Nanotechnology-Assisted Cell Tracking

The usefulness of nanoparticles (NPs) in the diagnostic and/or therapeutic sector is derived from their aptitude for navigating intra-and extracellular barriers successfully and to be spatiotemporally targeted. In this context, the optimization of NP delivery platforms is technologically related to the exploitation of the mechanisms involved in the NP–cell interaction. This review provides a detailed overview of the available technologies focusing on cell–NP interaction/detection by describing their applications in the fields of cancer and regenerative medicine. Specifically, a literature survey has been performed to analyze the key nanocarrier-impacting elements, such as NP typology and functionalization, the ability to tune cell interaction mechanisms under in vitro and in vivo conditions by framing, and at the same time, the imaging devices supporting NP delivery assessment, and consideration of their specificity and sensitivity. Although the large amount of literature information on the designs and applications of cell membrane-coated NPs has reached the extent at which it could be considered a mature branch of nanomedicine ready to be translated to the clinic, the technology applied to the biomimetic functionalization strategy of the design of NPs for directing cell labelling and intracellular retention appears less advanced. These approaches, if properly scaled up, will present diverse biomedical applications and make a positive impact on human health

Short-Run Regional Forecasts: Spatial Models through Varying Cross-Sectional and Temporal Dimensions

In any economic analysis, regions or municipalities should not be regarded as isolated spatial units, but rather as highly interrelated small open economies. These spatial interrelations must be considered also when the aim is to forecast economic variables. For example, policy makers need accurate forecasts of the unemployment evolution in order to design short- or long-run local welfare policies. These predictions should then consider the spatial interrelations and dynamics of regional unemployment. In addition, a number of papers have demonstrated the improvement in the reliability of long-run forecasts when spatial dependence is accounted for. We estimate a heterogeneouscoefficients dynamic panel model employing a spatial filter in order to account for spatial heterogeneity and/or spatial autocorrelation in both the levels and the dynamics of unemployment, as well as a spatial vector-autoregressive (SVAR) model. We compare the short-run forecasting performance of these methods, and in particular, we carry out a sensitivity analysis in order to investigate if different number and size of the administrative regions influence their relative forecasting performance. We compute short-run unemployment forecasts in two countries with different administrative territorial divisions and data frequency: Switzerland (26 regions, monthly data for 34 years) and Spain (47 regions, quarterly data for 32 years)

Tendon biomimetic 3D scaffold enhance amniotic epithelial stem cells biological potential

Tendon tissue engineering represents an emerging field whose aim focuses on the design of 3D tendon biomimetic scaffolds that should ideally combine adequate physical, mechanical, biological and functional properties of the native tissue. In this research, it was designed a bundle tendon-like PLGA 3D scaffold with highly aligned fibers on which the structure and mechanical properties were evaluated. Moreover, it was assessed scaffold’s teno-differentiative and immuno-inductive ability on amniotic epithelial stem cells (AECs). The fabricated PLGA 3D scaffolds mimic macroscopically and microscopically the structure of native tendon tissue and its biomechanical properties. Biologically, AECs seeded on the fabricated 3D scaffolds acquired a spindle tenocyte-like morphology after just 24h compared to the AECs cultured on petri dishes (CTR) which maintained their cobblestone morphology. The phenotypic change of the engineered AECs was also confirmed by visualizing TNMD protein expression, a mature tendon marker, within their cytoplasm and supported by the analysis of tendon-related genes (SCX, COL1, and TNMD) that were significantly upregulated at 7-day culture, while no TNMD protein expression or significant increase in tendon-related genes was found in CTR cells. Moreover, the 3D construct induced on AECs an upregulation of IL-10, an anti-inflammatory cytokine, maintaining basal levels of IL-12, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, showing a favorable IL10/IL12 ratio. In conclusion, the fabricated PLGA 3D scaffolds are tendon biomimetic in terms of ultrastructure and biomechanics, making them also suitable for surgical purposes. Moreover, these constructs revealed a high teno- and immuno-inductive potential on AECs and thus represent potential candidates for tendon regeneration

