Aerogel-Like Material Based on PEGylated Hyperbranched Polymethylethoxysiloxane.

Aerogels are a class of materials that have gained increasing attention over the past several decades due to their exceptional physical and chemical properties. These materials are highly porous, with a low density and high surface area, allowing for applications such as insulation, catalysis, and energy storage. However, traditional aerogels, such as pure silica aerogels, suffer from brittleness and fragility, which limit their usefulness in many applications.

Circular Upcycling of Bottlebrush Thermosets.

The inability to re-process thermosets hinders their utility and sustainability. An ideal material should combine closed-loop recycling and upcycling capabilities. This trait is realized in polydimethylsiloxane bottlebrush networks using thermoreversible Diels-Alder cycloadditions to enable both reversible disassembly into a polymer melt and on-demand reconfiguration to an elastomer of either lower or higher stiffness.

Zn doped CaP coatings used for controlling the degradation rate of MgCa1 alloy: In vitro anticorrosive properties, sterilization and bacteria/cell-material interactions.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Zn doped CaP coatings prepared by micro-arc oxidation method, as a possible approach to control MgCa1 alloy degradation. All the prepared coatings comprised a calcium deficient CaP phase. The control in this evaluation was performed with undoped CaP coating in SBF solution at body temperature (37 ± 0.

Physical Fundamentals of Biomaterials Surface Electrical Functionalization.

This article is focusing on electrical functionalization of biomaterial's surface to enhance its biocompatibility. It is an overview of previously unpublished results from a series of experiments concerning the effects surface electrical functionalization can have on biological systems. cells were used for biological experiments.

High-Dose Vitamin D Supplementation Improves Microcirculation and Reduces Inflammation in Diabetic Neuropathy Patients.

We assessed the effect of different doses of vitamin D supplementation on microcirculation, signs and symptoms of peripheral neuropathy and inflammatory markers in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Sixty-seven patients with T2DM and peripheral neuropathy (34 females) were randomized into two treatment groups: Cholecalciferol 5000 IU and 40,000 IU once/week orally for 24 weeks. Severity of neuropathy (NSS, NDS scores, visual analogue scale), cutaneous microcirculation (MC) parameters and inflammatory markers (ILs, CRP, TNFα) were assessed before and after treatment.

Efficacy of Inhalations of Antituberculous Compositions with Different Length of Experimental Therapy Course in Mice.

The study compared antituberculous efficacy of individual or combined administration of "free" isoniazid and liposomal form of dextrazide (a composition consisted of isoniazid and oxidized dextran) inhaled in standard (15 mg/kg) or low (3 mg/kg) dose. The therapy started 1 month after contamination of outbred ICR male mice with Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Rv. Combined inhalation of liposomal form of dextrazide and isoniazid in the low dose was most effective against mycobacterium tuberculosis due to diminished prodestructive pulmonary effect and a low hepatotoxicity.

Relationship Between Vitamin D Status and Vitamin D Receptor Gene Polymorphisms With Markers of Metabolic Syndrome Among Adults.

Recent studies have demonstrated that vitamin D deficiency contributes to the development of metabolic disorders, including obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Several vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms had been described to play a role in these conditions since vitamin D receptors were found in many tissues. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between vitamin D status and VDR gene polymorphisms with metabolic syndrome (MS) parameters in Russian middle-aged women.

Multimodal label-free imaging of living dermal equivalents including dermal papilla cells.

Background: Despite the significant progress in the development of skin equivalents (SEs), the problem of noninvasively assessing the quality of the cell components and the collagen structure of living SEs both before and after transplantation remains. Undoubted preference is given to in vivo methods of noninvasive, label-free monitoring of the state of the SEs. Optical bioimaging methods, such as cross-polarization optical coherence tomography (CP OCT), multiphoton tomography (MPT), and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), present particular advantages for the visualization of such SEs.

HAP nanoparticle and substrate surface electrical potential towards bone cells adhesion: Recent results review.

Nanostructured hydroxyapatite (HAP) and its nanoparticles are widely used for implantation into the human organism. The biocompatibility of the implants depends very much on the interaction between the implant and the cells regenerating tissue to be connected to the implant. An implant surface electrical charged density plays an important role in these processes.

[Genetic Risk Factors of Macrovascular Complications in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes].

