Unveiling the Potential of Extracellular Vesicles as Biomarkers and Therapeutic Nanotools for Gastrointestinal Diseases.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), acting as inherent nanocarriers adept at transporting a range of different biological molecules such as proteins, lipids, and genetic material, exhibit diverse functions within the gastroenteric tract. In states of normal health, they participate in the upkeep of systemic and organ homeostasis. Conversely, in pathological conditions, they significantly contribute to the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal diseases (GIDs).

Targeting the Gut: A Systematic Review of Specific Drug Nanocarriers.

The intestine is essential for the modulation of nutrient absorption and the removal of waste. Gut pathologies, such as cancer, inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and celiac disease, which extensively impact gut functions, are thus critical for human health. Targeted drug delivery is essential to tackle these diseases, improve therapy efficacy, and minimize side effects.

Multi-disciplinary Insights from the First European Forum on Visceral Myopathy 2022 Meeting.

Visceral myopathy is a rare, life-threatening disease linked to identified genetic mutations in 60% of cases. Mostly due to the dearth of knowledge regarding its pathogenesis, effective treatments are lacking. The disease is most commonly diagnosed in children with recurrent or persistent disabling episodes of functional intestinal obstruction, which can be life threatening, often requiring long-term parenteral or specialized enteral nutritional support.

Uncovering factors influencing railway passenger experiences through love and breakup declarations.

While existing approaches for assessing passenger experience are often limited to surveys of customer satisfaction, societal and technological challenges push the railway industry to adopt a user-centric approach to the design of their service. We used the love and breakup method in a study involving N = 53 passengers making a declaration to their railway company to collect qualitative feedback on the passenger experience. The method allowed to gather personal, emotional, and contextual insights into passengers' experiences that can inform the transportation service design process.

The Impact of Experimental Conditions on Cell Mechanics as Measured with Nanoindentation.

The evaluation of cell elasticity is becoming increasingly significant, since it is now known that it impacts physiological mechanisms, such as stem cell differentiation and embryogenesis, as well as pathological processes, such as cancer invasiveness and endothelial senescence. However, the results of single-cell mechanical measurements vary considerably, not only due to systematic instrumental errors but also due to the dynamic and non-homogenous nature of the sample. In this work, relying on Chiaro nanoindenter (Optics11Life), we characterized in depth the nanoindentation experimental procedure, in order to highlight whether and how experimental conditions could affect measurements of living cell stiffness.