On the suitability of photocuring-assisted DIW for manufacturing complex prosthesis from commercial dental composites.

A 3-D printing method to produce dental prostheses of complex shapes from a commercial, photocurable resin-ceramic slurry is developed and optimized. The microstructure, mechanical properties and wear behavior of the resulting material are evaluated and compared with a conventional/control sample and other ceramic-polymer dental composites. Commercial resin-ceramic dental slurries can be successfully extruded and appropriately photocured in a low cost 3-D printing system to produce cost-efficient complex dental parts that could be used in indirect restorations.

NKG2C+CD57+ natural killer cells with senescent features are induced during cutaneous leishmaniasis and accumulate in patients with lesional healing impairment.

Natural killer (NK) cells include different subsets with diverse effector capacities that are poorly understood in the context of parasitic diseases. Here, we investigated inhibitory and activating receptor expression on NK cells in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) and explored their phenotypic and functional heterogeneity based on CD57 and NKG2C expression. The expression of CD57 identified NK cells that accumulated in CL patients and exhibited features of senescence.

Tumor-treating fields dosimetry in glioblastoma: Insights into treatment planning, optimization, and dose-response relationships.

Tumor-treating fields (TTFields) are currently a Category 1A treatment recommendation by the US National Comprehensive Cancer Center for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. Although the mechanism of action of TTFields has been partly elucidated, tangible and standardized metrics are lacking to assess antitumor dose and effects of the treatment. This paper outlines and evaluates the current standards and methodologies in the estimation of the TTFields distribution and dose measurement in the brain and highlights the most important principles governing TTFields dosimetry.

Non-fungible tokens in healthcare: a scoping review.

Introduction: Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are digital assets that are verified using blockchain technology to ensure authenticity and ownership. NFTs have the potential to revolutionize healthcare by addressing various issues in the industry.

Method: The goal of this study was to identify the applications of NFTs in healthcare.

Monitoring bacterial composition and assemblage in the Gulf of Corcovado, southern Chile: Bacteria associated with harmful algae.

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) have caused damage to the marine environment in Isla San Pedro in the Gulf of Corcovado, Chile. While rising water temperature and artificial eutrophication are the most discussed topics as a cause, marine bacteria is a recent attractive parameter as an algal bloom driver. This study monitored algal and bacterial compositions in the water of Isla San Pedro for one year using microscopy and 16S rRNA metabarcoding analysis, along with physicochemical parameters.

An Approach to Canonical Correlation Analysis Based on Rényi's Pseudodistances.

Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) infers a pairwise linear relationship between two groups of random variables, X and Y. In this paper, we present a new procedure based on Rényi's pseudodistances (RP) aiming to detect linear and non-linear relationships between the two groups. RP canonical analysis (RPCCA) finds canonical coefficient vectors, a and b, by maximizing an RP-based measure.

Knowing the past to conserve the future: a commentary on 'Evolutionary history of marginal habitats regulates the diversity of tree communities in the Atlantic Forest'.

This article comments on: Jhonny Capichoni Massante, and Markus Gastauer. Evolutionary history of marginal habitats regulates the diversity of tree communities in the Atlantic Forest, Annals of Botany, Volume 131, Issue 2, 1 February 2023, Pages 261–274, https://doi.org/10.

Lumbar trans-spinal direct current stimulation: A modeling-experimental approach to dorsal root ganglia stimulation.

Introduction: The excitability of spinal motor neurons (MN) can be altered through subthreshold currents, such as transcutaneous spinal direct-current stimulation (tsDCS). Current evidence shows that tsDCS can interfere with ascending somatosensory pathways and lower motor neurons' (LMN) excitability, which points to its therapeutic potential for repairing altered spinal responses. We aim to define the best tsDCS montage for maximizing the electric field (E-field) in the lumbar spinal cord (L-SC) by computer modeling; and to apply this montage to measure the effect on LMN excitability and somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP).

How the Number and Distance of Electrodes Change the Induced Electric Field in the Cortex during Multichannel tDCS.

Multichannel transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a promising approach to target neuromodulation of neural networks by making use of variable number of electrodes and distances to facilitate/inhibit specific connectivity patterns. Optimization of the electric field (EF) spatial distribution through computational models can provide a more accurate definition of the stimulation settings that are more effective. In this study, we investigate the effect of increasing the number of cathodes around a central anode placed over the target.

Temperature and Impedance Variations During Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) Treatment.

Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) is an FDA-approved cancer treatment technique used for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). It consists in the application of alternating (100-500 kHz) and low-intensity (1-3 V/cm) electric fields (EFs) to interfere with the mitotic process of tumoral cells. In patients, these fields are applied via transducer arrays strategically positioned on the scalp using the NovoTAL™ system.

