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Scorpion stings are a significant public health concern globally, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions. Scorpion venoms contain a diverse array of bioactive peptides, and different scorpion species around the world typically exhibit varying venom profiles, resulting in a wide range of envenomation symptoms. Despite their harmful effects, scorpion venom peptides hold immense potential for drug development due to their unique characteristics. Therefore, the establishment of a comprehensive database that catalogs scorpions along with their known venom peptides and proteins is imperative in furthering research efforts in this research area. We hereby present ScorpDb, a novel database that offers convenient access to data related to different scorpion species, the peptides and proteins found in their venoms, and the symptoms they can cause. To this end, the ScorpDb database has been primarily advanced to accommodate data on the Iranian scorpion fauna. From there, we propose future community efforts to include a larger diversity of scorpions and scorpion venom components. ScorpDb holds the promise to become a valuable resource for different professionals from a variety of research fields, like toxinologists, arachnologists, and pharmacologists. The database is available at https://www.scorpdb.com/. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, society is oriented toward reducing the production of plastics, which have a significant impact on the environment. In this context, the recycling of existing plastic objects is currently a fundamental step in the mitigation of pollution. Very recently, the outstanding development of artificial intelligence (AI) has concerned and continues to involve a large part of the industrial and informatics sectors. The opportunity to implement big data in the frame of recycling processes is oriented toward the improvement and the optimization of the reproduction of plastic objects, possibly with enhanced properties and durability. Here, a deep cataloguing, characterization and recycling of plastic wastes provided by an industrial sorting plant was performed. The potential improvement of the mechanical properties of the recycled polymers was assessed by the addition of coupling agents. On these bases, a classification system based on the collected results of the recycled materials' properties was developed, with the aim of laying the groundwork for the improvement of AI databases and helpfully supporting industrial recycling processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hereditary transthyretin-related amyloidosis is a clinically heterogeneous autosomal dominant disease caused by pathogenic variants in the TTR gene (hATTR amyloidosis). Objective: The current study describes the demographic, clinical, and genetic characteristics of patients with suspected hATTR amyloidosis. Methods: This study is part of the "Hereditary transthyretin-related amyloidosis and longitudinal monitoring of TTR-positive patients" (TRAMmoniTTR) study. This study included 3167 participants, along with their clinical details. Principal component (PC) analysis was used to analyze their clinical symptomatology. Next-generation sequencing of the TTR gene was performed and genotype–phenotype relationships were investigated. We compared the demographic and clinical characteristics using the principal components (PCs) and also compared participants with and without the TTR pathogenic variants. Results: We identified five main clinical phenotypes out of 22 single symptoms that explained 49% of the variation. The first two PCs referred to polyneuropathy and cardiomyopathy. We found significant differences between gender and PC-polyneuropathy and PC-cardiomyopathy, with male over-representation in the higher quantiles of PC-polyneuropathy and male under-representation in the lowest quantiles of PC-cardiomyopathy. We identified 92 participants with hATTR (3%), exhibiting 17 unique heterozygous TTR variants. The p.Val50Met variant was the most frequent. Furthermore, 503 participants (20%) were identified with ATTR and no relevant TTR variants (ATTRwt). We detected significant differences between the ATTRwt and hATTR groups, with male gender predominance in only the ATTRwt group and a positive family history of polyneuropathy and/or cardiomyopathy among the hATTR participants. Conclusions: The current clinical and genetic characterization of this cohort serves as a foundation for further longitudinal monitoring and assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"True" cobras (genus Naja) are among the venomous snakes most frequently involved in snakebite accidents in Africa and Asia. The Cape cobra (Naja nivea) is one of the African cobras of highest medical importance, but much remains to be learned about its venom. Here, we used a shotgun proteomics approach to better understand the qualitative composition of N. nivea venom and tested its cytotoxicity and protease activity as well as its effect on intracellular Ca2+ release and NO synthesis. We identified 156 venom components representing 17 protein families, with the dominant ones being three-finger toxins, mostly of the short-chain type. Two-thirds of the three-finger toxin entries identified were assigned as cytotoxins, while the remainder were categorized as neurotoxins, including short-chain, long-chain, and ancestral three-finger toxins. We also identified snake venom metalloproteinases and members of CRISP, l-amino acid oxidase, and other families. Protease activity and its effect on intracellular Ca2+ release and NO synthesis were low. Phospholipase A2 activity was surprisingly high, despite this toxin family being marginally recovered in the analyzed venom. Cytotoxicity was relevant only at higher venom concentrations, with macrophage and neuroblastoma cell lines showing the lowest viability. These results are in line with the predominantly neurotoxic envenomation symptoms caused by Cape cobra bites. The present overview of the qualitatively complex and functionally intriguing venom of N. nivea may provide insights into the pathobiochemistry of this species' venom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the modular hypothesis for the control of movement, muscles are recruited in synergies, which capture muscle coordination in space, time, or both. In the last two decades, muscle synergy analysis has become a well-established framework in the motor control field and for the characterization of motor impairments in neurological patients. Altered modular control during a locomotion task has been often proposed as a potential quantitative metric for characterizing pathological conditions. Therefore, the purpose of this systematic review is to analyze the recent literature that used a muscle synergy analysis of neurological patients' locomotion as an indicator of motor rehabilitation therapy effectiveness, encompassing the key methodological elements to date. Searches for the relevant literature were made in Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus. Most of the 15 full-text articles which were retrieved and included in this review identified an effect of the rehabilitation intervention on muscle synergies. However, the used experimental and methodological approaches varied across studies. Despite the scarcity of studies that investigated the effect of rehabilitation on muscle synergies, this review supports the utility of