Cutaneous Burn Injury Modulates Urinary Antimicrobial Peptide Responses and the Urinary Microbiome

OBJECTIVES: Characterization of urinary bacterial microbiome and antimicrobial peptides after burn injury to identify potential mechanisms leading to urinary tract infections and associated morbidities in burn patients. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study using human urine from control and burn subjects. SETTING: University research laboratory. PATIENTS: Burn patients. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Urine samples from catheterized burn patients were collected hourly for up to 40 hours. Control urine was collected from "healthy" volunteers. The urinary bacterial microbiome and antimicrobial peptide levels and activity were compared with patient outcomes. We observed a significant increase in urinary microbial diversity in burn patients versus controls, which positively correlated with a larger percent burn and with the development of urinary tract infection and sepsis postadmission, regardless of age or gender. Urinary psoriasin and β-defensin antimicrobial peptide levels were significantly reduced in burn patients at 1 and 40 hours postadmission. We observed a shift in antimicrobial peptide hydrophobicity and activity between control and burn patients when urinary fractions were tested against Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis urinary tract infection isolates. Furthermore, the antimicrobial peptide activity in burn patients was more effective against E. coli than E. faecalis. Urinary tract infection-positive burn patients with altered urinary antimicrobial peptide activity developed either an E. faecalis or Pseudomonas aeruginosa urinary tract infection, suggesting a role for urinary antimicrobial peptides in susceptibility to select uropathogens. CONCLUSIONS: Our data reveal potential links for urinary tract infection development and several morbidities in burn patients through alterations in the urinary microbiome and antimicrobial peptides. Overall, this study supports the concept that early assessment of urinary antimicrobial peptide responses and the bacterial microbiome may be used to predict susceptibility to urinary tract infections and sepsis in burn patients

Il piacere del movimento nella cornice della pedagogia del corpo

Pleasure of free movement of the baby, which he expresses in motor gamein all its forms, is placed at the origin of all learning: the child, in fact, not intellectually organizes his project before you realize it. His thought processesin the action itself. Consciousness is born out of the reality, theeffectiveness of the gesture by the coordinative skills in the use of objects.Understanding the nature of his work, the conditions that favor it and thosethat hinder it, acquire the pedagogical skills to allow the natural development,is the luggage necessary for each educator / teacher who works withchildren (and others), especially if, as in our case, it is presented as a professional of physical education. This essay traces, in the sense both theoretical and methodological, process stages leading from the sensorimotor game birth of symbolic thinking until the conscious representation of one’s body, by including them in the frame of the pedagogy of the body, the newly established academic discipline which presents itself as a reflective space for all those who share the need for integrated education, capable of holdingIl piacere del movimento libero del bambino, che egli esprime nel giocomotorio in tutte le sue forme, si colloca all’origine di ogni apprendimento.Il bambino, infatti, non organizza intellettualmente il suo progetto prima direalizzarlo: il suo pensiero si elabora nell’azione stessa. La coscienza nascedall’azione sulla realtà, l’efficacia del gesto dalla capacità coordinativa nell’utilizzo degli oggetti. Comprendere la natura di questo suo operare, lecondizioni che lo favoriscono e quelle che lo ostacolano, acquisire le competenzepedagogiche per permetterne il naturale sviluppo, costituiscono ilbagaglio necessario per ogni educatore/insegnante che lavori con l’infanzia(e non solo), tanto più se, come nel nostro caso, si presenta come un professionista delle scienze motorie. Il presente saggio ripercorre, in senso siateorico sia metodologico, le tappe del processo che conduce dal piaceredel movimento alla nascita del pensiero simbolico fino alla rappresentazioneconsapevole del proprio corpo, inscrivendole nella cornice dellapedagogia del corpo, disciplina accademica di recente istituzione che intendeproporsi come spazio riflessivo per tutti coloro che condividono lanecessità di un’educazione integrata, capace di tenere insieme corpo emente, azione e riflessione, pensiero ed emozione

Il corpo della parola. Alle origini del piacere di narrare

There is an evolutionary link between what Piaget called the ‘’action” and the narrative - the “first interpretative and cognitive device of which man uses in his life experience” (Bruner, 1992). Also for Piaget, the action (movement) and thinking are “isomorphic”, as in child development leads in the other one o’clock: the thought is internalized action. The essay will decline this transition - crucial for everyone involved in early learning (but not only) - as we now know (thanks to new contributions that come from the neuroscience studies) that many of the difficulties and problems that do not few and a few boys and girls meet in the transition to a symbolic level, for example in the learning of reading and writing, have their roots in a lack of or insufficient experienced sensorimotor sacrificed by an early ipercognitivizzazione where today many preschools and early the primary cycle seem to favor. Building on the awareness of the infant Research of reflexive and operational contributions of the body of the pedagogy and practice psychomotor, this pedagogical reflection traces a thread that connects the primary pleasure of movement to the pleasure of narrating, outlining some useful ideas for setting configuration training capable of allowing children an educational experience respectful of their bodies, space, time, relations

Can host reaction animal models be used to predict and modulate skin regeneration?

