Cholinium-Based Ionic Liquids as Promising Antimicrobial Agents in Pharmaceutical Applications: Surface Activity, Antibacterial Activity and Ecotoxicological Profile.

Cholinium-based ionic liquids are compounds increasingly studied in pharmaceutics and biomedicine to enhance bioavailability in drug delivery systems and as bioactive ingredients in pharmaceutical formulations. However, their potential as antimicrobial agents has scarcely been investigated. Herein, we explored the antimicrobial activity of a series of surface-active cholinium-based ionic liquids (Chol-ILs).

Safety, feasibility, and hemodynamic response of regadenoson for stress perfusion CMR.

Owing to its pharmacodynamics and posology, the use of regadenoson for stress cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) has potential advantages over other vasodilators. We sought to evaluate the safety, hemodynamic response and diagnostic performance of regadenoson stress-CMR in routine clinical practice. All regadenoson stress-CMR examinations performed between May 2017 and July 2020 at our institution were retrospectively reviewed.

Myocardial Work Index in Professional Football Players: A Novel Method for Assessment of Cardiac Adaptation.

Background: The global myocardial work index (GWI), a novel, valid, and non-invasive method based on speckle-tracking echocardiography, could provide value for calculating left ventricular (LV) function and energy consumption in athletes.

Materials And Methods: We prospectively analyzed a single-center cohort of Spanish First-Division football players who attended a pre-participation screening program from June 2020 to June 2021, compared to a control group. All the individuals underwent an electrocardiogram and echocardiography, including two-dimensional speckle tracking and 4D-echo.

A Fibrosis Biomarker Early Predicts Cardiotoxicity Due to Anthracycline-Based Breast Cancer Chemotherapy.

Anthracycline-based cancer chemotherapy (ACC) causes myocardial fibrosis, a lesion contributing to left ventricular dysfunction (LVD). We investigated whether the procollagen-derived type-I C-terminal-propeptide (PICP): (1) associates with subclinical LVD (sLVD) at 3-months after ACC (3m-post-ACC); (2) predicts cardiotoxicity 1-year after ACC (12m-post-ACC) in breast cancer patients (BC-patients); and (3) associates with LVD in ACC-induced heart failure patients (ACC-HF-patients). Echocardiography, serum PICP and biomarkers of cardiomyocyte damage were assessed in two independent cohorts of BC-patients: CUN (n = 87) at baseline, post-ACC, and 3m and 12m (n = 65)-post-ACC; and HULAFE (n = 70) at baseline, 3m and 12m-post-ACC.

pH-Responsive Carboxymethylcellulose Nanoparticles for Ga-WBC Labeling in PET Imaging.

Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) is a well-known pharmaceutical polymer, recently gaining attention in the field of nanomedicine, especially as a polyelectrolyte agent for the formation of complexes with oppositely charged macromolecules. Here, we report on the application of pH-sensitive pharmaceutical grade CMC-based nanoparticles (NP) for white blood cells (WBC) PET imaging. In this context and as an alternative to Tc-HMPAO SPECT labeling, the use of Ga as PET radionuclide was investigated since, at early time points, it could provide the greater spatial resolution and patient convenience of PET tomography over SPECT clinical practices.

Ga[Ga]-, In[In]-oxine: a novel strategy of radiolabeling of HPMA-based micelles.

Polymeric micelles are of increasing interest as drug delivery vehicles since they can accumulate in tumor tissue through EPR effect and deliver their hydrophobic cargo. The pharmacology can be visualized and quantified noninvasively by molecular imaging techniques. Here, a novel, fast and efficient technique for radiolabeling various HPMA-LMA based micellar aggregates with hydrophobic oxine-complexes of the trivalent radiometals Ga and In was investigated.

Do 'difficult to identify' pulmonary vein connections explain continuing high recurrence rates after atrial fibrillation ablation?

Despite the emerging technical evolution of the last two decades, the primary success rate of single-procedure pulmonary vein isolation (PVI), the cornerstone for any atrial fibrillation ablation procedure, is highly variable ranging from 53% to 92%. The recent development of ultra-high-density electroanatomic mapping systems, capable of acquiring and annotating multiple electrograms, with high spatiotemporal precision, which are processed by automated algorithms to generate activation and substrate maps to support and guide ablation procedures, has opened a new stage in cardiac electrophysiology. In this article, we review the existing evidence on the utility of high-density mapping on catheter-based PVI, the possibility to detect pulmonary vein potentials that remain undetected when using a standard approach and its potential relevance to the clinical outcome, and how this new technology is providing novel pathophysiological insights on complete PVI and atrial fibrillation ablation outcomes.

Life-history strategies in zooplankton promote coexistence of competitors in extreme environments with high metal content.

The toxicity of pollutants on aquatic communities is determined by the specific sensitivities and by the ecological relationships between species, although the role of ecological interactions on the specific sensitivity to pollutants is complex. We tested the effect of exposure to copper on the life-history strategies of two coexisting rotifer species of the genus Brachionus from Inca-Coya lagoon, an isolated water body located in Atacama Desert. The experiments looked at differences in the response to the stress by chemical pollution mimicking field conditions of copper exposure, levels of food, and salinity, between single-species cultures and coexisting species.

Labeling of DOTA-conjugated HPMA-based polymers with trivalent metallic radionuclides for molecular imaging.

Background: In this work, the in vitro and in vivo stabilities and the pharmacology of HPMA-made homopolymers were studied by means of radiometal-labeled derivatives. Aiming to identify the fewer amount and the optimal DOTA-linker structure that provides quantitative labeling yields, diverse DOTA-linker systems were conjugated in different amounts to HPMA homopolymers to coordinate trivalent radiometals Me(III)* = gallium-68, scandium-44, and lutetium-177.

