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Background: Recent research has focused attention on social cognition impairment in Alzheimer Disease (AD). Specifically, emotion recognition can be evaluated with Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET). Some neuroanatomical changes could be related with social and cognitive deficits in patients. Therefore, future research combining cognitive indicators (RMET) with brain structure and function parameters (volumes, glucose metabolism, blood flow, amyloid deposits...) is required. Method: Participants are patients from the Neurology Unit (Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe). They were neuropsychologically evaluated, and CSF samples were obtained to determine some biomarkers (β‐amyloid‐42, β‐amyloid‐40, p‐Tau...). Also, brain imaging techniques (magnetic resonance (MR) and Positron Emission Tomography with [18F]Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG‐PET/CT)) were applied to obtain brain structural and functional information, and to evaluate the relationship between them and emotion recognition evaluation (RMET). Imaging data were processed following SPM and CAT12 pipelines, a brain parcellation based on the Hammers atlas was used. Finally, 166 patients (with MR and/or FDG‐PET/CT) diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) were included in the study. Result: The correlation analysis between FDG‐PET/CT and RMET results showed significant correlations. Specifically, with prefrontal medial L and R (r = 0.36), posterior cingulate L and R (r = 0.34), parietal inferior L and R (r = 0.31), anterior cingulate L and R (r = 0.32), prefrontal lateral L and R (r = 0.32), insula R (r = 0.31) and basal ganglia R (r = 0.3). So, they are considered potential brain function biomarkers in MCI. Regarding the correlation analysis between MR (GM volumes (TIV‐corrected)) and RMET results, some significant correlations were observed. Specifically, with the straight gyrus L (r = 0.40), superior frontal gyrus L (r = 0.37), insula anterior inferior cortex R (r = 0.36), fusiform gyrus R (r = 0.36), anterior cingulate gyrus R (r = 0.36), insula anterior short gyrus L (r = 0.36), posterior and anterior cingulate gyrus L (r = 0.36, 0.35), and anterior orbital gyrus L (r = 0.35). So, they are considered potential brain structure biomarkers in MCI. Conclusion: The relationship between brain imaging parameters and emotion recognition impairment variables could provide important information for further biomarkers identification, as well as to identify potential physiopathological mechanisms involved in neurodegenerative development since early steps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease worldwide. So, there is a need to identify AD early diagnosis and monitoring biomarkers in blood samples. The aim of this study was to analyse the utility of lipid peroxidation biomarkers in AD progression evaluation. Participants (n = 19) were diagnosed with AD at early stages (Time 0, T0), and they were re‐evaluated 2 years later (Time 1, T1). Plasma biomarkers from AD patients were determined at both times. Some analytes, such as dihomo‐isoprostanes (17‐epi‐17‐F2t‐dihomo‐IsoP, 17‐F2t‐dihomo‐IsoP, Ent‐7(RS)‐7‐F2t‐dihomo‐IsoP), and neuroprostanes (10‐epi‐10‐F4t‐NeuroP) showed very high probability of showing an increasing trend over time. Baseline values allowed to develop an affordable preliminary regression model to predict long‐term cognitive status. So, some lipid peroxidation biomarkers would deserve consideration as useful progression AD biomarkers. The developed prediction model would constitute an important minimally invasive approach in AD personalized prognosis and perhaps could have some interest also in experimental treatments evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The ability to differentiate emotions in social contexts is important for dealing with challenging social situations. Suicide attempters show some difficulties in emotion recognition that may result in hypersensitivity to social stress. However, other studies on the recognition of social complex emotions found that suicide attempters have similar performances as depressed non-attempters. Objectives: To investigate differences in social emotion recognition in patients with current Major Depressive Episode (MDE) with and without history of suicide attempt. Methods: Two hundred and ten patients with MDE were recruited among whom 115 had lifetime history of suicide attempt (suicide attempters, SA) and 95 did not (affective controls, AC). Recognition of complex social emotions was assessed using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET). Emotions were separated in three valence categories: positive, negative, and neutral. Verbal intelligence quotient (IQ) and attention were measured with the National Adult Reading Task (NART) and the d2 test, respectively. Results: Mixed logistic regression models adjusted for sex, lifetime bipolar disorder, verbal IQ and attention showed that the RMET performance for neutral emotions was worse in the SA than AC group (OR = 0.87 [0.75, 0.99]). Furthermore, when violent/serious SA were compared to non-violent/non-serious SA and AC, the RMET neutral valence category showed a trend for group factor (p < 0.059) and RMET scores were lower in the violent/serious SA than AC group (OR = 0.79 [0.64, 0.96]). Conclusion: Recognition of neutral emotions is poor in SA and this may complicate their daily life. Interventions to improve the understanding of complex emotions may be helpful to prevent suicidal risk in patients with depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Valencian Cognitive Diseases Study (VALCODIS) provides a large cohort of cases suffering from neurodegenerative diseases causing cognitive problems in their initial phases. This cohort is being obtained from admitted patients at Cognitive Disorders Unit Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe (Valencia, Spain), as a basis to contribute on the Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis and prognosis research. Method: Patients who come to the Cognitive Disorders Unit at Neurology Department of Hospital La Fe can be recruited to the VALCODIS cohort after their informed consent have been obtained. Patients with moderate and severe dementia are not proposed to participate. Included patients were studied with standard analytical and neuroimaging procedures, commonly brain MR, and CSF biomarkers determination (β‐amyloid‐42, β‐amyloid‐40, p‐Tau, t‐Tau, neurofilament light chain). Patients on anticoagulation, other contraindications or not suitable for LP can be included if an amyloid brain PET can be obtained. In some patients, brain PET with FDG is also obtained. After amyloid status is assured, a detailed neuropsychological evaluation is obtained in every patient using at least MMSE, CDR, RBANS and GDS scales. Finally, blood samples were taken to determine some potential biomarkers (lipid peroxidation, lipids, proteins, microRNAs) and stored simultaneously with CSF samples. Result: A total of 1100 participants aged 50 to 80 years, who were on follow up from January 2017 to August 2022 have been included in the VALCODIS cohort. This