Shintaido in the elderly: the new way for physical and psychological health

The research aims to investigate the effects of a Shintaido practice in terms of physical and psychological functioning in a group of elderly. Forty seniors, of both gender, with a mean age of (69 ± 6) years, self-sufficient and without highly invalidating diseases participated in the study. The experimental group (EG) attended the Shintaido physical training of 20 weeks (1 hour per session, twice a week), while the control group (CG) maintained his usual routine. The exercise protocol included specific activities of joint mobility, balance and breathing. At the begin and at the end of intervention were administered to both groups the following validated instruments: 1) One-leg Stance test for the measure of monopodalic static balance; 2) 6-Minutes Walking test for the endurance assessment; 3) Self-Efficacy Perception in Physical Activity (APEF) questionnaire for the selfefficacy evaluation. Data were treated with the not-parametric test for paired and unpaired samples, the Spearman correlation and the linear regression. The results show that: 1) the EG improves the endurance in walking and the monopodalic balance as well as his self-efficacy after the Shintaido program; 2) there are strong associations among Shintaido physical activity and physical/psychological variables; 3) there is a mediating effect of walking endurance between the participation to Shintaido training and the self-efficacy. The results suggest that a well structured Shintaido training can help to maintain a good level of physical and psychological functioning in old people

In Situ Thermal Generation of Silver Nanoparticles in 3D Printed Polymeric Structures

Polymer nanocomposites have always attracted the interest of researchers and industry because of their potential combination of properties from both the nanofillers and the hosting matrix. Gathering nanomaterials and 3D printing could offer clear advantages and numerous new opportunities in several application fields. Embedding nanofillers in a polymeric matrix could improve the final material properties but usually the printing process gets more difficult. Considering this drawback, in this paper we propose a method to obtain polymer nanocomposites by in situ generation of nanoparticles after the printing process. 3D structures were fabricated through a Digital Light Processing (DLP) system by disolving metal salts in the starting liquid formulation. The 3D fabrication is followed by a thermal treatment in order to induce in situ generation of metal nanoparticles (NPs) in the polymer matrix. Comprehensive studies were systematically performed on the thermo-mechanical characteristics, morphology and electrical properties of the 3D printed nanocomposites

A Facile and Green Microwave-Assisted Strategy to Induce Surface Properties on Complex-Shape Polymeric 3D Printed Structures

Light- induced polymeric 3D printing is becoming a well-established fabrication method, showing manifold advantages such as control of the local chemistry of the manufactured devices. It can be considered a green technology, since the parts are produced when needed and with minimum amount of materials. In this work 3D printing is combined with another green technology, microwave-assisted reaction, to fabricate objects of complex geometry with controllable surface properties, exploiting the presence of remaining functional groups on the surface of 3D printed specimens. In this context, surface functionalization with different amines is studied, optimizing formulations, reaction times, and avoiding surface deterioration. Then, two different applications are investigated. MW-functionalized filter-type structures have been tested against Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, showing high bactericidal activity on the surface along all areas of the complex-shaped structure. Second, a fluidic chip composed of three separated channels is 3D printed, filled with different amine-reactive dyes (dansyl and eosine derivatives), and made to react simultaneously. Complete and independent functionalization of the surface of the three channels is achieved only after 2 min of irradiation. This study demonstrates that light induced 3D printing and microwave-induced chemistry can be used together effectively, and used to produce functional devices

A Facile and Green Microwave-Assisted Strategy to Induce Surface Properties on Complex-Shape Polymeric 3D Printed Structures

