Considering the Value of 3D Cultures for Enhancing the Understanding of Adhesion, Proliferation, and Osteogenesis on Titanium Dental Implants

Background: Individuals with pathologic conditions and restorative deficiencies might benefit from a combinatorial approach encompassing stem cells and dental implants; however, due to the various surface textures and coatings, the influence of titanium dental implants on cells exhibits extensive, wide variations. Three-dimensional (3D) cultures of stem cells on whole dental implants are superior in testing implant properties and were used to examine their capabilities thoroughly. Materials and methods: The surface micro-topography of five titanium dental implants manufactured by sandblasting with titanium, aluminum, corundum, or laser sintered and laser machined was compared in this study. After characterization, including particle size distribution and roughness, the adhesion, proliferation, and viability of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) cultured on the whole-body implants were tested at three time points (one to seven days). Finally, the capacity of the implant to induce ADSCs' spontaneous osteoblastic differentiation was examined at the same time points, assessing the gene expression of collagen type 1 (coll-I), osteonectin (osn), alkaline phosphatase (alp), and osteocalcin (osc). Results: Laser-treated (Laser Mach and Laser Sint) implants exhibited the highest adhesion degree; however, limited proliferation was observed, except for Laser Sint implants, while viability differences were seen throughout the three time points, except for Ti Blast implants. Sandblasted surfaces (Al Blast, Cor Blast, and Ti Blast) outpaced the laser-treated ones, inducing higher amounts of coll-I, osn, and alp, but not osc. Among the sandblasted surfaces, Ti Blast showed moderate roughness and the highest superficial texture density, favoring the most significant spontaneous differentiation relative to all the other implant surfaces. Conclusions: The results indicate that 3D cultures of stem cells on whole-body titanium dental implants is a practical and physiologically appropriate way to test the biological characteristics of the implants, revealing peculiar differences in ADSCs' adhesion, proliferation, and activity toward osteogenic commitment in the absence of specific osteoinductive cues. In addition, the 3D method would allow researchers to test various implant surfaces more thoroughly. Integrating with preconditioned stem cells would inspire a more substantial combinatorial approach to promote a quicker recovery for patients with restorative impairments

Assessing the Efficacy of Whole-Body Titanium Dental Implant Surface Modifications in Inducing Adhesion, Proliferation, and Osteogenesis in Human Adipose Tissue Stem Cells

Abstract: Background: Although the influence of titanium implants’ micro-surface properties on tita- nium discs has been extensively investigated, the research has not taken into consideration their whole-body effect, which may be considered possible using a combinatorial approach. Methods: Five titanium dental implants with a similar moderate roughness and different surface textures were thor- oughly characterized. The cell adhesion and proliferation were assessed after adipose-tissue-derived stem cells (ADSCs) were seeded on whole-body implants. The implants’ inductive properties were assessed by evaluating the osteoblastic gene expression. Results: The surface micro-topography was analyzed, showing that hydroxyapatite (HA)-blasted and bland acid etching implants had the highest roughness and a lower number of surface particles. Cell adhesion was observed after 24 h on all the implants, with the highest score registered for the HA-blasted and bland acid etching implants. Cell proliferation was observed only on the laser-treated and double-acid-etched surfaces. The ADSCs ex- pressed collagen type I, osteonectin, and alkaline phosphatase on all the implant surfaces, with high levels on the HA-treated surfaces, which also triggered osteocalcin expression on day seven. Conclu- sions: The findings of this study show that the morphology and treatment of whole titanium dental implants, primarily HA-treated and bland acid etching implants, impact the adherence and activity of ADSCs in osteogenic differentiation in the absence of specific osteo-inductive signals

El proceso de innovación para desarrollos en la base de la pirámide: caso Unilever

