Hierarchically Structured and Tunable Hydrogel Patches: Design, Characterization, and Application.

Recent studies show the importance of hydrogel geometry for various applications, such as encoding, micromachines, or tissue engineering. However, fabricating hydrogel structures with micrometer-sized features, advanced geometry, and precise control of porosity remains challenging. This work presents hierarchically structured hydrogels, so-called hydrogel patches, with internally deviating regions on a micron-scale.

Impact of the Membrane Structure of the Stationary Phase on Steric Exclusion Chromatography (SXC) of Lentiviral Vectors.

For steric exclusion chromatography (SXC), hydrophilic stationary phases are used to capture the target molecule in the presence of polyethylene glycol. The influence of the structure and pore size of the stationary phase on the process requirements are not yet well understood. To better understand the SXC process, membranes with different pore sizes that served as a stationary phase were compared for the purification of lentiviral vectors (LVs).

Gut Microbiota and Uremic Retention Solutes in Adults With Moderate CKD: A 6-Day Controlled Feeding Study.

Objective: To determine serum and urine concentrations of the uremic retention solutes (URSs), indoxyl sulfate (IS), p-cresol sulfate (PCS), and trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), and gut microbiota composition in individuals with moderate chronic kidney disease (CKD) compared with matched adults without CKD in a 6-day controlled feeding study.

Design And Methods: This study was a secondary analysis in which 8 adults with moderate CKD were matched for age, sex, and race with 8 adults without CKD in a parallel-arm, 6-day controlled feeding study. IS, PCS, and TMAO were quantified using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry in fecal samples, fasting serum, and fasting spot urine samples collected at the end of the feeding period.

Components of high-resolution manometry that change surgical decisions.

Background: High-resolution manometry (HRM) is vital in evaluating patients for surgery at the gastroesophageal (GE) junction. Previously, we reported manometry alters surgery choices at the GE junction over 50% of the time, and its components, i.e.

Effects of Plant-Based Protein Consumption on Kidney Function and Mineral Bone Disorder Outcomes in Adults With Stage 3-5 Chronic Kidney Disease: A Systematic Review.

Introduction: Plant-based protein is of growing interest for dietary management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and is hypothesized to preserve kidney function and reduce CKD-mineral bone disorder (MBD) complications, among other benefits. This systematic review aimed to summarize the available clinical trial evidence for the effect of plant-based protein on kidney function and CKD-MBD outcomes in adults with stage 3-5 CKD not on dialysis.

Methods: Searches of Medline, Embase, Agricola, CAB abstracts, Web of Science, Scopus, and hand searching were performed.

Scaling Up of Steric Exclusion Membrane Chromatography for Lentiviral Vector Purification.

Lentiviral vectors (LVs) are widely used in clinical trials of gene and cell therapy. Low LV stability incentivizes constant development and the improvement of gentle process steps. Steric exclusion chromatography (SXC) has gained interest in the field of virus purification but scaling up has not yet been addressed.

Infectious titer determination of lentiviral vectors using a temporal immunological real-time imaging approach.

The analysis of the infectious titer of the lentiviral vector samples obtained during upstream and downstream processing is of major importance, however, also the most challenging method to be performed. Currently established methods like flow cytometry or qPCR lack the capability of enabling high throughput sample processing while they require a lot of manual handling. To address this limitation, we developed an immunological real-time imaging method to quantify the infectious titer of anti-CD19 CAR lentiviral vectors with a temporal readout using the Incucyte® S3 live-cell analysis system.

Intestinal Phosphorus Absorption in Moderate CKD and Healthy Adults Determined Using a Radioisotopic Tracer.

Background: Reducing intestinal phosphorus absorption is a cornerstone in CKD-MBD management. Yet, knowledge gaps include how CKD pathophysiology affects intestinal phosphorus absorption. rodent studies suggest that intestinal phosphorus absorption remains inappropriately normal in early-moderate CKD, despite declining 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25D).

