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Bioactive dressings are obtained using substances which release bioactive compounds. A way of immobilization active ingredients on various textile materials is through emulsions based on natural polymers. Active ingredients, like essential oils and propolis play an important role in the inhibition and prevention of bacterial growth. Chitosan and xanthan gum are suitable for essential oil entrapment due to their biodegradability, low product costs and environmentally friendly production processes. The aim of this paper is to highlight the antimicrobial activity and biocompatibility of textile materials treated with cinnamon essential oil and propolis based emulsions. In this respect, experimental samples of oil-in-water emulsions type, based on chitosan-propolis-cinnamon essential oil and xanthan-propolis-cinnamon essential oil were prepared and then were immobilized on woven fabrics with different fiber compositions. The functionalized textile materials were characterized in terms of their physical-mechanical and physical-chemical characteristics, antibacterial activity and biocompatibility point of view. From the corroboration of the obtained data it was found that the obtained samples are more hydrophobic than the untreated material and the bioactive polymeric systems have shown antibacterial activity for both gram positive bacteria (S. aureus) and gram negative bacteria (E. coli) test strains. The in vitro biocompatibility evaluation on human skin cells confirmed the absence of cytotoxicity after the short-term exposure. Also, the treated samples displayed a good biocompatibility without skin irritations.

Wound healing is a specific biological process related to the general phenomenon of growth and tissue regeneration. Polysaccharide gels are usually biocompatible and show several peculiar physical-chemical properties that make them suitable for a variety of biomedical applications. The hydrogels based on these types of polymers can cool the wound and reduce pain, which is helpful for burns or painful wounds. This paper aims to study the antibacterial activity of a layer-by-layer hydrogel “carrier” system based on sodium alginate and chitosan, which is further functionalized with active principles, like hyaluronic acid, or ZnO nanoparticles, or bacitracin. The synthesis of the hydrogels system was followed by the immobilization on textile woven fabrics made of fibrous blends of different chemical compositions, in order to achieve bioactive wound dressing for application in the treatment of inflammatory skin conditions. The textile materials used to produce the wound dressings have the same weave and warp thread (100% cotton, Nm 50/2), but different weft thread (100% acetate 130 dtex or 100% Lenpur Nm 34/1). For this purpose, several experimental variants of hydrogels were prepared and the treated textile materials were characterized from a physical-chemical and comfort point of view. The antibacterial activity and the biocompatibility of the textile materials functionalized with the hydrogels and active ingredients were also investigated. The textile materials treated with the synthesized hydrogels and subsequent bacitracin addition show an antibacterial effect on both S. aureus and E. coli test strains, while the hydrogels followed by ZnO nanoparticles addition show an antibacterial effect against S. aureus.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurological disease without effective treatment. No pathognomonic test can diagnose ALS in sporadic cases. Routine investigation in suspected cases includes neurological examination, imaging of the brain and spine and electromyography supported by blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analyses. The ALS diagnosis is made by clinical judgement and results from examinations. We aimed to study if the CSF biomarkers neurofilament light protein (NFL), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), YKL-40, soluble amyloid precursor protein (sAPP) α and β, and soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (sTREM2) were associated with ALS diagnosis and could predict disease progression. Eighty-one patients with suspected ALS were included after referral to the neurological clinic at Sahlgrenska University Hospital. Fifty-nine patients were diagnosed having ALS, while 22 patients were given alternative diagnoses and labeled ALS mimics. Finally, 25 age-matched neurologically intact individuals were used as controls. ALS patients had significantly higher CSF levels of NFL than controls and mimics. Levels of YKL-40 and GFAP were significantly higher in ALS patients compared with controls. No difference was found between study groups when comparing levels of sAPPα, sAPPβ and sTREM2. Further, elevated levels of NFL and YKL-40 were associated with an increased hazard of death and the annual decline in ALSFRS-R. We also found that patients with elevated levels of both NFL and YKL-40 had a particularly poor prognosis. The results demonstrate the usefulness of CSF biomarkers