In recent years, the key role of oxidative stress in pathogenesis of oral diseases has been emphasized and the use of antioxidant agents has been encouraged. Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA) is a unicellular blue-green alga with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The aim of this study was the formulation and characterization of mucoadhesive thin layer films loaded with AFA, finalized to the treatment of oxidative stress (OS)-related oral diseases. First, to enhance the bioavailability of AFA constituents, the raw food grade material was appropriately treated by a high frequency homogenization able to disrupt cell walls. Thus, Eudragit® E100-based buccal films were produced by the solvent casting method, containing 7% and 18% of AFA. The films, characterized by uniformity in thickness, weight, and drug content, showed low swelling degree, good muco-adhesiveness and controlled drug release. The mechanical tests showed elastic moduli of films of almost 5 MPa that is well-suitable for human buccal applications without discomfort, besides biaxial tests highlighted a marked material isotropy. Permeation studies through porcine mucosae demonstrated the ability of films to promote AFA penetration in the tissues, and when sublingually administered, they produced a drug flux up to six-fold higher than an AFA solution. The new formulations represent an interesting alternative for the development of cosmetics and nutraceuticals with a functional appeal containing plant extracts.

In this paper the authors deals with the heredity behavior of hydroxyapatite-based composite used for cranioplastic surgery. It is shown that biomimetic prostheses, for their microstructural morphology, have a mechanical behavior that can be well described by an isotropic fractional-order hereditary model. The three-axial isotropic behavior is framed in the context of fractional-order calculus and same details about thermodynamical restrictions of memory functions used in the formulation of the three-axial isotropic constitutive equations. A mechanical model that corresponds, exactly, to the three-axial isotropic hereditariness is also introduced in the paper. File Name [File Type] cover letter.pdf [Cover Letter] power-laws-hereditariness second review.pdf [Response to Reviewers] power-laws-hereditariness.pdf [Response to Reviewers] Power_Laws_hereditariness_rev.pdf [Response to Reviewers] report.pdf [Review Reports] Paper Highlights-Bologna_Graziano-Deseri_Zingales.docx [Highlights] Power laws hereditariness.pdf [Manuscript File] Submission Files Not Included in this PDF File Name [File Type]power-laws-hereditariness (2).zip [LaTeX Source File] AbstractIn this paper the hereditary behavior of hydroxyapatite-based composites used for cranioplastic surgery is discussed in the context of material isotropy. Mixtures of collagen and hydroxiapatite composites are classified as biomimetic ceramic composites with hereditary properties modeled in the paper fractionalorder calculus. Isotropy of the biomimetic ceramic is assumed and the thermodynamic of restrictions among material parameters are provided. The proposed formulation of the fractional-order isotropic hereditariness has been further exploited by means of a novel mechanical hierarchy that corresponds, exactly, to the three-dimensional fractional-order constitutive model introduded in the paper. AbstractIn this paper the authors deal with the hereditary behavior of hydroxyapatitebased composites used for cranioplastic surgery. It is shown that biomimetic prosthesis, possess an isotropic fractional-order material hereditariness due to their microstructure architecture. The three-axial hereditariness is framed in the context of fractional-calculus providing details about thermodynamical restrictions of memory functions used in the formulation. A mechanical model that corresponds, exactly, to the three-axial fractional-order hereditariness is also introduced in the paper. AbstractWe discuss the hereditary behavior of hydroxyapatite-based composites used for cranioplastic surgery in the context of material isotropy. We classify mixtures of collagen and hydroxiapatite composites as biomimetic ceramic composites with hereditary properties modeled by fractional-order calculus. We assune isotropy of the biomimetic ceramic is assumed and provide thermodynamic of restrictions for the material parameters. We exploit the proposed formulation of the fractional-order isotropic hereditariness further by means of a novel mechanical hierarchy corresponding exactly to the three-di...

In this paper the authors introduce a nonlinear model of fractional-order hereditariness used to capture experimental data obtained on human tendons of the knee. Creep and relaxation data on fibrous tissues have been obtained and fitted with logarithmic relations that correspond to power-laws with nonlinear dependence of the coefficients. The use of a proper nonlinear transform allows one to use Boltzmann superposition in the transformed variables yielding a fractional-order model for the nonlinear material hereditariness. The fundamental relations among the nonlinear creep and relaxation functions have been established, and the results from the equivalence relations have been contrasted with measures obtained from the experimental data. Numerical experiments introducing polynomial and harmonic stress and strain histories have been reported to assess the provided equivalence relations. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Advanced materials modelling via fractional calculus: challenges and perspectives’.

Thirty patients with Stage II peripheral vascular disease were treated with sulodexide, a new, medium molecular weight glycosaminoglycan, and placebo using a double-blind, crossover study design. After a 1-month wash-out period, patients were treated for 1 month with one or other trial medication and then crossed over to the alternative preparation for a further month. Measurements were made at baseline and at the end of each treatment period of serum, plasma and whole blood viscosities (at various shear rates), fibrinogen levels and red cell filterability. Tolerance parameters were also assessed at the same times. The results showed that there were statistically significant reductions in plasma and whole blood viscosity and in fibrinogen levels after sulodexide, but not after placebo. Neither treatment had any marked effect on red blood cell filterability. Local and systemic tolerance of the treatment was excellent, and some patients reported an improvement in symptoms whilst they were taking sulodexide; this, however, could not be quantified in this study. It is suggested that the viscosity and fibrinogen reducing effect of sulodexide make it a useful form of treatment in patients with atheromatous vascular diseases of the lower limbs.

In small arterial vessels, fluid mechanics involving linear viscous fluid does not reproduce experimental results that correspond to non-parabolic profiles of velocity across the vessel diameter. In this paper, an alternative approach is pursued introducing long-range interactions that describe the interactions of non-adjacent fluid volume elements due to the presence of red blood cells and other dispersed cells in plasma. These non-local forces are defined as linearly dependent on the product of the volumes of the considered elements and on their relative velocity. Moreover, as the distance between two volume elements increases, the non-local forces decay with a material distance-decaying function. Assuming that decaying function belongs to a power-law functional class of real order, a fractional operator of the relative velocity appears in the resulting governing equation. It is shown that the mesoscale approach involving Hagen-Poiseuille law is able to reproduce experimentally measured profiles of velocity with a great accuracy. Additionally as the dimension of the vessel increases, non-local forces become negligible and the proposed model reverts to the classical Hagen-Poiseuille model.