Implante de titanio sometido a carga inmediata: Análisis histológico del tejido óseo y evaluación cualitativa y cuantitativa de la superficie del implante

Sabemos muy bien que la estabilidad de un implante endo-óseo está ligada a múltiples factores: integridad del sitio del implante, cantidad y calidad del hueso, microtopografía del implante y tiempo de recuperación clínica que permita una buena mineralización de la zona del hueso neoformado que rodea el implante. No todos los autores están de acuerdo en que el implante permanezca completamente sumergido durante la fase de recuperación. Algunos creen que la carga inmediata sobre los implantes acelera la transformación del hueso indiferenciado en hueso laminar denso, el cual resiste mejor a las fuerzas de la masticación. En el caso clínico que expondremos a continuación, el implante con cuello transmucoso colocado en el sitio del incisivo central izquierdo superior fue expuesto a trauma tres meses después de ser insertado. El caso nos permitió examinar la superficie del implante con microscopio electrónico explorador (SEM) el cual mostró células similares a osteoblastos. Estos resultados luego fueron confirmados por la biopsia histológica, la cual bajo el microscopio óptico mostró señas de remodelación ósea, es decir indicativas de que el implante se había estabilizado durante el período de curación. It is well known that the stability of an endosseous implant is linked to several factors: integrity of the implant site, size and quality of bone, microtopography of the implant element and time of clínical recovery allowing for good mineralization of the new formed perimplantar bone. Not all authors agree that the implant is fully submerged during recovery. Some believe that the immediate load on implants quickens the transformation of the indifferenziated bone, which is therefore more capable of bearing masticatory loads. In the clinical case shown, the implant with transmucous neck placed in the site of the upper left central tooth was exposed to trauma 3 months after the operation. The case allowed us to examine the implant surface by scan electron microscopy which showed cells similar to osteoblasts. These results were later confirmed by the histological biopsy, which under the optic microscope showed signs of osseous remodelling, thus suggesting that the implant was stabilised during recovery

Advanced methods for loss-of-flow accident precursors identification in a superconducting magnet cryogenic cooling circuit

In nuclear fusion systems, such as ITER, Superconducting Magnets (SMs) will be employed to magnetically confine the plasma. A Superconducting Magnet Cryogenic Cooling Circuit (SMCCC) must keep the SMs at cryogenic temperature to preserve their superconductive properties. Thus, a Loss-Of-Flow Accident (LOFA) in the SMCCC is to be avoided. In this work, a three-step methodology for the prompt identification of LOFA precursors (i.e., those component failures leading to a LOFA) is developed. First, accident scenarios are randomly generated by Monte Carlo sampling of the SMCCC components failures and the corresponding transient system response is simulated by a deterministic thermal-hydraulic code. In this phase, fast-running Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD)based Kriging metamodels, adaptively trained to mimic the behavior of the detailed long-running code, are employed to reduce the associated computational burden. Second, the scenarios generated are grouped by a Spectral Clustering (SC) embedding the Fuzzy C-Means (FCM), in order to characterize the principal patterns of system evolution towards abnormal conditions (e.g., a LOFA). Third, an On-line Supervised Spectral Clustering (OSSC) approach is developed to assign signals measured during plant operation to one of the prototypical clusters identified, which may reveal the corresponding LOFA precursors (in terms of combinations of failed SMCCC components). The devised method is applied to the simplified model of a cryogenic cooling circuit of a single module of the ITER Central Solenoid. Results show that the approach developed timely identifies 95% of LOFA events and approximately 80% of the corresponding precursors

Analysis of the Flow Distribution in the Back Supporting Structure Manifolds of the HCPB Breeding Blanket for the EU DEMO Fusion Reactor

The European Union Demonstration Fusion Power Reactor (EU DEMO) is facing its preconceptual design phase. In this phase, the research and development activities make extensive use of computational tools, to, e.g., verify the design calculations or to perform parametric analyses aimed at optimization. The design of the breeding blanket (BB), which will be a first-of-a-kind component in EU DEMO, is supported from the thermal-hydraulic point of view by local three-dimensional (3-D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses, mainly aimed at verifying the heat removal capabilities of the system, and by analyses at the system level using one-dimensional (1-D) codes. This work presents the development and application of a detailed 1-D model of the coolant manifolds for the helium-cooled pebble bed BB concept for EU DEMO. This model, implemented in the GEneral Tokamak THErmal-hydraulic Model (GETTHEM), allows fast analyses to be performed at the global level but still maintain a good level of detail concerning the coolant distribution. The first results obtained with the model prove that 3-D CFD analyses of the manifolds may provide misleading results due to nonrepresentative boundary conditions (BCs), which must be used to avoid having a domain that is too complex. The application of a global model, which is indeed characterized exploiting local analyses, can in turn provide better BCs to the detailed 3-D CFD analyses

Effetto antimicrobico di due nuovi irriganti nei confronti dell'Enterococcus faecalis: studio comparativo in vitro

