Design of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) and poly(ethylene glycol) microneedle arrays for delivering glycosaminoglycan, chondroitin sulfate, and hyaluronic acid.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent joint disorder characterized by cartilage and bone degradation. Medical therapies like glucosaminoglycan (GAG), chondroitin sulfate (CS), and hyaluronic acid (HA) aim to preserve joint function and reduce inflammation but may cause side effects when administered orally or injection. Microneedle arrays (MNAs) offer a localized drug delivery method that reduces side effects.

Implantation of Gallium into Layered WS Nanostructures is Facilitated by Hydrogenation.

Bombarding WS multilayered nanoparticles and nanotubes with focused ion beams of Ga ions at high doses, larger than 10 cm, leads to drastic structural changes and melting of the material. At lower doses, when the damage is negligible or significantly smaller, the amount of implanted Ga is very small. A substantial increase in the amount of implanted Ga, and not appreciable structural damage, are observed in nanoparticles previously hydrogenated by a radio-frequency activated hydrogen plasma.

Two Cases of Kidney Transplant Recipients With Multiple Relapsing Pure Red Cell Aplasia Due to Parvovirus B19 Infection.

Although anemia is common after kidney transplant, pure erythroid aplasia due to parvovirus B19 infection is rare. Therefore, there are delays in diagnosis in transplant patients. Here, we aimed to raise awareness that pure red blood cell aplasia due to parvovirus B19 should be considered in the differential diagnosis of posttransplant anemia.

A new highly Selective, sensitive and NIR spectrophotometric probe based on AB-Type of unsymmetrical phthalocyanine for hazardous Be recognition.

The aim of this work is to construct a new AB-type of unsymmetrical and ratiometric phthalocyanine (Pc) based-probe O-ABZnPc to provide an effective solution to critical inadequacy to be experienced for the detection of hazardous Be. O-ABZnPc enabling strong absorption and emission in Near-Infrared region (λ-λ wavelengths of 694-712 nm) showed excellent selectivity and sensitivity toward Be among competitive metal ions by both spectrophotometric and fluorometric methods. The probe with oligomeric Pc form in THF was degraded with the addition of aqueous Be and arranged to J-aggregation form, resulting in a remarkably diminishing in Q-band at 694 nm as well as a new band formation at 746 nm, and a considerably decreasing in fluorescence emission.

Formation of Nanocomposite Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Cathodes by Preferential Clustering of Cations from a Single Polymeric Precursor.

Conventional composite cathodes used in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are fabricated by co-sintering of electrocatalyst and ionic conductor powders at 1100-1250 °C. The relatively high-temperature heat treatments required to ensure bonding among the powders and between the powders and electrolyte results in the formation of resistive phases and coarse microstructures corresponding to short triple-phase boundary (TPB) length and, consequently, low oxygen reduction activity. In the present work, to achieve long TPBs and avoid resistive phase formation, we propose to fabricate nanocomposite LaSrMnO-CeSmO (LSM-SDC) and LaCaMnO-CeSmO (LCM-SDC) thin film cathodes by a low-temperature method, which involves the use of a single polymeric precursor solution containing all the respective cations.

Determination of Ultrastructural Properties of Human Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaques by Scanning Acoustic Microscopy, Micro-Computer Tomography, Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy.

Microcalcification is the precursor of vulnerability of plaques in humans. Visualization of such small structures in vivo with high spatial resolution is an unsolved issue. The goal of this study is to evaluate the potential of scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) in the determination of atherosclerotic plaques with calcifications by validating this technique with micro-computer tomography (micro-CT), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS).

Examination of metal mobilization from a gunshot by scanning acoustic microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy: a case report.

Background: Projectile foreign bodies are known to cause chronic heavy metal toxicity due to the release of metal into the bloodstream. However, the local effect around the metallic object has not been investigated and the main goal of our study is to examine the influence of the object in close proximity of the object.

Case Presentation: A 36-year-old Caucasian woman with one metallic pellet close to her sciatic nerve due to a previous shotgun injury at the gluteal area presented with a diagnosis of recurrent lumbar disk herniation at L4-5 level.

