Search Results (36)

Background/Objectives: Transferrin is a multi-task protein commonly known for binding iron; however, it is involved in multiple crucial processes, including antimicrobial activity, the growth of different cell types, differentiation, chemotaxis, the cell cycle, and cytoprotection. Vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) is a cell surface glycoprotein which participates in inflammation and the trans-endothelial movement of leukocytes. Neither transferrin nor VCAM-1 has been studied in the context of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) or corticobasal syndrome (CBS). This study aimed to evaluate the utility of transferrin and VCAM-1 assessment for the in vivo examination of tauopathic atypical Parkinsonian syndromes. Methods: This study included 10 patients with clinically probable PSP-RS, 10 with clinically probable PSP-P, and 8 with probable CBS. Patients’ blood and urine were collected and analyzed. Twenty-four serum samples (from twelve males and twelve females) were obtained from age-matched healthy volunteers. Peripheral blood inflammatory ratios, including the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, the neutrophil-to-monocyte ratio, the neutrophil-to-high-density lipoprotein ratio, and the monocyte-to-high-density lipoprotein ratio, were calculated. VCAM-1 and transferrin concentrations were measured in the serum and urine. The urinary biomarker results are not included in the main analysis due to the absence of a control group. Results: The highest concentrations of transferrin in the serum were observed in patients with PSP-P, followed by PSP-RS and CBS. Statistically significant differences were found between PSP-P and healthy controls (p < 0.0001) and PSP-RS and healthy controls (p < 0.0001). The highest levels of serum VCAM-1 were observed in the PSP-P group. Significant differences were found between PSP-P and healthy controls (p < 0.0001), PSP-P and CBS (p < 0.001), and PSP-RS and healthy controls (p < 0.001). Serum VCAM-1 levels were negatively correlated with the NLR in CBS patients (p < 0.03; r = −0.74). Serum transferrin levels were negatively correlated with the NHR in CBS patients (p < 0.04; r = −0.64). ROC curve analyses were conducted to evaluate the diagnostic utility of serum transferrin and VCAM-1 in distinguishing tauopathic APS patients from controls. Transferrin showed excellent diagnostic performance, with an AUC of 0.975 (95% CI: 0.888–0.999; p < 0.0001), a sensitivity of 96.4%, and a specificity of 95.8% at the optimal cut-off (>503.0). VCAM-1 demonstrated good accuracy, with an AUC of 0.839 (95% CI: 0.711–0.926; p < 0.0001), a sensitivity of 75.0%, and a specificity of 91.7% at the optimal cut-off (>463.9). Conclusions: The obtained results indicate the potential role of transferrin and VCAM-1 in the pathogenesis of tauopathic APSs and highlight the need for further exploration in this field. Full article

The smoke toxicity of epoxy resin limits the application of its carbon fiber composites in marine interior structures. To address this issue, a novel epoxy resin (EZ) was synthesized by grafting phenyl propyl polysiloxane (PPPS) onto ortho-cresol novolac epoxy resin (EOCN), building upon the group’s earlier work on polysiloxane-modified epoxy resin (EB). The results confirmed successful grafting of PPPS onto EOCN, which significantly enhanced the thermal stability and char residue of EZ. Specifically, the peak heat release rate (PHRR), total heat release (THR), peak smoke production rate (PSPR), and total smoke production (TSP) of EZ were reduced by 68.5%, 35%, 73.1%, and 48.3%, respectively, attributable to the formation of a stable and compact char layer that suppressed smoke generation. By blending EZ with EB resin, a low-smoke epoxy system (LJF-2) was developed for prepreg applications. Carbon fiber composites (LJF-CF) prepared from LJF-2 exhibited minimal smoke emission and a unique bilayer char structure: a dense inner layer that hindered smoke transport and a thick outer layer that provided thermal insulation, delaying further resin decomposition. Silicon was uniformly distributed in the char residue as silicon oxides, improving its stability and compactness. Without adding any flame retardants or smoke suppressants, LJF-CF achieved a maximum smoke density (Ds,max) of 276.9, meeting the requirements of the FTP Code for ship deck materials (Ds,max < 400). These findings indicate that LJF-CF holds great promise for use in marine interior components where low smoke toxicity is critical. Full article

