Thermoresponsive degradable hydrogels with renewable surfaces for protein removal.

Most biological materials used in the body undergo protein adsorption, which alters their biological functions. Previously, we introduced surface-degradable hydrogels as adsorbed protein-removing surfaces. However, only a few surface renewals were possible because of the hydrophilic nature of the hydrogels, which accelerated their degradation.

A study on the efficacy and safety of long-term adjusted low-dose gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist therapy for uterine fibroids and adenomyosis.

Aim: To investigate the efficacy and safety of long-term adjusted low-dose gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist therapy (GnRH agonist drawback therapy) with nafarelin acetate in patients with uterine fibroids and/or adenomyosis with menstrual symptoms.

Methods: This single-center, retrospective, observational study initially included 118 patients with uterine fibroids and/or adenomyosis with menstrual symptoms who had received GnRH agonist (nafarelin acetate) drawback therapy for at least 7 months between 2010 and 2020. Blood hemoglobin level, maximum fibroid diameter, area of the corpus uteri, blood estradiol level, daily dosage of nafarelin acetate, and bone density in the lumbar spine and femoral neck were assessed before and after the treatment initiation.

Prolonged oligohydramnios and the adverse composite outcome of death or severe neurodevelopmental impairment at 3 years of age in infants born at 22-29 gestational weeks.

Objective: To investigate the association between prolonged oligohydramnios and a composite outcome of death or severe neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) at 3 years of age.

Methods: This single-center retrospective cohort study enrolled infants born at 22-29 weeks of gestational age without major congenital anomalies. The patients were classified into three groups depending on the existence and duration of oligohydramnios: no/non-prolonged oligohydramnios (no or 0-7 days of oligohydramnios), prolonged oligohydramnios (8-14 days), and very prolonged oligohydramnios (> 14 days).

A pregnant woman with long-standing, retained intraabdominal glass shards who gave birth to a live infant with no complications: a case report.

Background: Most cases of traumatic injury during pregnancy involve blunt trauma, with penetrating trauma being uncommonly rare. In glass shard injuries, fragments often penetrate deeply, and multiple injuries may occur simultaneously; attention must be paid to the possibility of organ injury from the residual fragments. However, no case of this occurring during pregnancy has been reported yet.

Phosphoric Acid Triester Micelles: Characterization and Self-Assembly.

In this study, we analyzed the properties of amphiphilic alkyldi(methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (MePEG)350-lactate) phosphates based on ethyl lactate, the monomethyl ether of poly(ethylene glycol)350, and alkyldichloro phosphates. Interestingly, these triesters combine two biodegradable bonds, -P(O)-O-C and -C(O)-O-C-, and include hydrophilic (MePEG350-lactate) and hydrophobic (R-aliphatic chain of alcohols) moieties. The properties of these esters resemble those of phospholipids.

Transient Recovery of Complete Atrioventricular Block Due to Maternal Anti-SS-A Antibody Through Antenatal Steroid Administration After 27 Weeks of Gestation.

Maternal anti-SS-A antibodies may cause complete atrioventricular block or myocardial damage in a fetus. Effective treatment for this has not been established. Although antenatal steroids may be a treatment option for anti-SS-A antibody-related myocarditis or atrioventricular block, a complete atrioventricular block is usually considered irreversible once established.

Physicochemical Properties of Egg-Box-Mediated Hydrogels with Transiently Decreased pH Employing Carbonated Water.

Anionic polysaccharides, including low-methoxy (LM) pectin, are extensively used in biomaterial applications owing to their safety, biocompatibility, and feasibility in constructing supramolecular assemblies by forming egg-box structures with divalent cations. Mixing an LM pectin solution with CaCO spontaneously forms a hydrogel. The gelation behavior can be controlled by adding an acidic compound to change the solubility of CaCO.

Changes in In-Hospital Survival and Long-Term Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of Extremely Preterm Infants: A Retrospective Study of a Japanese Tertiary Center.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to elucidate whether the survival and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of extremely preterm infants have improved in a Japanese tertiary center with an active treatment policy for infants born at 22-23 weeks of gestation.

Study Design: This single-centered retrospective cohort study enrolled extremely preterm infants treated at Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, from 2003 to 2014. Patients with major congenital abnormalities were excluded.

A Simple Colorimetric Assay of Bleomycin-Mediated DNA Cleavage Utilizing Double-Stranded DNA-Modified Gold Nanoparticles.

A colorimetric assay of DNA cleavage by bleomycin (BLM) derivatives was developed utilizing high colloidal stability on double-stranded (ds) DNA-modified gold nanoparticles (dsDNA-AuNPs) possessing a cleavage site. The assay was performed using dsDNA-AuNPs treated with inactive BLM or activated BLM (Fe(II)⋅BLM). A 10-min exposure in dsDNA-AuNPs with inactive BLM treatment resulted in a rapid color change from red to purple because of salt-induced non-crosslinking aggregation of dsDNA-AuNPs.

Thermoresponsive Polyphosphoester via Polycondensation Reactions: Synthesis, Characterization, and Self-Assembly.

Using a novel strategy, amphiphilic polyphosphoesters based on poly(oxyethylene H-phosphonate)s (POEHP) with different poly(ethylene glycol) segment lengths and aliphatic alcohols with various alkyl chain lengths were synthesized using polycondensation reactions. They were characterized by H NMR, C {H} NMR P NMR, IR, and size exclusion chromatography (SEC). The effects of the polymer structure on micelle formation and stability, micelle size, and critical micelle temperature were studied via dynamic light scattering (DLS).

