Comput Struct Biotechnol J
December 2024
The CompSafeNano project, a Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE) project funded under the European Union's Horizon 2020 program, aims to advance the safety and innovation potential of nanomaterials (NMs) by integrating cutting-edge nanoinformatics, computational modelling, and predictive toxicology to enable design of safer NMs at the earliest stage of materials development. The project leverages Safe-by-Design (SbD) principles to ensure the development of inherently safer NMs, enhancing both regulatory compliance and international collaboration. By building on established nanoinformatics frameworks, such as those developed in the H2020-funded projects NanoSolveIT and NanoCommons, CompSafeNano addresses critical challenges in nanosafety through development and integration of innovative methodologies, including advanced models, approaches including machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven predictive models and 1st-principles computational modelling of NMs properties, interactions and effects on living systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of persistent organic pollutants that pose a growing threat to environmental and human health. Soil acts as a long-term reservoir for PFAS, potentially impacting soil biodiversity and ecosystem function. Earthworms, as keystone species in soil ecosystems, are particularly vulnerable to PFAS exposure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances' (PFAS) extreme persistence has been linked to many adverse effects on human health including increased risk of certain cancers. This study presents the development and validation of a new, highly sensitive method for the quantification of 32 PFAS in human serum using online solid-phase extraction (SPE) coupled with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS). Legacy and emerging PFAS were targeted.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPerfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are persistent environmental pollutants, raising concerns due to their widespread presence and disruptive biological effects. These compounds are highly stable, allowing them to bioaccumulate in the environment and living organisms, potentially impacting critical physiological functions such as hormonal balance, immune response, and increasing cancer risk. Despite regulatory restrictions, their pervasive nature necessitates further research into their potential effects on cellular and neuronal function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComput Struct Biotechnol J
December 2024
Modelling Data (MODA) reporting guidelines have been proposed for common terminology and for recording metadata for physics-based materials modelling and simulations in a CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA 17284:2018). Their purpose is similar to that of the Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) model report form (QMRF) that aims to increase industry and regulatory confidence in QSAR models, but for a wider range of model types. Recently, the WorldFAIR project's nanomaterials case study suggested that both QMRF and MODA templates are an important means to enhance compliance of nanoinformatics models, and their underpinning datasets, with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMetallothioneins are multifunctional proteins implicated in various cellular processes. They have been used as biomarkers of heavy metal exposure and contamination due to their intrinsic ability to bind heavy metals and their transcriptional response to both physiological and noxious metal ions such as cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg). In this study, we aimed to clarify the role of iron and reactive oxygen species (ROSs) in the induction of the metallothionein system (Mtt) in the ciliate protozoan .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPer- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances are a large group of chemicals with elevated water and oil-resistance properties, widely implicated in various applicative fields. Due to the extensive use and high resistance to degradative factors, these compounds pose a significant risk of environmental spreading, bioaccumulating also in living organisms. In this context, despite many researches have been performed to demonstrate "legacy" PFAS harmfulness, only few data are still available about all the emerging fluorinated molecules, industrially introduced to replace the previous ones.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To analyse outcomes after adult right ex-situ split graft liver transplantations (RSLT) and compare with available outcome benchmarks from whole liver transplantation (WLT).
Summary Background Data: Ex-situ SLT may be a valuable strategy to tackle the increasing graft shortage. Recently established outcome benchmarks in WLT offer a novel reference to perform a comprehensive analysis of results after ex-situ RSLT.
Hepatic compartment syndrome (HCS) is a rare but life-threatening entity that consists of a decreased portal flow due to intraparenchymal hypertension secondary to subcapsular liver hematoma. Lethal liver failure can be observed. We report three cases, and review the literature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA robust predictive model was developed using 136 novel peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta (PPARδ) agonists, a distinct subtype of lipid-activated transcription factors of the nuclear receptor superfamily that regulate target genes by binding to characteristic sequences of DNA bases. The model employs various structural descriptors and docking calculations and provides predictions of the biological activity of PPARδ agonists, following the criteria of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for the development and validation of quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models. Specifically focused on small molecules, the model facilitates the identification of highly potent and selective PPARδ agonists and offers a read-across concept by providing the chemical neighbours of the compound under study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground & Aims: Major bleeding events during orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) are associated with poor outcomes. The proportion of this risk related to portal hypertension is unclear. Hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) is the gold standard for estimating portal hypertension.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: We aim to assess the long-term outcomes of percutaneous multi-bipolar radiofrequency (mbpRFA) as the first treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in transplant-eligible cirrhotic patients, followed by salvage transplantation for intrahepatic distant tumour recurrence or liver failure.
