Deep and dynamic metabolic and structural imaging in living tissues.

Label-free imaging through two-photon autofluorescence of NAD(P)H allows for nondestructive, high-resolution visualization of cellular activities in living systems. However, its application to thick tissues has been restricted by its limited penetration depth within 300 μm, largely due to light scattering. Here, we demonstrate that the imaging depth for NAD(P)H can be extended to more than 700 μm in living engineered human multicellular microtissues by adopting multimode fiber-based, low repetition rate, high peak power, three-photon excitation of NAD(P)H at 1100 nm.

Reducing phantom limb pain using phantom motor execution enabled by augmented and virtual reality: participants' perspectives on an innovative treatment.

Purpose: Phantom limb pain (PLP) is a condition that greatly diminishes quality of life. Phantom motor execution (PME), enabled by myoelectric pattern recognition combined with virtual and augmented reality, is a novel treatment for PLP. Here we, aimed to describe patients' experiences of this treatment.

Extended reality used in the treatment of phantom limb pain: a multicenter, double-blind, randomized controlled trial.

Phantom limb pain (PLP) represents a significant challenge after amputation. This study investigated the use of phantom motor execution (PME) and phantom motor imagery (PMI) facilitated by extended reality (XR) for the treatment of PLP. Both treatments used XR, but PME involved overt execution of phantom movements, relying on the decoding of motor intent using machine learning to enable real-time control in XR.

Spectral-temporal-spatial customization via modulating multimodal nonlinear pulse propagation.

Multimode fibers (MMFs) are gaining renewed interest for nonlinear effects due to their high-dimensional spatiotemporal nonlinear dynamics and scalability for high power. High-brightness MMF sources with effective control of the nonlinear processes would offer possibilities in many areas from high-power fiber lasers, to bioimaging and chemical sensing, and to intriguing physics phenomena. Here we present a simple yet effective way of controlling nonlinear effects at high peak power levels.

Interplay Between Innovation and Intersubjectivity: Therapists Perceptions of Phantom Motor Execution Therapy and Its Effect on Phantom Limb Pain.

Purpose: Interpersonal processes, including therapeutic alliance, may modulate the impact of interventions on pain experience. However, the role of interpersonal context on the effects of technology-enhanced interventions remains underexplored. This study elicited therapists' perspectives on how a novel rehabilitative process, involving Phantom Motor Execution (PME), may impact phantom limb pain.

A multi-dimensional framework for prosthetic embodiment: a perspective for translational research.

The concept of embodiment has gained widespread popularity within prosthetics research. Embodiment has been claimed to be an indicator of the efficacy of sensory feedback and control strategies. Moreover, it has even been claimed to be necessary for prosthesis acceptance, albeit unfoundedly.

Near-Infrared Transflectance Spectroscopy Discriminates Solutions Containing Two Commercial Formulations of Botulinum Toxin Type A Diluted at Recommended Volumes for Clinical Reconstitution.

Botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT-A) is the active substance in pharmaceutical preparations widely used worldwide for the highly effective treatment of various disorders. Among the three commercial formulations of BoNT-A currently available in Italy for neurological indications, abobotulinum A toxin (Dysport, Ipsen SpA, Milano, Italy) and incobotulinum A toxin (Xeomin, Merz Pharma Italia srl, Milano, Italy) differ in the content of neurotoxin, non-toxic protein, and excipients. Clinical applications of BoNT-A adopt extremely diluted solutions (10 mg/mL) for injection in the target body district.

Prosthetic embodiment: systematic review on definitions, measures, and experimental paradigms.

The term embodiment has become omnipresent within prosthetics research and is often used as a metric of the progress made in prosthetic technologies, as well as a hallmark for user acceptance. However, despite the frequent use of the term, the concept of prosthetic embodiment is often left undefined or described incongruently, sometimes even within the same article. This terminological ambiguity complicates the comparison of studies using embodiment as a metric of success, which in turn hinders the advancement of prosthetics research.

Statistical analysis plan for an international, double-blind, randomized controlled clinical trial on the use of phantom motor execution as a treatment for phantom limb pain.

Background: Phantom limb pain (PLP) is a detrimental condition that can greatly diminish the quality of life. Purposeful control over the phantom limb activates the affected neural circuitry and leads to dissolution of the pathological relationship linking sensorimotor and pain processing (which gives rise to PLP). An international, double-blind, randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT) on the use of phantom motor execution (PME) as a treatment for PLP is currently undertaken, where PME is compared to an active placebo treatment, namely phantom motor imagery (PMI).

Common Spatial Pattern EEG decomposition for Phantom Limb Pain detection.

Phantom Limb Pain (PLP) is a chronic condition frequent among individuals with acquired amputation. PLP has been often investigated with the use of functional MRI focusing on the changes that take place in the sensorimotor cortex after amputation. In the present study, we investigated whether a different type of data, namely electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings, can be used to study the condition.

Pharmacokinetic properties of a novel formulation of S-adenosyl-L-methionine phytate.

S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM), the main endogenous methyl donor, is the adenosyl derivative of the amino acid methionine, which displays many important roles in cellular metabolism. It is widely used as a food supplement and in some countries is also marketed as a drug. Its interesting nutraceutical and pharmacological properties prompted us to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of a new form of SAM, the phytate salt.

Out of the Clinic, into the Home: The in-Home Use of Phantom Motor Execution Aided by Machine Learning and Augmented Reality for the Treatment of Phantom Limb Pain.

