Translational label-free nonlinear imaging biomarkers to classify the human corneal microstructure.

Diseases that affect the cornea can lead to severe vision loss and have tremendous social impact. These diseases are associated to deviations from normal structural order and orientation of collagen fibril bundles. Unfortunately, resolving non-invasively the corneal collagen structure is not possible to date.

The efficacy of plantar stimulation on human balance control.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the body sway using firm, foam, and firm textured surfaces on 17 young adults.

Method: Displacement of center of pressure (CoP), anteroposterior velocity (VA/P), and mediolateral velocity (VM/L) were measured.

Data: The data showed a significant decrease of CoP, VA/P, and VM/L between support surfaces and vision.

D-Glucose-Derived 1,2,4-Trioxepanes: Synthesis, Conformational Study, and Antimalarial Activity.

New enantiomerically pure 1,2,4-trioxepanes 10a,b/11a,b were synthesized from D-glucose. Their conformational behavior was studied by low-temperature NMR and substantiated by DFT calculations. On evaluation of in vitro antimalarial activity, the adamantyl derivative 11b showed IC50 values in the low micromolar range, particularly against the W2 chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum strain (IC50 = 0.

Serum- and Glucocorticoid-Inducible Kinase 1 Delay the Onset of Endothelial Senescence by Directly Interacting with Human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase.

Endothelial senescence is characteristic of vascular aging. Serum- and glucocorticoid-inducible kinase (SGK)1 belongs to a family of serine/threonine kinases regulated by various external stimuli. SGK1 has been shown to be protective against reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and to be involved in processes regulating aging.

Exercise stress echocardiography with tissue Doppler imaging in risk stratification of mild to moderate aortic stenosis.

Background: Patients with mild to moderate aortic stenosis (AS) seem to have a worse outcome than commonly expected. Early identification of subjects who may develop a rapid disease progression or cardiovascular events is critical in order to apply adequate risk management.

Study Design: Observational prospective single-centre study.

Dual Targeting of Protein Degradation Pathways with the Selective HDAC6 Inhibitor ACY-1215 and Bortezomib Is Synergistic in Lymphoma.

Purpose: Pan-class histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors are effective treatments for select lymphomas. Isoform-selective HDAC inhibitors are emerging as potentially more targeted agents. HDAC6 is a class IIb deacetylase that facilitates misfolded protein transport to the aggresome for degradation.

HIGH-RESOLUTION MULTIMODAL IMAGING AFTER IDIOPATHIC EPIRETINAL MEMBRANE SURGERY.

Purpose: To investigate the changes of the vitreomacular interface during a 1-year follow-up after idiopathic epiretinal membrane (iERM) surgery.

Methods: Six patients affected by fovea-attached iERM were recruited in this pilot study. Pars plana vitrectomy associated with epiretinal membrane peeling was performed uneventfully in all cases.

Multiscale Investigation of the Depth-Dependent Mechanical Anisotropy of the Human Corneal Stroma.

Purpose: To investigate the depth-dependent mechanical anisotropy of the human corneal stroma at the tissue (stroma) and molecular (collagen) level by using atomic force microscopy (AFM).

Methods: Eleven human donor corneas were dissected at different stromal depths by using a microkeratome. Mechanical measurements were performed in 15% dextran on the surface of the exposed stroma of each sample by using a custom-built AFM in force spectroscopy mode using both microspherical (38-μm diameter) and nanoconical (10-nm radius of curvature) indenters at 2-μm/s and 15-μm/s indentation rates.

Highly stereoselective [4+2] and [3+2] spiroannulations of 2-(2-oxoindolin-3-ylidene)acetic esters catalyzed by bifunctional thioureas.