Materials And Methods: We included transplant-eligible patients with cirrhosis and a first diagnosis of HCC within Milan criteria treated by upfront mbp RFA. Transplantability was defined by age <70 years, social support, absence of significant comorbidities, no active alcohol use and no recent extrahepatic cancer.
Objective: To investigate whether and how experience accumulation and technical refinements simultaneously implemented in auxiliary orthotopic liver transplantation (AOLT) may impact on outcomes.
Background: AOLT for acute liver failure (ALF) provides the unique chance of complete immunosuppression withdrawal after adequate native liver remnant regeneration but is a technically demanding procedure. Our department is a reference center for ALF and an early adopter of AOLT.
Background: Scintigraphy with a 99m TC-trimethyl-Br-IDA tracer (TBIDA) is used to monitor liver function regeneration after auxiliary partial orthotopic liver transplantation (APOLT) for acute liver failure (ALF). As computed tomography (CT) is also regularly performed during patient follow-up, CT volumetry could be used as an alternative to monitor native liver recovery after APOLT for ALF.
Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of all patients who underwent APOLT (October 2006-July 2019).
The work aimed to study the induction of morphological alterations in M. galloprovincialis in the field and its suitability to be integrated into a sensitive, simple, and cost-effective cell-based multimarker approach for the detection of the stress status induced by pollution in coastal marine environments in view of ecotoxicological biomonitoring and assessment application. Cellular morphometric alterations was paralleled by the analysis of standardized biomarkers such as lysosomal membrane destabilization, and genotoxocity biomarkers such as micronuclei and binuclated cells frequencies were investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Acute liver failure (ALF) is characterized by hepatic encephalopathy (HE) often due to intracranial hypertension (ICH). The risk/benefit-balance of intraparenchymal pressure catheter monitoring is controversial during ALF.
Aims: Perform an evaluation of transcranial Doppler (TCD) use in patients with ALF listed for emergency liver transplantation.
Rice bran is a rather underutilized by-product of the rice industry that nowadays is far from being valorized. In this study, the lipidomic profile of bran of the Italian rice variety, Roma, has been evaluated through ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Crude lipid extracts were obtained from rice bran treated with different green solvents (1-butanol, ethanol and methyl tert-butyl ether/methanol mixture) in combination with an ultrasonic pre-treatment, and then compared with extracts obtained with standard solvents (chloroform/methanol mixture).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In the current setting of organ shortage, brain-dead liver donors with recent liver trauma (RLT) represent a potential pool of donors. Yet, data on feasibility and safety of liver transplantation (LT) using grafts with RLT are lacking.
Methods: All liver grafts from brain-dead donors with RLT proposed for LT between 2010 and 2018 were identified from the nationwide CRISTAL registry of the Biomedicine Agency.
Recent technological innovations in the field of mass spectrometry have supported the use of metabolomics analysis for precision medicine. This growth has been allowed also by the application of algorithms to data analysis, including multivariate and machine learning methods, which are fundamental to managing large number of variables and samples. In the present review, we reported and discussed the application of artificial intelligence (AI) strategies for metabolomics data analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFour carbon materials, spent coffee-ground biochar, carbon black, short CNTs, and nitrogen-doped few-layer graphene (N-graphene) were tested for their functionalization with a commercial carboxylesterase. Their robustness to variations in time and key physicochemical parameters (temperature and pH) was analysed. In general, carbon nanomaterials showed better performance than biochar, both in terms of binding capacity and resilience in harsh conditions, at statistically significant levels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs the production of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is becoming more prevalent, it is becoming increasingly necessary to understand the toxicological effects they can have on different ecosystems. In the marine bioindicator species M. galloprovincialis Lam we predicted toxicity and bioaccumulation of 5 nm alkane-coated and 50 nm uncoated silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) along with silver nitrate as a function of the actual dose level.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn liver transplantation (LT), graft aberrant hepatic arteries (aHAs) frequently require complex arterial reconstructions, potentially increasing the risk of post-operative complications. However, intrahepatic hilar arterial shunts are physiologically present and may allow selective aHA ligation. Thus, we performed a retrospective study from a single-center cohort of 618 deceased donor LTs where a selective reconstruction policy of aHAs was prospectively applied.
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