El presente trabajo busca reconciliar dos realidades encontradas en la Argentina del 2019: el escaso poder adquisitivo de los sectores más vulnerables y golpeados por la reciente crisis y la necesidad de crecimiento de las grandes compañías de consumo masivo. Para lograrlo el autor se ha basado en teorías generales formuladas acerca de la base de la pirámide que permiten entender la dimensión del mercado al que se hace referencia y las aspiraciones de los consumidores que forman parte del mismo. Por otra parte, se ha utilizado información de distintas fuentes para determinar el tamaño y características de dicho mercado en la Argentina y se exponen intentos de diferentes marcas e industrias para atenderlo. Luego, se describe la forma en la que Unilever de Argentina está buscando conquistar ese segmento y se presentan los puntos de vista de distintos colaboradores de la empresa acerca de la BOP y de la situación de la organización en la actualidad. Por último, las conclusiones a las que arriba este trabajo permitirán entender las posibilidades reales con las que cuentan las compañías (de consumo masivo en particular pero también de otras industrias a modo general) al encarar la desafiante tarea de lanzar productos y alcanzar rentabilidades sustentables en la base de la pirámide

Digital technologies and learning outcomes of students from low socio-economic background: An Analysis of PISA 2015

The use of digital technologies for learning is high on the policy agenda and is believed to benefit disadvantaged groups of students especially. This study assesses the extent to which the association between learning outcomes and the use of digital technologies differs systematically between students with different socio-economic statuses. We start by summarizing the existing evidence on the causal effects of digital technologies on learning outcomes. We highlight the relative lack of evidence on the pedagogical use of digital technologies on disadvantaged students when compared to the general student population. The overall consensus emerging from the literature is that the causal effect of digital technologies is mixed. While it is unclear whether disadvantaged students are differently affected by them, the available evidence does not suggest that digital technologies contribute to further disparities in students' learning outcomes. Using data from PISA 2015, we document that students from low socio-economic backgrounds start using digital devices later in life, have slightly less access to ICT at home and tend to use ICT less intensively especially in out-of-school activities than their counterparts. In the multivariate analysis, we find a positive association between disadvantaged students' achievement and the use of ICT for some purposes, but only among those students who use ICT less intensively. However, we find no evidence that this association is systematically different from that of students from higher socio-economic backgrounds. The exception is the use of ICT outside of school for general purposes by low-intensity users: in this case, disadvantaged students would particularly benefit from using ICT more intensively. Furthermore, we also find that - among low-intensity users of ICT - the probability of being a resilient student is positively correlated with the use of ICT at school for educational purposes and at home for schoolwork and general purposes. More generally, our research suggests that low-intensity users of ICT are likely to be using ICT sub-optimally, both at home and at school, and would benefit (in terms of PISA scores) from using ICT more intensively. However, the fact that medium and high-intensity users of ICT typically would not gain from additional ICT use is consistent with the hypothesis that the relationship between use of ICT and learning outcomes is inversely U-shaped.JRC.B.4-Human Capital and Employmen

The Ancient Varieties of Mountain Maize: The Inheritance of the Pointed Character and Its Effect on the Natural Drying Process

The introduction of mechanized agricultural practices after the Second World War and the use of productive hybrids led to a gradual disappearance of local maize varieties. However, 13 landraces are still cultivated in North-Western Italy, in the Lombardy region; those that are cultivated in mountainous areas (roughly up to 1200 m in altitude) are often characterized by the pointed shape of their seeds (i.e., “Nero Spinoso”, “Rostrato Rosso di Rovetta”, “Spinato di Gandino” and “Scagliolo di Carenno”) and the presence of pigments (i.e., “Nero Spinoso”, “Rostrato Rosso di Rovetta”). The pointed shape of the seeds is an ancient characteristic of maize-ancestors, which negatively affects the yield by not allowing optimal “filling” of the ear. This study reports work on four different Italian varieties of pointed maize in order to assess the genetic bases of the “pointed character” and to try to explain the reasons for this adaptation to the mountain environment. The data obtained by genetic analysis, seed air-drying modeling and thermographic camera observations demonstrated that the “pointed trait” is controlled by the same genes across the different varieties studied and suggested that this peculiar shape has been selected in mountainous areas because it promotes faster drying of the seed, with the presence of pigments implementing this effect

Graves y fundados elementos de convicción y comparecencia con restricciones en los juzgados del Santa 2017-2019

