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Attempts to explicate the neural abnormalities behind autism spectrum disorders frequently revealed impaired brain connectivity, yet our knowledge is limited about the alterations linked with autistic traits in the non-clinical population. In our study, we aimed at exploring the neural correlates of dimensional autistic traits using a dual approach of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and graph theoretical analysis of resting state functional MRI data. Subjects were sampled from a public neuroimaging dataset of healthy volunteers. Inclusion criteria were adult age (age: 18-65), availability of DTI and resting state functional acquisitions and psychological evaluation including the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and Autistic Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ). The final subject cohort consisted of 127 neurotypicals. Global brain network structure was described by graph theoretical parameters: global and average local efficiency. Regional topology was characterized by degree and efficiency. We provided measurements for diffusion anisotropy. The association between autistic traits and the neuroimaging findings was studied using a general linear model analysis, controlling for the effects of age, gender and IQ profile. Significant negative correlation was found between the degree and efficiency of the right posterior cingulate cortex and autistic traits, measured by the combination of ASSQ and SRS scores. Autistic phenotype was associated with the decrease of whole-brain local efficiency. Reduction of diffusion anisotropy was found bilaterally in the temporal fusiform and parahippocampal gyri. Numerous models describe the autistic brain connectome to be dominated by reduced long-range connections and excessive short-range fibers. Our finding of decreased efficiency supports this hypothesis although the only prominent effect was seen in the posterior limbic lobe, which is known to act as a connector hub. The neural correlates of the autistic trait in neurotypicals showed only limited similarities to the reported findings in clinical populations with low functioning autism.

Abstract The development of neurons is regulated by several spatiotemporally changing factors, which are crucial to give the ability of neurons to form functional networks. While external physical stimuli may impact the early developmental stages of neurons, the medium and long-term consequences of these influences have yet to be thoroughly examined. Using an animal model, this study focuses on the morphological and transcriptome changes of the hippocampus that may occur as a consequence of fetal ultrasound examination. We selectively labeled CA1 neurons of the hippocampus with in-utero electroporation to analyze their morphological features. Furthermore, certain samples also went through RNA sequencing after repetitive ultrasound exposure. US exposure significantly changed several morphological properties of the basal dendritic tree. A notable increase was also observed in the density of spines on the basal dendrites, accompanied by various alterations in individual spine morphology. Transcriptome analysis revealed several up or downregulated genes, which may explain the molecular background of these alterations. Our results suggest that US-derived changes in the dendritic trees of CA1 pyramidal cells might be connected to modification of the transcriptome of the hippocampus and may lead to an increased dendritic input.

Purpose: To present and compare models created by two different rapid prototyping (RP) methods. Materials and methods: Using a three-dimensional graphic program (Blender, Blender Foundation) a 10 × 10 × 2 mm test specimen was created and printed with a Formlabs Form 2 (Formlabs Inc.) SLA printer of photopolymerization resin and with a Stratasys Objet 30 Orthodesk (Stratasys GmbH) Polyjet printer of acrylate. After printing, the post-processing was performed according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and then the specimens were examined by various physical, optical and imaging diagnostic methods. Results: Our results showed that the two different technologies result in different morphological images and parameters. Between the digital reference specimen and the x and y value of the VeroGlaze MED 620 and Dental SG materials, there was a significant difference (P < 0,001). Conclusions: The currently available rapid prototyping methods with limitations are suitable for dental use with the measured parameters.

Measurement(s) regional part of brain • T2 (Observed)-Weighted Imaging Technology Type(s) Image Segmentation Sample Characteristic - Organism Homo sapiens Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14039327

