Stem cell transplantation in neurological diseases: improving effectiveness in animal models

Neurological diseases afflict a growing proportion of the human population. There are two reasons for this: first, the average age of the population (especially in the industrialised world) is increasing, and second, the diagnostic tools to detect these pathologies are now more sophisticated and can be used on a higher percentage of the population. In many cases, neurological disease has a pharmacological treatment which, as in the case of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Epilepsy, and Multiple Sclerosis can reduce the symptoms and slow down the course of the disease but cannot reverse its effects or heal the patient.In the last two decades the transplantation approach, by means of stem cells of different origin, has been suggested for the treatment of neurological diseases. The choice of slightly different animal models and the differences in methods of stem cell preparation make it difficult to compare the results of transplantation experiments. Moreover, the translation of these results into clinical trials with human subjects is difficult and has so far met with little success.This review seeks to discuss the reasons for these difficulties by considering the differences between human and animal cells (including isolation, handling and transplantation) and between the human disease model and the animal disease model.<br/

The Significance of Porches in Urban Applications: A Method for Automated Modeling and Integration

Porches, as defined by the Art &amp; Architecture Thesaurus, serve as vital transitional spaces linking indoor and outdoor environments. Despite their historical and contemporary significance, porches lack explicit representation in prevalent standards like CityGML and IndoorGML, posing challenges for comprehensive spatial modeling and its application. This paper proposes a method for modeling porches that aligns with the existing OGC standard CityGML 3.0, ensuring accuracy and compatibility. Drawing upon geomatics techniques, the method aims to bridge the gap in representing these spaces, critical for applications such as navigation systems, urban planning, and energy simulations. By integrating geometric, machine learning, and informative modeling approaches, this method seeks to provide a robust foundation for various practical applications. The paper outlines a comprehensive state-of-the-art review, describes the proposed method from digitalization to random forest (RF)-based point cloud classification and vectorization, presents case studies and results, and offers critical discussions and conclusions. Through this endeavor, the paper contributes to enhancing the representation and understanding of porches within the digital spatial landscape

Drones and Real-Time Kinematic Base Station Integration for Documenting Inaccessible Ruins: A Case Study Approach

Ruins, marked by decay and abandonment, present challenges for digital documentation due to their varied conditions and remote locations. Surveying inaccessible ruins demands innovative approaches for safety and accuracy. Drones with high-resolution cameras enable the detailed aerial inspection and imaging of these inaccessible areas. This study investigated how surveying technologies, particularly Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), are used to document inaccessible ruins. Integration with Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) technologies allows direct georeferencing in photogrammetric processing. A case study of the Castle of Terracorpo in Italy was used to demonstrate UAV-only surveying feasibility in inaccessible environments, testing two different scenarios. The first scenario involved the use of a DJI Matrice 300 RTK coupled with the D-RTK2 base station to survey the Castle; both direct and indirect georeferencing were exploited and compared through the photogrammetric process. This first scenario confirmed that this approach can lead to a centimetre-level accuracy (about three times the GSD value for indirect georeferencing and seven times the GSD value for direct georeferencing exploting RTK). The second scenario testing the integration of data from drones at varying resolutions enabled the comprehensive coverage of ruinous structures. In this case, the photogrammetric survey performed with the dji Mavic 3 Cine drone (indirect georeferencing) was integrated with the photogrammetric survey performed with the dji Matrice 300 RTK drone (direct georeferencing). This scenario showed that GCPs extracted from a direct georeferencing photogrammetric survey could be successfully used to georeference and integrate other drone data. However, challenges persist in surveying underground or enclosed spaces that are inaccessible to UAVs. Future research will explore integrating robotic LiDAR survey systems and advanced data fusion techniques to enhance documentation

Submarine depositional terraces at Salina Island (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea) and implications on the Late-Quaternary evolution of the insular shelf

