Artificial vs biological meshes: can in vitro cellular responses predict the outcome in patients?

Synthetic and biological matrices for abdominal wall repair have been developed and commercialized in recent years. Biological meshes have been proposed as an alternative when synthetic implants are not indicated, as in the case of contaminated surgical field and may present fewer complications such as chronic pain and visceral adhesions after hernia repair. However, their use is still debated, due to high cost to benefit ratio. Moreover, knowledge of the molecular pathways activated in the different types of cells by their use is still lacking. This study aimed to investigate the molecular processes activated by fibroblasts during their interaction with different types of biological and synthetic matrices, comparing the fibroblast-matrix interactions morphologically, monitoring cell proliferation and the expression of genes involved in the deposition and reabsorption of collagen, as well as some cytokines and markers of differentiation into myofibroblasts. We found that fibroblasts grew differently on the different biological meshes. Few fibroblasts grew on the synthetic mesh, impairing gene expression analysis. Fibroblasts on biological meshes induced specific metalloproteinases and reduced expression of collagen genes compared to control cells. Expression of markers for myofibroblast differentiation was also reduced. We found limited differences in gene expression programs among the different biological meshes

Artificial vs biological meshes: can in vitro cellular responses predict the outcome in patients?

Synthetic and biological matrices for abdominal wall repair have been developed and commercialized in recent years. Biological meshes have been proposed as an alternative when synthetic implants are not indicated, as in the case of contaminated surgical field and may present fewer complications such as chronic pain and visceral adhesions after hernia repair. However, their use is still debated, due to high cost to benefit ratio. Moreover, knowledge of the molecular pathways activated in the different types of cells by their use is still lacking. This study aimed to investigate the molecular processes activated by fibroblasts during their interaction with different types of biological and synthetic matrices, comparing the fibroblast-matrix interactions morphologically, monitoring cell proliferation and the expression of genes involved in the deposition and reabsorption of collagen, as well as some cytokines and markers of differentiation into myofibroblasts. We found that fibroblasts grew differently on the different biological meshes. Few fibroblasts grew on the synthetic mesh, impairing gene expression analysis. Fibroblasts on biological meshes induced specific metalloproteinases and reduced expression of collagen genes compared to control cells. Expression of markers for myofibroblast differentiation was also reduced. We found limited differences in gene expression programs among the different biological meshes

Plants and traditional knowledge: An ethnobotanical investigation on Monte Ortobene (Nuoro, Sardinia)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Most of the traditional knowledge about plants and their uses is fast disappearing as a consequence of socio-economic and land use changes. This trend is also occurring in areas that are historically exposed to very few external influences, such as Sardinia (Italy). From 2004 to 2005, an ethnobotanical investigation was carried out in the area of Monte Ortobene, a mountain located near Nuoro, in central Sardinia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews. All the records – defined as 'citations', i.e. a single use reported for a single botanical species by a single informant – were filed in a data base ('analytical table'), together with additional information: i.e. local names of plants, parts used, local frequencies, and habitats of plants, etc. In processing the data, plants and uses were grouped into general ('categories') and detailed ('secondary categories') typologies of use. Some synthetic indexes have also been used, such as Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), Cultural Importance Index (CI), the Shannon-Wiener Index (H'), and Evenness Index (J).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seventy-two plants were cited by the informants as being traditionally used in the area. These 72 'ethnospecies' correspond to 99 botanical taxa (species or subspecies) belonging to 34 families. Three-hundred and one citations, 50 secondary categories of use, and 191 different uses were recorded, most of them concerning alimentary and medicinal plants.</p> <p>For the alimentary plants, 126 citations, 44 species, and 13 different uses were recorded, while for the medicinal plants, there were 106 citations, 40 species, and 12 uses. Few plants and uses were recorded for the remaining categories. Plants and uses for each category of use are discussed. Analyses of results include the relative abundance of botanical families, wild vs. cultivated species, habitats, frequency, parts of plant used, types of use, knowledge distribution, and the different cultural importance of the species in question.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The study provides examples of several interesting uses of plants in the community, which would seem to show that the custom of using wild plants is still alive in the Monte Ortobene area. However, many practices are no longer in use, and survive only as memories from the past in the minds of elderly people, and often only in one or just a few informants. This rapidly vanishing cultural diversity needs to be studied and documented before it disappears definitively.</p

Towards the new Thematic Core Service Tsunami within the EPOS Research Infrastructure

Tsunamis constitute a significant hazard for European coastal populations, and the impact of tsunami events worldwide can extend well beyond the coastal regions directly affected. Understanding the complex mechanisms of tsunami generation, propagation, and inundation, as well as managing the tsunami risk, requires multidisciplinary research and infrastructures that cross national boundaries. Recent decades have seen both great advances in tsunami science and consolidation of the European tsunami research community. A recurring theme has been the need for a sustainable platform for coordinated tsunami community activities and a hub for tsunami services. Following about three years of preparation, in July 2021, the European tsunami community attained the status of Candidate Thematic Core Service (cTCS) within the European Plate Observing System (EPOS) Research Infrastructure. Within a transition period of three years, the Tsunami candidate TCS is anticipated to develop into a fully operational EPOS TCS. We here outline the path taken to reach this point, and the envisaged form of the future EPOS TCS Tsunami. Our cTCS is planned to be organised within four thematic pillars: (1) Support to Tsunami Service Providers, (2) Tsunami Data, (3) Numerical Models, and (4) Hazard and Risk Products. We outline how identified needs in tsunami science and tsunami risk mitigation will be addressed within this structure and how participation within EPOS will become an integration point for community development

Towards the new Thematic Core Service Tsunami within the EPOS Research Infrastructure

publishedVersio

Towards the new Thematic Core Service Tsunami within the EPOS Research Infrastructure

Tsunamis constitute a significant hazard for European coastal populations, and the impact of tsunami events worldwide can extend well beyond the coastal regions directly affected. Understanding the complex mechanisms of tsunami generation, propagation, and inundation, as well as managing the tsunami risk, requires multidisciplinary research and infrastructures that cross national boundaries. Recent decades have seen both great advances in tsunami science and consolidation of the European tsunami research community. A recurring theme has been the need for a sustainable platform for coordinated tsunami community activities and a hub for tsunami services. Following about three years of preparation, in July 2021, the European tsunami community attained the status of Candidate Thematic Core Service (cTCS) within the European Plate Observing System (EPOS) Research Infrastructure. Within a transition period of three years, the Tsunami candidate TCS is anticipated to develop into a fully operational EPOS TCS. We here outline the path taken to reach this point, and the envisaged form of the future EPOS TCS Tsunami. Our cTCS is planned to be organised within four thematic pillars: (1) Support to Tsunami Service Providers, (2) Tsunami Data, (3) Numerical Models, and (4) Hazard and Risk Products. We outline how identified needs in tsunami science and tsunami risk mitigation will be addressed within this structure and how participation within EPOS will become an integration point for community development.publishedVersio