muscle synergies as a marker of the effectiveness of rehabilitative therapy and highlights the challenges and open issues that future works need to address to introduce the muscle synergies in the clinical practice and decisional process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treatment guidelines for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) vary by several factors including pathological stage, patient candidacy, and goal of treatment. With many therapeutics and even more combinations available in the NSCLC clinician's toolkit, a multitude of questions remain unanswered vis-a-vis treatment optimization. While some studies have begun exploring the interplay among the many pillars of NSCLC treatment—surgical resection, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy—the vast number of combinations and permutations of different therapy modalities in addition to the modulation of each constituent therapy leaves much to be desired in a field that is otherwise rapidly evolving. Given NSCLC's high incidence and lethality, the experimentation of synergistic benefits that combinatorial treatment may confer presents a ripe target for advancement and increased understanding without the cost and burden of novel drug development. This review introduces, synthesizes, and compares prominent NSCLC therapies, placing emphasis on the interplay among types of therapies and the synergistic benefits some combinatorial therapies have demonstrated over the past several years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sensor-based assessments in medical practice and rehabilitation include the measurement of physiological signals such as EEG, EMG, ECG, heart rate, and NIRS, and the recording of movement kinematics and interaction forces. Such measurements are commonly employed in clinics with the aim of assessing patients' pathologies, but so far some of them have found full exploitation mainly for research purposes. In fact, even though the data they allow to gather may shed light on physiopathology and mechanisms underlying motor recovery in rehabilitation, their practical use in the clinical environment is mainly devoted to research studies, with a very reduced impact on clinical practice. This is especially the case for muscle synergies, a well-known method for the evaluation of motor control in neuroscience based on multichannel EMG recordings. In this paper, considering neuromotor rehabilitation as one of the most important scenarios for exploiting novel methods to assess motor control, the main challenges and future perspectives for the standard clinical adoption of muscle synergy analysis are reported and critically discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute liver injury occurs most frequently due to trauma, but it can also occur because of sepsis or drug-induced injury. This review aims to analyze artificial intelligence (AI)'s ability to detect and quantify liver injured areas in adults and pediatric patients. Methods: A literature analysis was performed on the PubMed Dataset. We selected original articles published from 2018 to 2023 and cohorts with ≥10 adults or pediatric patients. Results: Six studies counting 564 patients were collected, including 170 (30%) children and 394 adults. Four (66%) articles reported AI application after liver trauma, one (17%) after sepsis, and one (17%) due to chemotherapy. In five (83%) studies, Computed Tomography was performed, while in one (17%), FAST-UltraSound was performed. The studies reported a high diagnostic performance; in particular, three studies reported a specificity rate > 80%. Conclusions: Radiomics models seem reliable and applicable to clinical practice in patients affected by acute liver injury. Further studies are required to achieve larger validation cohorts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Vipera encompasses most species of medically significant venomous snakes of Europe, with Italy harbouring four of them. Envenomation by European vipers can result in severe consequences, but underreporting and the absence of standardised clinical protocols hinder effective snakebite management. This study provides an updated, detailed set of guidelines for the management and treatment of Vipera snakebite tailored for Italian clinicians. It includes taxonomic keys for snake identification, insights into viper venom composition, and recommendations for clinical management. Emphasis is placed on quick and reliable identification of medically relevant snake species, along with appropriate first aid measures. Criteria for antivenom administration are outlined, as well as indications on managing potential side effects. While the protocol is specific to Italy, its methodology can potentially be adapted for other European countries, depending on local resources. The promotion of comprehensive data collection and collaboration among Poison Control Centres is advocated to optimise envenomation management protocols and improve the reporting of epidemiological data concerning snakebite at the country level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer is a frequent neoplasm in western countries, mainly due to dietary and behavioral factors. Its incidence is growing in developing countries for the westernization of foods and lifestyles. An increased incidence rate is observed in patients under 45 years of age. In recent years, the mortality for CRC is decreased, but this trend is slowing. The mortality rate is reducing in those countries where prevention and treatments have been implemented. The survival is increased to over 65%. This trend reflects earlier detection of CRC through routine clinical examinations and screening, more accurate staging through advances in imaging, improvements in surgical techniques, and advances in chemotherapy and radiation. The most important predictor of survival is the stage at diagnosis. The screening programs are able to reduce incidence and mortality rates of CRC. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of incidence, mortality, and survival rate for CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based analysis represents an evolving medical field. In the last few decades, several studies have reported the diagnostic efficiency of AI applied to Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to early detect liver metastases (LM), mainly from colorectal cancer. Despite the increase in information and the development of different procedures in several radiological fields, an accurate method of predicting LM has not yet been found. This review aims to compare the diagnostic efficiency of different AI methods in the literature according to accuracy, sensibility, precision, and recall to identify early LM. Methods: A narrative review of the literature was conducted on PubMed. A total of 336 studies were screened. Results: We selected 17 studies from 2012 to 2022. In total, 14,475 patients were included, and more than 95% were affected by colorectal cancer. The most frequently used imaging tool to early detect LM was found to be CT (58%), while MRI was used in three cases. Four different AI analyses were used: deep learning, radiomics, machine learning, and fuzzy systems in seven (41.18%), five (29.41%), four (23.53%), and one (5.88%) cases, respectively. Four studies achieved an accuracy of more than 90% after MRI and CT scan acquisition, while just two reported a recall rate ≥90% (one method using MRI and CT and one CT). Conclusions: Routinely acquired radiological images could be used for AI-based analysis to early detect LM. Simultaneous use of radiomics and machine learning analysis applied to MRI or CT images should be an effective method considering the better results achieved in the clinical scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Thalamopeduncular tumors are challenging lesions arising at the junction between the thalamus and the cerebral peduncle. They represent 1–5% of pediatric brain tumors, are mainly pilocytic astrocytoma and occur within the first two decades of life. To date, the optimal treatment remains unclear. