Using Oscillation to Improve the Insertion Depth and Consistency of Hollow Microneedles for Transdermal Insulin Delivery with Mechanistic Insights.

Microneedles (MNs) offer the potential for discrete and painless transdermal drug delivery, yet poor insertion and dosing consistency have hindered their clinical translation. Specifically, hollow MNs are appropriate for the administration of liquid modalities, including insulin, which could prove to be beneficial for patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. This work aimed to design and manufacture a hollow MN with an improved insertion and delivery profile suitable for insulin administration.

Methylene Blue has a potent antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 and H1N1 influenza virus in the absence of UV-activation in vitro.

Methylene blue is an FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and EMA (European Medicines Agency) approved drug with an excellent safety profile. It displays broad-spectrum virucidal activity in the presence of UV light and has been shown to be effective in inactivating various viruses in blood products prior to transfusions. In addition, its use has been validated for methemoglobinemia and malaria treatment.

Cadmium intake and systemic exposure in postmenopausal women and age-matched men who smoke cigarettes.

Mean blood cadmium (B-Cd) concentrations are two- to threefold higher in smokers than in nonsmokers. The basis for this phenomenon is not well understood. We conducted a detailed, multifaceted study of cadmium exposure in smokers.

Vaccines against nicotine.

Medications against any dependence-inducing drug face a dilemma: if they are efficient, they will induce withdrawal symptoms and the patient is likely to stop taking his medication. Anti drug vaccines are irreversible, provide protection over years and need booster injections far beyond the critical phase of acute withdrawal symptoms. Interacting rather with the drug in the blood than with a receptor in the brain, the vaccines are, in addition, free of side effects due to central interaction.

Anti-nicotine abuse vaccines in the pipeline: an update.

Three different companies have completed Phase II clinical studies of their anti-nicotine vaccines and are rushing to obtain regulatory approval and to bring their vaccine candidates to the market. The vaccines are composed of the nicotine molecule linked to a carrier protein and an adjuvant. The results in all three clinical studies are encouraging.

Biomechanics of leg deformity treatment.

At pre-school age, there is a possibility to treat severe varosity and/or valgosity of legs by orthoses. The three points force effect of the orthosis partially corrects the pathologic defect of the leg. If the orthosis is intermittently used for a long time the correction is permanent.

Low-volume, high-sensitivity assay for cadmium in blood and urine using conventional atomic absorption spectrophotometry.

An assay for cadmium in whole blood and urine using deuterium background-correction electrothermal atomic absorption spectroscopy (D(2)-ETAAS) was developed. Cadmium (in a 1- to 2-ml sample) was bound to 15 mg anion-exchange resin, interfering ions were removed in a 2-ml Bio-Spin column, and cadmium was extracted into 100 microl 1M nitric acid for analysis. Cadmium in the sample extract was concentrated 7-fold for blood and 10-fold for urine over the starting material.

Cadmium pathways during gestation and lactation in control versus metallothoinein 1,2-knockout mice.

Effects of metallothionein (MT) on cadmium absorption and transfer pathways during gestation and lactation in mice were investigated. Female 129/SvJ metallothionein-knockout (MT1,2KO) and metallothionein-normal (MTN) mice received drinking water containing trace amounts of (109)CdCl(2) (0.15 ng Cd/ml; 0.

Role of fos and src in cadmium-induced decreases in bone mineral content in mice.

Cadmium decreases bone mineral in mice and stimulates osteoclast formation and activity in cell culture. Bones from fos-deficient mice contain very few osteoclasts; src-/- bones contain osteoclasts that fail to activate. Fos-/- and src-/- mice develop osteopetrotic bones and their teeth do not erupt.

Preclinical development of a vaccine 'against smoking'.

Background: Nicotine is the main culprit for dependence on tobacco-containing products, which in turn are a major etiologic factor for cardiovascular diseases and cancer. This publication describes a vaccine, which elicits antibodies against nicotine. The antibodies in the blood stream intercept the nicotine molecule on its way to its receptors and greatly diminish the nicotine influx to the brain shortly after smoking.

[Incidence of carcinomas in goiters and their combination with Hashimoto's thyroiditis].

In the investigated group 300 patients were operated for a thyropathy mostly struma nodosa, tumours were proved in 69 cases; 38 of them were carcinomas of various extent and 3 of them were combined with Hashinoto's lymphomatous goitre. The overwhelming majority of the carcinomas were papillary carcinomas (22 cases). The incidence of papillary carcinoma in Hashimoto's goitre was about 8%; this fact calls for more attention to autoaggressive thyroiditis both in examination of surgical material, and during autopsies in middle-aged women, where this thyroiditis is often clinically silent.

[Heterotopic chondro-osteoplastic metaplasia of the subclavian vein wall after long-term catheterization. Case report].

A 59-year-old man admitted for i.m. had a 3-way cannula inserted into the right subclavian vein for 31 days.

The effect of biological media on the hydrolysis of mustard simulants.

