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Telocytes (TCs) are CD34-positive interstitial cells that have long cytoplasmic projections, called telopodes; they have been identified in several organs and in various species. These cells establish a complex communication network between different stromal and epithelial cell types, and there is growing evidence that they play a key role in physiology and pathology. In many tissues, TC network impairment has been implicated in the onset and progression of pathological conditions, which makes the study of TCs of great interest for the development of novel therapies. In this review, we summarise the main methods involved in the characterisation of these cells as well as their inherent difficulties and then discuss the functional assays that are used to uncover the role of TCs in normal and pathological conditions, from the most traditional to the most recent. Furthermore, we provide future perspectives in the study of TCs, especially regarding the establishment of more precise markers, commercial lineages and means for drug delivery and genetic editing that directly target TCs.

Telocytes are interstitial cells present in the stroma of several organs, including the prostate. There is evidence that these cells are present during prostate alveologenesis, in which these cells play a relevant role, but there is no information about the presence of and possible changes in telocytes during prostate aging. Throughout aging, the prostate undergoes several spontaneous changes in the stroma that are pro-pathogenic. Our study used histochemistry, 3D reconstructions, ultrastructure and immunofluorescence to compare the adult prostate with the senile prostate of the Mongolian gerbil, in order to investigate possible changes in telocytes with senescence and a possible role for these cells in the age-associated alterations. It was found that the layers of perialveolar smooth muscle become thinner as the prostatic alveoli become more dilated during aging, and that telocytes form a network that involves smooth muscle cells, which could possibly indicate a role for telocytes in maintaining the integrity of perialveolar smooth muscles. On the other hand, with senescence, VEGF+ telocytes are seen in stroma possibly contributing to angiogenesis, together with TNFR1+ telocytes, which are associated with a pro-inflammatory microenvironment in the prostate. Together, these data indicate that telocytes are important both in understanding the aging-related changes that are seen in the prostate and also in the search for new therapeutic targets for pathologies whose frequency increases with age.

Telocytes are CD34-positive cells with a fusiform cell body and long, thin cytoplasmic projections called telopodes. These cells were detected in the stroma of various organs, including the prostate. The prostate is a complex gland capable of undergoing involution due to low testosterone levels; and this condition can be reversed with testosterone replacement. Telocyte function in the mature prostate remains to be dermined, and it is not known whether telocytes can take place in tissue remodeling during prostate involution and regrowth. The present study employed structural, ultrastructural and immunohistochemical methods to investigate the telocyte’s phenotypes in the ventral prostate (VP) from control (CT), castrated (CS) and testosterone replacement (TR) groups of adult male Wistar rats. Telocytes were found in the subepithelial, perimuscular and interstitical regions around glandular acini. Telocytes from CT animals have condensed chromatin and long and thin telopodes. In CS group, telocytes appeared quiescent and exhibited layers of folded up telopodes. After TR, telocytes presented loose chromatin, abundant rough endoplasmic reticulum and enlarged telopodes, closely associated with bundles of collagen fibrils. We called these cells “telocytes with a synthetic phenotype”. As testosterone levels and glandular morphology returned toward to the CT group parameters, after 10 days of TR, these telocytes progressively switched to the normal phenotype. Our results demonstrate that telocytes exhibit phenotypic plasticity upon androgen manipulation and interact with fibroblast and smooth muscle cells to maintain glandular architecture in control animals and during tissue remodeling after hormonal manipulation.

Objective: This article establishes normative values for children and analyzes test–retest results for a new test, the Spatial Processing of Sentences in Noise in Portuguese (PROSER). Methods: To establish normative criteria, we evaluated 66 Brazilian Portuguese‐speaking children aged 7–10 years using audiological assessments, school performance tests, and the PROSER test. A subset of 22 children participated in a test–retest evaluation. Results: Examining all 66 participants, we found significant differences in the speech reception threshold (SRT) means between the 0° and ±90° interference conditions when analyzing all four test conditions. Considering the age group, the performance of 10‐year‐old children was superior to that of both 7‐ and 8‐year‐old children. Test–retest comparison showed slight improvements (0.11–1.13 dB) in the retest phase across most conditions and advantage measures. The difference between the average SRT in the test and retest was statistically significant only in Condition 3‐DV0°. Conclusions: The study established normative values for children aged 7–10 years, confirming PROSER as a procedure with adequate test–retest reliability.

