Osteoblast responsive biosilica-enriched gelatin microfibrillar microenvironments.

Engineering of scaffolds for bone regeneration is often inspired by the native extracellular matrix mimicking its composite fibrous structure. In the present study, we used low loadings of diatomite earth (DE) biosilica to improve the bone regeneration potential of gelatin electrospun fibrillar microenvironments. We explored the effect of increasing the DE content from 1 % to 3 % and 5 %, respectively, on the physico-chemical properties of the fibrous scaffolds denoted FG_DE1, FG_DE3, FG_DE5, regarding the aqueous media affinity, stability under simulated physiological conditions, morphology characteristics, and local mechanical properties at the surface.

The performance of the node reporting and data system 1.0 (Node-RADS) and DWI-MRI in staging patients with cervical carcinoma according to the new FIGO classification (2018).

Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the Node-RADS score and the utility of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values in predicting metastatic lymph nodes (LNs) involvement in cervical cancer (CC) patients using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The applicability of the Node RADS score across three readers with different years of experience in pelvic imaging was also assessed.

Material And Methods: Among 140 patients, 68 underwent staging MRI, neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radical surgery, forming the study cohort.

Imaging of Peritoneal Carcinomatosis in Advanced Ovarian Cancer: CT, MRI, Radiomic Features and Resectability Criteria.

PC represents the most striking picture of the loco-regional spread of ovarian cancer, configuring stage III. In the last few years, many papers have evaluated the role of imaging and therapeutic management in patients with ovarian cancer and PC. This paper summed up the literature on traditional approaches to the imaging of peritoneal carcinomatosis in advanced ovarian cancer, presenting classification systems, most frequent patterns, routes of spread and sites that are difficult to identify.

Mission analysis, dynamics and robust control of an indoor blimp in a CERN detector magnetic environment.

At the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), a Research and Development (R&D) program studies robotic systems for inspection and maintenance of the next-generation of particle detectors. The design and operation of these systems are affected by the detector's cavern harsh environment consisting of high magnetic fields and radiations. This work presents a feasibility study for aerial inspection and mapping around a CERN particle detector using a robotic Lighter-than-Air (LtA) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), specifically a blimp.

Development of Biocomposite Alginate-Cuttlebone-Gelatin 3D Printing Inks Designed for Scaffolds with Bone Regeneration Potential.

Fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds using natural biomaterials introduces valuable opportunities in bone tissue reconstruction and regeneration. The current study aimed at the development of paste-like 3D printing inks with an extracellular matrix-inspired formulation based on marine materials: sodium alginate (SA), cuttlebone (CB), and fish gelatin (FG). Macroporous scaffolds with microporous biocomposite filaments were obtained by 3D printing combined with post-printing crosslinking.

A Folding-Based Electrochemical Aptasensor for the Single-Step Detection of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein.

Efficient and timely testing has taken center stage in the management, control, and monitoring of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Simple, rapid, cost-effective diagnostics are needed that can complement current polymerase chain reaction-based methods and lateral flow immunoassays. Here, we report the development of an electrochemical sensing platform based on single-walled carbon nanotube screen-printed electrodes (SWCNT-SPEs) functionalized with a redox-tagged DNA aptamer that specifically binds to the receptor binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein S1 subunit.

Development of thick paste-like inks based on superconcentrated gelatin/alginate for 3D printing of scaffolds with shape fidelity and stability.

Shape fidelity and integrity are serious challenges in the 3D printing of hydrogel precursors, as they can influence the overall performance of 3D scaffolds. This work reports the development of superconcentrated inks based on sodium alginate and fish gelatin as an appealing strategy to satisfy such challenges and dictate the quality of the printed scaffolds, without using crosslinking strategies during 3D printing. SEM micrographs and micro-CT images indicate the homogeneous distribution of the polysaccharide in the gelatin-based matrix, suggesting its potential to act as a reinforcing additive.