La presente investigación parte de la realidad jurídico social que se vive en el distrito judicial del Santa, es por ello que el objetivo general es determinar y explicar en qué medida se relacionan los graves y fundados elementos de convicción con la comparecencia con restricciones, en los Juzgados del Santa, 2017-2019. Se ha aplicado el método hipotético deductivo, de enfoque cuantitativo, de diseño no experimental, correlacional causal de corte transeccional o transversal. La población total estuvo conformada por 50 resoluciones judiciales del 2017-2019 en que los jueces de investigación preparatoria de Santa - Sede Central desestimaron requerimientos de prisión preventiva e impusieron comparecencia con restricciones, y en base a la fórmula de poblaciones finitas se trabajó con una muestra de 45 resoluciones. Asimismo, se utilizó el instrumento de la encuesta, que fue aplicado a 30 profesionales del Derecho (10 Abogados libres, 10 Fiscales y 10 Jueces), todos del distrito judicial del Santa; instrumento que fue debidamente validado por tres expertos y que se procesó mediante el software de estadística para ciencias sociales (SPSS v. 24), obteniéndose un coeficiente de confiabilidad de ,918 para la variable Graves y fundados elementos de convicción y de ,954 para la variable comparecencia con restricciones, y presentando finalmente los resultados en tablas y figuras estadísticas. Como resultados se obtuvo que existe una relación significativa entre los graves y fundados elementos de convicción y la medida de comparecencia con restricciones en los juzgados del Santa, 2017-2019. Se concluyó que el nivel de la variable independiente es predominantemente alto con un 66,7% determinado por 20 de los 30 encuestados; mientras que en la variable dependiente es predominantemente medio con 36.7% determinado por 11 de los 30 encuestados

Preparation of platelet-rich plasma as a tissue adhesive for experimental transplantation in rabbits

PURPOSE: Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an autologous substance with adhesive properties. We aimed at developing and testing the efficacy of a method for PRP preparation in rabbits. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An in vitro study was carried out to obtain PRP from forty rabbits and to analyze the number of platelets and type of substance needed to trigger platelet activation. To induce platelet activation, 5%, 10%, 25% and 50% CaCl solutions were used. Then, an in vivo study was performed in twelve rabbits to test PRP adhesiveness in lamellar corneal graft. A control group made up of six rabbits underwent corneal transplantation without using PRP. RESULTS: 5% CaCl was the most effective concentration in activating PRP, with a mean time of 19 minutes. An attached corneal flap was seen 3 months after surgery. A detached corneal button was seen in all controls. CONCLUSION: Our method was able to produce rabbit-derived PRP with suitable properties for soft tissue adhesion. These results could be useful for researchers of the growing fields of tissue repair and experimental transplantation

Modeling the Cost-Effectiveness for Cement-Less and Hybrid Prosthesis in Total Hip Replacement in Emilia Romagna, Italy

Background. The aim of the present study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of cement-less versus hybrid prostheses in total hip replacement (THR) in patients diagnosed with primary osteoarthritis. Methods. Effectiveness data were obtained from the Emilia-Romagna Regional Registry on Orthopaedic Prosthesis (RIPO), which collects information on all orthopaedic intervention performed in Emilia-Romagna (41,199 total hip replacements performed from 2000 to 2007), and from which we obtained survival curves and transition probabilities for the cement-less and hybrid prostheses, respectively. Conversely, costs were derived from regional databases through a specific procedure, which allowed us to register individual component's costs for both primary and subsequent revision interventions. A specific Markov transition model was constructed in order to consider the 3 types of revisions that an implant could possibly undergo through its life-span: total, cup or stem, head insert or neck. The cost-effectiveness was expressed in terms of cost per "revision-free" life year. Results and conclusions. Considering a 70-y old patient undergoing THR, the cementless strategy resulted more effective but more costly than the hybrid solution, with an incremental cost effectiveness ratio of 2401.63 (sic) per revision-free life year. Following a deterministic sensitivity analysis, hybrid and cementless fixation showed, respectively, a dominance profile for patients older than 83 y and younger than 43 y, whereas for all ages in between, we report a progressive increase in the ICER of cementless prostheses. Our results proved to be robust, as underlined by the probabilistic sensitivity analysis performed using cost distributions. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved