Effect of different diet composition on the fat profile of two different black soldier fly larvae populations.

Black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens; BSFL) can transform organic wastes into nutritional biomass useful in animal feeding. The aim of this work was to study the effect of five diets (meat, fruit, vegetable substrates, a mix of them and control) on the profile of fatty acids (FAs) and sterols of BSFL. For a more exhaustive characterization of the nutritional properties, the profile of esterified FAs in the sn-2 position of the triglycerides, the most absorbed lipid component during animal digestion was evaluated.

Adhesion strength and anti-tumor agents regulate vinculin of breast cancer cells.

The onset and progression of cancer are strongly associated with the dissipation of adhesion forces between cancer cells, thus facilitating their incessant attachment and detachment from the extracellular matrix (ECM) to move toward metastasis. During this process, cancer cells undergo mechanical stresses and respond to these stresses with membrane deformation while inducing protrusions to invade the surrounding tissues. Cellular response to mechanical forces is inherently related to the reorganization of the cytoskeleton, the dissipation of cell-cell junctions, and the adhesion to the surrounding ECM.

Recent Advancements in 3D Printing and Bioprinting Methods for Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering.

Recent decades have seen a plethora of regenerating new tissues in order to treat a multitude of cardiovascular diseases. Autografts, xenografts and bioengineered extracellular matrices have been employed in this endeavor. However, current limitations of xenografts and exogenous scaffolds to acquire sustainable cell viability, anti-inflammatory and non-cytotoxic effects with anti-thrombogenic properties underline the requirement for alternative bioengineered scaffolds.

The Impact of Anti-tumor Agents on ER-Positive MCF-7 and HER2-Positive SKBR-3 Breast Cancer Cells Biomechanics.

Studying human cancer from a biomechanical perspective may contribute to pathogenesis understanding which leads to the malignancy. In this study, biomechanics of suspended and adhered breast cancer cells were investigated via the micropipette aspiration method with special emphasis on comparing the cell stiffness and viscoelastic parameters of estrogen receptor positive, ER+, MCF-7 and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive, HER2 +, SKBR-3 cancer cell lines prior to and post treatment with tamoxifen and trastuzumab, respectively. Alterations of mechanical parameters included significant increase in cell stiffness, especially after treatment with trastuzumab and changes in viscoelastic parameters, in both cancer cell lines post treatment.

The inhibition of aromatase alters the mechanical and rheological properties of non-small-cell lung cancer cell lines affecting cell migration.

Tumor invasion and metastasis are key aspects of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). During migration, cells undergo mechanical alterations. The mechanical phenotype of breast cancer cells is correlated with aromatase gene expression.

Towards a solution of the wires' slippage problem of the Ilizarov external fixator.

Clinical experience has indicated that many complications during treatment with the Ilizarov method, and mainly tract infection, are related to decreased wire tension. The aim of this work was to evaluate biomechanically a novel wire tensioning and clamping system that will minimise or even diminish the reduction of the wire pretension during treatment. The proposed approach is based on threading of the wire end in a sufficient length.

Insights into the alteration of osteoblast mechanical properties upon adhesion on chitosan.

Cell adhesion on substrates is accompanied by significant changes in shape and cytoskeleton organization, which affect subsequent cellular and tissue responses, determining the long-term success of an implant. Alterations in osteoblast stiffness upon adhesion on orthopaedic implants with different surface chemical composition and topography are, thus, of central interest in the field of bone implant research. This work aimed to study the mechanical response of osteoblasts upon adhesion on chitosan-coated glass surfaces and to investigate possible correlations with the level of adhesion, spreading, and cytoskeleton reorganization.

Carbon nanotubes reinforced chitosan films: mechanical properties and cell response of a novel biomaterial for cardiovascular tissue engineering.

