Publications by authors named "Bernardi A"

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), encompassing Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), present ongoing challenges despite advances in pathophysiological understanding and therapeutic options. Current therapies often fail to achieve sustained remission, necessitating exploration of novel treatment targets.

Areas Covered: This review explores the role of Tumor Necrosis Factor-like cytokine 1A (TL1A) and its receptor DR3 in IBD pathogenesis, detailing their involvement in mucosal homeostasis and immune modulation.

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WNT3A is an intestinal ligand triggering the Wnt/β-catenin (Wnt) pathway, which can be enhanced by R-spondin 1 (RSPO1) through the RSPO1-LGR axis or antagonized by the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) protein supporting β-catenin-degradation. Wnt interplays with several pathways including PI3K/mTOR (mTOR). In this study, we evaluated the influence of WNT3A-commercial and home-made culture media and RSPO1 protein on the Wnt and mTOR interplay in non-APC and APC-mutated intestinal patient-derived organoids (PDOs).

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Objectives: Chagas disease (CD), or American trypanosomiasis, is a parasitic disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, primarily transmitted by triatomine bugs. Increased travels and migrations introduced CD to non-endemic regions, including Europe. In Italy, the disease has raised public attention mainly in northern regions, where Latin American migrant population is larger.

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Article Synopsis
  • Developing high-affinity monovalent ligands for lectins is difficult due to weak binding interactions, prompting research into covalent ligands for BC2L-C lectin, which is linked to severe respiratory infections in immunocompromised patients.
  • Antiadhesion therapy is gaining traction as a strategy against infections, particularly targeting bacterial lectins like BC2L-C-Nt, which recognizes specific blood group oligosaccharides in host cells.
  • Using computational methods, researchers created effective reversible covalent ligands that enhanced their binding affinity significantly, demonstrating the crucial role of specific ligand components in achieving this improved efficacy.
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  • Recent advancements in head-mounted wearable technology have improved biopotential measurement but face challenges in design, comfort, reliability, and data privacy.
  • The paper introduces GAPSES, a smart glasses platform featuring custom dry soft electrodes and a lightweight design (40g) for comfortable and secure EEG and EOG signal acquisition.
  • GAPSES demonstrates high performance in various applications, achieving over 98% accuracy in biometric recognition and impressive energy efficiency, making it a promising tool for EEG-based tasks.
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DC-SIGN (CD209) and L-SIGN (CD209L) are two C-type lectin receptors (CLRs) that facilitate SARS-CoV-2 infections as viral co-receptors. SARS-CoV-2 manipulates both DC-SIGN and L-SIGN for enhanced infection, leading to interest in developing receptor antagonists. Despite their structural similarity (82% sequence identity), they function differently.

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Multivalent lectin-glycan interactions (MLGIs) are widespread and vital for biology, making them attractive therapeutic targets. Unfortunately, the structural and biophysical mechanisms of several key MLGIs remain poorly understood, limiting our ability to design spatially matched glycoconjugates as potential therapeutics against specific MLGIs. We have recently demonstrated that natural oligomannose-coated nanoparticles are powerful probes for MLGIs.

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The Brazilian market holds the second position globally in the beauty sector, poised to surpass the USD 50 billion mark in the upcoming years. Aesthetic procedures encompass a spectrum, ranging from non-invasive ones, such as drainage, radiofrequency, ultrasound, and cryolipolysis, to more invasive techniques, including fillers, botulinum toxin, microneedling, micropigmentation, carboxytherapy, and enzyme application. This wide array of treatments has yielded satisfactory cosmetic results for individuals who opt out of surgical procedures.

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The present study aimed to i) assess the disintegration of a novel bio-packaging during aerobic composting (2 and 6 % tested concentrations) and evaluate the resulting compost ii) analyse the ecotoxicity of bioplastics residues on earthworms; iii) study the microbial communities during composting and in 'earthworms' gut after their exposure to bioplastic residues; iv) correlate gut microbiota with ecotoxicity analyses; v) evaluate the chemico-physical characterisation of bio-packaging after composting and earthworms' exposure. Both tested concentrations showed disintegration of bio-packaging close to 90 % from the first sampling time, and compost chemical analyses identified its maturity and stability at the end of the process. Ecotoxicological assessments were then conducted on Eisenia fetida regarding fertility, growth, genotoxic damage, and impacts on the gut microbiome.