Design of a Sensitive Extracellular Vesicle Detection Method Utilizing a Surface-Functionalized Power-Free Microchip.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), which are small membrane vesicles secreted from cells into bodily fluids, are promising candidates as biomarkers for various diseases. We propose a simple, highly sensitive method for detecting EVs using a microchip. The limit of detection (LOD) for EVs was improved 29-fold by changing the microchannel structure of the microchip and by optimizing the EV detection protocols.

Nailfold capillary patterns correlate with age, gender, lifestyle habits, and fingertip temperature.

Nailfold capillaroscopy is a simple and noninvasive imaging tool to visualize the pattern of capillaries. Microvascular abnormalities have been previously observed in autoimmune disease such as systemic sclerosis and diabetes. Thus, early detection of microvascular dysfunction or changes has promising way for the one of the disease preventions.

Protein Removal from Hydrogels through Repetitive Surface Degradation.

Suppression of protein adsorption is a necessary property for materials used in the living body. In this study, thermoresponsive and degradable hydrogels were prepared by the radical polymerization of 2-methylene-1,3-dioxepane, 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA), and poly(ethylene glycol) monomethacrylate (PEGMA). The prepared hydrogels re-exposed PEG-grafted chains to the interface through surface degradation, which was confirmed by the maintenance of the chemical composition of the hydrogel surfaces after hydrolysis.

Shape-memory balloon offering simultaneous thermo/chemotherapies to improve anti-osteosarcoma efficacy.

This paper proposes a shape-memory balloon (SMB) to improve bone cement injection efficiency and postoperative thermo/chemotherapy for bone tumors. The SMB consists of biodegradable poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), an anticancer drug (doxorubicin, DOX), and heat-generating magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). The balloon shape is fabricated in a mold by crosslinking PCL macromonomers with DOX and MNPs.

Terminal cationization of poly(-isopropylacrylamide) brush surfaces facilitates efficient thermoresponsive control of cell adhesion and detachment.

A variety of poly(-isopropylacrylamide) (PIPAAm)-grafted surfaces have been reported for temperature-controlled cell adhesion/detachment. However, the surfaces reported to date need further improvement to achieve good outcomes for both cell adhesion and detachment, which are inherently contradictory behaviors. This study investigated the effects of terminal cationization and length of grafted PIPAAm chains on temperature-dependent cell behavior.

Conjugation of antibody with temperature-responsive polymer click reaction to enable biomarker enrichment for increased diagnostic sensitivity.

Early diagnosis of infectious diseases is one of the current prevalent challenges, especially in low and limited resource settings where simple, fast, portable, cheap, and sensitive diagnostic approaches are needed. Lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) is a common, rapid screening assay. However, the low assay sensitivity limits the utility of LFIA for specimens with low pathogenic loads (early infection stages).

Multiplex MicroRNA Detection on a Surface-Functionalized Power-Free Microfluidic Chip.

Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as promising cancer biomarkers because their concentration profiles in body fluids are associated with the type and clinical stage of cancer. For multiplex miRNA detection, a novel surface-functionalized power-free microfluidic chip (SF-PF microchip) has been developed. The inner surface of the SF-PF microchip microchannels was functionalized via electron beam-induced graft polymerization and immobilization of capture probe DNAs.

Preparation of Spherical Nucleic Acid Nanoparticles Containing a Self-immolative Poly(carbamate) Core.

We prepared a novel spherical nucleic acid, containing a core structure of self-immolative poly(carbamate) (PC), with aminobenzyl alcohol as a repeating unit, by conjugating an end-activated PC derivative with an amine-terminated oligoDNA on a solid support for PC-oligoDNA. Dynamic light-scattering measurements revealed a hydrodynamic diameter of 107 nm with a narrow size distribution. A fluorescent monomer with aminobenzyl alcohol is available for PC-oligoDNA synthesis to enhance the fluorescence emission by a domino-like disassembly of PC in response to various external stimuli.

Facile preparation of multi-stimuli-responsive degradable hydrogels for protein loading and release.

Functional materials that can recognize the tumor microenvironment, characterized by acidic or reducing conditions, are needed for the designing of drug delivery carriers for cancer treatment. Hydrogels are potential protein drug carriers because they contain a large amount of water and stimuli-responsive functions can easily be introduced in them. However, it is difficult to introduce multi-stimuli-responsive functions and degradability at the same time.

Micropatterned Smart Culture Surfaces via Multi-Step Physical Coating of Functional Block Copolymers for Harvesting Cell Sheets with Controlled Sizes and Shapes.

Cell micropatterning on micropatterned thermoresponsive polymer-based culture surfaces facilitates the creation of on-demand and functional cell sheets. However, the fabrication of micropatterned surfaces generally includes complicated procedures with multi-step chemical reactions. To overcome this issue, this study proposes a facile preparation of micropatterned thermoresponsive surfaces via a two-step physical coating of two different diblock copolymers.

A 3D tissue model-on-a-chip for studying the effects of human senescent fibroblasts on blood vessels.

All human tissues experience aging that eventually causes organ dysfunction and disease. Cellular senescence was discovered in fibroblasts cultured in vitro. In adults, it is a primary defense mechanism against cancer, but also a major contributor to lifespan limits and disorders associated with aging.

Physiologic changes in serotonin concentrations in breast milk during lactation.

Objectives: Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) plays an important role in milk volume homeostasis in the mammary glands during lactation, and 5-HT in milk also may affect infant development. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in 5-HT concentration in breast milk according to the duration of lactation and evaluate whether the 5-HT concentration varied before and after nursing.

Methods: Healthy nursing Japanese women who had a natural delivery or underwent a cesarean delivery at Iwate Medical University Hospital were included in this study.