High risk of macrovascular complications in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is caused by insulin resistance and atherogenic dyslipidemia that may be genetically determined. The aim of this study was to assess the association of polymorphic genetic variants APOA5 (S19W/rs3135506), CETP (Taq1B/rs708272), PON1 (Q192R /rs662) and PPARG (Pro12Ala /rs1801282) with T2DM and macrovascular complications in patients with T2DM resident in Northwestern Russia. We examined 386 patients with T2DM and 199 healthy controls.

Two-photon FLIM of NAD(P)H and FAD in mesenchymal stem cells undergoing either osteogenic or chondrogenic differentiation.

Background: Metabolic plasticity and the versatility of different lineages of stem cells as they satisfy their energy demands are not completely understood. In this study we investigated the metabolic changes in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) undergoing differentiation in two directions, osteogenic and chondrogenic, using two-photon fluorescence microscopy combined with FLIM.

Methods: Differentiation was induced by incubating the human bone marrow MSCs in osteogenic or chondrogenic mediums.

Probing metabolic states of differentiating stem cells using two-photon FLIM.

The ability of stem cells to differentiate into specialized cell types presents a number of opportunities for regenerative medicine, stem cell therapy and developmental biology. Because traditional assessments of stem cells are destructive, time consuming, and logistically intensive, the use of a non-invasive, label-free approach to study of cell differentiation provides a powerful tool for rapid, high-content characterization of cell and tissue cultures. Here, we elucidate the metabolic changes in MSCs during adipogenic differentiation, based on the fluorescence of the metabolic co-factors NADH, NADPH, and FAD using the methods of two-photon fluorescence microscopy combined with FLIM.

[FLIGHT CERTIFICATION OF CIVILIAN PILOTS FOLLOWING SURGERY OF BRACHIOCEPHALIC ATHEROSCLEROTIC STENOSES].

The paper presents cases of surgery of brachiocephalic atherosclerotic lesions with asymptomatic stenosis in civilian pilots reviewed by a Flight Certification Board. Cerebrovascular diseases varying in their clinical presentation (syncopes, transitory ischemic attacks or strokes) may culminate in acute conditions and, consequently, threaten flight safety. There is an exigent need of law-guided regulations for flight certification boards on how to manage cases of pilots with a history of cerebrovascular disease.

Molecular modeling of the piezoelectric effect in the ferroelectric polymer poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF).

In this work, computational molecular modeling and exploration was applied to study the nature of the negative piezoelectric effect in the ferroelectric polymer polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), and the results confirmed by actual nanoscale measurements. First principle calculations were employed, using various quantum-chemical methods (QM), including semi-empirical (PM3) and various density functional theory (DFT) approaches, and in addition combined with molecular mechanics (MM) methods in complex joint approaches (QM/MM). Both PVDF molecular chains and a unit cell of crystalline β-phase PVDF were modeled.

Computational and experimental studies of size and shape related physical properties of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles.

In this work, the properties of hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanoparticles (NPs) have been studied both theoretically and experimentally focusing on computational analysis. HAP is widely used to fabricate implants, for drug delivery, etc. The physical properties of the nanosized HAP particles play an important role in the interaction with cells in the human body and are of great interest.

[The nonspecific changes in the immune system to the administration of the membrane-ribosomal fraction of the causative agent of pseudotuberculosis].

Nonspecific changes in different elements of the immune system of animals under the action of Y. pseudotuberculosis membrane-ribosomal fraction (MRF) with high protective potency have been studied for the purpose of the analysis of the preparation for immunological safety. MRF has been shown to produce no changes in humoral immune response to antigens of different nature or to enhance this response, to produce no essential effect on the intensity of the reaction of delayed hypersensitivity to sheep red blood cells and to stimulate phagocytic processes in peritoneal macrophages and polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

[Isolation and ultrastructure of Yersinia spheroplasts and protoplasts].

The conditions suitable for the cultivation of Yersinia and the inhibition of their cell-wall synthesis have been selected with the aim of obtaining spheroplasts and protoplasts of these microorganisms. Penicillin, streptomycin and lithium chloride have proved to be not very suitable for this purpose as they induce essential changes in the structure of the cytoplasmic membrane in altered Yersinia forms. The addition of 1% of glycine (for Y.