Treatment of Severe Post-traumatic Bone Defects With Autologous Stem Cells Loaded on Allogeneic Scaffolds.

Mesenchymal stem cells may differentiate into angiogenic and osteoprogenitor cells. The effectiveness of autologous pluripotent mesenchymal cells for treating bone defects has not been investigated in humans. We present a case series to evaluate the rationale of using nucleated cells from autologous bone marrow aspirates in the treatment of severe bone defects that failed to respond to traditional treatments. Ten adult patients (mean age, 49.6-years-old) with severe bone defects were included in this study. Lower limb bone defects were >or=5 cm3 in size, and upper limb defects .or=2 cm3. Before surgery, patients were tested for antibodies to common pathogens. Treatment consisted of bone allogeneic scaffold enriched with bone marrow nucleated cells harvested from the iliac crest and concentrated using an FDA-approved device. Postsurgery clinical and radiographic follow-up was performed at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months. To assess viability, morphology, and immunophenotype, bone marrow nucleated cells were cultured in vitro, tested for sterility, and assayed for the possible replication of adventitious (contaminating) viruses. In 9 of 10 patients, both clinical and radiographic healing of the bone defect along with bone graft integration were observed (mean time, 5.6 months); one patient failed to respond. No post-operative complications were observed. Bone marrow nucleated cells were enriched 4.49-fold by a single concentration step, and these enriched cells were free of microbial contamination. The immunophenotype of adherent cells was compatible with that of mesenchymal stem cells. We detected the replication of Epstein-Barr virus in 2/10 bone marrow cell cultures tested. Hepatitis B virus, cytomegalovirus, parvovirus B19, and endogenous retrovirus HERV-K replication were not detected. Overall, 470 to 1,150 million nucleated cells were grafted into each patient. This case series, with a mean follow-up of almost 2 years, demonstrates that an allogeneic bone scaffold enriched with concentrated autologous bone marrow cells obtained from the iliac crest provides orthopedic surgeons a novel option for treating important bone defects that are unresponsive to traditional therapies

Cancer of the Thyroid in patients over the age of fifty.

Aim. The authors performed a retrospective investigation of patients over thè age of 50, in order to detect any peculiarities of cancer of thè thyroid possibly affecting surgical treatment and whether age itself represented an independent prognostic factor. Methods. A total of 152 patients were examined at thè Department of Surgical Science of "La Sapienza" University of Rome with a minimum follow- up of 10 years. The 152 subjects recruited were divided into 3 age groups: from 51 to 60 years, (74 patients); from 61 to 70 years, (57 patients); from 71 to 80 years, (21 patients). Resulti. Relating thè different histologic types to age group, there was found to be a lower incidence of well-differentiated carcinoma and a relative increase in thè epidermoid and undifferentiated forms in older patients. In thè 51-60 age group 80% of thè patients were at stages I and II, while in thè 71-80 age group 56.2% of cases were at stages III and IV. Conclusion. In thè elderly patient undifferentiated, anaplastic or epidermoid forms and those with a higher biologica! aggressiveness are more frequently found. We believe that prompt diagnosis would present thè surgeon with neoplasms at an early stage and with less aggressive histotypes, thus ensuring greater scope for radicai surgical treatment and appreciably enhancing prognosis

Proliferative and apoptotic pathways in the testis of quail coturnix coturnix during the seasonal reproductive cycle

The quail Coturnix coturnix is a seasonal breeding species, with the annual reproductive cycle of its testes comprising an activation phase and a regression phase. Our previous results have proven that the testicular levels of both 17β‐estradiol (E2) and androgens are higher during the reproductive period compared to the non‐reproductive period, which led us to hypothesize that estrogens and androgens may act synergistically to initiate spermatogenesis. The present study was, therefore, aimed to investigate the estrogen responsive system in quail testis in relation to the reproduction seasonality, with a focus on the molecular pathways elicited in both active and regressive quail testes. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry analysis revealed that the expression of ERα, which is the predominant form of estrogen receptors in quail testis, was correlated with E2 concentration, suggesting that increased levels of E2‐induced ERα could play a key role in the resumption of spermatogenesis during the reproductive period, when both PCNA and SYCP3, the mitotic and meiotic markers, respectively, were also increased. In the reproductive period we also found the activation of the ERK1/2 and Akt‐1 kinase pathways and an increase in second messengers cAMP and cGMP levels. In the non‐reproductive phase, when the E2/ERα levels were low, the inactivation of ERK1/2 and Akt‐1 pathways favored apoptotic events due to an increase in the levels of Bax and cytochrome C, with a consequent regression of the gonad

Deregulated expression of aurora kinases is not a prognostic biomarker in papillary thyroid cancer patients.

