90 research outputs found
STUDIO IN VIVO DI SCAFFOLD PER LA RIGENERAZIONE OSSEA E CARTILAGINEA.
The treatment of large osseous defects remains a challenging clinical problem in orthopedic surgery and, due to the lack of comparative studies, it is not always possible to define the best treatment choice for the different osseous and cartilage pathologies. As the field of tissue engineering develops, researchers face a large number of degrees of freedom regarding the choice of material, architecture, seeding, and culturing. Results from in vitro studies can be difficult to extrapolate to the in vivo situation. For this reason the use of animal models is often an essential step in the testing of orthopedic implants prior to clinical use in humans.
We have investigated the differences in bone density between various species as factors for consideration when choosing an animal model. We also investigated in vivo a possible correlation between osteointegration and the increase in electrical impedance module. Due to the similarity of skeletal parameters and bone-healing rates the swine seem to be a good model in bone and joint surgery. We have examined in two tests, scaffolds for osteochondral tissue repair both in minipigs and in commercial pigs, to verify the differences between the two models and which one is the best
A multistage combined approach to promote diabetic wound healing in COVID-19 era
When diabetes mellitus is not properly controlled with drugs and a healthy lifestyle, it exposes patients with advanced peripheral arterial disease or critical limb ischaemia (CLI) to the most serious complications, in particular lower limb ulcers. Surgical or endovascular treatments represent the first line of intervention; in addition, the adequate management of ulcers can guarantee not only a faster wound healing but also the improvement of the patient's prognosis. To speed up this process, negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), platelet-rich plasma (PRP), and other advanced moist wound dress- ing have been proposed. During Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pan- demic, many patients with CLI and diabetes mellitus had difficult access to advanced treatments with a significant reduction in life expectancy. We report the cases of patients with non-healing ulcers and CLI treated with an empiric multistage approach after successful endovascular revascularisation; the post- operative course was eventful in all patients, and foot ulcers are currently in an advanced state of healing. The association between adequate revascularisation, systemic anti-inflammatory, and antibiotic therapy with the multistage advanced medications ensures healing of ulcers, limb salvage, and improvement of patient prognosis
Easing the questioning of semantic biomedical data
Researchers have been using semantic technologies
as essential tools to structure knowledge. This is particularly
relevant in the biomedical domain, where large dataset are
continuously generated. Semantic technologies offer the ability
to describe data and to map and linking distributed repositories,
creating a network where the searching interface is a single entry
point. However, the increasing number of semantic data repositories
that are publicly available is creating new challenges related
to its exploration. Despite being human and machine-readable,
these technologies are much more challenging for end-users.
Querying services usually require mastering formal languages
and that knowledge is beyond the typical userâs expertise, being
a critical issue in adopting semantic web information systems. In
particular, the questioning of biomedical data presents specific
challenges for which there are still no mature proposals for
production environments. This paper presents a solution to
query biomedical semantic databases using natural language. The
system is at the intersection between semantic parsing and the
use of templates. It makes it possible to extract information in a
friendly way for users who are not experts in semantic queries.FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology
supports Arnaldo Pereira (Ph.D. Grant PD/BD/142877/2018).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Use of healthy emulsion hydrogels to improve the quality of pork burgers
The present research evaluated the use of oil mixture emulsion hydrogels as animal fat
replacers and their effect on the physicochemical, nutritional and sensory characteristics of pork
burgers. Three different types of burgers were manufactured: control (samples elaborated with
100% pork fat), T1 and T2 (pork fat totally replaced by emulsion hydrogels of walnut or pistachio
oil and algal oil, respectively). Fat replacement increased the moisture and ash contents and colour
parameters (L* and b*) of pork burgers. Modified samples turned out to be firmer and chewier than
those in the control group. The addition of oil emulsion hydrogels caused a significant decrease in fat
and energy contents and the products obtained can be considered âreduced fat contentâ. Moreover,
the content of saturated fatty acids decreased, while mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids increased,
constituting an improvement in health indices. Sensory differences were found between the samples
