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Wound healing can be a painful and time-consuming process in patients with diabetes mellitus. In light of this, the use of wound healing devices could help to accelerate this process. ...Here, cellulose-based films loaded with vitamin C (VitC) and/or propolis (Prop), two natural compounds with attractive properties were engineered. The starting materials and the cellulose-based films were characterized in detail. As assessed, vitamin C can be released from the Cel-PVA/VitC and Cel-PVA/VitC/Prop films in a controlled manner. In vitro antibacterial activity studies showed a reduction of bacteria counts (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) after Cel-PVA/VitC, Cel-PVA/Prop, and Cel-PVA/VitC/Prop treatments. Moreover, we examined the antibacterial and wound healing properties of the cellulose-based films in a streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic animal model. Diabetic mice exhibited impaired wound healing while the Cel-PVA/VitC/Prop treatment increased the wound closure. A marked reduction in bacterial counts present in the wound environment of diabetic mice was observed after Cel-PVA/VitC, Cel-PVA/Prop and Cel-PVA/VitC/Prop treatment. Histological analysis demonstrated that the non-treated diabetic mice group did not exhibit adequate wound healing while the treated group with Cel-PVA/VitC and Cel-PVA/VitC/Prop films presented good cicatricial response. Furthermore, these novel eco-friendly films may represent a new therapeutic approach to accelerate diabetic wound healing.
The objective of our study was to determine the ability of tomosynthesis (3D) to detect nonmalignant and malignant architectural distortion (AD) on 3D screening mammograms compared with digital ...mammography (2D) only and to correlate the 3D imaging features of nonmalignant and malignant AD with pathology findings.
For this single-institution retrospective study, screening mammography reports from October 1, 2012, to December 1, 2016, that included AD as a finding were reviewed. Associated additional imaging studies and pathology results were also reviewed.
Three-dimensional mammography showed statistically significant increased detection of both nonmalignant and malignant AD compared with 2D only (0.10% 24/24,902 examinations vs 0.01% 1/9470 examinations, p < 0.05; and 0.21% 52/24,902 examinations vs 0.07% 7/9470 examinations, p < 0.05, respectively). Higher percentages of nonmalignant AD (16%) were occult on ultrasound compared with malignant AD (3%). The pathologic diagnoses of nonmalignant AD included radial scar (42%), sclerosing adenosis (16%), stromal or dense fibrosis (16%), and other miscellaneous benign causes (25%). Morphologically, nonmalignant AD was more likely to show symmetric or spoke-wheel spiculation appearance (58% vs 2%, p < 0.05) and central lucency (25% vs 0%, p < 0.05) than malignant AD, whereas malignant AD was more likely to show asymmetric spiculation (98% vs 42%, p < 0.05) and central mass 60% vs 0%, p < 0.05) than nonmalignant AD.
Malignant AD and nonmalignant AD are more readily detected by 3D mammography than 2D mammography. Three-dimensional imaging features of AD can help to distinguish nonmalignant types in which symmetric or spoke-wheel spiculation with central lucency are more often seen and are more often occult on ultrasound.
Cardiovascular diseases and especially Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) constitute a major health issue impacting millions of patients worldwide. Being a leading cause of death and hospital admissions ...in many European countries including Spain, it accounts for enormous amounts of healthcare expenditures for its management. Clopidogrel is one of the oldest antiplatelet medications used as standard of care in ACS.
In this study, we performed an economic evaluation study to estimate whether a genome-guided clopidogrel treatment is cost-effective compared to conventional one in a large cohort of 243 individuals of Spanish origin suffering from ACS and treated with clopidogrel. Data were derived from the U-PGx PREPARE clinical trial. Effectiveness was measured as survival of individuals while study data on safety and efficacy, as well as on resource utilization associated with each adverse drug reaction were used to measure costs to treat these adverse drug reactions. A generalized linear regression model was used to estimate cost differences for both study groups.
