Magnesium vs. sodium alginate as precursors of calcium alginate: Mechanical differences and advantages in the development of functional neuronal networks.

Calcium alginate is one of the most widely employed matrices in regenerative medicine. A downside is its heterogeneity, due to the poorly controllable character of the gelation of sodium alginate (NaAlg), i.e.

Bioprinting Soft 3D Models of Hematopoiesis using Natural Silk Fibroin-Based Bioink Efficiently Supports Platelet Differentiation.

Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) continuously generate platelets throughout one's life. Inherited Platelet Disorders affect ≈ 3 million individuals worldwide and are characterized by defects in platelet formation or function. A critical challenge in the identification of these diseases lies in the absence of models that facilitate the study of hematopoiesis ex vivo.

Magnesium alginate as a low-viscosity (intramolecularly cross-linked) system for the sustained and neuroprotective release of magnesium.

The administration of Mg ions is advantageous in pathological scenarios such as pre-enclampsia and forms of neuroinflammation (e.g. stroke or injury); yet, few systems exist for their sustained delivery.

Tailoring of silica-based nanoporous pod by spermidine multi-activity.

Ubiquitous in nature, polyamines (PAs) are a class of low-molecular aliphatic amines critically involved in cell growth, survival and differentiation. The polycation behavior is validated as a successful strategy in delivery systems to enhance oligonucleotide loading and cellular uptake. In this study, the chemical features and the functional roles of the PA spermidine are synergistically exploited in the synthesis and bioactive functionalization of SiO-based structures.

Reply to the Letter of Terracini B. et al. "Comment on Piscitelli et al. Hospitalizations in Pediatric and Adult Patients for All Cancer Type in Italy: The EPIKIT Study under the E.U. COHEIRS Project on Environment and Health". Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 495.

A letter to the IJERPH Editor was submitted by Terracini B. et al. as a comment to our latest paper "Hospitalizations in Pediatric and Adult Patients for all Cancer Type in Italy:[.

Hospitalizations in Pediatric and Adult Patients for All Cancer Type in Italy: The EPIKIT Study under the E.U. COHEIRS Project on Environment and Health.

: Cancer Registries (CRs) remain the gold standard for providing official epidemiological estimations. However, due to CRs' partial population coverage, hospitalization records might represent a valuable tool to provide additional information on cancer occurrence and expenditures at national/regional level for research purposes. The Epidemiology of Cancer in Italy (EPIKIT) study group has been built up, within the framework of the Civic Observers for Health and Environment: Initiative of Responsibility and Sustainability (COHEIRS) project under the auspices of the Europe for Citizens Program, to assess population health indicators.

Melanoma in the Italian Population and Regional Environmental Influences: A National Retrospective Survey on 2001-2008 Hospitalization Records.

Objective: To assess the burden of regional environmental factors influencing the incidence of Melanoma in the Italian population and overcome the problem of partial population coverage by local cancer registries and thematic archives.

Methods: We analyzed the Italian national hospitalization records from 2001 to 2008 provided by the Ministry of Health, excluding hospital re-admissions of the same patients, in order to assess the occurrence of Melanoma over a 8-year period. Data were presented by age groups (absolute number of cases from 20 to ≥80 years old) and per Region (rates per 100,000 inhabitants) for each year.

Illegal Dumping of Toxic Waste and Its Effect on Human Health in Campania, Italy.

The region of Campania (particularly Naples and Caserta) has experienced an emergency in the waste management cycle during past years. Although the most critical phase has been overcome after the construction of the incineration plant in Acerra (an old-fashioned technology built up over a few months, whose impact on environment and health has not yet been assessed), most of the underlying problems have not been resolved. The illegal burning of wheels, plastics, textiles, and other industrial residuals, along with the detection of two thousand toxic substance dumping sites, still represents major concerns of environmental pollution and population health.