Ultrabiomicroscopy anterior segment evaluation of ocular contusive trauma caused by pressurized bottled drink caps. a case report

We report the case of a patient presented to the emergency department because of a contu-sive trauma from a pressurized bottled drink cap. During the visit, the patient indicated that he had been hit in his left eye by a cork while he was opening a sparkling wine bottle. He underwent a total ophthalmology examination. He had an important reduction of visual acuity, corneal swelling, Descemet’s folds, and hyphema. Therefore, we decided to perform ultrabio-microscopy (UBM) of the anterior segment to study the endothelial damage and Descemet’s membrane. UBM images confirmed the direct biomicroscopy, highlighting the damaged loca-tion

Ocriplasmin in the treatment of vitreomacular traction in a patient with central retinal vein occlusion. a case report

Aim: To investigate the efficacy of intravitreal injection of ocriplasmin (JETREA®) in the treat-ment of vitreomacular traction (VMT). Materials and Methods: An 81-year-old man with VMT associated with central retinal vein occlusion in his left eye, was treated with a single intravitreal injection of ocriplasmin (25 μg). Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), ocular fundus, and optical coherence tomography were examined before and after treatment. Results: Complete release of VMT produced a reduction of central macular thickness, ranging from 459 to 141 μm. BCVA remained stable. Discussion and Conclusions: The use of ocriplasmin was effective in the treatment of VMT. Ocriplasmin represents a valid alternative to conventional pars plana vitrec-tomy

Free Energy, Enthalpy and Entropy from Implicit Solvent End-Point Simulations

Free energy is the key quantity to describe the thermodynamics of biological systems. In this perspective we consider the calculation of free energy, enthalpy and entropy from end-point molecular dynamics simulations. Since the enthalpy may be calculated as the ensemble average over equilibrated simulation snapshots the difficulties related to free energy calculation are ultimately related to the calculation of the entropy of the system and in particular of the solvent entropy. In the last two decades implicit solvent models have been used to circumvent the problem and to take into account solvent entropy implicitly in the solvation terms. More recently outstanding advancement in both implicit solvent models and in entropy calculations are making the goal of free energy estimation from end-point simulations more feasible than ever before. We review briefly the basic theory and discuss the advancements in light of practical applications. \ua9 2018 Fogolari, Corazza and Esposito

Endocannabinoid-related compounds in gastrointestinal diseases

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is an endogenous signalling pathway involved in the control of several gastrointestinal (GI) functions at both peripheral and central levels. In recent years, it has become apparent that the ECS is pivotal in the regulation of GI motility, secretion and sensitivity, but endocannabinoids (ECs) are also involved in the regulation of intestinal inflammation and mucosal barrier permeability, suggesting their role in the pathophysiology of both functional and organic GI disorders. Genetic studies in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or inflammatory bowel disease have indeed shown significant associations with polymorphisms or mutation in genes encoding for cannabinoid receptor or enzyme responsible for their catabolism, respectively. Furthermore, ongoing clinical trials are testing EC agonists/antagonists in the achievement of symptomatic relief from a number of GI symptoms. Despite this evidence, there is a lack of supportive RCTs and relevant data in human beings, and hence, the possible therapeutic application of these compounds is raising ethical, political and economic concerns. More recently, the identification of several EC-like compounds able to modulate ECS function without the typical central side effects of cannabinomimetics has paved the way for emerging peripherally acting drugs. This review summarizes the possible mechanisms linking the ECS to GI disorders and describes the most recent advances in the manipulation of the ECS in the treatment of GI diseases

Response of Tagetes patula L. and Ageratum houstonianum Mill. to Microbial Biostimulant Inoculation and Organic Fertilization

A correct cultivation technique supported by scientific evidence that leads to high-quality standards can promote sustainable floriculture. It is urgent to find alternative solutions to the widely used chemical fertilizers and evaluate the effectiveness of other fertilizers. The liquid organic ones, already in use in organic vegetable farming, could be a good substitute if supplied together with growth-promoting products such as microbial biostimulants. In the hope of replacing the traditional chemicals with more sustainable organic-based fertilization, the present investigation aimed to evaluate the effects of a microbial biostimulant and various combinations of organic and mineral fertilization on morphological characteristics and physiological parameters of Tagetes patula L. and Ageratum houstonianum Mill. The plants were grown in pots with a substrate inoculated or not with the microbial biostimulant and were fertigated with nutrient solutions at different concentrations of elements from mineral and/or organic sources. Six fertilization formulas were adopted: control (only water without fertilizer), 100% mineral fertilization, 50% mineral fertilization, 100% organic fertilization, 50% organic fertilization, and 50% mineral + 50% organic fertilization. For the organic fertilization, a commercial liquid fertilizer admitted in organic farming with 3-2-5.5 NPK with 3% organic nitrogen was used. Mineral fertilization was formulated to match the organic solution as closely as possible. We observed an improvement in ornamental value (stem diameter and shoot number) with the biostimulant inoculum. Generally, the 50% mineral and 50% organic fertilization did not negatively influence the morphological characteristics. The reduction by 50% in the mineral nutrients and the integration of this reduction with an organic fertilizer was feasible to produce poed plants of these species during spring in the Mediterranean area

