Toxicity and efficacy of green tea catechin derivative-based micellar nanocomplexes for anticancer protein delivery.

Toxicity towards non-tumor cells during anticancer therapy can be reduced by using nanoscale systems for anticancer drug delivery. Usually only the loaded drug has anticancer activity. Recently, micellar nanocomplexes (MNCs) comprising green tea catechin derivatives for the delivery of the anticancer proteins, such as Herceptin, have been developed.

Culturally and Linguistically Informed Neuropsychological Evaluation Protocol for Primarily Spanish-Speaking Adults.

Objective: The Latina(o)/Hispanic (L/H) population represents the largest and fastest-growing ethnic group in the United States. Migration patterns have evolved and greater diversity (i.e.

The effects of increased forward trunk lean during stair ascent on hip adduction and internal rotation in asymptomatic females.

Background: Increased hip adduction and internal rotation can lead to excessive patellofemoral joint stress and contribute to patellofemoral pain development. The gluteus maximus acts as a hip extensor, abductor, and external rotator. Improving hip extensor use by increasing one's forward trunk lean in the sagittal plane may improve frontal and transverse plane hip kinematics during stair ascent.

Predicting direct hepatocyte toxicity in humans by combining high-throughput imaging of HepaRG cells and machine learning-based phenotypic profiling.

Accurate prediction of drug- and chemical-induced hepatotoxicity remains to be a problem for pharmaceutical companies as well as other industries and regulators. The goal of the current study was to develop an in vitro/in silico method for the rapid and accurate prediction of drug- and chemical-induced hepatocyte injury in humans. HepaRG cells were employed for high-throughput imaging in combination with phenotypic profiling.

Assessing Toxicity with Human Cell-Based In Vitro Methods.

In toxicology, there is a strong push towards replacing animal experiments with alternative methods, which include cell-based in vitro methods for the assessment of adverse health effects in humans. High-throughput methods are of central interest due to the large and steadily growing numbers of compounds that require assessment. Tremendous progress has been made during the last decade in developing and applying such methods.

A Case Study with Triazole Fungicides to Explore Practical Application of Next-Generation Hazard Assessment Methods for Human Health.

The ongoing developments in chemical risk assessment have led to new concepts building on integration of sophisticated nonanimal models for hazard characterization. Here we explore a pragmatic approach for implementing such concepts, using a case study of three triazole fungicides, namely, flusilazole, propiconazole, and cyproconazole. The strategy applied starts with evaluating the overall level of concern by comparing exposure estimates to toxicological potential, followed by a combination of in silico tools and literature-derived high-throughput screening assays and computational elaborations to obtain insight into potential toxicological mechanisms and targets in the organism.

From Screening to Targeted Degradation: Strategies for the Discovery and Optimization of Small Molecule Ligands for PCSK9.

Proprotein convertase substilisin-like/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is a serine protease involved in a protein-protein interaction with the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor that has both human genetic and clinical validation. Blocking this protein-protein interaction prevents LDL receptor degradation and thereby decreases LDL cholesterol levels. Our pursuit of small-molecule direct binders for this difficult to drug PPI target utilized affinity selection/mass spectrometry, which identified one confirmed hit compound.

Highly soluble fluorine containing Cu(i) AlkylPyrPhos TADF complexes.

Luminescent Cu(i) AlkylPyrPhos complexes with a butterfly-shaped CuI core and halogen containing ancillary ligands, with a special focus on fluorine, have been investigated in this study. These complexes show extremely high solubilities and a remarkable (photo)chemical stability in a series of solvents. A tunable emission resulting from thermally activated delayed fluorescence with high quantum yields was determined by luminescence and lifetime investigations in solvents and solids.

Correction to: Particle toxicology and health - where are we?

After the publication of this article [1] it was hihglighted that the number of deaths related to natural disasters was incorrectly reported in the second paragraph of the Hazards from Natural particulates and the evolution of the biosphere section. This correction article shows the correct and incorrect statement. This correction does not change the idea presented in the article that from an evolutionary view point, natural disasters account only for a small fraction of the people on the planet.

Particle toxicology and health - where are we?

Background: Particles and fibres affect human health as a function of their properties such as chemical composition, size and shape but also depending on complex interactions in an organism that occur at various levels between particle uptake and target organ responses. While particulate pollution is one of the leading contributors to the global burden of disease, particles are also increasingly used for medical purposes. Over the past decades we have gained considerable experience in how particle properties and particle-bio interactions are linked to human health.

Training leaders for a culture of quality and safety.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand the degree to which a quality and safety culture exists after healthcare workers in an academic medical center complete a quality improvement and patient safety education program focused on developing leaders to change the future of healthcare quality and safety.

Design/methodology/approach: The safety attitudes questionnaire (SAQ) short-form was used for measuring the culture of quality and safety among healthcare workers who were graduates of an academic medical center's healthcare quality and safety program. A 53 percent response rate from program alumni resulted in 54 usable responses.