Nasal drug delivery has been a focus of scientific interest for decades. A number of drug delivery systems and devices are available and have been highly successful in providing better and more comfortable therapy. The benefits of nasal drug delivery are not in question. The nasal surface provides an excellent context for the targeted delivery of active substances. In addition to the large nasal surface area and intensive absorption, the active substances delivered through the nose overcome the blood–brain barrier and can be delivered directly to the central nervous system. Formulations for nasal administration are typically solutions or liquid dispersed systems such as emulsions or suspensions. Formulation techniques for nanostructures have recently undergone intensive development. Solid-phase heterogeneous dispersed systems represent a new direction in pharmaceutical formulations. The wide range of possible examples and the variety of excipients allow for the delivery of a wide range of active ingredients. The aim of our experimental work was to develop a solid drug delivery system that possesses all of the above-mentioned advantageous properties. In developing solid nanosystems, we not only exploited the advantages of size but also the adhesive and penetration-enhancing properties of excipients. During formulation, several amphiphilic compounds with adhesion properties and penetration enhancing effects were incorporated. We used chlorpromazine (CPZ), which is mainly used in the treatment of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Chlorpromazine has been previously investigated by our team in other projects. With the availability of previous methods, the analytical characterization of the drug was carried out effectively. Due to the frequent and severe side effects of the drug, the need for therapeutic dose reduction is indisputable. In this series of experiments, we succeeded in constructing drug delivery systems. Finely divided Na nanoparticles were formed using a Büchi B90 nanospray dryer. An important step in the development of the drug carrier was the selection of suitable inert carrier compounds. Particle size determination and particle size distribution analysis were performed to characterize the prepared nanostructures. As safety is the most important aspect of any drug formulation, all components and systems were tested with different biocompatibility assays. The tests performed demonstrated the safe applicability of our systems. The bioavailability of chlorpromazine was studied as a function of the ratio of the active ingredient administered nasally and intravenously. As described above, most nasal formulations are liquids, but our system is solid, so there is currently no tool available to accurately target this system. As a supplement of the project, a nasal dosing device was developed, corresponding to the anatomical structure; a prototype of the device was made using 3D FDM technology. Our results lay the foundation for the design and industrial scaling of a new approach to the design and production of a high-bioavailability nasal medicinal product.

PurposeMany studies of MRI radiomics do not include the discretization method used for the analyses, which might indicate that the discretization methods used are considered irrelevant. Our goals were to compare three frequently used discretization methods (lesion relative resampling (LRR), lesion absolute resampling (LAR) and absolute resampling (AR)) applied to the same data set, along with two different lesion segmentation approaches.MethodsWe analyzed the effects of altering bin widths or bin numbers for the three different sampling methods using 40 texture indices (TIs). The impact was evaluated on brain MRI studies obtained for 71 patients divided into three different disease groups: multiple sclerosis (MS, N = 22), ischemic stroke (IS, N = 22), cancer patients (N = 27). Two different MRI acquisition protocols were considered for all patients, a T2- and a post-contrast 3D T1-weighted MRI sequence. Elliptical and manually drawn VOIs were employed for both imaging series. Three different types of gray-level discretization methods were used: LRR, LAR and AR. Hypothesis tests were done among all diseased and control areas to compare the TI values in these areas. We also did correlation analyses between TI values and lesion volumes.ResultsIn general, no significant differences were reported in the results when employing the AR and LAR discretization methods. It was found that employing 38 TIs introduced variation in the results when the number of bin parameters was altered, suggesting that both the degree and direction of monotonicity between each TI value and binning parameters were characteristic for each TI. Furthermore, while TIs were changing with altering binning values, no changes correlated to neither disease nor the MRI sequence. We found that most indices correlated weakly with the volume, while the correlation coefficients were independent of both diseases analyzed and MR contrast. Several cooccurrence-matrix based texture parameters show a definite higher correlation when employing the LRR discretization method However, with the best correlations obtained for the manually drawn VOI. Hypothesis tests among all disease and control areas (co-lateral hemisphere) revealed that the AR or LAR discretization techniques provide more suitable texture features than LRR. In addition, the manually drawn segmentation gave fewer significantly different TIs than the ellipsoid segmentations. In addition, the amount of TIs with significant differences was increasing with increasing the number of bins, or decreasing bin widths.ConclusionOur findings indicate that the AR discretization method may offer the best texture analysis in MR image assessments. Employing too many bins or too large bin widths might reduce the selection of TIs that can be used for differential diagnosis. In general, more statistically different TIs were observed for elliptical segmentations when compared to the manually drawn VOIs. In the texture analysis of MR studies, studies and publications should report on all important parameters and methods related to data collection, corrections, normalization, discretization, and segmentation.

Gastroretentive systems may overcome problems associated with incomplete drug absorption by localized release of the API in the stomach. Low-density drug delivery systems can float in the gastric content and improve the bioavailability of small molecules. The current publication presents verapamil–HCl-containing solid foam prepared by continuous manufacturing. Production runs were validated, and the foam structure was characterized by micro-CT scans and SEM. Dissolution properties, texture changes during dissolution, and floating forces were analyzed. An optimized formulation was chosen and given orally to Beagle dogs to determine the pharmacokinetic parameters of the solid foam capsules. As a result, a 12.5 m/m% stearic acid content was found to be the most effective to reduce the apparent density of capsules. Drug release can be described by the first-order model, where 70% of verapamil dissolved after 10 h from the optimized formulation. The texture analysis proved that the structures of the solid foams are resistant. Additionally, the floating forces of the samples remained constant during their dissolution in acidic media. An in vivo study confirmed the prolonged release of the API, and gastroscopic images verified the retention of the capsule in the stomach.