Results: Short linkers and as low as 1.

Clinical Translation and First In-Human Use of [Sc]Sc-PSMA-617 for PET Imaging of Metastasized Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer.

Background: Various trivalent radiometals are well suited for labeling of DOTA-conjugated variants of Glu-ureido-based prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) inhibitors. The DOTA-conjugate PSMA-617 has proven high potential in PSMA radioligand therapy (PSMA-RLT) of prostate cancer as well as PET imaging when labeled with lutetium-177 and gallium-68 respectively. Considering the relatively short physical half-life of gallium-68 this positron emitter precludes prolonged acquisition periods, as required for pre-therapeutic dosimetry or intraoperative applications.

Miniaturized Radiochemical Purity Testing for Tc-HMPAO, Tc-HMDP, and Tc-Tetrofosmin.

Quick methods are functional in clinical practice to ensure the fastest availability of radiopharmaceuticals. For this purpose, we investigated the radiochemical purity of the widely used Tc-hydroxymethylene diphosphonate, Tc-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime, and Tc-tetrofosmin by reducing time as compared with the manufacturer's method. We applied a miniaturized chromatographic method with a reduced strip development from 18 cm to 9 cm for all 3 radiopharmaceuticals.

Phenotypic Plasticity In Response To Seasonal Variation In Populations of Culex (Melanoconion) Bastagarius.

The present study aimed to determine the effects of seasonal variation on phenotypic variation in Culex bastagarius, using geometric morphometric analysis based on wing shape and size. Samples were collected in the Guapiaçu Ecological Reserve, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Mosquitoes were captured once every 2 months (December 2012-January 2014) using light traps.

Optimization of Labeling PSMA with Ethanol-Postprocessed Ga and Its Quality Control Systems.

Radiolabeling of the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) inhibitor Glu-NH-CO-NH-Lys(Ahx) using the Ga chelator HBED-CC (PSMA) allows imaging of prostate cancer lesions because of high expression of PSMA in prostate carcinoma cells and in bone metastases and lymph nodes related to the disease. The aim of this work was to optimize labeling of Ga-PSMA using the efficient cation-exchange postprocessing of Ga as well as the development of a thin-layer chromatography (TLC)-based quality control system. Labeling was optimized for online ethanol-postprocessed Ga eluate investigating various parameters, such as buffer molarity (0.

Labeling and preliminary in vivo assessment of niobium-labeled radioactive species: A proof-of-concept study.

The application of radionuclide-labeled biomolecules such as monoclonal antibodies or antibody fragments for imaging purposes is called immunoscintigraphy. More specifically, when the nuclides used are positron emitters, such as zirconium-89, the technique is referred to as immuno-PET. Currently, there is an urgent need for radionuclides with a half-life which correlates well with the biological kinetics of the biomolecules under question and which can be attached to the proteins by robust labeling chemistry.

Correlation between populations of Rhodnius and presence of palm trees as risk factors for the emergence of Chagas disease in Amazon region, Brazil.

Among the states that comprise the legally defined Amazon region of Brazil, Pará has presented the highest occurrences of acute cases of Chagas disease over the last two decades. These cases have been attributed to consumption of fruits from native palm trees. In surveys in rural and wild areas of the municipality of Oriximiná, Pará, triatomine fauna, their main ecotopes and the infection rate due to Trypanosoma cruzi were identified using active and passive search methods: manual capture and Noireau traps, respectively.

Acrylamide and pyrazine formation in model systems containing asparagine.

The effect of different sugars and glyoxal on the formation of acrylamide in low-moisture starch-based model systems was studied, and kinetic data were obtained. Glucose was more effective than fructose, tagatose, or maltose in acrylamide formation, whereas the importance of glyoxal as a key sugar fragmentation intermediate was confirmed. Glyoxal formation was greater in model systems containing asparagine and glucose rather than fructose.

Behavioral plasticity of Triatominae related to habitat selection in northeast Brazil.

Triatoma pseudomaculata Corrêa and Espínola, 1964 and Triatoma juazeirensis Costa and Felix, 2007 ( = T. brasiliensis Neiva, 1911 [part]), are sylvatic vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas, 1909), the causative agent of Chagas disease, in northeast Brazil-especially in the caatinga region. In an area of caatinga in the State of Bahia, we compared the wild and peridomestic habitats of these two species of Triatominae to assess their behavioral plasticity in relation to habitat selection in different environments.

Nucleotide sequence and transfer properties of two novel types of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae plasmids carrying the tetracycline resistance gene tet(H).

Objectives: To analyse the sequence and transfer properties of two tetracycline resistance plasmids found in clinical isolates of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae in order to assess their role in the spread of tetracycline resistance.

Methods: The plasmids designated p9956 and p12494 were purified from A. pleuropneumoniae and completely sequenced.

Fine needle aspiration appearance of extragastrointestinal stromal tumor. A case report.

Background: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) rarely develop outside the digestive tract and in the soft tissues of abdomen and retroperitoneum. Such tumors are designated extra-GISTs (EGISTs). Cytologic and immunocytochemical features of a case of EGIST are reported.

Sebaceous gland hyperplasia of the vulva.

Background: Sebaceous gland hyperplasia is a common condition of the face in elderly patients. We report a case of sebaceous gland hyperplasia on the vulva.

Case: A 19-year-old woman presented with a polypoid tumor on her left labium majus of which the greatest diameter was 2.