Abstract A number of reports indicated that Aurora-A or Aurora-B overexpression represented a negative prognostic factor in several human malignancies. In thyroid cancer tissues a deregulated expression of Aurora kinases has been also demonstrated, butno information regarding its possible prognostic role in differentiated thyroid cancer is available. Here, weevaluated Aurora-A and Aurora-B mRNA expression and its prognostic relevance in a series of 87 papillary thyroid cancers (PTC), with a median follow-up of 63 months. The analysis of Aurora-A and Aurora-B mRNA levels in PTC tissues, compared to normal matched tissues, revealed that their expression was either up-or down-regulatedin the majority of cancer tissues. In particular, Aurora-A and Aurora-B mRNA levels were altered, respectively, in 55 (63.2%) and 79 (90.8%) out of the 87 PTC analyzed. A significant positive correlation between Aurora-A and Aurora-B mRNAswas observed (p=0.001). The expression of both Aurora genes was not affected by the BRAF(V600E) mutation. Univariate, multivariate and Kaplan-Mayer analyses documented the lack of association between Aurora-A or Aurora-B expression and clinicopathological parameterssuch as gender, age, tumor size, histology, TNM stage, lymph node metastasis and BRAF status as well asdisease recurrences or disease-free interval. Only Aurora-B mRNA was significantly higher in T(3-4) tissues, with respect to T(1-2) PTC tissues. The data reported here demonstrate that the expression of Aurora kinases is deregulated in the majority of PTC tissues, likely contributing to PTC progression. However, differently from other human solid cancers, detection of Aurora-A or Aurora-B mRNAs is not a prognostic biomarker inPTC patients

Atomic Scale Sliding and Rolling of Carbon Nanotubes

A carbon nanotube is an ideal object for understanding the atomic scale aspects of interface interaction and friction. Using molecular statics and dynamics methods different types of motion of nanotubes on a graphite surface are investigated. We found that each nanotube has unique equilibrium orientations with sharp potential energy minima. This leads to atomic scale locking of the nanotube. The effective contact area and the total interaction energy scale with the square root of the radius. Sliding and rolling of nanotubes have different characters. The potential energy barriers for sliding nanotubes are higher than that for perfect rolling. When the nanotube is pushed, we observe a combination of atomic scale spinning and sliding motion. The result is rolling with the friction force comparable to sliding.Comment: 4 pages (two column) 6 figures - one ep

Highly responsive core-shell microactuator arrays for use in viscous and viscoelastic fluids

We present a new fabrication method to produce arrays of highly responsive polymer-metal core-shell magnetic microactuators. The core-shell fabrication method decouples the elastic and magnetic structural components such that the actuator response can be optimized by adjusting the core-shell geometry. Our microstructures are 10 μm long, 550 nm in diameter, and electrochemically fabricated in particle track-etched membranes, comprising a poly(dimethylsiloxane) core with a 100 nm Ni shell surrounding the upper 3–8 μm. The structures can achieve deflections of nearly 90° with moderate magnetic fields and are capable of driving fluid flow in a fluid 550 times more viscous than water

Single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes viewed as elastic tubes with Young's moduli dependent on layer number

The complete energy expression of a deformed single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) is derived in the continuum limit from the local density approximation model proposed by Lenosky {\it et al.} \lbrack Nature (London) {\bf 355}, 333 (1992)\rbrack and shows to be content with the classic shell theory by which the Young's modulus, the Poisson ratio and the effective wall thickness of SWNTs are obtained as $Y=4.70$TPa, $\nu=0.34$, $h=0.75{\rm \AA}$, respectively. The elasticity of a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) is investigated as the combination of the above SWNTs of layer distance $d=3.4 {\rm \AA}$ and the Young's modulus of the MWNT is found to be an apparent function of the number of layers, $N$, varying from 4.70TPa to 1.04TPa for N=1 to $\infty$.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Conductance of Distorted Carbon Nanotubes

We have calculated the effects of structural distortions of armchair carbon nanotubes on their electrical transport properties. We found that the bending of the nanotubes decreases their transmission function in certain energy ranges and leads to an increased electrical resistance. Electronic structure calculations show that these energy ranges contain localized states with significant $\sigma$-$\pi$ hybridization resulting from the increased curvature produced by bending. Our calculations of the contact resistance show that the large contact resistances observed for SWNTs are likely due to the weak coupling of the NT to the metal in side bonded NT-metal configurations.Comment: 5 pages RevTeX including 4 figures, submitted to PR

Perception, knowledge and attitude towards childhood fever: A survey among final-year medical students

Aims: Undue concerns about the consequences of fever and its inappropriate management have been documented worldwide among physicians. However, no data exist on medical students. We investigated the perception, knowledge and attitude towards childhood fever among final-year medical students. Methods: Between June and September 2021, final-year medical students of six Italian universities were invited to complete an online survey on their conceptions and attitude towards pharmacological and non-pharmacological management of childhood fever. History of relevant personal or second-hand experience with childhood fever was also addressed. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used. Results: Of 1095 (69%) final-year medical students, 756 completed the survey. Many students believe that high fever might cause brain damage, would recommend physical methods and alternate two drugs for fever. Most students do not think that fever has mainly beneficial effects. In Northern Italy, students are less likely to believe that fever might lead to brain damage (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.33-0.94), and in Southern Italy students are more likely to advise physical methods (OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.22-2.57) and less likely to believe that fever has mainly beneficial effects (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.39-0.77). History of a relevant personal episode of fever during childhood was not associated with these outcomes. Conclusions: Misconceptions about fever are common among final-year medical students in Italy. Cultural factors rather than individually learned traits might underlie these beliefs. Medical students are a promising target for educational interventions to improve childhood fever management

Experimental Measurement of Single-Wall Carbon Nanotube Torsional Properties

We report on the characterization of nanometer-scale torsional devices based on individual single-walled carbon nanotubes as the spring elements. The axial shear moduli of the nanotubes are obtained through modeling of device reaction to various amounts of applied electrostatic force and are compared to theoretical values