Vaginal drug delivery systems can provide a long-term and constant liberation of the active pharmaceutical ingredient even for months. For our experiment, FDM 3D printing was used to manufacture the vaginal ring samples from thermoplastic polyurethane filament, which enables fast manufacturing of complex, personalized medications. 3D printing can be an excellent alternative instead of industrial manufacturing, which is complicated and time-consuming. In our work, the 3D printed vaginal rings were filled manually with jellified metronidazole or chloramphenicol for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis. The need for manual filling was certified by the thermogravimetric and heatflow assay results. The manufactured samples were analyzed by an Erweka USP type II Dissolution Apparatus, and the dissolution profile can be distinguished based on the applied jellifying agents and the API’s. All samples were considered non-similar based on the pairwise comparison. The biocompatibility properties were determined by prolonged MTT assay on HeLa cells, and the polymer could be considered non-toxic. Based on the microbiological assay on E. coli metronidazole and chitosan containing samples had bactericidal effects while just metronidazole or just chitosan containing samples bacteriostatic effect. None of these samples showed a fungistatic or fungicide effect against C. albicans. Based on our results, we successfully manufactured 3D printed vaginal rings filled with jellified metronidazole.

Drug delivery systems are used to improve the biopharmaceutical properties of curcumin. Our aim was to investigate the effect of a water-soluble ‘two in one’ polymer containing covalently bonded PEG and βCD moieties (βCPCD) on the solubility and bioavailability of curcumin and compare it to a polymeric β-cyclodextrin (βCDP) cross-linked with epichlorohydrin. Phase-solubility and dynamic light scattering (DLS) experiments showed that the solubility of curcumin increased significantly in 10 m/m % βCPCD and βCDP solutions, but βCPCD–curcumin particles had higher hydrodynamic volume. The formation of the βCPCD–curcumin complex in solution and sedimented phase was confirmed by NMR spectroscopy. Biocompatibility and permeability experiments were performed on Caco-2 cells. Polymers did not show cytotoxicity up to 10 m/m % and βCPCD significantly increased the permeability of curcumin. DLS measurements revealed that among the interaction of polymers with mucin, βCPCD formed bigger aggregates compared to βCDP. Curcumin complexes were lyophilized into capsules and structurally characterized by micro-CT spectroscopy. Drug release was tested in a pH 1.2 medium. Lyophilized complexes had a solid porous matrix and both βCPCD and βCDP showed rapid drug release. βCPCD provides an opportunity to create a swellable, mucoadhesive matrix system for oral drug delivery.

In recent years, the application of solid foams has become widespread. Solid foams are not only used in the aerospace field but also in everyday life. Although foams are promising dosage forms in the pharmaceutical industry, their usage is not prevalent due to decreased stability of the solid foam structure. These special dosage forms can result in increased bioavailability of drugs. Low-density floating formulations can also increase the gastric residence time of drugs; therefore, drug release will be sustained. Our aim was to produce a stable floating formula by foaming. Matrix components, PEG 4000 and stearic acid type 50, were selected with the criteria of low gastric irritation, a melting range below 70 °C, and well-known use in oral drug formulations. This matrix was melted at 54 °C in order to produce a dispersion of active substance and was foamed by different gases at atmospheric pressure using an ultrasonic homogenizer. The density of the molded solid foam was studied by the pycnometer method, and its structure was investigated by SEM and micro-CT. The prolonged drug release and mucoadhesive properties were proved in a pH 1.2 buffer. According to our experiments, a stable foam could be produced by rapid homogenization (less than 1 min) without any surfactant material.

One of the most promising emerging innovations in personalized medication is based on 3D printing technology. For use as authorized medications, 3D-printed products require different in vitro tests, including dissolution and biocompatibility investigations. Our objective was to manufacture implantable drug delivery systems using fused deposition modeling, and in vitro tests were performed for the assessment of these products. Polylactic acid, antibacterial polylactic acid, polyethylene terephthalate glycol, and poly(methyl methacrylate) filaments were selected, and samples with 16, 19, or 22 mm diameters and 0%, 5%, 10%, or 15% infill percentages were produced. The dissolution test was performed by a USP dissolution apparatus 1. A 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide dye (MTT)-based prolonged cytotoxicity test was performed on Caco-2 cells to certify the cytocompatibility properties. The implantable drug delivery systems were characterized by thermogravimetric and heatflow assay, contact angle measurement, scanning electron microscopy, microcomputed tomography, and Raman spectroscopy. Based on our results, it can be stated that the samples are considered nontoxic. The dissolution profiles are influenced by the material properties of the polymers, the diameter, and the infill percentage. Our results confirm the potential of fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing for the manufacturing of different implantable drug delivery systems in personalized medicine and may be applied during surgical interventions.