Sviluppo di strumenti tecnologici predittivi sanitario/meteo-ambientali per potenziare l’efficienza e la sostenibilità degli impianti di molluschicoltura: avvio del progetto FORESHELL

FORESHELL project is funded by the FLAG Costa Blu trough 2014-20 EMFF program of the Abruzzo Region. It is carrying out a pilot initiative to develop sanitary/weather-environmental predictive technological tools to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of the mussel farm in the Giulianova Maritime District. The hydrographic basins of the rivers close to the farm, Vibrata and Salinello, are constantly monitored trough the hydrological model (CHyM), to forecast occurrences of discharge peaks at the river mouth. Moreover, a specific sampling programme is established before and after severe weather events to determine the concentration of E. coli in freshwater at the river mouths and in mussels/seawater at the farming area. Until September 2021, there were 4 meteorological events that did not cause a peak discharge at the river mouth. Results did not show a significant increase of E. coli in the mussels. At the same time, the environmental parameters such as sea water temperature, salinity, chlorophyll a, sea currents and wave motion are acquired by the satellites and in situ probe. The web application for data visualisation is under construction, as well as the early warning signalling to the farmer. Furthermore, the growth of mussels is constantly monitored with biometric controls. In conclusion, the implementation of all phases of the FORESHELL project are progressing according to the timeline in order to develop innovative tools useful for the management of mussel farming area

Search for tri-nucleon decays of Ge76 in GERDA

We search for tri-nucleon decays of $$^{76}$$Ge in the dataset from the GERmanium Detector Array (GERDA) experiment. Decays that populate excited levels of the daughter nucleus above the threshold for particle emission lead to disintegration and are not considered. The ppp-, ppn-, and pnn-decays lead to $$^{73}$$Cu, $$^{73}$$Zn, and $$^{73}$$Ga nuclei, respectively. These nuclei are unstable and eventually proceed by the beta decay of $$^{73}$$Ga to $$^{73}$$Ge (stable). We search for the $$^{73}$$Ga decay exploiting the fact that it dominantly populates the 66.7 keV $$^{73m}$$Ga state with half-life of 0.5 s. The nnn-decays of $$^{76}$$Ge that proceed via $$^{73m}$$Ge are also included in our analysis. We find no signal candidate and place a limit on the sum of the decay widths of the inclusive tri-nucleon decays that corresponds to a lower lifetime limit of 1.2$$\times$$10$$^{26}$$ yr  (90% credible interval). This result improves previous limits for tri-nucleon decays by one to three orders of magnitude

High sensitivity characterization of an ultrahigh purity NaI(Tl) crystal scintillator with the SABRE proof-of-principle detector

We present new results on the radiopurity of a 3.4-kg NaI(Tl) crystal scintillator operated in the SABRE proof-of-principle detector setup. The amount of potassium contamination, determined by the direct counting of radioactive K40, is found to be 2.2±1.5 ppb, lowest ever achieved for NaI(Tl) crystals. With the active veto, the average background rate in the crystal in the 1-6 keV energy region of interest (ROI) is 1.20±0.05 counts/day/kg/keV, which is a breakthrough since the DAMA/LIBRA experiment. Our background model indicates that the rate is dominated by Pb210 and that about half of this contamination is located in the polytetrafluoroethylene reflector. We discuss ongoing developments of the crystal manufacture aimed at the further reduction of the background, including data from purification by zone refining. A projected background rate lower than ∼0.2 counts/day/kg/keV in the ROI is within reach. These results represent a benchmark for the development of next-generation NaI(Tl) detector arrays for the direct detection of dark matter particles

Tendon Immune Regeneration: Insights on the Synergetic Role of Stem and Immune Cells during Tendon Regeneration