A new Michael-Michael cascade reaction between 2-(2-oxoindolin-3-ylidene)acetic esters 1 and nitroenoates 2, catalyzed by bifunctional thioureas, is investigated. The combination of the two Michael reactions results in a novel and facile [4+2] or [3+2] spiroannulation process, which is characterized by the following features: 1) two carbon-carbon bonds and four stereocenters, including a quaternary spiro carbon, are formed under mild conditions; 2) an unprecedented and stereochemically defined substitution pattern on the spirocarbocyclic unit is obtained; 3) the double-bond configuration of the donor-acceptor nitroenoate 2 determines the absolute configuration of the spiro center, whereas the remaining stereocenters are formed under control of the catalyst. The effect on the final stereochemical outcome of structural variations of each starting material, catalyst, and experimental conditions is analyzed in detail.

Atypical Role for PhoU in Mutagenic Break Repair under Stress in Escherichia coli.

Mechanisms of mutagenesis activated by stress responses drive pathogen/host adaptation, antibiotic and anti-fungal-drug resistance, and perhaps much of evolution generally. In Escherichia coli, repair of double-strand breaks (DSBs) by homologous recombination is high fidelity in unstressed cells, but switches to a mutagenic mode using error-prone DNA polymerases when the both the SOS and general (σS) stress responses are activated. Additionally, the σE response promotes spontaneous DNA breakage that leads to mutagenic break repair (MBR).

Multimodal Approach to Monitoring and Investigating Cone Structure and Function in an Inherited Macular Dystrophy.

Purpose: To examine a female subject, her father, and a brother harboring a missense mutation of the retinitis pigmentosa 1-like 1 (RP1L1) gene, over 2 years of follow-up.

Design: Observational case series.

Methods: setting: Fondazione G.

Sono-photoacoustic imaging of gold nanoemulsions: Part II. Real time imaging.

Photoacoustic (PA) imaging using exogenous agents can be limited by degraded specificity due to strong background signals. This paper introduces a technique called sono-photoacoustics (SPA) applied to perfluorohexane nanodroplets coated with gold nanospheres. Pulsed laser and ultrasound (US) excitations are applied simultaneously to the contrast agent to induce a phase-transition ultimately creating a transient microbubble.

Sono-photoacoustic imaging of gold nanoemulsions: Part I. Exposure thresholds.

Integrating high contrast bubbles from ultrasound imaging with plasmonic absorbers from photoacoustic imaging is investigated. Nanoemulsion beads coated with gold nanopsheres (NEB-GNS) are excited with simultaneous light (transient heat at the GNS's) and ultrasound (rarefactional pressure) resulting in a phase transition achievable under different scenarios, enhancing laser-induced acoustic signals and enabling specific detection of nanoprobes at lower concentration. An automated platform allowed dual parameter scans of both pressure and laser fluence while recording broadband acoustic signals.

Psychological and practical difficulties among parents and healthy siblings of children with Duchenne vs. Becker muscular dystrophy: an Italian comparative study.

This study explored the burden in parents and healthy siblings of 4-17 year-old patients with Duchenne (DMD) and Becker (BMD) muscular dystrophies, and whether the burden varied according to clinical aspects and social resources. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, patient's clinical history, parent and healthy children burden, and on parent's social resources were collected using self-reported questionnaires administered to 336 parents of patients with DMD (246) and BMD (90). Parents of patients with DMD reported higher burden than those of patients with BMD, especially concerning feeling of loss (84.

Measuring propargyl-linked drug populations inside bacterial cells, and their interaction with a dihydrofolate reductase target, by Raman microscopy.

We report the first Raman spectroscopic study of propargyl-linked dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) inhibitors being taken up by wild type Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus cells. A novel protocol is developed where cells are exposed to the fermentation medium containing a known amount of an inhibitor. At a chosen time point, the cells are centrifuged and washed to remove the extracellular compound, then frozen and freeze-dried.

Different functional neural substrates for good and poor language outcome in autism.

Autism (ASD) is vastly heterogeneous, particularly in early language development. While ASD language trajectories in the first years of life are highly unstable, by early childhood these trajectories stabilize and are predictive of longer-term outcome. Early neural substrates that predict/precede such outcomes are largely unknown, but could have considerable translational and clinical impact.

Simple thiol-ene click chemistry modification of SBA-15 silica pores with carboxylic acids.

