The paradox of the Italian clinical embryologist in the national public health system: hints towards harmonization of a postgraduate educational curriculum.

Clinical embryologists are highly trained laboratory professionals with multiple roles, including laboratory, clinical, biobanking and quality system management. In most European countries, clinical embryologists are trained to work in Medically Assisted Reproduction (MAR) centres without a specifically dedicated educational path. The criteria required for employment vary according to the educational structure and the public or private nature of the centre. We have herein described the educational profile required by Italian clinical embryologists to work in MAR centres of the National Health System (NHS). Public centres currently represent 36% of all the Italian MAR clinics. According to the Italian law, a future clinical embryologist must achieve a 3-4 year unpaid post-graduate specialization in a different field, choosing from Genetics, Microbiology, Clinical Pathology or Nutrition. Accesses to the above-mentioned post-graduate courses are themselves very limited. Clinical embryologists are basically trained by senior colleagues. This situation makes inevitably difficult to recruit laboratory staff in NHS centres. Moreover, it represents an emblematic example of the need for an equal training curriculum, possibly ensuring a comparable education quality, mobility of trainees and dissemination of skills for clinical embryologists all over Europe.

Combining E-Nose and Lateral Flow Immunoassays (LFIAs) for Rapid Occurrence/Co-Occurrence Aflatoxin and Fumonisin Detection in Maize.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential use of an e-nose in combination with lateral flow immunoassays for rapid aflatoxin and fumonisin occurrence/co-occurrence detection in maize samples. For this purpose, 161 samples of corn have been used. Below the regulatory limits, single-contaminated, and co-contaminated samples were classified according to the detection ranges established for commercial lateral flow immunoassays (LFIAs) for mycotoxin determination. Correspondence between methods was evaluated by discriminant function analysis (DFA) procedures using IBM SPSS Statistics 22. Stepwise variable selection was done to select the e-nose sensors for classifying samples by DFA. The overall leave-out-one cross-validated percentage of samples correctly classified by the eight-variate DFA model for aflatoxin was 81%. The overall leave-out-one cross-validated percentage of samples correctly classified by the seven-variate DFA model for fumonisin was 85%. The overall leave-out-one cross-validated percentage of samples correctly classified by the nine-variate DFA model for the three classes of contamination (below the regulatory limits, single-contaminated, co-contaminated) was 65%. Therefore, even though an exhaustive evaluation will require a larger dataset to perform a validation procedure, an electronic nose (e-nose) seems to be a promising rapid/screening method to detect contamination by aflatoxin, fumonisin, or both in maize kernel stocks.

Laser surface structuring of AZ31 Mg alloy for controlled wettability.

Structured surfaces exhibit functional properties that can enhance the performance of a bioimplant in terms of biocompatibility, adhesion, or corrosion behavior. In order to tailor the surface property, chemical and physical methods can be used in a sequence of many steps. On the other hand, laser surface processing can provide a single step solution to achieve the designated surface function with the use of simpler equipment and high repeatability. This work provides the details on the surface structuring of AZ31, a biocompatible and biodegradable Mg alloy, by a single-step laser surface structuring based on remelting. The surfaces are characterized in terms of topography, chemistry, and physical integrity, as well as the effective change in the surface wetting behavior is demonstrated. The results imply a great potential in local or complete surface structuring of medical implants for functionalization by the flexible positioning of the laser beam.