Anemia in patient with primary hyperoxaluria and bone marrow involvement by oxalate crystals

We present a rare case of anaemia secondary to bone marrow infiltration by oxalate crystals and renal failure in a patient diagnosed with primary hyperoxaluria. In our case, the anaemia was recovered after the double liver and kidney transplantation, the latter was performed on two occasions after the failure of the first graft.     

Photochemical cross-linking of plastically compressed collagen gel produces an optimal scaffold for corneal tissue engineering

The experiments were designed to use photochemically cross-linked plastically compressed collagen (PCPCC) gel to support corneal epithelial cells. A plastically compressed collagen (PCC) scaffold was photo cross-linked by UVA in the presence of riboflavin to form a biomaterial with optimal mechanical properties. The breaking force, rheology, surgical suture strength, transparency, ultrastructure, and cell-based biocompatibility were compared between PCPCC and PCC gels. The breaking force increased proportionally with an increased concentration of riboflavin. The stress required to reach breaking point of the PCPCC scaffolds was over two times higher compared to the stress necessary to break PCC scaffolds in the presence of 0.1% riboflavin. Rheology results indicated that the structural properties of PCC remain unaltered after UVA cross-linking. The PCC gels were more easily broken than PCPCC gels when sutured on to bovine corneas. The optical density values of PCPCC and PCC showed no significant differences (p > 0.05). SEM analyses showed that the collagen fibres within the PCPCC gels were similar in morphology to PCC gels. No difference in cell-based biocompatibility was seen between the PCPCC and PCC scaffolds in terms of their ability to support the ex vivo expansion of corneal epithelial cells or their subsequent differentiation evidenced by similar levels of cytokeratin 14. In conclusion, PCPCC scaffold is an optimal biomaterial for use in therapeutic tissue engineering of the cornea.     

HbiF regulates type 1 fimbriation independently of FimB and FimE

Type 1 fimbriae have been suggested to play a role in the pathogenesis of extraintestinal Escherichia coli infection. Type 1 fimbriation in E. coli is phase variable and known to be dependent upon FimB and FimE, the two recombinases that invert the molecular switch fimS and control the expression of the downstream fim operon. Here we showed that HbiF, a novel site-specific recombinase, inverted fimS independently of FimB and FimE. HbiF-mediated fimS inversion appeared to be predominantly switching from "off" (termed OFF) to "on" (termed ON) orientation. This is different from the fimS inversion mediated by either FimB (bidirectional ON to OFF and OFF to ON) or FimE (unidirectional ON to OFF). Constitutive expression of the hbiF gene in E. coli resulted in a fimS-locked-ON phenotype, which resulted in the pathogenic E. coli K1 strain being incapable of inducing a high degree of bacteremia in neonatal rats. Discovery of HbiF-mediated OFF-to-ON fimS switching provides a new opportunity to develop a strategy for the prevention and therapy of extraintestinal E. coli infection including bacteremia and meningitis.     

Phase‐contrast magnetic resonance imaging measurements in intracranial aneurysms in vivo of flow patterns,velocity fields,and wall shear stress: Comparison with computational fluid dynamics

Evolution of intracranial aneurysms is known to be related to hemodynamic forces such as wall shear stress (WSS) and maximum shear stress (MSS). Estimation of these parameters can be performed using numerical simulations with computational fluid dynamics (CFD), but can also be directly measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using a time‐dependent 3D phase‐contrast sequence with encoding of each of the three components of the velocity vectors (7D‐MRV). To study the accuracy of 7D‐MRV in estimating these parameters in vivo, in comparison with CFD, 7D‐MRV and patient‐specific CFD modeling was performed for 3 patients who had intracranial aneurysms. Visual and quantitative analyses of the flow pattern and distribution of velocities, MSS, and WSS were performed using the two techniques. Spearman's coefficients of correlation between the two techniques were 0.56 for the velocity field, 0.48 for MSS, and 0.59 for WSS. Visual analysis and Bland–Altman plots showed good agreement for flow pattern and velocities but large discrepancies for MSS and WSS. These results indicate that 7D‐MRV can be used in vivo to measure velocity flow fields and for estimating MSS and WSS. Currently, however, this method cannot accurately quantify the latter two parameters. Magn Reson Med 61:409–417, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Mucoadhesive interactions of amphiphilic cationic copolymers based on [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]trimethylammonium chloride

Three series of water-soluble cationic copolymers have been synthesised by free-radical copolymerisation of [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]trimethylammonium chloride (MADQUAT) with methyl acrylate (MA), butyl acrylate (BA) and butyl methacrylate (BMA). The interactions between these copolymers and porcine stomach mucin have been studied in aqueous solutions using dynamic light scattering, zeta-potential measurements, turbidimetric titration and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was demonstrated that mixing aqueous dispersions of mucin with solutions of the cationic copolymers results in significant changes in size distribution and zeta-potential of its particles. It was found that an increase in the content of hydrophobic groups in copolymers leads to more efficient adsorption of macromolecules on the surface of mucin particles, which evidences the importance of hydrophobic effects in mucoadhesion. The efficiency of mucoadhesive interactions was found to be significantly dependent on pH, which affects the surface charge and aggregation stability of mucin.     

The Influence of Cytotoxicity of Macromolecules and of VEGF Gene Modulated Vascular Permeability on the Enhanced Permeability and Retention Effect in Resistant Solid Tumors

Purpose. To study the influence of cytotoxicity of macromolecules,VEGF gene expression, and vascular permeability on the enhancedpermeability and retention (EPR) effect. Methods. Mice bearing xenografts of A2780 multidrug resistant humanovarian carcinoma were treated by free doxorubicin (DOX) andN-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) copolymer-bound DOX(P(GFLG)-DOX), Texas Red (P-TR), and FITC (P-FITC). Antitumoractivity, drug distribution in tumor, vascular permeability, VEGF geneexpression, and DNA fragmentation were studied. Results. The accumulation of free DOX led to the VEGF geneoverexpression and increased the vascular permeability, which in turnenhanced the drug accumulation in the same location. This positivefeedback loop led to a highly inhomogeneous distribution of the drugwithin the tumor. In contrast, P(GFLG)-DOX down-regulated theVEGF gene and decreased vascular permeability. This negativefeedback seemed to prevent additional drug accumulation in dead necrotictissue, resulting in a more uniform drug distribution and enhanced theantitumor activity P(GFLG)-DOX. Conclusions. The EPR effect significantly differed for macromoleculescontaining DOX when compared to macromolecules without drug. Thecytotoxicity of P(GFLG)-DOX amplified the EPR effect, led to amore homogenous distribution of the drug, increased the average drugconcentration in tumor and augmented its efficacy.     

Guided vs. non-guided insertion of Ambu AuraGain™ in edentulous patients

Die Anaesthesiologie - Supraglottic airway devices perform more poorly and have lower oropharyngeal leak pressure in edentulous patients than in patients with teeth. The Ambu Aura Gain is...     

Complex formation between poly(vinyl ether) of ethylene glycol and poly(acrylic acid) in aqueous and organic solutions

Interpolymer reactions between poly(acrylic acid) and poly(vinyl ether) of ethylene glycol were studied by viscometric and spectroturbidimetric methods in aqueous and organic solutions of different nature. It is shown that the formation of interpolymer complexes strongly depends on the strength of the polymer-solvent interaction. A decrease of the thermodynamical quality of the solvents should be favorable for the complexation process.