Pectin hydrogel is a soft hydrocolloid with multifaceted utilities in the food sector. Substantial knowledge acquired on the gelation mechanisms and structure-function relationship of pectin has led ...to interesting functions of pectin hydrogel. Food applications of pectin hydrogels can be categorized under four headings: food ingredients/additives, food packaging, bioactive delivery and health management. The cross-linked and tangly three-dimensional structure of pectin gel renders it an ideal choice of wall material for the encapsulation of biomolecules and living cells; as a fat replacer and texturizer. Likewise, pectin hydrogel is an effective satiety inducer due to its ability to swell under the simulated gastric and intestinal conditions without losing its gel structure. Coating or composites of pectin hydrogel with proteins and other polysaccharides augment its functionality as an encapsulant, satiety-inducer and food packaging material. Low-methoxyl pectin gel is an appropriate food ink for 3D printing applications due to its viscoelastic properties, adaptable microstructure and texture properties. This review aims at explaining all the applications of pectin hydrogels, as mentioned above. A comprehensive discussion is presented on the approaches by which pectin hydrogel can be transformed as a resourceful material by controlling its dimensions, state, and rheology. The final sections of this article emphasize the recent research trends in this discipline, such as the development of smart hydrogels, injectable gels, aerogels, xerogels and oleogels from pectin.
BACKGROUND:Despite its widespread use, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA)-Physical Status Classification System has been shown to result in inconsistent assignments among ...anesthesiologists. The ASA-Physical Status Classification System is also used by nonanesthesia-trained clinicians and others. In 2014, the ASA developed and approved examples to assist clinicians in determining the correct ASA-Physical Status Classification System assignment. The effect of these examples by anesthesia-trained and nonanesthesia-trained clinicians on appropriate ASA-Physical Status Classification System assignment in hypothetical cases was examined.
METHODS:Anesthesia-trained and nonanesthesia-trained clinicians were recruited via email to participate in a web-based questionnaire study. The questionnaire consisted of 10 hypothetical cases, for which respondents were first asked to assign ASA-Physical Status using only the ASA-Physical Status Classification System definitions and a second time using the newly ASA-approved examples.
RESULTS:With ASA-approved examples, both anesthesia-trained and nonanesthesia-trained clinicians improved in mean number of correct answers (out of possible 10) compared to ASA-Physical Status Classification System definitions alone (P < 0.001 for all). However, with examples, nonanesthesia-trained clinicians improved more compared to anesthesia-trained clinicians. With definitions only, anesthesia-trained clinicians (5.8 ± 1.6) scored higher than nonanesthesia-trained clinicians (5.4 ± 1.7; P = 0.041). With examples, anesthesia-trained (7.7 ± 1.8) and nonanesthesia-trained (8.0 ± 1.7) groups were not significantly different (P = 0.100).
CONCLUSIONS:The addition of examples to the definitions of the ASA-Physical Status Classification System increases the correct assignment of patients by anesthesia-trained and nonanesthesia-trained clinicians.
Medical microrobotics is an emerging field that aims at non-invasive diagnosis and therapy inside the human body through miniaturized sensors and actuators. Such microrobots can be tethered (e.g., ...smart microcatheters, microendoscopes) or untethered (e.g., cell-based drug delivery systems). Active motion and multiple functionalities, distinguishing microrobots from mere passive carriers and conventional nanomedicines, can be achieved through external control with physical fields such as magnetism or ultrasound. Here we give an overview of the key challenges in the field of assisted reproduction and how these new technologies could, in the future, enable assisted fertilization in vivo and enhance embryo implantation. As a case study, we describe a potential intervention in the case of recurrent embryo implantation failure, which involves the non-invasive delivery of an early embryo back to the fertilization site using magnetically-controlled microrobots. As the embryo will be in contact with the secretory oviduct fluid, it can develop under natural conditions and in synchrony with the endometrium preparation. We discuss the potential microrobot designs, including a proper selection of materials and processes, envisioning their translation from bench to animal studies and human medicine. Finally, we highlight regulatory and ethical considerations for bringing this technology to the clinic.
Hemolytic Transfusion Reactions Panch, Sandhya R; Montemayor-Garcia, Celina; Klein, Harvey G
The New England journal of medicine,
07/2019, Letnik:
381, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Blood transfusion is very safe; occasionally, however, the recipient has an adverse reaction to the donor blood. This review summarizes the types of transfusion reactions and how to diagnose and ...manage them.
In mammals, the circadian oscillator generates approximately 24-h rhythms in feeding behavior, even under constant environmental conditions. Livers of mice held under constant darkness exhibit ...circadian rhythm in abundance in up to 15% of expressed transcripts. Therefore, oscillations in hepatic transcripts could be driven by rhythmic food intake or sustained by the hepatic circadian oscillator, or a combination of both. To address this question, we used distinct feeding and fasting paradigms on wild-type (WT) and circadian clock-deficient mice. We monitored temporal patterns of feeding and hepatic transcription. Both food availability and the temporal pattern of feeding determined the repertoire, phase, and amplitude of the circadian transcriptome in WT liver. In the absence of feeding, only a small subset of transcripts continued to express circadian patterns. Conversely, temporally restricted feeding restored rhythmic transcription of hundreds of genes in oscillator-deficient mouse liver. Our findings show that both temporal pattern of food intake and the circadian clock drive rhythmic transcription, thereby highlighting temporal regulation of hepatic transcription as an emergent property of the circadian system.
Background
Patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection may be at an increased risk for morbidity and mortality from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19). We present the clinical ...outcomes of HIV patients hospitalized for COVID‐19 in a matched comparison with historical controls.
