Highly porous photoluminescent diazaborole-linked polymers: synthesis, characterization, and application to selective gas adsorption

The formation of boron–nitrogen (B–N) bonds has been widely explored for the synthesis of small molecules, oligomers, or linear polymers; however, its use in constructing porous organic frameworks remains very scarce. In this study, three highly porous diazaborole-linked polymers (DBLPs) have been synthesized by condensation reactions using 2,3,6,7,14,15-hexaaminotriptycene and aryl boronic acids. DBLPs are microporous and exhibit high Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area (730–986 m2 g−1) which enable their use in small gas storage and separation. At ambient pressure, the amorphous polymers show high CO2 (DBLP-4: 4.5 mmol g−1 at 273 K) and H2 (DBLP-3: 2.13 wt% at 77 K) uptake while their physicochemical nature leads to high CO2/N2 (35–42) and moderate CO2/CH4 (4.9–6.2) selectivity. The electronic impact of integrating diazaborole moieties into the backbone of these polymers was investigated for DBLP-4 which exhibits green emission with a broad peak ranging from 350 to 680 nm upon excitation with 340 nm in DMF without photobleaching. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of B–N formation in targeting highly porous frameworks with promising optical properties

Motivational interviewing to enhance nicotine patch treatment for smoking cessation among homeless smokers: a randomized controlled trial

Aims To assess the effects of adding motivational interviewing ( MI ) counseling to nicotine patch for smoking cessation among homeless smokers. Design Two‐group randomized controlled trial with 26‐week follow‐up. Participants and setting A total of 430 homeless smokers from emergency shelters and transitional housing units in M inneapolis/ S t Paul, M innesota, USA . Intervention and measurements All participants received 8‐week treatment of 21‐mg nicotine patch. In addition, participants in the intervention group received six individual sessions of MI counseling which aimed to increase adherence to nicotine patches and to motivate cessation. Participants in the standard care control group received one session of brief advice to quit smoking. Primary outcome was 7‐day abstinence from cigarette smoking at 26 weeks, as validated by exhaled carbon monoxide and salivary cotinine. Findings Using intention‐to‐treat analysis, verified 7‐day abstinence rate at week 26 for the intervention group was non‐significantly higher than for the control group (9.3% versus 5.6%, P  = 0.15). Among participants who did not quit smoking, reduction in number of cigarettes from baseline to week 26 was equally high in both study groups (−13.7 ± 11.9 for MI versus −13.5 ± 16.2 for standard care). Conclusions Adding motivational interviewing counseling to nicotine patch did not increase smoking rate significantly at 26‐week follow‐up for homeless smokers.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98308/1/add12140.pd

Gold nanorods for intravital vascular imaging of preneoplastic oral mucosa

We explore the feasibility of using gold nanorods with efficient two-photon luminescence properties as contrast agents for intravital imaging of neoplasia. This investigation spanned ex vivo characterization in cells/tissue to in vivo implementation in an oral carcinogenesis model. GNRs were >40 times brighter than surrounding tissue. Intravital imaging revealed 3D microvasculature, and in dysplasia, abnormal vessels (dense and tortuous) compared to normal. GNRs were diffusely distributed in lesions after 24 hours. No known previous study has revealed abnormal vessel structure in dysplasia by imaging. Results suggest GNRs can function as high-contrast agents for in vivo visualization of carcinogenesis features

Pancreatic pseudocystwith stent placement in the background of narcotic use: a case report

A 49 year old gentleman presents with recurrent abdominal pain. The patient has a known history of chronic pancreatitis, alcoholism and narcotic addiction. Work-up, including computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen, demonstrated a 5.6 × 5.8 cm fluid collection contiguous with the pancreas. This was not seen on CT 18 months earlier. The patient's pain did not improve with bowel rest and pain control. He was transferred to another institution for endoscopic placement of a transgastric pancreatic stent. The procedure decreased the size the cyst and the patient's pain became more manageable

Chronic non-specific low back pain - sub-groups or a single mechanism?

