Publications by authors named "A Muscat"

A 39-year-old woman presented to the dermatology department in January 2022 with a 3-week history of a progressively enlarging and intensely pruritic erythematous annular nodule on her left hand. The lesion started as a small blister, which was initially presumed to be a flare up of her pompholyx dermatitis. On her physician's advice, she applied clobetasol propionate ointment twice daily for 5 days; however the blister continued to increase in size until it burst, revealing raw inflamed skin.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Cladribine (Mavenclad®) is an oral treatment for relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), but its effects on the immune system were previously unclear.
  • - A Phase IV study with 41 RRMS patients showed that cladribine significantly reduced the count of certain monocytes and altered levels of cytokines, notably increasing CCL2 at week 1 post-treatment.
  • - The study found that cladribine also affects the P2X7 receptor's activity, highlighting a new action mechanism that suggests further research into its potential use against other forms of MS and neurodegenerative diseases.
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In recent years, the application of pulsed electric fields with very short durations (nanoseconds) and extremely high amplitudes (MV/m) has been investigated for novel medical purposes. Various electric protocols have been explored for different objectives, including the utilization of fractionated pulse doses to enhance cell electrosensitization to the uptake of different markers or an increase in apoptosis. This study focused on the use of fluorescence imaging to examine molecular calcium fluxes induced by different fractionated protocols of short electric pulses in neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) and mesenchymal stem cells (HaMSCs) that were electroporated using nanosecond pulsed electric fields.

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As industries need more real-time monitoring and interconnected systems, the demand for wireless sensors expands. Vibrational energy harvesters are a potential solution for powering these sensors, as vibrations commonly exist where monitoring occurs. Developments in low-power circuitry have also led to the feasibility of these types of harvesters.

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