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed pediatric patients who underwent surgery for thalamopeduncular tumors in the Academic Pediatric Neurosurgery Unit of Padova and Verona from 2005 to 2022. We collected information on age, sex, symptoms, preoperative and postoperative neuroradiological studies, histological specimens, surgical approaches, and follow-up. Results: We identified eight patients with a mean age of 9 years. All lesions were pilocytic astrocytoma. The main symptoms were spastic hemiparesis, cranial nerve palsy, headache, and ataxia. The corticospinal tract was studied in all patients using diffusion-tensor imaging brain MRI and in two patients using navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation. The transsylvian approach was the most frequently used. A gross total resection was achieved in two patients, a subtotal resection in five and a partial resection in one. In three patients, a second treatment was performed due to the regrowth of the tumor, performing an additional surgery in two cases and a second-look surgery followed by adjuvant therapy in one. After the surgery, four patients maintained stability in their postoperative neurological exam, two patients improved, and two worsened but in one of them, an improvement during recovery occurred. At the last follow-up available, three patients were disease-free, four had a stable tumor residual, and only one patient died from the progression of the disease. Conclusions: Advanced preoperative tools allow one to define a safe surgical strategy. Due to the indolent behavior of thalamopeduncular tumors, surgery should be encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European vipers (genus Vipera) are medically important snakes displaying considerable venom variation, occurring at different levels in this group. The presence of intraspecific venom variation, however, remains understudied in several Vipera species. Vipera seoanei is a venomous snake endemic to the northern Iberian Peninsula and south-western France, presenting notable phenotypic variation and inhabiting several diverse habitats across its range. We analysed the venoms of 49 adult specimens of V. seoanei from 20 localities across the species' Iberian distribution. We used a pool of all individual venoms to generate a V. seoanei venom reference proteome, produced SDS-PAGE profiles of all venom samples, and visualised patterns of variation using NMDS. By applying linear regression, we then assessed presence and nature of venom variation between localities, and investigated the effect of 14 predictors (biological, eco-geographic, genetic) on its occurrence. The venom comprised at least 12 different toxin families, of which five (i.e., PLA2, svSP, DI, snaclec, svMP) accounted for about 75% of the whole proteome. The comparative analyses of the SDS-PAGE venom profiles showed them to be remarkably similar across the sampled localities, suggesting low geographic variability. The regression analyses suggested significant effects of biological and habitat predictors on the little variation we detected across the analysed V. seoanei venoms. Other factors were also significantly associated with the presence/absence of individual bands in the SDS-PAGE profiles. The low levels of venom variability we detected within V. seoanei might be the result of a recent population expansion, or of processes other than directional positive selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open government data, as open data, are published to let interested stakeholders exploit data and create value out of them, but limited technical skills are a crucial barrier. Moreover, data silos within any public agency behave as a further obstacle in enabling collaboration between different working groups. This paper investigates the acceptance level of a collaborative platform to co-create, analyze, and visualize open government data within an Italian Regional Public Administration—the Campania region. This investigation first requires retracing and documenting the organizational changes applied to the Campania Region in moving from a siloed structure to a more horizontal and collaborative one. Second, it introduces the technical and technological contribution provided by the proposal of a Social Platform on Open Data (SPOD) as a regional public administration back-office, i.e., an internal platform, co-designed with public agency delegates and referred to as Campania Crea. Finally, it reports on the training session moderated by the University of Salerno to evaluate the acceptance rate of the proposed platform in real settings by involving 54 public agency members in actively using Campania Crea to co-create, analyze, and visualize open government data. The After Scenario Questionnaire was used to assess the acceptance level and attitude in using Campania Crea to report task-based results and the Technology Acceptance Model as an overall assessment of the platform acceptance level. As a result, Campania Crea supports regional public administration members in accomplishing their daily tasks concerning co-creation, analysis, and visualization of open data who positively accepted Campania Crea as a back-office tool. However, further effort should be invested in raising awareness and developing skills concerning open government data management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Europe presents a high number of venomous and poisonous animals able to elicit medically relevant symptoms in humans. However, since most of the accidents involving venomous or poisonous animals in Europe are unreported, their incidence and morbidity are severely overlooked. Here we provide an overview of the European vertebrate species of greatest toxicological interest, the clinical manifestations their toxins can cause, and their treatment. We report the clinical symptoms induced by envenomations and poisoning caused by reptiles, fishes, amphibians and mammals in Europe, ranging from mild, local symptoms (e.g., erythema, edema) to systemic and potentially deadly. The present work constitutes a tool for physicians to recognize envenomation/poisoning symptoms caused by the most medically relevant European vertebrates and to decide which approach is the most appropriate to treat them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the Industry 4.0 ecosystem, Inspection Robotics is one fundamental technology to speed up monitoring processes and obtain good accuracy and performance of the inspections while avoiding possible safety issues for human personnel. This manuscript investigates the robotics inspection of areas and surfaces employing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The contribution starts by addressing the problem of coverage path planning and proposes a smoothing approach intended to reduce both flight time and memory consumption