Three-dimensional Morphometric Analysis of the Effectiveness of Kinesio Taping on Postoperative Discomfort Following Mandibular Third Molar Surgery: A Prospective Randomized Split-mouth Study.

This study investigates the efficacy of Kinesio taping (KT) in reducing postoperative discomfort, including edema, trismus, and pain, following mandibular third molar extraction. A prospective randomized split-mouth design was employed, involving 7 patients with impacted mandibular third molars. KT was applied immediately postsurgery, and outcomes were assessed on the third and seventh postoperative days using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain, 3D morphometric analysis for swelling, and caliper measurements for trismus.

Photocrosslinkable starch cinnamyl ethers as bioinspired bio-based polymers.

A novel starch-based ether bearing cinnamyl functionalities, conferring photo-crosslinking properties, is synthesised by reaction with cinnamyl chloride in the presence of sodium hydroxide. Natural yuca was selected as a sustainable source of starch. Three different molar equivalents of reagents are used, affording starch-cinnamyl ethers with different degrees of substitution, ranging from 0.

Base-excision repair pathway shapes 5-methylcytosine deamination signatures in pan-cancer genomes.

Transition of cytosine to thymine in CpG dinucleotides is the most frequent type of mutation in cancer. This increased mutability is commonly attributed to the spontaneous deamination of 5-methylcytosine (5mC), which is normally repaired by the base-excision repair (BER) pathway. However, the contribution of 5mC deamination in the increasing diversity of cancer mutational signatures remains poorly explored.

A new approach to assess post-mortem interval: A machine learning-assisted label-free ATR-FTIR analysis of human vitreous humor.

A crucial issue in forensics is determining the post-mortem interval (PMI), the time between death and the finding of a body. Despite various methods already employed for its estimation, only approximate values are currently achievable. Vitreous humor (VH) is an avascular tissue between the lens and the retina, mainly composed by a collagen fibers network, hyaluronic acid, and hyalocytes.

Concomitant Popliteomeniscal Fascicles Tears Are Found in 21% of Professional Soccer Players With Acute Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries.

Purpose: To investigate the incidence of popliteomeniscal fascicles (PMF) tears in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture in professional soccer players, to describe arthroscopic and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and treatment of these lesions with clinical outcomes, and to evaluate the incidence of subsequent lateral meniscus tears and ACL reinjury.

Methods: ACL reconstructions on soccer players were retrospectively analyzed, and among them, a cohort of patients with PMFs tears was reviewed. The cohort was assessed with MRI examination, arthrometric testing, Lysholm score, and International Knee Documentation Committee score.

Preoperative Embolization in the Management of Giant Thoracic Tumors: A Case Series.

: The aim of this paper is to describe our experience in the embolization of hypervascular giant thoracic tumors before surgical excision. : A single-center retrospective review of five trans-arterial preoperative embolization procedures executed between October 2020 and July 2024. Patients' demographics, anatomical aspects, feasibility, technique, and outcomes were reviewed.

A Clinico-Genetic Score Incorporating Disease-Free Intervals and Chromosome 8q Copy Numbers: A Novel Prognostic Marker for Recurrence and Survival Following Liver Resection in Patients with Liver Metastases of Uveal Melanoma.

Surgical treatment of liver metastases of uveal melanoma (LMUM) could be proposed for selected patients. This retrospective study examined the prognostic significance of the genetic profiles of liver metastases after LMUM resection. A total of 86 patients treated with resection for LMUM, who underwent genetic analysis of liver metastasis, were included.

Prospective assessment of circulating tumor DNA in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma treated with tebentafusp.

Tebentafusp, a bispecific immune therapy, is the only drug that demonstrated an overall survival benefit in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma (MUM). Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has emerged as a potential prognostic and predictive marker in the phase 3 IMCgp100-202 trial using multiplex PCR-based next-generation sequencing (NGS). In this study (NCT02866149), ctDNA dynamics were assessed using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) in 69 MUM patients undergoing tebentafusp treatment.

Singlet Oxygen Photocatalytic Generation by Silanized TiO Nanoparticles.

A commercial TiO sample, used as received or hydrothermally treated to increase surface hydroxylation, has been functionalized by surface modification with hexadecyltrimethoxysilane. The anchoring of the silane has been characterized by means of FTIR and solid-state NMR spectroscopies, and the grafting density was determined by thermogravimetric and N physisorption analyses. The silane moieties induce a partial decrease of the shielding of the valence electrons of the Ti ions at the surface, and a local modification of their crystal field, as demonstrated by XPS and UV/Vis spectroscopy, respectively.

Critical analysis of anatomy and classification of retromolar canal: an observational CBCT study.

Background: The retromolar canal (RMC) is an anatomical structure of the mandibular bone located distal to the last molar. The frequency of anatomical variation in human anatomy is approximately 30-35%. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of the retromolar canal in a population subjected to cone beam computed tomography (CBCT).