and T2 was the most preferred for flavour and overall. However, both modified burgers had good
levels of acceptability. To conclude, the use of the proposed oil mixture emulsion hydrogels as
pork backfat substitutes represents a promising strategy to obtain healthier pork burgers without
negatively affecting technological or sensory properties.The authors thank GAIN (Axencia Galega de InnovaciĂłn) for supporting this research (grant number IN607A2019/01)
Chemical, physicochemical and sensorial characterization of nitrite-free dry-cured bĂsaro shoulders
The aim of the current experiment was to characterize and evaluate the effect of the dry-curing process on chemical composition, physicochemical properties, and sensory characteristics of the dry-cured BĂsaro shoulders. For this purpose, thirty-eight raw forelegs were used, and no nitrites were added during the dry-curing process. This process increased protein, fat, ash content, and pH, with a decrease in moisture and water activity (p < 0.001). The dry-cured shoulders were darker (L*), less red (a*), and less yellow (b*) than the raw shoulders (p < 0.001), and this may be mainly due to the moisture reduction. The proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) decreased during processing, whereas the saturated fatty acids (SFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) increased (p < 0.001), which could be related with the oxidative degradation. The sensory analysis showed that dry-cured BĂsaro shoulders presented similar organoleptic characteristics to other dry-cured meat products. Also, the chemical composition and fatty acid profile of the dry-cured BĂsaro shoulder showed results comparable to those of other cured products. This study revealed that it is possible to obtain safer and healthier dry-cured BĂsaro shoulder products judging by these characteristics, since nitrites were not added in its preparation. These findings, along with the productâs high sensory attributes similar to more popular products such as ham, would give more advantage for its acceptability and market demandThe authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal)
for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020
and UIDP/00690/2020) and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2020). GAIN (Axencia Galega de InnovaciĂłn) for
supporting this article (grant number IN607A2019/01) and to Laboratory of Carcass and Meat Quality
of Agriculture School of Polytechnic Institute of Bragança âCantinho do Alfredoâ. Grants of A.L.,
I.F. and L.V. are due to NORTE-01-0247-FEDER-072234. The authors (R.D., E.M.S., P.C.B.C., S.R.,
J.M.L. and A.T.) are members of the Healthy Meat network, funded by CYTED (ref: 119RT0568). This
study is a part of a project between a research center (Carcass and Meat Quality and Technology
Laboratory of Agrarian School of Bragança), two breeder associations (ANCRASâSerrana Goat
National Association of Breed Producers and ACOBâBragançana Sheep National Association of
Breed Producers) and a meat manufacturing industry (BĂsaro Salsicharia TradicionalÂź) to developed
and add value of animals reared in the extensive system and creating new processed meat products.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Porcine adipose-derived stem cells from buccal fat pad and subcutaneous adipose tissue for future preclinical studies in oral surgery
Introduction: Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) are progenitor cells used in bone tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Despite subcutaneous adipose tissue being more abundant, the buccal fat pad (BFP) is easily accessible for dentists and maxillofacial surgeons. For this reason, considering the need for preclinical study and the swine as an optimal animal model in tissue engineering applications, we compared the features of porcine ASCs (pASCs) from both tissue-harvesting sites.
Methods: ASCs were isolated from interscapular subcutaneous adipose tissue (ScI) and buccal fat pads of six swine. Cells were characterized for their stemness and multipotent features. Moreover, their osteogenic ability when cultured on titanium disks and silicon carbide-plasma-enhanced chemical vapor-deposition fragments, and their growth in the presence of autologous and heterologous serum were also assessed.
Results: Independent of the harvesting site, no differences in proliferation, viability, and clonogenicity were observed among all the pASC populations. Furthermore, when induced toward osteogenic differentiation, both ScI- and BFP-pASCs showed an increase of collagen and calcified extracellular matrix (ECM) production, alkaline phosphatase activity, and osteonectin expression, indicating their ability to differentiate toward osteoblast-like cells. In addition, they differentiated toward adipocyte-like cells, and chondrogenic induced pASCs were able to increase glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) production over time. When cells were osteoinduced on synthetic biomaterials, they significantly increased the amount of calcified ECM compared with control cells; moreover, titanium showed the osteoinductive effect on pASCs, also without chemical stimuli. Finally, these cells grew nicely in 10% FBS, and no benefits were produced by substitution with swine serum.
