Predictors of Revascularization in Patients with Unstable Angina.

Background: The factors that determine the necessity of coronary artery revascularization in patients with unstable angina (UA) have been supported by limited data. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the predictors of revascularization in patients with UA.

Methods: The study included the recorded data of 3668 patients with UA who underwent cardiac catheterization (age 66 ± 9.

Highly responsive and rapid hydrogen peroxide-triggered degradation of polycaprolactone nanoparticles.

We synthesized an oxidation-responsive polycaprolactone (O-PCL) bearing pendant arylboronic esters as H2O2-responsive motifs. H2O2 induces fast depolymerization of O-PCL within days. Nanoparticles formulated from O-PCL disintegrate and release payload in response to concentrations of H2O2 (50 μM) that are relevant to human disease.

Discovery of short-course antiwolbachial quinazolines for elimination of filarial worm infections.

Parasitic filarial nematodes cause debilitating infections in people in resource-limited countries. A clinically validated approach to eliminating worms uses a 4- to 6-week course of doxycycline that targets , a bacterial endosymbiont required for worm viability and reproduction. However, the prolonged length of therapy and contraindication in children and pregnant women have slowed adoption of this treatment.

Disease-Triggered Drug Release Effectively Prevents Acute Inflammatory Flare-Ups, Achieving Reduced Dosing.

For conditions with inflammatory flare-ups, fast drug-release from a depot is crucial to reduce cell infiltration and prevent long-term tissue destruction. While this concept has been explored for chronic diseases, preventing acute inflammatory flares has not been explored. To address this issue, a preventative inflammation-sensitive system is developed and applied to acute gout, a condition where millions of inflammatory cells are recruited rapidly, causing excruciating and debilitating pain.

Chemical amplification accelerates reactive oxygen species triggered polymeric degradation.

Chemical amplification is a known strategy for improving the sensitivity of stimuli-responsive polymers. However, the chemical amplification effect has never been fully examined. Many questions remain about its mechanism and efficacy, obstructing its further implementation.

Distinct ON/OFF fluorescence signals from dual-responsive activatable nanoprobes allows detection of inflammation with improved contrast.

Visualization of biochemical changes associated with disease is of great clinical significance, as it should allow earlier, more accurate diagnosis than structural imaging, facilitating timely clinical intervention. Herein, we report combining stimuli-responsive polymers and near-infrared fluorescent dyes (emission max: 790 nm) to create robust activatable fluorescent nanoprobes capable of simultaneously detecting acidosis and oxidative stress associated with inflammatory microenvironments. The spectrally-resolved mechanism of fluorescence activation allows removal of unwanted background signal (up to 20-fold reduction) and isolation of a pure activated signal, which enables sensitive and unambiguous localization of inflamed areas; target-to-background ratios reach 22 as early as 3 h post-injection.

Biorthogonal click chemistry on poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)-polymeric particles.

Biodegradable polymeric materials are a key area of investigation in drug delivery and disease treatment. This is due to their proven clinical potential for payload protection, responsivity, and surface modification imparted by the versatile array of polymers available for their formulation. Here, we employ a novel biodegradable azide containing polymer in the formulation of polymeric nanoparticles and show that these particles can then be functionalized, with biorthogonal click reactions, to alter their surface appearance and their ability to interact with biological systems.

Efficient Red Light Photo-Uncaging of Active Molecules in Water Upon Assembly into Nanoparticles.

We introduce a means of efficiently photo-uncaging active compounds from amino-1,4-benzoquinone in aqueous environments. Aqueous photochemistry of this photocage with one-photon red light is typically not efficient unless the photocaged molecules are allowed to assemble into nanoparticles. A variety of biologically active molecules were functionalized with the photocage and subsequently formulated into water-dispersible nanoparticles.

Light-triggered chemical amplification to accelerate degradation and release from polymeric particles.

We describe a means of chemical amplification to accelerate triggered degradation of a polymer and particles composed thereof. We designed a light-degradable copolymer containing carboxylic acids masked by photolabile groups and ketals. Photolysis allows the unmasked acidic groups in the polymer backbone to accelerate ketal hydrolysis even at neutral pH.

Photocontrolled release using one-photon absorption of visible or NIR light.

Light is an excellent means to externally control the properties of materials and small molecules for many applications. Light's ability to initiate chemistries largely independent of a material's local environment makes it particularly useful as a bio-orthogonal and on-demand trigger in living systems. Materials responsive to UV light are widely reported in the literature; however, UV light has substantial limitations for in vitro and in vivo applications.

Short Soluble Coumarin Crosslinkers for Light-Controlled Release of Cells and Proteins from Hydrogels.

Materials that degrade or dissociate in response to low power light promise to enable on-demand, precisely localized delivery of drugs or bioactive molecules in living systems. Such applications remain elusive because few materials respond to wavelengths that appreciably penetrate tissues. The photocage bromohydroxycoumarin (Bhc) is efficiently cleaved upon low-power ultraviolet (UV) and near-infrared (NIR) irradiation through one- or two-photon excitation, respectively.

Light-responsive nanoparticle depot to control release of a small molecule angiogenesis inhibitor in the posterior segment of the eye.

Therapies for macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy require intravitreal injections every 4-8 weeks. Injections are uncomfortable, time-consuming, and carry risks of infection and retinal damage. However, drug delivery via noninvasive methods to the posterior segment of the eye has been a major challenge due to the eye's unique anatomy and physiology.

Highest Efficiency Two-Photon Degradable Copolymer for Remote Controlled Release.