in the diagnosis and prognostication of ALS., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest HZ has served at scientific advisory boards and/or as a consultant for Abbvie, Acumen, Alector, Alzinova, ALZPath, Annexon, Apellis, Artery Therapeutics, AZTherapies, Cognito Therapeutics, CogRx, Denali, Eisai, Nervgen, Novo Nordisk, Optoceutics, Passage Bio, Pinteon Therapeutics, Prothena, Red Abbey Labs, reMYND, Roche, Samumed, Siemens Healthineers, Triplet Therapeutics, and Wave, has given lectures in symposia sponsored by Cellectricon, Fujirebio, Alzecure, Biogen, and Roche, and is a co-founder of Brain Biomarker Solutions in Gothenburg AB (BBS), which is a part of the GU Ventures Incubator Program (outside submitted work). MA has served at scientific advisory boards and lectures for Biogen, Merck, Sanofi and Genzyme. KB has served as a consultant and at advisory boards for Acumen, ALZPath, AriBio, BioArctic, Biogen, Eisai, Lilly, Moleac Pte. Ltd., Novartis, Ono Pharma, Prothena, Roche Diagnostics, and Siemens Healthineers; has served at data monitoring committees for Julius Clinical and Novartis; has given lectures, produced educational materials and participated in educational programs for AC Immune, Biogen, Celdara Medical, Eisai and Roche Diagnostics; and is a co-founder of Brain Biomarker Solutions in Gothenburg AB (BBS), which is a part of the GU Ventures Incubator Program, outside the work presented in this paper. Authors are required to disclose financial or non-financial interests that are directly or indirectly related to the work submitted for publication., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Introduction: Huntington's disease (HD) is a hereditary neurodegenerative disease, currently lacking disease-modifying treatments. Biomarkers are needed for objective assessment of disease progression. Evidence supports both complex protein aggregation and astrocyte activation in HD. This study assesses the 42 amino acid long amyloid beta (Aβ42) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) as potential biomarkers in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of HD mutation carriers., Methods: CSF from participants was obtained from three sites in Sweden. Clinical symptoms were graded with the composite Unified Huntington's disease rating scale (cUHDRS). Protein concentrations were measured using ELISA. Pearson correlations were calculated to assess disease progression association. Results were adjusted for age and collection site., Results: The study enrolled 28 manifest HD patients (ManHD), 13 premanifest HD gene-expansion carriers (PreHD) and 20 controls. Aβ42 levels did not differ between groups and there was no correlation with measures of disease progression. GFAP concentration was higher in ManHD (424 ng/l, SD 253) compared with both PreHD (266 ng/l, SD 92.4) and controls (208 ng/l, SD 83.7). GFAP correlated with both cUHDRS (r = -0.77, p < 0.001), and 5-year risk of disease onset (r = 0.70, p = 0.008)., Conclusion: We provide evidence that indicates CSF Aβ42 has limited potential as a biomarker for HD. GFAP is a potential biomarker of progression in HD. Validation in larger cohorts measuring GFAP in blood and CSF would be of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background and Purpose: Autoantibodies have been found to contribute to pathology and are used in the diagnosis of some neurological diseases. We examined the prevalence of autoantibodies in patients with various neurological diseases and whether patients who had autoantibodies differed in age, sex, or disability from those who did not., Methods: We examined the prevalence of neural surface and onconeural autoantibodies in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum from patients with multiple sclerosis (n = 64), Parkinson disease plus atypical parkinsonism (n = 150), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (n = 43), or autoimmune encephalitis (positive control; n = 7) and a healthy control group (n = 37). A total of 12 onconeural autoantibodies and six neural surface autoantibodies were tested in all participants., Results: Autoantibodies were present in all cohorts. The prevalence of autoantibodies was high (>80%) in the autoimmune encephalitis cohort but low (<20%) in all other cohorts. When comparing patients within cohorts who were positive for autoantibodies to patients who were not, there was no difference in age, sex, and disability. This was apart from the multiple sclerosis and Parkinson disease plus atypical parkinsonism cohorts, where those with positivity for autoantibodies in the CSF were significantly older., Conclusions: The presence of the autoantibodies examined does not appear to have a substantial clinical impact within the diseases examined in this study. The presence of autoantibodies in all cohorts presents a risk for misdiagnosis when the method is used incorrectly on patients with atypical clinical presentation., (© 2023 The Authors. European Journal of Neurology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Academy of Neurology.)

