Search Results (376)

This work reports on an in vivo Raman-based endoscopy system, invaScope, enabling Raman measurements of healthy and tumor bladder tissue during an endoscopic procedure in the operating theatre. The presented study outlines the progression from the initial concept (validated through previously performed ex vivo studies) to the approval and implementation of a clinical investigational device according to the requirement within the framework of the European Medical Device Regulation (MDR2017/745). The study’s primary objective was to employ the invaScope Raman system within the bladder, capturing in vivo spectroscopic Raman data followed by standard histo- and cytopathological examinations of urological tissue (considered the gold standard). The collected data were analyzed and correlated with histopathological findings post-procedure. Additionally, the study aimed to assess the feasibility of using diagnostic equipment, probes, and software for application in a clinical setting, evaluating usability aspects that are important during surgical procedures. This research represents a pivotal step toward advancing Raman spectroscopy for routine clinical use in characterizing bladder lesions. Full article

Worldwide, the number of individuals suffering from visual impairment, as well as those affected by blindness, is about 600 million and it will further increase in the coming decades. These diseases also seriously affect the quality of life in working-age individuals. Beyond the characterization of metabolic, genetic, and environmental factors related to ocular pathologies, it is important to verify how lifestyle may participate in the induction of the molecular pathways underlying these diseases. On the other hand, scientific studies are also contributing to investigations as to whether lifestyle could intervene in modulating pathophysiological cellular responses, including the production of metabolites and neurohormonal factors, through the intake of natural compounds capable of interfering with molecular mechanisms that lead to ocular diseases. Nutraceuticals are promising in ameliorating pathophysiological complications of ocular disease such as inflammation and neurodegeneration. Moreover, it is important to characterize the nutritional patterns and/or natural compounds that may be beneficial against certain ocular diseases. The adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MeDi) is proposed as a promising intervention for the prevention and amelioration of several eye diseases. Several characteristic compounds and micronutrients of MeDi, including vitamins, carotenoids, flavonoids, and omega-3 fatty acids, are proposed as adjuvants against several ocular diseases. In this review, we focus on studies that analyze the effects of MeDi in ameliorating diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and glaucoma. The analysis of knowledge in this field is requested in order to provide direction on recommendations for nutritional interventions aimed to prevent and ameliorate ocular diseases. Full article

Hippeastrum papilio (Ravena) van Sheepen is a bulbous evergreen species and considered a potential new source of galanthamine. This natural compound approved by the FDA is used for the cognitive treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. To optimize the galanthamine yield from this species, it is necessary to study the effects of plant age and fertilization on the alkaloid content, as well as alkaloid and biomass accumulation dynamics in plant organs. H. papilio plants of different ages, which were ex vitro acclimatized (age 0) and previously grown for one (age 1) and two (age 2) vegetation seasons, were cultivated in a flood and drain hydroponic system with different fertilizer solutions for six months. Samples from the roots, bulbs, and leaves were gathered at the end of the vegetation, and the fresh and dry biomasses were measured and then analyzed by GC–MS to establish their alkaloid content. Depending on the age and fertilizer, the galanthamine content varied from 4.5 ± 1.8 to 11.2 ± 2.8 mg/g DW in the roots, from 3.4 ± 0.5 to 5.8 ± 1.3 mg/g DW in the bulbs, and from 3.2 ± 0.3 to 5.7 ± 0.6 mg/g DW in the leaves. The main part (53–61%) of galanthamine was accumulated in the bulbs, while the leaves and roots stored 25–30% and 13–19%, respectively. Higher amounts of N, K, and Ca in the fertilizer did not positively influence the alkaloid yield in plants of ages 1 and 2. Despite the lower biomass accumulation per individual, the plants grown for two seasons (age 1) showed a comparable galanthamine yield (per square meter) at the end of vegetation to those grown for three seasons (age 2) due to their higher density of cultivation. The dynamics of alkaloid and biomass accumulation, studied in plants from age 1 during the vegetation season, showed that the highest galanthamine content in the plant organs is at the beginning of vegetation. Still, the end of vegetation is the best time to harvest the plant biomass for galanthamine extraction. Hydroponic cultivation of H. papilio is an interesting alternative for the production of galanthamine. Full article

