DESIGN STRATEGIES AND ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING OF 3D CUSTOMIZED SCAFFOLDS WITH OPTIMIZED PROPERTIES FOR CRANIOFACIAL TISSUE ENGINEERING

3D customized scaffolds for craniofacial tissue engineering were designed using advanced strategies and technologies. Specifically, reverse engineering, additive manufacturing, material selection, experimental and theoretical analyses were properly integrated. The focus was on: i) design strategies of 3D customized nanocomposite scaffolds for hard tissue regeneration; ii) an engineered design of 3D additive manufactured nanocomposite scaffolds with optimized properties; iii) an approach toward the design of 3D customized scaffolds for large cranial defects

Novel concepts and strategies in skull base reconstruction after endoscopic endonasal surgery

Recently, a variety of craniofacial approaches has been adopted to enter the skull base, among those, the endonasal endoscopic technique. An effective watertight thereafter: the reconstruction can be performed using different materials, both autologous and non-autologous, individually or combined in a multilayer fashion. The current study was focused on the development of new advanced devices and techniques, aiding in reducing postoperative CSF leak rate. Additive manufacturing allows the design of devices with tailored structural and functional features and, as well, injectable semi-IPNs and composites; therefore specific mechanical/rheological and injectability studies are valuable. Accordingly, we propose new additive-manufactured and injectable devices

Molecular mechanism of action of trimethylangelicin derivatives as CFTR modulators

The psoralen-related compound, 4,6,40-trimethylangelicin (TMA) potentiates the cAMP/PKA-dependent activation of WT-CFTR and rescues F508del-CFTR-dependent chloride secretion in both primary and secondary airway cells homozygous for the F508del mutation. We recently demonstrated that TMA, like lumacaftor (VX-809), stabilizes the first membrane-spanning domain (MSD1) and enhances the interface between NBD1 and ICL4 (MSD2). TMA also demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties, via reduction of IL-8 expression, thus making TMA a promising agent for treatment of cystic fibrosis. Unfortunately, TMA was also found to display potential phototoxicity and mutagenicity, despite the fact that photo-reactivity is absent when the compound is not directly irradiated with UVA light. Due to concerns about these toxic effects, new TMA analogs, characterized by identical or better activity profiles and minimized or reduced side effects, were synthesized by modifying specific structural features on the TMA scaffold, thus generating compounds with no mutagenicity and phototoxicity. Among these compounds, we found TMA analogs which maintained the potentiation activity of CFTR in FRT-YFP-G551D cells. Nanomolar concentrations of these analogs significantly rescued F508del CFTR-dependent chloride efflux in FRT-YFP-F508del, HEK-293 and CF bronchial epithelial cells. We then investigated the ability of TMA analogs to enhance the stable expression of varying CFTR truncation mutants in HEK-293 cells, with the aim of studying the mechanism of their corrector activity. Not surprisingly, MSD1 was the smallest domain stabilized by TMA analogs, as previously observed for TMA. Moreover, we found that TMA analogs were not effective on F508del-CFTR protein which was already stabilized by a second-site mutation at the NBD1-ICL4 interface. Altogether, our findings demonstrate that these TMA analogs mediate correction by modifying MSD1 and indirectly stabilizing the interface between NBD1 and CL4

Cerebral blood volume ASPECTS is the best predictor of clinical outcome in acute ischemic stroke: A retrospective, combined semi-quantitative and quantitative assessment

INTRODUCTION:The capability of CT perfusion (CTP) Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) to predict outcome and identify ischemia severity in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients is still questioned. METHODS:62 patients with AIS were imaged within 8 hours of symptom onset by non-contrast CT, CT angiography and CTP scans at admission and 24 hours. CTP ASPECTS was calculated on the affected hemisphere using cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebral blood volume (CBV) and mean transit time (MTT) maps by subtracting 1 point for any abnormalities visually detected or measured within multiple cortical circular regions of interest according to previously established thresholds. MTT-CBV ASPECTS was considered as CTP ASPECTS mismatch. Hemorrhagic transformation (HT), recanalization status and reperfusion grade at 24 hours, final infarct volume at 7 days and modified Rankin scale (mRS) at 3 months after onset were recorded. RESULTS:Semi-quantitative and quantitative CTP ASPECTS were highly correlated (p<0.00001). CBF, CBV and MTT ASPECTS were higher in patients with no HT and mRS ≤ 2 and inversely associated with final infarct volume and mRS (p values: from p<0.05 to p<0.00001). CTP ASPECTS mismatch was slightly associated with radiological and clinical outcomes (p values: from p<0.05 to p<0.02) only if evaluated quantitatively. A CBV ASPECTS of 9 was the optimal semi-quantitative value for predicting outcome. CONCLUSIONS:Our findings suggest that visual inspection of CTP ASPECTS recognizes infarct and ischemic absolute values. Semi-quantitative CBV ASPECTS, but not CTP ASPECTS mismatch, represents a strong prognostic indicator, implying that core extent is the main determinant of outcome, irrespective of penumbra size

