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Marine-derived sulfated polysaccharides enhance hemocompatibility and endothelialization of nanofibrous PCL for vascular graft applications
No full textTemporo-Mandibular Joint Functional Arthroplasty: Does It Improve the Short-Term Quality of Life in Patients with Painful Anterior Disc Displacement Without Reduction? A Retrospective Cohort Study
No full textBackground: Anterior disc displacement without reduction (ADDwoR) of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) often leads to persistent pain and reduced quality of life (QoL). Conservative treatments frequently fail to provide adequate symptom relief. Objective: To assess the short-term (≥6 months) effectiveness of functional arthroplasty in reducing pain and improving QoL in patients with ADDwoR unresponsive to conservative therapies. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 105 patients (median age 38 years, 80% female) treated at Santa Maria Hospital from January 2018 to December 2021. All patients had unilateral painful ADDwoR confirmed via MRI and underwent functional arthroplasty. Primary outcomes included pain reduction (VAS) and QoL improvements (QoL-TMJ questionnaire). Covariates such as age, gender, and baseline mood disturbances were analyzed for associations with surgical outcomes. Statistical analyses included the Wilcoxon rank test, Friedman’s ANOVA, and Spearman’s rank correlation. Results: Postoperative VAS scores significantly decreased (8.0 pre-op vs. 2.0 post-op, p < 0.001). QoL-TMJ scores improved significantly in pain (p < 0.001), activity (p < 0.05), mood (p < 0.001), and anxiety (p < 0.01), but no significant changes were observed in chewing and speaking functions. Improvements in QoL correlated strongly with pain reduction. Gender and age did not influence the outcomes, though females reported higher baseline mood disturbances. Conclusions: Functional arthroplasty effectively reduces pain and improves QoL in patients with ADDwoR, regardless of age or gender. However, limited improvement in chewing and speaking abilities highlights the need for targeted interventions. Future studies should assess the long-term outcomes to confirm the sustained benefits of this procedure
Integrated design framework for optimizing shape and Damper placement in steel gridshells under seismic loads
No full textThis paper introduces a design methodology to enhance the seismic response of gridshells by simultaneously optimizing their shapes and the configuration of viscoelastic dampers. While viscoelastic dampers effectively reduce seismic responses, their impact on gridshell geometry has received limited attention. The proposed framework integrates damper placement into the initial design stage to address this gap, unlike conventional approaches that treat geometry and damper design separately. Leveraging parametric geometric and structural modeling, combined with a genetic algorithm, the framework utilizes a multi-phase fitness function derived from static and dynamic analyses, accounting for damping effects and material and geometric nonlinearities. The findings reveal that, as the number of dampers increases, optimized gridshells tend to adopt more elliptical shapes while achieving substantial reductions in both maximum displacement (exceeding 50 % in some cases) and thrust forces (up to 40 %), with the effect being more pronounced in mid-rise domes. Notably, even configurations with as few as 32 dampers can yield satisfactory seismic performance. Overall, locally symmetric damper layouts are recommended. The proposed methodology underscores the benefit of integrating damper placement with shape optimization during the early design phase, enabling adaptable applications to other structural systems and supporting more informed performance-based design decisions
Mapping Brain Lesions to Conduction Delays: The Next Step for Personalized Brain Models in Multiple Sclerosis
No full textMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a clinically heterogeneous, multifactorial autoimmune disorder affecting the central nervous system. Structural damage to the myelin sheath, resulting in the consequent slowing of the conduction velocities, is a key pathophysiological mechanism. In fact, the conduction velocities are closely related to the degree of myelination, with thicker myelin sheaths associated to higher conduction velocities. However, how the intensity of the structural lesions of the myelin translates to slowing of nerve conduction delays is not known. In this work, we use large-scale brain models and Bayesian model inversion to estimate how myelin lesions translate to longer conduction delays across the damaged tracts. A cohort of 38 subjects (20 healthy and 18 with MS) underwent MEG recordings during an eyes-closed resting-state condition, along with MRI acquisitions and detailed white matter tractography analysis. We observed that MS patients consistently showed decreased power within the alpha frequency band (8-13 Hz) as compared to the healthy group. We also derived a lesion matrix indicating the percentage of lesions for each tract in every patient. Using large-scale brain modeling, the neural activity of each region was represented as a Stuart-Landau oscillator operating in a regime showing damped oscillations, and the regions were coupled according to subject-specific connectomes. We propose a linear formulation to the relationship between the conduction delays and the amount of structural damage in each white matter tract. Dependent upon the parameter
γ
, this function translates lesions into edge-specific conduction delays (leading to shifts in the power spectra). Using deep neural density estimators, we found that the estimation of
γ
showed a strong correlation with the alpha peak in MEG recordings. The most probable inferred
γ
for each subject is inversely proportional to the observed peaks, while power peaks themselves do not correlate with total lesion volume. Furthermore, the estimated parameters were predictive (cross-sectionally) of individual clinical disability. This study represents the initial exploration showcasing the location-specific impact of myelin lesions on conduction delays, thereby enhancing the customization of models for individuals with multiple sclerosis
L’intermittenza della connettività del mare nella protostoria italiana
No full textDuring the 2nd millennium a.e.v., which comprises more than two-thirds of the arc of protohistory (the beginning of which cannot be traced back beyond the last quarter of the 3rd millennium and the end of which falls no more than three centuries into the 1st millennium), the seas surrounding the Italian peninsula and separating it from, or joining it to, the three large islands of Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily, at the same time of environmental changes that were neither as profound nor as accidental as those recorded in the ancient phases of prehistory, did not continuously play the same role. In particular, the interposition of the pelagic basins has influenced the cultural, commercial and political connections between settled groups, cultural formations and finally proto-state structures with varying degrees of incidence over time, representing the final outcome of proto-history itself in some areas; in other geographical areas, pre-state organizations persist, reflecting the distancing function of the seas, in addition to the strong trend for communities on opposite shores to move closer together. In this perspective, it is necessary to consider what forms of social organization the areas involved in the maritime trade had, since the possibility of investing in seafaring enterprises with the guarantee of an economic return is closely dependent on the level of social and economic structuring of the corresponding territories.