cohort is composed by early AD patients (mild cognitive impairment (MCI), mild dementia), other dementias in their initial phases (frontotemporal dementia, Lewy body dementia, vascular dementia) and cognitively healthy persons. Also, some of MCI‐AD patients were followed‐up at 2 years to carry out a prognosis study, by means of neuropsychological evaluation and blood biomarkers. Conclusion: The VALCODIS cohort represents a valuable infrastructure describing 6‐year experience about early and specific AD diagnosis, and prognosis. This cohort will provide a large number of patients, biologically diagnosed by CSF biomarkers, as well as their demographical, clinical and biochemical data. In addition, the biological samples (blood, plasma, urine, saliva, CSF) were stored to carry out further biomarkers studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cancer stem cell (CSC) population displays self-renewal capabilities, resistance to conventional therapies, and a tendency to post-treatment recurrence. Increasing knowledge about CSCs’ phenotype and functions is needed to investigate new therapeutic strategies against the CSC population. Here, poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), a biocompatible polymer free of toxic dye, has been used to fabricate scaffolds, solid structures suitable for 3D cancer cell culture. It has been reported that scaffold cell culture enhances the CSCs population. A RepRap BCN3D+ printer and 3 mm PCL wire were used to fabricate circular scaffolds. PCL design and fabrication parameters were first determined and then optimized considering several measurable variables of the resulting scaffolds. MCF7 breast carcinoma cell line was used to assess scaffolds adequacy for 3D cell culture. To evaluate CSC enrichment, the Mammosphere Forming Index (MFI) was performed in 2D and 3D MCF7 cultures. Results showed that the 60° scaffolds were more suitable for 3D culture than the 45° and 90° ones. Moreover, 3D culture experiments, in adherent and non-adherent conditions, showed a significant increase in MFI compared to 2D cultures (control). Thus, 3D cell culture with PCL scaffolds could be useful to improve cancer cell culture and enrich the CSCs population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we use the rule of mixtures to develop an equivalent material model in which the total strain energy density is split into the isotropic part related to the matrix component and the anisotropic energy contribution related to the fiber effects. For the isotropic energy part, we select the amended non-Gaussian strain energy density model, while the energy fiber effects are added by considering the equivalent anisotropic volumetric fraction contribution, as well as the isotropized representation form of the eight-chain energy model that accounts for the material anisotropic effects. Furthermore, our proposed material model uses a phenomenological non-monotonous softening function that predicts stress softening effects and has an energy term, derived from the pseudo-elasticity theory, that accounts for residual strain deformations. The model's theoretical predictions are compared with experimental data collected from human vaginal tissues, mice skin, poly(glycolide-co-caprolactone) (PGC25 3-0) and polypropylene suture materials and tracheal and brain human tissues. In all cases examined here, our equivalent material model closely follows stress-softening and residual strain effects exhibited by experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrasonic molding (USM) is a good candidate for studying the plasticization of polymer mixtures or other composite materials due to either the little amount of material needed for processing, low waste or the needed low pressure and residence time of the mold. Thus, the novelty of this research is the capability of USM technology to process PLA/PCL blends and their corresponding neat materials, encompassing all the production stages, from raw material to the final specimen. The major findings of the work revealed that the thermal properties of the blends were not affected by the USM process, although the crystallinity degree experienced variations, decreasing for PLA and increasing for PCL, which was attributed to the crystallization rate of each polymer, the high process speed, the short cooling time and the small particle size. The employed ultrasonic energy increased the molecular weight with low variations through the specimen. However, the degradation results aligned with the expected trend of these material blends. Moreover, this study also showed the effect pellet shape and dimensions have over the process parameters, as well as the effect of the blend composition. It can be concluded that USM is a technology suitable to successfully process PLA/PCL blends with the correct determination of process parameter windows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer disease (AD) is an increasingly common neurodegenerative disease, especially in countries with aging populations. Its diagnosis is complex and is usually carried out in advanced stages of the disease. In addition, lipids and oxidative stress have been related to AD since the earliest stages. A diagnosis in the initial or preclinical stages of the disease could help in a more effective action of the treatments. Isoprostanoid biomarkers were determined in plasma samples from preclinical AD participants (n = 12) and healthy controls (n = 31) by chromatography and mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Participants were accurately classified according to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers and neuropsychological examination. Isoprostanoid levels did not show differences between groups. However, some of them correlated with CSF biomarkers (t-tau, p-tau) and with cognitive decline. In addition, a panel including 10 biomarkers showed an area under curve (AUC) of 0.96 (0.903–1) and a validation AUC of 0.90 in preclinical AD prediction. Plasma isoprostanoids could be useful biomarkers in preclinical diagnosis for AD. However, these results would require a further validation with an external cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, ultrasonic molding (USM) has emerged as a promising replication technique for low and medium volume production of miniature and micro-scale parts. In a relatively short time cycle, ultrasonic molding can process a wide variety of polymeric materials without any noticeable thermal degradation into cost-effective molded parts. This research work reviews recent breakthroughs of the ultrasonic injection molding and ultrasonic compression molding process regarding the equipment and tooling development, materials processing and potential applications in the medical industry. The discussion is centered on the challenges of industrializing this technology, pointing out the need for improvement of the current process's robustness and repeatability. Among the most important research areas that were identified are the processing of novel engineered and nanomaterials, the understanding and control of the ultrasonic plasticization process and the tooling and equipment development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]