to store the target navigation path. Evaluation tests are conducted on a quadrotor equipped with a Model Predictive Control (MPC) policy and a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) algorithm to localize the UAV in the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer flooding is one of the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods that increase the macroscopic efficiency of the flooding process and enhanced crude oil recovery. In this study, the effect of silica nanoparticles (NP-SiO2) in xanthan gum (XG) solutions was investigated through the analysis of efficiency in core flooding tests. First, the viscosity profiles of two polymer solutions, XG biopolymer and synthetic hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) polymer, were characterized individually through rheological measurements, with and without salt (NaCl). Both polymer solutions were found suitable for oil recovery at limited temperatures and salinities. Then, nanofluids composed of XG and dispersed NP-SiO2 were studied through rheological tests. The addition of nanoparticles was shown to produce a slight effect on the viscosity of the fluids, which was more remarkable over time. Interfacial tension tests were measured in water-mineral oil systems, without finding an effect on the interfacial properties with the addition of polymer or nanoparticles in the aqueous phase. Finally, three core flooding experiments were conducted using sandstone core plugs and mineral oil. The polymers solutions (XG and HPAM) with 3% NaCl recovered 6.6% and 7.5% of the residual oil from the core, respectively. In contrast, the nanofluid formulation recovered about 13% of the residual oil, which was almost double that of the original XG solution. The nanofluid was therefore more effective at boosting oil recovery in the sandstone core. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimation of the force exerted by muscles from their electromyographic (EMG) activity may be useful to control robotic devices. Approximating end-point forces as a linear combination of the activities of multiple muscles acting on a limb may lead to an inaccurate estimation because of the dependency between the EMG signals, i.e., multi-collinearity. This study compared the EMG-to-force mapping estimation performed with standard multiple linear regression and with three other algorithms designed to reduce different sources of the detrimental effects of multi-collinearity: Ridge Regression, which performs an L2 regularization through a penalty term; linear regression with constraints from foreknown anatomical boundaries, derived from a musculoskeletal model; linear regression of a reduced number of muscular degrees of freedom through the identification of muscle synergies. Two datasets, both collected during the exertion of submaximal isometric forces along multiple directions with the upper limb, were exploited. One included data collected across five sessions and the other during the simultaneous exertion of force and generation of different levels of co-contraction. The accuracy and consistency of the EMG-to-force mappings were assessed to determine the strengths and drawbacks of each algorithm. When applied to multiple sessions, Ridge Regression achieved higher accuracy (R2 = 0.70) but estimations based on muscle synergies were more consistent (differences between the pulling vectors of mappings extracted from different sessions: 67%). In contrast, the implementation of anatomical constraints was the best solution, both in terms of consistency (R2 = 0.64) and accuracy (74%), in the case of different co-contraction conditions. These results may be used for the selection of the mapping between EMG and force to be implemented in myoelectrically controlled robotic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on creating one-dimensional diffractive grooved structures of antigen proteins on glass substrates for the label-free detection of antibodies to dairy allergens. In particular, the fabrication of protein structures is carried out by combining microcontact printing with physisorption, imines coupling, and thiol-ene click chemistry. The work first sets up these patterning methods and discusses and compares the main aspects involved in them (structure, biolayer thickness, functionality, stability). Homogeneous periodic submicron structures of proteins are created and characterized by diffractive measurements, AFM, FESEM, and fluorescence scanning. Then, this patterning method is applied to proteins involved in cow milk allergy, and the resulting structures are implemented as optical transducers to sense specific immunoglobulins G. In particular, gratings of bovine serum albumin, casein, and β-lactoglobulin are created and assessed, reaching limits of detection in the range of 30–45 ng·mL−1 of unlabeled antibodies by diffractive biosensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) has emerged as one of the most innovative techniques in neurosurgical practice. However, nTMS motor mapping involves rigorous steps, and the importance of an accurate execution method has not been emphasized enough. In particular, despite strict adherence to procedural protocols, we have observed high variability in map activation according to the choice of stimulation intensity (SI) right from the early stage of hotspot localization. We present a retrospective analysis of motor mappings performed between March 2020 and July 2022, where the SI was only chosen with rigorous care in the most recent ones, under the guide of an expert neurophysiologist. Materials and methods: In order to test the ability to reduce inaccurate responses and time expenditure using selective SI, data were collected from 16 patients who underwent mapping with the random method (group A) and 15 patients who underwent mapping with the proposed method (group B). The parameters considered were resting motor threshold (%), number of stimuli, number of valid motor evoked potentials (MEPs), number of valid MEPs considered true positives (TPs), number of valid MEPs considered false positives (FPs), ratio of true-positive MEPs to total stimuli, ratio of true-positive MEPs to valid MEPs, minimum amplitude, maximum amplitude and mapping time for each patient. Results: The analysis showed statistically significant reductions in total stimulus demand, procedural time and number of false-positive MEPs. Significant increases were observed in the number of true-positive MEPs, the ratio of true-positive MEPs to total stimuli and the ratio of true-positive MEPs to valid MEPs. In the subgroups analyzed, there were similar trends, in particular, an increase in true positives and a decrease in false-positive responses. Conclusions: The precise selection of SI during hotspot search in nTMS motor mapping could provide reliable cortical maps in short time and with low employment of resources. This method seems to ensure that a MEP really represents a functionally eloquent cortical point, making mapping more intuitive even in less experienced centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, different groups have developed algorithms to control the stiffness of a robotic device through the electromyographic activity collected from a human operator. However, the approaches proposed so far require an initial calibration, have a complex subject-specific muscle model, or consider the activity of only a few pairs of antagonist muscles. This study described and tested an approach