Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Can Reduce the Hepatotoxicity of Therapeutic Cargo

Hepatotoxicity is a key concern in the clinical translation of nanotherapeutics because preclinical studies have consistently shown that nanotherapeutics accumulates extensively in the liver. However, clinical‐stage nanotherapeutics have not shown increased hepatotoxicity. Factors that can contribute to the hepatotoxicity of nanotherapeutics beyond the intrinsic hepatotoxicity of nanoparticles (NPs) are poorly understood. Because of this knowledge gap, clinical translation efforts have avoided hepatotoxic molecules. By examining the hepatotoxicity of nanoformulations of known hepatotoxic compounds, it is demonstrated that nanotherapeutics are associated with lower hepatotoxicity than their small‐molecule counterparts. It is also found that the reduced hepatotoxicity is related to the uptake of nanotherapeutics by macrophages in the liver. These findings can facilitate further development and clinical translation of nanotherapeutics.     

Scientific impact of an author and role of self-citations

Scientometrics - In bibliometric and scientometric research, the quantitative assessment of scientific impact has boomed over the past few decades. Citations, being playing a major role in...     

Physico-chemical Properties, Vitamin C Content, and Antimicrobial Properties of Pomegranate Fruit (Punica granatum L.)

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) fruit is widely used in the food and process industries due to its excellent nutritional and health value and as a raw material for the manufacture of secondary products such as jellies, dyes, and cosmetics. The objectives of this research were to determine the vitamin C content and antimicrobial properties of fresh and dried fractions of fruit peel and arils of locally grown and imported pomegranate in Oman. A significant variation in vitamin C content was found among the five varieties of pomegranate studied, ranging from 52.8 to 72.0 mg/100 g fresh weight (fw) for arils and 76.8 to 118.4 mg/100 g fw for peels. Irrespective of the variety of pomegranate, vitamin C content in the peel was significantly higher than the aril, with differences ranging from 24.4% to 97.0% depending on variety. Fruit fractions showed antimicrobial effects (inhibition zone) on Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa but not Escherichia coli. Sun drying of fruit peel significantly (p ≤ 0.05) enhanced vitamin C retention and antimicrobial effects in comparison with oven drying presumably due to lower rate of moisture removal associated with low temperature drying over longer duration in comparison with short-time high-temperature oven drying.     

Diagnosis-related groups: a comparative analysis of hospital activity in different countries

Comparative study of hospital activities in the Novgorod district and nine countries of the European Community, carried out within the framework of the International Project CAMISE (Case Mix and Severity) of the European Community on the basis of the classification system for diagnosis-related groups, showed a lower Case Mix Index, a longer hospital stay for all major disease, and a lower surgical activity in the hospitals of the Novgorod district in comparison with other European countries. The detected differences are largely due to specific features in the organization of hospital service in Russia (no special hospitals for acute and chronic patients, no nursing homes) and insufficiently intensive therapeutic and diagnostic process.     

IR Thermographic Analysis of 3D Printed CFRP Reference Samples with Back-Drilled and Embedded Defects

Carbon-fiber composite structures may demonstrate a defective behavior due to manufacturing induced anomalies (delamination, dis-bonds) or service related defectives (impact damage, water ingress). Thus, there is a need for a relatively fast and low cost non-intrusive testing schemes such as infrared thermography (IRT). Still, thermography testing requires calibrated samples and coupons to yield best results. The presented research demonstrates the novel use of 3D printing technology to generate IRT calibration samples. In this text, two carbon fiber reinforced polymer samples are 3D printed; the first mimics a “back-drilled holes” type coupons, while the other is designed to embed air pockets similar to Teflon inserts. The generated samples are then tested using two IRT modalities; namely pulse thermography and lock-in thermography. Furthermore, the resulted thermograms are processed using a principle component analysis, to help highlight the variance of defectives in a consistent manner among the samples. This research findings offer insights on the variation of detectability between embedded and back-printed samples, which might be due to the inserts thickness.     

Structural variation in soft segment of waterborne polyurethane acrylate nanoemulsions

High solid content waterborne polyurethane acrylate (WPUA) nanoemulsions are prepared as textile finishes. Two structurally different soft segments, that is, polyether and polyester are used with isophorone diisocyanate, 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate, and butyl acrylate. Structural variations are investigated in features of nanoemulsions and their coatings. Physical properties of nanoemulsions, such as average particle size, stability, solid content, and viscosity, are investigated. Nanoemulsions with high solid content, that is, 40–47% are produced without any internal emulsifier. Average nanoparticle size, that is, <100 nm is confirmed by dynamic light scattering and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy proved synthesis of proposed WPUA products. Synergistic effect of polyurethane and acrylate is observed in chemical and water resistance of WPUA. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis indicate stable uniformly cross‐linked network of WPUA. Application of nanoemulsions on 100% cotton fabric shows a significant improvement in tear strength, which is more pronounced for polyester‐based WPUA. Scanning electron microscope images of treated fabric samples show good adhesion of nanoemulsions on cotton surface. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41706.     

Biosorption of Direct Red-31 and Direct Orange-26 dyes by rice husk: Application of factorial design analysis

The present work describes the biosorption potential of low cost and easily available rice husk for the adsorptive removal of Direct Red-31 and Direct Orange-26 textile dyes. In the present investigation a 5³ full factorial design analysis experiment was employed to optimize the process parameters for enhanced adsorptive removal of Direct Red-31 and Direct Orange-26 textile dyes from aqueous solution. Factorial experiments with three factors initial dye concentration, biosorbent dose and pH at five levels were conducted in duplicate. The biosorbent efficiency for the dyes was determined after 3 h of treatment at 30 °C using suitable size of biosorbent (0.255 mm). Analysis of variance (ANOVA), F-test and p-values were used to study the main, two ways and three ways interaction effects. The values of regression coefficients (R² = 0.999) for both dyes confirmed the good fitness of model. A maximum biosorption capacity of 57.88 and 36.14 mg/g was observed at pH 2 and 3 for Direct Red-31 and Direct Orange-26, respectively, with 125 mg/L dyes concentration. The most significant variable was found to be dyes initial concentration. Moreover, the decolorization of both direct dyes was also affected by salts, heavy metal ions and surfactants.