Introduction: Synucleinopathies such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA) can be challenging to diagnose due to the symptom overlap with, for example, atypical parkinsonisms like progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal degeneration (CBD). Seed amplification assays (SAA), developed for the detection of α-synuclein (αSyn) aggregates in CSF, have been successful when used as a biomarker evaluation for synucleinopathies. In this study, we investigated the potential of this assay to not only detect αSyn seeds in CSF, but also discriminate between movement disorders., Methods: The αSyn-SAA was tested in a Scandinavian cohort composed of 129 CSF samples from patients with PD (n = 55), MSA (n = 27), CBD (n = 7), and PSP (n = 16), as well as healthy controls (HC, n = 24)., Results: The αSyn seed amplification assay (αSyn-SAA) was able to correctly identify all PD samples as positive (sensitivity of 100%) while also discriminating the PD group from HC (70.8% specificity, p < 0.0001) and tauopathies [CBD (71% specificity) and PSP (75% specificity), p < 0.0001)]. The αSyn-SAA was also able to identify almost all MSA samples as positive for αSyn aggregation (sensitivity of 92.6%). In general, this assay is able to discriminate between the synucleinopathies and tauopathies analyzed herein (p < 0.0001) despite the overlapping symptoms in these diseases., Conclusion: These findings suggest the αSyn-SAA is a useful diagnostic tool for differentiating between different parkinsonian disorders, although further optimization may be needed., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Potential conflicts of interest have been declared as follows: Co-author Henrik Zetterberg has served at scientific advisory boards and/or as a consultant for Abbvie, Alector, Annexon, Artery Therapeutics, AZTherapies, CogRx, Denali, Eisai, Nervgen, Novo Nordisk, Pinteon Therapeutics, Red Abbey Labs, Passage Bio, Roche, Samumed, Siemens Healthineers, Triplet Therapeutics, and Wave, has given lectures in symposia sponsored by Cellectricon, Fujirebio, Alzecure, Biogen, and Roche, and is a co-founder of Brain Biomarker Solutions in Gothenburg AB (BBS), which is a part of the GU Ventures Incubator Program. Co-author Kaj Blennow has served as a consultant, at advisory boards, or at data monitoring committees for Abcam, Axon, BioArctic, Biogen, JOMDD/Shimadzu. Julius Clinical, Lilly, MagQu, Novartis, Ono Pharma, Pharmatrophix, Prothena, Roche Diagnostics, and Siemens Healthineers, and is a co-founder of Brain Biomarker Solutions in Gothenburg AB (BBS), which is a part of the GU Ventures Incubator Program. Co-authors Luis Concha-Marambio, Carly M. Farris, Yihua Ma, and Russ Lebovitz are employees of Amprion, a biotechnology company that focuses on the commercial use of SAA (PMCA, RT-QuIC) for diagnostic purposes. They are also inventors in several patents associated to SAAs., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background and Purpose: N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) and leucine-rich glioma-inactivated protein 1 (LGI1) encephalitis are important types of autoimmune encephalitis (AE) with significant morbidity. In this study, we used a proteomic approach in search of novel clinically relevant biomarkers in these types of encephalitides., Methods: Swedish and Czech tertiary neuroimmunology centers collaborated in this retrospective exploratory