In Vitro Macrophage Immunomodulation by Poly(ε-caprolactone) Based-Coated AZ31 Mg Alloy.

Due to its excellent bone-like mechanical properties and non-toxicity, magnesium (Mg) and its alloys have attracted great interest as biomaterials for orthopaedic applications. However, their fast degradation rate in physiological environments leads to an acute inflammatory response, restricting their use as biodegradable metallic implants. Endowing Mg-based biomaterials with immunomodulatory properties can help trigger a desired immune response capable of supporting a favorable healing process.

Development of 3D Bioactive Scaffolds through 3D Printing Using Wollastonite-Gelatin Inks.

The bioactivity of scaffolds represents a key property to facilitate the bone repair after orthopedic trauma. This study reports the development of biomimetic paste-type inks based on wollastonite (CS) and fish gelatin (FG) in a mass ratio similar to natural bone, as an appealing strategy to promote the mineralization during scaffold incubation in simulated body fluid (SBF). High-resolution 3D scaffolds were fabricated through 3D printing, and the homogeneous distribution of CS in the protein matrix was revealed by scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction analysis (SEM/EDX) micrographs.

Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes as Enhancing Substrates for PNA-Based Amperometric Genosensors.

A new amperometric sandwich-format genosensor has been implemented on single-walled carbon nanotubes screen printed electrodes (SWCNT-SPEs) and compared in terms of performance with analogous genoassays developed using the same methodology on non-nanostructured glassy carbon platforms (GC-SPE). The working principle of the genosensors is based on the covalent immobilization of Peptide Nucleic Acid (PNA) capture probes (CP) on the electrode surface, carried out through the carboxylic functions present on SWCNT-SPEs (carboxylated SWCNT) or electrochemically induced on GC-SPEs. The sequence of the CP was complementary to a 20-mer portion of the target DNA; a second biotin-tagged PNA signalling probe (SP), with sequence complementary to a different contiguous portion of the target DNA, was used to obtain a sandwich hybrid with an Alkaline Phosphatase-streptavidin conjugate (ALP-Strp).

Novel amperometric genosensor based on peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes immobilized on carbon nanotubes-screen printed electrodes for the determination of trace levels of non-amplified DNA in genetically modified (GM) soy.

A novel amperometric genosensor based on PNA probes covalently bound on the surface of Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes - Screen Printed Electrodes (SWCNT-SPEs) was developed and validated in samples of non-amplified genomic DNA extracted from genetically modified (GM)-Soy. The sandwich assay is based on a first recognition of a 20-mer portion of the target DNA by a complementary PNA Capture Probe (CP) and a second hybridization with a PNA Signalling Probe (SP), with a complementary sequence to a different portion of the target DNA. The SP was labelled with biotin to measure current signal by means of a final incubation of an Alkaline Phosphatase-streptavidin conjugate (ALP-Strp).

Prevalence and follow-up of occult HCV infection in an Italian population free of clinically detectable infectious liver disease.

Background: Occult hepatitis C virus infection (OCI) is a recently described phenomenon characterized by undetectable levels of HCV-RNA in serum/plasma by current laboratory assays, with identifiable levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and/or liver tissue by molecular tests with enhanced sensitivity. Previous results from our group showed an OCI prevalence of 3.3% in a population unselected for hepatic disease.

Thiopurine S-methyltransferase pharmacogenetics in a large-scale healthy Italian-Caucasian population: differences in enzyme activity.

Aims: To investigate the influence of genotype, age and gender on the thiopurine S-methyltransferase (TPMT) phenotype in healthy Italian-Caucasian subjects.

Materials & Methods: The study investigated the TPMT genotype and the TPMT phenotype of 943 healthy Italian-Caucasian subjects of different age and gender (age range: 0.08-68 years; 623 males 320 females).

Evidence of acute primary occult hepatitis B virus infection in an Italian repeat blood donor.

