186,195 research outputs found
HealthyFarm: providing a Precision Livestock Farming solution within the process of digital transformation in agriculture
No full textDigital technologies can support farmers in providing safe, sustainable and quality food and improving their working conditions. The Healthy Farm project foresees the creation of an animal welfare assessment methodology that includes both measurements on animals and on the farm environment by means of innovative IoT – Internet of Things - devices. In South-Tyrol the welfare control of animals is a significant problem, especially in inaccessible areas. The project provides for a close and active collaboration between three actors, ORMA Solutions, Eurac Research and Padua University, collaborating in the development of an advanced precision livestock farming (PLF) solution, which considers to (i) optimize an existing algorithm to infer wellness of animals from their behavior and rumen motility, (ii) identify the sensing technologies and the solutions that will need to be developed in order to (iii) have the final PLF solution applicable to the most common types of dairy cow and cattle farming (e.g. loose housing, pasture, etc).Unbalanced diets fed to ruminants, with particular reference to cattle, frequently cause metabolic disorders, characterized by altered rumen motility and digestive system dysfunction, which lead to a drop in productions and sometimes even to death. The continuous detection of some physiological parameters will allow the prevention or therapeutic intervention in the early stages of disease, thus improving the healing rate and reducing health care costs. The solution that is created during the project will be sized on the specific case of dairy and beef cattle farms, and can then be extended at the end of the project to other types of farms. Collection and analysis of data is essential to allow the further development of the PLF system and, at the end of the project, it will allow to identify the benefits of this solution and to extend its applicability to other farming systems. In addition, the platform created (based on open source standards) will be made available to other SMEs initiatives to allow the development of further applications for precision farming (or Smart farming) and to implement the strategy of European policy context regarding the process of digitization in agricultur
Towards the development of new strategies for targeted and controlled drug delivery
No full textIn this contribution the design and development on new approaches for targeted or controlled drug delivery is proposed. The selected starting material for the synthesis of these drug delivery systems (DDSs) was pullulan. Pullulan is a natural and linear polysaccharide that possesses excellent water solubility, biocompatibility and biodegradability. In virtues of the presence of multiple anchoring points along its chain, pullulan represents also an ideal carrier to build up colloidal drug delivery systems.
Initially, pullulan oxidation was performed and deeply investigated as a convenient method for its functionalization. This strategy allowed the synthesis of a polymer therapeutic suitable for the treatment of the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). According to statistics, HCC is the third cause of cancer related death and the problems regarding its treatment are mainly caused by the considerable consequences of the first-pass effect and the lack of selectivity towards cancer cells. Thus, we aimed at developing a pullulan based DDS with higher selectivity for liver cancer cells. In literature a peptide sequence called preS121-47, portion of a protein located in the envelope of the Hepatitis B virus, was reported to be responsible for hepatocytes recognition, interaction and virus internalization. Moreover, the proposed receptor for this peptide, named SERPINB3, has been found overexpressed in HCC, thus representing a favourable target. Pullulan was modified with the introduction of seven peptide preS121-47 molecules and the selectivity towards cells overexpressing SERPINB3 (HepG2/SERPINB3) was proved to be 2 times higher when compared with both control cells not overexpressing SERPINB3 (HepG2/EMPTY) and control polymer without targeting agent. Then, the introduction of doxorubicin, linked to pullulan through an hydrazone pH-sensitive cleavable bond, lead to the formation of a complete polymer therapeutic which showed improved efficacy on hepatocellular carcinoma cells.
Intending to explore other protocols for pullulan functionalization, its activation with p-toluenesulfonyl chloride and subsequent substitution with propargylammine was carried out. The display of alkyl groups along the polysaccharide chain permits the introduction of linking groups through copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne click chemistry reaction (CuAAC). Two rhodamine labelled polymers containing labile linking groups, i.e. hydrazone and ester, were synthesized. The stability of these conjugates in response to the
pH was tested in comparison with a control polymers including only covalent bonds. Pullulan functionalized with the ester bond showed less stability that what expected, while sufficient retention of rhodamine, used as fluorescent drug model, was observed for the hydrazone bond. The potential use of these products as carrier for the sustained drug release in the vitreous of the eye was then evaluated. The flexible and highly biocompatible pullulan-based products demonstrated ex vivo to move slowly into the vitreous of an intact porcine eye. In vitro tests confirmed the safeness and high internalization levels of such bioconjugates on retina epithelium cells (ARPE-19).
