Integration of Transparent Supercapacitors and Electrodes Using Nanostructured Metallic Glass Films for Wirelessly Rechargeable, Skin Heat Patches.

Here we demonstrate an unconventional fabrication of highly transparent supercapacitors and electrodes using random networks of nanostructured metallic glass nanotroughs for their integrations as wirelessly rechargeable and invisible, skin heat patches. Transparent supercapacitors with fine conductive patterns were printed using an electrohydrodynamic jet-printing. Also, transparent and stretchable electrodes, for wireless antennas, heaters and interconnects, were formed using random network based on nanostructured CuZr nanotroughs and Ag nanowires with superb optoelectronic properties (sheet resistance of 3.0 Ω/sq at transmittance of 91.1%). Their full integrations, as an invisible heat patch on skin, enabled the wireless recharge of supercapacitors and the functions of heaters for thermal therapy of skin tissue. The demonstration of this transparent thermotherapy patch to control the blood perfusion level and hydration rate of skin suggests a promising strategy toward next-generation wearable electronics.

Glycogen storage in a zebrafish Pompe disease model is reduced by 3-BrPA treatment.

Pompe disease (PD) is an autosomal recessive muscular disorder caused by deficiency of the glycogen hydrolytic enzyme acid α-glucosidase (GAA). The enzyme replacement therapy, currently the only available therapy for PD patients, is efficacious in improving cardiomyopathy in the infantile form, but not equally effective in the late onset cases with involvement of skeletal muscle. Correction of the skeletal muscle phenotype has indeed been challenging, probably due to concomitant dysfunctional autophagy. The increasing attention to the pathogenic mechanisms of PD and the search of new therapeutic strategies prompted us to generate and characterize a novel transient PD model, using zebrafish. Our model presented increased glycogen content, markedly altered motor behavior and increased lysosome content, in addition to altered expression of the autophagy-related transcripts and proteins Beclin1, p62 and Lc3b. Furthermore, the model was used to assess the beneficial effects of 3-bromopyruvic acid (3-BrPA). Treatment with 3-BrPA induced amelioration of the model phenotypes regarding glycogen storage, motility behavior and autophagy-related transcripts and proteins. Our zebrafish PD model recapitulates most of the defects observed in human patients, proving to be a powerful translational model. Moreover, 3-BrPA unveiled to be a promising compound for treatment of conditions with glycogen accumulation.

Combined pulsed dye laser and Q-switched Nd:YAG laser intraumatic facial tattoo removal: A case series.

Traumatic tattoos can be treated with several methods, including mechanical and chemical devices. However, they are rarely used due to the high risk of permanent side effects such as scarring and depigmentation. Recently, laser devices, especially the Q-switched (QS) laser and the pulsed dye laser (PDL), applied in combination, have achieved complete clearance of the lesions without any risk of side effects. Herein, we reported three cases of traumatic facial tattoos successfully treated with combined PDL and QS Nd:YAG laser.

Nonconventional Use of Flash-Lamp Pulsed-Dye Laser in Dermatology.

Flash-lamp pulsed-dye laser (FPDL) is a nonablative technology, typically used in vascular malformation therapy due to its specificity for hemoglobin. FPDL treatments were performed in a large group of patients with persistent and/or recalcitrant different dermatological lesions with cutaneous microvessel involvement. In particular, 149 patients (73 males and 76 females) were treated. They were affected by the following dermatological disorders: angiokeratoma circumscriptum, genital and extragenital viral warts, striae rubrae, basal cell carcinoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, angiolymphoid hyperplasia, and Jessner-Kanof disease. They all underwent various laser sessions. 89 patients (59.7%) achieved excellent clearance, 32 patients (21.4%) achieved good-moderate clearance, 19 patients (12.7%) obtained slight clearance, and 9 subjects (6.1%) had low or no removal of their lesion. In all cases, FPDL was found to be a safe and effective treatment for the abovementioned dermatological lesions in which skin microvessels play a role in pathogenesis or development. Further and single-indication studies, however, are required to assess a standardized and reproducible method for applying this technology to "off-label" indications.

Time-resolved diffuse optical spectroscopy up to 1700 nm by means of a time-gated InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diode.

We present a new compact system for time-domain diffuse optical spectroscopy of highly scattering media operating in the wavelength range from 1100 nm to 1700 nm. So far, this technique has been exploited mostly up to 1100 nm: we extended the spectral range by means of a pulsed supercontinuum light source at a high repetition rate, a prism to spectrally disperse the radiation, and a time-gated InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diode working up to 1700 nm. A time-correlated single-photon counting board was used as processing electronics. The system is characterized by linear behavior up to absorption values of about 3.4 cm(-1) where the relative error is 17%. A first measurement performed on lipids is presented: the absorption spectrum shows three major peaks at 1200 nm, 1400 nm, and 1700 nm.

Stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus compared with the globus pallidus internus in patients with Parkinson disease.

OBJECT: The authors compared the effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the globus pallidus internus (GPi) with those in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in patients with Parkinson disease (PD) in whom electrodes had been bilaterally implanted in both targets. METHODS: Eight of 14 patients with advanced PD in whom electrodes had been implanted bilaterally in both the GPi and STN for DBS were selected on the basis of optimal DBS effects and were studied 2 months postsurgery in off- and on-stimulus conditions and after at least 1 month of pharmacological withdrawal. Subcutaneous administration of an apomorphine test dose (0.04 mg/kg) was also performed in both conditions. Compared with the off status, the results showed less reduction in the Unified PD Rating Scale Section III scores during DBS in the GPi (43.1%) than during DBS of the STN (54.5%) or DBS of both the STN and GPi (57.1%). The difference between the effects of DBS in the GPi compared with that in the STN or simultaneous DBS was statistically significant (p < 0.01). In contrast, no statistical difference was found between DBS in the STN and simultaneous DBS in the STN and GPi (p < 0.9). The improvement induced by adding apomorphine administration to DBS was similar in all three stimulus modalities. The abnormal involuntary movements (AIMs) induced by apomorphine were almost abolished by DBS of the GPi, but were not affected by stimulation of the STN. The simultaneous stimulation of STN and GPi produced both antiparkinsonian and anti-AIM effects. CONCLUSIONS: The improvement of parkinsonian symptoms during stimulation of the GPi, STN, and both nuclei simultaneously may indicate a similar DBS mechanism for both nuclei in inducing antiparkinsonian effects, although STN is more effective. The antidyskinetic effects produced only by DBS of the GPi, with or without STN, may indicate different mechanisms for the antidyskinetic and antiparkinsonian activity related to DBS of the GPi or an additional mechanism in the GPi. These findings indicate that implantation of double electrodes for DBS should not be proposed as a routine procedure, but could be considered as a possible subsequent choice if electrode implantation for DBS of the STN does not control AIMs.