Background: Preliminary evidence of cases of acute occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (OBI) has been recently reported in the literature. Furthermore, OBI definition has been the object of an international consensus conference.

Study Design And Methods: A case of acute primary OBI was identified and followed up in a repeat female blood donor using a highly sensitive nucleic acid test (NAT; Procleix Ultrio on Tigris, Chiron).

Italian blood donors with anti-HBc and occult hepatitis B virus infection.

Background And Objectives: Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection might allow the release of viremic units into the blood supply network if blood is tested only for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). The aim of our study was to evaluate the actual prevalence, viral load and genotype of occult HBV infections among first-time blood donors in north-western Italy and to suggest a way to minimize risks of transmission of this infection.

Design And Methods: We assayed 6313 consecutive blood donors for antibodies to HBV core antigen (anti-HBc) in addition to mandatory screening.

Seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection among blood donors in Torino, Italy.

Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is one of the most common infections world-wide. A cohort effect model has been proposed to clarify the differences in the prevalence among the different age-class with a rate of infection higher in old individuals than in younger ones.

Soliton-based Y-branch in photorefractive crystals induced through dispersion-shifted optical fiber.

We experimentally demonstrate for what is believed to be the first time that a dispersion-shifted fiber can be used to electro-optically induce a soliton Y-branch structure in a photorefractive centrosymmetric paraelectric crystal (potassium lithium tantalate niobate). The application of a nonstationary external bias field enables us to stabilize the spatially partially coherent behavior of the optical beam at the fiber output. Furthermore, we show the switching capabilities of this soliton-based device in the optical communication field guiding a probe beam at a nonphotorefractive wavelength (1557 nm).

Removal of cytokines and activated complement components in an experimental model of continuous plasma filtration coupled with sorbent adsorption.

Background: Sepsis is associated with enhanced cytokine production. Here, we examined the in vitro removal of plasma cytokines during continuous plasmafiltration coupled with sorbent adsorption.

Methods: Proinflammatory (tumour necrosis factor-alpha, interleukins-1, -8) and anti-inflammatory (interleukin 1 receptor antagonist, soluble tumour necrosis factor receptor type I and II) cytokines in whole blood spiked with Escherichia coli endotoxin were determined during 2-h recirculation in the ultrafiltrate (condition A), plasma filtrate (condition B), before and after different sorbents (of the Amberlite-, Amberchrome- Ambersorb -type and charcoal).

Prevalence of Yersinia antibodies in blood donors.

Agglutinins titers against Y. enterocolitica 0:3, 0:5, 0:9 and Y. pseudotuberculosis I were determined by the microagglutination method in 777 blood donor sera.

Evolution of the bandwidth of the principal states of polarization in single-mode fibers.

The bandwidth in which the first-order approximation of the principal states of polarization of a single-mode fiber can be assumed valid is examined. The principal states of polarization and their bandwidth are found for a fiber with both constant coupling and birefringence, and the relationship with the fiber's eigenmodes is examined. On the basis of these results, a fiber cascade is analyzed, and a Monte Carlo simulation provides theoretical values of the bandwidth that have been experimentally verified on a 2-km-long concatenation of single-mode dispersion-shifted fibers.

Measurement of the group-delay difference between the principal states of polarization on a low-birefringence terrestrial fiber cable.

We report some results of measurements of the frequency dependence of the state of polarization at the end of a low-birefringence long-cabled (50-km) optical fiber. The principal states of polarization and their group-delay difference were determined by making use of the Poincaré sphere representation.

[Recurring anterior dislocation of the shoulder].

The paper makes a pathogenetic study of habitual dislocation of the shoulder, an analysis of the surgical techniques most widely used, and a review of the case histories collected at the G. Pini Orthopaedic Hospital for patients operated by the Bankart-Delitala method. After a short introduction on the general features of the lesion, and on normal human anatomy, the paper sets out the pathological anatomy, aetiopathogenesis and the radiological and clinical picture.