Tendon disorders represent a very common pathology in today’s population, and tendinopathies that account 30% of tendon-related injuries, affect yearly millions of people which in turn cause huge socioeconomic and health repercussions worldwide. Inflammation plays a prominent role in the development of tendon pathologies, and advances in understanding the underlying mechanisms during the inflammatory state have provided additional insights into its potential role in tendon dis-orders. Different cell compartments, in combination with secreted immune modulators, have shown to control and modulate the inflammatory response during tendinopathies. Stromal compartment represented by tenocytes has shown to display an important role in orchestrating the inflammatory response during tendon injuries due to the interplay they exhibit with the immune-sensing and infiltrating compartments, which belong to resident and recruited immune cells. The use of stem cells or their derived secretomes within the regenerative medicine field might represent synergic new therapeutical approaches that can be used to tune the reaction of immune cells within the damaged tissues. To this end, promising opportunities are headed to the stimulation of macrophages polarization towards anti-inflammatory phenotype together with the recruitment of stem cells, that possess immunomodulatory properties, able to infiltrate within the damaged tissues and improve tendinopathies resolution. Indeed, the comprehension of the interactions between tenocytes or stem cells with the immune cells might considerably modulate the immune reaction solving hence the inflammatory response and preventing fibrotic tissue formation. The purpose of this review is to compare the roles of distinct cell compartments during tendon homeostasis and injury. Furthermore, the role of immune cells in this field, as well as their interactions with stem cells and tenocytes during tendon regeneration, will be discussed to gain insights into new ways for dealing with tendinopathies

Scaffold-Mediated Immunoengineering as Innovative Strategy for Tendon Regeneration

Tendon injuries are at the frontier of innovative approaches to public health concerns and sectoral policy objectives. Indeed, these injuries remain difficult to manage due to tendon’s poor healing ability ascribable to a hypo-cellularity and low vascularity, leading to the formation of a fibrotic tissue affecting its functionality. Tissue engineering represents a promising solution for the regeneration of damaged tendons with the aim to stimulate tissue regeneration or to produce functional implantable biomaterials. However, any technological advancement must take into consideration the role of the immune system in tissue regeneration and the potential of biomaterial scaffolds to control the immune signaling, creating a pro-regenerative environment. In this context, immunoengineering has emerged as a new discipline, developing innovative strategies for tendon injuries. It aims at designing scaffolds, in combination with engineered bioactive molecules and/or stem cells, able to modulate the interaction between the transplanted biomaterial-scaffold and the host tissue allowing a pro-regenerative immune response, therefore hindering fibrosis occurrence at the injury site and guiding tendon regeneration. Thus, this review is aimed at giving an overview on the role exerted from different tissue engineering actors in leading immunoregeneration by crosstalking with stem and immune cells to generate new paradigms in designing regenerative medicine approaches for tendon injuries

Association Between Severity of COVID-19 Respiratory Disease and Risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Objectives: The purpose of this observational retrospective study was to evaluate, in patients with a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection, the association between the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) respiratory illness and the risk of infected patients to develop obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Methods: Ninety-six patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection were enrolled in the study. The STOP-BANG questionnaire to investigate the risk of the OSA syndrome was filled in by the patients at admission. The enrolled patients were divided into 2 groups according to the respiratory disease: group 1 (72 patients), hospitalized patients undergoing conventional oxygen therapy; group 2 (24 patients), patients requiring enhanced respiratory support. STOP-BANG results of these 2 groups were compared to observe whether patients with high OSA risk more frequently presented a severe form of COVID-19. Results: 41.6% of the patients in group 2 had a STOP-BANG score between 5 and 8 (high risk of having apnea); in contrast, 20.8% of the patients in group 1 had a STOP-BANG score between 5 and 8, with a statistically significant difference between the 2 groups (P =.05). A complementary trend was observed regarding the proportion of patients in the range 0 to 2, which classifies patients at a low risk of OSA (48.6% vs 20.8% for groups 1 and 2, P =.01). Conclusions: According to our data, the chances of having a severe case of COVID-19 should be considered in patients at high risk of OSA. Current Knowledge/Study Rationale: Emerging research suggests that OSA could represent a potentially important risk factor for the severe forms of COVID-19. The purpose of this observational retrospective study was to evaluate the potential association between OSA and the severity of COVID-19 disease. Study Impact: According to our data, the likelihood of contracting a severe form of COVID-19 disease should be considered in patients at high risk of OSA