Purpose: Phantom motor execution (PME) facilitated by augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) and serious gaming (SG) has been proposed as a treatment for phantom limb pain (PLP). Evidence of the efficacy of this approach was obtained through a clinical trial involving individuals with chronic intractable PLP affecting the upper limb, and further evidence is currently being sought with a multi-sited, international, double blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial in upper and lower limb amputees. All experiments have been conducted in a clinical setting supervised by a therapist.

Seamless Integrated Textrode-Band for Real-time Lower Limb Movements Classification to Facilitate Self-Administrated Phantom Limb Pain Treatment.

Phantom Motor Execution (PME) is a mechanism-based approach for the treatment of Phantom Limb Pain (PLP), which could potentially be self-administered in the home environment. However, the placement of electrodes aimed to acquire myoelectric signals from the residual stump muscles can be regarded as a difficult and time-consuming process by the patient. Thus, to increase patient compliance, the process must be made easier, faster, and cost effective.

Differential Activation of Biceps Brachii Muscle Compartments for Human-Machine Interfacing.

A central challenge for myoelectric limb prostheses resides in the fact that, as the level of amputation becomes more proximal, the number of functions to be replaced increases, while the number of muscles available to collect input signals for control decreases. Differential activation of compartments from a single muscle could provide additional control sites. However, such feat is not naturally under voluntary control.

Phantom motor execution as a treatment for phantom limb pain: protocol of an international, double-blind, randomised controlled clinical trial.

Introduction: Phantom limb pain (PLP) is a chronic condition that can greatly diminish quality of life. Control over the phantom limb and exercise of such control have been hypothesised to reverse maladaptive brain changes correlated to PLP. Preliminary investigations have shown that decoding motor volition using myoelectric pattern recognition, while providing real-time feedback via virtual and augmented reality (VR-AR), facilitates phantom motor execution (PME) and reduces PLP.

An Alternative Myoelectric Pattern Recognition Approach for the Control of Hand Prostheses: A Case Study of Use in Daily Life by a Dysmelia Subject.

The functionality of upper limb prostheses can be improved by intuitive control strategies that use bioelectric signals measured at the stump level. One such strategy is the decoding of motor volition via myoelectric pattern recognition (MPR), which has shown promising results in controlled environments and more recently in clinical practice. Moreover, not much has been reported about daily life implementation and real-time accuracy of these decoding algorithms.

Real-time Classification of Non-Weight Bearing Lower-Limb Movements Using EMG to Facilitate Phantom Motor Execution: Engineering and Case Study Application on Phantom Limb Pain.

Phantom motor execution (PME), facilitated by myoelectric pattern recognition (MPR) and virtual reality (VR), is positioned to be a viable option to treat phantom limb pain (PLP). A recent clinical trial using PME on upper-limb amputees with chronic intractable PLP yielded promising results. However, further work in the area of signal acquisition is needed if such technology is to be used on subjects with lower-limb amputation.

Classification of non-weight bearing lower limb movements: towards a potential treatment for phantom limb pain based on myoelectric pattern recognition.

Research in myoelectric pattern recognition (MPR) for the prediction of motor volition has primarily focused on the upper limbs. Recent studies in the lower limbs have mainly concentrated on prosthetic control, while MPR for lower limb rehabilitation purposes has received little attention. In this work we investigated the viability of a MPR system for the prediction of four degrees of freedom controlled in a near natural or physiologically appropriate fashion.

Extra-virgin olive oil phenols block cell cycle progression and modulate chemotherapeutic toxicity in bladder cancer cells.

Epidemiological data indicate that the daily consumption of extra‑virgin olive oil (EVOO), a common dietary habit of the Mediterranean area, lowers the incidence of certain types of cancer, in particular bladder neoplasm. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antiproliferative activity of polyphenols extracted from EVOO on bladder cancer (BCa), and to clarify the biological mechanisms that trigger cell death. Furthermore, we also evaluated the ability of low doses of extra‑virgin olive oil extract (EVOOE) to modulate the in vitro activity of paclitaxel or mitomycin, two antineoplastic drugs used in the management of different types of cancer.

Evaluation of different extraction methods from pomegranate whole fruit or peels and the antioxidant and antiproliferative activity of the polyphenolic fraction.

Pomegranate is a functional food of great interest, due to its multiple beneficial effects on human health. This fruit is rich in anthocyanins and ellagitannins, which exert a protective role towards degenerative diseases. The aim of the present work was to optimize the extraction procedure, from different parts of the fruit, to obtain extracts enriched in selected polyphenols while retaining biological activity.

The 16, 18, and 45 HPV infection in high grade squamous cervical lesions in primary hr-HPV test screening program.

Infection with high-risk human papillomavirus (hr-HPV) 16, 18, and 45 causes 94% of cervical carcinoma. In the present screening center the authors perform the hr-HPV test followed by Pap test to women aged 35-64 years if they result hr-HPV+. The authors' aimed to provide data regarding the genotyping test and eventually to propose this test as alternative to triage cytology.

GMP-grade platelet lysate enhances proliferation and migration of tenon fibroblasts.

Tenon's fibroblasts (TFs), widely employed as in vitro model for many ophthalmological studies, are routinely cultured with FBS. Platelet Lysate (PL), a hemoderivate enriched with growth factors and cytokines has been largely tested in several clinical applications and as substitute of FBS in culture. Here, we investigate whether PL can exert biological effects on TF populations similarly to other cell types.

Primary HPV test screening in cervical cancer: a two-year experience of a single screening center in Latina (Italy).

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect and performance of the new algorithm in cervical cancer screening program in two years' experience of Latina (Italy). MATERIALS AND MTHODS: The female population was divided into two groups, the first group was referred to PAP test and the second one to hr-HPV test according to national guidelines.

Results: In two years the participation mean rate increased among women aged 35-64 compared to women aged 25-34.