Roadmap for Optical Tweezers 2023

Optical tweezers are tools made of light that enable contactless pushing, trapping, and manipulation of objects ranging from atoms to space light sails. Since the pioneering work by Arthur Ashkin in the 1970s, optical tweezers have evolved into sophisticated instruments and have been employed in a broad range of applications in life sciences, physics, and engineering. These include accurate force and torque measurement at the femtonewton level, microrheology of complex fluids, single micro- and nanoparticle spectroscopy, single-cell analysis, and statistical-physics experiments. This roadmap provides insights into current investigations involving optical forces and optical tweezers from their theoretical foundations to designs and setups. It also offers perspectives for applications to a wide range of research fields, from biophysics to space exploration

The first annotated checklist of Pentatomoidea (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) fauna of Alta Murgia National Park (Apulia region, Southern Italy)

Information regarding Pentatomoidea is scarce in Southern Italy, and in particular concering the Apulia region (Sourthern Italy), an area of high biodiversity potential. We conducted an extensive survey of Pentatomoidea fauna in the Alta Murgia National Park, a Site of Community Importance, and neighbouring areas located in central part of Apulia region. The survey was carried out in 2016, 2017 and 2020, sampling different habitat types. We found 55 species, with five new records for Apulia: Solenosthedium bilunatum, Acrosternum millierei, Sciocoris homalonotus, Cyphostethus tristriatus and Holcogaster fibulata. The polyphagous pest Halyomorpha halys was found only in urban areas, whereas Ventocoris falcatus, Ellipsocoris kalashiani and Tholagmusflavolineatus, considered rare species, were collected in dry grasslands, confirming the crucial role of natural habitat for biodiversity conservation

Electrophysiological and behavioural responses of Stegobium paniceum to volatile compounds from Chinese medicinal plant materials

BACKGROUND Stegobium paniceum (Coleoptera, Anobiidae) is an important pest of stored products causing severe damage to dried Chinese medicinal plant materials (CMPMs). Plant volatiles play an important role in host-searching of insects. The olfactory responses of S. paniceum to the most abundant volatile components of some drugstore attractant CMPMs such as Panax notoginseng, Angelica sinensis, Gastrodia elata and Peucedanum praeruptorum, namely falcarinol, 3-n-butylphthalide, p-cresol and beta-pinene, respectively, were studied by electroantennography (EAG) and behavioural bioassays in six- and four-arm olfactometers. RESULTS EAG recordings showed that male and female antennae are able to perceive the test compounds in a wide range of concentrations and in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, for each dose of different compounds tested, no significant differences were found between the mean male and female EAG responses. In six-arm olfactometer bioassays, S. paniceum exhibited positive responses to falcarinol, 3-n-butylphthalide, p-cresol and beta-pinene at doses of 1, 10, 100, 500 and 1000 mu g. The most attractive dose was 500 mu g for falcarinol, 100 mu g for 3-n-butylphthalide, 500 mu g for p-cresol and 1000 mu g for beta-pinene. Olfactory preferences of S. paniceum, based on comparison of these four compounds at their optimally attractive concentrations in a four-arm olfactometer, were 3-n-butylphthalide &gt; p-cresol &gt; falcarinol &gt; beta-pinene. CONCLUSION The results indicated that the four volatiles of CMPMs are perceived by the peripheral olfactory system of S. paniceum adults and are able to individually elicit a positive chemotaxis in S. paniceum adults confirming the role of chemical cues in host-plant detection and selection of this pest. Further field studies are needed to evaluate the potential of the attractive compounds identified in this study, particularly 3-n-butylphthalide, to be applied as a novel monitoring and control tool against this storage-beetle pest. (c) 2022 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley &amp; Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry

Preterm birth: seven-year retrospective study in a single centre population

Abstract Background Preterm birth is a health and social problem, considered the leading cause of neonatal mortality worldwide. It is associated with higher rates of neurodevelopmental morbidity, sensorineural impairments and other complications. The aim of the study was to describe the incidence and the major risk factors associated with preterm birth. Methods We performed a single center, observational and retrospective Cohort study in the Division of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Hospital “G. Martino”, Messina. Clinical records of all pregnant women who delivered from 1st January 2010 to 31 of December 2016 were collected. Results In the 7 years considered, a total of 7954 pregnant women were included in our study. The majority of all preterm births were due to infants born late preterm (71.83%), 26.45% were due to preterm and 1.72% to extremely preterm. The preterm cohort had a higher proportion of history of preterm delivery (p < 0.0001), and unmarried (p = 0.003) and underweight or obese patients (p < 0.0001). In addition, prematurity was associated with presence of uterine anomalies (p < 0.0001), vaginal/urinary infections (p = 0.02), poli/oligohydramnios (p < 0.0001), maternal diabetes (p = 0.004), hypertension (p < 0.0001), short cervical length (p < 0.0001). Conclusions We suggest prompt identification of all risk factors associated with preterm birth to apply immediate and appropriate specific interventions