Prediction of tumor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in high-grade osteosarcoma using clustering-based analysis of magnetic resonance imaging: an exploratory study.

Purpose: To evaluate the ability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based clustering analysis to predict the pathological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in patients with primary high-grade osteosarcoma.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-two patients were included in this retrospective study. All patients underwent MRIs before and after NACT.

Coding Dynamics of the Striatal Networks During Learning.

The rat dorsomedial (DMS) and dorsolateral striatum (DLS), equivalent to caudate nucleus and putamen in primates, are required for goal-directed and habit behaviour, respectively. However, it is still unclear whether and how this functional dichotomy emerges in the course of learning. In this study, we investigated this issue by recording DMS and DLS single neuron activity in rats performing a continuous spatial alternation task, from the acquisition to optimized performance.

Social neuroscience: Primate research goes wireless.

A new study leads the way to a more ethical and ethologically meaningful way of investigating brain functions of complex behaviors in social animals.

The carbon monoxide prodrug oCOm-21 increases Ca sensitivity of the cardiac myofilament.

Patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass procedures require inotropic support to improve hemodynamic function and cardiac output. Current inotropes such as dobutamine, can promote arrhythmias, prompting a demand for improved inotropes with little effect on intracellular Ca flux. Low-dose carbon monoxide (CO) induces inotropic effects in perfused hearts.

X-rays radiomics-based machine learning classification of atypical cartilaginous tumour and high-grade chondrosarcoma of long bones.

Background: Atypical cartilaginous tumour (ACT) and high-grade chondrosarcoma (CS) of long bones are respectively managed with active surveillance or curettage and wide resection. Our aim was to determine diagnostic performance of X-rays radiomics-based machine learning for classification of ACT and high-grade CS of long bones.

Methods: This retrospective, IRB-approved study included 150 patients with surgically treated and histology-proven lesions at two tertiary bone sarcoma centres.

Long-term longitudinal study on swine VML model.

Background: Volumetric Muscle Loss (VML), resulting from severe trauma or surgical ablation, is a pathological condition preventing myofibers regeneration, since skeletal muscle owns the remarkable ability to restore tissue damage, but only when limited in size. The current surgical therapies employed in the treatment of this pathology, which particularly affects military personnel, do not yet provide satisfactory results. For this reason, more innovative approaches must be sought, specifically skeletal muscle tissue engineering seems to highlight promising results obtained from preclinical studies in VML mouse model.

Association of Preoperative High-Intensity Interval Training With Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Postoperative Outcomes Among Adults Undergoing Major Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Importance: Preoperative high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is associated with improved cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and may improve surgical outcomes.

Objective: To summarize data from studies comparing the association of preoperative HIIT vs standard hospital care with preoperative CRF and postoperative outcomes.

Data Sources: Data sources included Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials Library, and Scopus databases with no language constraints, including abstracts and articles published before May 2023.

MRI radiomics-based machine learning for classification of deep-seated lipoma and atypical lipomatous tumor of the extremities.

Purpose: To determine diagnostic performance of MRI radiomics-based machine learning for classification of deep-seated lipoma and atypical lipomatous tumor (ALT) of the extremities.

Material And Methods: This retrospective study was performed at three tertiary sarcoma centers and included 150 patients with surgically treated and histology-proven lesions. The training-validation cohort consisted of 114 patients from centers 1 and 2 (n = 64 lipoma, n = 50 ALT).

A novel extrusion-based 3D bioprinting system for skeletal muscle tissue engineering.

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting is an emerging technology, which turned out to be an optimal tool for tissue engineering approaches. To date, different printing systems have been developed. Among them, the extrusion-based approach demonstrated to be the most suitable for skeletal muscle tissue engineering, due to its ability to produce and deposit printing fibers in a parallel pattern that well mimic the native skeletal muscle tissue architecture.

Prognostic Value of Pre-Treatment [18F]FDG PET/CT Texture Analysis in Undifferentiated Soft-Tissue Sarcoma.