Based on our findings, PGx-guided treatment group is cost-effective. PGx-guided treatment demonstrated to have 50% less hospital admissions, reduced emergency visits and almost 13% less ADRs compared to the non-PGx approach with mean QALY 1.07 (95% CI, 1.04-1.10) versus 1.06 (95% CI, 1.03-1.09) for the control group, while life years for both groups were 1.24 (95% CI, 1.20-1.26) and 1.23 (95% CI, 1.19-1.26), respectively. The mean total cost of PGx-guided treatment was 50% less expensive than conventional therapy with clopidogrel €883 (95% UI, €316-€1582), compared to €1,755 (95% UI, €765-€2949).
These findings suggest that PGx-guided clopidogrel treatment represents a cost-effective option for patients suffering from ACS in the Spanish healthcare setting.
In this randomized trial, statin-intolerant patients with, or at high risk for, CVD received bempedoic acid or placebo. Bempedoic acid reduced LDL cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular events.
To enhance the gastrointestinal health of astronauts, probiotic microorganisms are being considered for inclusion on long-duration human missions to the Moon and Mars. Here we tested three commercial ...probiotics—
Bifidobacterium longum
strain BB536,
Lactobacillus acidophilus
strain DDS-1, and spores of
Bacillus subtilis
strain HU58—for their survival to some of the conditions expected to be encountered during a 3-year, round trip voyage to Mars. All probiotics were supplied as freeze-dried cells in capsules at a titer of >10
9
colony forming units per capsule. Parameters tested were survival to: (i) long-term storage at ambient conditions, (ii) simulated Galactic Cosmic Radiation and Solar Particle Event radiation provided by the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory, (iii) exposure to simulated gastric fluid, and (iv) exposure to simulated intestinal fluid. We found that radiation exposure produced minimal effects on the probiotic strains. However, we found that that the shelf-lives of the three strains, and their survival during passage through simulations of the upper GI tract, differed dramatically. We observed that only spores of
B. subtilis
were capable of surviving all conditions and maintaining a titer of >10
9
spores per capsule. The results indicate that probiotics consisting of bacterial spores could be a viable option for long-duration human space travel.
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•Schiff bases of CS were synthesized using organoselenium and organosulfur compounds.•The conversion degrees of CS-derivatives containing selenium and sulfur were >20%.•Films prepared ...by the blending the CS-derivatives and PVA showed antimicrobial activity.•The sulfur-containing film was the most active against the tested pathogens.•In vivo assays showed that this film has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities.
In this study, Schiff bases of chitosan (CS) were synthesized using citronellal, citral, and their derivatives containing selenium and sulfur. Organoselenium and organosulfur compounds show attractive biological and pharmaceutical activities, which can be beneficial to CS-based materials. From the characterization analyses, it was found that the CS-derivatives containing organoselenium and organosulfur compounds exhibited the highest conversion degrees (23 and 28%). Biological assays were conducted using films prepared by the blending of CS-derivatives and poly(vinyl alcohol). The antimicrobial evaluation indicated that the film prepared with the sulfur-containing CS was the most active against the tested pathogens (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans) since it reduced considerably their counts (42.5%, 17.4%, and 18.7%). Finally, in vivo assays revealed that this film attenuates atopic dermatitis-like symptoms in mice by suppressing the increase of myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and reactive species (RS) levels induced by 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB). In summary, CS-derivatives containing chalcogens, mainly organosulfur, are potential candidates for biomedical applications such as for the treatment of chronic skin diseases.
Autotrophic anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) is a biological process in which Planctomycete-type bacteria combine ammonium and nitrite to generate nitrogen gas. Both substrates can exert ...inhibitory effects on the process, causing the decrease of the specific activity of the biomass and the loss of the stable operation of reactors. The aim of the present work is to evaluate these effects in short- and long-term experiments. The short-term effects were carried out with two different types of Anammox biomass, biofilm on inorganic carriers and flocculent sludge. The effects of ammonium on both kinds of biomass were similar. A decrease of the Specific Anammox Activity (SAA) of 50% was observed at concentrations about 38 mg NH3-N·L−1, while 100 mg NH3-N·L−1 caused an inhibition of 80%. With regards to nitrite, the SAA was not affected at concentrations up to 6.6 μg HNO2-N·L−1 but it suffered a decrease over 50% in the presence of 11 μg HNO2-N·L−1 in the case of the biofilm. The flocculent biomass was much less resistant and its SAA sharply decreased up to 30% of its initial value in the presence of 4.4 μg HNO2-N·L−1.