Introduction: the antibacteric action of irri- gants in the endodontic therapy could be in- hibited by many factors. The most important one is the presence of bacterial strain (e.g. En- terococcus faecalis) resistant to irrigants and intracanal dressing action. Two new irrigants, based on antibiotics, Tetraclean and Bio Pure MTAD have been recently proposed to face this problem. The aim of this study is to com- pare the antibiotic action of these new irrig- ants. Methodology: according to NCCLS guide- lines the MIC of Tetraclean and MTAD against Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 strain were determined, using dilutions from 1:2 to 1:2048. Results: Bio Pure MTAD killed all bacteria until a dilution of 1:256; Tetraclean has shown better results, until 1:1024. Conclusions: both Bio Pure MTAD and Tetr- aclean proved effective antibacteric action as compared to the Enterococcus faecalis strain examined. Tetraclean was better than MTAD. Other in vitro and in vivo studies should be performed to confirm these data

Biological processes related to ribosome and mitochondrial functions might be involved in the osteochondrosis latens manifestation in gilts.

Abstract: The articular osteochondrosis (OC) is a disturbance of endochondral ossification occurring in humans and livestock animals. In pigs, OC is one of the major causes of leg weakness, leading to economic losses and reducing the animal welfare. The aim of this study was to evaluate the differential gene expression related to OC latens in femoral articular cartilage in swine. Thus, samples of MS115 5-months-old gilts, normal (control group) and affected with OC latens (affected group), were collected and submitted to histopathological and gene expression analysis. A total of 1,734 genes was differentially expressed (DE) between the two groups. Several biological processes (BP) were enriched including those already known as involved with OC, such as hypoxia, cartilage and bone development. Furthermore, new BP related to initiation of transcription and ribosome biogenesis were associated to this condition. The disruption of mitochondria and ribosome functions may contribute to the development of cartilage and bone disorders, including osteochondrosis and osteoarthritis. The activation of transcription factors (TFs), required to the cartilage and chondrocyte maturation since embrionary life, might also affect the expression of many extracellular matrix genes related to cartilage. The downregulation of TFs ATOH8 and SOX5 in the affected group would delay the chondroblast differentiation, hindering the cartilage formation and endochondral ossification. Besides the DE genes, three genes (DAG1, SC16A and SPAG9) had different isoforms expressed between the normal and affected groups. In this study, new genes and biological processes were described to be possibly involved in the manifestation of OC latens in gilts. Resumo: A osteocondrose articular (OC) é uma perturbação da ossificação endocondral que ocorre em humanos e animais de criação. Em suínos, o OC é uma das principais causas de fraqueza nas pernas, levando a perdas econômicas e reduzindo o bem-estar animal. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a expressão gênica diferencial relacionada ao OC latens na cartilagem articular do fêmur em suínos. Assim, amostras de leitoas MS115 com 5 meses de idade, normais (grupo controle) e afetadas com OC latens (grupo afetado), foram coletadas e submetidas à análise histopatológica e de expressão gênica. Um total de 1.734 genes foi diferencialmente expresso (DE) entre os dois grupos. Vários processos biológicos (BP) foram enriquecidos, incluindo aqueles já conhecidos como envolvidos com CO, como hipóxia, cartilagem e desenvolvimento ósseo. Além disso, novas PA relacionadas ao início da transcrição e biogênese do ribossomo foram associadas a essa condição. O rompimento das funções das mitocôndrias e dos ribossomos pode contribuir para o desenvolvimento de doenças cartilaginosas e ósseas, incluindo osteocondrose e osteoartrite. A ativação de fatores de transcrição (TFs), necessários à maturação da cartilagem e dos condrócitos desde a vida embrionária, também pode afetar a expressão de muitos genes da matriz extracelular relacionados à cartilagem. O downregulation dos TFs ATOH8 e SOX5 no grupo afetado atrasaria a diferenciação do condroblast, dificultando a formação da cartilagem e a ossificação endocondral. Além dos genes DE, três genes (DAG1, SC16A e SPAG9) apresentaram diferentes isoformas expressas entre os grupos normal e afetado. Neste estudo, novos genes e processos biológicos foram descritos como possivelmente envolvidos na manifestação de OC latens em leitoas

Exploratory data on the clinical efficacy of monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant of concern

