Recent Advances in the Treatment of Bone Metastases and Primary Bone Tumors: An Up-to-Date Review

In the last decades, the treatment of primary and secondary bone tumors has faced a slow-down in its development, being mainly based on chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgical interventions. However, these conventional therapeutic strategies present a series of disadvantages (e.g., multidrug resistance, tumor recurrence, severe side effects, formation of large bone defects), which limit their application and efficacy. In recent years, these procedures were combined with several adjuvant therapies, with different degrees of success. To overcome the drawbacks of current therapies and improve treatment outcomes, other strategies started being investigated, like carrier-mediated drug delivery, bone substitutes for repairing bone defects, and multifunctional scaffolds with bone tissue regeneration and antitumor properties. Thus, this paper aims to present the types of bone tumors and their current treatment approaches, further focusing on the recent advances in new therapeutic alternatives

Monitoring the technological processes in the wood industry in order to make them more efficient through technical overhauling

Of many techniques that are used to optimize production and costs, the studies conducted within a profile company lead to our choice for testing the 6Sigma method (the most used method in the automotive industry) in view of the economic efficiency applied in the wood Industry company. This method measures how many flaws exist in a process and determines in a systematic way how to improve it by technical overhauling and eliminating or minimizing the process for efficiency. This research article aims to study the state of research on the optimization of the production process through technical overhauling for panels reconstituted from solid wood and ways to make production more efficient by cutting costs through technical overhauling. From preliminary research, we estimate that all the items founded and others that will result from further research will result in a significant decrease in production costs that are reflected in the cost of the finished product and consequently in increasing the yield of the company by maximizing its profit. At the same time it may be the basis of future research studies in the field. The easier it is to maximize profits, the lower the operating costs are and the higher recovery rate of investments are, that will result a change in the operating mode: “working smarter not harder”

Comparative study between different methods for the efficiency of the production activity in the wood industry

Generally speaking, the quality and cost of goods and in particular of the wood products is a decisive condition in their sales on the market, attracting buyers to satisfy their wishes and requirements. Starting from the general idea, by which it is considered that the manufacturing activity is effective if production is obtained at maximum quality with a low (minimum) cost, or when the revenue from the sale of products exceeds the market expenditure which is necessary to achieve it, this research article aims to study ways to make production more efficient by methods which could also be applied in the wood industry, by presenting a comparative study on production optimization methods in this industry

Bone Regeneration and Oxidative Stress: An Updated Overview

Bone tissue engineering is a complex domain that requires further investigation and benefits from data obtained over past decades. The models are increasing in complexity as they reveal new data from co-culturing and microfluidics applications. The in vitro models now focus on the 3D medium co-culturing of osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and osteocytes utilizing collagen for separation; this type of research allows for controlled medium and in-depth data analysis. Oxidative stress takes a toll on the domain, being beneficial as well as destructive. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are molecules that influence the differentiation of osteoclasts, but over time their increasing presence can affect patients and aid the appearance of diseases such as osteoporosis. Oxidative stress can be limited by using antioxidants such as vitamin K and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC). Scaffolds and biocompatible coatings such as hydroxyapatite and bioactive glass are required to isolate the implant, protect the zone from the metallic, ionic exchange, and enhance the bone regeneration by mimicking the composition and structure of the body, thus enhancing cell proliferation. The materials can be further functionalized with growth factors that create a better response and higher chances of success for clinical use. This review highlights the vast majority of newly obtained information regarding bone tissue engineering, such as new co-culturing models, implant coatings, scaffolds, biomolecules, and the techniques utilized to obtain them

Nanostructured Coatings Based on Graphene Oxide for the Management of Periprosthetic Infections

To modulate the bioactivity and boost the therapeutic outcome of implantable metallic devices, biodegradable coatings based on polylactide (PLA) and graphene oxide nanosheets (nGOs) loaded with Zinforo™ (Zin) have been proposed in this study as innovative alternatives for the local management of biofilm-associated periprosthetic infections. Using a modified Hummers protocol, high-purity and ultra-thin nGOs have been obtained, as evidenced by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigations. The matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) technique has been successfully employed to obtain the PLA-nGO-Zin coatings. The stoichiometric and uniform transfer was revealed by infrared microscopy (IRM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies. In vitro evaluation, performed on fresh blood samples, has shown the excellent hemocompatibility of PLA-nGO-Zin-coated samples (with a hemolytic index of 1.15%), together with their anti-inflammatory ability. Moreover, the PLA-nGO-Zin coatings significantly inhibited the development of mature bacterial biofilms, inducing important anti-biofilm efficiency in the as-coated samples. The herein-reported results evidence the promising potential of PLA-nGO-Zin coatings to be used for the biocompatible and antimicrobial surface modification of metallic implants

Phospholamban p.Leu39* Cardiomyopathy Compared with Other Sarcomeric Cardiomyopathies: Age-Matched Patient Cohorts and Literature Review

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a heterogeneous genetic disorder, most often caused by sarcomeric gene mutations, with a small proportion due to variants in non-sarcomeric loci. Phospholamban (PLN) is a phosphoprotein associated with the cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum, a major determinant of cardiac contractility and relaxation. We conducted a retrospective study to determine the prevalence, phenotypical spectrum and clinical course of patients carrying the PLN p.Leu39* variant. A cohort including 11 PLN patients was identified among all patients with HCM (9/189, 4.8%) and DCM (2/62, 3.2%) who underwent genetic testing from two tertiary centers and five more were detected through cascade screening. Complete phenotyping was performed. PLN p.Leu39* variant-driven cardiomyopathy presented mostly as hypertrophic, with frequent progression to end-stage dilated HCM. We proceeded to compare these results to a similar analysis of a control cohort consisting of age-matched individuals that inherited pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in common sarcomeric genes (MYBPC3/MYH7). Overall, the clinical characteristics and examination findings of patients carrying PLN p.Leu39* were not different from patients with cardiomyopathy related to sarcomeric mutations except for the presence of pathological Q waves and the incidence of non-sustained ventricular arrhythmias, which were higher in PLN patients than in those with MYBPC3/MYH7-related diseases