Conclusions: Swine buccal fat pad contains progenitor cells with mesenchymal features, and they also osteo-differentiate nicely in association with synthetic supports. We suggest that porcine BFP-ASCs may be applied in preclinical studies of periodontal and bone-defect regeneration
A tissue engineered osteochondral composite for cartilage repair: an in vivo study
This work aimed to validate the efficacy of a tissue engineered osteochondral composite for the treatment of cartilage lesion produced in adult pigs. The osteochondral composite was manufactured by combining an osteo-compatible cylinder and a neocartilagineous tissue obtained by seeding swine articular chondrocytes into a collagen scaffold. Articular cartilage was harvested from the trochlea of six adult pigs and was enzymatically digested to isolate the chondrocytes [Deponti D.et al. 2005]. The cells were then expanded in monolayer culture in chondrogenic medium and seeded onto a collagen scaffold. The collagen scaffold was preintegrated in vitro, macroscopically and microscopically, to a an osteo-compatible cylinder. The seeded osteochondral scaffolds were left in standard culture condition for 3 weeks with the addition of growth factors. At the end of culture time the osteochondral scaffolds were surgically implanted in osteochondral lesion performed in the trochlea of the same pigs from which the cartilage was initially harvested. As control, some osteochondral lesions were treated with acellular scaffolds and others were left untreated. After 3 months, the repair tissue of the three experimental groups was macroscopically analyzed and processed for histological and biochemical analysis. The hystologic ICRS II scale showed a statistically significant difference between the three experimental groups only in the parameters regarding the cell morphology and the surface/superficial assessment: the lesion treated with the unseeded osteochondral scaffolds showed higher values in chondrocytes morphology and in the superficial layer recovery, with respect to the lesions treated with the seeded scaffolds or left untreated. The biochemical analysis showed a higher DNA content in the lesion repaired with cellular scaffold and a higher GAGs/DNA ratio in the lesions with a spontaneous repair. The result of this study demonstrate that an osteochondral scaffold was able to repair an osteochondral lesion in an in vivo model of adult pigs, showing a good integration with the surrounding tissue. The quality of the repair was higher when the scaffold was not seeded with chondrocytes, but filled with cells migrated from subchondral bone. This tissue engineered osteochondral composite could represent a valuable model for further in vivo studies on the repair of chondral/osteochondral lesion
Inclusion of Healthy Oils for Improving the Nutritional Characteristics of Dry-Fermented Deer Sausage
peer-reviewedThe influence of partial replacement of animal fat by healthy oils on composition,
physicochemical, volatile, and sensory properties of dry-fermented deer sausage was evaluated. Four
different batches were manufactured: the control was formulated with animal fat (18.2%), while in the
reformulated batches the 50% of animal fat was substituted by olive, canola, and soy oil emulsions
immobilized in Prosella gel. The reformulation resulted in a decrease of moisture and fat contents and
an increase of protein and ash amount. Moreover, reformulated sausages were harder, darker, and
had higher pH values. This fact is related to the lower moisture content in these samples. As expected,
the fatty acid composition was changed by the reformulation. The use of soy and canola oils increased
polyunsaturated fatty acids and omega-3 content and decreased n-6/n-3 ratio and saturated fatty
acids. Thus, the use of these two oils presented the best nutritional benefits. The changes observed in
the fatty acids reflected the fatty acid composition of the oils employed in the emulsions. Regarding
volatile compounds (VOC), the replacement of animal fat by healthy emulsion gels increased the
content of both total VOC and most of individual VOC. However, the lipid-derived VOC did not
show this trend. Generally speaking, the control samples presented similar or higher VOC derived
from lipid oxidation processes, which could be related to the natural antioxidant compounds present
in the vegetable oils. Finally, all reformulated sausages presented higher consumer acceptability than
control samples. In fact, the sausage reformulated with soy oil emulsion gel was the most preferred.
Thus, as a general conclusion, the reformulation of deer sausages with soy emulsion gel improves
both composition and sensory quality of the final product, which could be an excellent strategy to the
elaboration of healthy fermented sausages
Recommended from our members
A preliminary study: saltiness and sodium content of aqueous extracts from plants and marine animal shells
To develop a salt substitute with low sodium
content, the water-soluble components of seaweed, kelp,
clamshell, oyster shell, semen cassiae, cuttlefish bone, inula
flower, Arabia cowry shell, and sanna leaf were extracted
with water. The aqueous extracts of nine species of plants
and marine animal shells were obtained after drying the
plants and shells at 105 °C until achieving a constant
weight. The hedonic scale test revealed that the clamshell
and cuttlefish bone aqueous extracts tasted distinctly salty.
The result of the degree of difference test showed that the
1 % clamshell extract solution (m/v) and 0.6 % cuttlefish
bone extract solution (m/v) both had equivalent saltiness of
0.6 % NaCl (m/v). In contrast, the sodium content in the
cuttlefish bone extract solution was 27 % less than that in
a NaCl solution of the same degree of saltiness. Therefore,
a novel salt substitute will be developed in future studies in
accordance with the principles of bionics and a deep understanding
of the salty taste interactions among key salty
components in the cuttlefish bone extract
- âŠ