Photoelectrochemical Bisphenol S Sensor Based on ZnO‐Nanoroads Modified by Molecularly Imprinted Polypyrrole

Molecularly imprinted polymers are important tools for the design of sensors and other molecular recognition based analytical systems. In this paper the development of a photoelectrochemical sensor for selective bisphenol determination is reported. The sensor is based on a glass/ZnO/MIP‐Ppy structure consisting of glass modified by a ZnO layer (glass/ZnO), which is functionalized by molecularly imprinted conducting polymer polypyrrole (MIP‐Ppy). The sensitivity of the sensor to bisphenol is in the range of 0.7–12.5 µm . Selectivity tests to other bisphenolic compounds are performed. Some aspects of a photoinduced response mechanism in glass/ZnO/MIP‐Ppy nanostructures are predicted and discussed.     

5 year experience with lower lip cancer

Retrospective study of 189 cases of lower lip cancer treated from 1996-2000 is done. There were 69% males and 31% females. Median age was 66.8 years. 84.4% of patients were with tumors stage I-II. Surgical treatment was performed in 83.6% of patients. In all operated cases was squamous cell carcinoma as verrucous tumor in 17.4%, as exophytic in 46% and as ulcerative in 36.6%. There were different methods of local excision, primary reconstruction and neck dissection depending from stage. In the patient group with clinically negative neck at the first attendance (170 patients) delayed cervical metastases developed in 6 patients (3.5%). Recurrence at the primary site developed in 11.3% of patients and was associated with large tumor size and low cancer differentiation. Survival rate at 5-year follow-up was 95% for patients with I stage, 89.7% for II stage and 37% for III and IV stage patients or mean for all group 83.7%. Diagnosis and treatment of actinic cheilitis also is discussed.     

The stability of bilateral sagittal ramus osteotomy and vertical ramus osteotomy after bimaxillary correction of class III malocclusion

Introduction

The purpose of this retrospective cephalometric study was to compare the stability of bilateral sagittal split osteotomy (BSSO) with extra-oral vertical ramus osteotomy (VRO) after correction of class III malocclusion by means of bimaxillary orthognathic surgery.

Methods

The sample comprised 51 consecutively treated patients, 38 females and 13 males, with a mean age of 19.1 years. All had a one-piece Le Fort I osteotomy with maxillary advancement and mandibular setback. VRO was performed in 30 cases, and BSSO was performed in 21 cases. Lateral cephalograms were obtained before surgery, within 1 week of surgery and 1 year after surgery.

Results

The mean forward movement of the maxilla was 5.6 mm in both groups (p < 0.001). The mean horizontal surgical change in the VRO group was 4.4 mm (p < 0.001), and in the BSSO group it was 5.4 mm (p < 0.001). In the VRO group, the horizontal relapse was 1.2 mm (p < 0.001), and in the BSSO group, it was 1.4 mm (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

There was no difference in the stability between the BSSO and VRO groups. The average relapse in the whole sample was 26% of the surgical movement.     

Left ventricular hemodynamics in patients with coronary artery disease and in normal subjects: Correlations with the extent of coronary artery lesions and the electrocardiogram

Left ventricular hemodynamics were studied during supine leg exercise immediately prior to coronary arteriography in seventy-one patients with coronary artery disease and nineteen without evidence of heart disease. Patients were divided into six groups, based on the number of major coronary arteries (right coronary, left anterior descending, left anterior descending diagonal, left circumflex, left circumflex marginal) with greater than 75 per cent obstruction. Mean resting and exercise left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) and increase in LVEDP during supine exercise rose progressively with more extensive coronary artery disease. All patients without coronary artery disease or with disease confined to one coronary artery had LVEDP of less than 24 mm Hg during exercise. There was no significant difference between groups with coronary artery disease in regard to stroke volume, heart rate and systemic arterial pressure. There was no significant difference in LVEDP at rest or during exercise between patients with normal and those with abnormal resting electrocardiograms. However, in patients with abnormal electrocardiograms after exercise, the mean LVEDP was significantly higher than in those with normal electrocardiograms after exercise (P < 0.05). Other hemodynamic differences between patients with normal and those with abnormal electrocardiograms after exercise were insignificant.     

Downregulation of antigen-presenting cell functions after administration of mitogenic anti-CD3 monoclonal antibodies in mice

Antibodies against CD3epsilon are widely used as immunosuppressive agents. Although it is generally assumed that these reagents exert their immunomodulatory properties by inducing T-cell deletion and/or inactivation, their precise mechanism of action remains to be elucidated. Using a murine model, we demonstrate in this report that administration of anti-CD3epsilon antibodies causes the migration and maturation of dendritic cells (DC) in vivo, as determined by immunohistochemical analysis. This maturation/migration process was followed by selective loss of splenic DC, which resulted in a selective inhibition of antigen-presenting cell (APC) functions in vitro. Spleen cells from anti-CD3epsilon-treated animals were unable to productively stimulate naive alloreactive T cells and Th1-like clones in response to antigen, while retaining the ability to present antigen to a T-cell hybridoma and Th2 clones. Anti-CD3epsilon treatment was found to induce a selective deficiency in the ability of spleen cells to produce bioactive interleukin-12 in response to CD40 stimulation. APC dysfunction was not observed when nonmitogenic forms of anti-CD3epsilon antibodies were used, suggesting that splenic DC loss was a consequence of in vivo T-cell activation. Nonmitogenic anti-CD3epsilon monoclonal antibodies were found to be less immunosuppressive in vivo, raising the possibility that APC dysfunction contributes to anti-CD3epsilon-induced immunomodulation. Collectively, these data suggest a novel mechanism by which mitogenic anti-CD3epsilon antibodies downregulate immune responses.     

A randomized comparison of paclitaxel-eluting stents versus bare-metal stents for treatment of unprotected left main coronary artery stenosis.

OBJECTIVES: To optimize percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) strategy for unprotected left main (LM) disease, we performed a randomized study: intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided bare-metal stent (BMS) or paclitaxel-eluting stent (PES) implantation after lesion pre-treatment with cutting balloon (CB) for unprotected LM lesions. BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown promising results in terms of safety and feasibility for patients with LM disease who underwent PCI with stent implantation. However, comparison of BMS and PES for LM lesions has not yet been evaluated. METHODS: One hundred three patients were randomly assigned to receive BMS (n = 50) or PES (n = 53) implantation. All interventions were IVUS guided, and CB pre-treatment before stenting was performed in all patients. All patients were scheduled for 6-month follow-up. RESULTS: Baseline clinical characteristics were comparable in both cohorts. Stent implantation was successful in all lesions. Follow-up analysis showed binary restenosis in 11 (22%) BMS and in 3 (6%) PES patients (p = 0.021). By IVUS, percentage of neointimal volume obstruction at 6 months was reduced from 25.20 +/- 22.02% with BMS to 16.60 +/- 17.25% with PES (p = 0.02). At 6 months, the major adverse cardiac event-free survival rate was 70% in BMS and 87% in PES patients (p = 0.036). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that PCI of LM with IVUS guidance and CB pre-treatment is safe and effective. No serious procedure-related complications were observed, and clinical outcomes appeared to be good. Finally, the findings demonstrate that implantation of PES may be superior to BMS in the large-diameter LM vessel at 6 months, warranting the performance of a large-scale randomized trial.     

Efficacy and safety of ixekizumab in patients with active psoriatic arthritis with and without concomitant conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: SPIRIT-P1 and SPIRIT-P2 3-year results

Clinical Rheumatology - To evaluate the three-year efficacy and safety of ixekizumab with and without concomitant conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (csDMARD) use in...