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Journal of Materials Chemistry. A Jun 2023Improving the perovskite/electron-transporting layer (ETL) interface is a crucial task to boost the performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). This is utterly...
Improving the perovskite/electron-transporting layer (ETL) interface is a crucial task to boost the performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). This is utterly fundamental in an inverted (p-i-n) configuration using fullerene-based ETLs. Here, we propose a scalable strategy to improve fullerene-based ETLs by incorporating high-quality few-layer graphene flakes (GFs), industrially produced through wet-jet milling exfoliation of graphite, into phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). Our new composite ETL (GF:PCBM) can be processed into an ultrathin (∼10 nm), pinhole-free film atop the perovskite. We find that the presence of GFs in the PCBM matrix reduces defect-mediated recombination, while creating preferential paths for the extraction of electrons towards the current collector. The use of our GF-based composite ETL resulted in a significant enhancement in the open circuit voltage and fill factor of triple cation-based inverted PSCs, boosting the power conversion efficiency from ∼19% up to 20.8% upon the incorporation of GFs into the ETL.
PubMed: 37346737
DOI: 10.1039/d2ta07512a -
Scientific Reports Jun 2023Mounting evidence shows sex-related differences in the experience of pain with women suffering more from chronic pain than men. Yet, our understanding of the biological...
Mounting evidence shows sex-related differences in the experience of pain with women suffering more from chronic pain than men. Yet, our understanding of the biological basis underlying those differences remains incomplete. Using an adapted model of formalin-induced chemical/inflammatory pain, we report here that in contrast to male mice, females distinctly display two types of nocifensive responses to formalin, distinguishable by the duration of the interphase. Females in proestrus and in metestrus exhibited respectively a short-lasting and a long-lasting interphase, underscoring the influence of the estrus cycle on the duration of the interphase, rather than the transcriptional content of the dorsal horn of the spinal cord (DHSC). Additionally, deep RNA-sequencing of DHSC showed that formalin-evoked pain was accompanied by a male-preponderant enrichment in genes associated with the immune modulation of pain, revealing an unanticipated contribution of neutrophils. Taking advantage of the male-enriched transcript encoding the neutrophil associated protein Lipocalin 2 (Lcn2) and using flow cytometry, we confirmed that formalin triggered the recruitment of LCN2-expressing neutrophils in the pia mater of spinal meninges, preferentially in males. Our data consolidate the contribution of female estrus cycle to pain perception and provide evidence supporting a sex-specific immune regulation of formalin-evoked pain.
Topics: Female; Male; Humans; Animals; Mice; Spinal Cord; Chronic Pain; Pain Perception; Oncogenes; Formaldehyde
PubMed: 37308519
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36245-7 -
PloS One 2023In humans, the pituitary gland is covered by a fibrous capsule and is considered a continuation of the meningeal sheath. However, in rodents some studies concluded that...
In humans, the pituitary gland is covered by a fibrous capsule and is considered a continuation of the meningeal sheath. However, in rodents some studies concluded that only the pars tuberalis (PT) and pars nervosa (PN) are enwrapped by the pia mater, while others showed that the whole gland is covered by this sheath. At PT the median eminence subarachnoid drains cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to its cisternal system representing a pathway to the hypothalamus. In the present study we examined the rat pituitary capsule to elucidate its configuration, its physical interaction with the pituitary border and its relationship with the CSF. Furthermore, we also revisited the histology of the pituitary cleft and looked whether CSF drained in it. To answer such questions, we used scanning and transmission electron microscopy, intracerebroventricular infusion of Evan´s blue, fluorescent beads, and sodium fluorescein. The latter was measured in the pars distalis (PD) and various intracranial tissues. We found a pituitary capsule resembling leptomeninges, thick at the dorsal side of the pars intermedia (PI) and PD, thicker at the level of PI in contiguity with the PN and thinner at the rostro-ventral side as a thin membrane of fibroblast-like cells embedded in a fibrous layer. The capsule has abundant capillaries on all sides. Our results showed that the CSFs bathe between the capsule and the surface of the whole gland, and ciliate cells are present in the pituitary border. Our data suggest that the pituitary gland intercommunicates with the central nervous system (CNS) through the CSF.
Topics: Humans; Rats; Animals; Pituitary Gland; Hypothalamus; Pituitary Gland, Anterior
PubMed: 37235567
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0286399 -
Acta Neurochirurgica Jul 2023The cerebellopontine angle (CPA) is a frequent region of skull base pathologies and therefore a target for neurosurgical operations. The outer arachnoid is the key...
PURPOSE
The cerebellopontine angle (CPA) is a frequent region of skull base pathologies and therefore a target for neurosurgical operations. The outer arachnoid is the key structure to approach the here located lesions. The goal of our study was to describe the microsurgical anatomy of the outer arachnoid of the CPA and its pathoanatomy in case of space-occupying lesions.
METHODS
Our examinations were performed on 35 fresh human cadaveric specimens. Macroscopic dissections and microsurgical and endoscopic examinations were performed. Retrospective analysis of the video documentations of 35 CPA operations was performed to describe the pathoanatomical behavior of the outer arachnoid.
RESULTS
The outer arachnoid cover is loosely attached to the inner surface of the dura of the CPA. At the petrosal surface of the cerebellum the pia mater is strongly adhered to the outer arachnoid. At the level of the dural penetration of the cranial nerves, the outer arachnoid forms sheath-like structures around the nerves. In the midline, the outer arachnoid became detached from the pial surface and forms the base of the posterior fossa cisterns. In pathological cases, the outer arachnoid became displaced. The way of displacement depends on the origin of the lesion. The most characteristic patterns of changes of the outer arachnoid were described in case of meningiomas, vestibular schwannomas, and epidermoid cysts of the CPA.