The paper offers a discussion about discontinuity in transmarine relations between the territories along the peninsula's coastline and those on the neighboring coasts during the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, through the critical analysis of archaeological indicators - including the means of transport that made the contacts possible - and the evaluation of the impact of geographical and environmental factors. Also, the role of smaller islands, both scattered and grouped in archipelagos, which appears to be presumptively important even for those that have not preserved or have not yet revealed the corresponding archaeological traces, is included in this brief overview
Genome-wide identification of selection signatures across altitudinal gradients in dairy sheep breeds
No full textDeciphering the genetic mechanisms of adaptation in livestock species is important in ensuring sustainability of livestock production in the context of climatic change. Here, we aimed to identify signatures of selection within Sarda and Valle del Belice, the two major Italian dairy sheep breeds, as well as between their ecotypes raised at three different altitudinal gradients: plain, hill, and mountain. By joinly analyzing the three ecotypes from each breed, we found strong signatures of selection at the KDM6A gene (X chromosome), a key epigenetic regulator involved in modulating gene expression in response to environmental stress. In both breeds, the mountain ecotype showed a strong selection toward several pleiotropic genes with effects linked to the nervous system, body size, energy balance and muscular function and development. Our study also provides evidence that genes involved in neuroendocrine mechanisms are targets of environmental adaptation in the mountain ecotypes, suggesting their fundamental role in the regulation of several vital physiological adaptive responses to mountainous areas in sheep, including growth, energy expenditure, thermogenesis, sensory perception, and locomotor activity. Through the identification of compelling candidate selection targets, our study illustrates how natural selection has contributed to environmental adaptation of sheep to highlands
Transcriptional Upregulation of HERV-env Genes Under Simulated Microgravity
No full textHuman endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) constitute about 8% of the human genome. The overexpression of HERVs has been detected in various inflammatory disorders like neuro-inflammation disorders and cancer. Interestingly, it has been reported that stress conditions facilitate HERV expression. Space travel exposes astronauts to microgravity environments (a stress condition), which may result in the activation of HERVs and might influence pathogenic outcomes during and after space flight. This study aimed to elucidate the transcriptional activity of three HERV families (W, K, and H) and cytokine genes (IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α) in different cell lines under microgravity (μg) conditions and compare them with the results obtained under normal gravity (ng; 1g). We evaluated the expression of HERVs (HERV-K env, HERV-K gag, HERV-W env, and HERV-H env) and cytokine gene expression (IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α) in neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y), HEp-2, and Caco-2 cell lines under simulated μg and 1g conditions. In SH-SY5Y cells, the expression level of the IL-1, IL-6, HERV-H env, HERV-K env, HERV-K gag, and HERV-W env genes was significantly increased when exposed to short-term μg (3 and 6 h). The expression of TNF-α remained unchanged throughout all time points. Additionally, in Caco-2 cells, the expression of the HERV-K env, HERV-K gag, and IL-1 genes was significantly higher after 6 h of incubation in μg conditions compared to 1g. There was no statistically significant difference in the expression levels of the HERV-W env, HERV-H env, IL6, and TNF-α genes between the μg and 1g conditions. Moreover, in HEp-2 cells, the expression of the IL-1, IL6, TNF-α, HERV-H env, HERV-K env, HERV-K gag, and HERV-W env genes significantly increased following short-term incubation in μg (3 h, 6 h) and then decreased to levels comparable to those observed in the 1g condition. Taken together, the dysregulation of cytokine and HERV gene expression was observed under the simulated μg condition. The patterns of these dysregulations varied throughout cell lines, which demands further investigation for human health protection in space
The Role of Lengthening Temporalis Myoplasty in the Management of Facial Paralysis: Evaluating Patient-Reported Quality of Life Improvements
No full textObjective This study aims at evaluating the outcomes and patient satisfaction of the Labbé operation, a lengthening temporalis myoplasty procedure, in the treatment of longstanding complete facial paralysis. Study Design We conducted a multicenter, retrospective observational study. Setting The research analyzed 38 patients with unilateral facial paralysis treated at three Italian institutions between 2009 and 2024. Patients The study included patients with severe unilateral facial paralysis, classified as House-Brackmann grades V or VI, of various etiologies. The patients, predominantly females, had a mean age of 43 years. Intervention(s) These patients underwent surgical rehabilitation of facial nerve paralysis through the Labbé procedure, which involves transferring the temporalis muscle tendon to the labial rim while maintaining innervation through the trigeminal nerve, to restore dynamic function of the inferior part of the face. Main Outcome Measure(s) Preoperative and postoperative outcomes were assessed using the Facial Clinimetric Evaluation (FaCE) questionnaire, which measures functional and psychosocial impacts. Results The only early surgical complication recorded was bleeding (1 of 38 cases). Out of the 38 patients, 17 completed the follow-up evaluations. Postoperative results showed significant improvements in quality of life and facial function, with a mean FaCE score increase of 38.6 points. Complications and long-Term sequelae were rare and exclusively related to underlying malignant pathology (and to further treatments). Conclusions In selected cases, the Labbé procedure has proven to be an effective, single-stage surgical option for addressing the aesthetic and functional deficits associated with longstanding facial paralysis. This procedure offers rapid recovery and low morbidity, making it a valuable therapeutic option for improving patient outcomes