Publications by authors named "Parola S"

Water-soluble porphyrins have garnered significant attention due to their broad range of applications in biomedicine, catalysis, and material chemistry. In this work, water-soluble platinum(II) and palladium(II) complexes with porphyrins bearing ethyl phosphonate substituents, namely, Pt/Pd 10-(ethoxyhydroxyphosphoryl)-5,15-di(-carboxyphenyl)porphyrins (M3m, M = Pt(II), Pd(II)) and Pt/Pd 5,10-bis(ethoxyhydroxyphosphoryl)-10,20-diarylporphyrins (M1d-M3d; aryl = -tolyl (1), mesityl (2), -carboxyphenyl (3)), were synthesized by alkaline hydrolysis of the corresponding diethyl phosphonates M6m and M4d-M6d. NMR, UV-vis, and fluorescence spectroscopy revealed that the mono-phosphonates M3m tend to form aggregates in aqueous media, while the bis-phosphonates M3d exist predominantly as monomeric species across a wide range of concentrations (10-10 M), ionic strengths (0-0.

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Testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs), the most common malignancies affecting young men, are characterized by high sensitivity to cisplatin-based chemotherapy, which leads to high cure rates even in metastatic disease. However, approximately 30% of patients with metastatic TGCTs relapse after first-line treatment and those who can be defined as platinum-refractory patients face a very dismal prognosis with only limited chemotherapy-based treatment options and an overall survival of few months. Hence, to understand the mechanisms underlying cisplatin resistance is crucial for developing new treatment strategies.

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Self-assembly and characteristics of hybrid mesoporous silica film templates remain a subject of inquiry. The short time scale of the inorganic condensation and formation of micelles makes our understanding of this process insufficient. To provide an insight into the evaporation-induced self-assembly of such films, we synthesized an efficient molecular probe of the triethoxysilane precursor bearing a pyrene derivative.

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Abemaciclib demonstrated clinical benefit in women affected by HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer (aBC). Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) can lead to reduced treatment efficacy or increased toxicity. This retro-prospective study aimed to evaluate outcomes, DDIs' impact, and toxicities of abemaciclib combined with endocrine therapy in a real-world setting.

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Recent advances in visible light photocatalysis represent a significant stride towards sustainable catalytic chemistry. However, its successful implementation in fine chemical production remains challenging and requires careful optimization of available photocatalysts. Our work aims to structurally modify bioinspired porphyrin catalysts, addressing issues related to their laborious synthesis and low solubility, with the goal of increasing their efficiency and developing reusable catalytic systems.

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Crack formation observed across diverse fields like geology, nanotechnology, arts, structural engineering or surface science, is a chaotic and undesirable phenomenon, resulting in random patterns of cracks generally leading to material failure. Limiting the formation of cracks or "programming" the path of cracks is a great technological challenge since it holds promise to enhance material durability or even to develop low cost patterning methods. Drawing inspiration from negative phototropism in plants, we demonstrate the capability to organize, guide, replicate, or arrest crack propagation in colloidal films through remote light manipulation.

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X-Ray imaging techniques are among the most widely used modalities in medical imaging and their constant evolution has led to the emergence of new technologies. The new generation of computed tomography (CT) systems - spectral photonic counting CT (SPCCT) and X-ray luminescence optical imaging - are examples of such powerful techniques. With these new technologies the rising demand for new contrast agents has led to extensive research in the field of nanoparticles and the possibility to merge the modalities appears to be highly attractive.

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Heterostructured cadmium-based core-shell nanoparticles (NPs) are the subject of research because of not only fundamental scientific advances but also a range of technological applications. To increase the range of applications of nanoparticles, it is possible to immobilise them in sol-gel glass that can be easily manufactured and shaped, keeping the properties of the dispersed particles. This allows the creation of new bulk optical materials with tailored properties, opening up opportunities for various technological applications such as lighting or sensing.

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A quantum-classical protocol that incorporates Jahn-Teller vibronic coupling effects and cluster analysis of molecular dynamics simulations is reported, providing a tool for simulations of absorption spectra and ultrafast nonadiabatic dynamics in large molecular photosystems undergoing aggregation in solution. Employing zinc phthalocyanine dyes as target systems, we demonstrated that the proposed protocol provided fundamental information on vibronic, electronic couplings and thermal dynamical effects that mostly contribute to the absorption spectra lineshape and the fluorescence quenching processes upon dye aggregation. Decomposing the various effects arising upon dimer formation, the structure-property relations associated with their optical responses have been deciphered at atomistic resolution.

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While standard treatment has shown efficacy in patients with breast cancer gene () mutations, recurrence rates are high and additional effective therapies are needed. Olaparib, a poly adenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, approved for the treatment of metastatic germline / breast cancer (BC), has demonstrated evidence of a progression-free survival (PFS) benefit, good safety profile, and improved quality of life compared with standard chemotherapy. We here describe the case of a patient with mutated advanced BC and a long history of response to chemotherapy and immunotherapy who received systemic treatment with olaparib.

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Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) represent a novel and evolving class of antineoplastic agents, constituted by monoclonal antibody linked to biologically active drugs, delivering cytotoxic compounds at the tumor site, reducing the likelihood of systemic exposure and toxicity. They are generally well tolerated, nevertheless some predictable adverse reactions need careful monitoring and timely approach. These include neutropenia, nausea and vomiting, alopecia, diarrhea, left ventricular dysfunction, ILD/pneumonitis.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of gadolinium-K-edge-angiography (angio-Gd-K-edge) with gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) as obtained with spectral photon counting CT (SPCCT) in atherosclerotic rabbits.