Plant-Based Diets, the Gut Microbiota, and Trimethylamine N-Oxide Production in Chronic Kidney Disease: Therapeutic Potential and Methodological Considerations.

High circulating trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality in people with chronic kidney disease (CKD). In individuals with CKD, reduced kidney function leads to decreased excretion of TMAO, which results in accumulation in the circulation. Higher circulating TMAO has been linked to higher intake of animal-based foods in omnivorous diets.

Phosphate Binders and Nonphosphate Effects in the Gastrointestinal Tract.

Phosphate binders are commonly prescribed in patients with end-stage kidney disease to prevent and treat hyperphosphatemia. These binders are usually associated with gastrointestinal distress, may bind molecules other than phosphate, and may alter the gut microbiota, altogether having systemic effects unrelated to phosphate control. Sevelamer is the most studied of the available binders for nonphosphate-related effects including binding to bile acids, endotoxins, gut microbiota-derived metabolites, and advanced glycation end products.

Characterizing Dysgeusia in Hemodialysis Patients.

Dysgeusia (abnormal taste) is common in those with chronic kidney disease and contributes to poor nutritional intake. Previous sensory work has shown that taste improves after dialysis sessions. The goal of this pilot study was to characterize altered taste perceptions in patients on dialysis compared with healthy adults, and to evaluate relationships between serum parameters with taste perceptions.

Pilot Study of the Effects of High-Protein Meals During Hemodialysis on Intradialytic Hypotension in Patients Undergoing Maintenance Hemodialysis.

Objective: Patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) have high protein and energy requirements, and protein-energy wasting is common and associated with poor outcomes. Eating during dialysis may improve nutritional status by counteracting the catabolic effects of HD treatment; but eating during HD may be discouraged because of concerns of postprandial hypotension. However, little data are available to support this practice.

webKnossos: efficient online 3D data annotation for connectomics.

We report webKnossos, an in-browser annotation tool for 3D electron microscopic data. webKnossos provides flight mode, a single-view egocentric reconstruction method enabling trained annotator crowds to reconstruct at a speed of 1.5 ± 0.

Alpha 1,3 fucosyltransferases are master regulators of prostate cancer cell trafficking.

How cancer cells bind to vascular surfaces and extravasate into target organs is an underappreciated, yet essential step in metastasis. We postulate that the metastatic process involves discrete adhesive interactions between circulating cancer cells and microvascular endothelial cells. Sialyl Lewis X (sLe(X)) on prostate cancer (PCa) cells is thought to promote metastasis by mediating PCa cell binding to microvascular endothelial (E)-selectin.

Analysis of physiologic E-selectin-mediated leukocyte rolling on microvascular endothelium.

E-selectin is a type-1 membrane protein on microvascular endothelial cells that helps initiate recruitment of circulating leukocytes to cutaneous, bone and inflamed tissues. E-selectin expression is constitutive on dermal and bone microvessels and is inducible by pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1alpha/ and TNF-alpha, on microvessels in inflamed tissues. This lectin receptor mediates weak binding interactions with carbohydrate counter-receptor ligands on circulating leukocytes, which results in a characteristic rolling behavior.

Cost-effectiveness of specific subcutaneous immunotherapy in patients with allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma.

Background: Specific immunotherapy is the only potentially curative treatment in patients with allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma. Health economic evaluations on this treatment, particularly in a German context, are sparse.

Objective: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of specific subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) in addition to symptomatic treatment (ST) compared with ST alone in a German health care setting.

Analysis of glycosyltransferase expression in metastatic prostate cancer cells capable of rolling activity on microvascular endothelial (E)-selectin.

Prostate cancer (PCa) cell tethering and rolling on microvascular endothelium has been proposed to promote the extravasation of PCa cells. We have shown that these adhesive events are mediated through binding interactions between endothelial (E)-selectin and Lewis carbohydrates on PCa cells. Prior data indicate that E-selectin-mediated rolling of bone-metastatic PCa MDA PCa 2b (MDA) cells is dependent on sialyl Lewis X (sLe(X))-bearing glycoproteins.

