Engineering Polymeric Nanosystems against Oral Diseases

Nanotechnology and nanoparticles (NPs) are at the forefront of modern research, particularly in the case of healthcare therapeutic applications. Polymeric NPs, specifically, hold high promise for these purposes, including towards oral diseases. Careful optimisation of the production of polymeric NPs, however, is required to generate a product which can be easily translated from a laboratory environment to the actual clinical usage. Indeed, considerations such as biocompatibility, biodistribution, and biodegradability are paramount. Moreover, a pre-clinical assessment in adequate in vitro, ex vivo or in vivo model is also required. Last but not least, considerations for the scale-up are also important, together with an appropriate clinical testing pathway. This review aims to eviscerate the above topics, sourcing at examples from the recent literature to put in context the current most burdening oral diseases and the most promising polymeric NPs which would be suitable against them

Engineering polymeric nanosystems against oral diseases

Nanotechnology and nanoparticles (NPs) are at the forefront of modern research, par-ticularly in the case of healthcare therapeutic applications. Polymeric NPs, specifically, hold high promise for these purposes, including towards oral diseases. Careful optimisation of the production of polymeric NPs, however, is required to generate a product which can be easily translated from a laboratory environment to the actual clinical usage. Indeed, considerations such as biocompati-bility, biodistribution, and biodegradability are paramount. Moreover, a pre-clinical assessment in adequate in vitro, ex vivo or in vivo model is also required. Last but not least, considerations for the scale-up are also important, together with an appropriate clinical testing pathway. This review aims to eviscerate the above topics, sourcing at examples from the recent literature to put in context the current most burdening oral diseases and the most promising polymeric NPs which would be suitable against them

Estructura de Gestión Universitaria: una mirada empírica en la Universidad Nacional de Córdoba

Se ha generalizado la idea de que el cambio permite la supervivencia de la organización, que de otra manera se vería amenazada, desencadenado una era de transformación organizacional. Conformada la necesidad de la adaptación, resulta inminente definir los requerimientos que guiarán el cambio. En este trabajo, se aborda la discusión sobre un cambio del tipo no estructural en el marco de la Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Para ello se presentan evidencias que justifica una transformación que no alcance a modificar sustancialmente la estructura de gestión actual

Feasibility of a combined mobile-health electrocardiographic and rapid diagnostic test screening for chagas-related cardiac alterations

Background: Chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CChC) is the most common cause of death related to Chagas disease (CD). The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of a combined rapid diagnostic test (RDT) and electrocardiographic (ECG) screening in a remote rural village of the Bolivian Chaco, with a high prevalence of CChC. Methods: Consecutive healthy volunteers > 15 years were enrolled in the community of Palmarito (municipality of Gutierrez, Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia) in February 2019. All patients performed an RDT with Chagas Stat-Pak(®) (CSP, Chembio Diagnostic System, Medford, NY, USA) and an ECG by D-Heart(®) technology, a low-cost, user-friendly smartphone-based 8-lead Bluetooth ECG. RDTs were read locally while ECGs were sent to a cardiology clinic which transmitted reports within 24 h from recording. Results: Among 140 people (54 men, median age 38(interquartile range 23–54) years), 98 (70%) were positive for Trypanosoma cruzi infection, with a linear, age-dependent, increasing trend (p < 0.001). Twenty-five (18%) individuals showed ECG abnormalities compatible with CD. Prevalence of ECG abnormalities was higher in infected individuals and was associated with higher systolic blood pressure and smoking. Following screening, 22 (16%) individuals underwent clinical evaluation and chest X-ray and two were referred for further evaluation. At multivariate analysis, positive CSP results (OR = 4.75, 95%CI 1.08–20.96, p = 0.039) and smoking (OR = 4.20, 95%CI 1.18–14.92, p = 0.027) were independent predictors of ECG abnormalities. Overall cost for screening implementation was <10 $. Conclusions: Combined mobile-Health and RDTs was a reliable and effective low-cost strategy to identify patients at high risk of disease needing cardiologic assessment suggesting potential future applications

