Stem Cells in Domestic Animals: Applications in Health and Production

In the last decade, researchers described Mesenchymal Stem/stromal cells (MSCs) as a possible population of cells for cell-based therapies in regenerative medicine, both for humans and animals. The aim of this first article (and the aim of the next books in this collection) is to gather high-quality research and review articles that could broaden knowledge regarding the role of MSCs in domestic animals’ health and production

Stem cells from foetal adnexa and fluid in domestic animals: An update on their features and clinical application

Over the past decade stem cell research has emerged as an area of major interest for its potential in regenerative medicine applications. This is in constant need of new cell sources to conceive regenerative medicine approaches for diseases that are still without therapy. Scientists drew the attention toward alternative sources such as foetal adnexa and fluid, since these sources possess many advantages: first of all, cells can be extracted from discarded foetal material and it is noninvasive for the patient and inexpensive, secondly abundant stem cells can be obtained and finally, these stem cell sources are free from ethical considerations. Cells derived from foetal adnexa and fluid preserve some of the characteristics of the primitive embryonic layers from which they originate. Many studies have demonstrated the differentiation potential in vitro and in vivo toward mesenchymal and non-mesenchymal cell types; in addition the immune-modulatory properties make these cells a good candidate for allo- and xenotransplantation. Naturally occurring diseases in domestic animals can be more ideal as disease model of human genetic and acquired diseases and could help to define the potential therapeutic use efficiency and safety of stem cells therapies. This review offers an update on the state of the art of characterization of domestic animals MSCs derived from foetal adnexa and fluid and on the latest findings in pre-clinical or clinical setting of the stem cell populations isolated from these sources

The Development of a 2D/3D BIM-GIS Web Platform for Planned Maintenance of Built and Cultural Heritage: the Main10ance Project

The integration of Building Information Modeling (BIM), or Historic BIM (HBIM), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has assumed a crucial role not only in the management of smart cities or urban districts, as well as in the construction sector or infrastructures but also in the management, conservation and safeguarding of cultural heritage. This integration opens up new opportunities for decision-makers to assess the impact of interventions on heritage sites, evaluate preservation strategies, and facilitate informed decision-making processes. This contribution presents and describes the open-source web platform developed within the Interreg MAIN10ANCE project. The project aims to promote a common methodology for the cooperation and collaboration of the various stakeholders involved in the restoration, management and maintenance activities of built and cultural heritage sites. This objective has been pursued by creating a BIM-GIS database, focused on the definition of planned maintenance activities, whose data has been made available to professionals and management bodies by means of a shared web platform, usable directly in situ on a tablet or portable devices. The paper highlights the key components of the web platform, including the BIM, GIS, and artifact Viewers, the Planner, and the overall Dashboard. The platform's multiscale and multi-source approach makes it extensible to various cultural assets, whether environmental, architectural, or movable. By integrating historical and geometric information and planning maintenance activities, the web platform thus supports public administrations and professionals, amending existing state-of-the-art solutions

Luteal Blood Flow and progesterone concentration during first and second postpartum estrous cycle in lactating dairy cows

The aim of the present study was to determine the differences in corpus luteum (CL) functionality between the first postpartum estrous cycle and the following cycle in lactating dairy cows. Luteal blood flow (LBF), luteal size and blood progesterone (P4) concentration were monitored during the first and second postpartum estrous cycle. During the first and second postpartum estrous cycle, the mean LBF value increased (p < .05) from early to late dioestrus, while it decreased rapidly in proestrus, resulting statistically lower (p < .05) than those registered in all previous phases. Statistically significant differences were not observed between overall LBF during first and second postpartum estrous cycle (p > .05). During the first postpartum estrous cycle, P4 blood concentrations showed a significant reduction (p < .05) from dioestrus to proestrus. A different trend of P4 concentrations was observed during the second postpartum estrous cycle, where mean P4 value registered in proestrus resulted statistically lower than those registered in the previous cycle phases (p < .05). The mean P4 concentration registered over the first postpartum estrous cycle resulted statistically lower (p < .05) than that registered during the second one. A significant correlation between P4 concentrations and LBF was registered only during the second postpartum estrous cycle. Results indicate that during the first postpartum estrous cycle, P4 concentration was independent of luteal blood flow and luteal size

Neuromorphic decoding of spinal motor neuron behaviour during natural hand movements for a new generation of wearable neural interfaces

