Materials Acceleration Platforms (MAPs): Accelerating Materials Research and Development to Meet Urgent Societal Challenges.

Climate Change and Materials Criticality challenges are driving urgent responses from global governments. These global responses drive policy to achieve sustainable, resilient, clean solutions with Advanced Materials (AdMats) for industrial supply chains and economic prosperity. The research landscape comprising industry, academe, and government identified a critical path to accelerate the Green Transition far beyond slow conventional research through Digital Technologies that harness Artificial Intelligence, Smart Automation and High Performance Computing through Materials Acceleration Platforms, MAPs.

[Translated article] Design and comparison of bone substitutes. Study of in vivo behaviour in a rabbit model.

Aim: To compare the in vivo bone formation capacity of of biomaterials designed as bone substitutes with respect to iliac crest autograft, one based on carbonate hydroxiapatite and the other one on bioactive mesoporous glass.

Materials And Methods: Experimental study consisting on 14 adult female New Zeland rabbits where a critical defect was made in the rabbit radius bone. The sample was divided into four groups: defect without material, with iliac crest autograft, with carbonatehydroxyapatite scaffold, and with bioactive mesoporous glass scaffold.

Desing and comparison of bone substitutes. Study of in vivo behavior in a rabbit model.

Aim: Compare bone formation capacity in vivo of two types of biomaterials designed as bone substitutes with respect to iliac crest autograft, one based on carbonate hydroxyapatites and the other one on bioactive mesoporous glass.

Materials And Methods: Experimental study consisting on 14 adult female New Zeland rabbits where a critical defect was made in the rabbit radius bone. The sample was divided into four groups: defect without material, with iliac crest autograft, with carbonatehydroxyapatite support, and with bioactive mesoporous glass support.

Effect of Induced Mechanical Leaf Damage on the Yield and Content of Bioactive Molecules in Leaves and Seeds of Tepary Beans ().

Growing interest has recently been shown in Tepary beans () because they contain lectins and protease inhibitors that have been shown to have a specific cytotoxic effect on human cancer cells. Bean lectins offer protection against biotic and abiotic stress factors, so it is possible that mechanical foliar damage may increase lectin production. This study evaluates the effect of mechanical stress (foliar damage) on lectin and protease inhibitor content in Tepary beans.

Design of 3D Scaffolds for Hard Tissue Engineering: From Apatites to Silicon Mesoporous Materials.

Advanced bioceramics for bone regeneration constitutes one of the pivotal interests in the multidisciplinary and far-sighted scientific trajectory of Prof. Vallet Regí. The different pathologies that affect osseous tissue substitution are considered to be one of the most important challenges from the health, social and economic point of view.

Phytochemical profile and antioxidant activity of extracts of the peruvian peppertree L. from Chile.

The Andean tree L. has multiple traditional uses, from the treatment of bronchitis and rheumatic diseases to menstrual cycle regulation and wound healing. With reported hypotensive, analgesic, antitumoral and anti-inflammatory properties, it acts predominantly against diseases related to oxidative stress.

The pharmacist facing the logistics of safely dispensing, storing and preserving drugs in healthcare units.

In response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the Hospital Pharmacy Services have  quickly adapted to respond to a critical situation characterized by the constant  and continuous admission of patients with severe pneumonia who needed  treatment, requiring a transformation of the hospital in order to increase the  number of hospital and critical beds. Moreover, other out-ofhospital spaces have  been transformed into hospitalization units to absorb the large number of  patients that had to be treated and isolated. To guarantee the distribution of  medicines and the quality of the pharmaceutical care, drug distribution systems,  such as unit dose and automated dispensing systems, have undergone  transformations.

Correlations Between Mutant Huntingtin Aggregates and Behavioral Changes in R6/1 Mice.

Background: Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by the expansion of the trinucleotide CAG in the HD gene. While the presence of nuclear aggregates of mutant huntingtin (mHtt) in neurons is a hallmark of HD, the reason behind its toxicity remains elusive.

Objective: The present study was conducted to assess a correlation between the number of mHtt aggregates and the severity of HD symptoms in R6/1 mice.

Which Dose Specification Should Be Used for NRG Radiation Therapy Trials: Dose-to-Medium or Dose-to-Water?

Purpose: To compare the doses calculated by the Analytical Anisotropic Algorithm (AAA), Acuros dose-to-medium, and Acuros dose-to-water for the patients with lung cancer treated at our institution and show that further investigation and clarification are needed about what dose specifications should be used for NRG clinical trials.

Methods And Materials: Twenty-one patients with lung cancer who previously received intensity modulated radiation therapy or volumetric modulated arc therapy-based treatments at our institution were analyzed by recalculating their plans for each one with the AAA algorithm (reviewed and approved by our radiation oncologists) and with both reporting modes of the Acuros algorithm. All plans used the same monitor units as the original approved plan and a 2.

Neurophysiological and Behavioral Effects of Anti-Orexinergic Treatments in a Mouse Model of Huntington's Disease.

Huntington's disease (HD) is associated with sleep and circadian disturbances in addition to hallmark motor and cognitive impairments. Electrophysiological studies on HD mouse models have revealed an aberrant oscillatory activity at the beta frequency, during sleep, that is associated with HD pathology. Moreover, HD animal models display an abnormal sleep-wake cycle and sleep fragmentation.

Fabrication of a nanoparticle-containing 3D porous bone scaffold with proangiogenic and antibacterial properties.