Nowadays, sensors with built-in sigma–delta modulators (ΣΔMs) are widely used in consumer, industrial, automotive, and medical applications, as they have become a cost-effective and convenient way to deliver data to digital processors. This is the case for micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS), digital microphones that convert analog audio to a pulse-density modulated (PDM) bitstream. However, as the ΣΔMs output a PDM signal, sensors require either built-in or external high-order decimation filters to demodulate the PDM signal to a baseband multi-bit pulse-code modulated (PCM) signal. Because of this extra circuit requirement, the implementation of sensor array algorithms, such as beamforming in embedded systems (where the processing resources are critical) or in very large-scale integration (VLSI) circuits (where the power and area are crucial) becomes especially expensive as a large number of parallel decimation filters are required. This article proposes a novel architecture for beamforming algorithm implementation that fuses delay and decimation operations based on maximally flat (MAXFLAT) filters to make array processing more affordable. As proof of concept, we present an implementation example of a delay-and-sum (DAS) beamformer at given spatial and frequency requirements using this novel approach. Under these specifications, the proposed architecture requires 52% lower storage resources and 19% lower computational resources than the most efficient state-of-the-art architecture.

Cancer and its diverse variations pose one of the most significant threats to human health and well-being. One of the most aggressive forms is blood cancer, originating from bone marrow cells and disrupting the production of normal blood cells. The incidence of blood cancer is steadily increasing, driven by both genetic and environmental factors. Therefore, early detection is crucial as it enhances treatment outcomes and improves success rates. However, accurate diagnosis is challenging due to the inherent similarities between normal and cancerous cells. Although various techniques are available for blood cancer identification, high-frequency imaging techniques have recently shown promise, particularly for real-time monitoring. Notably, terahertz (THz) frequencies offer unique advantages for biomedical applications. This research proposes an innovative terahertz metamaterial-based biosensor for high-efficacy blood cancer detection. The proposed structure is ultra-compact and operates across five bands within the range of 0.6 to 1.2 THz. It is constructed using a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) dielectric layer and two aluminum (Al) layers, with the top layer serving as a base for the THz-range resonator. Careful design, architectural arrangement, and optimization of the geometry parameters allow for achieving nearly perfect absorption rates (>95%) across all operating bands. The properties of the proposed sensor are extensively evaluated through full-wave electromagnetic (EM) analysis, which includes assessing the refractive index and the distribution of the electric field at individual working frequencies. The suitability for blood cancer diagnosis has been validated by integrating the sensor into a microwave imaging (MWI) system and conducting comprehensive simulation studies. These studies underscore the device’s capability to detect abnormalities, particularly in distinguishing between healthy and cancerous cells. Benchmarking against state-of-the-art biosensors in recent literature indicates that the proposed sensor is highly competitive in terms of major performance indicators while maintaining a compact size.

Cervical cancer belongs to the most dangerous types of cancers posing considerable threat to women’s survival. It is most often diagnosed in the advanced stages as precancerous lesions are often symptom-free and difficult to identify. Microwave imaging, especially in terahertz (THz) range, is a convenient and noninvasive cancer detection tool. It enables characterization of biological tissues and discrimination between healthy and malignant ones. This study presents a novel triple-band biosensor based on metamaterials (MTMs). By leveraging unique properties of MTMs, the proposed biosensor operates as a perfect absorber. It exploits resonant modes in the THz spectrum to achieve remarkable sensitivity. Meticulous selection of the sensor geometry and dimensions enables efficient miniaturization. Meanwhile, utilization of frequency-domain data to detect refractive index changes improves resolution of cancerous tissue identification. Extensive numerical investigations corroborate its ability to carry out reliable early-stage cervical cancer diagnosis. This includes identification of the spatial extent of the malignant tissue. Excellent electrical properties of the sensor are accompanied by its compact size, which is highly desirable for non-invasive and portable applications.