study. Fifty-eight cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples of 28 patients with AE (14 definite NMDAR, 14 with definite LGI1 encephalitis) and 30 controls were included. CSF samples were analyzed using proximity extension assay technology (Olink Target 96 Inflammation panel). For each CSF sample, 92 proteins were measured. Clinical variables were retrospectively collected, and correlations with protein levels were statistically analyzed., Results: Patients and controls differed significantly in the following 18 biomarkers: TNFRSF9, TNFRSF12, TNFRSF14, TNFβ, TNFα, IL7, IL10, IL12B, IFNγ, CD5, CD6, CASP8, MMP1, CXCL8, CXCL10, CXCL11, IL20RA, and sirtuin 2 (SIRT2). In LGI1 encephalitis, no clinically useful association was found between biomarkers and clinical variables. In the NMDAR encephalitis group, SIRT2, TNFβ, and CD5 were significantly associated with ovarian teratoma. For SIRT2, this was true even for the first patients' CSF sample (SIRT2 without vs. with tumor, mean ± SD = 2.2 ± 0.29 vs. 2.88 ± 0.48; p = 0.007, 95% confidence interval = -1.15 to -0.22; r statistic in point-biserial correlation (rpb) = 0.66, p = 0.011). SIRT2 was positively correlated with age (rpb = 0.39, p = 0.018) and total hospital days (r = 0.55, p = <0.001)., Conclusions: SIRT2 should be investigated as a biomarker of paraneoplastic etiology in NMDAR encephalitis., (© 2023 The Authors. European Journal of Neurology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Academy of Neurology.)

Introduction: Secernin-1 (SCRN1) is a neuronal protein that co-localizes with neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer's disease (AD), but not with tau inclusions in corticobasal degeneration (CBD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), or Pick's disease., Methods: We measured SCRN1 concentration in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) using a novel mass spectrometric parallel reaction monitoring method in three clinical cohorts comprising patients with neurochemically characterized AD (n = 25) and controls (n = 28), clinically diagnosed Parkinson's disease (PD; n = 38), multiple system atrophy (MSA; n = 31), PSP (n = 20), CBD (n = 8), healthy controls (n = 37), and neuropathology-confirmed AD (n = 47)., Results: CSF SCRN1 was significantly increased in AD (P < 0.01, fold change = 1.4) compared to controls (receiver operating characteristic area under the curve = 0.78) but not in CBD, PSP, PD, or MSA. CSF SCRN1 positively correlated with CSF total tau (R = 0.78, P = 1.1 × 10 -13 ), phosphorylated tau 181 (R = 0.64, P = 3.2 × 10 -8 ), and Braak stage and negatively correlated with Mini-Mental State Examination score., Discussion: CSF SCRN1 is a candidate biomarker of AD, reflecting tau pathology., Highlights: We developed a parallel reaction monitoring assay to measure secernin-1 (SCRN1) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). CSF SCRN1 was increased in Alzheimer's disease compared to healthy controls. CSF SCRN1 remained unchanged in Parkinson's disease, multiple system atrophy, progressive supranuclear palsy, or corticobasal degeneration compared to controls. CSF SCRN1 correlated strongly with CSF phosphorylated tau and total tau. CSF SCRN1 increased across Braak stages and negatively correlated with Mini-Mental State Examination score., (© 2023 The Authors. Alzheimer's & Dementia published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.)

