Development of Novel Oral Delivery Systems Using Additive Manufacturing Technologies to Overcome Biopharmaceutical Challenges for Future Targeted Drug Delivery.

The development of targeted drug delivery systems for active pharmaceutical ingredients with narrow absorption windows is crucial for improving their bioavailability. This study proposes a novel 3D-printed expandable drug delivery system designed to precisely administer drugs to the upper small intestine, where absorption is most efficient. The aim was to design, prototype, and evaluate the system's functionality for organ retention and targeted drug release.

The Status of Wild Grapevine ( L. subsp. (C.C. Gmel.) Hegi) Populations in Georgia (South Caucasus).

Repeated expeditions across various regions of Georgia in the early 2000s led to the identification of 434 wild grapevine individuals ( L. subsp. (C.

Medicinal Plant Use in North Karelia, Finland, in the 2010s.

Finnish North Karelia is a region with a rich cultural history of ethnomedicinal plant use, shaped by centuries of interactions among various ethnic groups. This study identified both similarities and divergences between local Finns, Karelians war refugees, and individuals of mixed origin compared to historical records. Based on 67 semi-structured interviews, we documented the use of 43 medicinal plant taxa from 25 families, of which 31 remain in use.

Amino Acid Patterns in Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder: A Preliminary Biochemical Evaluation.

Background: The metabolism of plasma amino acid (AA) in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been extensively investigated, yielding inconclusive results. This study aims to characterize the metabolic alterations in AA profiles among early-diagnosed children with ASD and compare the findings with those from non-ASD children.

Methods: We analyzed plasma AA profiles, measured by ion exchange chromatography, from 1242 ASD children (median age = 4 years; 81% male).

Advancing Therapeutic Targets in IBD: Emerging Goals and Precision Medicine Approaches.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) including Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are chronic, relapsing conditions characterized by dysregulated immune responses and persistent intestinal inflammation. This review aims to examine new potential therapeutic targets in IBD starting from the STRIDE-II statements. Key targets now include clinical remission, endoscopic remission, and biomarker normalization (such as C-reactive protein and fecal calprotectin).

A Measurement Approach for Characterizing Temperature-Related Emissivity Variability in High-Emissivity Materials.

The effective knowledge of emissivity is pivotal to obtain reliable temperature measurements through non-contact techniques like pyrometry and thermal imaging. This is fundamental in high-temperature applications since material emissivity strongly depends on temperature conditions. Given the recent attention in high-temperature applications, especially for replacing fossil-fuel-dependent heating with greener solutions in energy-intensive processes, renewed interest in characterizing materials radiant properties rose.

Joint Analysis of Cardiovascular Control and Shear Wave Elastography to Determine Carotid Plaque Vulnerability.

: Carotid artery stenosis (CAS) is one of the main causes of stroke, and the vulnerability of plaque has been proved to be a determinant. A joint analysis of shear wave elastography, a radiofrequency echo-based wall tracking technique for arterial stiffness evaluation, and of autonomic and baroreflex function is proposed to noninvasively, preoperatively assess plaque vulnerability in asymptomatic CAS patients scheduled for carotid endarterectomy. : Elastographic markers of arterial stiffness were derived preoperatively in 78 CAS patients (age: 74.

Prediction Model for POstoperative atriaL fibrillAtion in caRdIac Surgery: The POLARIS Score.

: New-onset postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is the most common complication after cardiac surgery, occurring approximately in one-third of the patients. This study considered all-comer patients who underwent cardiac surgery to build a predictive model for POAF. : A total of 3467 (Center 1) consecutive patients were used as a derivation cohort to build the model.

Predictive Value of the DETECT Algorithm for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension in Systemic Sclerosis: Findings from an Italian Observational Study.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a complication of systemic sclerosis (SSc), and several screening algorithms have been proposed for the early detection of PAH in SSc. This study aimed to evaluate the predicting values of the DETECT algorithm for SSc-PAH screening in patients with SSc undergoing right heart catheterization (RHC) based on 2015 ESC/ERS echocardiographic criteria in a real-life setting. Patients fulfilling the 2013 ACR/EULAR classification criteria for SSc and with available data for PAH screening with the DETECT algorithm and the 2015 ESC/ERS echocardiographic criteria were retrospectively enrolled from January to June 2017 and then followed for 5 years.