Materials And Methods: Seven atherosclerotic rabbits underwent angio-SPCCT acquisitions with two GBCAs, with similar intravenous injection protocol. Conventional and angio-Gd-K-edge images were reconstructed with the same parameters.

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Controlling the spatial arrangement of plasmonic nanoparticles is of particular interest to utilize inter-particle plasmonic coupling, which allows changing their optical properties. For bottom-up approaches, colloidal nanoparticles are interesting building blocks to generate more complex structures controlled self-assembly using the destabilization of colloidal particles. For plasmonic noble metal nanoparticles, cationic surfactants, such as CTAB, are widely used in synthesis, both as shaping and stabilizing agents.

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Synthesis of high quality colloidal Cerium(III) doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Y Al O :Ce , "YAG:Ce") nanoparticles (NPs) meeting simultaneously both ultra-small size and high photoluminescence (PL) performance is challenging, as generally a particle size/PL trade-off has been observed for this type of nanomaterials. The glycothermal route is capable to yield ultra-fine crystalline colloidal YAG:Ce nanoparticles with a particle size as small as 10 nm but with quantum yield (QY) no more than 20%. In this paper, the first ultra-small YPO -YAG:Ce nanocomposite phosphor particles having an exceptional QY-to-size performance with an QY up to 53% while maintaining the particle size ≈10 nm is reported.

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To propose a new multimodal imaging agent targeting amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques in Alzheimer's disease. A new generation of hybrid contrast agents, based on gadolinium fluoride nanoparticles grafted with a pentameric luminescent-conjugated polythiophene, was designed, extensively characterized and evaluated in animal models of Alzheimer's disease through MRI, two-photon microscopy and synchrotron x-ray phase-contrast imaging. Two different grafting densities of luminescent-conjugated polythiophene were achieved while preserving colloidal stability and fluorescent properties, and without affecting biodistribution.

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Lentinula edodes (Shiitake) is one of the most heavily cultivated mushrooms in the world with proven antioxidant and antibacterial properties, among others. Evidence indicates that the choice of mushroom cultivation technique strongly influences the production of bioactive compounds, but to date the nature of many of these compounds has not been fully established. This work focuses on the proteomic characterization of L.

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Leptin is a peptide hormone, mainly known for its role as a mediator of adipose tissue endocrine functions, such as appetite control and energy homeostasis. In addition, leptin signaling is involved in several physiological processes as modulation of innate and adaptive immune responses and regulation of sex hormone levels. When adipose tissue expands, an imbalance of adipokines secretion may occur and increasing leptin levels contribute to promoting a chronic inflammatory state, which is largely acknowledged as a hallmark of cancer.

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The activation of phagocytic cells is a hallmark of many neurological diseases. Imaging them in their 3-dimensional cerebral environment over time is crucial to better understand their role in disease pathogenesis and to monitor their potential therapeutic effects. Phagocytic cells have the ability to internalize metal-based contrast agents both in vitro and in vivo and can thus be tracked by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT).

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Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) for breast cancer (BC) increases surgical and conservative surgery chances. However, a significant proportion of patients will not be eligible for conservative surgery following NACT because of large tumor size and/or low chemosensitivity, especially for hormone receptor (HR)-positive/ human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative tumors, for which pathological complete response rates are lower than for other BC subtypes. On the other hand, for luminal BC neoadjuvant endocrine therapy could represent a valid alternative.

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Solution-processed inorganic nanoporous films are key components for the vast spectrum of applications ranging from dew harvesting to solar cells. Shaping them into complex architectures required for advanced functionality often needs time-consuming or expensive fabrication. In this work, crack formation is harnessed to pattern porous inorganic films in a single step and without using lithography.

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Chiral plasmonic nanomaterials exhibiting intense optical activity are promising for numerous applications. In order to prepare those nanostructures, one strategy is to grow metallic nanoparticles in the presence of chiral molecules. However, in such approach the origin of the observed chirality remains uncertain.

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Two-photon lithography is a potential route to produce high-resolution 3D ceramics. However, the large shrinkage due to the elimination of an important organic counterpart of the printed material during debinding/sintering remains a lock to further development of this technology. To limit this phenomenon, an original approach based on a composite resin incorporating 45 wt% ultrasmall (5 nm) zirconia stabilized nanoparticles into the zirconium acrylate precursor is proposed to process 3D zirconia microlattices and nanostructured optical surfaces.

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We elucidate the crucial role of the cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant in the anisotropic growth mechanism of gold nano-bipyramids, nano-objects with remarkable optical properties and high tunability. Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations predict different surface coverages of the CTAB (positively charged) heads and their (bromide) counterions as function of the gold exposed surfaces. High concentration of CTAB surfactant promotes formation of gold nanograins in solution that work as precursors for the smooth anisotropic growth of more elongated nano-bipyramidal objects.

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Article Synopsis
  • Cutaneous melanoma is a serious and often deadly disease that still presents challenges even with advancements in treatment, warranting the need for new therapeutic strategies.
  • Recent research highlights the role of epigenetics—specifically DNA methylation and chromatin changes—in melanoma development, progression, and resistance to current drugs like immune checkpoint and MAPK inhibitors.
  • The review provides an overview of current knowledge on epigenetics in melanoma and emphasizes potential new targets for developing epigenetic therapies, potentially in combination with existing treatments for advanced melanoma patients.
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