The study of host reactions in the biomedical and tissue engineering (TE) fields is a key issue but somehow set aside where TE constructs are concerned. Every day new biomaterials and TE constructs are being developed and presented to the scientific community. The combination of cells and biomolecules with scaffolding materials, as TE constructs, make the isolation and the understanding of the effect of each one those elements over the overall host reaction difficult. Eventually, all variables influence the host reaction and the performance of the constructs. For this reason, current assessment of the in vivo performance of TE constructs follows individual approaches, using specific animal models to independently provide insights regarding the contribution of the biomaterials/scaffolds towards the host reaction, and of all the constructs regarding their functionality. Skin wound healing progress into tissue regeneration or repair is highly dependent on the specificities of the inflammatory stage, as demonstrated by comparison between fetal and adult mechanisms. Thus, it would be expected that insights acquired from host tissue reaction evaluation to biomaterials/scaffolds would be explored to predict healing progression and improve the functionality of skin TE constructs. The rational of this review is to make a comprehensive analysis of to what extent the knowledge obtained from the evaluation of in vivo host reactions to implantable biomaterials/scaffolds has been used in the design of skin TE strategies, by promoting tissue regeneration rather than repair.T.C.S. acknowledges Grant No. RL3-TECT-NORTE-01-0124-FEDER-000020, co-financed by the North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (ON.2-O Novo Norte), under the National Strategic Reference Framework, through the European Regional Development Fund

Saperi del corpo e saperi disciplinari. La proposta della pedagogia del corpo in una ricerca con insegnanti della scuola primaria

A teaching able to give body to knowledge and meet children’s learning attitude in their immediate sensitivity to living bodily experience is often limited in schools to few hours of physical education. Using concrete proposals, on the contrary, we want to show that a teaching experience inspired by the Pedagogy of the Body can help to achieve objectives traditionally reserved to otherdisciplinary forms of knowledge (letters, science, art), through a way that privileges the pleasure of movement and of active discovery. In particular, the contribution presents a still ongoing research with primary school teachers based on the method of “Experiential anatomy”. We will describe how it is possible to integrate experience and a scientific topic using perception and bodily imagination as essential tools of knowledge.Una didattica capace di dare corpo ai saperi, di incontrare la disponibilità ad apprendere del bambino a livello della sua sensibilità più immediata, corporea, continua in molti casi a essere limitata nella scuola a poche ore di educazione motoria. Attraverso proposte concrete, si intende al contrario mostrare come una didattica ispirata alla Pedagogia del corpo possa contribuire al raggiungimentodi obiettivi disciplinari tradizionalmente propri di altri saperi (le lettere, lescienze, le arti), attraverso una via che privilegi il piacere del movimento e della scoperta attiva. In particolare, il contributo presenta una ricerca in corso con insegnanti della scuola primaria centrata sul metodo della “Anatomia esperienziale”, illustrando come sia possibile integrare esperienzialmente un argomento scientifico utilizzando la percezione e l’immaginazione corporee come essenziali strumenti di conoscenza

Zinc Chloride as a Catalyst in Hydrothermal Carbonization of Cocoa Pods Husk: Understanding the Effect of Different Carbonization Temperature and ZnCl2 Concentration

In this study, we have successfully synthesized a high surface area of activated carbons (ACs) from cocoa pod husk (CPH) by using a combination of hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) and chemical activation in the presence of ZnCl2 as both of catalyst as well as activating agent. During HTC, the effect of HTC temperature (200 and 225 °C) and ZnCl2 to biomass mass ratio (1:1, 2:1, 3:1) as a catalyst to the characteristics of the obtained hydrochar (HC) and ACs were investigated. The obtained hydrochar (HCs) was then processed by using ZnCl2 chemical activation with a fixed HC to ZnCl2 mass ratio of 1:4 and the mixture was pyrolyzed at 600 °C for 1 h under an inert atmosphere. The results showed that the addition of catalyst during HTC presented different AC morphology, where the carbon samples were decorated with carbon microspheres. An increase of surface area was observed, where the ACs synthesized from catalyzed HC at biomass to ZnCl2 ratio of 1:3 at temperature 200 °C gave a higher surface area of 1954 m2/g compared to that of without catalyst (1165 m2/g). The catalysis effect was more profound at the HTC temperature of 200 °C compared to 225 °C, as reflected in the significant increase of AC surface area. The addition of a catalyst creates ACs with narrow pore distribution compared to that of synthesized in the absence of a catalyst. It was also observed that the ACs from catalyzed hydrochar possessed higher oxygenated functional groups (OFG) than those without catalysts

La Pedagogia del corpo per lo Spazio democratico: il progetto educativo S.P.A.C.E.