Objectives: To describe computed tomographic (CT) findings in dogs diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia and to assess for any correlation with patient outcome. Materials and Methods: Retrospective analysis of 38 cases with a presumptive diagnosis of aspiration pneumonia at two UK referral centres. Medical records were reviewed for signalment, history, physical examination and clinicopathologic data. CT examinations of the thorax were reviewed by the European College of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging board‐certified radiologist for all dogs to describe the characteristics and distribution of the pulmonary lesions. Results: The most common CT findings were lung lobe consolidation associated with air bronchograms (100%) followed by ground‐glass attenuation (89.4%), bronchial wall thickening (36.8%), bronchiolectasis (31.5%) and bronchiectasis (15.7%). Large‐breed dogs were overrepresented. Duration of hospitalisation ranged between 0 and 8 days (mean 3 days). Overall, 89.4% of dogs survived the aspiration event and were discharged from the hospital. The four dogs that did not survive to discharge had five or more lobes affected on CT. Clinical Significance: CT findings in dogs with aspiration pneumonia are described. CT is a useful imaging modality to diagnose aspiration pneumonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of bio-based reagents for silver nanoparticle (AgNP) production has gained much attention among researchers as it has paved the way for environmentally friendly approaches at low cost for synthesizing nanomaterials while maintaining their properties. In this study, Stellaria media aqueous extract was used for silver nanoparticle phyto-synthesis, and the resulting treatment was applied to textile fabrics to test its antimicrobial properties against bacteria and fungi strains. The chromatic effect was also established by determining the L*a*b* parameters. For optimizing the synthesis, different ratios of extract to silver precursor were tested using UV-Vis spectroscopy to observe the SPR-specific band. Moreover, the AgNP dispersions were tested for their antioxidant properties using chemiluminescence and TEAC methods, and the phenolic content was evaluated by the Folin-Ciocâlteu method. For the optimal ratio, values of average size, 50.11 ± 3.25 nm, zeta potential, -27.10 ± 2.16 mV, and polydispersity index, 0.209, were obtained via the DLS technique and zeta potential measurements. AgNPs were further characterized by EDX and XRD techniques to confirm their formation and by microscopic techniques to evaluate their morphology. TEM measurements revealed cvasi-spherical particles with sizes in the range of 10-30 nm, while SEM images confirmed their uniform distribution on the textile fiber surface.

Bioactive dressings are obtained using substances which release bioactive compounds. A way of immobilization active ingredients on various textile materials is through emulsions based on natural polymers. Active ingredients, like essential oils and propolis play an important role in the inhibition and prevention of bacterial growth. Chitosan and xanthan gum are suitable for essential oil entrapment due to their biodegradability, low product costs and environmentally friendly production processes. The aim of this paper is to highlight the antimicrobial activity and biocompatibility of textile materials treated with cinnamon essential oil and propolis based emulsions. In this respect, experimental samples of oil-in-water emulsions type, based on chitosan-propolis-cinnamon essential oil and xanthan-propolis-cinnamon essential oil were prepared and then were immobilized on woven fabrics with different fiber compositions. The functionalized textile materials were characterized in terms of their physical-mechanical and physical-chemical characteristics, antibacterial activity and biocompatibility point of view. From the corroboration of the obtained data it was found that the obtained samples are more hydrophobic than the untreated material and the bioactive polymeric systems have shown antibacterial activity for both gram positive bacteria (S. aureus) and gram negative bacteria (E. coli) test strains. The in vitro biocompatibility evaluation on human skin cells confirmed the absence of cytotoxicity after the short-term exposure. Also, the treated samples displayed a good biocompatibility without skin irritations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Synaptic dysfunction and degeneration are central contributors to the pathogenesis and progression of parkinsonian disorders. Therefore, identification and validation of biomarkers reflecting pathological synaptic alterations are greatly needed and could be used in prognostic assessment and to monitor treatment effects., Objective: To explore candidate biomarkers of synaptic dysfunction in Parkinson's disease (PD) and related disorders., Methods: Mass spectrometry was used to quantify 15 synaptic proteins in two clinical cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cohorts, including PD (n 1  = 51, n 2  = 101), corticobasal degeneration (CBD) (n 1  = 11, n 2  = 3), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) (n 1  = 22, n 