based on a biomechanical model to estimate the limb stiffness of a multi-joint, multi-muscle system from muscle activations. The "virtual stiffness" method approximates the generated stiffness as the stiffness due to the component of the muscle-activation vector that does not generate any endpoint force. Such a component is calculated by projecting the vector of muscle activations, estimated from the electromyographic signals, onto the null space of the linear mapping of muscle activations onto the endpoint force. The proposed method was tested by using an upper-limb model made of two joints and six Hill-type muscles and data collected during an isometric force-generation task performed with the upper limb. The null-space projection of the muscle-activation vector approximated the major axis of the stiffness ellipse or ellipsoid. The model provides a good approximation of the voluntary stiffening performed by participants that could be directly implemented in wearable myoelectric controlled devices that estimate, in real-time, the endpoint forces, or endpoint movement, from the mapping between muscle activation and force, without any additional calibrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bile duct tumor thrombus (BDTT) is an uncommon finding in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), potentially mimicking cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Recent studies have suggested that HCC with BDTT could represent a prognostic factor. We report the case of a 47-year-old male patient admitted to the University Hospital of Bari with abdominal pain. Blood tests revealed the presence of an untreated hepatitis B virus infection (HBV), with normal liver function and without jaundice. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed a cirrhotic liver with a segmental dilatation of the third bile duct segment, confirmed by a CT scan and liver MRI, which also identified a heterologous mass. No other focal hepatic lesions were identified. A percutaneous ultrasound-guided needle biopsy was then performed, detecting a moderately differentiated HCC. Finally, the patient underwent a third hepatic segmentectomy, and the histopathological analysis confirmed the endobiliary localization of HCC. Subsequently, the patient experienced a nodular recurrence in the fourth hepatic segment, which was treated with ultrasound-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA). This case shows that HCC with BDTT can mimic different types of tumors. It also indicates the value of an early multidisciplinary patient assessment to obtain an accurate diagnosis of HCC with BDTT, which may have prognostic value that has not been recognized until now. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biases in snake venom research have been partially identified but seldomly quantified. Using the Google Scholar web search engine, we collected a total of 267 articles published between 1964 and 2021, and reviewed them to assess the main trends in this field of study. We developed a 4-category classification of the harmful potential of each of the 298 snake species retrieved from the analysed publications, and tested whether taxonomy, realm of origin, and/or assigned hazard category could affect how often each of them appeared in the articles considered. Overall, viperids were significantly more represented than any other snake taxon retrieved. The Neotropics were the most represented biogeographic realm for number of studied species, whereas information about the country of origin of the analysed specimens was often incomplete. The vast majority of the publications focused on snake venom characterisation, whereas more ecology-related topics were rarely considered. Hazard category and biogeographic realm of origin of each species had a significant effect on the number of articles dedicated to it, suggesting that a snake's harmful potential and place of origin influence its popularity in venom studies. Our analysis showed an overall positive trend in the number of snake venom studies published yearly, but also underlined severe neglect of snake families of supposedly minor medical relevance (e.g., Atractaspididae), underrepresentation of some of the areas most impacted by snakebite (i.e., Indomalayan and Afrotropic realms), and limited interest in the ecological and functional context of snake venom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane-based processes are increasingly used to clarify and concentrate thermo-sensitive fruit juices and plant extracts as alternatives to conventional processes. This work aimed to evaluate the quality of red fruit juices clarified and concentrated by an integrated membrane process with special regard to the preservation of valuable compounds. A red fruit juice obtained from a blend of pomegranate, cactus pear, and red orange juices of Sicilian origin was clarified by microfiltration (MF) and then pre-concentrated up to 33 °Brix by nanofiltration (NF). The pre-concentrated juice was finally concentrated by osmotic distillation (OD) up to 50 and 60 °Brix. Samples of clarified, pre-concentrated, and concentrated juice were analyzed for their physico-chemical composition and in terms of the antioxidant activity and inhibitory activity against α-amylase and lipase. The results clearly confirmed the assumption of a mild fruit juice processing method, allowing us to preserve the original nutritional and functional properties of the fresh juice. In particular, the OD retentate at 60 °Brix resulted the most active sample against pancreatic lipase and α-amylase inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 44.36 and 214.65 μg/mL, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electroadhesion is a suitable technology for developing grippers for applications where fragile, compliant or variable shape objects need to be grabbed and where a retention action is typically preferred to a compression force. This article presents a self-sensing technique for electroadhesive devices (EAD) based on the capacitance measure. Specifically, we demonstrate that measuring the variation of the capacitance between electrodes of an EAD during the adhesion can provide useful information to automatically detect the successful grip of an object and the possible loss of adhesion during manipulation. To this aim, a dedicated electronic circuit is developed that is able to measure capacitance variations while the high voltage required for the adhesion is activated. A test bench characterization is presented to evaluate the self-sensing of capacitance during different states: (1) the EAD is far away from the object to be grasped; (2) the EAD is in contact with the object, but the voltage is not active (i.e., no adhesion); and (3) the EAD is activated and attached to the object. Correlation between the applied voltage, object material and shape and capacitance is made. The self-sensing EAD is then demonstrated in a closed-loop robotic application that employs a robot manipulator arm to pick and place objects of different kinds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial coinfections, which increase the severity of respiratory viral infections, are frequent causes of mortality in influenza pandemics but have not been well characterized in patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Moreover, the association of COVID-19 infection with pulmonary Mycobacterium tuberculosis disease (TB) and concurrent pulmonary fungal infection is