The integrated analysis of high-resolution multibeam bathymetry and single-channel seismic profiles around Salina Island allowed us to characterize the stratigraphic architecture of the insular shelf. The shelf is formed by a gently-sloping erosive surface carved on the volcanic bedrock, mostly covered by sediments organized in a suite of terraced bodies, i.e. submarine depositional terraces. Based on their position on the shelf, depth range of their edge and inner geometry, different orders of terraces can be distinguished. The shallowest terrace (near-shore terrace) is a sedimentary prograding wedge, whose formation can be associated to the downward transport of sediments from the surf zone and shoreface during stormy conditions. According to the range depth of the terrace edge (i.e., 10–25 m, compatible with the estimated present-day, local storm-wave base level in the central and western Mediterranean), the formation of this wedge can be attributed to the present-day highstand. By assuming a similar genesis for the deeper terraces, mid-shelf terraces having the edge at depths of 40–50 m and 70–80 m can be attributed to the late and early stages of the Post-LGM transgression, respectively. Finally, the deepest terrace (shelf-edge terrace) has the edge at depths of 130–160 m, being thus referable to the lowstand occurred at ca. 20 ka. Based on the variability of edge depth in the different sectors, we also show how lowstand terraces can be used to provide insights on the recent vertical movements that affected Salina edifice in the last 20 ka, highlighting more generally their possible use for neo-tectonic studies elsewhere. Moreover, being these terraces associated to different paleo-sea levels, they can be used to constrain the relative age of the different erosive stages affecting shallow-water sectors

Mobile mapping system for historic built heritage and GIS integration: a challenging case study

Abstract To manage the historic built heritage, it is of fundamental importance to fully understand the urban area under study, so that all its characteristics and critical issues related to historical conformation, stratifcation, and transformations can be better understood and described. Geometric surveying allows a deeper investigation of these characteristics through analytical investigation in support of urban planning theories as well. To date, geomatics provides various tools and techniques to meet the above-mentioned needs, and mobile mapping system (MMS) is a technology that can survey large areas in a short time, with good results in terms of density, accuracy, and coverage of the data. In this context, the article aims to verify whether this approach can also be useful in the complex and stratifed reality of the historic urban context. The case analyzed—the historical center of Sabbioneta—presents some criticalities found in many urban centers of historical layout. Examples are narrow streets inserted in an urban context with multi-story buildings and consequent difculty in receiving the GNSS signal and difculty in following general MMS survey guidelines (trajectories with closed loops, wide radius curves). The analysis presented, relating to a survey carried out with Leica Pegasus:Two instrumentation, in addition to describing the strategies used to properly develop the survey, aims to analyze the resulting datum by discussing its possibilities for use in urban modeling, for cartographic or three-dimensional information modeling purposes. Particular attention is paid to assessing whether the quality of the data (accuracy, density) is suitable for the urban scale. Finally, an analysis of the data obtained from MMS was made with the geographic-topographic database (DBGT), in a GIS (Geographic Information System) environment, to check the possibilities of use and integration between the two models

HBIM AND THEMATIC MAPPING: PRELIMINARY RESULTS

Geomatics' interest in Building Information Modelling (BIM) processes applied to Cultural Heritage is evolving in many directions. The traditional fields of Geomatics -data acquisition and processing- have been largely dealt with about HBIM (Historical Building Information Modelling) systems, but there are still some issues that need to be explored in more detail. In addition to modelling, it is essential to consider the information content of the model, how it is generated, recorded and managed. If the objective of the HBIM model is the conservation project, it becomes essential to understand what types of data can be inserted in the model, how to record them and, above all, what their purpose is. The HBIM approach did not start out as a simple data repository, but as an information tool with the aim of helping the designer at all stages of the construction process. Moving to the field of preservation, much information about the building is represented by thematic maps. They allow to have a graphical image of the state of conservation of a façade or to understand the structural situation of a building. This research, tested on the Arch of Augustus in Aosta, starts from the big amount of data acquired by the RAVA Laboratory of the Superintendency of Aosta during a long period. These data allowed to test different approaches to thematic mapping, according to the specific themes to be represented (previous restoration interventions, diagnostics, decay mapping, etc). Anyway, this experiment also required a theoretical reasoning that preceded the operational phases. Faced with a new system, in fact, it is always advisable to reason about the method applied, to avoid the error of simply translating a method that could instead be developed in new directions. The question, to which this article wants only to begin answering, concerns the role of thematic mappings in the preservation design made by a HBIM approach, their necessity and their implementation towards a truly three-dimensional data, which thus maintains all the information that is acquired directly in three dimensions and which instead, today, are reprojected in 2D or used as a placeholder in the 3D spac

The Management of Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms: An Ongoing Challenge

