In Vitro and In Vivo Efficacy of Topical Dosage Forms Containing Self-Nanoemulsifying Drug Delivery System Loaded with Curcumin.

The external use of curcumin is rare, although it can be a valuable active ingredient in the treatment of certain inflammatory diseases. The aim of our experimental work was to formulate topical dosage forms containing curcumin for the treatment of atopic dermatitis. Curcumin has extremely poor solubility and bioavailability, so we have tried to increase it with the usage of self-emulsifying drug delivery systems.

Mechanism and Internal Stability of Supportive Stone Constructions.

Natural stone constructions for the protection of slopes, banks and riverbeds are widely used in infrastructure engineering. These structures are made of stacked natural stones, which can be placed loosely on top of each other. Additionally, their bond behavior can be improved by using concrete mortar to fill the joints between the stones.

Tailored Nanocarriers for the Pulmonary Delivery of Levofloxacin against Pseudomonas aeruginosa: A Comparative Study.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients are faced with chronic bacterial infections displaying persistent resistance if not eradicated during the first stage of the disease. Nanoantibiotics for pulmonary administration, such as liposomal ciprofloxacin or amikacin, have progressed through clinics thanks to their sustained release, prolonged lung residence time, and low systemic absorption. In this work, we sought a nanoformulation of levofloxacin for the treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Soluble SLAMF6 Receptor Induces Strong CD8 T-cell Effector Function and Improves Anti-Melanoma Activity .

SLAMF6, a member of the SLAM (signaling lymphocyte activation molecules) family, is a homotypic-binding immune receptor expressed on NK, T, and B lymphocytes. Phosphorylation variance between T-cell subclones prompted us to explore its role in anti melanoma immunity. Using a 203-amino acid sequence of the human SLAMF6 (seSLAMF6) ectodomain, we found that seSLAMF6 reduced activation-induced cell death and had an antiapoptotic effect on tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes.

Nicotinamide, a SIRT1 inhibitor, inhibits differentiation and facilitates expansion of hematopoietic progenitor cells with enhanced bone marrow homing and engraftment.

Strategies that increase homing to the bone marrow and engraftment efficacy of ex vivo expended CD34(+) cells are expected to enhance their clinical utility. Here we report that nicotinamide (NAM), a form of vitamin B-3, delayed differentiation and increased engraftment efficacy of cord blood-derived human CD34(+) cells cultured with cytokines. In the presence of NAM, the fraction of CD34(+)CD38(-) cells increased and the fraction of differentiated cells (CD14(+), CD11b(+), and CD11c(+)) decreased.

Versatile strategy to access fully functionalized benzodifurans: redox-active chromophores for the construction of extended pi-conjugated materials.

An efficient synthetic approach to construct a fully substituted benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']difuran (BDF) 2a via base-catalyzed double annulations is presented. Compound 2a can readily undergo Suzuki, Heck, and Sonogashira coupling reactions to afford in good yields a manifold of extended pi-conjugated BDF derivatives, e.g.

Treatment of subretinal neovascular membrane in a patient with membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis type II.

A 29-year-old woman with membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis type II presented with decreased vision due to choroidal neovascular membrane. She was treated with monthly intravitreal injections of bevacizumab. Although there was dramatic improvement in her vision after the third injection, it continued to improve through the ninth monthly injection.

Isolable zwitterionic pyridinio-semiquinone pi-radicals. Mild and efficient single-step access to stable radicals.

A rational design based on the proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) concept allows us to structurally characterize for the first time isolable, air- and moisture-stable semiquinone radicals in a zwitterionic neutral form. The presence of an alkoxy and the bulky pyridinio substituents causes only a minor perturbation of either the redox potentials or the spectral UV-vis characteristics of the semiquinone core but significantly stabilizes the new radicals.

Neutron decoherence imaging for visualizing bulk magnetic domain structures.

Here we introduce a novel neutron imaging method, which is based on the effect that the spatial coherence of the neutron wave front can be changed through small-angle scattering of neutrons at magnetic domain walls in the specimen. We show that the technique can be used to visualize internal bulk magnetic domain structures that are difficult to access by other techniques. The method is transferable to a wide variety of specimens, extendable to three dimensions, and well suited for investigating materials under the influence of external parameters, as, e.

Design, fabrication, and characterization of diffraction gratings for neutron phase contrast imaging.

We have developed a neutron phase contrast imaging method based on a grating interferometer setup. The principal constituents are two absorption gratings made of gadolinium and a phase modulating grating made of silicon. The design parameters of the setup, such as periodicity, structure heights of the gratings, and the distances between the gratings, are calculated.

An efficient and facile synthesis of highly substituted 2,6-dicyanoanilines.

A one-pot procedure for the synthesis of substituted 2,6-dicyanoanilines starting from readily available ynones and malononitrile has been developed. For instance, penta-1,4-diyn-3-one is converted into the acetylene-substituted aniline derivative 1 in good yield. Upon photoexcitation, this chromophore shows a strong blue emission with a high quantum yield.

Antitumour effects in mycosis fungoides of the immunomodulatory, tellurium-based compound, AS101.

Background: The immunomodulator AS101 [ammonium trichloro (dioxoethylene-O,O') tellurate], a nontoxic tellurium (IV) compound, has antitumoral effects which were demonstrated in several preclinical and clinical studies.