We propose a neuromorphic framework to process the activity of human spinal motor neurons for movement intention recognition. This framework is integrated into a non-invasive interface that decodes the activity of motor neurons innervating intrinsic and extrinsic hand muscles. One of the main limitations of current neural interfaces is that machine learning models cannot exploit the efficiency of the spike encoding operated by the nervous system. Spiking-based pattern recognition would detect the spatio-temporal sparse activity of a neuronal pool and lead to adaptive and compact implementations, eventually running locally in embedded systems. Emergent Spiking Neural Networks (SNN) have not yet been used for processing the activity of in-vivo human neurons. Here we developed a convolutional SNN to process a total of 467 spinal motor neurons whose activity was identified in 5 participants while executing 10 hand movements. The classification accuracy approached 0.95 ±0.14 for both isometric and non-isometric contractions. These results show for the first time the potential of highly accurate motion intent detection by combining non-invasive neural interfaces and SNN

Effect of platelet lysate on uterine response of mares susceptible to persistent mating-induced endometritis

Many mares are susceptible to persistent mating-induced endometritis (PMIE), an important cause of reduced fertility. Platelet lysate (PL) derives from freeze-thawing platelets after concentration, so that growth factors are released from the platelets. Among the advantages of PL compared to platelet-rich plasma (PRP), it can be frozen stored and allogenic use for PL might also be conceivable. Platelet-rich plasma beneficially reduced inflammatory response in PMIE mares when administered 24 h pre- or 4 h post-AI. The aim of this study was to test the effect of PL on inflammatory uterine response in mares susceptible to PMIE. A total of 14 mares susceptible to PMIE (based on presence of fluid or inflammatory cells 24 h after AI) underwent an untreated (Ctr) cycle followed by a treated (PL) cycle. From each mare, 100 mL of citrated whole blood was obtained for PRP production by centrifugation. The resultant PRP was brought to a final volume of 10 mL with platelet poor plasma and frozen at −80 °C to obtain PL. On untreated cycles, mares were inseminated with frozen-thawed semen 36 h after ovulation induction. On treated cycles, PL was thawed, infused into the uterus 12 h after ovulation induction, and AIs were performed 24 h later. The number of neutrophils in uterine cytology (score 1(normal)-3(severe inflammation)) evaluated by optical microscopy, uterine fluid accumulation (height x width) and uterine edema (score 0–3) observed in ultrasonography, were analysed. Pregnancy was evaluated by ultrasonography 14 days after ovulation. A significant decrease (P < 0.05) was observed on cytology score (PL 1.3 ± 0.1 vs Ctr 2.0 ± 0.1), fluid accumulation (PL 79.5 ± 30.1 mm2 vs Ctr 342.7 ± 52.9 mm2) and edema score (PL 1.8 ± 0.2 vs Ctr 2.3 ± 0.2) in treated mares. Pregnancy rate in PL-treated cycles (3/12) and control cycles (2/14), were not significantly different (P > 0.05). According to the results, we conclude that treatment with PL in mares classified as susceptible to PMIE appears to reduce the inflammatory response after breeding, based on clinical signs of uterine edema, IUF accumulation and PMNs migration

Tunical plication in the management of penile curvature due La Peyronie’s disease. Our experience on 47 cases.

BACKGROUND: Peyronie’s disease is an acquired connective tissue disorder of the penile tunica albuginea with fibrosis and inflammation. The disease produces palpable plaques, penile curvature and pain during erections. Patients report negative effects in four major domains: physical appearance and self-image, sexual function and performance. These changes damage sexual life and compromise the quality of life. Our objective is to review the patient's sexual life after penile tunical plicature using the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) and the Sexual Encounter Profile (SEP) questionnaires. METHODS: A total of 47 patients with Peyronie's disease (PD) were enrolled at our urology department and they underwent correction of penile deviation between February 2009 and March 2010. Mean patient age was 56 years and mean follow-up was 24 months. Patients with painless PD plaque with no progression in angulation for at least 12 months were chosen for surgery. They underwent a penile tunical plication. IIEF and SEP questionnaire were administered to all patients. RESULTS: Of all treated patients, 94% were able to insert their penis in the partner's vagina (p<0.01; SEP question 2), compared with 62% preoperatively and 90% of them was satisfied overall with the sexual intercourse (p<0.01; SEP question 5) .Patients had a significantly higher endpoint and a greater change from baseline for the remaining SEP questions related to achievement of an erection, satisfaction of erection hardness (SEP questions 1 and 4; p < 0:001). We reported a significant improvement in the IIEF scores (from a baseline total score of 25.2 +/- 3.2 to a final score of 38.3 +/- 5.2; P<0.01). It resulted in significantly higher endpoint IIEF scores across all five IIEF domains: Erectile Function, Intercourse Satisfaction, Orgasmic Function, Sexual Desire and Overall Satisfaction. The main complaint was penile shortening (28 patients, 60%), feeling of the suture during flaccidity and tumescence (37 patients, 80%). CONCLUSION: Patient quality of life improved after surgery thanks to the improvement of their sexual life. The complications are unimportant and few bother symptoms are reported. The significant improvement in erectile function was also supported by IIEF and SEP questionnaire data. Nowadays tunical plication is a safe, advantageous and useful technique to treat patients suffering of Peyronie’s disease