Background: Recent in-vitro data have shown that the activity of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) varies according to the variant of concern (VOC). No studies have compared the clinical efficacy of different mAbs against Omicron VOC. Methods: The MANTICO trial is a non-inferiority randomised controlled trial comparing the clinical efficacy of early treatments with bamlanivimab/etesevimab, casirivimab/imdevimab, and sotrovimab in outpatients aged 50 or older with mild-to-moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection. As the patient enrolment was interrupted for possible futility after the onset of the Omicron wave, the analysis was performed according to the SARS-CoV-2 VOC. The primary outcome was coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) progression (hospitalisation, need of supplemental oxygen therapy, or death through day 14). Secondary outcomes included the time to symptom resolution, assessed using the product-limit method. Kaplan-Meier estimator and Cox proportional hazard model were used to assess the association with predictors. Log rank test was used to compare survival functions. Results: Overall, 319 patients were included. Among 141 patients infected with Delta, no COVID-19 progression was recorded, and the time to symptom resolution did not differ significantly between treatment groups (Log-rank Chi-square 0.22, p 0.90). Among 170 patients infected with Omicron (80.6% BA.1 and 19.4% BA.1.1), two COVID-19 progressions were recorded, both in the bamlanivimab/etesevimab group, and the median time to symptom resolution was 5 days shorter in the sotrovimab group compared with the bamlanivimab/etesevimab and casirivimab/imdevimab groups (HR 0.53 and HR 0.45, 95% CI 0.36-0.77 and 95% CI 0.30-0.67, p<0.01). Conclusions: Our data suggest that, among adult outpatients with mild-to-moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection due to Omicron BA.1 and BA.1.1, early treatment with sotrovimab reduces the time to recovery compared with casirivimab/imdevimab and bamlanivimab/etesevimab. In the same population, early treatment with casirivimab/imdevimab may maintain a role in preventing COVID-19 progression. The generalisability of trial results is substantially limited by the early discontinuation of the trial and firm conclusions cannot be drawn. Funding: This trial was funded by the Italian Medicines Agency (Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco, AIFA). The VOC identification was funded by the ORCHESTRA (Connecting European Cohorts to Increase Common and Effective Response to SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic) project, which has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 101016167. Clinical trial number: NCT05205759

The involvement of muscle-related genes in the occurrence of scrotal hernia in pigs.

Abstract: The incidence of scrotal hernia is still a problem in the swine production, leading to economic losses and reducing the animal welfare. Although some QTLs and candidate genes have already been associated to scrotal hernia, the genetic mechanisms and genes controlling this pathology remain to be clarified. Therefore, this study aimed to identify genes involved in the scrotal hernia occurrence in pigs. Thus, two experiments were performed: 1) RNA-Seq analysis of the inguinal ring tissue from eight 60-days-old Landrace pigs (4 healthy and 4 affected with scrotal hernia) that were sequenced in the Illumina HiSeq 2500 and 2) quantitative PCR (qPCR) of 8 candidate genes chosen from the inguinal ring transcriptome in 18 MS115 30-days-old pigs (9 normal and 9 affected with scrotal hernia). Based on the differentially expressed (DE) genes in this transcriptome, some candidate genes related to muscle development biological processes (BP), including the muscle structure (ACTA1), intracellular transport (RYR1, MYBPC1), cell adhesion (COL13A1) and apoptosis (MAP1LC3) were found. The expression profile of the DE genes was consistent with the anatomical alterations related to the scrotal hernia development, such as the weakness of the inguinal canal and non-obliteration of the processus vaginalis. In the qPCR analysis, the MYH1 was the only DE gene identified. The downregulation of the MYH1gene might be one of the possible causes of scrotal hernia in swine since its expression had already been reduced in 30-days-old affected pigs. Therefore, the DE genes identified in our study related to muscle development bioprocesses are possibly involved in the occurrence of scrotal hernia in pigs. Resumo: A incidência de hérnia escrotal ainda é um problema na produção de suínos, levando a perdas econômicas e reduzindo o bem-estar animal. Embora alguns QTLs e genes candidatos já tenham sido associados à hérnia escrotal, os mecanismos genéticos e os genes que controlam esta patologia ainda precisam ser esclarecidos. Portanto, este estudo teve como objetivo identificar genes envolvidos na ocorrência de hérnia escrotal em suínos. Assim, foram realizadas duas experiências: 1) Análise de RNA-Seq do tecido anelar inguinal de oito suínos Landrace com 60 dias de idade (4 saudáveis ??e 4 afetados com hérnia escrotal) que foram sequenciados no Illumina HiSeq 2500 e 2) PCR quantitativa (qPCR) de 8 genes candidatos escolhidos do transcriptoma do anel inguinal em 18 porcos MS115 com 30 dias de idade (9 normais e 9 afetados com hérnia escrotal). Com base nos genes diferencialmente expressos (DE) neste transcriptoma, alguns genes candidatos relacionaram-se aos processos biológicos (BP) de desenvolvimento muscular, incluindo a estrutura muscular (ACTA1), transporte intracelular (RYR1, MYBPC1), adesão celular (COL13A1) e apoptose ( MAP1LC3) foram encontrados. O perfil de expressão dos genes DE foi consistente com as alterações anatômicas relacionadas ao desenvolvimento da hérnia escrotal, como a fraqueza do canal inguinal e a não obliteração do processo vaginal. Na análise qPCR, o MYH1 foi o único gene DE identificado. O downregulation do gene MYH1 pode ser uma das possíveis causas de hérnia escrotal em suínos, uma vez que sua expressão já havia sido reduzida em suínos afetados com 30 dias de idade. Portanto, os genes DE identificados em nosso estudo relacionados a bioprocessos de desenvolvimento muscular estão possivelmente envolvidos na ocorrência de hérnia escrotal em suínos