Production and Characterization of Electrospun Chitosan, Nanochitosan and Hyaluronic Acid Membranes for Skin Wound Healing.

The development of new wound dressings made from biomaterials, which offer a better cost-benefit ratio and accelerate the healing process, is increasing nowadays. Various biopolymers can be electrospun to form functional membranes for wound healing. Therefore, in this study, chitosan and nanochitosan membranes with or without hyaluronic acid were prepared using the electrospinning technique, characterized and evaluated in the healing of skin wounds in rats.

Periodontitis and diabetes in pregnant rats: Maternal-fetal outcomes.

Aim: To evaluate the repercussions of periodontitis and diabetes association on rat pregnancy and newborns.

Methods: Diabetes was induced in female Wistar rats 24 h after birth through the administration of Streptozotocin. The diabetic condition of the rats was further confirmed in adulthood.

Phytochemical characterization and antidiabetic analysis of Bauhinia holophylla extract on the maternal-fetal outcomes of rats.

This study aims to evaluate the phytochemical properties of Bauhinia holophylla (Bong.) Steud leaf extract, and their impact on maternal reproductive and fetal development in diabetic rats. For this, adult female Wistar rats (100 days of life) received streptozotocin (40 mg/Kg, intraperitoneal) for induction of diabetes, were mated and distributed into four groups: Nondiabetic; Nondiabetic given B.

Posterior wall ablation for persistent atrial fibrillation: Very-high-power short-duration versus standard-power radiofrequency ablation.

Background: Posterior wall ablation (PWA) is commonly added to pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) during catheter ablation (CA) of persistent atrial fibrillation (AF).

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare PVI plus PWA using very-high-power short-duration (vHPSD) vs standard-power (SP) ablation index-guided CA among consecutive patients with persistent AF and to determine the voltage correlation between microbipolar and bipolar mapping in AF.

Methods: We compared 40 patients undergoing PVI plus PWA using vHPSD to 40 controls receiving PVI plus PWA using SP.

Nandrolone decanoate impairs gastrointestinal motility and duodenal morphometry in moderately exercised rats.

The misuse of anabolic androgenic steroid associated or not with physical workouts disrupts gastrointestinal (GI) function homeostasis. Our goal was to investigate the effects of nandrolone decanoate (ND) and moderate swimming on the GI transit of solid meals, GI motor contractility, and intestinal histology in rats. Male Wistar rats were allocated to four groups that received intramuscular injections of ND (5.

Pulsed field vs very high-power short-duration radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation: Results of a multicenter, real-world experience.

Background: Pulsed field ablation (PFA) and very high-power short-duration (vHPSD) radiofrequency ablation are the most recently introduced technologies for atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. The procedural performance, safety, and effectiveness of PFA vs vHPSD are currently unknown.

Objective: The study aimed to compare PFA with vHPSD for the treatment of paroxysmal or persistent AF.

A Novel Approach to Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Scar Characterization in Patients Affected by Cardiac Amyloidosis: A Pilot Study.

: Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging has become an essential instrument in the study of cardiomyopathies; it has recently been integrated into the diagnostic workflow for cardiac amyloidosis (CA) with remarkable results. An additional emerging role is the stratification of the arrhythmogenic risk by scar analysis and the possibility of merging these data with electro-anatomical maps. This is made possible by using a software (ADAS 3D, Galgo Medical, Barcelona, Spain) able to provide 3D heart models by detecting fibrosis along the whole thickness of the myocardial walls.

Cardiac Magnetic Resonance and Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices: Are They Truly Still "Enemies"?

The application of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging in clinical practice has grown due to technological advancements and expanded clinical indications, highlighting its superior capabilities when compared to echocardiography for the assessment of myocardial tissue. Similarly, the utilization of implantable cardiac electronic devices (CIEDs) has significantly increased in cardiac arrhythmia management, and the requirements of CMR examinations in patients with CIEDs has become more common. However, this type of exam often presents challenges due to safety concerns and image artifacts.

Insulin signaling and mitochondrial phenotype of skeletal muscle are programmed in utero by maternal diabetes.

Maternal diabetes may influence glucose metabolism in adult offspring, an area with limited research on underlying mechanisms. Our study explored the impact of maternal hyperglycemia during pregnancy on insulin resistance development. Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats from control and diabetic mothers were mated, and their female offspring were monitored for 150 days.

Lactose hydrolysis in packed-and fluidized-bed reactors using a recombinant β-galactosidase immobilized on magnetic core-shell capsules.

The objective of this study was to develop a bioprocess for lactose hydrolysis in diverse dairy matrices, specifically skim milk and cheese whey, utilizing column reactors employing a core-shell enzymatic system featuring β-galactosidase fused to a Cellulose Binding Domain (CBD) tag (β-galactosidase-CBD). The effectiveness of reactor configurations, including ball columns and toothed columns operating in packed and fluidized-bed modes, was evaluated for catalyzing lactose hydrolysis in both skim milk and cheese whey. In a closed system, these reactors achieved lactose hydrolysis rates of approximately 50% within 5 h under all evaluated conditions.

Technological advances in ventricular tachycardia catheter ablation: the relentless quest for novel solutions to old problems.

Background: Several novel technologies allowing catheter ablation (CA) with a favorable safety/efficacy profile have been recently developed, but not yet extensively clinically tested in the setting of ventricular tachycardia CA.