Comparison between adult and foetal adnexa derived equine post-natal mesenchymal stem cells

Background Little is known about the differences among adult and foetal equine mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and no data exist about their comparative ultrastructural morphology. The aim of this study was to describe and compare characteristics, immune properties, and ultrastructural morphology of equine adult (bone marrow: BM, and adipose tissue: AT) and foetal adnexa derived (umbilical cord blood: UCB, and Wharton's jelly: WJ) MSCs. Results No differences were observed in proliferation during the first 3 passages. While migration ability was similar among cells, foetal MSCs showed a higher adhesion ability, forming smaller spheroids after hanging drop culture (P &lt; 0.05). All MSCs differentiated toward adipogenic, chondrogenic and osteogenic lineages, only tenogenic differentiation was less evident for WJ-MSCs. Data obtained by PCR confirmed MHC1 expression and lack of MHC2 expression in all four cell types. Foetal adnexa MSCs were positive for genes specific for anti-inflammatory and angiogenic factors (IL6, IL8, IL beta 1) and WJ-MSCs were the only positive for OCT4 pluripotency gene. At immunofluorescence all cells expressed typical mesenchymal markers (alpha-SMA, N-cadherin), except for BM-MSCs, which did not express N-cadherin. By transmission electron microscopy, it was observed that WJ-MSCs had a higher (P &lt; 0.05) number of microvesicles compared to adult MSCs, and UCB-MSCs showed more microvesicles than BM-MSCs (P &lt; 0.05). AT-MSCs had a lower number of mitochondria than WJ-MSCs (P &lt; 0.05), and mitochondrial area was higher for WJ-MSCs compared to UCB and AT-MSCs (P &lt; 0.05). Conclusions Results demonstrate that MSCs from adult and foetal tissues have different characteristics, and foetal MSCs, particularly WJ derived ones, seem to have some charactestics that warrant further investigation into potential advantages for clinical application

Detection of community-wide impacts of bottom trawl fishing on deep-sea assemblages using environmental DNA metabarcoding

Although considerable research progress on the effects of anthropogenic disturbance in the deep sea has been made in recent years, our understanding of these impacts at community level remains limited. Here, we studied deep-sea assemblages of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea) subject to different intensities of benthic trawling using environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding and taxonomic identification of meiofauna communities. Firstly, eDNA metabarcoding data did not detect trawling impacts using alpha diversity whereas meiofauna data detected a significant effect of trawling. Secondly, both eDNA and meiofauna data detected significantly different communities across distinct levels of trawling intensity when we examined beta diversity. Taxonomic assignment of the eDNA data revealed that Bryozoa was present only at untrawled sites, highlighting their vulnerability to trawling. Our results provide evidence for community-wide impacts of trawling, with different trawling intensities leading to distinct deep-sea communities. Finally, we highlight the need for further studies to unravel understudied deep-sea biodiversity

Geo-hazards of the San Vito peninsula offshore (southwestern Tyrrhenian Sea)

In this paper we present geomorphological hazard mapping of the San Vito Peninsula offshore (Sicilian margin of Tyrrhenian Sea), characterised by a very narrow continental shelf and a very dipping, tectonically active continental slope, no far from a seismogenic belt. The data set consists of morpho-bathymetric models achieved by means of multibeam survey and scattered high resolution seismic profiles. The morpho-bathymetric study highlighted some potential sites of geomorphological hazards, the most representative of which are: (i) two canyons developing from the upper slope off San Vito Cape down to the Erice basin; (ii) a dense network of small incisions across the upper slope; (iii) a very active landslide, developed onland and extending in the continental shelf close to the Scopello village. The geomorphological features that can generate submarine hazard are represented by: unstable sediment packages into canyon heads or along the upper slope; submarine canyons with regressive erosion; coastal landslides