not well known. The classification of patients with COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) using the current definitions for invasive fungal diseases has proven difficult. In this study, we aimed to provide information about three patients with underlying diseases ongoing with COVID-19 and co-infection with pulmonary TB, and with COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA). At the time of hospital admission, each patient presented complications such as decompensated T2DM with diabetic ketoacidosis and/or hypertension. Findings of chest computed tomography and serum galactomannan by radioimmunoassay were useful for classifying them as possible CAPA. One of the three possible CAPA cases was fatal. These three cases are rare and are the first of their kind reported worldwide. The generation of reliable algorithms, early diagnosis, standardization of classification criteria, and the selection of specific and personalized treatments for COVID-19-associated opportunistic infections, including CAPA, are necessary to improve outcomes in these kinds of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calibrating intrinsic and extrinsic camera parameters is a fundamental problem that is a preliminary task for a wide variety of applications, from robotics to computer vision to surveillance and industrial tasks. With the advent of Internet of Things (IoT) technology and edge computing capabilities, the ability to track motion activities in large outdoor areas has become feasible. The proposed work presents a network of IoT camera nodes and a dissertation on two possible approaches for automatically estimating their poses. One approach follows the Structure from Motion (SfM) pipeline, while the other is marker-based. Both methods exploit the correspondence of features detected by cameras on synchronized frames. A preliminary indoor experiment was conducted to assess the performance of the two methods compared to ground truth measurements, employing a commercial tracking system of millimetric precision. Outdoor experiments directly compared the two approaches on a larger setup. The results show that the proposed SfM pipeline more accurately estimates the pose of the cameras. In addition, in the indoor setup, the same methods were used for a tracking application to show a practical use case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in the performance and evaluation of walking in exoskeletons use various assessments based on kinematic/kinetic measurements. While such variables provide general characteristics of gait performance, only limited conclusions can be made about the neural control strategies. Moreover, some kinematic or kinetic parameters are a consequence of the control implemented on the exoskeleton. Therefore, standard indicators based on kinematic variables have limitations and need to be complemented by performance measures of muscle coordination and control strategy. Knowledge about what happens at the spinal cord output level might also be critical for rehabilitation since an abnormal spatiotemporal integration of activity in specific spinal segments may result in a risk for abnormalities in gait recovery. Here we present the PEPATO software, which is a benchmarking solution to assess changes in the spinal locomotor output during walking in the exoskeleton with respect to reference data on normal walking. In particular, functional and structural changes at the spinal cord level can be mapped into muscle synergies and spinal maps of motoneuron activity. A user-friendly software interface guides the user through several data processing steps leading to a set of performance indicators as output. We present an example of the usage of this software for evaluating walking in an unloading exoskeleton that allows a person to step in simulated reduced (the Moon's) gravity. By analyzing the EMG activity from lower limb muscles, the algorithms detected several performance indicators demonstrating differential adaptation (shifts in the center of activity, prolonged activation) of specific muscle activation modules and spinal motor pools and increased coactivation of lumbar and sacral segments. The software is integrated at EUROBENCH facilities to benchmark the performance of walking in the exoskeleton from the point of view of changes in the spinal locomotor output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Skull base meningiomas have always represented a challenge for neurosurgeons. Despite their histological nature, they may be associated with unfavorable outcomes due to their deep-seated location and the surrounding neurovascular structures. Over time, several corridors have been proposed, each one carrying its own pros and cons. During the last decades, the endoscopic endonasal route has been asserted among the classic routes for a growing number of midline and paramedian lesions. Therefore, the aim of our paper is to present a comprehensive review of the indications and techniques for the management of skull base meningiomas, emphasizing the ambivalent and complementary role of the low and high routes. Skull base meningiomas have always represented a challenge for neurosurgeons. Despite their histological nature, they may be associated with unfavorable outcomes due to their deep-seated location and the surrounding neurovascular structures. The state of the art of skull base meningiomas accounts for both transcranial, or high, and endonasal, or low, routes. A comprehensive review of the pertinent literature was performed to address the surgical strategies and outcomes of skull base meningioma patients treated through a transcranial approach, an endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA), or both. Three databases (PubMed, Ovid Medline, and Ovid Embase) have been searched. The review of the literature provided 328 papers reporting the surgical, oncological, and clinical results of different approaches for the treatment of skull base meningiomas. The most suitable surgical corridors for olfactory groove, tuberculum sellae, clival and petroclival and cavernous sinus meningiomas have been analyzed. The EEA was proven to be associated with a lower extent of resection rates and better clinical outcomes compared with transcranial corridors, offering the possibility of achieving the so-called maximal safe resection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of silica nanoparticles (NP-SiO2) in xanthan gum (XG) solutions was investigated through the analysis of viscosity profiles. First, hydrocolloid XG solutions and hydrophilic NP-SiO2 suspensions were characterized individually through rheological measurements, with and without salt (NaCl). Then, nanofluids composed of XG and NP-SiO2 dispersed in water and brine were studied through two different aging tests. The addition of nanoparticles was shown to produce a slight effect on the viscosity of the fresh fluids (initial time), while a more remarkable effect was observed over time. In particular, it appears that the presence of NP-SiO2 stabilizes the polymer solution by maintaining its viscosity level in time, due to a delay in the movement of the molecule. Finally, characterization techniques such as confocal microscopy, capillary rheometry, and Zeta potential were implemented to analyze the XG/NP-SiO2 interaction. Intrinsic viscosity and relative viscosity were calculated to understand the molecular interactions. The presence of NP-SiO2 increases the hydrodynamic radius of the