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Soft condensed matter is challenging to study due to the vast time and length scales that are necessary to accurately represent complex systems and capture their underlying physics. Multiscale simulations are necessary to study processes that have disparate time and/or length scales, which abound throughout biology and other complex systems. Herein we present ezAlign, an open-source software for converting coarse-grained molecular dynamics structures to atomistic representation, allowing multiscale modeling of biomolecular systems.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the role of Wnt/β-catenin and PI3K/mTOR signaling pathways along with gut microbiota in the development of colorectal cancer (CRC), highlighting their significance in familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and sporadic cases.
  • Both pathways showed hyperactivation in FAP lesions compared to classic CRC, with specific microbiota compositions linked to these signaling alterations.
  • Overall, the research identifies new biomarkers and therapeutic targets that could enhance prevention and early detection of CRC and adenomas.
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  • Obesity is a chronic disease associated with health risks like nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and capybara oil (CO) shows potential as a treatment.
  • The study involved C57Bl/6 mice on a high-fat diet, examining the effects of CO on various health parameters over 18 weeks.
  • While CO didn't significantly change physiological parameters, it improved liver cell structure and reduced steatosis and apoptosis, indicating its promise in NAFLD treatment.
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Background: The serotonergic system modulates brain processes via functionally distinct subpopulations of neurons with heterogeneous properties, including their electrophysiological activity. In extracellular recordings, serotonergic neurons to be investigated for their functional properties are commonly identified on the basis of "typical" features of their activity, i.e.

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The behavior of ruminants can influence their productive efficiency. The aim of this study was to evaluate the behavior of young zebu and composite bulls kept in pasture production systems, either in a crop-livestock-forest integration or without afforestation. The work was carried out in São Carlos, Brazil (21°57'42″ S, 47°50'28″ W), in a high-altitude tropical climate, from March to July, 2022.

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This study addresses the understudied dynamics of mortality and recruitment in Tropical Mountain forests, critical determinants of forest structural processes and biomass turnover. We examine how these demographic processes change with elevation and varying degrees of forest recovery by utilizing two forest censuses (2015 and 2019) from 16 plots (0.36 ha) across a 600-3500 m asl elevation gradient in the Ecuadorian Andes.

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Glioblastoma (GBM) stands as the most aggressive and lethal among the main types of primary brain tumors. It exhibits malignant growth, infiltrating the brain tissue, and displaying resistance toward treatment. GBM is a complex disease characterized by high degrees of heterogeneity.

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The incidence of leptomeningeal metastases (LM) is increasing among breast cancer patients, but their prognosis remains dismal. Many therapeutic options are now available to treat HER2-positive (HER2+) metastatic breast cancer (MBC) involving the central nervous system (CNS). This case report illustrates a long-lasting response of more than 2 years in a patient with HER2+ MBC with LM after sequential administration of systemic and intrathecal (IT) anti-HER2 therapies and highlights that an appropriate treatment of HER2+ LM can result in durable survival.

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Noribogaine (noribo) is the primary metabolite from ibogaine, an atypical psychedelic alkaloid isolated from the root bark of the African shrub . The main objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that molecular, electrophysiological, and behavioral responses of noribo are mediated by the 5-HT receptor (5-HTR) in mice. In that regard, we used male and female, 5-HTR knockout (KO) and wild type (WT) mice injected with a single noribo dose (10 or 40 mg/kg; i.

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This study examines the impact of particle size on the setting behavior of tricalcium silicate powders. The setting behavior was evaluated using ISO 6876 indentation testing and isothermal induction calorimetry techniques. The objective was to compare the outcomes obtained from these methods and establish a correlation between particle size and setting characteristics.

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Copper (Cu) toxicity is a pressing concern for several soils, especially in organic viticulture. The objective of this work was to assess Cu toxicity on the non-target organism Eisenia fetida, employing both traditional and novel tools for early identification of Cu-induced damages. In addition to traditional tests like avoidance and reproductive toxicity experiments, other tests such as the single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) and gut microbiome analysis were evaluated to identify early and more sensitive pollution biomarkers.

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Background: Curcumin is a polyphenolic compound present in turmeric (Curcuma longa). Curcumin, turmeric powder, and extracts are widely used in traditional Indian medicine and are active ingredients of dietary supplements and cosmeceutical products. The pharmacological properties of curcumin/turmeric as well as the studies performed in vitro, in animal models, and in volunteers have been the objects of a vast literature.

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Article Synopsis
  • Passive permeability through cellular membranes is essential for drug effectiveness and is relevant across all biological systems.
  • Various computational techniques, including lipophilicity relations, molecular dynamics simulations, and machine learning, are used to study passive permeability, each offering different levels of accuracy and cost.
  • The review highlights key theories like the inhomogeneous solubility diffusion model and the promising role of machine learning in efficiently predicting permeability, especially with advancements in computing technology.
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Purpose: To present evidence of intra- and inter-rater reliability and internal consistency of the Phonological Assessment Instrument scores, so that it can be considered reliable and valid for use in clinical practice.

Methods: 179 audio recordings of the instrument's speech samples were analyzed. The collection was carried out from its application in the period of 5 months in children aged from five to eight years and 11 months.

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