A straightforward approach for anchoring tailored carboxylic groups in mesoporous SiO2 colloidal materials is presented. The thiol-ene photochemical reaction between vinyltrimethoxysilane precursors and various thiocarboxylic acids which has, click chemistry features (i.e.

Understanding of the viscoelastic response of the human corneal stroma induced by riboflavin/UV-a cross-linking at the nano level.

Purpose: To investigate the viscoelastic changes of the human cornea induced by riboflavin/UV-A cross-linking using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) at the nano level.

Methods: Seven eye bank donor corneas were investigated, after gently removing the epithelium, using a commercial AFM in the force spectroscopy mode. Silicon cantilevers with tip radius of 10 nm and spring elastic constants between 26- and 86-N/m were used to probe the viscoelastic properties of the anterior stroma up to 3 µm indentation depth.

Unemotional on all counts: Evidence of reduced affective responses in individuals with high callous-unemotional traits across emotion systems and valences.

The current study aimed to identify atypical neurophysiological activity associated with deficient affective processing in individuals with high callous-unemotional traits (CU). Fifty-six participants (M age = 20.52; 46% male) divided in two groups, differentiated on levels of CU traits, were invited to participate in the experimental phase of the study.

Corneal light backscattering after transepithelial corneal crosslinking using iontophoresis in donor human corneal tissue.

Purpose: To analyze the spatial distribution and time course of corneal light backscattering before and after transepithelial corneal crosslinking using iontophoresis.

Setting: Fondazione G.B.

Prediction of autism by translation and immune/inflammation coexpressed genes in toddlers from pediatric community practices.

Importance: The identification of genomic signatures that aid early identification of individuals at risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the toddler period remains a major challenge because of the genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity of the disorder. Generally, ASD is not diagnosed before the fourth to fifth birthday.

Objective: To apply a functional genomic approach to identify a biologically relevant signature with promising performance in the diagnostic classification of infants and toddlers with ASD.

Oxytocin increases eye contact during a real-time, naturalistic social interaction in males with and without autism.

Autism spectrum conditions (autism) affect ~1% of the population and are characterized by deficits in social communication. Oxytocin has been widely reported to affect social-communicative function and its neural underpinnings. Here we report the first evidence that intranasal oxytocin administration improves a core problem that individuals with autism have in using eye contact appropriately in real-world social settings.

Clusters and inverse emulsions from nanoparticle surfactants in organic solvents.

A method is presented for the synthesis of self-assembling nanoparticle surfactants in nonpolar organic solvents. The method relies on the control of long-range steric repulsion imparted by grafted polystyrene and short-range attraction from short-chain thiol molecules with an alcohol or carboxylic functionality. Similar to water-based nanoparticle surfactants, these oil-dispersed materials are found to cluster in dispersion and also to stabilize oil-water interfaces to form water-in-oil emulsions.

Organically modified silica nanoparticles doped with new acridine-1,2-dioxetane analogues as thermochemiluminescence reagentless labels for ultrasensitive immunoassays.

Doped organically modified silica nanoparticles (ORMOSIL NPs) with luminescent molecules represent a potent approach to signal amplification in biomolecule labeling. Herein, we report the synthesis of new ORMOSIL NPs incorporating thermochemiluminescent (TCL) 1,2-dioxetane derivatives to prepare TCL labels for ultrasensitive immunoassay, displaying a detectability comparable to those offered by other conventional luminescence-based systems. Amino-functionalized ORMOSIL NPs were synthesized for inclusion of acridine-containing 1,2-dioxetane derivatives with a fluorescence energy acceptor.

Interaction of ultraviolet light with the cornea: clinical implications for corneal crosslinking.

Unlabelled: Understanding ultraviolet (UV) interaction with the human corneal tissue is of interest among corneal specialists given the widespread application of corneal crosslinking. This article reviews the current knowledge of light interaction with the cornea in the UV wavelength range. It also uses a novel experimental study to illustrate the role of 2 important corneal properties that have not yet been clarified: the epithelial contribution to overall UVA corneal absorbance and the regional anisotropy of UVA light transmittance.