polymer, indicating attractive forces between these two components. Furthermore, dispersion of the nanoparticles in the polymeric solutions leads to aggregates of an average size smaller than 300 nm with a good colloidal stability due to the electrostatic attraction between XG and NP-SIO2. This study proves the existence of interactions between XG and NP-SiO2 in solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing maximum voluntary bite force is important to characterize the functional state of the masticatory system. Due to several factors affecting the estimation of the maximum bite force, a unique solution combining desirable features such as reliability, accuracy, precision, usability, and comfort is not available. The aim of the present study was to develop a low-cost bite force measurement device allowing for subject-specific customization, comfortable bite force expression, and reliable force estimation over time. The device was realized using an inexpensive load cell, two 3D printed ergonomic forks hosting reusable subject-specific silicone molds, a read-out system based on a low-cost microcontroller, and a wireless link to a personal computer. A simple model was used to estimate bite force taking into account individual morphology and device placement in the mouth. Measurement reliability, accuracy, and precision were assessed on a calibration dataset. A validation procedure on healthy participants was performed to assess the repeatability of the measurements over multiple repetitions and sessions. A 2% precision and 2% accuracy were achieved on measurements of forces in the physiological range of adult bite forces. Multiple recordings on healthy participants demonstrated good repeatability (coefficient of variation 11%) with no significant effect of repetition and session. The novel device provides an affordable and reliable solution for assessing maximum bite force that can be easily used to perform clinical evaluations in single sessions or in longitudinal studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Glioblastoma is an aggressive brain tumor with a dismal prognosis. In a minority of cases, it presents with multiple lesions already at the time of diagnosis, affecting patients' survival and treatment. Our retrospective study aims to increase the current understanding and define a treatment for this sub-entity, to improve patient survival. Chemoradiotherapy is a also safe and efficacy treatment in patients with multiple lesions. Survival advantages from extensive resection remain unclear. Glioblastomas with multiple foci at presentation (mGBMs) account for 2–35% of all GBMs. mGBMs have limited existing data and no standardized treatment. This study aims to determine their incidence, demographic and clinical features, outcome, and prognostic factors in terms of overall survival. We performed a monocentric retrospective study, reviewing patients treated at the Istituto Oncologico Veneto. Inclusion criteria were: new diagnosis of GBM and presence of multiple lesions on pre-treatment MRI. ECOG PS was used to evaluate clinical condition, RANO criteria for radiological assessment, and CTCAE v5.0 for treatment-related adverse events. The incidence of newly diagnosed mGBM was 7.2% and the study population consisted of 98 patients. Median age was 63 years, M:F ratio of 1.8:1, and a surgical approach was undertaken in 73 patients (mostly partial resection). MGMT was methylated in 47.5%, and 82 patients received active oncological treatment (65.9% radiotherapy plus temozolomide (RT + TMZ)). The disease control rate with RT + TMZ was 63%. Median OS of the entire study population was 10.2 months (95% CI 6.6–13.8), and median PFS was 4.2 months (95% CI 3.2–5.2). The ECOG PS, the extent of resection, and the RT + TMZ were significant prognostic factors in the univariate analysis for OS, but only the RT + TMZ was a significant independent OS predictor in the multivariate analysis (HR = 3.1, 95% IC 1.3–7.7, p = 0.014). The incidence of mGBM is not rare. RT + TMZ is confirmed to be an independent prognostic factor for survival and a safe and effective treatment. When feasible, RT + TMZ should be considered as a possible first-line treatment. The role of the extent of resection is still unclear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children spend a large part of their growing years in schools, and as they are more sensitive to some pollutants than adults, it is essential to monitor and maximize the indoor air quality (IAQ) in classrooms. Many schools are located in historic and heritage buildings, and improving the IAQ, preserving the architectural features, poses a great challenge. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a low-invasiveness, low-cost, smart CO2-based visual alerting systems to manage natural ventilation and improve IAQ in historic school buildings. Indoor and outdoor parameters were monitored for three weeks in four schools with different levels of education (two classrooms per school; device installed in one only). Based on indoor CO2 concentration, air temperature and relative humidity, the device suggests when windows should be opened to ventilate. The comparison between the two classrooms show that the effectiveness of the device is highly dependent on the occupants: (i) reduction in the average CO2 concentrations of up to 42% in classrooms with frontal lesson and full occupancy, (ii) the device is not the most ideal solution for kindergarten due to the young age of the pupils, and (iii) it is more used during mild outdoor temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a detailed description of the experiment realizing for the first time a protective measurement, a novel measurement protocol which combines weak interactions with a "protection mechanism" preserving the measured state coherence during the whole measurement process. Furthermore, protective measurement allows finding the expectation value of an observable, i.e., an inherently statistical quantity, by measuring a single particle, without the need for any statistics. This peculiar property, in sharp contrast to the framework of traditional (projective) quantum measurement, might constitute a groundbreaking advance for several quantum technology related fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microcontact printing (µCP) is a practical and versatile approach to create nanostructured patterns of biomolecular probes, but it involves conformational changes on the patterned bioreceptors that often lead to a loss on the biological activity of the resulting structures. Herein we introduce indirect µCP to create functional patterns of bioreceptors on solid substrates. This is a simple strategy that relies on physisorbing biomolecular probes of interest in the nanostructured gaps that result after patterning backfilling agents by standard µCP. This study presents the approach, assesses bovine serum albumin as backfilling agent for indirect µCP on different materials, reports the limitations of standard µCP on the functionality of patterned antibodies, and demonstrates the capabilities of indirect µCP to solve this issue. Bioreceptors were herein structured as diffractive gratings and used to measure biorecognition events in label-free conditions. Besides, as a preliminary approach towards sensing biomarkers, this work also reports the implementation of indirect µCP in an immunoassay to detect human immunoglobulin E. