Forty Years of the Use of Cells for Cartilage Regeneration: The Research Side.

The treatment of articular cartilage damage has always represented a problem of considerable practical interest for orthopedics. Over the years, many surgical techniques have been proposed to induce the growth of repairing tissue and limit degeneration. In 1994, the turning point occurred: implanted autologous cells paved the way for a new treatment option based more on regeneration than repair.

Ultrasound description of cortical-entheseal bone remodeling in peripheral entheses of patients with psoriasis and nonspecific musculoskeletal symptoms.

Aims: ultrasound (US) diagnosis of enthesitis is burdened of low specificity, especially when it is performed in patients with psoriasis (PsO) but without clinical psoriatic arthritis (PsA), because of mechanical, dysmetabolic and age-related concurrent enthesopatic changes. We propose a novel US score to quantify the cortical-entheseal bone remodeling burden of several peripheral entheses, aiming to improve the specificity of US for PsA-related enthesitis, and to evaluate its diagnostic value in PsO patients with subsequent diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis (PsO/PsA).

Methods: clinical and US data of 119 consecutive patients with moderate/severe PsO and nonspecific musculoskeletal symptoms, were included in this retrospective study.

Real-Time Neurophysiological and Subjective Indices of Cognitive Engagement in High-Speed Flight.

Introduction: Managing cognitive demand is critical for aviation safety. Yet, accurately assessing pilot workload during complex flight maneuvers remains challenging. This study evaluated an integrated methodology combining real-time cognitive engagement indicators to provide a comprehensive assessment and assess the reliability of physiological and subjective measures for monitoring operator state.

Technological and microbiological characterization of an industrial soft-sliced bread enriched with chitosan and its prebiotic activity.

Several studies have described the effects of chitosan as an ingredient in bread, particularly from a technological and functional point of view. However, these studies mainly focus on breads produced at lab scale with a short shelf life, which may not reflect the changes occurring in industrial production. Our study investigated the potential of using chitosan at an industrial scale to produce soft white bread, evaluating its impact on the final product's shelf life and providing deeper insights into the practical possibilities and limitations of its scalability.

Online survey on existing sarcoidosis registries and biobanks: an ERN lung initiative.

The present survey, promoted by the European Reference Network on rare respiratory diseases (ERN-Lung, Core Networks Sarcoidosis and ILD), aims to assess the existing sarcoidosis registries and biobanks across Europe and to compare the various types of biospecimen collected, the different procedures performed, and the sample storage conditions applied. This survey was initiated by the European Reference Network on rare respiratory diseases (ERN-Lung) Core Network "Sarcoidosis" in April 2023. The survey was launched by ERN-Lung Core Network "Sarcoidosis" in August 2023 and remained active until end of February 2024.

Changes in cerebral cortex redox status and cognitive performance in short- and long-term high-sucrose diet fed rats.

Rising evidence suggests that Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) would be correlated with the development of neurodegenerative diseases. Although this has emerged as a relevant area of research, it has not been fully explored. It is not clear if a greater impairment of the metabolic peripheral environment is accompanied by a greater impairment of the central nervous system.

Transformations of crude oil into tar: a case study from a plastitar-contaminated site in NE Sicily, Italy (Western Mediterranean).

This study examines the aging of industrial crude oil to simulate the chemical transformations that occur when it is exposed to environmental conditions over time. It was triggered by the finding of plastitar - a mixture of tar and plastic waste - on the coast of Milazzo, Sicily. Research began with a chemical characterization of the tar component of plastitar, followed by aging experiments designed to simulate environmental conditions such as seawater, UV light and sunlight.

Sarcoid Nodule or Lung Cancer? A High-Resolution Computed Tomography-Based Retrospective Study of Pulmonary Nodules in Patients with Sarcoidosis.