Background: Undifferentiated soft-tissue sarcomas (USTS) are one of the most common sarcoma histotypes in adults. The standard of care is surgical excision plus adjuvant radiotherapy, while the use of perioperative chemotherapy is still controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the value of pre-treatment [18F]FDG PET/CT conventional metrics and textural features in predicting disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with USTS of the limbs and trunk.

Primary intraosseous solitary fibrous tumor: an extremely rare case report and brief review of the literature.

Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT), a rare mesenchymal neoplasm of fibroblastic origin, was initially discovered in the mediastinal pleura and then described in many extra-pleural sites. The reports of primary solitary fibrous tumor of bone are extremely rare and only a few cases have been previously mentioned in the literature, most of which in flat and short bones. Here we present the case of a 53-year-old female, who was referred to the emergency department of a peripheral hospital after an accidental fall.

Sarco/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase activity is unchanged despite increased myofilament calcium sensitivity in Zucker type 2 diabetic fatty rat heart.

Systolic and diastolic dysfunction in diabetes have frequently been associated with abnormal calcium (Ca) regulation. However, there is emerging evidence that Ca mishandling alone is insufficient to fully explain diabetic heart dysfunction, with focus shifting to the properties of the myofilament proteins. Our aim was to examine the effects of diabetes on myofilament Ca sensitivity and Ca handling in left ventricular tissues isolated from the same type 2 diabetic rat hearts.

Malignant Transformation of Giant Cell Tumour of Bone: A Review of Literature and the Experience of a Referral Centre.

Giant cell tumour of bone (GCTB) is a benign, locally aggressive primary bone neoplasm that represents 5% of all bone tumours. The principal treatment approach is surgery. Although generally GCTB is considered only a locally aggressive disease, it can metastasise, and lung metastases occur in 1-9% of patients.

Treadmill running increases the calcium sensitivity of myofilaments in diabetic rats.

The cardiovascular benefits of regular exercise are unequivocal, yet patients with type 2 diabetes respond poorly to exercise due to a reduced cardiac reserve. The contractile response of diabetic cardiomyocytes to β-adrenergic stimulation is attenuated, which may result in altered myofilament calcium sensitivity and posttranslational modifications of cardiac troponin I (cTnI). Treadmill running increases myofilament calcium sensitivity in nondiabetic rats, and thus we hypothesized that endurance training would increase calcium sensitivity of diabetic cardiomyocytes and alter site-specific phosphorylation of cTnI.

Short-term high-intensity interval training improves fitness before surgery: A randomized clinical trial.

Purpose: Improving cardiopulmonary reserve, or peak oxygen consumption( O ), may reduce postoperative complications; however, this may be difficult to achieve between diagnosis and surgery. Our primary aim was to assess the efficacy of an approximate 14-session, preoperative high-intensity interval training(HIIT) program to increase O by a clinically relevant 2 ml·kg ·min . Our secondary aim was to document clinical outcomes.

Narrative Medicine: A Digital Diary in the Management of Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcoma Patients. Preliminary Results of a Multidisciplinary Pilot Study.

Background: Guidelines for the implementation of narrative medicine in clinical practice exist; however, in Italy, no standard methodology is currently available for the management of oncological patients. Since 2017, at the "Regina Elena" National Cancer Institute, studies using "digital narrative diaries" (DNMLAB platform) have been carried out; this article focuses on a pilot, uncontrolled, real-life study aiming to evaluate the utility of DNM integrated with the care pathway of patients with bone and limb soft tissue sarcomas.

Methods: Adult patients completed the diary during treatment or follow-up by writing their narrative guided by a set of narrative prompts.

The associations between maternal BMI and gestational weight gain and health outcomes in offspring at age 1 and 7 years.

In secondary analyses of a randomised controlled trial of exercise during pregnancy, we examined associations between mid-pregnancy maternal body mass index (BMI) and excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) with offspring health. Follow-up data were available on 57 mother-child pairs at 1-year and 52 pairs at 7-year follow-ups. Clinical assessments included body composition and fasting blood tests.

Increased myofilament calcium sensitivity is associated with decreased cardiac troponin I phosphorylation in the diabetic rat heart.