The burden of caregivers of people with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is high; however, factors related to their caregiving burden are not fully clarified. We herein investigated factors associated with increasing caregiver burden for caregivers of people with DLB. To explore factors associated with caregiver burden, a linear regression analysis was conducted using the J-ZBI_8 total score as the dependent variable and a total of 36 factors as independent variables. This analysis included 252 pairs of people with DLB and their caregivers. Caregivers’ mean J-ZBI_8 was 8.4, indicating that caregiver burden was generally high. First, we identified 20 factors associated with caregiver burden in univariable analysis. Finally, multivariable analysis found three significant factors: irritability (β = 0.208, p < 0.001), use of “short stay” or “small-scale, multifunctional home care” (β = 0.208, p < 0.001), and nighttime behavior (β = 0.138, p = 0.020) were significantly associated with J-ZBI_8 total scores. Irritability and nighttime behavior were found to be contributing factors to caregiver burden. High caregiver burden among caregivers of people with DLB may result in the use of social services providing overnight stays, but to what extent such services reduce caregiver burden is unknown. Full article

In a period in which competition and globalization are increasing day by day, the competition of companies exists among supply chains. To have and sustain competitiveness in the supply chain context, information technologies should be used, supply chain performance should be measured at certain intervals, and environmental uncertainty should be taken into account. In this framework, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between information technologies and supply chain performance and to investigate whether environmental uncertainty has a mediating role in this relationship. For this purpose, 192 data points were obtained via a survey obtained from the top 500 international companies active in Turkey and analyzed with SAS software. Resulting from the analysis, it was determined that there is a significant relationship between information technologies, environmental uncertainty, and supply chain performance, and between information technologies and environmental uncertainty. It is concluded that environmental uncertainty has a significant effect on supply chain performance, and information technologies have a significant effect on environmental uncertainty. In addition, it has been determined that information technologies have a significant effect on supply chain performance, and environmental uncertainty has a medi-ating role in this effect. According to the results of this study, managers are suggested to increase their supply chain performance by using information technologies and to consider environmental uncertainty to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Full article

Developing precise deep learning (DL) models for predicting tool wear is challenging, particularly due to the scarcity of experimental data. To address this issue, this paper introduces an innovative approach that leverages the capabilities of tabular generative adversarial networks (TGAN) and conditional single image GAN (ConSinGAN). These models are employed to generate synthetic data, thereby enriching the dataset and enhancing the robustness of the predictive models. The efficacy of this methodology was rigorously evaluated using publicly available milling datasets. The pre-processing of acoustic emission data involved the application of the Walsh-Hadamard transform, followed by the generation of spectrograms. These spectrograms were then used to extract statistical attributes, forming a comprehensive feature vector for model input. Three DL models—encoder-decoder long short-term memory (ED-LSTM), gated recurrent unit (GRU), and convolutional neural network (CNN)—were applied to assess their tool wear prediction capabilities. The application of 10-fold cross-validation across these models yielded exceptionally low RMSE and MAE values of 0.02 and 0.16, respectively, underscoring the effectiveness of this approach. The results not only highlight the potential of TGAN and ConSinGAN in mitigating data scarcity but also demonstrate significant improvements in the accuracy of tool wear predictions, paving the way for more reliable and precise predictive maintenance in manufacturing processes. Full article

Parkinson’s disease is associated with gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction, including constipation symptoms and abnormal intestinal permeability and inflammation. A Mediterranean diet (MediDiet) may aid in disease management. This parallel, randomized, controlled trial in people with Parkinson’s (PwP) and constipation symptoms compared a MediDiet against standard of care on change in constipation symptoms, dietary intake, and fecal zonulin and calprotectin concentrations as markers of intestinal permeability and inflammation, respectively. Participants were randomized to either standard of care for constipation (control; n = 17, 65.1 ± 2.2 years) or a MediDiet plus standard of care (n = 19, 68.8 ± 1.4 years) for 8 weeks. Constipation scores decreased with both interventions (p < 0.01), but changes from baseline were not different between groups (MediDiet, −0.5 [−1.0, 0]; control, −0.8 [−1.0, 0.2]; median [25th, 75th]; p = 0.60). The MediDiet group had a higher intake of dietary fiber at week 4 than the control group (13.1 ± 0.7 g/1000 kcal vs. 9.8 ± 0.7 g/1000 kcal; p < 0.001). No differences in fecal zonulin were observed between groups (p = 0.33); however, fecal calprotectin tended to be lower in the MediDiet group at week 8 (45.8 ± 15.1 µg/g vs. 93.9 ± 26.8 µg/g; p = 0.05). The MediDiet and standard interventions reduced constipation symptoms; however, the MediDiet provided additional benefit of increased dietary fiber intake and less intestinal inflammation. Full article