Methods: In this technical report, we overview technical aspects and preclinical/clinical information concerning the application of three novel CA technologies in the ventricular milieu: a pulsed field ablation (PFA) generator (CENTAURI™, Galaxy Medical) to be used with linear, contact force-sensing radiofrequency ablation catheters; a contact force-sensing radiofrequency ablation catheter equipped with six thermocouples and three microelectrodes (QDOT Micro™, Biosense-Webster), allowing high-resolution mapping and temperature-controlled CA; and a flexible and mesh-shaped irrigation tip, contact force-sensing radiofrequency ablation catheter (Tactiflex, Abbott). We also report three challenging VT cases in which CA was performed using these technologies.

Influence of maternal periuterine and periovarian fat on reproductive performance and fetal growth in rats.

We aimed to evaluate how high-fat diet consumption can interfere with rat reproductive performance and fetal development. High-fat diet (HFD) was initiated in 30-day-old rats, distributed into two groups (n=7 animals/group): Rats receiving a standard diet and rats receiving HFD. At adulthood, the rats were mated, and on day 21 of pregnancy, the females were anesthetized, decapitated, and submitted to laparotomy to obtain visceral and periovarian adipose tissue.

Magnetic core-shell cellulose system for the oriented immobilization of a recombinant β-galactosidase with a protein tag.

The objective of this study was to immobilize a recombinant β-galactosidase (Gal) tagged with a cellulose-binding domain (CBD) onto a magnetic core-shell (CS) cellulose system. After 30 min of reaction, 4 U/capsule were immobilized (CS@Gal), resulting in levels of yield and efficiency exceeding 80 %. The optimal temperature for β-galactosidase-CBD activity increased from 40 to 50 °C following oriented immobilization.

A breath of sunshine: oxygenic photosynthesis by functional molecular architectures.

The conversion of light into chemical energy is the game-changer enabling technology for the energetic transition to renewable and clean solar fuels. The photochemistry of interest includes the overall reductive/oxidative splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen and alternatives based on the reductive conversion of carbon dioxide or nitrogen, as primary sources of energy-rich products. Devices capable of performing such transformations are based on the integration of three sequential core functions: light absorption, photo-induced charge separation, and the photo-activated breaking/making of molecular bonds specific catalytic routes.

Characteristics and Clinical Value of Electroanatomic Voltage Mapping in Cardiac Amyloidosis.

Background: Cardiac amyloidoses (CAs) are an increasingly recognised group of infiltrative cardiomyopathies associated with high risk of adverse cardiac events. We sought to characterise the characteristics and clinical value of right ventricular (RV) electroanatomic voltage mapping (EVM) in CA.

Methods: Fifteen consecutive patients undergoing endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) for suspected CA (median age 75 years, 1st-3rd quartiles 64-78 years], 67% male) were enrolled in an observational prospective study.

Toxicological effects of the Curatella americana extract in embryo development of female pups from diabetic rats.

Maternal diabetes can influence the development of offspring during fetal life and postnatally. Curatella americana is a plant used as a menstrual cycle regulator and to prevent diabetes. This study evaluates the effects of C.

Intergenerational Hyperglycemia Impairs Mitochondrial Function and Follicular Development and Causes Oxidative Stress in Rat Ovaries Independent of the Consumption of a High-Fat Diet.

We analyzed the influence of maternal hyperglycemia and the post-weaning consumption of a high-fat diet on the mitochondrial function and ovarian development of the adult pups of diabetic rats. Female rats received citrate buffer (Control-C) or Streptozotocin (for diabetes induction-D) on postnatal day 5. These adult rats were mated to obtain female pups (O) from control dams (OC) or from diabetic dams (OD), and they received a standard diet (SD) or high-fat diet (HFD) from weaning to adulthood and were distributed into OC/SD, OC/HFD, OD/SD, and OD/HFD.

High-power short-duration catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation: is it really a new era? Comparison between new and old radiofrequency contact force-sensing catheters.

Background: The clinical performance of high-power, short-duration (HPSD) pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) with the novel flexible tip TactiFlex™ (TFSE) catheter, as compared to standard-power, long-duration (SPLD) PVI using the TactiCath™ (TCSE) catheter among patients undergoing catheter ablation (CA) of atrial fibrillation (AF) is currently unknown.

Methods: We conducted a prospective, observational, single-centre study including 40 consecutive patients undergoing PVI for paroxysmal/persistent AF, using HPSD ablation with the novel TFSE catheter (HPSD/TFSE group). Based on propensity score-matching, forty patients undergoing SPLD PVI with the TCSE catheter were identified (SPLD/TCSE group).

A systematic review about affinity tags for one-step purification and immobilization of recombinant proteins: integrated bioprocesses aiming both economic and environmental sustainability.

The present study reviewed and discussed the promising affinity tags for one-step purification and immobilization of recombinant proteins. The approach used to structure this systematic review was The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) methodology. The Scopus and Web of Science databases were used to perform the bibliographic survey by which 267 articles were selected.

UV-Accelerated Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticle-Pluronic Nanocomposites for X-ray Computed Tomography Contrast Enhancement.

Eco-friendly chemical methods using FDA-approved Pluronic F127 (PLU) block copolymer have garnered much attention for simultaneously forming and stabilizing Au nanoparticles (AuNPs). Given the remarkable properties of AuNPs for usage in various fields, especially in biomedicine, we performed a systematic study to synthesize AuNP-PLU nanocomposites under optimized conditions using UV irradiation for accelerating the reaction. The use of UV irradiation at 254 nm resulted in several advantages over the control method conducted under ambient light (control).