A useful decontaminant for mustard would be one which is readily available in large quantities, inexpensive and potentially biodegradable. Currently one that is being investigated consists of a mixture containing bovine hemoglobin, gelatin and poi. Two of them, gelatin and poi, are common foodstuffs in the diet on the mainland of the United States and in the Hawaiian culture, respectively.

Effects of cadmium on osteoclast formation and activity in vitro.

Chronic exposure to cadmium has been linked to bone loss, low bone mass, and increased incidence of fracture. To determine if Cd could directly increase the formation of cells responsible for bone resorption, we cultured normal canine bone marrow cells containing the progenitor cells for osteoclasts. Cultures were evaluated for the number of multinucleate osteoclast-like cells (MNOCs) formed.

A starch-hemoglobin resuscitative compound.

A resuscitative compound in freeze-dried form has been synthesized between a modified starch and a tetremerically stabilized hemoglobin. In order to complex the hemoglobin, the starch has been prepared in mono-, di-, tri-, and tetra-aldehyde moieties. The hemoglobin was stabilized with low molecular weight diacids.

Mixtures of erythrocytes and acellular fluids: an in vitro evaluation.

To evaluate the biophysical properties of two acellular resuscitative fluids, experiments were performed using mixtures of these with suspensions of red blood cells. Two acellular resuscitative fluids were synthesized using a diacid to tetramerically stabilized hemoglobin and then complexing it with either a hydroxyethyl starch or a Tetronic Polyol. The new polymers were characterized with respect to the molecular weight, second virial coefficient and intrinsic viscosity.

[The effect of creatine phosphate in patients after surgery in ischemic heart disease].

The authors submit their experience with the use of creatine phosphate in patients operated on account of coronary heart disease. They divided 50 consecutive patients into three groups. Group A--controls, group B--creatine phosphate was added to the filling of the apparatus for extracorporeal circulation and group C--creatine phosphate was added to Bretschneider's cardioplegic solution.

[Composite carcinoma-carcinoid of the large intestine].

The authors give an account of a bioptically revealed adenocarcinoma of the large bowel which was combined with a carcinoid. The carcinoid constituent of the tumor had massive metastases as revealed by the postmortem examination.

[Tumor-related partial pseudocirrhosis of the liver].

Unusual sort of breast carcinoma metastases to the liver, combined with pseudolobular transformation, was found in an autopsy of 68-year-old female after complete oncological treatment. Nodes of parenchyma in abundant connective tissue nearly consisted of tumour cells. Terminology and pathogenesis were discussed.

Purification of an inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-binding calreticulin-containing intracellular compartment of HL-60 cells.

To investigate the identity of Ins(1,4,5)P3-sensitive intracellular Ca2+ stores in myeloid cells, we have developed a method that yields subcellular fractions highly enriched in Ins(1,4,5)P3 binding. HL-60 cells were disrupted by nitrogen cavitation, and subcellular fractions were obtained by differential centrifugation, followed by Percoll- and sucrose-density-gradient separations. A subcellular fraction enriched 26-fold in Ins(1,4,5)P3-binding sites was obtained.

A potential blood substitute from a tetronic polyol and a modified hemoglobin.

This investigation reports a new potential blood substitute. An acellular fluid is formed between a Tetronic polyol and a modified hemoglobin. It was possible to stabilize the hemoglobin with glutaric acid.

Stabilized hemoglobins as acellular resuscitative fluids.

This study reports some recent work dealing with the stabilization of the tetramers of hemoglobin. It is shown that by using a variety of diacids, it is possible to increase the P50 above that of stroma free hemoglobin. In order to lengthen the retention times in the circulatory system, the stabilized hemoglobins were complexed with both hydroxyethyl starch polymers and polyol tetronic polymers.

[Use of the tissue glue, Tissucol, in experimental liver injuries].

The authors investigated in experiments on rabbits the course of recovery of liver injuries after treatment with the fibrin glue Tissucol, as compared with a control group of animals where the injured liver was not treated. Healing was followed-up at several time intervals. Rupture of the liver left to spontaneous healing was at first unsatisfactory from the histological aspect (wide demarcation margin near the necrosis).

Diagnosis and differentiation of HTLV-I and HTLV-II infection by enzyme immunoassays using synthetic peptides.

Synthetic peptides from the major envelope protein of HTLV-I (ENV-I, amino acid 177-213) and HTLV-II (ENV-II, amino acid 173-209) and a conserved region of the transmembrane protein (TM, amino acid 378-402) were used as antigens in microtiter plate enzyme immunoassays (EIA) to detect and discriminate antibodies to HTLV-I and II. The ENV-I and ENV-II peptide EIAs were able to correctly discriminate HTLV-I and II infections in 17 of 18 subjects whose infections were determined by a gene amplification method. Sera from 100 of 107 subjects with serologically confirmed infection with HTLV-I/II and 0 of 218 seronegative controls reacted with one or more of the peptides (sensitivity, 93.