Cardiac-specific inducible and conditional gene targeting in mice

Mouse genetic engineering has revolutionized our understanding of the molecular and genetic basis of heart development and disease. This technology involves conditional tissue-specific and temporal transgenic and gene targeting approaches, as well as introduction of polymorphisms into the mouse genome. These approaches are increasingly used to elucidate the genetic pathways underlying tissue homeostasis, physiology, and pathophysiology of adult heart. They have also led to the development of clinically relevant models of human cardiac diseases. Here, we review the technologies and their limitations in general and the cardiovascular research community in particular.     

Tracheal intubation with size 1 Airtraq in a 3 month old child with occipital meningocele: A novel experience

Meningocele is a neural tube defect where meninges protrude through a skeletal defect. Occipital meningocele compounded with the problems of paediatric airway itself pose challenges to anaesthesiologist in securing and maintaining airway. We present a case report of a 3 month-old-child with occipital meningocele posted for ventriculo-peritoneal shunt for hydrocephalus, who was successfully intubated using a size 1 Airtraq optical laryngoscope.     

In vitro kinetic release study,antimicrobial activity and in vivo toxicity profile of a kojic acid ester-based nanoemulsion for topical application

Nanoemulsions have emerged as novel vehicles for drug delivery that allow sustained or controlled release for topical application. In this study, kojic acid ester-based nanoemulsion (KAE-NA) was analyzed for in vitro permeation evaluation, kinetic release study, in vitro antimicrobial activity and in vivo toxicity profile on embryonic zebrafish (Danio rerio). Based on KAE-NA in vitro permeation evaluation, the percentage of permeation was significantly improved from 4.94% at 1 h to 59.64% at 8 h of application. The permeation rate of KAE-NA at 8 h was 4659.50 μg cm⁻² h⁻¹ (initial concentration, C₀ = 2000 μg mL⁻¹) with a permeability coefficient (K_p) value of 0.48 cm h⁻¹. The kinetic release analysis showed the Korsmeyer–Peppas model was the best fitted kinetic model with high linearity [R² = 0.9964]. Antimicrobial activity of KAE-NA was studied against the skin pathogen bacteria Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 43300. The results indicated that the inhibition zone size of the KAE-NA (8.00 ± 0.0 mm) was slightly bigger than that of its active ingredient, kojic acid ester (6.5 ± 0.0 mm). The toxicity profile of KAE-NA on embryonic zebrafish revealed less toxicity with LC₅₀ (50% lethal concentration) more than 500 μg mL⁻¹. The survival rate of the embryonic zebrafish was more than 80% when treated at doses ranging from 7.81–250 μg mL⁻¹ and showed normal development throughout the experiment without any observed deformation. Hence, KAE-NA proved to be less toxic on the embryonic zebrafish.

Nanoemulsions have emerged as novel vehicles for drug delivery that allow sustained or controlled release for topical application.     

Thermal inactivation of Alkhumra hemorrhagic fever virus

The physico-chemical and biological characteristics of Alkhumra hemorrhagic fever virus (AHFV) are not yet known. The present study describes the thermal stability of this virus at different temperatures for different periods. The kinetics of thermal inactivation were studied, linear regressions were plotted, the Arrhenius equation was applied, and the activation energy was calculated accordingly. Titers of the residual virus were determined in median tissue culture infective dose (TCID₅₀), and the rate of destruction of infectivity at various temperatures was determined. Infectivity of AHFV was completely lost upon heating for 3 minutes at 60 °C and for 30 min at 56 °C. However, the virus could maintain 33.2 % of its titer after heating for 60 min at 45 °C and 32 % of its titer after heating for 60 min at 50 °C. In conclusion, AHFV is thermo-labile, and its inactivation follows first-order kinetics.     

Light-printable epoxy oligomer wrinkle-forming surface for rewritable information storage

Smart surfaces with controlled topography show broad and fantastic applications in optics, biology and information science. Herein, we report a simple visible-light-illumination approach to fabricate a smart wrinkle-forming surface with photo-controllable hierarchical surface patterns as well as rewritable high-resolution patterns of information by using an azobenzene-containing epoxy-based oligomer. The epoxy oligomer was synthesized via the ring-opening polymerization of bisphenol AF diglycidyl ether (BADFGE) with p-aminoazobenzene (AAB) and characterized using FTIR, ¹H NMR and ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopies. When the epoxy oligomer film was deposited on an elastic substrate, the formation of surface wrinkles was triggered via a circulation of heating/cooling and photo-tailored due to photo-softening together with the release of stress induced by cycles of photoisomerization of azobenzene in the oligomer. The wrinkles in selectively light-exposed regions could be photo-erased within tens of seconds, yielding a different pattern of information. The high-resolution photo-printed images were shown to be rewritable for multiple cycles and legible for over 3 months in dark ambient conditions. The as-formed epoxy oligomer wrinkle-forming surface was found to be inexpensive and its fabrication was easily amenable to scale up, indicating its great potential as ink-free light printable media for rewritable information storage.

A novel rapidly responsive media for rewritable information storage comprised of an azobenzene-containing epoxy-based oligomer displaying surface wrinkling was developed.     

Characteristics of Conventional and Microwave Sintered Iron Ore Preform

In this study, compacted hematite (Fe₂O₃) preforms were made and sintered at various temperatures, such as 1250 °C and 1300 °C, using both conventional and microwave sintering methods. The density, porosity, microhardness, cold crushing strength, microphotographs, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the sintered preforms were used to evaluate the performance of the two sintering methods. It was found that microwave sintered preforms possessed lesser porosity and higher density than conventionally sintered preforms owing to uniform heating of the powdered ore in microwave sintering method. Furthermore, it was also observed that microwave sintered preforms exhibited relatively higher cold crushing strength and hardness than conventionally sintered preforms. Thus, the overall results revealed that microwave sintering yielded better properties considered in the present study.     

Axillary lymph‐node metastases as the primary presentation of high‐grade serous ovarian carcinoma: A case report

We reported a female presented with an initial diagnosis of metastatic axillary lymph‐node carcinoma that comprehensive assessments revealed a definitive diagnosis of high‐grade serous ovarian carcinoma as the primary tumor.