Furthermore, considering the peculiar features of the anatomy of the eye, we hypothesized to investigate the potential use of cell penetrating enhancer (CPE) decorated liposomes for improved entrance to the retinal cells after the administration through intravitreal injection. Taking advantage of the expertize on polysaccharide functionalization, the synthesis of an innovative CPE molecule starting from a maltotriose core was accomplished in our laboratory. This non-peptidic and polycationic TAT-like system was used in the present work for the decoration of liposomes. Different combinations of TAT and PEG2kDa-DSPE were evaluated and tested, but the formulation containing equal amount of these two decorating agents showed the most favourable characteristic for ophthalmic applications. Indeed, the diffusion coefficient calculation performed ex vivo on porcine eyes highlighted the possibility to tune liposomes mobility in vitreous by tuning their superficial properties. The surface decoration of liposomes with PEG2kDa-DSPE endowed liposomes with slipping properties, improving their vitreous mobility, while the presence of TAT molecule conferred enhanced uptake and penetration ability towards retina cells. Indeed, in vitro cell studies on ARPE-19 confirmed the low toxic effects and excellent level of uptake achieved with the co-decoration with PEG and TAT
Machine learning to detect posture and behavior in dairy cows: Information from an accelerometer on the animal’s left flank
No full textThe aim of the present study was to develop a model to identify posture and behavior from data collected by a triaxial accelerometer located on the left flank of dairy cows and evaluate its accuracy and precision. Twelve Italian Red‐and‐White lactating cows were equipped with an accelerometer and observed on average for 136 ± 29 min per cow by two trained operators as a reference. The acceleration data were grouped in time windows of 8 s overlapping by 33.0%, for a total of 35133 rows. For each row, 32 different features were extracted and used by machine learning algorithms for the classification of posture and behavior. To build up a predictive model, the dataset was split in training and testing datasets, characterized by 75.0 and 25.0% of the observations, respectively. Four algorithms were tested: Random Forest, K Nearest Neighbors, Extreme Boosting Algorithm (XGB), and Support Vector Machine. The XGB model showed the best accuracy (0.99) and Cohen’s kappa (0.99) in predicting posture, whereas the Random Forest model had the highest overall accuracy in predicting behaviors (0.76), showing a balanced accuracy from 0.96 for resting to 0.77 for moving. Overall, very accurate detection of the posture and resting behavior were achieved
Dental water jet efficacy in the plaque control of orthodontic patients wearing fixed appliance : a randomized controlled trial
No full textDifferent studies assess the role of fixed orthodontic appliances in supragingival plaque accumulation. In patients wearing fixed orthodontic appliances a good management of oral hygiene is required in order to prevent complication like as decay, enamel demineralization, gingivitis, gingival hyperplasia and periodontitis. The aim of this Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) is to evaluate the efficacy of the use of a DWJ in patients under orthodontic treatment with fixed multibracket appliance. The study design was single-blinded RCT with a split mouth protocol. Each patient followed a personal cleaning protocol using a DWJ in addition to traditional brushing only on one side while just brushing on the control side. The side on which was decided to use the DWJ was chosen randomly and the dental hygienist who took the measurements was blind. Plaque and gingival indexes were evaluated at baseline and at one, three and six-months follow-up. It did not emerge any difference in the plaque and gingival indexes trend between the two groups. Patients initially reported an worsening of the indexes at one month evaluation, then they set at baseline levels at three and six months. The dental water jet does not improve significantly the efficacy of home oral hygiene in orthodontic patients wearing a multi-bracket fixed appliance. Patients did not show the traditional worsening during the whole orthodontic therapy
Association between teeth agenesis and Angle's classes in an Italian population