3D porous scaffolds based on agarose and nanocrystalline apatite, two structural components that act as a temporary mineralized extracellular matrix, were prepared by the GELPOR3D method. This shaping technology allows the introduction of thermally-labile molecules within the scaffolds during the fabrication procedure. An angiogenic protein, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor, and an antibiotic, cephalexin, loaded in mesoporous silica nanoparticles, were included to design multifunctional scaffolds for bone reconstruction.

Assessment of prenatal cerebral and cardiac metabolic changes in a rabbit model of fetal growth restriction based on 13C-labelled substrate infusions and ex vivo multinuclear HRMAS.

Background: We have used a previously reported rabbit model of fetal growth restriction (FGR), reproducing perinatal neurodevelopmental and cardiovascular impairments, to investigate the main relative changes in cerebral and cardiac metabolism of term FGR fetuses during nutrient infusion.

Methods: FGR was induced in 9 pregnant New Zealand rabbits at 25 days of gestation: one horn used as FGR, by partial ligation of uteroplacental vessels, and the contralateral as control (appropriate for gestation age, AGA). At 30 days of gestation, fasted mothers under anesthesia were infused i.

Improved connective integration of a degradable 3D-nano-apatite/agarose scaffold subcutaneously implanted in a rat model.

In this work, we evaluate the tissue response and tolerance to a designed 3D porous scaffold composed of nanocrystalline carbonate-hydroxyapatite and agarose as a preliminary step in bone repair and regeneration. These scaffolds were subcutaneously implanted into rats, which were sacrificed at different times. CD4+, CD8+ and ED1+ cells were evaluated as measurements of inflammatory reaction and tolerance.

Body Composition, Dietary, and Gustatory Function Assessment in People With Alzheimer's Disease.

Objectives: Observe the association of foods habits, body composition, lifestyle habits, and loss of gustatory function with Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: This comparative study enrolled 75 patients with AD (mean age 77.5 years) and 267 healthy volunteers (mean age 73 years).

From proof-of-concept material to PEGylated and modularly targeted ultrasound-responsive mesoporous silica nanoparticles.

In this work we present the synthesis, characterization and in vitro biological evaluation of PEGylated and actively-targeted ultrasound-responsive hybrid mesoporous silica nanoparticles. This work covers the development of the chemical strategies necessary to afford a modular nanocarrier starting from a proof-of-concept material presented in previous work. This functional ultrasound-responsive material can be adapted to different specific pathological conditions by carefully choosing the appropriate targeting moieties.

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles engineered for ultrasound-induced uptake by cancer cells.

A novel smart hierarchical ultrasound-responsive mesoporous silica nanocarrier for cancer therapy is presented here. This dynamic nanosystem has been designed to display different surface characteristics during its journey towards tumor cells. Initially, the anticancer-loaded nanocarriers are shielded with a polyethylene glycol layer.

Family caregiver mistreatment of the elderly: prevalence of risk and associated factors.

Background: The detection of elder mistreatment is emerging as a public health priority; however, abusive behaviors exercised by caregivers are little known and rarely detected among primary health care professionals. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of risk of abuse against community-residing elderly with moderate to severe dependency whose caregivers are relatives. In addition, we aim to describe the association between such a risk and socio-demographic variables, cognitive and dependency state of the victim, and the scale of the caregiver's anxiety, depression, and burden.

3-D motion capture for long-term tracking of spontaneous locomotor behaviors and circadian sleep/wake rhythms in mouse.

Background: Locomotor activity provides an index of an animal's behavioral state. Here, we report a reliable and cost-effective method that allows long-term (days to months) simultaneous tracking of locomotion in mouse cohorts (here consisting of 24 animals).

New Method: The technique is based on a motion capture system used mainly for human movement study.

Changes in striatal activity and functional connectivity in a mouse model of Huntington's disease.

Hereditary Huntington's disease (HD) is associated with progressive motor, cognitive and psychiatric symptoms. A primary consequence of the HD mutation is the preferential loss of medium spiny projection cells with relative sparing of local interneurons in the striatum. In addition, among GABAergic striatal projection cells, indirect pathway cells expressing D2 dopamine receptors are lost earlier than direct pathway cells expressing D1 receptors.

Sustained Gq-Protein Signaling Disrupts Striatal Circuits via JNK.

Unlabelled: The dorsal striatum is a major input structure of the basal ganglia and plays a key role in the control of vital processes such as motor behavior, cognition, and motivation. The functionality of striatal neurons is tightly controlled by various metabotropic receptors. Whereas the G/G-protein-dependent tuning of striatal neurons is fairly well known, the precise impact and underlying mechanism of G-protein-dependent signals remain poorly understood.

Migration and nutritional status of Tarahumara schoolchildren from Chihuahua State (México).

Objective: The Tarahumara ethnic group is composed of indigenous people from the Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico. Conditions of isolation and poverty compel them to migrate to the city in search of better opportunities. This work aims to explore the influence of migration on the growth and nutritional status of Tarahumara schoolchildren.

Decidua-derived mesenchymal stem cells as carriers of mesoporous silica nanoparticles. In vitro and in vivo evaluation on mammary tumors.

Unlabelled: The potential use of human Decidua-derived mesenchymal stem cells (DMSCs) as a platform to carry mesoporous silica nanoparticles in cancer therapy has been investigated. Two types of nanoparticles were evaluated. The nanoparticles showed negligible toxicity to the cells, a fast uptake and a long retention inside them.