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? In Zucker Diabetic Fatty rats, does cardiomyocyte myofilament function change through the time course of diabetes and what are the mechanisms behind alterations in calcium sensitivity? What is the main finding and its importance? Zucker Diabetic Fatty rats had increased myofilament calcium sensitivity and reduced phosphorylation at cardiac troponin I without differential O-GlcNAcylation.

Abstract: The diabetic heart has impaired systolic and diastolic function independent of other comorbidities. The availability of calcium is altered, but does not fully explain the cardiac dysfunction seen in the diabetic heart.

The role of minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis (MIPO) technique for treating 3- and 4-part proximal humerus fractures in the elderly - a case study.

Background and aim of the work Proximal humeral fractures incidence in the elderly population is increasing. Treatment management is complicated by fracture complexity and patients' comorbidities. The aim of our prospective study is the outcome evaluation of the role of minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis (MIPO) for elderly patients with a 3- or 4-parts proximal humeral fractures having an intact medial wall.

3D-Printed Titanium Custom-Made Prostheses in Reconstruction after Pelvic Tumor Resection: Indications and Results in a Series of 14 Patients at 42 Months of Average Follow-Up.

Wide resection is currently considered the mainstay treatment for primary bone tumors. When the tumor is located in anatomically complex segments, 3D-Printed Titanium Custom-Made Prostheses (3DPTCMP) are possible reconstructive solutions. The aim of the present paper is to analyze indications, results and complications of a series of 14 patients who underwent pelvis reconstruction with 3DPTCMP after tumor removal from January 2015 to December 2019.

Wide Surgery in the Cervical Spine: Indications, Results, and Complications in a Series of 30 Patients Affected by Primary Bone Tumors.

Background: En bloc surgery is the mainstay treatment for primary malignant bone tumors, as well as in the cervical spine. Unfortunately, literature on the topic is limited to case reports and small series.

Methods: We reviewed all patients affected by primary cervical spine bone tumors treated with en bloc surgeries from 1996 to 2016 and identified 30 eligible cases.

Protein O-GlcNAcylation in the heart.

O-GlcNAcylation is a ubiquitous post-translational modification that is extremely labile and plays a significant role in physiology, including the heart. Sustained activation of cardiac O-GlcNAcylation is frequently associated with alterations in cellular metabolism, leading to detrimental effects on cardiovascular function. This is particularly true during conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiac remodelling, heart failure and arrhythmogenesis.

Additional cardiovascular fitness when progressing from moderate- to high-intensity exercise training in previously trained breast cancer survivors.

Purpose: Cardiovascular disease, often secondary to chemotherapy, is the leading cause of death in BC survivors. Increased aerobic capacity improves post-rehabilitation survival; however, many cancer rehabilitation programs are limited to lower intensity training. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is associated with the largest improvements in aerobic capacity; therefore, this study aimed to determine whether HIIT would cause a greater increase in VOpeak than continuous moderate-intensity (MICT) exercise in previously trained BC survivors.

Biofabricating murine and human myo-substitutes for rapid volumetric muscle loss restoration.

The importance of skeletal muscle tissue is undoubted being the controller of several vital functions including respiration and all voluntary locomotion activities. However, its regenerative capability is limited and significant tissue loss often leads to a chronic pathologic condition known as volumetric muscle loss. Here, we propose a biofabrication approach to rapidly restore skeletal muscle mass, 3D histoarchitecture, and functionality.

The IlluminOss® photodynamic bone stabilization system for pathological osteolyses and fractures of the humerus: indications, advantages and limits in a series of 12 patients at 24 months of minimum follow-up.

Background: Locked titanium nails are considered the reference treatment for metastatic bone lesions of the humerus in patients with aggressive histotypes, high risk of fracture or when estimated survival is lower than 6 months.Nevertheless, they are responsible for CT and MRI artifacts which interfere with postoperative radiotherapy and follow-up.The IlluminOss® is an intramedullary stabilization system which is introduced inside the humeral canal in a deflated state, and is then distended with a monomer which hardens after exposure to blue light,stabilizing the segment; it does not cause artifacts, allowing easier and more effective radiotherapy and follow-up.