Improvement in diagnostic-therapeutic care pathways for women with migraine: an Italian Delphi panel.

Background: Migraine is a highly underestimated and burdensome disease. Real-world studies evidence that migraine is more frequent and severe in women than men. However, to this day, no diagnostic-therapeutic pathways exist to satisfy the specific needs of female patients.

Guanosine hydrogels in focus: A comprehensive analysis through mid-infrared spectroscopy.

Guanosine nucleosides and nucleotides have the peculiar ability to self-assemble in water to form supramolecular complex architectures from G-quartets to G-quadruplexes. G-quadruplexes exhibit in turn a large liquid crystalline lyotropic polymorphism, but they eventually cross-link or entangle to form a densely connected 3D network (a molecular hydrogel), able to entrap very large amount of water (up to the 99% v/v). This high water content of the hydrogels enables tunable softness, deformability, self-healing, and quasi-liquid properties, making them ideal candidates for different biotechnological and biomedical applications.

Dimeric and monomeric conformation of SARS-CoV-2 main protease: New technical approaches based on IR radiation.

The main proteases M are a group of highly conserved cysteine hydrolases in β-coronaviruses. They have been demonstrated to play an unavoidable role in viral replication, and consequently they have been suggested as key targets for treating coronavirus-caused infectious diseases, mainly from the COVID-19 epidemic. Since the most functional form for M enzymatic activity is associated to its homodimer, compounds inhibiting dimerization should also inhibit catalytic activity.

Insights from an Italian Delphi panel: exploring resistance to first-generation somatostatin receptor ligands and guiding second-line medical therapies in acromegaly management.

Purpose: First-line medical therapy for acromegaly management includes first-generation somatostatin receptor ligands (fgSRLs), but resistance limits their use. Despite international guidelines, the choice of second-line therapy is debated.

Methods: We aim to discuss resistance to fgSRLs, identify second-line therapy determinants and assess glycemia's impact to provide valuable insights for acromegaly management in clinical practice.

Prognostic impact of positive microscopic margins (R1 resection) in patients with GIST (gastrointestinal stromal tumours): Results of a multicenter European study.

Background: Although several prognostic factors in GIST have been well studied such as tumour size, mitotic rate, or localization, the influence of microscopic margins or R1 resection remains controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of R1 resection on the prognosis of GIST in a large multicentre retrospective series of patients.

Methods: From 2001 to 2013, 1413 patients who underwent surgery for any site of GIST were identified from 61 European centers.

The management of patients with inflammatory bowel disease-associated spondyloarthritis: Italian Group for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IG-IBD) and Italian Society of Rheumatology (SIR) recommendations based on a pseudo-Delphi consensus.

Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is the most frequent extraintestinal manifestation in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). When IBD and spondyloarthritis coexist, musculoskeletal and intestinal disease features should be considered when planning a therapeutic strategy. Treatment options for IBD and SpA have expanded enormously over the last few years, but randomized controlled trials with specific endpoints focused on SpA are not available in the IBD setting.

Challenges to integrating programs for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B into antenatal care: Experiences from Indonesia.

The WHO's Asia-Pacific framework for triple elimination recommends that countries evaluate their programs for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B (EMTCT), including identifying gaps to improve program planning and the implementation of elimination strategies in antenatal care (ANC) services. In 2022, the Indonesian Ministry of Health reported that only 39% of pregnant women were tested for HIV, 14% for syphilis, and 28% for hepatitis B, respectively. We conducted a qualitative study involving a focus group discussion (FGD) and in-depth interviews with 25 key stakeholders in Bali and West Nusa Tenggara Provinces to identify specific challenges to testing for HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B in ANC settings.

Temocillin for febrile urinary tract infections caused by ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae in children: a monocentric exposed/non-exposed study.

Objectives: To compare the efficacy of temocillin with standard of care (SOC) for treatment of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) febrile urinary tract infection (ESBL-E FUTI) in children.

Methods: A monocentric retrospective study of children hospitalized with confirmed ESBL-E FUTI from January 2015 to May 2022 was conducted, comparing clinical cure and a 3 month relapse between two groups of patients: 'exposed' patients (EP) and 'non-exposed' patients (NEP) to temocillin. EP received temocillin for at least 3 days.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts actively compress cancer cells and modulate mechanotransduction.

During tumor progression, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) accumulate in tumors and produce an excessive extracellular matrix (ECM), forming a capsule that enwraps cancer cells. This capsule acts as a barrier that restricts tumor growth leading to the buildup of intratumoral pressure. Combining genetic and physical manipulations in vivo with microfabrication and force measurements in vitro, we found that the CAFs capsule is not a passive barrier but instead actively compresses cancer cells using actomyosin contractility.