KCa3.1 channel inhibition sensitizes malignant gliomas to temozolomide treatment

Malignant gliomas are among the most frequent and aggressive cerebral tumors, characterized by high proliferative and invasive indexes. Standard therapy for patients, after surgery and radiotherapy, consists of temozolomide (TMZ), a methylating agent that blocks tumor cell proliferation. Currently, there are no therapies aimed at reducing tumor cell invasion. Ion channels are candidate molecular targets involved in glioma cell migration and infiltration into the brain parenchyma. In this paper we demonstrate that: i) blockade of the calcium-activated potassium channel KCa3.1 with TRAM-34 has co-adjuvant effects with TMZ, reducing GL261 glioma cell migration, invasion and colony forming activity, increasing apoptosis, and forcing cells to pass the G2/M cell cycle phase, likely through cdc2 de-phosphorylation; ii) KCa3.1 silencing potentiates the inhibitory effect of TMZ on glioma cell viability; iii) the combination of TMZ/TRAM-34 attenuates the toxic effects of glioma conditioned medium on neuronal cultures, through a microglia dependent mechanism since the effect is abolished by clodronate-induced microglia killing; iv) TMZ/TRAM-34 co-treatment increases the number of apoptotic tumor cells, and the mean survival time in a syngeneic mouse glioma model (C57BL6 mice implanted with GL261 cells); v) TMZ/TRAM-34 co-treatment reduces cell viability of GBM cells and cancer stem cells (CSC) freshly isolated from patients.Taken together, these data suggest a new therapeutic approach for malignant glioma, targeting both glioma cell proliferating and migration, and demonstrate that TMZ/TRAM-34 co-treatment affects both glioma cells and infiltrating microglia, resulting in an overall reduction of tumor cell progression

Recognition of Daily Gestures with Wearable Inertial Rings and Bracelets

Recognition of activities of daily living plays an important role in monitoring elderly people and helping caregivers in controlling and detecting changes in daily behaviors. Thanks to the miniaturization and low cost of Microelectromechanical systems (MEMs), in particular of Inertial Measurement Units, in recent years body-worn activity recognition has gained popularity. In this context, the proposed work aims to recognize nine different gestures involved in daily activities using hand and wrist wearable sensors. Additionally, the analysis was carried out also considering different combinations of wearable sensors, in order to find the best combination in terms of unobtrusiveness and recognition accuracy. In order to achieve the proposed goals, an extensive experimentation was performed in a realistic environment. Twenty users were asked to perform the selected gestures and then the data were off-line analyzed to extract significant features. In order to corroborate the analysis, the classification problem was treated using two different and commonly used supervised machine learning techniques, namely Decision Tree and Support Vector Machine, analyzing both personal model and Leave-One-Subject-Out cross validation. The results obtained from this analysis show that the proposed system is able to recognize the proposed gestures with an accuracy of 89.01% in the Leave-One-Subject-Out cross validation and are therefore promising for further investigation in real life scenarios

HIV-1 induces in vivo platelet activation by enhancing platelet NOX2 activity.

OBJECTIVES: HIV-1 patients show increased platelet activation, but the mechanisms involved are not completely clarified. We speculated that HIV-1 might induce in vivo platelet activation by enhancing platelet NOX2-related oxidative stress. METHODS: We measured soluble CD40 Ligand (sCD40L), a systemic marker of platelet activation, in 36 HIV-1 patients under effective combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) and in 10 naïve HIV-1 subjects. As control, 20 healthy subjects (HS) were included. Platelet oxidative stress was measured by platelet NOX2-derived peptide (sNOX2-dp), p47(phox) translocation to platelet membrane and platelet prostaglandin F2α (8-iso-PGF2α). RESULTS: sCD40L was increased both in HIV-1 naïve and cART patients compared to HS (p < 0.001). Platelet sNOX2-dp and 8-iso-PGF2α were significantly higher in HIV-1 naïve subjects compared to those on cART and to HS, and both were mutually correlated (R = 0.734, p < 0.001). A stepwise multivariable linear regression analysis showed that platelet sNOX2-dp (β: 0.803, p < 0.001), HIV-1 infection (β: 0.146, p = 0.014) and age (β: 0.166, p = 0.001) were independently associated to sCD40L levels. CONCLUSIONS: HIV-1 infection is associated with increased platelet oxidative stress, which was related to the activation of NOX2. The independent association between platelet NOX2 activation and plasma levels of sCD40L suggest that in vivo platelet activation may be dependent upon platelet oxidative stress

Exploiting the Nutrient Potential of Anaerobically Digested Sewage Sludge: A Review

The world is currently witnessing a rapid increase in sewage sludge (SS) production, due to the increased demand for wastewater treatment. Therefore, SS management is crucial for the economic and environmental sustainability of wastewater treatment plants. The recovery of nutrients from SS has been identified as a fundamental step to enable the transition from a linear to a circular economy, turning SS into an economic and sustainable source of materials. SS is often treated via anaerobic digestion, to pursue energy recovery via biogas generation. Anaerobically digested sewage sludge (ADS) is a valuable source of organic matter and nutrients, and significant advances have been made in recent years in methods and technologies for nutrient recovery from ADS. The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview, describing the advantages and drawbacks of the available and emerging technologies for recovery of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) from ADS. This work critically reviews the established and novel technologies, which are classified by their ability to recover a specific nutrient (ammonia stripping) or to allow the simultaneous recovery of multiple elements (struvite precipitation, ion exchange, membrane technologies, and thermal treatments). This study compares the described technologies in terms of nutrient recovery efficiency, capital, and operational costs, as well as their feasibility for full-scale application, revealing the current state of the art and future perspectives on this topic