Carbon nanotubes have been proposed as fillers to reinforce polymeric biomaterials for the strengthening of their structural integrity to achieve better biomechanical properties. In this study, a new polymeric composite material was introduced by incorporating various low concentrations of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) into chitosan (CS), aiming at achieving a novel composite biomaterial with superior mechanical and biological properties compared to neat CS, in order to be used in cardiovascular tissue engineering applications. Both mechanical and biological characteristics in contact with the two relevant cell types (endothelial cells and vascular myofibroblasts) were studied.

Attachment, spreading, and adhesion strength of human bone marrow cells on chitosan.

The successful integration of an orthopedic implant into bone depends on the mechanisms at the tissue-implant interface and mostly on the osteoblast attachment phenomenon. Chitosan has emerged as an attractive biomacromolecule favoring osseointegration. In this study highly deacetylated chitosan coatings, with roughness of about 1 nm, were bonded to glass surfaces via silane-glutaraldehyde molecules.

Slow flow of passive neutrophils and sequestered nucleus into micropipette.

In the present study, the role of the nucleus and its contribution to the deformability of the passive neutrophils was investigated. To determine the rheological properties of the nucleus and of the neutrophil itself, deformation tests on single neutrophil and sequestered nucleus have been performed by micropipette under low aspiration pressure (80 Pa = 2-3 Pcr). The stiffness of the nucleus was found to be larger than that of the neutrophil, and its viscosity was found almost ten-fold higher.

Red blood cell deformability in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection.

Red blood cell (RBC) deformability is a major determinant of the ability of the RBC to pass repeatedly through the microcirculation. A decrease in RBC deformability leads to tissue perfusion and organ dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to measure the rigidity of RBCs from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositive individuals and investigate its relation to immune status and viral load.

Factors attributed to fatal occupational accidents in a period of 5 years preceding the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

This study aimed to determine the factors attributed to occupational fatalities occurring in the region of East Attica, Greece, in all industry types over a 5-year period preceding the 2004 Olympic Games. Questionnaires, based on the attribution theory, were completed by labor inspectors and were analyzed with principal component analysis. The results showed that most accidents occurred in the construction industry due to large-scale civil works, which took place in East Attica prior to the 2004 Olympic Games.

Severe sepsis and diabetes mellitus have additive effects on red blood cell deformability.

Objectives: Diabetes mellitus is accompanied by microvascular complications leading to organ dysfunction, while sepsis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in diabetics. We addressed the hypothesis that red blood cell (RBC) deformability may be additively compromised in septic diabetic patients, leading to a further impairment of microcirculation.

Methods: Forty patients suffering from severe sepsis, 12 patients suffering from diabetes and 24 diabetic patients with severe sepsis were enrolled.

Influence of contrast media on red blood cell deformability.

Iodinated contrast media (CM) are widely used in diagnostic imaging and therapeutic interventional procedures of everyday clinical practice and are associated with multiple hemodynamic and hemorheological effects. The purpose of our work was to investigate the red blood cell (RBC) rheological properties after in vivo administration of low-osmolar or iso-osmolar CM by measuring their membrane deformability (Index of Rigidity, IR) using a filtration method. Blood samples were taken from patients who underwent digital subtraction angiography of the peripheral arteries at various times before and after intravenous administration of CM.

Red blood cell deformability in patients with sepsis: a marker for prognosis and monitoring of severity.

Sepsis in different states of severity (sepsis, severe sepsis, septic shock and adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)) is associated with microcirculatory blood flow abnormalities leading to decreased red blood cell's (RBC's) deformability, impaired oxygen delivery to tissues and organs failure. The main goal of the present study, was to first determine the values of RBC's deformability, in the course of patients treated in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for basically sepsis and then deteriorated states and secondly to establish the prognostic efficiency of the test. For this purpose a filtration method and the hemorheometer, was used to determine experimentally the RBC's deformability, by measuring the RBC's Index of Rigidity (IR).

Effect of hydroxyurea on the deformability of the red blood cell membrane in patients with sickle cell anemia.

