1,721,158 research outputs found
Introduction
No full textIl testo presenta la panoramica della cultura filosofica internazionale che viene proposta come omaggio a Remo Bodei
Nanomedicine and graphene-based materials: advanced technologies for potential treatments of diseases in the developing nervous system
Full text linkAbstract: The interest in graphene-based nanomaterials (GBNs) application in nanomedicine, in particular in neurology, steadily increased in the last decades. GBNs peculiar physical–chemical properties allow the design of innovative therapeutic tools able to manipulate biological structures with subcellular resolution. In this review, we report GBNs applications to the central nervous system (CNS) when these nanomaterials are engineered as potential therapeutics to treat brain pathologies, with a focus on those of the pediatric age. We revise the state-of-the art studies addressing the impact of GBNs in the CNS, showing that the design of GBNs with different dimensions and chemical compositions or the use of specific administration routes and doses can limit unwanted side effects, exploiting GBNs efficacy in therapeutic approaches. These features favor the development of GBNs-based multifunctional devices that may find applications in the field of precision medicine for the treatment of disorders in the developing CNS. In this framework, we address the suitability of GBNs to become successful therapeutic tools, such as drug nano-delivery vectors when being chemically decorated with pharmaceutical agents and/or other molecules to obtain a high specific targeting of the diseased area and to achieve a controlled release of active molecules. Impact: The translational potential of graphene-based nanomaterials (GBNs) can be used for the design of novel therapeutic approaches to treat pathologies affecting the brain with a focus on the pediatric age.GBNs can be chemically decorated with pharmaceutical agents and molecules to obtain a highly specific targeting of the diseased site and a controlled drug release.The type of GBNs, the selected functionalization, the dose, and the way of administration are factors that should be considered to potentiate the therapeutic efficacy of GBNs, limiting possible side effects.GBNs-based multifunctional devices might find applications in the precision medicine and theranostics fields
Desensitization of AMPA receptors limits the amplitude of EPSPs and the excitability of motoneurons of the rat isolated spinal cord
No full textIntracellular recording was used to study the effect of cyclothiazide, a selective blocker of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate (AMPA) receptor desensitization, on lumbar motoneurons of the rat isolated spinal cord. Cyclothiazide (25 μM) enhanced the responses to AMPA in a tetrodotoxin-insensitive fashion, without affecting those produced by N-methyl-D-aspartate or γ-aminobutyric acid. Excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) evoked by dorsal root stimulation were strongly potentiated in amplitude while paired-pulse depression (produced by applying pairs of pulses at 2 s interval) of the EPSP was decreased. In the presence of cyclothiazide the frequency of spontaneous synaptic events was greatly increased and network-driven bursting activity developed with eventual loss of electrical excitability. The present results suggest that pharmacological block of AMPA receptor desensitization led to strong excitation of motoneurons and indicate a physiological role of desensitization in protecting these nerve cells from overactivity
Synthesis of 3-Aryl Substituted Triimidazotriazines via Regioselective Direct Arylation
No full textA general and convenient selective direct arylation of the 3-position of triimidazo[1,2-a:1’,2’-c:1’’,2’’-e][1,3,5]triazine (1) with (hetero)aryl halides in DMA was successfully achieved in the presence of K2CO3 as the base and a catalyst precursor consisting of Pd(OAc)2 and P(2-furyl)3. Electron-poor and -rich (hetero)aryl moieties, including the strongly deactivated and sterically encumbered 2,4,6-trimethoxyphenyl unit, are well tolerated in the electrophilic partner. The data obtained in this synthetic study support a reaction mechanism involving an electrophilic attack of an arylpalladium-(II) halide species onto the triazine ring
EFFECTS OF PUPIL DILATION WITH TOPICAL 0.5% TROPICAMIDE ON RETINAL VASCULAR PARAMETERS ASSESSED BY VAMPIRE® (VASCULAR ASSAY AND MEASUREMENT PLATFORM FOR IMAGES OF THE RETINA) SOFTWARE IN HEALTHY CATS
No full textPurpose. To investigate the effects of mydriasis obtained with topical 0.5% tropicamide (Visumidriatic
0.5%, Visufarma s.p.a., Rome, Italy) on retinal vascular parameters evaluated by the retinal imaging
software VAMPIRE® in cats. Methods. A longitudinal study on 40 clinically normal adult cats of both
sexes was performed. Topical 0.5% tropicamide was instilled to dilate the right pupil only. The left
eye was used as a control. Before pharmacological dilation (T0), infrared pupillometry of both pupil
was performed and fundus images were taken from both eyes. Right eye fundus images were then
captured 30 minutes after topical instillation of tropicamide (T1), when mydriasis was achieved. The
vessel diameters (4 veins and 4 arteries) were measured with Vampire® annotation tool adapted
for measuring the feline fundus. After normality assessment, t-test was use to analyze mean
difference for vascular parameters of left and right eye; paired sample t-test was used to test the
mean difference for the same vascular parameters at T0 and T1. Statistical significance level was
set at alpha=0.05 with Bonferroni correction accounting for multiple comparisons. Results. Right
and left eye showed no statistical differences for pupil and vascular parameters measurements
at T0. At T1, only one artery measurement showed a significant difference with a mild mean
vasoconstriction of about 4% (6.28±0.84 vs 6.04±0.59); none of the other vascular parameters
resulted significantly different at this timepoint. Conclusions: Topical 0.5% tropicamide seems not
to affect the results of retinal vascular analysis using the retinal imaging software VAMPIRE®
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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