Development of an evidence-based application and rubric for evaluating applicants' qualifications for promotion to professor.

Objective: Every promotion committee is challenged by the need to make value judgments on the quantity and quality of peer work. Decisions based upon subjective assessments may not do justice to the applicant's or the institution's needs. The purpose of this article is to (1) describe the process a college promotion committee used to increase the objectivity brought to this activity, (2) present the tools developed that facilitated the collection and evaluation of faculty work, and (3) describe their usage in a promotion cycle.

On-line coupling of size exclusion chromatography and capillary electrophoresis via solid-phase extraction and a Tee-split interface.

An on-line size exclusion chromatography (SEC)-solid-phase extraction (SPE)-capillary electrophoresis (CE) system using a Tee-split interface has been developed for the analysis of peptides in biological fluids. The SEC column fractionates the sample by molecular size and the low-molecular-weight fraction, which contains the peptides, is directed to a C(18) SPE microcolumn, where the peptides are trapped and concentrated. The SPE column is desorbed with 425 nL acetonitrile and the effluent is sent to the Tee-split interface, which hydrodynamically splits (1:40) the flow and, thus, allows appropriate injection of analytes into the CE system.

[Efficiency of a herd health program in Swiss dairy herds].

A retrospective analysis of the reproductive parameters was conducted in 15 dairy farms using a herd health monitoring system between 1995 and 1998. Five of these farms have used this monitoring process for many years (group 1) while 10 of them only initiated the process in 1996 (group 2). It was the aim of this study to evaluate the economic gain of the farms in each group due to the herd health monitoring program throughout the three year study period, by using Value Based Management (VBM), a model from the economic sciences.

On-line coupling of size-exclusion chromatography and capillary zone electrophoresis via a reversed-phase C18 trapping column for the determination of peptides in biological samples.

Since biologically active peptides usually exhibit their effects in low concentrations, the development of sensitive analytical methods has become a challenge. In this paper, a multidimensional system is presented, consisting of a size-exclusion chromatographic (SEC) separation followed by a trapping procedure on a 4 mm x 3 mm ID reversed-phase C18 (RP18) column with subsequent elution of the trapped fraction and separation by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). The system has been tested with mixtures of six enkephalins and albumin, mimicking biological matrices such as plasma and cerebrospinal fluid.

On-line coupling of size exclusion and capillary zone electrophoresis via a reversed-phase C18 trapping column for the analysis of structurally related enkephalins in cerebrospinal fluid.

On-line coupled analytical techniques can be advantageous in the assay of smaller peptides in complex biological matrices such as plasma, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and tissues. The present study shows the feasibility of a recently developed system, consisting of a size-exclusion chromatographic (SEC) separation followed by a trapping procedure on an RP18 microcolumn with subsequent elution of the trapped fraction and separation by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) for the quantification of structural-related peptides in biological matrices, as demonstrated for a number of enkephalins in CSF. After SEC separation of the enkephalins from large proteins present in CSF a heart-cut of 200 nuL, containing the enkephalin peak, is taken, concentrated on the RP18 microcolumn and, after elution of the enkephalins with 80% acetonitrile, a fraction of the eluate is electrokinetically injected into the CZE system, where stacking and separation is achieved.

On-line coupling of SEC and RP-LC for the determination of structurally related enkephalins in cerebrospinal fluid.

On-line coupled analytical techniques can be advantageous in the assay of smaller peptides in complex biological matrices such as plasma, cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) and tissues. The present study shows the feasibility of the recently reported on-line coupled size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and reversed phase liquid chromatography (RP-LC) separation system for the quantitation of structural related peptides in biological matrices, as demonstrated for a number of enkephalins in CSF. The degradation of the peptides, caused by endogenous peptidases in the matrix, could sufficiently be inhibited with imipramine HCL to allow an assay with satisfactory linearity and intraday (0.