Swiss School of Archaeology in Greece
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Advances in strontium-releasing biomaterials for bone repair
No full textStrontium-containing biomaterials offer promising avenues for enhancing bone repair by leveraging the ion's reported dual anabolic and anti-catabolic effects on bone cells. These biomaterials aim to encourage site-specific bone growth, heal fractures, and improve metallic implant fixation through controlled release of strontium ions. Here, we provide an overview of strontium's use as a treatment for osteoporosis, and report current advances in biomaterials designed to deliver strontium locally to the skeleton from bioactive glasses, calcium phosphates, bone cements, polymers, and implant coatings. Strontium's putative mechanisms of action on bone, including by directly stimulating osteoblasts and osteoclasts and through physicochemical interactions with the bone mineral are discussed. We also appraise dosing, noting discrepancies between in vitro stimulatory ranges and concentrations likely to be achieved in vivo. Strontium-releasing materials are widely reported to be efficacious in preclinical models, but there is very limited human experience. Thus, we also focus on translational issues, including dose and release quantification, safety and systemic exposure monitoring, regulatory pathways, and manufacturing constraints. The review concludes with recommendations for future studies to elucidate strontium's biological and physicochemical mechanisms of action, guidance to refine delivery strategies, and a call to standardise the reporting of dosing. Together, these changes should advance these promising materials toward early clinical testing and improved outcomes in bone repair applications.
Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved
In the Process of Transference-Focused Psychotherapy: Application of an Observer Rating Grid for Object Relations Dyads on a Psychotherapy Session
No full textPain management after hallux valgus repair surgery: an updated systematic review and procedure-specific postoperative pain management (PROSPECT) recommendations
No full textHallux valgus repair surgery is associated with moderate-to-severe postoperative pain. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the available literature and update previous PROSPECT (PROcedure SPECific Postoperative Pain ManagemenT) recommendations for optimal pain management after hallux valgus repair surgery.
A systematic review utilising PROSPECT methodology was performed. Randomised controlled trials and systematic reviews published in the English language from January 1, 2019 to November 19, 2024 that assessed postoperative pain using analgesic, anaesthetic and surgical interventions were identified from CENTRAL, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE and Web of Science.
Of the 375 articles identified, 17 RCTs and 7 systematic reviews/meta-analyses met our inclusion criteria (total: 24 publications). Interventions that improved postoperative pain relief included: paracetamol and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or cyclooxygenase-2 selective inhibitors; dexamethasone; ankle block and, as an alternative, local anaesthetic wound infiltration; and minimally invasive surgery or percutaneous osteotomy. Insufficient evidence was found for the use of perineural magnesium or liposomal bupivacaine. No evidence was found for continuous popliteal sciatic nerve block or for the use of the plantar compartment nerve block.
This review provides an update to the previous guidelines written by the PROSPECT group: there is one important change, minimally invasive surgery or percutaneous osteotomy is recommended over open osteotomy. Contemporary publications confirm the analgesic effects of ankle block as a first-choice modality with wound infiltration as an alternative. In addition, the analgesic regimen for hallux valgus repair should include, in the absence of contraindication, paracetamol and a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug or cyclooxygenase-2 selective inhibitor administered preoperatively or intra-operatively and continued postoperatively, along with systemic dexamethasone, and postoperative opioids for rescue analgesia.
Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care
Transcriptomics- and 3D imaging-based characterization of the lymphatic vasculature in human skin
No full textAfferent lymphatic vessels (LVs) are present in most vascularized tissues and exert important immune and drainage functions, yet human afferent LVs remain poorly studied. Performing single-cell RNA sequencing of lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) from human skin and subcutaneous adipose tissue, we identified various LEC subsets, including two valve LEC populations located on the upstream and downstream sides of the valve leaflets. The cell adhesion molecule CD24 emerged as a specific marker of upper valve leaflet LECs in human skin and contributed to lymphatic valve development in murine mesentery. Three-dimensional imaging further revealed several unique features of the human dermal lymphatic network, including a high proportion of LYVE-1+ pre-collecting vessels containing intraluminal valves, virtually no collectors, and absence of lymphatic muscle cell coverage. Moreover, LECs in blind-ended capillaries and around valves in pre-collectors displayed mixed junctional and morphological phenotypes. These findings reveal key differences between human and murine dermal afferent lymphatics and provide a deeper understanding of human lymphatic-related (patho)physiological processes.
