The influence of vitality forms on action perception and motor response.

During the interaction with others, action, speech, and touches can communicate positive, neutral, or negative attitudes. Offering an apple can be gentle or rude, a caress can be kind or rushed. These subtle aspects of social communication have been named vitality forms by Daniel Stern.

Strategy preference in complex dynamical tasks: preliminary results.

Many complex activities of daily living are characterized by instabilities. From a motor control point of view, there are two alternative stabilization mechanisms that require to integrate multi-joint coordination aspects: stiffness and positional stabilization strategies. The aim of this work is to understand how the central nervous system can switch between the two control paradigms, depending on the dynamic properties of the environment.

From Genesis to Revelation: The Role of Inflammatory Mediators in Chronic Respiratory Diseases and their Control by Nucleic Acid-based Drugs.

Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, are among the most common chronic diseases and their prevalence is increasing. Each of these diseases is characterized by the secretion of cytokines and pro-inflammatory molecules which are thought to play a critical role in their pathogenesis. Moreover, immune cells, particularly neutrophils, macrophages and dendritic cells as well structural cells such as epithelial and airway smooth muscle cells are also involved in the pathogenic cycle of these diseases.

Realization of polyaspartamide-based nanoparticles and in vivo lung biodistribution evaluation of a loaded glucocorticoid after aerosolization in mice.

In this study, novel polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) were developed and their potential as carriers for beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) into the lung after aerosolization was demonstrated by in vivo studies in mice. In particular, these NPs were obtained starting from two polyaspartamide-based copolymers which were synthesized by chemical reaction of α,β-poly(N-2-hydroxyethyl)-dl-aspartamide (PHEA) and its pegylated derivative (PHEA-PEG2000) with poly(lactic acid) (PLA). To obtain nanosized particles, the high pressure homogenization (HPH)-solvent evaporation method was followed by using an organic phase containing both PHEA-PLA and PHEA-PEG2000-PLA (at a weight ratio equal to 1:1), lactose as cryoprotectant and no surfactant was adopted.

Adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal (stem) cells differentiate to osteoblast and chondroblast lineages upon incubation with conditioned media from dental pulp stem cell-derived osteoblasts and auricle cartilage chondrocytes.

The potential of adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal (stem) cells (ADSCs) to differentiate into either osteoblasts or chondrocytes is controversial. In this study we investigated the multicapacity potential of ADSCs to differentiate towards adipocyte, osteoblast, and chondrocyte lineages when cells are seeded onto plastic in comparison with incubation with conditioned media (CM) obtained from differentiated cell types.ADSCs, obtained from liposuctions, were characterized for mesenchymal and hematopoietic markers by cytofluorimetry.