2  = 21), multiple system atrophy (MSA) (n 1  = 31, n 2  = 26), and healthy control (HC) (n 1  = 48, n 2  = 30) participants, as well as Alzheimer's disease (AD) (n 2  = 23) patients in the second cohort., Results: Across both cohorts, lower levels of the neuronal pentraxins (NPTX; 1, 2, and receptor) were found in PD, MSA, and PSP, compared with HC. In MSA and PSP, lower neurogranin, AP2B1, and complexin-2 levels compared with HC were observed. In AD, levels of 14-3-3 zeta/delta, beta- and gamma-synuclein were higher compared with the parkinsonian disorders. Lower pentraxin levels in PD correlated with Mini-Mental State Exam scores and specific cognitive deficits (NPTX2; rho = 0.25-0.32, P < 0.05) and reduced dopaminergic pre-synaptic integrity as measured by DaTSCAN (NPTX2; rho = 0.29, P = 0.023). Additionally, lower levels were associated with the progression of postural imbalance and gait difficulty symptoms (All NPTX; β-estimate = -0.025 to -0.038, P < 0.05) and cognitive decline (NPTX2; β-estimate = 0.32, P = 0.021)., Conclusions: These novel findings show different alterations of synaptic proteins in parkinsonian disorders compared with AD and HC. The neuronal pentraxins may serve as prognostic CSF biomarkers for both cognitive and motor symptom progression in PD. © 2022 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society., (© 2022 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.)

Salecan, a kind of polysaccharide, is produced by the Agrobacterium ZX09 salt tolerant strain. In this study, green crosslinked citric acid-salecan hydrogels are explored as novel materials with a high potential for use in regenerative medicine. The impact of salecan and citric acid on the final crosslinked hydrogels was intensively studied and estimated in terms of the whole physicochemical properties and antimicrobial activity. FTIR spectra demonstrated the successful green crosslinking of salecan through its esterification with citric acid where the formation of strong covalent bonds collaboratively helped to stabilize the entire hydrogel systems in a wet state. Hydrogels presented a microporous morphology, good swelling capacity, pH responsiveness, great mechanical stability under stress conditions and good antibacterial activity, all related to the concentration of the biopolymers used in the synthesis step. Additionally, salecan hydrogels were preliminary investigated as printing inks. Thanks to their excellent rheological behavior, we optimized the citrate-salecan hydrogel inks and printing parameters to render 3D constructs with great printing fidelity and integrity. The novel synthesized salecan green crosslinked hydrogels enriches the family of salecan-derived hydrogels. Moreover, this work not only expands the application of salecan hydrogels in various fields, but also provides a new potential option of designing salecan-based 3D printed scaffolds for customized regenerative medicine.

A multitude of dressings have been developed to promote wound repair, such as membranes, foams, hydrocolloids and hydrogels. In this study, a crosslinked polysaccharide hydrogel was mixed with a bioactive ingredient to synthesize a novel nanocomposite material to be used in wound healing. Variation of the ratio between hydrogel components was followed and its effect was analyzed in regard to swelling, degradation rate and thermo-mechanical behavior. The resulting crosslinked structures were characterized by FTIR and microscopy analyses. The antimicrobial activity of the crosslinked hydrogels loaded with bioactive agent was evaluated using two bacterial strains (Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia Coli). All the results showed that the new synthesized biopolymer nanocomposites have adequate properties to be used as antibacterial wound dressings.

Introduction: Emerging immunotherapies are pushing the boundaries of cancer treatment, with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy being one of the most advanced. Due to the increasingly crowded CAR-T cell field, patenting and protecting the intellectual property of these CAR-T cells implies a good knowledge of the legal landscape., Areas Covered: The present manuscript focuses on the challenges regarding the patenting process of CAR-T technology, beginning with a description of the main characteristics of CAR-T cells and their functionalities, continuing with the legal landscape applicable to patenting processes, and concluding by presenting the potential strategies to overcome the impediments that can appear when trying to patent CAR-T cells. It is meant to offer insights for those who are exploring possible patenting options in CAR-T cells territory. PubMed and Patenscope databases were used for patent and literature searching (2013-2023)., Expert Opinion: There is no one-size-fits-all solution in this matter and the medical evolution of this therapy will certainly bring out even more challenges. Comprehensive knowledge of the intellectual property, exposure to potential litigation, growing competition, and the high price of therapy, are strikingly relevant in the broader landscape. Future endeavors would be to take steps toward the harmonization of the CAR-T patenting procedure.