Telocytes are CD34 + interstitial cells that have long cytoplasmic projections (called telopodes), and have been detected in several organs, including those of the male reproductive system. In this brief review we evaluate the role of telocytes in tissue organization of the different organs of the male reproductive system in which these cells were studied. In general terms, telocytes act in the tissue organization through networks of telopodes that separate the epithelia from the stroma, as well as dividing the stroma into different compartments. In addition to this contribution to the structural integrity, there is direct and indirect evidence that such “walls” formed by telocytes also compartmentalize paracrine factors that they or other cells produce, which have a direct impact on morphogenesis and the maintenance of organ cell differentiation, as well as on their normal physiology. Moreover, alterations in telocytes and telopode networks are correlated with pathological conditions in the male reproductive system, in response to profound changes in structural organization of the organs, in inflammation, hyperplasia and cancer. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the molecular pathways telocytes employ in different contexts of physiology and disease.

One of the functions attributed to the auditory efferent system is related to the processing of acoustic stimuli in noise backgrounds. However, clinical implications and the neurophysiological mechanisms of this system are not yet understood, especially on higher regions of the central nervous system. Only a few researchers studied the effects of noise on cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEP), but the lack of studies in this area and the contradictory results, especially in children, point to the need to investigate different protocols and parameters that could allow the study of top-down activity in humans. For this reason, the aim of this study was to analyze the effect of varying levels of contralateral noise on efferent activity in children by recording CAEPs with tone burst stimuli. Additionally, we aimed at verifying the effects of contralateral noise on cortical processing of speech stimuli. Monaural CAEPs were recorded using tone burst stimuli in quiet and with contralateral white noise at 60 dB and at 70 dB in 65 typically developing school-aged children (experiment 1), and using speech stimuli with contralateral white noise at 60 dB in 41 children (experiment 2). In experiment 1, noise induced changes were observed only for P1 and P300 components. P1 latency was prolonged at both noise level conditions, P300 latency was prolonged only in the condition with noise at 70 dB, and P300 amplitude was reduced only in the condition with noise at 60 dB. In experiment 2, noise induced latency delays were observed on P1, P2, N2, and P300 components and amplitude reduction was observed only for N1. The effects of noise stimulation were observed on all CAEP components elicited by speech, but the same was not observed in the experiment with tone bursts. The study of noise effects on CAEPs can provide electrophysiological evidence on how difficult listening situations affect sound discrimination and stimulus evaluation at thalamocortical regions.

Telocytes are CD34‐positive interstitial cells, known to exert several functions, one of which is a role in tissue organisation, previously demonstrated by telocytes in the myocardium. The existence of telocytes in the prostate has recently been reported, however, there is a lack of information regarding the function of these cells in prostate tissue, and information regarding the possible role of these cells in prostatic development. This study used immunofluorescence techniques in prostate tissue and prostatic telocytes in culture to determine the relationship between telocytes and prostate morphogenesis. Furthermore, immunofluorescent labelling of telocytes was performed on prostate tissue at different stages of early postnatal development. Initially, CD34‐positive cells are found at the periphery of the developing alveoli, later in the same region, c‐kit‐positive cells and cells positive for both factors are verified and CD34‐positive cells were predominantly observed in the interalveolar stroma and the region surrounding the periductal smooth muscle. Fluorescence assays also demonstrated that telocytes secrete TGF‐β1 and are ER‐Beta (ERβ) positive. The results suggest that telocytes play a changing role during development, initially supporting the differentiation of periductal and perialveolar smooth muscle, and later, producing dense networks that separate alveoli groups and form a barrier between the interalveolar region and periurethral smooth muscle. We conclude that telocytes play a relevant role in prostate tissue organisation during postnatal development.