Biogeographic Variation and Functional Pathways of the Gut Microbiota in Celiac Disease.

Background & Aims: Genes and gluten are necessary but insufficient to cause celiac disease (CeD). Altered gut microbiota has been implicated as an additional risk factor. Variability in sampling site may confound interpretation and mechanistic insight, as CeD primarily affects the small intestine.

How to correctly estimate the electric field in capacitively coupled systems for tissue engineering: a comparative study.

Capacitively Coupled (CCoupled) electric fields are used to stimulate cell cultures in Tissue Engineering. Knowing the electric field (E-Field) magnitude in the culture medium is fundamental to establish a relationship between stimulus strength and cellular effects. We analysed eight CCoupled studies and sought to corroborate the reported estimates of the E-Field in the culture medium.

Robust Test Statistics Based on Restricted Minimum Rényi's Pseudodistance Estimators.

The Rao's score, Wald and likelihood ratio tests are the most common procedures for testing hypotheses in parametric models. None of the three test statistics is uniformly superior to the other two in relation with the power function, and moreover, they are first-order equivalent and asymptotically optimal. Conversely, these three classical tests present serious robustness problems, as they are based on the maximum likelihood estimator, which is highly non-robust.

Breast Implant-Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma: Two Distinct Clinical Presentations.

Breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) is a rare CD30 positive T cell lymphoma whose incidence has recently increased. Until 2020, 733 cases of BIA-ALCL and 36 deaths have been reported around the world, with only one confirmed case in Portugal. The authors describe two clinical cases of BIA-ALCL after breast cancer reconstruction using macrotextured implants.

A conceptual IoT-based early-warning architecture for remote monitoring of COVID-19 patients in wards and at home.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, health services around the globe are struggling. An effective system for monitoring patients can improve healthcare delivery by avoiding in-person contacts, enabling early-detection of severe cases, and remotely assessing patients' status. Internet of Things (IoT) technologies have been used for monitoring patients' health with wireless wearable sensors in different scenarios and medical conditions, such as noncommunicable and infectious diseases.

Epicardial Adipose Tissue in Heart Failure Phenotypes - A Meta-Analysis.

Background: Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is increased in comorbidities common in heart failure (HF). In this sense, EAT could potentially mediate effects that lead to an impaired cardiac function.

Objectives: This meta-analysis aims to investigate if the amount of EAT in all-types of HF and each HF phenotype is significantly different from control patients.

A computational study of the relation between the power density in the tumor and the maximum temperature in the scalp during Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) therapy.

In this work we investigated the relation between the power density in the tumor and the maximum temperature reached in the scalp during TTFields treatment for glioblastoma. We used a realistic head model to perform the simulations in COMSOL Multiphysics and we solved Pennes' equation to obtain the temperature distribution. Our results indicate that there might be a linear relation between these two quantities and that TTFields are safe from a thermal point of view.

Effects of Scaffold Electrical Properties on Electric Field Delivery in Bioreactors.

In tissue engineering, cell culture scaffolds have been widely used in combination with electrical stimulation to promote multiple cellular outcomes, like differentiation and proliferation. Nevertheless, the influence of scaffolds on the electric field delivered inside a bioreactor is often ignored and requires a deeper study. By performing numerical analysis in a capacitively coupled setup, this work aimed to predict the effects of the scaffold presence on the electric field, considering multiple combinations of scaffold and culture medium electrical properties.

Prefabricated 3D-Printed Tissue-Engineered Bone for Mandibular Reconstruction: A Preclinical Translational Study in Primate.

The advent of three dimensionally (3D) printed customized bone grafts using different biomaterials has enabled repairs of complex bone defects in various in vivo models. However, studies related to their clinical translations are truly limited. Herein, 3D printed poly(lactic--glycolic acid)/β-tricalcium phosphate (PLGA/TCP) and TCP scaffolds with or without recombinant bone morphogenetic protein -2 (rhBMP-2) coating were utilized to repair primate's large-volume mandibular defects and compared efficacy of prefabricated tissue-engineered bone (PTEB) over direct implantation (without prefabrication).

Iron(II) and Copper(I) Control the Total Regioselectivity in the Hydrobromination of Alkenes.

A new method that allows the complete control of the regioselectivity of the hydrobromination reaction of alkenes is described. Herein, we report a radical procedure with TMSBr and oxygen as common reagents, where the formation of the -Markovnikov product occurs in the presence of parts per million amounts of the Cu(I) species and the formation of the Markovnikov product occurs in the presence of 30 mol % iron(II) bromide. Density functional theory calculations combined with Fukui's radical susceptibilities support the obtained results.