© 2025 Bauer et al
Acid-sensing ion channels: structure, function, pharmacology, and clinical significance
No full textChanges in local proton concentrations within the body occur during synaptic transmission and metabolic activity and along the digestive tract. Perturbations to the strictly controlled physiological tissue pH are often associated with pathological processes. As such, many cell types require the ability to sense and respond to changes in local proton concentrations. Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) have been identified in all groups of Bilateria except for nematodes, arthropods, and mollusks. They are part of the epithelial Na+ channel/degenerin (ENaC/DEG) family, which encompasses ion channels across a wide range of tissues and organisms. ENaC/DEG channels are constitutively active or can be activated by various stimuli, such as mechanical stimuli or the binding of peptides or protons. ASICs are low pH-activated Na+-selective channels, formed by the assembly of three identical or homologous subunits around a central pore. In mammals, ASICs are mostly expressed in the nervous system. Extensive structure-function studies have identified residues involved in ion permeation and in the control and modulation of ASIC activity. The biological functions of ASICs are associated with situations of lowered pH, such as high neuronal activity, ischemia, and inflammation. Experiments with rodents showed roles of ASICs in the expression of fear, learning, pain sensation, and neurodegeneration. This review comprehensively examines ASICs, covering their evolutionary origins, biophysical properties, structure-function relationships, physiological and pathological roles, and their regulation and pharmacology
Cognitive endurance after intense physical effort
No full textPrevious research has primarily examined the effects of cognitive exertion on subsequent physical performance, yet the reciprocal relationship-how intense physical exercise influences cognitive endurance performance-remains largely unexplored. This study investigated the behavioral, subjective, and neurophysiological effects of maximal aerobic effort on sustained cognitive endurance performance. In a pre-registered, within-participant design, 29 physically active participants completed a cognitive task to failure following either exhaustive running at 90 % of their maximal aerobic speed or a 10-minute walking control condition. Electroencephalography (EEG) recorded brain activity, brain complexity was assessed, and subjective experiences were analyzed using the Temporal Experience Tracing (TET) method. Results indicated that maximal aerobic effort significantly reduced maximal force capacity and increased perceived exertion compared to the control condition, confirming a higher physiological workload. However, no significant differences were observed in cognitive task duration between conditions (control: 4755.8 s, 95 % CI [3326.8-5107.8]; experimental: 4308.2 s, 95 % CI [3902.9-5481.2]; BF₁₀ = 0.329). Subjective experience analysis revealed two distinct task-demand states, with comparable time allocation across conditions. EEG analyses indicated a decrease in brain complexity following exhaustive exercise, suggesting a physiological shift, yet cognitive performance and subjective experience remained unaffected. These findings provide no evidence that intense physical exercise negatively impacts cognitive endurance. Despite alterations in physiological and neural markers, participants sustained cognitive effort to failure with no significant decline in performance.
Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Simulating major element diffusion in garnet using realistic 3D geometries
No full textChemical diffusion of major elements in garnet is a common phenomenon in amphibolite to granulite facies metamorphic rocks. The study of this process has led to important constraints on the rate and timescale of metamorphism, for instance using geospeedometry and forward thermodynamic modelling. However, to date, most models have assumed spherical coordinates and simple geometries when modelling diffusion in garnet. In this study, we present a framework for running 3D multicomponent diffusion models from real grain geometries obtained by micro-computed tomography. We introduce an open-source code, DiffusionGarnet.jl, written for high performance in the Julia programming language. We demonstrate the high efficiency of the numerical solver, a stabilised explicit method, and its scalability using GPU acceleration. This approach is applied to two garnet grains with different characteristics, a euhedral well-shaped grain and a deformed sub-euhedral grain with a high connectivity to the matrix from core to rim. Starting from a similar initial composition and at constant conditions of 700 °C and 0.8 GPa for 10 Myr, the models show results with very different characteristics. The euhedral grain shows results similar to those predicted with a spherical assumption, largely preserving its original zoning. In contrast, the sub-euhedral grain shows significant re-equilibration, nearly erasing completely its initial zoning. This behaviour is caused by the high connectivity with the matrix. In addition to providing a robust solver for 3D diffusion modelling, these results demonstrate the role of grain geometry and matrix connectivity on intra-grain diffusion and highlight the power of 3D approaches to properly study the complexity of natural grains