Immunotherapy combined with chemicals and genetic engineering tools is emerging as a promising strategy to treat triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), which is more aggressive with poorer progress than other breast cancer subtypes. In this study, lipid-based nanoparticles (LNPs) possessed an NK cell-like function that could deliver tumor-specific therapeutics and inhibit tumor growth. LNPs fused with an NK cell membrane protein system (NK-LNP) have three main features: (i) hydrophilic plasmid DNA can inhibit TNBC metastasis when encapsulated within LNPs and delivered to cells; (ii) the lipid composition of LNPs, including C18 ceramide, exhibits anticancer effects; (iii) NK cell membrane proteins are immobilized on the LNP surface, enabling targeted delivery to TNBC cells. These particles facilitate the targeted delivery of HIC1 plasmid DNA and the modulation of immune cell functions. Delivered therapeutic genes can inhibit metastasis of TNBC and then induce apoptotic cell death while targeting macrophages to promote cytokine release. The anticancer effect is expected to be applied in treating various difficult-to-treat cancers with LNP fused with NK cell plasma membrane proteins, which can simultaneously deliver therapeutic chemicals and genes. Full article

Systematic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and the accompanying sepsis pose a huge threat to human health worldwide. Heparin is a part of the standard supportive care for the disease. However, the molecular mechanism is not fully understood yet, and the potential signaling pathways that play key roles have not yet been elucidated. In this paper, the main findings regarding the molecular mechanisms associated with the beneficial effects of heparin, including inhibiting HMGB-1-driven inflammation reactions, histone-induced toxicity, thrombo-inflammatory response control and the new emerging mechanisms are concluded. To set up the link between the preclinical research and the clinical effects, the outcomes of the clinical trials are summarized. Then, the structure and function relationship of heparin is discussed. By providing an updated analysis of the above results, the paper highlights the feasibility of heparin as a possible alternative for sepsis prophylaxis and therapy. Full article

As various healthcare technologies such as regenerative medicine, precision medicine, and alternative approaches to animal testing develop, the interest in the use and application of nano- and microfibers is steadily increasing. In this study, the effect of parylene-C coating on electrospun fibers was investigated, and a pattern coating method was developed to expand the potential utilization of parylene-C-coated electrospun fibers. An SEM analysis demonstrated that parylene-C was successfully deposited on the electrospun fibers without any failure such as pinholes or air bubbles. Biocompatibility was investigated through cell tests, which indicated that the coated fibers were non-toxic and supported cell growth well. Tensile tests demonstrated a significant increase in the elastic modulus of the parylene-C-coated fibers, with it nearly quadrupling compared to the original PCL fibers, and the fracture strength almost doubled. At the same time, hydrophobicity was well maintained without any statistically significant changes. In particular, a non-adhesive magnet–metal masking was proposed in order to selectively coat the electrospun fibers with parylene-C with a specific pattern. Furthermore, it was presented that the magnet–metal mask-based coating electrospun nanofibers with parylene-C could be used in the fabrication of hybrid fibers composed of different diameters and materials. Full article

This paper presents a comprehensive approach to detect violent events in videos by combining CrimeNet, a Vision Transformer (ViT) model with structured neural learning and adversarial regularization, with an adaptive threshold sliding window model based on the Transformer architecture. CrimeNet demonstrates exceptional performance on all datasets (XD-Violence, UCF-Crime, NTU-CCTV Fights, UBI-Fights, Real Life Violence Situations, MediEval, RWF-2000, Hockey Fights, Violent Flows, Surveillance Camera Fights, and Movies Fight), achieving high AUC ROC and AUC PR values (up to 99% and 100%, respectively). However, the generalization of CrimeNet to cross-dataset experiments posed some problems, resulting in a 20–30% decrease in performance, for instance, training in UCF-Crime and testing in XD-Violence resulted in 70.20% in AUC ROC. The sliding window model with adaptive thresholding effectively solves these problems by automatically adjusting the violence detection threshold, resulting in a substantial improvement in detection accuracy. By applying the sliding window model as post-processing to CrimeNet results, we were able to improve detection accuracy by 10% to 15% in cross-dataset experiments. Future lines of research include improving generalization, addressing data imbalance, exploring multimodal representations, testing in real-world applications, and extending the approach to complex human interactions. Full article