Copyright 2008 Wand and O'Connell; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Background: Low back pain is a substantial health problem and has subsequently attracted a considerable amount of research. Clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of a variety of interventions for chronic non-specific low back pain indicate limited effectiveness for most commonly applied interventions and approaches. Discussion: Many clinicians challenge the results of clinical trials as they feel that this lack of effectiveness is at odds with their clinical experience of managing patients with back pain. A common explanation for this discrepancy is the perceived heterogeneity of patients with chronic non-specific low back pain. It is felt that the effects of treatment may be diluted by the application of a single intervention to a complex, heterogeneous group with diverse treatment needs. This argument presupposes that current treatment is effective when applied to the correct patient. An alternative perspective is that the clinical trials are correct and current treatments have limited efficacy. Preoccupation with sub-grouping may stifle engagement with this view and it is important that the sub-grouping paradigm is closely examined. This paper argues that there are numerous problems with the sub-grouping approach and that it may not be an important reason for the disappointing results of clinical trials. We propose instead that current treatment may be ineffective because it has been misdirected. Recent evidence that demonstrates changes within the brain in chronic low back pain sufferers raises the possibility that persistent back pain may be a problem of cortical reorganisation and degeneration. This perspective offers interesting insights into the chronic low back pain experience and suggests alternative models of intervention. Summary: The disappointing results of clinical research are commonly explained by the failure of researchers to adequately attend to sub-grouping of the chronic non-specific low back pain population. Alternatively, current approaches may be ineffective and clinicians and researchers may need to radically rethink the nature of the problem and how it should best be managed

Separable functions of wingless in distal and ventral patterning of the Tribolium leg

The gene wingless (wg) in Drosophila is an important factor in leg development. During embryonic development wg is involved in the allocation of the limb primordia. During imaginal disk development wg is involved in distal development and it has a separate role in ventral development. The expression pattern of wg is highly conserved in all arthropods (comprising data from insects, myriapods, crustaceans, and chelicerates), suggesting that its function in leg development is also conserved. However, recent work in other insects (e.g. the milkweed bug Oncopeltus fasciatus) argued against a role of wg in leg development. We have studied the role of wg in leg development of the flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. Using stage-specific staggered embryonic RNAi in wild-type and transgenic EGFP expressing enhancer trap lines we are able to demonstrate separable functions of Tribolium wg in distal and in ventral leg development. The distal role affects all podomeres distal to the coxa, whereas the ventral role is restricted to cells along the ventral midline of the legs. In addition, severe leg defects after injection into early embryonic stages are evidence that wg is also involved in proximal development and limb allocation in Tribolium. Our data suggest that the roles of wg in leg development are highly conserved in the holometabolous insects. Further studies will reveal the degree of conservation in other arthropod groups

Prognostic factors in solitary plasmacytoma of the bone: a multicenter Rare Cancer Network study

BACKGROUND: Solitary plasmacytoma (SP) of the bone is a rare plasma-cell neoplasm. There are no conclusive data in the literature on the optimal radiation therapy (RT) dose in SP. Therefore, in this large retrospective study, we wanted to assess the outcome, prognostic factors, and the optimal RT dose in patients with SP. METHODS: Data from 206 patients with bone SP without evidence of multiple myeloma (MM) were collected. Histopathological diagnosis was obtained for all patients. The majority (n = 169) of the patients received RT alone; 32 chemotherapy and RT, and 5 surgery. Median follow-up was 54 months (7–245). RESULTS: Five-year overall survival, disease-free survival (DFS), and local control was 70%, 46%, and 88%; respectively. Median time to MM development was 21 months (2–135) with a 5-year probability of 51%. In multivariate analyses, favorable factors were younger age and tumor size < 5 cm for survival; younger age for DFS; anatomic localization (vertebra vs. other) for local control. Older age was the only predictor for MM. There was no dose-response relationship for doses 30 Gy or higher, even for larger tumors. CONCLUSION: Younger patients, especially those with vertebral localization have the best outcome when treated with moderate-dose RT. Progression to MM remains the main problem. Further investigation should focus on adjuvant chemotherapy and/or novel therapeutic agents

ERK2 Suppresses Self-Renewal Capacity of Embryonic Stem Cells, but Is Not Required for Multi-Lineage Commitment

Activation of the FGF-ERK pathway is necessary for naïve mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells to exit self-renewal and commit to early differentiated lineages. Here we show that genetic ablation of Erk2, the predominant ERK isozyme expressed in ES cells, results in hyper-phosphorylation of ERK1, but an overall decrease in total ERK activity as judged by substrate phosphorylation and immediate-early gene (IEG) induction. Normal induction of this subset of canonical ERK targets, as well as p90RSK phosphorylation, was rescued by transgenic expression of either ERK1 or ERK2 indicating a degree of functional redundancy. In contrast to previously published work, Erk2-null ES cells exhibited no detectable defect in lineage specification to any of the three germ layers when induced to differentiate in either embryoid bodies or in defined neural induction conditions. However, under self-renewing conditions Erk2-null ES cells express increased levels of the pluripotency-associated transcripts, Nanog and Tbx3, a decrease in Nanog-GFP heterogeneity, and exhibit enhanced self-renewal in colony forming assays. Transgenic add-back of ERK2 is capable of restoring normal pluripotent gene expression and self-renewal capacity. We show that ERK2 contributes to the destabilization of ES cell self-renewal by reducing expression of pluripotency genes, such as Nanog, but is not specifically required for the early stages of germ layer specification