Methods
We conducted a retrospective cohort study of HIV patients admitted for COVID‐19 between March 2020 and April 2020 to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. Data on baseline clinical characteristics and hospital course were documented and compared with that of a matched control group of COVID‐19 patients who had no history of HIV. Kaplan–Meier survival curves and the log‐rank tests were used to estimate and compare in‐hospital survival between both unmatched and matched groups.
Results
Twenty‐three patients with HIV were hospitalized with COVID‐19. The median age was 59 years. The rates of in‐hospital death, the need for mechanical ventilation, and intensive care unit (ICU) admission were 13% (n = 3), 9% (n = 2), and 9% (n = 2), respectively. The HIV infection was well‐controlled in all patients except for three patients presented with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). All AIDS patients were discharged home uneventfully. A one‐to‐one propensity matching identified 23 COVID‐19 patients who served as a control group. In both pre‐ and post‐match cohorts, survival between HIV and control groups were comparable.
Conclusions
In our cohort of HIV‐infected patients hospitalized for COVID‐19, there was no difference in mortality, ICU admission, and the need for mechanical ventilation when compared with a matched control of COVID‐19 patients with HIV.
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•The sintering temperature was lowered as the samples were prepared by M–H method.•By increasing Cr3+ concentration, the shape of the grains changed from platelet hexagonal to ...pyramidal.•XPS spectra showed the presence of both Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions in the Cr doped hexaferrite structure.•With Cr3+ addition, MS decreased and HC increased.
Cr doped Sr-hexaferrites (SrCrxFe12−xO19) were prepared using microwave-hydrothermal method and sintered at 950°C/90min using single mode microwave furnace. With increasing Cr3+ content, the lattice parameters changed anisotropically, where ‘a’ increases and ‘c’ decreases. The average grain sizes of sintered hexaferrite are in the range of 280–660nm. XPS spectra shows that for higher Cr3+ content i.e., x>0.3, both Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions are present in the crystal structure. With Cr3+ doping saturation magnetization systematically decreased and coercivity increased. Magnetic hyperfine analysis using Mössbauer technique indicates that Cr3+ ions preferentially occupy 2a, 12k, and 4f1 sites.
Platelet transfusion refractoriness due to HLA alloimmunization presents a significant medical problem, particularly among multiply transfused patients with hematologic malignancies and those ...undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplants. HLA compatible platelet transfusions also impose significant financial burden on these patients. Recently, several novel mechanisms have been described in the development of HLA alloimmunization and platelet transfusion refractoriness. We review the history of platelet transfusions and mechanisms of HLA-sensitization and transfusion refractoriness. We also summarize advances in the diagnosis and treatment of platelet transfusion refractoriness due to HLA alloimmunization.
Bacterial degradation of natural rubber (NR) in an oxic environment is initiated by oxidative cleavage of double bonds in the NR-carbon backbone and is catalyzed by extracellular haem-containing ...rubber oxygenases. NR-cleavage products of sufficiently low molecular mass are taken up by the cells and metabolized for energy and biomass formation. Gram-negative and Gram-positive NR-degrading bacteria (usually) employ different types of rubber oxygenases such as RoxA and/or RoxB (most Gram-negative NR-degraders) or latex clearing protein Lcp (most Gram-positive NR-degraders). In order to find novel orthologues of Rox proteins, we have revisited databases and provide an update of Rox-like proteins. We describe the putative evolution of rubber oxygenases and confirm the presence of a third subgroup of Rox-related proteins (RoxCs), the biological function of which remains, however, unclear. We summarize the knowledge on the taxonomic position of
Steroidobacter cummioxidans
35Y and related species. Comparison of genomic and biochemical features of strain 35Y with other species of the genus
Steroidobacter
suggests that strain 35Y represents a species of a novel genus for which the designation
Aurantibaculum
gen. nov. is proposed. A short summary on the capabilities of NR-degrading consortia, that could be superior in biotechnological applications compared to pure cultures, is also provided.
Key points
• Three types of rubber oxygenases exist predominantly in Gram-negative microbes
• S. cummioxidans 35Y contains RoxA and RoxB which are superior in activity
• S. cummioxidans 35Y represents a species of a novel genus
Objective:
Glioblastomas (GBMs) are lethal cancers that display cellular hierarchies parallel to normal brain. At the apex are GBM stem cells (GSCs), which are relatively resistant to conventional ...therapy. Interactions with the adjacent perivascular niche are an important driver of malignancy and self‐renewal in GSCs. Extracellular matrix (ECM) cues instruct neural stem/progenitor cell–niche interactions, and the objective of our study was to elucidate its composition and contribution to GSC maintenance in the perivascular niche.
Methods:
We interrogated human tumor tissue for immunofluorescence analysis and derived GSCs from tumor tissues for functional studies. Bioinformatics analyses were conducted by mining publicly available databases.
Results:
We find that laminin ECM proteins are localized to the perivascular GBM niche and inform negative patient prognosis. To identify the source of laminins, we characterized cellular elements within the niche and found that laminin α chains were expressed by nonstem tumor cells and tumor‐associated endothelial cells (ECs). RNA interference targeting laminin α2 inhibited GSC growth and self‐renewal. In co‐culture studies of GSCs and ECs, laminin α2 knockdown in ECs resulted in decreased tumor growth.
Interpretation:
Our studies highlight the contribution of nonstem tumor cell‐derived laminin juxtracrine signaling. As laminin α2 has recently been identified as a molecular marker of aggressive ependymoma, we propose that the brain vascular ECM promotes tumor malignancy through maintenance of the GSC compartment, providing not only a molecular fingerprint but also a possible therapeutic target. ANN NEUROL 2012;72:766–778
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