Rinosinusitis fúngica en adulto mayor inmunocompetente

Objetivo: La rinosinusitis fúngica (FRS) es una enfermedad causada mayormente por el Aspergillus sp., el cual invade frecuentemente el seno maxilar y se manifiesta con diferentes cuadros clínicos. Se clasifica como invasivo y no invasivo; donde esta última se subdivide en bola fúngica y rinosinusitis fúngica alérgica. Reporte de caso: presentamos un caso de rinosinusitis fúngica no invasiva en una paciente inmunocompetente, donde se observan imágenes endoscópicas y radiológicas de bola fúngica en el seno maxilar. Discusión: Es resaltante debido a la dificultad que representa su diagnóstico en la consulta de atención primaria, no sólo por su baja prevalencia, sino también por la presentación atípica del mismo

Tuning cell behavior with nanoparticle shape

We investigated how the shape of polymeric vesicles, made by the exact same material, impacts the replication activity and metabolic state of both cancer and non-cancer cell types. First, we isolated discrete geometrical structures (spheres and tubes) from a heterogeneous sample using density-gradient centrifugation. Then, we characterized the cellular internalization and the kinetics of uptake of both types of polymersomes in different cell types (either cancer or non-cancer cells). We also investigated the cellular metabolic response as a function of the shape of the structures internalized and discovered that tubular vesicles induce a significant decrease in the replication activity of cancer cells compared to spherical vesicles. We related this effect to the significant up-regulation of the tumor suppressor genes p21 and p53 with a concomitant activation of caspase 3/7. Finally, we demonstrated that combining the intrinsic shape-dependent effects of tubes with the delivery of doxorubicin significantly increases the cytotoxicity of the system. Our results illustrate how the geometrical conformation of nanoparticles could impact cell behavior and how this could be tuned to create novel drug delivery systems tailored to specific biomedical application

Site monitoring at the SRT

The Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari (OAC) space geodesy group collaborates with the space geodesy group of the Istituto di Radioastronomia (IRA) in Bologna, forming a joint group involved in the SRT project. Planned activities, concerning geodetic and site-related surveys, will be briefly treated

SEROPREVALENCE OF TOXOPLASMA GONDII IN ALPACAS (LAMA PACOS) IN A COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION UNIT OF THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS OF PERU

El objetivo del presente estudio fue determinar la seroprevalencia de Toxoplasma gondii en alpacas de la Unidad de Producción Cochas de la SAIS Túpac Amaru, ubicada en el departamento de Junín. En diciembre del 2000 se recolectaron 200 muestras de sangre de alpacas de ambos sexos para la detección de anticuerpos contra T. gondii mediante la técnica de Hemaglutinación Indirecta (HAI). Los resultados indicaron que el 21 ± 5.6% (42/200) de las muestras presentaron anticuerpos con títulos que variaron desde 1/16 hasta 1/1024. Mediante la prueba de regresión logística no se encontró asociación estadística significativa entre la presencia de anticuerpos contra T. gondii y el sexo de las alpacas; sin embargo, hubo diferencia con la edad del animal, siendo las alpacas jóvenes (8 a 12 meses) 2.9 veces más susceptibles que los dos grupos &gt;12-36 y &gt;36 meses de edad. La prevalencia encontrada en el presente estudio fue moderada.The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in alpacas from a commercial unit of SAIS Tupac Amaru, located at Junín Department. A total of 200 blood samples were collected in alpacas of both sexes for the detection of antibodies against T. gondii by the Indirect Hemaglutination Test (IHA). The results indicated that 21 ± 5.6% (42/200) of the samples had antibodies and the titres varied from 1/16 till 1/1024. The Logistic Regression Test failed to obtain statistical relationship between the presence of T. gondii antibodies and the sex of the animal, but there was a significant relationship with age. Young alpacas (8 to 12 months of age) were 2.9 times more susceptible than the groups of &gt;12-36 and &gt;36 months of age. These results could be due to the presence of maternal antibodies, animal management, environmental factors, and the presence of the definitive host. The prevalence found in the present study was considered as moderate