Exosomes are nanoscale extracellular vesicles (EVs) that carry biomolecular signatures reflective of their parent cells, making them powerful tools for non-invasive diagnostics and therapeutic monitoring. Despite their potential, clinical application is hindered by challenges such as low abundance, heterogeneity, and the complexity of biological samples. To address these limitations, plasmonic biosensing technologies—particularly propagating surface plasmon resonance (PSPR), localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)—have been developed to enable label-free, highly sensitive, and multiplexed detection at the single-vesicle level. This review outlines recent advancements in nanoplasmonic platforms for exosome detection and profiling, emphasizing innovations in nanostructure engineering, microfluidic integration, and signal enhancement. Representative applications in oncology, neurology, and immunology are discussed, along with the increasingly critical role of artificial intelligence (AI) in spectral interpretation and diagnostic classification. Key technical and translational challenges—such as assay standardization, substrate reproducibility, and clinical validation—are also addressed. Overall, this review highlights the synergy between exosome biology and plasmonic nanotechnology, offering a path toward real-time, precision diagnostics via sub-femtomolar detection of exosomal miRNAs through next-generation biosensing strategies. Full article

Background: Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder characterized by abnormal tau protein aggregation. The MAPT gene encodes for tau protein. The MAPT locus harbors two major haplotypes, H1 and H2, with H1 and its subhaplotypes being associated with an increased risk of PSP. Methods: In this study, we genotyped rs8070723 in a cohort of 73 PSP patients, including 47 PSP Richardson Syndrome (PSP-RS) and 27 PSP variants (vPSP), and 93 age-matched healthy controls (HC) from Southern Italy. Results: Haplotype analysis identified H1 and H2 haplotypes that conferred a risk (OR, 2.620; 95% CI, 1.399–5.140; p = 0.0035) and a protective effect (OR, 0.370; 95% CI, 0.196–0.695; p = 0.0015), respectively. In addition, we genotyped five MAPT variants (rs1467967, rs242557, rs3785883, rs2471738, and rs7521) that, together with rs8070723, defined H1 subhaplotypes. We identified 18 distinct MAPT H1 subhaplotypes, among which H1j displayed a nominally significant reduced risk of PSP (OR, 0.201; 95% CI, 0.044–0.915; p = 0.0265). Conclusions: These findings reinforce the role of MAPT genetic variation in PSP pathogenesis and highlight the potential impact of haplotype diversity on disease susceptibility. Full article

Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) is an atypical Parkinsonism, pathologically described as a four-repeat tauopathy. The contemporary criteria for diagnosis of PSP indicate akinesia, oculomotor dysfunction, postural instability, and language/cognitive impairment as core symptoms. Among these features, the first two are linked to PSP—Parkinsonism predominant (PSP-P). PSP-P is the second most common subtype of PSP, following PSP—Richardson’s syndrome (PSP-RS), and is associated with a more gradual deterioration, beneficial course, and longer life expectancy after diagnosis. It is also problematic in terms of clinical evaluation, as this entity may overlap with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in early stages and with other atypical Parkinsonisms in more advanced stages. The evolution in understanding PSP and the possible progress in care and therapy of the disease leads to the necessity of finding optimal examination methods with sufficient sensitivity and specificity. In this context, PSP-P seems a crucial point. The goal of this narrative review is to provide an overview of the possibilities provided by Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) assessments in terms of PSP-P and analyze their strengths and weaknesses. Full article

Background/Objectives: Atypical parkinsonisms are a group of diseases with significant obstacles in the context of efficient methods of examination and understanding pathomechanisms. This is associated with the overlaps in clinical manifestation. One of the hypotheses regarding the mechanism leading to neurodegeneration in this group is related to inflammation. Methods: Authors examined 18 patients with Multiple System Atrophy—Parkinsonism Predominant (MSA-P), 15 with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy—Richardson’s Syndrome (PSP-RS) and 15 with PSP—Parkinsonism Predominant (PSP-P) (disease duration: 3–6 years) using neutrophil-to-lymphocyte-ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-derived inflammatory ratios, e.g., neutrophil to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (NHR), lymphocyte to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (LHR) and platelet to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (PHR). The potential differences between the groups were examined using one-way ANOVA, with Tukey’s HSD test. Results: The comparison revealed significant differences between PSP-RS and MSA-P in NHR (p = 0.0224). The levels of the parameters were more increased in MSA-P. No other significant differences were found. Conclusions: The possible significance of HDL in the context of brain–blood barrier permeability is a repeatedly highlighted feature of neurodegenerative diseases. The outcome of this pilot study may suggest that the evaluation of inflammatory processes should be performed with the indication of subtypes of PSP, as the character of pathomechanisms likely differs. Full article