This paper will study Eckhaus-Kundu equation from the perspective of Lie symmetry analysis. We will systematically construct similarity reductions in order to perform the explicit invariant solutions of this version of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation with nonlinear dispersion and cubic-quintic nonlinearities, describing the propagation of ultrashort pulses in optical fibers. Some new wave solutions with real and imaginary parts of trigonometric type or of a compound of trigonometric and hyperbolic types will be pointed out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities have grown in development and sophistication throughout human history. Smart cities are the current incarnation of this process, with increased complexity and social importance. This complexity has come to involve significant digital components and has thus come to raise the associated cybersecurity concerns. Major security relevant events can cascade into the connected systems making up a smart city, causing significant disruption of function and economic damage. The present paper aims to survey the landscape of scientific publication related to cybersecurity-related issues in relation to smart cities. Relevant papers were selected based on the number of citations and the quality of the publishing journal as a proxy indicator for scientific relevance. Cybersecurity will be shown to be reflected in the selected literature as an extremely relevant concern in the operation of smart cities. Generally, cybersecurity is implemented in actual cities through the concerted application of both mature existing technologies and emerging new approaches.

Wound healing is a specific biological process related to the general phenomenon of growth and tissue regeneration. Polysaccharide gels are usually biocompatible and show several peculiar physicalchemical properties that make them suitable for a variety of biomedical applications. The hydrogels based on these types of polymers can cool the wound and reduce pain, which is helpful for burns or painful wounds. This paper aims to study the antibacterial activity of a layer-by-layer hydrogel "carrier" system based on sodium alginate and chitosan, which is further functionalized with active principles, like hyaluronic acid, or ZnO nanoparticles, or bacitracin. The synthesis of the hydrogels system was followed by the immobilization on textile woven fabrics made of fibrous blends of different chemical compositions, in order to achieve bioactive wound dressing for application in the treatment of inflammatory skin conditions. The textile materials used to produce the wound dressings have the same weave and warp thread (100% cotton, Nm 50/2), but different weft thread (100% acetate 130 dtex or 100% Lenpur Nm 34/1). For this purpose, several experimental variants of hydrogels were prepared and the treated textile materials were characterized from a physicalchemical and comfort point of view. The antibacterial activity and the biocompatibility of the textile materials functionalized with the hydrogels and active ingredients were also investigated. The textile materials treated with the synthesized hydrogels and subsequent bacitracin addition show an antibacterial effect on both S. aureus and E. coli test strains, while the hydrogels followed by ZnO nanoparticles addition show an antibacterial effect against S. aureus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protected wetlands such as deltas, lakes or rivers provide a sanctuary for many endangered species. In order to protect these areas from illegal human interventions, it is necessary to monitor the unauthorized entrance of motor boats. In order to mitigate such an impact, we have developed a network of floating beacons for underwater acoustic monitoring, using LoRa communication modules operating at 433 MHz. Such beacons should be equipped with compact antennas. In this paper, we use a genetic algorithm approach to design the compact, monopole antennas required for the beacons; size constraints would apply not only to the radiating element but also to the ground plane. Although the antenna input is unbalanced, such a small ground plane may yield common mode currents on the antenna feeder, which distort the radiation pattern of the antenna. In order to investigate the effect of the common mode currents, we developed a distance averaging method, while, for characterizing the antenna, we used a single-antenna method. For the experimental validation of the system in real conditions, a continuous monitoring of the lake was carried out. During the monitoring, multiple events generated by incursions of motor boats were successfully detected and recorded.