: The objective of this retrospective study was to compare the characteristics of sarcoid nodules and neoplastic nodules using high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) in sarcoidosis patients. : This is a single-center retrospective study. From 2010 to 2023, among 685 patients affected by pulmonary sarcoidosis, 23 patients developed pulmonary nodules of a suspicious malignant nature.

Astaxanthin improves lipotoxicity, lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress in kidney of sucrose-rich diet-fed rats.

Metabolic Syndrome (MS) is a cluster of metabolic risk factors, characterized by abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, insulin resistance, among others. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the astaxanthin (AXT) effects extracted from freshwater crab (Dilocarcinus pagei) at the Paraná Basin on lipotoxicity, lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress in the kidney of rats fed with a sucrose-rich diet (SRD). We hypothesized that daily administration of AXT prevents kidney damage by reducing lipotoxicity, lipid peroxidation, and reactive oxygen species (ROS), and by improving antioxidant enzyme defenses and crosstalk between NrF2 and NF-ĸB transcription factors.

Efficacy and safety of a step-down regimen of low dosage of glucocorticoids combined with early administration of synthetic or biologic immunosuppressants in anti-synthetase syndrome: A pilot study.

Introduction: Anti-synthetase syndrome (ASS) is a rare autoimmune disease characterized by the presence of anti-aminoacyl-transfer-RNA synthetase antibodies (ARS) and the involvement of muscles, skin, joints, and lungs. Despite increasing interest and evidence, optimal clinical management remains unclear due to a lack of randomized control trials. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a treatment regimen involving early co-administration of glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants, with rapid prednisone tapering.

Diagnostic Performance of CLEIA Versus FEIA for KL-6 Peripheral and Alveolar Concentrations in Fibrotic Interstitial Lung Diseases: A Multicentre Study.

Background: Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) is a group of lung disorders characterized by interstitial lung thickening due to inflammatory and fibrotic processes. Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) is a molecule secreted by damaged type II alveolar pneumocytes in the alveolar space. The goal of the present study was to compare two detection methods of KL-6 in both bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and serum from ILD patients at the moment of diagnosis.

Plastic pellet pollution in the Aeolian Islands UNESCO site (Italy, Western Mediterranean Sea): results of a comprehensive characterization and monitoring study.

The archipelago of the Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea is a globally important natural laboratory. The archipelago, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its unique geology and biodiversity, offers a unique opportunity to study plastic pollution. This study presents an initiative to assess the occurrence of plastic pellets on the beaches of five Aeolian Islands.

Statistical Learning of Incidental Perceptual Regularities Induces Sensory Conditioned Cortical Responses.

Statistical learning of sensory patterns can lead to predictive neural processes enhancing stimulus perception and enabling fast deviancy detection. Predictive processes have been extensively demonstrated when environmental statistical regularities are relevant to task execution. Preliminary evidence indicates that statistical learning can even occur independently of task relevance and top-down attention, although the temporal profile and neural mechanisms underlying sensory predictions and error signals induced by statistical learning of incidental sensory regularities remain unclear.

Krebs von den Lungen-6 as biomarker of the new progressive fibrotic phenotype of interstitial lung disease.

Background: Novel progressive fibrotic phenotype has recently been proposed characterized by progressive and inexorable worsening of the disease. Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) has been proposed as fibrotic-ILD biomarker. We aimed to assess the role of KL-6 in fibrotic-ILD and the progressive phenotype in accordance with serial serum KL-6.

Capability of multimodal large language models to interpret pediatric radiological images.

Background: There is a dearth of artificial intelligence (AI) development and research dedicated to pediatric radiology. The newest iterations of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT can process image and video input in addition to text. They are thus theoretically capable of providing impressions of input radiological images.

Parental stress, depression, anxiety and participation to care in neonatal intensive care units: results of a prospective study in Italy, Brazil and Tanzania.

Background: Studies comparing the frequency of different mental health conditions across different settings and evaluating their association with parental participation in newborn care are lacking. We aimed at evaluating the frequency of parental stress, anxiety and depression, along with the level of participation in newborn care, among parents of newborns in Italy, Brazil and Tanzania.