Background: despite improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of elective AAAs, ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (RAAAs) continue to cause a substantial number of deaths. The choice between an open or endovascular approach remains a challenge, as does postoperative complications in survivors. The aim of this manuscript is to offer an overview of the contemporary management of RAAA patients, with a focus on preoperative and intraoperative factors that could help surgeons provide more appropriate treatment. Methods: we performed a search on MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus from 1 January 1985 to 1 May 2023 and reviewed SVS and ESVS guidelines. A total of 278 articles were screened, but only those with data available on ruptured aneurysms' incidence and prevalence, preoperative scores, and mortality rates after emergency endovascular or open repair for ruptured AAA were included in the narrative synthesis. Articles were not restricted due to the designs of the studies. Results: the centralization of RAAAs has improved outcomes after both surgical and endovascular repair. Preoperative mortality risk scores and knowledge of intraoperative factors influencing mortality could help surgeons with decision-making, although there is still no consensus about the best treatment. Complications continue to be an issue in patients surviving intervention. Conclusions: RAAA still represents a life-threatening condition, with high mortality rates. Effective screening and centralization matched with adequate preoperative risk-benefit assessment may improve outcomes

PARAMETRIC PARADIGMA: EXCEPTIONAL COFFERED CEILING ARCHITECTURE VS HBIM

The scientific community is confirming the advantages of using BIM in the processes of conservation, management, and intervention over architectural-historical heritage. However, many difficulties remain in the transcription process of elements of the built environment, especially when the objective of the model is to support decision-making processes in restoration operations. Even for apparently simple elements, the procedures are not trivial; the need to define the most adequate operational strategies remains. In the context of this study, a possible approach concerning the documentation of a coffered ceiling has been proposed, a case study which takes into consideration the need to discretize information (to make it effective, transmissible, and understandable) and the potential offered by the combined use of further software automatization

Emergent management of diabetic foot problems in the modern era: Improving outcomes

Limb amputation is a consequence, and the leading complication, of diabetic foot ulcers. Prevention depends on prompt diagnosis and management. Patients should be managed by multidisciplinary teams and efforts should be focused on limb salvage (“time is tissue”). The diabetic foot service should be organized in a way to meet the patient's clinical needs, with the diabetic foot centers at the highest level of this structure. Surgical management should be multimodal and include not only revascularization, but also surgical and biological debridement, minor amputations, and advanced wound therapy. Medical treatment, including an adequate antimicrobial therapy, has a key role in the eradication of infection and should be guided by microbiologists and infection disease physicians with special interest in bone infection. Input from diabetologists, radiologists, orthopedic teams (foot and ankle), orthotists, podiatrists, physiotherapists, and prosthetics, as well as psychological counseling, is required to make the service comprehensive. After the acute phase, a well-structured, pragmatic follow-up program is necessary to adequately manage the patients with the aim to detect earlier potential failures of the revascularization or antimicrobial therapy. Considering the cost and societal impact of diabetic foot problems, health care providers should provide resources to manage the burden of diabetic foot problems in the modern er

Outcomes of three years of teamwork on critical limb ischemia in patients with diabetes and foot lesions

To evaluate the outcomes of a multidisciplinary team working on diabetic foot (DF) patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI) in a specialized center, the authors retrospectively traced all the patients admitted in their department in 3 consecutive years with a diagnosis of CLI. From January 2006 to December 2008, 245 consecutive DF patients with CLI according the TransAtlantic interSociety Consensus II criteria were included in the study. Treatment strategy was decided by a team of diabetologists, inteventional radiologists, and vascular surgeons. Technical and clinical success, mortality, and ulcer recurrence were evaluated at 6 months and at a mean follow-up of 19.5 +/- 13.4 months. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) was performed in 189 (77%) patients, whereas medical treatment, open surgical revascularization (OSR), and primary amputation were performed in 44 (18.3%), 11 (4.3%), and 1 (0.5%) patients, respectively. Revascularization was successful in 227/233 (97.4%) patients. At follow-up, the overall clinical success rate was 60.4%; it was significantly (P = .001) higher after revascularization (75.9%) compared with medical treatment (48.3%). During follow-up, surgical interventions in the foot were 1.5 +/- 0.4 in those treated with PTA, 1.6 +/- 0.5 in those treated with OSR, and 0.3 +/- 0.8 in those receiving medical therapy (P &lt; .05 compared with the others). Ulcer recurrence occurred in 29 (11.8%) patients: 4 (1.6%) in PTA, 2 (0.8%) in OSR, and 23 (9.4%) in the medical therapy group (P &lt; .05). Major amputation rate was 9.3%, being significantly (P = .04) lower after revascularization (5.2%) compared with medical therapy alone (13.8%). Cumulative mortality rate was 10.6%. In conclusion, this study confirms the positive role of a PTA-first approach for revascularizing the complex cases of DF with CLI in a teamwork management strategy