To address the scarcity of polymers that degrade upon absorption of near infrared (NIR) light, we introduce a new polymer containing moieties in its backbone capable of highly efficient NIR-triggered photocleavage. The polymer rapidly undergoes backbone scission in response to both UV-Vis and near infrared light via two-photon absorption, as revealed by gel permeation chromatography. Cleavage of photosensitive groups from the backbone is confirmed by H NMR.

Enrichment of phenols from water with in-situ derivatization by in-tube solid phase microextraction-solvent desorption prior to off-line gas chromatographic determination with large-volume injection.

Sorption of phenols from water into the stationary phase of open tubular columns (named in-tube solid phase microextraction) as an enrichment method for gas chromatographic (GC) analysis of aqueous samples was studied. The effect of operating conditions (stationary phase polarity, swelling of the stationary phase by solvents, number of sampling cycles, salting-out effect, sampling velocity, flow rate of desorption solvent) on the process efficiency was evaluated. Real water samples were also used in this study.

[Effect of fluvastatin and fenofibrate on the antioxidative barrier enzyme activity in patients with dyslipidemia].

The effect of fluvastatin and fenofibrate on antioxidative enzymatic activity in patients with stable angina and mixed hyperlipidaemia was investigated. Thirty-five patients (13 men and 22 women) aged 40-77 years, were randomly divided into two groups. The first group comprised 20 patients who were administered fluvastatin 40 mg once daily at bedtime for 30 days.

[Effect of fluvastatin and fenofibrate on reactive oxygen species generation and lipid peroxidation in patients with dyslipidemia].

The effect of fluvastatin and fenofibrate on O2-generation by neutrophils and MDA concentration in mixed hyperlipidaemic patients with stable angina was studied. Thirty-five patients (13 men and 22 women aged 40-77 years) were randomly divided into two groups. Group I comprised 20 patients who were administered fluvastatin 40 mg once daily at bedtime for 30 days.

Minimum ten-year follow-up of cemented total hip replacement in patients with osteonecrosis of the femoral head.

Between November 1970 and September 1984 the senior author performed fifty-three consecutive total hip arthroplasties with cement in forty-one patients with the diagnosis of osteonecrosis of the femoral head. Five hips in three patients with failed renal transplants requiring chronic hemodialysis were excluded. At the time of final review, a minimum of ten years after the procedure, twenty-one patients (twenty-eight hips) were living, fifteen patients (eighteen hips) had died, and two patients (two hips) were lost to follow-up.

Regeneration of Cuphea wrightii (Peyr 651) and fertile C.wrightii C. tolucana hybrids from leaf explants.

Callus was obtained from leaf explants of Cupea wrightii and Cuphea wrightii x Cuphea tolucana hybrid plants, and the plants were later regenerated. C. tolucana explants were capable of forming callus, but not of regenerating.

Charnley total hip arthroplasty with use of improved cementing techniques: a minimum twenty-year follow-up study.

Background: In total hip arthroplasty, techniques for cementing the femoral component have changed over time. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether a cementing technique that includes use of a distal cement plug and retrograde filling of the femoral canal affects the fixation of the femoral component at a minimum of twenty years after the operation.

Methods: Between 1976 and 1978, the senior one of us (R.

Regeneration of Cuphea tolucana Peyr. in in vitro culture.

In order to regenerate Cuphea tolucana from hypocotyl, cotyledon and root explants, a solid culture and 8 hormone combinations were used. Only the root explants did not react to any of the media. On most of the media, the other explants formed shoots, roots or callus, or their reaction was more complex.

[Effect of trimetazidine on biological activity of neutrophils in patients with transient myocardial ischemia induced by exercise testing].

We estimated the effect of trimetazidine on biological activity of neutrophils in patients with exercise test--induced transient myocardial ischaemia. The study group comprised 16 patients (10 men and 6 women) aged 40-56 years (mean 48.2 years) with stable angina.

Charnley total hip arthroplasty with cement. Minimum twenty-five-year follow-up.

Background: This report presents the results of the senior author's initial twenty-five-year experience with the use of Charnley total hip arthroplasty with cement. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the long-term results of total hip arthroplasty.

Methods: Between July 1970 and April 1972, the senior author (R.

The effects of surface roughness and polymethylmethacrylate precoating on the radiographic and clinical results of the Iowa hip prosthesis. A study of patients less than fifty years old.

Background: The purpose of the present study was to compare the results associated with two different surface finishes (bead-blasted and grit-blasted) for Iowa femoral components used in total hip arthroplasties performed between January 1979 and June 1991 in patients who were less than fifty years old.

Methods: Between January 1979 and December 1985, thirty-six primary total hip replacements were performed in twenty-five patients with insertion of a bead-blasted Iowa femoral component (average surface roughness, 0.8 micrometer) with cement and insertion of a titanium-backed acetabular component (thirty-five hips) or non-metal-backed acetabular component (one hip) with cement.

Total hip arthroplasty with cement in patients who have rheumatoid arthritis. A minimum ten-year follow-up study.

One hundred and six consecutive total hip arthroplasties with cement were performed by one surgeon, at least ten years before the time of the present clinical and radiographic review, in seventy-five patients who had adult-onset rheumatoid arthritis. Two patients (three hips) were lost to follow-up. Seven (7 per cent) of the remaining 103 hips were revised.

Hybrid total hip arthroplasty in patients under the age of fifty: a five- to ten-year follow-up.

In 37 patients, 45 total hip replacements were performed using contemporary cementing techniques, an uncemented Harris-Galante I acetabular component and a cemented precoated Iowa femoral component in patients under the age of 50 at the time of their surgery; 36 patients with 43 hybrid hips were living, 1 patient with 2 hybrid hips was decreased. No patients were lost to follow-up. At 5- to 10-year follow-up, eight hips were revised for aseptic loosening.