Chemical modification of acellular fish skin as a promising biological scaffold by carbodiimide cross-linker for wound healing

Biological matrices can be modified with cross-linkers to improve some of their characteristics as scaffolds for tissue engineering. In this study, chemical cross-linker 1-Ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC) was used with different ratios (5, 10, 20, 30, and 40 mM) to improve properties such as mechanical strength, denaturation temperature, and degradability of the acellular fish skin as a biological scaffold for tissue engineering applications. Morphological analysis showed that the use of cross-linker at low concentrations had no effect on the structure and textiles of the scaffold, while increasing mechanical strength, denaturation temperature, and degradation time. Cytotoxicity and cellular studies showed that the optimal cross-linker concentration did not significantly affect cell viability as well as cell adhesion. In general, utilising the carbodiimide cross-linker with the optimal ratio can improve the characteristics and function of the biological tissues such as acellular fish skin.     

Intensive care unit-acquired urinary tract infections in patients admitted with sepsis: etiology, risk factors, and patterns of antimicrobial resistance.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the etiology, risk factors, and patterns of antimicrobial resistance of intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired urinary tract infections (UTIs) in patients admitted with sepsis. METHODS: In this observational study, 100 septic patients hospitalized in a general ICU were selected. Demographic, clinical, and outcome data were obtained by chart review. Antibiotic resistance/susceptibility was determined using the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) technique. RESULTS: A UTI was present in 28 (28%) patients; the male to female ratio was 19:9 and the mean age of the patients was 58.71+/-19.45 years. From the total of 28 isolates, 27 were resistant to ciprofloxacin, 23 to amikacin, 27 to meropenem, 28 to cefepime, 26 to ceftazidime, and 27 to ceftriaxone. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of our results, the rate of multidrug-resistant UTIs may be very high in some ICUs in patients admitted with sepsis. This antimicrobial susceptibility/resistance should be determined, and a special antimicrobial treatment protocol should be planned based on the results for each ICU. The use of antibiotics for treating UTIs should be guided only through this protocol because of the different spectra of pathogens and susceptibility patterns in each ICU.     

miR-219 overexpressing oligodendrocyte progenitor cells for treating compression spinal cord injury

Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) transplantation has been considered a promising treatment for spinal cord injury, according to previous studies. Recent research shed light on the importance of microRNA 219 (miR-219) in oligodendrocyte development, so here miR-219-overexpressing OPCs (miR-219 OPCs) were transplanted in animal models of spinal cord injury to evaluate the impact of miR-219 on oligodendrocyte differentiation and functional recovery in vivo. Our findings demonstrate that transplanted cells were distributed in the tissue sections and contributed to reducing the size of cavity in the injury site. Interestingly, miR-219 promoted OPC differentiation into mature oligodendrocyte expressing MBP in vivo whereas in absence of miR-219, less number of cells differentiated into mature oligodendrocytes. An eight week evaluation using the Basso Beattie Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor test confirmed improvement in functional recovery of hind limbs. Overall, this study demonstrated that miR-219 promoted differentiation and maturation of OPCs after transplantation and can be used in cell therapy of spinal cord injury.

     

Correction: Computational investigations of click-derived 1,2,3-triazoles as keystone ligands for complexation with transition metals: a review

Correction for ‘Computational investigations of click-derived 1,2,3-triazoles as keystone ligands for complexation with transition metals: a review’ by Tayebeh Hosseinnejad et al., RSC Adv., 2018, 8, 12232–12259.

The authors wish to publish this correction to correctly attribute work cited in their review article.A citation to the work of Schweinfurth et al., ref. 55 in the original article, should have been included at the end of the first paragraph on page 12241. The sentence “The energies of…” should be changed to “The energies of the spin-allowed d–d transitions of complexes 23′, 24′, and 26′ were calculated comparatively based on their X-ray and DFT-geometry-optimized structures⁵⁵”.On page 12242, the second paragraph beginning “To assess the…” should be changed to “To assess the kinetics of the isomerization procedure theoretically, Pinter et al. focused on the determination of the transition state (TS) connecting 27 and 28via a one-step mechanism,⁵⁷ as illustrated in Fig. 1. They showed that the calculated activation barrier values and the entropy contributions were in a good agreement with the experimental data”.The caption for Fig. 1 should be changed to “Fig. 1 One-step mechanism for the isomerization of 27 into 28. It should be noted that the figure has been redrawn using data from ref. 57”.The Royal Society of Chemistry apologises for these errors and any consequent inconvenience to authors and readers.     

A study of the mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory effect of ellagic acid in carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats

Objectives:Ellagic acid (EA) has shown antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects. Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) enzymes and also cytokines play a key role in many inflammatory conditions. This study was aimed to investigate the mechanisms involved in the anti-inflammatory effect of EA.Results:The results showed that intraplantar injection of carrageenan led to time-dependent development of peripheral inflammation, which resulted in a significant increase in the levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin 1 (IL-1) β, nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) and also iNOS and COX-2 protein expression in inflamed paw. However, systemic administration of EA (1–30 mg/kg, intraperitoneal [i.p.]) could reduce edema in a dose-dependent fashion in inflamed rat paws with ED50 value 8.41 (5.26–14.76) mg/kg. It decreased the serum concentration of NO, PGE₂, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase, and suppress the protein expression of iNOS, COX-2 enzymes, and attenuated the formation of PGE_2, TNF-α and IL-1 β in inflamed paw tissue. We also demonstrated that EA significantly decreased the malondialdehyde (MDA) level in liver at 5 h after carrageenan injection. Moreover, histopathological studies indicated that EA significantly diminished migration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes into site of inflammation, as did indomethacin.Conclusions:Collectively, the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of EA might be related to the decrease in the level of MDA, iNOS, and COX-2 in the edema paw via the suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNFα, IL1 β), NO and PGE₂ overproduction.KEY WORDS: Carrageenan, ellagic acid, inducible nitric oxide synthase, prostaglandin E₂, Rat     

Association of vitamin D binding protein and vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms in Iranian patients with chronic periodontitis

Odontology - Chronic periodontitis (CP) is a multifactorial disease and the most common type of periodontitis mainly caused by microbial plaque. Insufficient oral hygiene may initiate CP and it can...