Long-Term Clinical Impact of Paravalvular Leak Following Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation.

Paravalvular leak (PVL) was initially recognized as one of the most common complications after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and has been linked to adverse clinical outcomes, including mortality. This study aims to assess the long-term clinical effects of PVL in patients undergoing TAVI with the latest generation of transcatheter aortic valves, as part of the national observational prospective multicenter study OBSERVANT II. OBSERVANT II included all consecutive patients with severe aortic stenosis who underwent TAVI across 28 Italian centers from December 2016 to September 2018.

Combining Advanced Targeted Therapy in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Current Practice and Future Directions.

Despite the increasing number of available medications, a significant proportion of IBD patients fail to achieve the current therapeutic targets. Uncontrolled IBD has a significant impact on patients' quality of life and on overall costs for the healthcare system. Given the complex pathophysiology of IBD, Combined Advanced Targeted Therapy (CATT), involving the combination of biologics/small molecules, appears to have biological plausibility and is gaining increasing interest.

Emotional and Behavioural Adjustment in Children and Adolescents with Short Stature vs. Their Normal-Statured Peers.

: the aim of the current cross-sectional study is to explore and compare the emotional and behavioural conditions of children and adolescents with short stature (i.e., familial short stature and constitutional delay of growth), idiopathic growth hormone deficiency (GHD), and normal height.

Diagnostic Algorithm Using Multimodal Imaging for the Differential Diagnosis of Intra-Cardiac Masses.

Cardiac masses are complex clinical conditions that frequently pose diagnostic challenges in cardiology practice. These masses can form within heart chambers or near the pericardium and are generally categorized as either non-neoplastic or neoplastic. These latter are further classified into benign and malignant (primary and secondary or metastatic).

Therapeutic Inertia in Dyslipidemia Management for Secondary Cardiovascular Prevention: Results from the Italian ITACARE-P Network.

This study assessed the proportion of secondary cardiovascular prevention patients who achieved low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol targets as per the 2019 ESC/EAS Dyslipidemia Guidelines. We also evaluated whether lipid-lowering therapies (LLTs) were adjusted in patients not meeting targets and analyzed the likelihood of these modifications achieving recommended levels. A multicenter, cross-sectional observational study retrospectively reviewed medical records of 1909 outpatients in 9 Italian cardiac rehabilitation/secondary prevention clinics from January 2023 to June 2024.

Supra-Normal Ejection Fraction at Hospital Admission Stratifies Mortality Risk in HFpEF Patients Aged ≥ 70 Years.

During the last few years, significant pathophysiological differences between heart failure (HF) patients with "normal" ejection fraction (EF) (50% to 64%) and those with supra-normal EF (≥65%) have been highlighted. However, these distinct EF phenotypes have been poorly investigated in elderly patients aged ≥70 y. Accordingly, the present study aimed at assessing the clinical and echocardiographic characteristics of a retrospective cohort of elderly HFpEF patients (aged ≥ 70 y), categorized on the basis of "normal" EF (50 to 64%) or "supra-normal" EF (≥65%).

Managing Retinitis Pigmentosa: A Literature Review of Current Non-Surgical Approaches.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a heterogeneous group of inherited retinal diseases characterized by the progressive loss of photoreceptor function, visual impairment, and, ultimately, blindness. While gene therapy has emerged as a promising therapy, it is currently available only for the RPE65 gene mutation, leaving many patients without targeted genetic treatments. Non-surgical interventions may help in managing the progression of RP and improving patients' quality of life.

Characterization and Otoprotective Effects of Polysaccharides from .

Hearing loss is one of the most common sensory disorders in humans, and a large number of cases are due to ear cell damage caused by ototoxic drugs including anticancer agents, such as cisplatin. The recent literature reported that hearing loss is promoted by an excessive generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cochlea cells, which causes oxidative stress. Recently, polysaccharides from the cyanobacterium showed many biological activities, including antioxidant activity, suggesting their potential use to combat hearing loss.

