Oxime Linked Doxorubicin Glycoconjugates Improve the Specific Targeting of Glioblastoma in High-Grade Glioma Therapy.

The treatment of glioblastoma (GBM) represents an urgent challenge for public health due to the inability to effectively deliver anticancer agents, such as doxorubicin (DOX), through the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Herein we report the synthesis of two novel DOX glycoconjugates using an oxime linkage that maintained the intercalation capability of the planar anthracycline ring of DOX, as demonstrated by UV-vis and fluorescence experiments in the presence of DNA. The biological effect of DOX glycoconjugates was evaluated in GBM cell lines, showing an enhanced cytotoxic and pro-apoptotic effect of as compared to and to conventional DOX.

Splitter-Based Sensors Realized via POFs Coupled by a Micro-Trench Filled with a Molecularly Imprinted Polymer.

An optical-chemical sensor based on two modified plastic optical fibers (POFs) and a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) is realized and tested for the detection of 2-furaldehyde (2-FAL). The 2-FAL measurement is a scientific topic of great interest in different application fields, such as human health and life status monitoring in power transformers. The proposed sensor is realized by using two POFs as segmented waveguides (SW) coupled through a micro-trench milled between the fibers and then filled with a specific MIP for the 2-FAL detection.

3D-printed biosensors in biomedical applications exploiting plasmonic phenomena and antibody self-assembled monolayers.

In this work, a 3D-printed plasmonic chip based on a silver-gold bilayer was developed in order to enhance the optical response of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) probe. More specifically, numerical and experimental results were obtained on the 3D-printed SPR platform based on a silver-gold bilayer. Then, the optimized probe's gold plasmonic interface was functionalized with a specific antibody directed against the p27 protein (p27), an important cell cycle regulator.

Analysis of Plasmonic Sensors Performance Realized by Exploiting Different UV-Cured Optical Adhesives Combined with Plastic Optical Fibers.

Polymer-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors can be used to realize simple, small-size, disposable, and low-cost biosensors for application in several fields, e.g., healthcare.

Clinical outcomes and prognostic factors in non-cirrhotic non-neoplastic patients with portal vein thrombosis: A single-centre experience.

Introduction: The knowledge of natural history and prognostic factors of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is still based on a limited number of studies.

Aim: To describe our single-center experience with 79 consecutive non-neoplastic non-cirrhotic patients with PVT (15 recent/64 chronic PVT).

Results: Among patients with recent PVT, 7 received anticoagulation alone, 4 systemic thrombolysis, 3 direct thrombolysis through a TIPS and 1 TIPS alone.

Detection of 2-Furaldehyde in Milk by MIP-Based POF Chips Combined with an SPR-POF Sensor.

An innovative optical-chemical sensor has been used to detect the 2-furaldehyde (2-FAL) in milk. The proposed sensing approach exploits the refractive index changing in a microstructured chip based on a plastic optical fiber (POF) with orthogonal micro-holes containing a specific molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP). This POF-MIP chemical chip modifies the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomena excited in another sensor chip realized in POFs (SPR-POF) and connected in series.

The significance of nonobstructive sinusoidal dilatation of the liver: Impaired portal perfusion or inflammatory reaction syndrome.

Unlabelled: Sinusoidal dilatation found in the absence of an impaired sinusoidal blood outflow has been so far of unclear significance. Sinusoidal dilatation may actually be a nonspecific feature of impaired portal venous blood inflow, whatever the cause, or a feature of severe systemic inflammatory reaction syndrome, whatever the cause. Sinusoidal dilatation is mainly located in the centrilobular area even in the absence of an outflow block.

Small hepatic veins Budd-Chiari syndrome.

Budd-Chiari syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by hepatic venous outflow obstruction at any level from the small hepatic veins to the atrio-caval junction, in the absence of heart failure or constrictive pericarditis. Various imaging modalities are available for investigating the gross hepatic vascular anatomy but there are rare forms of this disease where the obstruction is limited to the small intrahepatic veins, with normal appearance of the large hepatic veins at imaging. In this cases only a liver biopsy can demonstrate the presence of a small vessels outflow block.

Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt with expanded-polytetrafuoroethylene-covered stents in non-cirrhotic patients with portal cavernoma.

Aims: To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) in non-cirrhotic patients with symptomatic portal hypertension secondary to portal cavernoma.

Methods: Our cohort includes 13 consecutive patients. Eleven were considered for Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt placement for complications not manageable by medical/endoscopic treatment and two because of the need of oral anticoagulation in presence of high-risk varices.

Improving the inhibitory control task to detect minimal hepatic encephalopathy.

Background & Aims: Quantification of the number of noninhibited responses (lures) in the inhibitory control task (ICT) has been proposed for the diagnosis of minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE). We assessed the efficacy of ICT compared with recommended diagnostic standards.

Methods: We studied patients with cirrhosis and healthy individuals (controls) who underwent the ICT at 2 centers (center A: n=51 patients and 41 controls, center B: n=24 patients and 14 controls).