Superior Sensor for Be Ion Recognition via the Unprecedented Octahedral Crystal Structure of a One-Dimensional Coordination Polymer of Crown Fused Zinc Phthalocyanine.

The unprecedented one-dimensional (1-D) coordination polymer of crown fused zinc phthalocyanine (P-CfZnPc) with an octahedral crystal structure and with intermolecular packing that has superior multichannel sensor ability for Be ion recognition was prepared and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and a wide range of spectroscopic and voltammetric methods. An exceptional feature of the crystal structure of P-CfZnPc is that each zinc ion in the phthalocyanine (Pc) polymer is coordinated by the four isoindole nitrogen atoms and an outer oxygen atom of the Pc molecule. This structure is the first example of an octahedral arrangement in a 1-D polymeric chain for zinc phthalocyanines (ZnPcs) and zinc porphyrins (ZnPs) reached without the presence of a coordinating solvent, which was confirmed by XRD analysis.

Micro and nanostructural analysis of a human tooth using correlated focused ion beam (FIB) and transmission Electron microscopy (TEM) investigations.

In this study, natural molar human tooth specimens were investigated for determining their micro- and nanoscale structural morphology, chemistry and crystallinity. The differences were tracked comparatively for both enamel and dentin layers and at their interfaces. Although dental material structures are hard and tough and the cross-sectioning of these materials using mechanical methods is challenging, FIB-SEM dual-beam instruments serve for preparing ultra-thin homogenous lamella sections.

Stress evolution of Ge nanocrystals in dielectric matrices.

Germanium nanocrystals (Ge NCs) embedded in single and multilayer silicon oxide and silicon nitride matrices have been synthesized using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition followed by conventional furnace annealing or rapid thermal processing in N ambient. Compositions of the films were determined by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The formation of NCs under suitable process conditions was observed with high resolution transmission electron microscope micrographs and Raman spectroscopy.

The performance of classification criteria for juvenile spondyloarthropathies.

Juvenile spondyloarthropathies (JSpA) are a group of rheumatologic diseases with a disease onset before 16; characterized with enthesitis, lower extremity oligoarthritis, involvement of the axial skeleton and HLA B27 positivity. The diversity of classification criteria along with the phenotype heterogeneity makes the classification of JSpA challenging. The aim of our study was to evaluate the performance of the pre-determined and recently proposed classification criteria for JSpA.

Structural and Chemical Analysis of Hydroxyapatite (HA)-Boron Nitride (BN) Nanocomposites Sintered Under Different Atmospheric Conditions.

Calcium phosphate derivatives have been widely employed in medical and dental applications for hard tissue repair, as they are the main inorganic constitution of hard tissue; such as bones and teeth. Owing to their excellent osteoconductive and bioactive properties, hydroxyapatite- (HA) based ceramics are the best candidates of this group for medical, bioscience, and dental applications. However, when replacing a bone or tooth, HA is not able to sustain similar mechanical properties.

Hydrogen Chemical Configuration and Thermal Stability in Tungsten Disulfide Nanoparticles Exposed to Hydrogen Plasma.

The chemical configuration and interaction mechanism of hydrogen adsorbed in inorganic nanoparticles of WS are investigated. Our recent approaches of using hydrogen activated by either microwave or radiofrequency plasma dramatically increased the efficiency of its adsorption on the nanoparticles surface. In the current work we make an emphasis on elucidation of the chemical configuration of the adsorbed hydrogen.

[]-Carbon-carbon double bond engineering in diazaphosphepines: a pathway to modulate the chemical and electronic structures of heteropines.

We have designed and synthesized the first examples of 7-membered diazaphosphepines using phosphorus-amine (P-N) chemistry. Different from previous functional protocols of heteropines, the installation of π-conjugated substituents having diverse chemistries at the []-C[double bond, length as m-dash]C double bond position of heteropine core allows us to effectively control the chemical and electronic structures in both the ground and excited states of these diazaphosphepines. This functionalization has led to a diverse set of crystal structures, which has in turn provided access to rich photophysical and redox properties.