Comment on Sjögren et al. (2018) A novel multi-parametric high-content screening assay in ciPTEC-OAT1 to predict drug-induced nephrotoxicity in drug discovery. Arch Toxicol 92(10):3175-3190.

Rapid progress is made in the development of high-content screening assays for the prediction of nephrotoxicity. The findings from different laboratories are consistent with respect to endpoints and concentration ranges screened. Discrepancies regarding compound annotation and the predictive performance analysis are discussed.

Factor Structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition Spanish in a Clinical Sample.

Objective: The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition Spanish (WISC-IV Spanish) is a translation and adaptation of the WISC-IV that is often used in neuropsychological evaluation of children and adolescents with acquired or developmental brain disorders. However, there is limited information on the factor structure of the WISC-IV Spanish when used with clinical populations. To address the potential effects of language and culture on the validity of the WISC-IV Spanish factor structure, this study examined the construct validity of the WISV-IV Spanish scores using confirmatory factor analysis in a clinical sample of Hispanic children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

The relationship between neuropsychological tests of visuospatial function and lobar cortical thickness.

Introduction: Tests of visuospatial function are often administered in comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations. These tests are generally considered assays of parietal lobe function; however, the neural correlates of these tests, using modern imaging techniques, are not well understood. In the current study we investigated the relationship between three commonly used tests of visuospatial function and lobar cortical thickness in each hemisphere.

High-throughput prediction of nephrotoxicity in humans.

The Lush Science Prize 2016 was awarded to Daniele Zink and Lit-Hsin Loo for the interdisciplinary and collaborative work between their research groups in developing alternative methods for the prediction of nephrotoxicity in humans. The collaboration has led to the establishment of a series of pioneering alternative methods for nephrotoxicity prediction, which includes: predictive gene expression markers based on pro-inflammatory responses; predictive in vitro cellular models based on pluripotent stem cell-derived proximal tubular-like cells; and predictive cellular phenotypic markers based on chromatin and cytoskeletal changes. A high-throughput method was established for chemical testing, which is currently being used to predict the potential human nephrotoxicity of ToxCast compounds in collaboration with the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Regional deep hyperthermia: impact of observer variability in CT-based manual tissue segmentation on simulated temperature distribution.

The aim of this study was to systematically investigate the influence of the inter- and intra-observer segmentation variation of tumors and organs at risk on the simulated temperature coverage of the target. CT scans of six patients with tumors in the pelvic region acquired for radiotherapy treatment planning were used for hyperthermia treatment planning. To study the effect of inter-observer variation, three observers manually segmented in the CT images of each patient the following structures: fat, muscle, bone and the bladder.

Production of Ramoplanin and Ramoplanin Analogs by Actinomycetes.

Ramoplanin is a glycolipodepsipeptide antibiotic obtained from fermentation of sp. ATCC 33076 that exhibits activity against clinically important multi-drug-resistant, Gram-positive pathogens including vancomycin-resistant (VRE), methicillin-resistant (MRSA), and vancomycin-intermediate resistant . It disrupts bacterial cell wall through a unique mechanism of action by sequestering the peptidoglycan intermediate Lipid II and therefore does not show cross-resistance with other antibiotics.

Prevalence and Level of Listeria monocytogenes in Ice Cream Linked to a Listeriosis Outbreak in the United States.

A most-probable-number (MPN) method was used to enumerate Listeria monocytogenes in 2,320 commercial ice cream scoops manufactured on a production line that was implicated in a 2015 listeriosis outbreak in the United States. The analyzed samples were collected from seven lots produced in November 2014, December 2014, January 2015, and March 2015. L.

Stem cell-derived kidney cells and organoids: Recent breakthroughs and emerging applications.

The global rise in the numbers of kidney patients and the shortage in transplantable organs have led to an increasing interest in kidney-specific regenerative therapies, renal disease modelling and bioartificial kidneys. Sources for large quantities of high-quality renal cells and tissues would be required, also for applications in in vitro platforms for compound safety and efficacy screening. Stem cell-based approaches for the generation of renal-like cells and tissues would be most attractive, but such methods were not available until recently.

Towards Printed Organic Light-Emitting Devices: A Solution-Stable, Highly Soluble Cu -NHetPHOS.

The development of iridium-free, yet efficient emitters with thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) was an important step towards mass production of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Progress is currently impeded by the low solubility and low chemical stability of the materials. Herein, we present a Cu -based TADF emitter that is sufficiently chemically stable under ambient conditions and can be processed by printing techniques.

Comparative evaluation of direct plating and most probable number for enumeration of low levels of Listeria monocytogenes in naturally contaminated ice cream products.

A precise and accurate method for enumeration of low level of Listeria monocytogenes in foods is critical to a variety of studies. In this study, paired comparison of most probable number (MPN) and direct plating enumeration of L. monocytogenes was conducted on a total of 1730 outbreak-associated ice cream samples that were naturally contaminated with low level of L.