Light- induced polymeric 3D printing is becoming a well-established fabrication method, showing manifold advantages such as control of the local chemistry of the manufactured devices. It can be considered a green technology, since the parts are produced when needed and with minimum amount of materials. In this work 3D printing is combined with another green technology, microwave-assisted reaction, to fabricate objects of complex geometry with controllable surface properties, exploiting the presence of remaining functional groups on the surface of 3D printed specimens. In this context, surface functionalization with different amines is studied, optimizing formulations, reaction times, and avoiding surface deterioration. Then, two different applications are investigated. MW-functionalized filter-type structures have been tested against Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, showing high bactericidal activity on the surface along all areas of the complex-shaped structure. Second, a fluidic chip composed of three separated channels is 3D printed, filled with different amine-reactive dyes (dansyl and eosine derivatives), and made to react simultaneously. Complete and independent functionalization of the surface of the three channels is achieved only after 2 min of irradiation. This study demonstrates that light induced 3D printing and microwave-induced chemistry can be used together effectively, and used to produce functional devices

3D printable acrylate polydimethylsiloxane resins for cell culture and drug testing

Nowadays, most of the microfluidic devices for biological applications are fabricated with only few well-established materials. Among these, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is the most used and known. However, it has many limitations, like the operator dependent and time-consuming manufacturing technique and the high molecule retention. TEGORad or Acrylate PDMS is an acrylate polydimethylsiloxane copolymer that can be 3D printed through Digital Light Processing (DLP), a technology that can boast reduction of waste products and the possibility of low cost and rapid manufacturing of complex components. Here, we developed 3D printed Acrylate PDMS-based devices for cell culture and drug testing. Our in vitro study shows that Acrylate PDMS can sustain cell growth of lung and skin epithelium, both of great interest for in vitro drug testing, without causing any genotoxic effect. Moreover, flow experiments with a drug-like solution (Rhodamine 6G) show that Acrylate PDMS drug retention is negligible unlike the high signal shown by PDMS. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that this acrylate resin can be an excellent alternative to PDMS to design stretchable platforms for cell culture and drug testing

In situ generation of silver nanoparticles in PVDF for the development of resistive switching devices

It is widely accepted that resistive switching devices (RSDs) are extremely appealing as active components in computer memories and logic gates in electronics, directly enabling neuromorphic functionalities. The aim of this study is to investigate the chemical and electrical properties of a nanocomposite polymer, the active component of the device, in order to characterise its composition and behaviour under electric field. This paper presents the morphological and chemical characterization of an in-situ generated silver – Polyvinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene PVDF-HFP nanocomposite (NC) material. A silver salt is added as precursor to the polymer solution and then, after a film casting step, the nanoparticles generation and growth processes are carried out by way of UV irradiation; the growth and the distribution of in-situ generated silver nanoparticles (NPs) in the polymer matrix are described. The devices, built on a planar electrode structure, undergo an I/V test to explore their resistance states at different switching voltages. Furthermore, after electrical analysis a remarkable R off /R on ratio and a relatively low switching voltage (3 V) are achieved, demonstrating the suitability of the developed material for the next generation of soft, wearable, RSDs

Single-Step 3D Printing of Silver-Patterned Polymeric Devices for Bacteria Proliferation Control

This work describes the fabrication of silver-patterned polymeric devices via light-based 3D printing methods from a tailored resin. An acrylate resin containing silver nitrate (AgNO3) as a silver precursor is employed to generate silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) through the in situ reduction of the metallic salt. The silver-based resin is processed through a customized stereolithography SL-3D printing to fabricate structures with silver-patterned surfaces. This customized SL-printer (emitting at 405 nm) offers the possibility of adjusting the machine settings during the printing process allowing for AgNPs to be selectively generated by modifying the laser settings during the 3D printing step. Thus, the resin photopolymerization and the photoinduced formation of AgNPs-based strands can be sequentially achieved during the same printing process with the same light source and using the same printable resin. The fabricated silver-patterned devices exhibit different surface features that might be exploited in systems working in a marine environment to control biofilm proliferation. As a proof-of-concept, the antimicrobial behavior of the silver-based 3D printed device is tested against environmental bacterial mixed communities via UV–vis spectroscopy and evaluating the absorbance change. Further tests, however, would be needed to reinforce the evidence of the bacteria behavior on the silver-patterned 3D printed devices