Eliminating Piezoresistivity in Flexible Conducting Polymers for Accurate Temperature Sensing under Dynamic Mechanical Deformations.

The polarity and the magnitude of polyaniline's gauge factor are tuned through structural modification. Combining conducting polymers with gauge factors of opposite polarities yields an accurate temperature sensor, even when deployed under dynamic strains.

Development of Functional Surfaces on High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) via Gas-Assisted Etching (GAE) Using Focused Ion Beams.

Irradiation damage, caused by the use of beams in electron and ion microscopes, leads to undesired physical/chemical material property changes or uncontrollable modification of structures. Particularly, soft matter such as polymers or biological materials is highly susceptible and very much prone to react on electron/ion beam irradiation. Nevertheless, it is possible to turn degradation-dependent physical/chemical changes from negative to positive use when materials are intentionally exposed to beams.

Molecular helices as electron acceptors in high-performance bulk heterojunction solar cells.

Despite numerous organic semiconducting materials synthesized for organic photovoltaics in the past decade, fullerenes are widely used as electron acceptors in highly efficient bulk-heterojunction solar cells. None of the non-fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells have achieved efficiencies as high as fullerene-based solar cells. Design principles for fullerene-free acceptors remain unclear in the field.

Effect of increasing maximal aerobic exercise on serum muscles enzymes in professional field hockey players.

Background & Objectives: Exercise results in oxidative enzyme increase and micro-injuries in skeletal muscles. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of maximal aerobic exercise on serum muscle enzymes in professional field hockey players. This study aims to determine the effect of increasing maximal aerobic exercise on creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) serum levels.

Metal nanocluster light-emitting devices with suppressed parasitic emission and improved efficiency: exploring the impact of photophysical properties.

Here we investigate the photophysical properties of Au(0)@Au(i)-thiolate nanoclusters by controlling the degree of aggregation, and measure electrochemical energy levels to design a metal nanocluster-based thin film LED (MNC-LED) structure. These efforts allow us to implement MNC-LEDs with luminance exceeding 40 cd m(-2) and external quantum efficiency exceeding 0.1% with clearly visible orange emission.

Three dimensional quantitative characterization of magnetite nanoparticles embedded in mesoporous silicon: local curvature, demagnetizing factors and magnetic Monte Carlo simulations.

Magnetite nanoparticles embedded within the pores of a mesoporous silicon template have been characterized using electron tomography. Linear least squares optimization was used to fit an arbitrary ellipsoid to each segmented particle from the three dimensional reconstruction. It was then possible to calculate the demagnetizing factors and the direction of the shape anisotropy easy axis for every particle.

An investigation on focused electron/ion beam induced degradation mechanisms of conjugated polymers.

Irradiation damage, caused by the use of beams in the electron microscopes, leads to undesired physical/chemical material property changes or uncontrollable modification of structures that are being processed. Particularly, soft matter such as polymers or biological materials is highly susceptible and very much prone to react on irradiation by electron and ion beams. The effect is even higher when materials are subjected to energetic species such as ions that possess high momentum and relatively low mean path due to their mass.

Recurrent multiple cardiac myxomas.

Background: The recurrence of cardiac myxoma after a surgical excision is a rare condition. The mechanism responsible for the recurrence remains unclear. Multifocal growth of a benign myxoma or malignant transformation, inadequate resection, intraoperative implantation or embolization, familial disposition, and the abnormal DNA ploidy pattern play an important role in development of recurrent myxoma.

Effect of antegrade graft cardioplegia combined with passive graft perfusion in on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting.

Patients undergoing on-pump coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) with proximal graft anastomosis were randomly divided into groups that received antegrade cardioplegic infusion only via the aortic root (group A) or antegrade cardioplegic infusion via the aortic root and additional cardioplegia via vein or free arterial grafts after completion of each distal anastomosis (group B). The group B patients also received bypass graft perfusion with warm arterial blood just after removal of the cross-clamp until the proximal graft anastomosis was completed. The need for defibrillation and inotropic support during separation from cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), and total CPB time were significantly lower in group B than in group A.