TidyTron: Reducing lab waste using validated wash-and-reuse protocols for common plasticware in Opentrons OT-2 lab robots.

Every year biotechnology labs generate a combined total of ∼5.5 million tons of plastic waste. As the global bioeconomy expands, biofoundries will inevitably increase plastic consumption in-step with synthetic biology scaling.

Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Certain Aspects of the Cytotoxic and Genotoxic Hazard of Hospital Wastewaters by Using a Range of Assays.

Health care facilities and hospitals generate significant amounts of wastewater which are released into the sewage system, either after a preliminary treatment or without any further treatment. Hospital wastewater may contain large amounts of hazardous chemicals and pharmaceuticals, some of which cannot be eliminated entirely by wastewater treatment plants. Moreover, hospital effluents may be loaded with a plethora of pathogenic microorganisms or other microbiota and microbiome residues.

Genotoxicity of wastewater from health care facilities.

Health care facilities use for therapeutic purposes, diagnostics, research, and disinfection a high number of chemical compounds, such as pharmaceuticals (e.g. antibiotics, cytostatics, antidepressants), disinfectants, surfactants, metals, radioactive elements, bleach preparations, etc.

Eye irritation hazard of chemicals and formulations assessed by methods in vitro.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare human and animal skin irritation data with results of selected in vitro methods, including HET-CAM test, Neutral Red Release Assay, Neutral Red Uptake Assay and EpiOcular eye irritation test and with already existing data of eye irritation obtained from animal experiments.

Methods: Chemicals employed in previous skin irritation validation studies and commercially available cosmetic formulations were subjected to further testing using in vitro methods Neutral Red Release (NRR) assay, Neutral Red Uptake (NRU) assay, HET-CAM test and EpiOcular assay.

Results: The study revealed that skin irritants are not necessarily eye irritants; specifically volatile or solid materials may be misclassified.

Toxicity hazard of organophosphate insecticide malathion identified by in vitro methods.

Objectives: Malathion is generally not classified as toxic. However, the toxicity seems to be species-dependent. Local and systemic toxicity data for birds are rare, but a decrease of wild bird densities in areas where malathion was applied was reported.

Monitoring the growth dynamics of somatic traits based on a semi-longitudinal study.

Possibilities of conducting longitudinal human growth studies are very limited, since it is necessary to monitor the probands for a long time. Another problem can be a loss of data currency, and the small size of the final sample. The solution can be a follow-up semi-longitudinal observation.

Association of polymorphisms of zinc metalloproteinases with clinical response to stem cell therapy.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess the associations of polymorphisms in two metalloproteinase genes-metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE)-with clinical response to autologous transplantation of mononuclear bone marrow cells (MBMC) in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Methods: The double centre study included 48 patients with a first acute myocardial infarction treated with primary coronary angioplasty, stent implantation and transplantation of MBMC. According to the changes in perfusion defect size, left ventricle ejection fraction, end-systolic volume and peak systolic velocity of the infracted wall (dSaMI) after cell therapy, the patients were retrospectively divided into group A (responders) and group B (non-responders).

Oxidative stress may modify zinc protoporphyrin/heme ratio in hematofluorometry.

Washed red blood cells (RBCs), supplemented or non-supplemented with sodium azide (to inhibit catalase activity), were exposed to different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide as well as ascorbic acid. Strikingly, catalase within RBCs protected the cells against exogenic hydrogen peroxide even at millimolar concentrations. However, the activity of the erythrocytic catalase failed to protect the RBCs when they were exposed to an oxidative burst of stimulated polymorphonuclear cells (PMNCs) in the presence of several reactive species in addition to peroxide.

Individual differences in the effectiveness of intracoronary bone marrow cell transplantation assessed by gated sestamibi SPECT/FDG PET imaging.

Background: The impact of different levels of tracer uptake on improvements of left-ventricular (LV) function was analyzed in patients treated by intracoronary bone marrow cell (BMC) transplantation.

Methods And Results: Thirty-one patients with irreversible damage after their first acute myocardial infarction (MI), as confirmed by sestamibi single-photon emission computed tomography (MIBI SPECT)/fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET), underwent high-dose (1 x 10(8) cells) BMC transplantation, whereas 31 similar patients were randomly integrated into a control group. In 11 BMC-treated patients with very low sestamibi uptake at less than 30% of maximum in the infarcted area, the mean left-ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) improved after 3 months of follow-up by 3% only, and mean end-diastolic/end-systolic volumes (EDV/ESV) enlarged by 10/1 mL (P = NS vs controls).

Cell therapy in patients with left ventricular dysfunction due to myocardial infarction.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of autologous transplantation of mononuclear bone marrow cells on myocardial function in patients with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction due to an acute myocardial infarction.