Methods: Parental stress, anxiety, depression and participation in care were assessed prospectively in parents of newborns in eight neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) utilising: the Parental Stressor Scale in NICU (PSS:NICU); the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and EPDS-Anxiety subscale (EPDS-A); the Index of Parental Participation in NICU (IPP-NICU).

Normatively irrelevant disgust interferes with decision under uncertainty: Insights from the Iowa gambling task.

This study investigates whether a not informative, irrelevant emotional reaction of disgust interferes with decision-making under uncertainty. We manipulate the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) by associating a disgust-eliciting image with selections from Disadvantageous/Bad decks (Congruent condition) or Advantageous/Good decks (Incongruent condition). A Control condition without manipulations is also included.

Clinical and biological effects of different energetic surgical devices currently used for mini-invasive anatomical lung resections for the treatment of NSCLC: a prospective interventional study.

Background: This study aims to compare three commonly used energy devices for dissection during Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS) lobectomy: monopolar hook, advanced bipolar, and ultrasonic device, in terms of duration of the surgical procedure and clinical intra- and post-operative outcomes.

Materials And Methods: In this prospective single-center study, 75 patients undergoing VATS lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer between January 2022 and May 2023 were enrolled and divided into 3 groups based on the device used during the surgical procedure (Group 1: Ultrasonic Device, Group 2: Advanced Bipolar, Group 3: Monopolar Hook). The duration of the surgical procedure, daily pleural fluid production, post-operative pain, length of hospital stay, and occurrence of post-operative complications were compared for each group.

On-demand polarization by a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser with two tilted sub-wavelength gratings.

We show that each polarization state on the Poincaré sphere (PS) can be accessed on-demand (Poincaré sphere tailoring) by a semiconductor-based vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) with two tilted sub-wavelength gratings (SWGs). We develop a vectorial Barkhausen criterion that answers the question: what conditions must the cavity fulfill to support a given desired polarization state? Addressing this inquiry leads to a completely different strategy based on the entangled interplay between two tilted SWGs, resulting in an overall chiral cavity, whose features depend on the gratings and their mutual rotation. This leads to the emission of a well-controllable polarization state based on standard technologies used in polarization-stable VCSELs, which paves the way for inspiring several new potential applications.

Evaluation of multiple-flows exhaled nitric oxide and its clinical significance in severe asthmatic patients treated with biologics: a prospective real-life study.

Background: Specific biomarkers, such as eosinophilia in peripheral blood or fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), can guide us in the choice of biologic therapy, allowing a more personalized approach. Although there are multiple evidences in the literature about the role of FeNO as a predictor of response to different biologic treatments, there are no data on the relationship between FeNO changes and clinical response to the four biologic drugs currently in use.

Objective: To evaluate and to compare the expression of multiple-flows FeNO parameters in a cohort of patients with severe asthma (SA) before and during the treatment with biologics to evaluate the performance of these biomarkers in predicting the achievement of clinical remission.

Altered serum concentrations of IL-8, IL-32 and IL-10 in patients with lung impairment 6 months after COVID-19.

Post-COVID symptoms are reported in 10-35 % of patients not requiring hospitalization, and in up to 80 % of hospitalized patients and patients with severe disease. The pathogenesis of post-COVID syndrome remains largely unknown. Some evidence suggests that prolonged inflammation has a key role in the pathogenesis of most post-COVID manifestations.

Salvia hispanica L. (chia) seed improves redox state and reverts extracellular matrix collagen deposition in skeletal muscle of sucrose-rich diet-fed rats.

Skeletal muscle (SkM) is a plastic and dynamic tissue, essential in energy metabolism. Growing evidence suggests a close relationship between intramuscular fat accumulation, oxidative stress (OS), extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, and metabolic deregulation in SkM. Nowadays natural products emerge as promising alternatives for the treatment of metabolic disorders.