The article focuses on the role of Embodied Pedagogy within the project S.P.A.C.E., selected by the social enterprise ‘Con i Bambini’ as part of ‘The Fund Against Educational Poverty in Children and Youth’ and promoted by WeWorld Onlus. Looking towards a democratic citizenship education, the project aims to improve social and school conditions for teenager commuting students who live in remote Italian areas with high risk of school dropout and educational poverty. Auto-mythobiographical narration, experiential cartography and theatrical improvisation are different declinations of Embodied Pedagogy that in the Project S.P.A.C.E. become training proposals addressed to  educators who work with teenagers. They offer new ways to explore and re-imagine crossed and inhabited territories, in the direction of an embodied, living, democratic citizenship.Riassunto: L’articolo presenta il ruolo della Pedagogia del corpo all’interno del progetto S.P.A.C.E., selezionato da ‘Con i Bambini’ nell’ambito del ‘Fondo per il contrasto della povertà educativa minorile’ e promosso da We-World Onlus. Promuovendo un’ottica di cittadinanza attiva e partecipata, il progetto è finalizzato a migliorare le condizioni sociali e scolastiche di studenti pendolari adolescenti che vivono in aree isolate del territorio italiano ad alto rischio di dispersione scolastica e povertà educativa. In S.P.A.C.E. alcune declinazioni della Pedagogia del corpo – la narrazione auto-mitobiografica, la cartografia esperienziale, l’improvvisazione teatrale –, nelle proposte formative rivolte agli educatori che incontrano quotidianamente gli adolescenti, diventano per ognuno vie per esplorare e re-immaginare i territori che si attraversano e si abitano, in direzione di una cittadinanza democratica che non sia solo a parole, ma incarnata in corpi viventi.

Cutaneous Burn Injury Promotes Shifts in the Bacterial Microbiome in Autologous Donor Skin: Implications for Skin Grafting Outcomes

INTRODUCTION: The cutaneous microbiome maintains skin barrier function, regulates inflammation, and stimulates wound-healing responses. Burn injury promotes an excessive activation of the cutaneous and systemic immune response directed against commensal and invading pathogens. Skin grafting is the primary method of reconstructing full-thickness burns, and wound infection continues to be a significant complication. METHODS: In this study, the cutaneous bacterial microbiome was evaluated and subsequently compared to patient outcomes. Three different full-thickness skin specimens were assessed: control skin from non-burned subjects; burn margin from burn patients; and autologous donor skin from the same cohort of burn patients. RESULTS: We observed that skin bacterial community structure of burn patients was significantly altered compared with control patients. We determined that the unburned autologous donor skin from burn patients exhibits a microbiome similar to that of the burn margin, rather than unburned controls, and that changes in the cutaneous microbiome statistically correlate with several post-burn complications. We established that Corynebacterium positively correlated with burn wound infection, while Staphylococcus and Propionibacterium negatively correlated with burn wound infection. Both Corynebacterium and Enterococcus negatively correlated with the development of sepsis. CONCLUSIONS: This study identifies distinct differences in the cutaneous microbiome between burn subjects and unburned controls, and ascertains that select bacterial taxa significantly correlate with several comorbid complications of burn injury. These preliminary data suggest that grafting donor skin exhibiting bacterial dysbiosis may augment infection and/or graft failure and sets the foundation for more in-depth and mechanistic analyses in presumably "healthy" donor skin from patients requiring skin grafting procedures

HDL and Glut1 inhibition reverse a hypermetabolic state in mouse models of myeloproliferative disorders

A high metabolic rate in myeloproliferative disorders is a common complication of neoplasms, but the underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. Using three different mouse models of myeloproliferative disorders, including mice with defective cholesterol efflux pathways and two models based on expression of human leukemia disease alleles, we uncovered a mechanism by which proliferating and inflammatory myeloid cells take up and oxidize glucose during the feeding period, contributing to energy dissipation and subsequent loss of adipose mass. In vivo, lentiviral inhibition of Glut1 by shRNA prevented myeloproliferation and adipose tissue loss in mice with defective cholesterol efflux pathway in leukocytes. Thus, Glut1 was necessary to sustain proliferation and potentially divert glucose from fat storage. We also showed that overexpression of the human ApoA-I transgene to raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels decreased Glut1 expression, dampened myeloproliferation, and prevented fat loss. These experiments suggest that inhibition of Glut-1 and HDL cholesterol-raising therapies could provide novel therapeutic approaches to treat the energy imbalance observed in myeloproliferative disorders