Sickle cell disease is characterized by vaso-occlusive episodes, mainly in the small vessels, resulting in tissue ischemia, multi-organ failure, and, occasionally, death. Hydroxyurea (HU) is an agent with important and effective role in the treatment of patients suffering from this disease. The purpose of this study was to estimate the effect of HU on the deformability of the red blood cell's membrane (RBCM) in an effort to possibly improve the rheological properties of the RBCs of patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA), as well as to investigate the mechanical and rheological properties of these cells using micropipette and filtration techniques.

Adhesion strength of individual human bone marrow cells to fibronectin. Integrin beta1-mediated adhesion.

The purpose of this work was to study the adhesion strength of individual bone marrow cells, using a micropipette aspiration technique. The adhesion strength of the primary human bone marrow cells to fibronectin-coated substrate, by blocking the beta1 integrin with and without antibodies, was also determined. Human bone marrow stromal cells of the second passage were seeded at a density of 500 cells/cm2 on two different substrates: plastic culture dish (PCD) and PCD coated with fibronectin.

Antimicrobial activity of beta-lactam antibiotics against clinical pathogens after molecular inclusion in several cyclodextrins. A novel approach to bacterial resistance.

Recognition and uptake by specific cellular receptors and transport systems for cyclodextrins have been demonstrated. Based on this concept, natural and synthetically modified cyclodextrins were used as drug carriers. Several beta-lactam antibiotics were selected and their inclusion complexes with different cyclodextrins were prepared (molar ratio ranging from 1:1 to 1:3).

Impairment of erythrocyte viscoelasticity is correlated with levels of glycosylated haemoglobin in diabetic patients.

Erythrocytes from diabetic patients exhibit impaired viscoelastic properties when estimated by various methods. We determined erythrocyte filterability through 5-microm pores, in 51 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, 18 healthy controls, 15 patients with homozygous beta-thalassemia and 15 with beta-thalassemia traits. The filtration measurements were made with a Hemorheometer, which uses the "initial flow rate" principle.

Polymorphonuclear leukocyte rigidity is defective in patients with chronic renal failure.

Background: The purpose of the study was to investigate the rigidity of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) in non-dialysed chronic renal failure (CRF) and haemodialysis (HD) patients.

Methods: PMN rigidity as well as tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin 1beta (IL-1beta) plasma levels were assessed in 10 early-stage CRF, 10 late-stage non-HD, and 10 HD patients, before and during dialysis. In HD patients both cellulose acetate and polysulphone membranes were used.

Effect of cytokines and colony-stimulating factors on passive polymorphonuclear leukocyte deformability in vitro.

Cytokines are potent polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) activators and can decrease their deformability. We evaluated passive PMN deformability using the micropipette method after incubation with different concentrations of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), interleukins (IL-) 1, 6, 8 and 10, tumour necrosis factor (TNF), granulocyte (G) and granulocyte-macrophage (GM) colony-stimulating factors (CSF). TNF, IL-1, G-CSF, GM-CSF and, to a lesser degree, IL-6 significantly and in a dose-dependent fashion decrease PMN deformability.

Neutrophil deformability in patients with sepsis, septic shock, and adult respiratory distress syndrome.

Objective: To investigate the deformability of morphologically active and passive neutrophils in patients with sepsis (SP), septic shock (SS), and adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

Design: Prospective, observational study.

Setting: A university hospital intensive care unit and research laboratory.

Deformability and filterability of white blood cell subpopulations. Evaluation of these parameters in the cell line HL-60 and in type II diabetes mellitus.

The rheological properties of human leukocytes (WBCs) have been studied using the micropipette aspiration and the filtration technique. Partial micropipette (i.d.

The viscosity of red blood cell membranes in patients with beta-thalassaemia.

The purpose of this work was to study the viscoelastic behaviour of the red blood cell membrane (RBCM) in cells from patients with beta-thalassaemia and to investigate whether the precipitated haemoglobin, which is one of the main features of thalassaemic syndromes, influences the membrane viscosity. RBCM viscosities were determined using the micropipet aspiration method. A negative pressure of about 50 Pa was applied in steps at the membrane surface so as to cause partial aspiration of the cell and the entry process was analyzed automatically by a TV-line analyzer.