Background: Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is characterized by early postural instability and gait dysfunction, with frequent falls. Rehabilitation is an important therapeutic approach for motor dysfunction in patients with PSP. However, no conclusions have yet been drawn regarding the beneficial effects of rehabilitation in PSP, including the optimal duration of rehabilitation and differences in treatment effects among PSP subtypes. Herein, we investigated the effects of short-term rehabilitation and separately analyzed the effects on patients with PSP-Richardson’s syndrome (RS) and PSP-progressive gait freezing (PGF). Methods: The participants underwent several therapeutic exercise programs individualized for each participant, performed over 2 weeks. Analysis was performed on 25 patients with PSP-RS and eight with PSP-PGF. Results: Short-term rehabilitation improved the Berg Balance Scale score in both the PSP-RS and PSP-PGF groups, step length on the symptom-dominant side in PSP-RS, the coefficient of variation of step length on the symptom-dominant side, and the stance phase of the Symmetry Index in PSP-PGF. Conclusions: Overall, this 2-week short-term rehabilitation intervention was shown to have beneficial effects on balance in patients with PSP-RS and PSP-PGF. Full article

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a tauopathic atypical parkinsonian syndrome. Recent studies suggest that inflammation may play a role in PSP pathogenesis, highlighting markers like the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and cytokines such as IL-1β and IL-6. This study aimed to assess the relationship between peripheral inflammatory markers and psychological abnormalities in PSP-RS and PSP-P patients. The study included 24 participants: 12 with PSP-RS, 12 with PSP-P, and 12 controls. Cognitive function was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA); however, the executive functions were evaluated using the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), while inflammatory markers such as IL-1β, IL6, NLR, and PLR were measured. The parameter correlation was executed using Spearman’s correlation (rs). The analysis revealed significant negative correlations between NLR and MoCA (rs = −0.48), as well as between PLR and MoCA (rs = −0.60). The negative correlation between IL-1β and MoCA was statistically significant but relatively weak. This study highlights the relevance of inflammatory markers such as NLR and PLR in reflecting cognitive decline in PSP patients, with IL-1β potentially playing a protective role in cognitive function. Full article

Currently, perfect absorption properties of metamaterials have attracted widespread interest in the area of solar energy. Ultra-broadband absorption, incidence angle insensitivity, and polarization independence are key performance indicators in the design of the absorbers. In this work, we proposed a metamaterial absorber based on the absorption mechanism with multiple resonances, including propagation surface plasmon resonance (PSPR), localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), electric dipole resonance (EDR), and magnetic dipole resonance (MDR). The absorber, consisting of composite nanocylinders and a microcavity, can perform solar energy full-spectrum absorption. The proposed absorber obtained high absorption (>95%) from 272 nm to 2742 nm at normal incidence. The weighted absorption rate of the absorber at air mass 1.5 direct in the wavelength range of 280 nm to 3000 nm exceeds 98.5%. The ultra-broadband perfect absorption can be ascribed to the interaction of those resonances. The photothermal conversion efficiency of the absorber reaches 85.3% at 375 K. By analyzing the influence of the structural parameters on the absorption efficiency, the absorber exhibits excellent fault tolerance. In addition, the designed absorber is insensitive to polarization and variation in ambient refractive index and has an absorption rate of more than 80% at the incident angle of 50°. Our proposed absorber has great application potential in solar energy collection, photothermal conversion, and other related areas. Full article

