Forensic taphonomy is the study of postmortem changes of human remains for the purpose of answering legal investigative questions. Many variables can affect the pattern and rate of decomposition of remains, posing challenges for taphonomic studies and estimation of the postmortem interval. Given the gap in knowledge regarding the suitability of using frozen remains to extrapolate conclusions to fresh material, investigating the effects of freeze-thaw cycles followed by burial on human remains is vital for forensic practice and taphonomic research.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLimited substrate availability because of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) has made the brain develop specific molecular mechanisms to survive, using lactate synthesized by astrocytes as a source of energy in neurons. To understand if lactate improves cellular viability and susceptibility to glutamate toxicity, primary cortical cells were incubated in glucose- or lactate-containing media and toxic concentrations of glutamate for 24 h. Cell death was determined by immunostaining and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanoparticle (NP) surface functionalization with proteins, including monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), mAb fragments, and various peptides, has emerged as a promising strategy to enhance tumor targeting specificity and immune cell interaction. However, these methods often rely on complex chemistry and suffer from batch-dependent outcomes, primarily due to limited control over the protein orientation and quantity on NP surfaces. To address these challenges, a novel approach based on the supramolecular assembly of two peptides is presented to create a heterotetramer displaying VHs on NP surfaces.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSubcutaneous (SC) administration of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) is a proven strategy for improving therapeutic outcomes and patient compliance. The current FDA-/EMA-approved enzymatic approach, utilizing recombinant human hyaluronidase (rHuPH20) to enhance mAbs SC delivery, involves degrading the extracellular matrix's hyaluronate to increase tissue permeability. However, this method lacks tunable release properties, requiring individual optimization for each mAb.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMethods Appl Fluoresc
November 2023
Detection and identification of body fluids are crucial aspects of forensic investigations, aiding in crime scene reconstructions and providing important leads. Although many methods have been developed for these purposes, no method is currently in use in the forensic field that allows rapid, non-contact detection and identification of vaginal fluids directly at the crime scene. The development of such technique is mainly challenged by the complex chemistry of the constituents, which can differ between donors and exhibits changes based on woman's menstrual cycle.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSevere inflammation via innate immune system activation causes organ dysfunction. Among these, the central nervous system (CNS) is particularly affected by encephalopathies. These symptoms are associated with the activation of microglia and a potential infiltration of leukocytes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGiven the prevalence of molecules containing nitro groups in organic synthesis, innovative methods to expand the reactivity of this functional group are of interest in both industrial and academic settings. In this report, a metal-free intramolecular benzylic sp C-H amination is disclosed using aryl nitro compounds as aryl nitrene precursors. Organosilicon reagent N,N'-bis(trimethylsilyl)-4,4'-bipyridinylidene (Si-DHBP) served as an efficient reductant in the transformation, enabling the in situ generation of aryl nitrene species for the direct, metal-free synthesis of unprotected 2-arylindolines from the corresponding nitroarene compounds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMain group systems capable of undergoing controlled redox events at extreme potentials are elusive yet highly desirable for a range of organic electronics applications including use as energy storage media. Herein we describe phosphine oxide-functionalized terthiophenes that exhibit two reversible 1e reductions at potentials below -2 V vs Fc/Fc (Fc=ferrocene) while retaining high degrees of stability. A phosphine oxide-functionalized terthiophene radical anion was synthesized in which the redox-responsive nature of the platform was established using combined structural, spectroscopic, and computational characterization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLaser metal deposited processed Ni-based superalloy IN718 is characterized by elemental micro-segregation, anisotropy, and Laves phases due to the rapid solidification and therefore needs homogenization heat treatment to achieve comparable properties of wrought alloys. In this article, we report a simulation-based methodology to design heat treatment IN718 in a laser metal deposition (LMD) process by using Thermo-calc. Initially, the finite element modeling simulates the laser melt pool to compute the solidification rate (G) and temperature gradient (R).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMaterials (Basel)
December 2022
Aluminum-magnesium-scandium-zirconium (AlMgScZr) alloys need to be rapidly cooled from the liquid state to obtain a high degree of solute supersaturation that helps to exploit the precipitation hardening potential of the material. While AlMgScZr alloys have been successfully used in laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) processes, there has been little research in the field of laser directed energy deposition (DED) of the material. The limited previous studies have shown that the performance of AlMgScZr parts fabricated with DED only reached about 60% of that of the parts fabricated with LPBF.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Progressive Familial Intrahepatic cholestasis type I (PFIC1) is a rare congenital hepatopathy causing cholestasis with progressive liver disease. Surgical interruption of the enterohepatic circulation, e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSpinal cord injuries involve a primary injury that can lead to permanent loss of function and a secondary injury associated with pathologic and inflammatory processes. Extracellular traps are extracellular structures expressed by immune cells that are primarily composed of chromatin, granular enzymes and histones. Extracellular traps are known to induce tissue damage when overexpressed and could be associated in the occurrence of secondary damage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Purpose: Vascular brain lesions, such as ischemic infarcts, are common among patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and are associated with impaired cognitive function. The role of physical activity (PA) in the prevalence of brain lesions and cognition in AF has not been investigated.
