Prediction of rehabilitation induced motor recovery after stroke using a multi-dimensional and multi-modal approach

Background: Stroke is a debilitating disease affecting millions of people worldwide. Despite the survival rate has significantly increased over the years, many stroke survivors are left with severe impairments impacting their quality of life. Rehabilitation programs have proved to be successful in improving the recovery process. However, a reliable model of sensorimotor recovery and a clear identification of predictive markers of rehabilitation-induced recovery are still needed. This article introduces the cross-modality protocols designed to investigate the rehabilitation treatment’s effect in a group of stroke survivors. Methods/design: A total of 75 stroke patients, admitted at the IRCCS San Camillo rehabilitation Hospital in Venice (Italy), will be included in this study. Here, we describe the rehabilitation programs, clinical, neuropsychological, and physiological/imaging [including electroencephalography (EEG), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques] protocols set up for this study. Blood collection for the characterization of predictive biological biomarkers will also be taken. Measures derived from data acquired will be used as candidate predictors of motor recovery. Discussion/summary: The integration of cutting-edge physiological and imaging techniques, with clinical and cognitive assessment, dose of rehabilitation and biological variables will provide a unique opportunity to define a predictive model of recovery in stroke patients. Taken together, the data acquired in this project will help to define a model of rehabilitation induced sensorimotor recovery, with the final aim of developing personalized treatments promoting the greatest chance of recovery of the compromised functions

Glycomics Analysis of Mammalian Heparan Sulfates Modified by the Human Extracellular Sulfatase HSulf2

The Sulfs are a family of endosulfatases that selectively modify the 6O-sulfation state of cell-surface heparan sulfate (HS) molecules. Sulfs serve as modulators of cell-signaling events because the changes they induce alter the cell surface co-receptor functions of HS chains. A variety of studies have been aimed at understanding how Sulfs modify HS structure, and many of these studies utilize Sulf knockout cell lines as the source for the HS used in the experiments. However, genetic manipulation of Sulfs has been shown to alter the expression levels of HS biosynthetic enzymes, and in these cases an assessment of the fine structural changes induced solely by Sulf enzymatic activity is not possible. Therefore, the present work aims to extend the understanding of substrate specificities of HSulf2 using in vitro experiments to compare HSulf2 activities on HS from different organ tissues.To further the understanding of Sulf enzymatic activity, we conducted in vitro experiments where a variety of mammalian HS substrates were modified by recombinant human Sulf2 (HSulf2). Subsequent to treatment with HSulf2, the HS samples were exhaustively depolymerized and analyzed using size-exclusion liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (SEC-LC/MS). We found that HSulf2 activity was highly dependent on the structural features of the HS substrate. Additionally, we characterized, for the first time, the activity of HSulf2 on the non-reducing end (NRE) of HS chains. The results indicate that the action pattern of HSulf2 at the NRE is different compared to internally within the HS chain.The results of the present study indicate that the activity of Sulfs is dependent on the unique structural features of the HS populations that they edit. The activity of HSulf2 at HS NREs implicates the Sulfs as key regulators of this region of the chains, and concomitantly, the protein-binding events that occur there

Dynamic Coupling of Pattern Formation and Morphogenesis in the Developing Vertebrate Retina

In this Research Article, Picker et al. show how cells in the retina get their spatial coordinates

Biomimetic Peptide-Enriched Electrospun Polymers: a Photoelectron and Infrared Spectroscopy Study

Biomimetic polymer nanofibers of poly(epsilon-caprolactone) and poly(L-lactide caprolactone) copolymer were prepared by electrospinning. Modifications of the polymer nanofibers aimed at improving their biomimetic properties were performed by two different routes: (1) immobilization of an adhesion peptide, which mimicked the adhesion sequence of the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin, on the polymer surface and (2) incorporation of self-complementary oligopeptides, which showed alternated hydrophilic and hydrophobic side chain groups and was capable of generating extended ordered structures by self-assembling, into the polymer nanofibers. The structure of the polymer/peptide nanofibers was investigated by X-ray photoelectron and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies

Fruitlet abscission: A cDNA-AFLP approach to study genes differentially expressed during shedding of immature fruits reveals the involvement of a putative auxin hydrogen symporter in apple (Malus domestica L. Borkh)

Apple Malus X domestica fruitlet abscission is preceded by a stimulation of ethylene biosynthesis and a gain in sensitivity to the hormone. This phase was studied by a differential screening carried out by cDNA-AFLP in abscising (AF) and non-abscising (NAF) fruitlet populations. Fifty-three primer combinations allowed for the isolation of 131, 66 and 30 differentially expressed bands from cortex, peduncle and seed, respectively. All sequences were then classified as up- or down-regulated by comparing the profile in AFs and NAFs. Almost all of these sequences showed significant homology to genes encoding proteins with known or putative function. The gene ontology analysis of the TDFs isolated indicated a deep change in metabolism, plastid and hormonal status, especially auxin. Furthermore, some common elements between abscission and senescence were identified. The isolation of the full length of one of these TDFs allowed for the identification of a gene encoding an auxin hydrogen symporter (MdAHS). Bioinformatic analysis indicated that the deduced protein shares some features with other auxin efflux carriers, which include PINs. Nevertheless the 3D structure pointed out substantial differences and a conformation largely dissimilar from canonical ion transporters. The expression analysis demonstrated that this gene is regulated by light and development but not affected by ethylene or auxin

Synthetic peptides for heart valve tissue engineering:smooth muscle cells adhesion tests

none6noneA. Gandaglia; R. Huerta Cantillo; F. Naso; M. Spina; R. Danesin; M. DettinGandaglia, Alessandro; R., Huerta Cantillo; F., Naso; Spina, Michele; Danesin, Roberta; Dettin, Monic

Electrical characterization and reliability study of HEMTs on composite substrates under high electric fields

The electrical characterization, in DC and pulsed regime, and reliability analysis of T-gate high electron mobility transistors built on SiCopSiC and SopSiC composite substrates under high electric fields are here presented. The impact of different gate–drain overhang lengths on the electrical behavior of SiCopSiC devices is also investigated. We will demonstrate that devices can be efficiently realized over the proposed composite substrates, and that performances and robustness are comparable to devices processed on SiC or sapphire. The sensitivity to ESD-like events is also reported, using emission microscope for the failure analysis investigatio