Background/Objectives: Atypical parkinsonian syndromes (APSs) are a group of neurodegenerative disorders that differ from idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (IPD) in their clinical presentation, underlying pathology, and response to treatment. APSs include conditions such as multiple system atrophy (MSA), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), corticobasal syndrome (CBS), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). These disorders are characterized by a combination of parkinsonian features and additional symptoms, such as autonomic dysfunction, supranuclear gaze palsy, and asymmetric motor symptoms. Many hypotheses attempt to explain the causes of neurodegeneration in APSs, including interactions between environmental toxins, tau or α-synuclein pathology, oxidative stress, microglial activation, and vascular factors. While extensive research has been conducted on APSs, there is a limited understanding of the symmetry in these diseases, particularly in MSA. Neuroimaging studies have revealed metabolic, structural, and functional abnormalities that contribute to the asymmetry in APSs. The asymmetry in CBS is possibly caused by a variable reduction in striatal D2 receptor binding, as demonstrated in single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) examinations, which may explain the disease’s asymmetric manifestation and poor response to dopaminergic therapy. In PSP, clinical dysfunction correlates with white matter tract degeneration in the superior cerebellar peduncles and corpus callosum. MSA often involves atrophy in the pons, putamen, and cerebellum, with clinical symmetry potentially depending on the symmetry of the atrophy. The aim of this review is to present the study findings on potential symmetry as a tool for determining potential neuropsychological disturbances and properly diagnosing APSs to lessen the misdiagnosis rate. Methods: A comprehensive review of the academic literature was conducted using the medical literature available in PubMed. Appropriate studies were evaluated and examined based on patient characteristics and clinical and imaging examination outcomes in the context of potential asymmetry. Results: Among over 1000 patients whose data were collected, PSP-RS was symmetrical in approximately 84% ± 3% of cases, with S-CBD showing similar results. PSP-P was symmetrical in about 53–55% of cases, while PSP-CBS was symmetrical in fewer than half of the cases. MSA-C was symmetrical in around 40% of cases. It appears that MSA-P exhibits symmetry in about 15–35% of cases. CBS, according to the criteria, is a disease with an asymmetrical clinical presentation in 90–99% of cases. Similar results were obtained via imaging methods, but transcranial sonography produced different results. Conclusions: Determining neurodegeneration symmetry may help identify functional deficits and improve diagnostic accuracy. Patients with significant asymmetry in neurodegeneration may exhibit different neuropsychological symptoms based on their individual brain lateralization, impacting their cognitive functioning and quality of life. Full article

(1) Background: Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is a generic term which refers to multiple pathologies, including FTLD-tau. The most common FTLD-tau diseases are Pick’s disease (PiD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal degeneration (CBD). These diseases share four major syndromes: behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFD), Richardson syndrome (RS), corticobasal syndrome (CBS) and non-fluent agrammatic primary progressive aphasia (nfa-PPA). The primary aim of this meta-analysis was to examine the diagnostic performance of CSF total (t-tau) and phosphorylated (p-tau) protein in bvFTD, RS, CBS, nfa-PPA and pathologically or genetically defined tauopathy. (2) Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed on all studies with >10 subjects in a bvFTD/RS/CBS/nfa-PPA group and control group and available data on CSF t-tau or p-tau (mean, SD). Cohen’s d was used to quantify the effect size of each study (3) Results: The PSP/tauopathy patients exhibited decreased levels of CSF p-tau compared to the control subjects. The CBS/bvFTD/nfa-PPA cohorts exhibited an increase in t-tau compared to the control groups. (4) Conclusions: Tauopathies may exhibit an inherent decrease in CSF p-tau. The admixture of AD patients in FTD cohorts and high heterogeneity among studies on rare diseases are significant confounding factors in FTLD studies. Full article

Polycarbonate (PC) as a widely used engineering plastic that shows disadvantages of flammability and large smoke production during combustion. Although many flame-retardant PCs have been developed, most of them show enhanced flame retardancy but poor smoke suppression or worsened mechanical performance. In this work, a novel nitrogen–phosphorus–sulfur synergistic flame retardant (Pc-FR) was synthesized and incorporated into PC with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The extremely low content of PC-FR (0.1–0.5 wt%) contributes significantly to the flame retardancy, smoke suppression and mechanical performance of PC. PC/0.3 wt% Pc-FR/0.3 wt% PTFE (PC-P0.3) shows the UL-94 V-0 and LOI of 33.5%. The PHRR, THR, PSPR, PCO and TCO of PC-P0.3 decreased by 39.44%, 14.38%, 17.45%, 54.75% and 30.61%, respectively. The impact strength and storage modulus of PC-P0.1 increased by 7.7 kJ/m² and 26 MPa, respectively. The pyrolysis mechanism of PC-P0.3 is also revealed. The pyrolysis mechanism of PC-P0.3 is stochastic nucleation and subsequent growth and satisfies the Aevrami–Erofeev equation. The reaction order of PC-P0.3 is 1/2. The activation energy of PC-P0.3 is larger than PC-0, which proves that the Pc-FR can suppress the pyrolysis of the PC. This work offers a direction on how to design high-performance PC. Full article