The study of the long-term effects was carried out in lab-scale Sequencing Batch Reactors (SBR) inoculated with the biofilm biomass. Concentrations up to 20 mg NH3-N·L−1 showed no effects on either reactor efficiency or biomass activity. However, when free ammonia concentrations reached values between 35 and 40 mg NH3-N·L−1, the operation turned unstable and the efficiency was totally lost. Nitrous acid concentrations around 1.5 μg HNO2-N·L−1 caused a loss of the efficiency of the treatment and a destabilization of the system. However, a total restoration of the SAA was observed after the stoichiometric feeding was applied to the SBR.
Abstract Objective The objective of this study was to monitor the progression of joint damage in two animal models of knee joint trauma using two non-invasive, clinically available imaging ...modalities. Methods A 3-T clinical magnet and micro-computed tomography was used to document changes immediately following injury (acute) and post injury (chronic) at time points of 4, 8, or 12 weeks. Joint damage was recorded at dissection and compared to the chronic MRI record. Fifteen Flemish Giant rabbits were subjected to a single tibiofemoral compressive impact (ACLF), and 18 underwent a combination of ACL and meniscal transection (mACLT). Results All ACLF animals experienced ACL rupture, and 13 also experienced acute meniscal damage. All ACLF and mACLT animals showed meniscal and articular cartilage damages at dissection. Meniscal damage was documented as early as 4 weeks and worsened in 87% of the ACLF animals and 71% of the mACLT animals. Acute cartilage damage also developed further and increased in occurrence with time in both models. A progressive decrease in bone quantity and quality was documented in both models. The MRI data closely aligned with dissection notes suggesting this clinical tool may be a noninvasive method for documenting joint damage in lapine models of knee joint trauma. Conclusions The study investigates the acute to chronic progression of meniscal and cartilage damage at various time points, and chronic changes to the underlying bone in two models of PTOA, and highlights the dependency of the model on the location, type, and progression of damage over time.
The formation of a novel type of hydrogel that combines chemically and physically crosslinked networks in a dual-network approach is presented here. Chitosan (CHT) and chondroitin sulfate (CS) were ...chemically modified with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) and then crosslinked. The chemical hydrogels (CHT- and CS-gel) were deposited in different vials filled with CS or CHT stock solutions to form the dual-network hydrogels. FTIR, TGA and XRD analyses were used to characterize the chemical and the dual-network hydrogels. The percentages of CS or CHT complexed to the CHT- and CS-gel networks were calculated from the HPLC data. SEM images and swelling assays indicated that the formation of a secondary network by polyelectrolyte complexation changes the morphologies and liquid uptake capacities of the chemical hydrogels. Hence, the data and discussion presented here enable the formation of dual-network hydrogels with very interesting properties, such as the ability to interact with charged specimens (i.e., drugs, proteins or metal ions), a desirable feature for a wide range of applications.
In this study, hydrogel composites based on chitosan-g-poly(acrylic acid) matrices filled with cellulose nanowhiskers (CNWs) were prepared, and their ability to adsorb Pb(II) and Cu(II) ions from the ...water was investigated. A factorial design approach was performed to examine the effect of some selected parameters on the adsorption process. The optimized conditions revealed that the highest adsorption of Pb(II) (818.4 mg/g) and Cu(II) (325.5 mg/g) is obtained within 30 min, at pH 4.0, using 20 mg of the hydrogel composite containing 10 w/w-% of CNWs. As assessed, functional groups available in the hydrogel matrix and CNWs act as coordination sites for the adsorption. The Langmuir type I isotherm fitted the experimental adsorption data indicating monolayer formation drive the adsorption process. The maximum adsorption capacity of the hydrogel composite prepared in this study concerning the two selected metals was comparable or better than those reported to other similar adsorbent materials. Also, adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo-second-order model. Desorption studies indicate that the post-utilized hydrogel composite can be regenerated and reused again in new adsorption processes without a dramatic loss of efficiency. The results presented here shed light on some essential aspects related to the design and application of hydrogel composites containing nanocellulose in the adsorption process. Moreover, these findings may be helpful to obtain adsorbent materials for practical applications.
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