Biomaterial-mediated factor delivery for spinal cord injury treatment

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is an injurious process that begins with immediate physical damage to the spinal cord and associated tissues during an acute traumatic event. However, the tissue damage expands in both intensity and volume in the subsequent subacute phase. At this stage, numerous events exacerbate the pathological condition, and therein lies the main cause of post-traumatic neural degeneration, which then ends with the chronic phase. In recent years, therapeutic interventions addressing different neurodegenerative mechanisms have been proposed, but have met with limited success when translated into clinical settings. The underlying reasons for this are that the pathogenesis of SCI is a continued multifactorial disease, and the treatment of only one factor is not sufficient to curb neural degeneration and resulting paralysis. Recent advances have led to the development of biomaterials aiming to promote in situ combinatorial strategies using drugs/biomolecules to achieve a maximized multitarget approach. This review provides an overview of single and combinatorial regenerative-factor-based treatments as well as potential delivery options to treat SCIs

Modulation of Gut Microbiota and Neuroprotective Effect of a Yeast‐Enriched Beer

Beer is the most consumed alcoholic beverage worldwide. It is rich in nutrients, and with its microbial component it could play a role in gut microbiota modulation. Conflicting data are currently available regarding the consequences of alcohol and alcohol‐containing beverages on dementia and age‐associated disorders including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a neurodegeneration characterized by protein aggregation, inflammatory processes and alterations of components of the gut–brain axis. The effects of an unfiltered and unpasteurized craft beer on AD molecular hallmarks, levels of gut hormones and composition of micro/mycobiota were dissected using 3xTg‐AD mice. In addition, to better assess the role of yeasts, beer was enriched with the same Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain used for brewing. The treatment with the yeast‐enriched beer ameliorated cognition and favored the reduction of A(1‐42) and pro‐inflammatory molecules, also contributing to an increase in the concentration of anti‐inflammatory cytokines. A significant improvement in the richness and presence of beneficial taxa in the gut bacterial population of the 3xTg‐AD animals was observed. In addition, the fungal order, Sordariomycetes, associated with gut inflammatory conditions, noticeably decreased with beer treatments. These data demonstrate, for the first time, the beneficial effects of a yeast‐enriched beer on AD signs, suggesting gut microbiota modulation as a mechanism of action

Should I give kids money? The role of pocket money on at-risk behaviors in Italian adolescents

Background. Discussion on the impact of pocket money on positive behaviors is still debated. Objective. To investigate the effect of diverse money allowance schemes on risky behaviors (smoking, alcohol, binge drinking, drug use, gambling) during adolescence. Method. 989 students aged 15 from Lombardy (Italy) reported information on money availability in the 2018 wave of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study. To analyze the relationship between money availability and risky behaviors we computed odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals through unconditional multiple logistic regression models. Results. Spending more than 10€ weekly was associated with higher likelihood to smoke, binge drink or gamble. Receiving pocket money (rather than receiving money upon request) was related to higher likelihood to engage in risky behaviors. Conclusions. Pocket money may have a negative impact on adolescents, particularly with a substantial amount of money. More research is needed to understand why providing money only if needed may serve as a protective factor against risky behaviors

VPM: Analyzing human daily habits through process discovery

Models usually employed for Ambient Intelligence (AmI) in smart homes are usually obtained directly from sensor logs composed by timestamped sequences of sensor measurements. Such approaches, still effective at different tasks, have the drawback of producing representations difficult to read and validate. In this paper we propose a tool, called Visual Process Maps (VPM), intended to allow the analysis of human routines at the human action level thanks to log preprocessing and the application of process discovery

V-DOOR: A Real-Time Virtual Dressing Room Application Using Oculus Rift

In recent years and with its accessibility, the use of online shopping for clothing has increased. Virtual Dressing Rooms (VDRs) represent an effective way to enact the ability to "try before buying, thus removing an important obstacle for online shopping. While most of the VDR tools that have been realized so far are based on Augmented Reality and are installed directly inside the retail shops, this paper proposes a real-time VDR application titled V-DOOR that leverages the features of Oculus Rift to create an immersive experience that enables customers to try on clothes virtually in the comfort of their own home rather than physically in the retail shop