Search results for "innovative"
showing 10 items of 179 documents
Anakinra drug retention rate and predictive factors of long-term response in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis and adult onset still disease
2019
Background and Objective: Only a few studies have reported long-term efficacy of interleukin (IL)-1 inhibition in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) and adult-onset Still disease (AOSD). Herein we report on the effectiveness of anakinra (ANA), expressed in terms of drug retention rate (DRR), and evaluate the predictive factors of drug survival in a cohort of patients with sJIA and AOSD. Patients and Methods: This is a multicenter study reviewing retrospectively the medical records from 61 patients with sJIA and 76 with AOSD, all treated with ANA in 25 Italian tertiary referral centers. Results: The cumulative retention rate of ANA at 12-, 24-, 48-, and 60-month of follow-up was 7…
Bone regeneration in the stem cell era: safe play for the patient?
2017
The past decade has seen outstanding scientific progress in the field of stem cell (SC) research and clinical application. SCs are convenient both technically and biologically: they are easy to find and to culture and they can differentiate in virtually all tissues and even in whole organs. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSs) are a type of pluripotent SC generated in vitro directly from mature cells through the introduction of key transcription factors. The use of iPSs, however tantalizing, poses serious safety concerns because of their genomic instability. Recently, it has been suggested that the main mechanism of SC action relies on paracrine signals. Therefore, the secretome would be p…
Stem Cells and Other Emerging Agents as Innovative "Drugs" in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Benefits and Limitations.
2018
The brain has a limited process of repair/regeneration linked to the restricted and localized activity of neuronal stem cells. Consequently, it shows a reduced capacity to counteract the age-related loss of neural and glial cells and to repair the consequent injuries/lesions of nervous system. This progressively determines nervous dysfunction and onset/progression of neurodegenerative diseases, which represent a serious social (and economic) problem of our populations. Thus, the research of efficient treatments is encouraged. Stem cell therapy might represent a solution. Today, it, indeed, represents the object of intensive research with the hope of using it, in a near future, as effective …
A novel D2O tracer method to quantify RNA turnover as a biomarker of de novo ribosomal biogenesis, in vitro, in animal models, and in human skeletal …
2017
Current methods to quantify in vivo RNA dynamics are limited. Here, we developed a novel stable isotope (D2O) methodology to quantify RNA synthesis (i.e., ribosomal biogenesis) in cells, animal models, and humans. First, proliferating C2C12 cells were incubated in D2O-enriched media and myotubes ±50 ng/ml IGF-I. Second, rat quadriceps (untrained, n = 9; 7-wk interval-“like” training, n = 13) were collected after ~3-wk D2O (70 atom %) administration, with body-water enrichment monitored via blood sampling. Finally, 10 (23 ± 1 yr) men consumed 150-ml D2O followed by 50 ml/wk and undertook 6-wk resistance exercise (6 × 8 repetitions, 75% 1-repetition maximum 3/wk) with body-water enrichment mo…
Innovative Green Technologies of Intensification for Valorization of Seafood and Their By-Products
2019
The activities linked to the fishing sector generate substantial quantities of by-products, which are often discarded or used as low-value ingredients in animal feed. However, these marine by-products are a prominent potential good source of bioactive compounds, with important functional properties that can be isolated or up-concentrated, giving them an added value in higher end markets, as for instance nutraceuticals and cosmetics. This valorization of fish by-products has been boosted by the increasing awareness of consumers regarding the relationship between diet and health, demanding new fish products with enhanced nutritional and functional properties. To obtain fish by-product-derived…
Innovative culture in district innovation systems of European ceramics SMEs
2017
We need to understand the dynamics of current local production systems in the form of industrial districts and, particularly, how culture and innovation are interlinked. In this paper, we argue that the district innovation system approach, which covers the innovation systems and industrial district literatures, provides a set of ideas useful for understanding the role of culture in innovation in industrial districts. We study the role of innovation culture in two of the most important European ceramics industrial districts in Italy and Spain. Specifically, we analyse how, within a given district system, the innovation culture, networks and social structure, and their inter-relations, influe…
Cities as Enablers of Innovation
2018
The relationship between cities and innovation in present times can be regarded from a distinctive perspective. As it is vital to rethink our development patterns, in order to contrast global warming and its ominous threats, cities are themselves concrete materials for innovation. Therefore, cities challenge the very same concept of innovation by adding the long-term perspective to its social assessment framework. Cities are therefore seen both as hotbeds of creativity and innovative culture and places where different actors (policy makers, civil servants, NGOs, citizens, start-uppers, entrepreneurs, etc.) receive continuous stimuli to engage in innovations that fulfil specific needs (be th…
Editorial
2014
Environmentally Assessing Buildings Characterized by Complex Shape and Innovative Materials
2013
This paper addresses the emerging problem consisting in a correct energy and environmental evaluation of buildings belonging to the new architectural tendency. In fact, innovative buildings are often characterized by new materials that, not rarely, are not contemplated in current environmental databases. Moreover, unconventional shapes of these buildings could require further manufacturing processes that involve additional energy consumption not included in the commercial environmental database. Through the work a spotlighting of the problem is presented with reference to a real innovative building.
New Technologies for Adaptive Architecture
2019
Since the 1980s, the bioclimatic architecture has had the historical merit of having raised public and experts’ awareness on the importance of designing buildings with the purpose of solving the problem of energy saving. Nowadays, in the light of the most recent energy strategies policies, in force on an international and European scale, codified in EC Directive 31/2010 concerning the implementation of the Nearly Zer-Energy Buildings (NZEB), (Deru et al. 2006), the need for a new approach to redevelopment that focuses on environmental, climate and energy objectives with innovative technological solutions emerges, aimed at optimizing the passive bioclimatic behaviour of a building. In the wo…