Topical ocular drug delivery faces several challenges due to the eye’s unique anatomy and physiology. Physiological barriers, tear turnover, and blinking hinder the penetration of drugs through the ocular mucosa. In this context, nanoparticles offer several advantages over traditional eye drops. Notably, they can improve drug solubility and bioavailability, allow for controlled and sustained drug release, and can be designed to specifically target ocular tissues, thus minimizing systemic exposure. This study successfully designed and optimized PLGA and PCL nanoparticles for delivering baricitinib (BTB) to the eye using a factorial design, specifically a three-factor at five-levels central rotatable composite 2³⁺ star design. The nanoparticles were small in size so that they would not cause discomfort when applied to the eye. They exhibited low polydispersity, had a negative surface charge, and showed high entrapment efficiency in most of the optimized formulations. The Challenge Test assessed the microbiological safety of the nanoparticle formulations. An ex vivo permeation study through porcine cornea demonstrated that the nanoparticles enhanced the permeability coefficient of the drug more than 15-fold compared to a plain solution, resulting in drug retention in the tissue and providing a depot effect. Finally, the in vitro ocular tolerance studies showed no signs of irritancy, which was further confirmed by HET-CAM testing. Full article

Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is a group of pathologies that affect the cerebral blood vessels. CSVD accounts for 25% of strokes and contributes to 45% of dementia. However, the pathogenesis of CSVD remains unclear, involving a variety of complex mechanisms. CSVD may result from dysfunction in the glymphatic system (GS). The GS contains aquaporin-4 (AQP-4), which is in the perivascular space, at the endfeet of the astrocyte. The GS contributes to the removal of waste products from the central nervous system, occupying perivascular spaces and regulating the exchange and movement of cerebrospinal fluid and interstitial fluid. The GS involves astrocytes and aquaporin channels, which are components of the blood–brain barrier, and problems with them may constitute the pathogenesis of CSVD. Vascular risk factors, including diabetes, dilate the perivascular space, disrupting the glymphatic system and the active regulation of AQP-4. CSVD exacerbation due to disorders of the GS is associated with multiple vasculopathies. Dysfunction of the glymphatic system and AQP-4 interferes with the functioning of the blood–brain barrier, which exacerbates CSVD. In a long-term follow-up of CSVD patients with microbleeds, lacunar infarcts, and white matter hyperintensity, several vascular risk factors, including hypertension, increased the risk of ischemic stroke. Dysfunction of the GS may be the cause of CSVD; however, the underlying treatment needs to be studied further. Full article

As Workplace Health Promotion is spreading among several working environments, the university context seems to be one of the best to apply primary prevention activities. Working in this direction, the University of Torino led the Wellness@Work for UniTo Project (W@W), with the aim of promoting employees’ health. Internal university professionals assessed body composition and adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD), giving on-target advice for improving lifestyle. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of the W@W Project after a 4-month intervention period. This project was addressed to university employees, who could participate on a voluntary basis. Researchers assessed (T1) socio-demographic information and collected anthropometric variables. Body composition was evaluated through Classic and Specific Bioelectrical impedance Vector Analysis (BIVA). Adherence to the MD was assessed through the Medi-Lite questionnaire. After the assessments, participants were given 5-min counselling from internal professionals. After about 4 months, participants were supposed to undergo same assessments (T2). Overall, 479 workers joined the project, and of those, 246 came back for the T2 assessment. Globally, either anthropometric, body composition, or MD variables improved significantly after 4 months, both for male and female samples, suggesting how an easy-to-apply WHP intervention could help to improve workers’ health. Full article

Background/Objectives: Various parameters, like femoral offset and leg length, are associated with good patient outcomes after total hip arthroplasty. In this prospective study, the effects of stem design, its placement in the proximal femur and the resulting femoral offset on the total leg axis were investigated. Methods: The 27 patients included in this study received biplanar radiography (EOS^®, EOS Imaging) with 3D reconstruction using sterEOS^® both preoperatively and postoperatively. For all leg alignment parameters obtained from the 3D reconstruction and from measurements using mediCAD, the deltas between the postoperative and preoperative values were determined. Patients were divided into those who received a short-stem prosthesis and those who received a straight-stem prosthesis. Results: The change in femoral offset with the implantation of a short-stem prosthesis was significantly greater than that with the implantation of a straight-stem prosthesis (11.4 ± 5.9 vs. 4.6 ± 7.4 mm, p = 0.014). Compared with the straight-stem implantation, short-stem implantation caused a significantly greater increase in the varus orientation of the leg (−1.4 ± 0.9 vs. −0.4 ± 1.4°, p = 0.048). There was no significant difference in the positioning of the short-stem prosthesis compared to the straight-stem prosthesis in the proximal femur (3.6 ± 3.1 vs. 2.6 ± 1.9°, p = 0.317). Conclusions: These findings substantiate the impact of prosthesis design on offset and leg alignment. The implantation of short-stems is more variable and requires precise planning. Intraoperative non-physiological offset changes and varus deviation of the leg axis should be avoided. Trial registration: This study was retrospectively registered with the German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS) under the number DRKS00015053 on the 1 August 2018. Full article