Methods: Patients from the multicenter Swiss-AF cohort study were included in this cross-sectional analysis.
Clin Physiol Funct Imaging
March 2023
Background: Both electrical stimulations (E-STIM) and blood flow restriction (BFR) have been shown to treat symptoms of exercise-induced muscle damage, but little is known about their combined effects which was the purpose of this study.
Methods: Individuals completed one set of eccentric elbow flexion exercises to induce muscle damage. Forty-eight hours later, E-STIM was applied using an interferential current administered to both arms for 20 min; however, only one arm completed the E-STIM protocol while also undergoing repeated bouts of BFR (full occlusion for 2 min separated by a 1-min rest intervals).
Postmenopausal bone loss often leads to osteoporosis and fragility fractures. Bone mass can be increased by the first 34 amino acids of human parathyroid hormone (PTH), parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP), or by a monoclonal antibody against sclerostin (Scl-Ab). Here, we show that PTH and Scl-Ab reduce the expression of microRNA-19a and microRNA-19b (miR-19a/b) in bone.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report the clinical case of AB, a right-handed 19-year-old woman who presents severe developmental topographical disorientation, a relatively rare syndrome, leading to difficulties in navigating in familiar (and novel) environments. This symptomatology appears without acquired cerebral damage (MRI described as normal) nor more global cognitive disability (high degree of education achieved). An extensive assessment of spatial cognition with different aspects of underlying cognitive processes is first presented.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBerg Huttenmannische Monatshefte
March 2022
The sufficient and responsible supply of mineral resources at fair market conditions is an essential basis for Austria's economic development. Although the geological availability of raw materials is relatively high, disruptions due to geopolitical, economic, or circumstances such as pandemics or natural disasters can lead to a shortage of mineral resources. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic relentlessly shows the vulnerability in a globalised world with complex dependencies and widely ramified value chains.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIEEE Robot Autom Lett
October 2020
Lio is a mobile robot platform with a multi-functional arm explicitly designed for human-robot interaction and personal care assistant tasks. The robot has already been deployed in several health care facilities, where it is functioning autonomously, assisting staff and patients on an everyday basis. Lio is intrinsically safe by having full coverage in soft artificial-leather material as well as collision detection, limited speed and forces.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: The preclinical evaluation of bone substitutes is frequently performed in artificially created defects. However, such defects do not reflect the predominant clinical application of bone substitutes for socket preservation. Hence, the goal of this animal study was to compare the performance of a xenogenic bone substitute in extraction sites versus artificial defects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [...
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZero- to two-dimensional nanomaterials have been incorporated into metal-matrices to improve the strength of metals, but challengingly, high-volume-fraction nanomaterials are difficult to disperse uniformly in metal matrices, severely degrading the ductility of conventionally processed metals. Here, a considerably dense uniform dispersion of formed nanoscale lamellar TiC reinforcement (16.1 wt %) in Ti matrix is achieved through laser-tailored 3D printing and complete reaction of Ti powder with a small amount (1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report on a novel impedance spectroscopy measurement and data analysis technique for cytotoxicity testing. The technique combines non-contact measurement with real-time impedance data analysis based on the toxin dose dependency of the outputs, making it suitable for high throughput screening. A multi-electrode array was designed and fabricated such that a standard well plate could be positioned above the electrodes, negating the requirement for bespoke culture wells with integrated electrodes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEpithelium attachment to the tooth or abutment surface is necessary to form a biological seal preventing pathogens and irritants from penetrating the body and reaching the underlying soft tissues and bone, which in turn can lead to inflammation and subsequent bone resorption. The present review investigated oral wound closure and the role of micro-environment, saliva, crevicular fluid and microbiota in wound healing. The importance of the junctional epithelium (peri-implant epithelium) attachment to the abutment surface was investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: This study investigated how different concentrations of doxorubicin (DOX) can affect the function of cardiac cells. This study also examined whether activation of prokineticin receptor (PKR)-1 by a nonpeptide agonist, IS20, prevents DOX-induced cardiovascular toxicity in mouse models.
Background: High prevalence of heart failure during and following cancer treatments remains a subject of intense research and therapeutic interest.