No full textBACKGROUND: Teeth agenesis or hypodontia consists of the developmental absence of one or more teeth. Many studies confirm that this condition is almost frequent in general population; the prevalence reported is between 2.7% and 11.3%. This condition shows a multifactorial etiology: genetic factors, hereditary factors, environmental factors, local or general infective processes, radiations, drugs and traumas. The aim of this observational study was to evaluate the prevalence of tooth agenesis in a sample of orthodontic healthy patients considering each Angle malocclusion. METHODS: Nine hundred patients from a University clinic and three private practices were analyzed through intra and extra oral photographs, orthodontic study casts, panoramic radiographs and lateral cephalograms. The following inclusion criteria were applied: non-syndromic patients, without previous orthodontic, prosthetic treatment or extractions. Patients’ clinical data consisted in general and dental anamnesis, intra and extra oral photographs, orthodontic study casts, digital panoramic radiographs and lateral cephalograms. The whole sample was divided into four groups (A-B-C-D) in relation with Angle’s malocclusion and dental agenesis registered. RESULTS: The whole sample presented a mean prevalence of the condition of 8.80%. Class II/2 is the most affected malocclusion with 20.37% of the patients affected by the condition, followed by class III (11.19%), class II/2 (8.05%) and class I (6.62%). The χ2 test demonstrated a statistically significant different distribution of the condition between the four groups (P value =0.0059). The four groups presented also different patterns of missing teeth. CONCLUSIONS: We found a significantly different distribution of the condition in the different malocclusions with class II/2 presenting the higher prevalence of tooth agenesis (20.37%). The most frequent teeth affected by agenesis in the entire sample are respectively: mandibular second premolars (32.40%), followed by the maxillary lateral incisors (27.70%) and the maxillary second premolars (15.50%)
Prevalence and patterns of tooth agenesis in Angle class II division 2 malocclusion in Italy: A case-control study
No full textObjective: The aim of this case-control retrospective study was to assess the prevalence and pattern of tooth agenesis in a group of Italian Caucasian test subjects with Class II division 2 malocclusion. The findings were then compared with an Italian control group of orthodontic patients and with previous studies performed in other countries. Material and method: Six hundred patients (37 subjects with Angle Class II division 2 malocclusion and 563 orthodontic patients with other malocclusions), aged 7 or older, from the Orthodontic Department of University of Padua Dental Clinic were collected. For this investigation, two expert operators evaluated the Angle Class from dental casts, intraoral photographs and lateral cephalograms. Inclusion criteria for Class II division 2 were: U1-SN less than 90° and overbite > 3 mm. Tooth agenesis were assessed with digital panoramic radiographs. Third molars were excluded from the analysis. Descriptive analysis using absolute and relative frequencies were performed to check out the prevalence and pattern of tooth agenesis in the sample considered. The relative frequencies in each table were calculated as a percentage based from column total. Results: The prevalence of tooth agenesis in the Angle Class II division 2 group was 18.92%, while in the general population was 8.35%. This result was sufficient to demonstrate a significant difference between the two groups concerning the tooth agenesis prevalence (P-value < 0.05). Conclusion: Prevalence of permanent tooth agenesis was more than 2 times higher in the Class II division 2 group rather than in the control group. No agenesis of maxillary lateral incisors was found in Class II division 2 group
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
Vestibular and lingual orthodontics: Experimental study on plaque and blood indexes
No full textBACKGROUND: In patients with fixed orthodontic treatment, good oral hygiene management is important to prevent complications such as caries, enamel demineralization, white spots, gingivitis, gingival hyperplasia and periodontitis. The aim of this experimental study is to compare the plaque and gingival indexes in patients with labial or lingual appliances. METHODS: Twenty patients with a mean age of 27±-4.95 years were selected; ten patients (eight females and two males) between 17 and 39 years were fitted with a labial appliance while ten patients (nine females and one male) between 16 e 36 years were fitted with a lingual appliance. The dental hygienist made an evaluation using the plaque index and the gingival index, motivated and instructed the patients with labial and lingual devices to perform correct home oral hygiene. The timepoint were the following: T0 before the bonding, T1 one month after the bonding, T2 three months after the bonding, T3 six months after the bonding. RESULTS: In the vestibular appliance at T0, the plaque index is significantly lower than the lingual device, but the bleeding index is significantly higher. Moreover, in both treatments, an increase in the parameters from T0 to T1, T2 and T3 was confirmed, and in the latter a linear increase trend both in the plaque index and in the gingival index can be observed. CONCLUSIONS: The plaque and bleeding index increase gradually from T0 to T3, but there is no significant difference between the vestibular and lingual appliances
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