled to support that, for two special age groups, a few links contribute in differentiating the behaviour of males and females. In addition, we performed an average-based comparison between the proposed model and the traditional statistical correlation-based approach, then discussing and commenting the main outlined discrepancies

Human lung adenocarcinoma cell cultures derived from malignant pleural effusions as model system to predict patients chemosensitivity

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer related deaths and Malignant Pleural Effusion (MPE) is a frequent complication. Current therapies suffer from lack of efficacy in a great percentage of cases, especially when cancer is diagnosed at a late stage. Moreover patients' responses vary and the outcome is unpredictable. Therefore, the identification of patients who will benefit most of chemotherapy treatment is important for accurate prognostication and better outcome. In this study, using malignant pleural effusions (MPE) from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, we established a collection of patient-derived Adenocarcinoma cultures which were characterized for their sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs used in the clinical practice. METHODS: Tumor cells present in MPEs of patients with NSCLC were isolated by density gradient centrifugation, placed in culture and genotyped by next generation sequencing. In a subset of cases patient derived xenografts (PDX) were obtained upon tumor cell inoculation in rag2/IL2 knock-out mice. Isolated primary cultures were characterized and tested for drug sensitivity by in vitro proliferation assays. Additivity, antagonism or synergy for combinatorial treatments were determined by analysis with the Calcusyn software. RESULTS: We have optimized isolation procedures and culture conditions to expand in vitro primary cultures from Malignant Pleural Effusions (MPEs) of patients affected by lung adenocarcinomas, the most frequent form of non small cell lung cancer. Using this approach we have been able to establish 16 primary cultures from MPEs. Cells were banked at low passages and were characterized for their mutational pattern by next generation sequencing for most common driver mutations in lung cancer. Moreover, amplified cultures were shown to engraft with high efficiency when injected in immunocompromised mice. Cancer cell sensitivity to drugs used in standard chemotherapy regimens was assessed either individually or in combination. Differential chemosensitivity and different mutation profiles were observed which suggests that this isolation method could provide a platform for predicting the efficacy of chemotherapy in the clinical setting. Most importantly for six patients it was possible to establish a correlation between drug response in vitro and response to therapy in the clinic. CONCLUSIONS: Results obtained using primary cultured cells from MPEs underscore the heterogeneity of NSCLC in advanced stage as indicated by drug response and mutation profile. Comparison of data obtained from in vitro assays with patients' responses to therapy leads to the conclusion that this strategy may provide a potentially useful approach for evaluating individual chemosensitivity profile and tailor the therapy accordingly. Furthermore, combining MPE-derived primary cultures with their genomic testing allows to identify patients eligible to trials with novel targeted agents

In vitro functional models for human liver diseases and drug screening: beyond animal testing

Liver is one of the most important and complex organs in the human body, being characterized by a sophisticated microarchitecture and responsible for key physiological functions. Despite its remarkable ability to regenerate, acute liver failure and chronic liver diseases are major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying such liver disorders is critical for the successful development of novel therapeutics. In this frame, preclinical animal models have been portrayed as the most commonly used tool to address such issues. However, due to significant species differences in liver architecture, regenerative capacity, disease progression, inflammatory markers, metabolism rates, and drug response, animal models cannot fully recapitulate the complexity of human liver metabolism. As a result, translational research to model human liver diseases and drug screening platforms may yield limited results, leading to failure scenarios. To overcome this impasse, over the last decade, 3D human liver in vitro models have been proposed as an alternative to pre-clinical animal models. These systems have been successfully employed for the investigation of the etiology and dynamics of liver diseases, for drug screening, and - more recently - to design patient-tailored therapies, resulting in potentially higher efficacy and reduced costs compared to other methods. Here, we review the most recent advances in this rapidly evolving field with particular attention to organoid cultures, liver-on-a-chip platforms, and engineered scaffold-based approaches

Delay in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma diagnosis due to interrupted services is associated with worse prognoses and modified surgical approaches

Background: The delayed diagnosis of skin tumors is associated with a worsened prognosis. The impact of the interruption of clinical and surgical health services during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns has been documented among many pathologies. The impact of delayed diagnoses on patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (cSCCs) is poorly defined. Objective: To compare patient and lesion characteristics and the surgical management of excised cSCCs prior to the pandemic shutdown of services (2018–2019) with the phase following the pandemic’s second wave (2021–2022). Methods: An observational, single-center, cross-sectional study of 416 surgically excised cSCCs over the course of two years was performed. Only patients with histologically confirmed cSCC were enrolled. Data collection included patient demographics and lesion characteristics, time to surgery, surgical approach, and histological data. Results: More cSCC lesions were excised prior to the interruption of services (n = 312 vs. n = 186). Lesions were significantly larger (1.7 ± 1.2 vs. 2.1 ± 1.5 cm; p = 0.006) and more invasive (52% vs. 89%; p < 0.001), in the period 2021–2022. Surgical reconstructive techniques were significantly different (p = 0.001). Metastatic involvement was confirmed in three subjects (one in 2018–2019 and two in 2021–2022). There were no significant differences in the time to surgery or patient characteristics. Multivariable regression analysis identified a 4.7-times higher risk of tumor invasion (OR 4.69, 95%CI 2.55–8.16, p < 0.001), a two-times higher chance of dermo-epidermal grafts (OR 2.06, 95%CI 1.09–3.88, p = 0.025), and a 3.2-times higher risk of positive surgical margins (OR 3.21, 95%CI 1.44–7.17, p = 0.004). Conclusions: Diagnostic delays of cutaneous SCCs associated with reduced patient access to clinical and diagnostic services are associated with a 4.7-times increased risk of more severe invasion, a three-times increased risk of positive surgical margins, and a significant impact on surgical management, compared to the pre-pandemic period. Comparable patient cohort characteristics and time to surgery remained unchanged

Nefrologia Interventistica: una disciplina in evoluzione. L'esperienza di due centri italiani a confronto

We describe the multidisciplinary work of nephrological realities belonging to two different Regional Health Systems, Lombardia and Lazio. The interventional nephrologist is a specialist in nephrology with ultra-specialist know-how for vascular access for dialysis. He is the coordinator of a team of vascular accesses and applies a team work with the other interventional nephrologists, with the vascular surgeon and the interventional radiologist, with whom he decides the diagnostic-therapeutic procedure to perform the best possible vascular access for that individual patient