CONCLUSION
The knowledge of the anatomy of the outer arachnoid of the cerebellopontine region is essential to safely perform microsurgical approaches as well as of dissections during resection of pathological lesions.
Topics: Humans; Cerebellopontine Angle; Retrospective Studies; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Arachnoid; Meningeal Neoplasms; Cadaver
PubMed: 37133788
DOI: 10.1007/s00701-023-05601-x -
Journal of Biomedical Materials... Oct 2023The fabrication of biodegradable, bioabsorbable, and biocompatible vascular scaffolds with enhanced mechanical and biological properties that are able to modulate local...
The fabrication of biodegradable, bioabsorbable, and biocompatible vascular scaffolds with enhanced mechanical and biological properties that are able to modulate local inflammation and induce endothelialization after surgical implant is still a challenge. In this work, a fibrous scaffold, made of poly(ε-caprolactone) and poly(glycerol sebacate), was fabricated to be potentially used as a small-diameter graft in vascular surgery. The novelty of this research is represented by the direct incorporation of quercetin, a well-known antioxidant compound with several biological properties, into a polymeric scaffold obtaining a vascular construct able to modulate two key factors involved in postsurgical inflammation, matrix metalloproteinase-9 and endothelial nitric oxide synthase. For its production, an electrospinning apparatus, a solution made of the two polymers (both 20% (w/v), mixed at the ratio 1:1 (v/v)), and free quercetin (0.05% (w/v)) were used. Scanning electron and atomic force microscopies were employed to investigate the morphological properties of the fabricated electrospun scaffolds. Furthermore, physicochemical properties, including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, mass loss, fluid uptake, quercetin release, mechanical properties, and biological activity of the scaffolds were studied. The expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1, and of endothelial nitric oxide synthase was evaluated when the quercetin-functionalized scaffold was exposed to human endothelial cells treated with tumor necrosis factor-α. The results of this study confirmed the feasibility of incorporating free quercetin during the electrospinning process to impart biological properties to small-diameter vascular prostheses.
Topics: Blood Vessel Prosthesis; Humans; Cell Line; Cell Survival; Biocompatible Materials; Quercetin
PubMed: 37128974
DOI: 10.1002/jbm.a.37535 -
STAR Protocols Apr 2023The meninges, consisting of the pia, arachnoid, and dura layers, provide immunosurveillance of the central nervous system with both innate and adaptive immune cells....
The meninges, consisting of the pia, arachnoid, and dura layers, provide immunosurveillance of the central nervous system with both innate and adaptive immune cells. Here we present an optimized protocol for isolating dura leukocytes from neonatal and adult mice. We describe steps for harvesting the skull cap, extracting the dura mater, mechanical isolation of dura leukocytes, and flow cytometry analysis. Unlike the time-consuming enzymatic digestion isolation which makes dura hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) undetectable, this rapid and simplified technique permits dura HSC identification. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Niu et al. (2022)..
PubMed: 37126441
DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2023.102272 -
Forensic Science, Medicine, and... May 2023Primary angiitis of the central nervous system (PACNS) is a rare and fatal cerebral vasculitis mainly involving the arteriole of the pia mater, cerebral cortex, and...
Primary angiitis of the central nervous system (PACNS) is a rare and fatal cerebral vasculitis mainly involving the arteriole of the pia mater, cerebral cortex, and spinal cord. It has an insidious onset atypical symptoms. In this paper, we reported an unexpected death due to cerebral hemorrhage caused by PACNS. According to the typical clinical manifestations (headache, dizziness, weakness of the limbs, temporary blurred vision, etc.) and pathological examination (wide degeneration and fibrinoid necrosis of blood vessel walls with inflammatory cell infiltration), as well as hematoxylin-eosin staining, immunohistochemistry for CD15 + and gram staining, we finally determined that the patient died due to cerebral vascular rupture and hemorrhage caused by PACNS. This case illustrates the value and key points of autopsy in evaluating sudden deaths.
PubMed: 37126199
DOI: 10.1007/s12024-023-00631-4 -
Child's Nervous System : ChNS :... Nov 2023Retethering is not an unusual operation for a congenital lumbosacral dysraphic spinal lesion. The present study aimed to assess a new surgical technique for preventing...
OBJECTIVE
Retethering is not an unusual operation for a congenital lumbosacral dysraphic spinal lesion. The present study aimed to assess a new surgical technique for preventing retethering.
SURGICAL TECHNIQUE
After untethering the spinal cord, the pia mater or scar tissue at the caudal end of the conus medullaris is anchored to the ventral dura mater loosely using 8-0 thread, and the dura mater is closed directly. This technique is called ventral anchoring.
RESULTS
Ventral anchoring was performed in 15 patients (aged 5 to 37 years old, average age: 12.1 years old) between 2014 and 2021. All but one patient showed improvement or stabilization of the preoperative symptoms. No complication directly related to the procedure was observed. Postoperative MRI demonstrated that the dorsal subarachnoid space was restored in 14 patients but was undetectable or absent in three patients on follow-up MRI. No patients have experienced a recurrence of the tethered cord syndrome during the follow-up period.
CONCLUSION
Ventral anchoring is effective for restoring the dorsal subarachnoid space after untethering the spinal cord. This preliminary study suggested that ventral anchoring has the potential to prevent the postoperative radiographic recurrence of tethered spinal cord in patients with a congenital lumbosacral dysraphic spinal lesion.
Topics: Humans; Child; Child, Preschool; Adolescent; Young Adult; Adult; Spinal Cord; Neural Tube Defects; Magnetic Resonance Imaging
PubMed: 37115276
DOI: 10.1007/s00381-023-05972-7