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a complicated inflammatory disease with a continually growing incidence. In this study, resistant starch was obtained from purple sweet potato (PSPRS) by the enzymatic isolation method. Then, the structural properties of PSPRS and its protective function in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis were investigated. The structural characterization results revealed that the crystallinity of PSPRS changed from C_A-type to A-type, and the lamellar structure was totally destroyed during enzymatic hydrolysis. Compared to DSS-induced colitis mice, PSPRS administration significantly improved the pathological phenotype and colon inflammation in a dose-dependent manner. ELISA results indicated that DSS-induced colitis mice administered with PSPRS showed higher IL-10 and IgA levels but lower TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 levels. Meanwhile, high doses (300 mg/kg) of PSPRS significantly increased the production of acetate, propionate, and butyrate. 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing results showed that the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes and the potential probiotic bacteria levels were notably increased in the PSPRS treatment group, such as Lactobacillus, Alloprevotella, Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group, and Bifidobacterium. Simultaneously, harmful bacteria like Bacteroides, Staphylococcus, and Akkermansia were significantly inhibited by the administration of a high dose of PSPRS (p < 0.05). Therefore, PSPRS has the potential to be a functional food for promoting intestinal health and alleviating UC. Full article

The epoxy resin-based (ESB) intumescent flame-retardant coatings were modified with 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether (14BDDE) and butyl glycidyl ether (BGE) as diluents and T403 and 4,4′-diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM) as curing agents, respectively. The effects of different diluents and curing agents on the flame-retardant and mechanical properties, as well as the composition evolution of the coatings, were investigated by using large-plate combustion, the limiting oxygen index (LOI), vertical combustion, a cone calorimeter, X-ray diffraction, FTIR analysis, a N₂ adsorption and desorption test, a scanning electron microscope (SEM), a tensile strength test, and a viscosity test. The results showed that the addition of 14BBDE and T403 promoted the oxidation of B₄C and the formation of boron-containing glass or ceramics, increased the residual mass of char, densified the surface char layer, and increased the specific surface area of porous residual char. When their dosage was 30%, ESB-1T-3 coating exhibited the most excellent flame-retardant properties. During the 2 h large-plate combustion test, the backside temperature was only 138.72 °C, without any melting pits. In addition, the peak heat release rate (PHRR), total heat release rate (THR), total smoke production (TSP), and peak smoke production (PSPR) were reduced by 13.15%, 13.9%, 5.48%, and 17.45%, respectively, compared to the blank ESB coating. The LOI value reached 33.4%, and the vertical combustion grade was V-0. In addition, the tensile strength of the ESB-1T-3 sample was increased by 10.94% compared to ESB. In contrast, the addition of BGE and DDM promoted the combustion of the coating, affected the ceramic process of the coating, seriously affected the formation of borosilicate glass, and exhibited poor flame retardancy. The backside temperature reached 190.93 °C after 2 h combustion. A unified rule is that as the amount of diluent and curing agent increases, the flame retardancy improves while the mechanical properties decrease. This work provides data support for the preparation and process optimization of resin-based coatings. Full article

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is an atypical parkinsonian syndrome based on tau pathology; its clinical phenotype differs, but PSP with Richardson’s syndrome (PSP-RS) and the PSP parkinsonism predominant (PSP-P) variant remain the two most common manifestations. Neuroinflammation is involved in the course of the disease and may cause neurodegeneration. However, an up-to-date cytokine profile has not been assessed in different PSP phenotypes. This study aimed to evaluate possible differences in neuroinflammatory patterns between the two most common PSP phenotypes. Serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and IL-6 were analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits in 36 study participants—12 healthy controls and 24 patients with a clinical diagnosis of PSP-12 PSP-RS and 12 PSP-P. Disease duration among PSP patients ranged from three to six years. All participants underwent basic biochemical testing, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) values were calculated. Due to a lack of neuropathological examinations, as all patients remain alive, total tau levels were assessed in the CSF. Tau levels were significantly higher in the PSP-P and PSP-RS groups compared to the healthy controls. The lowest concentrations of serum and CSF interleukins were observed in PSP-RS patients, whereas PSP-P patients and healthy controls had significantly higher interleukin concentrations. Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between serum IL-6 levels and PLR in PSP-RS patients. The results indicate the existence of distinct neuroinflammatory patterns or a neuroprotective role of increased inflammatory activity, which could cause the differences between PSPS phenotypes and clinical course. The causality of the correlations described requires further studies to be confirmed. Full article