Objectives: To investigate the antitumour activity of AS101 on cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), of which mycosis fungoides (MF) is the most frequent disease variant.

Methods: We used a newly established mouse xenograft model for MF to test the effect of AS101 in vivo and analysed apoptosis induction in vitro.

Neutral and positively charged thiols synergize the effect of the immunomodulator AS101 as a growth inhibitor of Jurkat cells, by increasing its uptake.

The immunomodulator amonium trichloro[1,2-ethanediolato-O,O'] tellurate (AS101), a nontoxic tellurium(IV) compound, exhibited antitumoral activity in several preclinical and clinical studies. In this study, we investigated the synergism between thiols and AS101 in its antitumoral activity on Jurkat cells. AS101 induced a G2/M arrest in the cell cycle after 24h.

Highly absorbing gadolinium test device to characterize the performance of neutron imaging detector systems.

We report on the fabrication and application of a novel neutron imaging test device made of gadolinium. It is designed for a real time evaluation of the spatial resolution, resolution direction, and distortions of a neutron imaging detector system. Measurements of the spatial resolution of (6)LiF doped ZnS scintillator screens with different thicknesses and of imaging plates were performed.

The organotellurium compound ammonium trichloro(dioxoethylene-o,o')tellurate reacts with homocysteine to form homocystine and decreases homocysteine levels in hyperhomocysteinemic mice.

Ammonium trichloro(dioxoethylene-o,o')tellurate (AS101) is an organotellurium compound with pleiotropic functions that has been associated with antitumoral, immunomodulatory and antineurodegenerative activities. Tellurium compounds with a +4 oxidation state, such as AS101, react uniquely with thiols, forming disulfide molecules. In light of this, we tested whether AS101 can react with the amino acid homocysteine both in vitro and in vivo.

Neutron phase imaging and tomography.

We report how a setup consisting of three gratings yields quantitative two- and three-dimensional images depicting the quantum-mechanical phase shifts of neutron de Broglie wave packets induced by the influence of macroscopic objects. Since our approach requires only a little spatial and chromatic coherence it provides a more than 2 orders of magnitude higher efficiency than existing techniques. This dramatically reduces the required measurement time for computed phase tomography and opens up the way for three-dimensional investigations of previously inaccessible quantum-mechanical phase interactions of neutrons with matter.

Exercise for the dialyzed: aerobic and strength training during hemodialysis.

Objective: To investigate the safety and feasibility of aerobic and strength training during hemodialysis for end-stage renal disease patients and to evaluate its impact on their cardiac fitness, muscle strength, and functional status.

Design: A total of 22 patients undergoing hemodialysis for end-stage renal disease had assessment of their cardiac fitness with stress tests and walk tests, assessment of their muscle strength by one repetition maximum of knee extension, and assessment of their functional status by Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 before and after exercise training. Training, consisting of cycle ergometer exercise and strengthening of the knee extensors two to three times a week for 3 mo, was done during dialysis.

Cryptic female choice: frogs reduce clutch size when amplexed by undesired males.

In species with internal fertilization, females can 'cryptically' choose (e.g. through sperm selection) which individuals sire their offspring, even when their overt preferences for copulatory partners are overrun by male-male competition and sexual coercion.

Genetic linkage of the dentinogenesis imperfecta type III locus to chromosome 4q.

Dentinogenesis imperfecta type III (DGI-III) is an autosomal-dominant disorder of dentin formation which appears in a tri-racial southern Maryland population known as the "Brandywine isolate". This disease has suggestive evidence of linkage to the long arm of human chromosome 4 (LOD score of 2.0) in a family presenting with both juvenile periodontitis and DGI-III.

Porphyria cutanea tarda in a patient on chronic ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.

Porphyria cutanea tarda is a disorder of heme biosynthesis resulting from a defect or deficiency in the enzyme uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase. Heme precursors accumulate in the blood, urine, stool, and skin, where exposure to sunlight results in the clinical manifestations. Porphyria cutanea tarda has been described in adult hemodialysis patients.

Reduction in recombinant human erythropoietin doses by the use of chronic intravenous iron supplementation.

We have compared the efficacy of oral to intravenous iron for the chronic maintenance of iron stores in hemodialysis patients. Fifty-two hemodialysis patients with initial serum ferritin greater than 100 ng/mL and transferrin saturation greater than 15% were randomly assigned to one of two groups: those receiving oral iron therapy (n = 32) and those receiving intravenous iron dextran (100 mg twice weekly) (n = 20). At study completion (4 months), the mean hematocrit was significantly higher in the intravenous group than in the oral iron group (34.

Hypervitaminosis A in two hemodialysis patients.

We present two cases of hemodialysis patients developing vitamin A toxicity related to excessive consumption of nutritional supplements containing large quantities of vitamin A. In one patient, severe hypercalcemia was the lone presenting sign; in the other, hypercalcemia was associated with unusual neurologic manifestations. We will discuss the reason why hemodialysis patients are at special risk for the development of hypervitaminosis A and review the mechanism leading to the associated hypercalcemia.

Ankle-arm blood pressure index as a marker for atherosclerotic vascular diseases in hemodialysis patients.

The ankle to arm blood pressure index (AABI) has been recently found to be a strong predictor of cardiovascular and overall mortality in several populations. The test, which is a noninvasive marker for lower extremity vascular disease (when the index is < 0.9), is an office procedure that is simple to perform.