Sarcopenia as a Predictor of Mortality in a Cohort of Elderly Patients Undergoing Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography.

Background And Aims: Despite technical advances, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is associated with complications and potentially lethal outcomes. Sarcopenia, a complex syndrome mainly associated with aging, has been recognized as a predictor of poor surgical outcomes. Thus far, the impact of sarcopenia on ERCP remains unknown.

De Novo Pathogenic Variant Associated with Lethal Encephalocardiomyopathy-Case Report and Literature Review.

Pathogenic variants in , encoding dynamin-like protein-1 (DRP1), cause a lethal encephalopathy. DRP1 defective function results in altered mitochondrial networks, characterized by elongated/spaghetti-like, highly interconnected mitochondria. We validated in yeast the pathogenicity of a de novo variant identified by whole exome sequencing performed more than 10 years after the patient's death.

Regeneration of Vascular Endothelium in Different Large Vessels.

The regeneration of endothelial cells (ECs) lining arteries, veins, and large lymphatic vessels plays an important role in vascular pathology. To understand the mechanisms of atherogenesis, it is important to determine what happens during endothelial regeneration. A comparison of these processes in the above-mentioned vessels reveals both similarities and some significant differences.

Targeting Bacterial Cell Division with Benzodioxane-Benzamide FtsZ Inhibitors as a Novel Strategy to Fight Gram-Positive Ovococcal Pathogens.

The widespread emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious threat to global public health and among Gram-positive cocci, constitutes a priority in the list of AMR-threatening pathogens. To counteract this fundamental problem, the bacterial cell division cycle and the crucial proteins involved in this process emerged as novel attractive targets. FtsZ is an essential cell division protein, and FtsZ inhibitors, especially the benzamide derivatives, have been exploited in the last decade.

Irisin and Metastatic Melanoma: Selective Anti-Invasiveness Activity in BRAF Wild-Type Cells.

Irisin is a newly discovered 12 kDa messenger protein involved in energy metabolism. Irisin affects signaling pathways in several types of cancer; however, the role of irisin in metastatic melanoma (MM) has not been described yet. We explored the biological effects of irisin in in vitro models of MM cells (HBL, LND1, Hmel1 and M3) capable of the oncogenic activation of BRAF.

Onvansertib and Navitoclax Combination as a New Therapeutic Option for Mucinous Ovarian Carcinoma.

Mucinous epithelial ovarian cancer (mEOC) is a rare subtype of epithelial ovarian cancer, characterized by poor responses to standard platinum-based chemotherapy. Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) is a key regulator of mitosis and cell cycle progression and its inhibition has been recently identified as a target in mEOC. In this study, we aimed to identify further therapeutic targets in mEOC using a CRISPR/Cas9 library targeting 3015 genes, with and without treatment with onvansertib, a PLK1 inhibitor.

Identification of Four New Mutations in the GLA Gene Associated with Anderson-Fabry Disease.

Anderson-Fabry disease is a hereditary, progressive, multisystemic lysosomal storage disorder caused by a functional deficiency of the enzyme α-galactosidase A (α-GalA). This defect is due to mutations in the gene, located in the long arm of the X chromosome (Xq21-22). Functional deficiency of the α-GalA enzyme leads to reduced degradation and accumulation of its substrates, predominantly globotriaosylceramide (Gb3), which accumulate in the lysosomes of numerous cell types, giving rise to the symptomatology.

The Role of Butirprost as an Adjuvant in Enhancing the Effect of Antibiotics in Patients Affected by Chronic Bacterial Prostatitis: A Randomized Prospective Trial.

Bacterial prostatitis (BP) is a common prostatic infection characterized by pain and urinary symptoms, often with negative bacterial cultures from prostatic secretions. It affects young and older men bimodally and impacts quality of life (QoL) significantly. : Treatment typically involves antibiotics, but a multimodal approach with additional nutraceuticals may enhance outcomes.