Methods: The randomized study included 82 patients with a first acute myocardial infarction treated with a stent implantation. This presentation is a subanalysis of 47 patients with left ventricular dysfunction-EF (ejection fraction) View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Three-, 6-, and 12-month results of autologous transplantation of mononuclear bone marrow cells in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Background: There are only few data on long-term effectiveness of the stem cell therapy.

Aim: We studied the time course of global and regional left ventricular function in patients with acute myocardial infarction within 1 year after the autologous mononuclear bone marrow cell transplantation.

Methods: Sixty patients with a first acute myocardial infarction, who had been randomized into 3 groups, completed a 12-month protocol.

Autologous transplantation of mononuclear bone marrow cells in patients with acute myocardial infarction: the effect of the dose of transplanted cells on myocardial function.

Background: Despite the reports on successful treatment of acute myocardial infarction using autologous mononuclear bone marrow cell transplantation, many unresolved questions still remain. We studied the impact of the dose of transplanted cells on myocardial function and perfusion.

Methods: Sixty-six patients with a first acute myocardial infarction were randomized into 3 groups.

The role of quantitative Tc-99m-MIBI gated SPECT/F-18-FDG PET imaging in the monitoring of intracoronary bone marrow cell transplantation.

Background: A lot of unresolved questions still exist concerning the exact mechanism of the beneficial effects of bone marrow cell (BMC) transplantation for myocardial regeneration. The aim of this communication is to report the cases of patients with and without post-transplantation left ventricular function improvement.

Material And Methods: To this study we included consecutive patients with irreversible damage after a first acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction treated by coronary angioplasty with stent implantation.

Our experience with prevention of infection in patients post splenectomy.

Splenectomy significantly impairs the immunity of the body; in a certain proportion of the patients this may cause the so-called OPSI (overwhelming post-splenectomy infection) syndrome, i. e. incidence of fulminant life-threatening infections.

[Does streptokinase still have a role in the treatment of acute myocardial infarct?].

Streptokinase was discovered in 1933. Its importance has gradually grown since 1950's of the last century when it was used as the utterly first thrombolytic agent. Since the discovery that majority of acute myocardial infarctions is caused by thrombus in the area of ruptured endothel above the atherosclerotic platelet, it has become the first remedy able of real causal treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Subchronic preexposure to carbon monoxide modifies heart response to a combined CO + isoproterenol challenge in rats.

The effect of repeated exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) on the response of middle-age rats to an acute CO exposure combined with a low dose of a sympathomimetic agent was studied. A group of 12 rats (male albino, Wistar, age 9 months) without ECG abnormalities was divided into two subgroups matched for weight, heart rate and ECG: one subgroup was exposed to 500 ppm CO for 6 h/d, 5 d/w, for 6 weeks (peak COHb 31.5%, SD 3.

[Thallium perfusion scintigraphy and bicycle ergometry in the diagnosis of ischemic heart disease. Comparison with coronarography findings].

In 76 patients (66 men and 10 women, age 20-71 years) with stable angina pectoris planar thallium myocardial perfusion scintigraphy, bicycle ergometry and coronary angiography were performed. Thallium scintigraphy was highly sensitive (97%) for detection of ischaemic heart disease, the sensitivity of ergometry was 75%. When comparing patients with affected 1, 2 and 3 coronary arteries perfusion scintigraphy had a sensitivity of 100%, 90% and 100% resp.

Screening of the gasoline lead load in school children in the Czech Republic.

The determination of erythrocyte zinc protoporphyrin (ZZP) was implemented as an indirect method for assessing lead levels in the blood in the follow-up of Czech children regarding the lead load due to automobile traffic. Simultaneously, basic indicators of the red blood picture were studied. A screening study was conducted with 2668 school-age children residing permanently in three different regions of our country.

[Erythrocyte zinc-protoporphyrin and characteristics of iron- deficiency anemia in parturient women and neonates].

The authors examined the concentration of erythrocyte zinc-protoporphyrin (ZPP) by a haematofluorometric method in 175 women during delivery and the levels in their children. They assessed basic haematological indicators, the number of red cells, their volume, number of reticulocytes, haemoglobin concentration, haematocrit and sideraemia. All were average values within the physiological range in both examined groups.

[Dobutamine stress echocardiography in patients with acute myocardial infarct].

The objective of the present work was to evaluate dobutamine echocardiography in patients after myocardial infarction. The group of patients comprises 39 subjects, age 54 +/- 10 years with a first non-complicated myocardial infarction treated by thrombolysis. The patients were examined on the 5th-7th day with small amounts of dobutamine (5 and 10 micrograms/kg/min.

[Analysis of adverse effects of dobutamine stress echocardiography].

Recently in various departments interest in dobutamine stress echocardiography is increasing. Originally this examination was meant for the diagnosis of suspected ischaemic heart disease in patients unable to tolerate a physical load. Clinical applications of this test are constantly expanding and comprise a number of risk patients.