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition metal oxides and chalcogenides have recently attracted great attention as the next generation of 2-D materials due to their unique electronic and optical properties. In this study, a new procedure for the obtaining of highly crystalline α-MoO3 is proposed as an alternative to vapor-phase synthesis. In this approach, a first reaction between molybdate, citrate and thiourea allowed to obtain MoS2, which-upon calcination at a temperature of 650 °C in the presence of g-C3N4-resulted in MoO3 with a definite plate-like shape. The colorless (or greenish) α-MoO3 nanoplates obtained with this procedure featured a multilayer stack structure, with a side-length of 1-2 μm and a thickness of several nanometers viewed along the [010] direction. The nucleation-growth of the crystal can be explained by a two-dimensional layer-by-layer mechanism favored by g-C3N4 lamellar template. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a different point of view on the conservation of the built heritage, adding ionizing radiation to the most well-known digital documentation dataset. Igneous building materials characterize most of the built heritage in the Campania region, and in a large part of southern Italy. The ionizing radiations proceeding from these materials can produce stochastic biological effects on the exposed living beings. The research team designed and tested a technical-scientific protocol to survey and analyse this natural phenomenon in association with the use of geological material for building purposes. Geographical Information Systems (GISs), City Information Modelling (CIM), and Building Information Modelling (BIM) are the digital tools used to manage the construction entities and their characteristics, and then to represent the thematic data as false-colour images. The emission spectra of fair-faced or plastered materials as a fingerprint of their nature is proposed as a non-invasive method. Due to both the huge presence of historical buildings and an intense touristic flow, the main square of Pompei has been selected as a study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain tumor glioblastoma has no clear molecular signature and there is no effective therapy. In rodents, the intracellular distribution of the cyclic AMP (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase (Protein kinase A, PKA) R2Alpha subunit was previously shown to differentiate tumor cells from healthy brain cells. Now, we aim to validate this observation in human tumors. The distribution of regulatory (R1 and R2) and catalytic subunits of PKA was examined via immunohistochemistry andWestern blot in primary cell cultures and biopsies from 11 glioblastoma patients. Data were compared with information obtained from 17 other different tumor samples. The R1 subunit was clearly detectable only in some samples. The catalytic subunit was variably distributed in the different tumors. Similar to rodent tumors, all human glioblastoma specimens showed perinuclear R2 distribution in the Golgi area, while it was undetectable outside the tumor. To test the effect of targeting PKA as a therapeutic strategy, the intracellular cyclic AMP concentration was modulated with different agents in four human glioblastoma cell lines. A significant increase in cell death was detected after increasing cAMP levels or modulating PKA activity. These data raise the possibility of targeting the PKA intracellular pathway for the development of diagnostic and/or therapeutic tools for human glioblastoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyper-crosslinked (HCL) polystyrenes show outstanding properties, such as high specific surface area and adsorption capability. Several researches have been recently focused on tailoring their performance for specific applications, such as gas adsorption and separation, energy storage, air and water purification processes, and catalysis. In this review, main strategies for the realization of HCL polystyrene-based materials with advanced properties are reported, including a summary of the synthetic routes that are adopted for their realization and the chemical modification approaches that are used to impart them specific functionalities. Moreover, the most up to date results on the synthesis of HCL polystyrene-based nanocomposites that are realized by embedding these high surface area polymers with metal, metal oxide, and carbon-based nanofillers are discussed in detail, underlining the high potential applicability of these systems in different fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water scarcity is a critical environmental issue worldwide, especially in arid and semiarid regions. In those regions, climate change projections suggest further reductions in freshwater supplies and increases of the recurrence, longevity and intensity of drought events. At present, one important question for policy debate is the identification of water policies that could address the mounting water scarcity problems. Suitable policies should improve economic efficiency, achieve environmental sustainability, and meet equity needs. This paper develops and applies an integrated hydro-economic model that links hydrological, economic and environmental elements to such issues. The model is used to conduct a direct comparison of water markets, water pricing and institutional cooperation, based on their economic, environmental and equity outcomes. The analysis is performed in the Jucar Basin of Spain, which is a good natural experiment for studying water scarcity and climate change policies. Results indicate that both institutional and water market policies are high performing instruments to limit the economic damage costs of droughts, achieving almost the same social benefits. However, the environmental effects of water markets are worrying. Another important finding is that water pricing is a poor policy option not only in terms of private and environmental benefits but also in terms of equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sub-wavelength diameter holes in thin metal layers can exhibit remarkable optical features that make them highly suitable for (bio)sensing applications. Either as efficient light scattering centers for surface plasmon excitation or metal-clad optical waveguides, they are able to form strongly localized optical fields that can effectively interact with biomolecules and/or nanoparticles on the nanoscale. As the metal of choice, aluminum exhibits good optical and electrical properties, is easy to manufacture and process and, unlike gold and silver, its low cost makes it very promising for commercial applications. However, aluminum has been scarcely used for biosensing purposes due to corrosion and pitting issues. In this short review, we show our recent achievements on aluminum nanohole platforms for (bio)sensing. These include a method to circumvent aluminum degradation--which has been successfully applied to the demonstration of aluminum nanohole array (NHA) immunosensors based on both, glass and polycarbonate compact discs supports--the use of aluminum nanoholes operating as optical waveguides for synthesizing submicron-sized molecularly imprinted polymers by local photopolymerization, and a technique for fabricating transferable aluminum NHAs onto flexible pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes, which could facilitate the development of a wearable technology based on aluminum NHAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]