A case of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy of a male with family history of the disease after receiving sildenafil

A 51-year-old male was referred to the University Eye Clinic of Ioannina with nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) 12 hours after receiving sildenafil citrate (Viagra®). Examination for possible risk factors revealed mild hypercholesterolemia. Family history showed that his father had suffered from bilateral NAION. Although a cause-and-effect relationship is difficult to prove, there are reports indicating an association between the use of erectile dysfunction agents and the development of NAION. Physicians might need to investigate the presence of family history of NAION among systemic or vascular predisposing risk factors before prescribing erectile dysfunction drugs

Functionalized Water-Soluble Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes: Synthesis, Purification and Length Separation by Flow Field-Flow Fractionation

Water-soluble, functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) are length-separated and purified from amorphous material through direct flow field-flow fractionation. MWNTs subpopulations of relatively homogeneous, different length are obtained from collecting fractions of the raw, highly polydispersed (200-5000 nm) MWNT sample

New drug delivery nanosystem combining liposomal and dendrimeric technology (liposomal locked-in dendrimers) for cancer therapy

Liposomal locked-in dendrimers (LLDs), the combination of liposomes and dendrimers in one formulation, represents a relatively new term in the drug carrier technology. LLDs undergone appropriate physicochemical investigation can merge the benefits of liposomal and dendrimeric nanocarriers. In this study generation 1 and 2 hydroxy-terminated dendrimers were synthesized and were then "locked" in liposomes consisting of DOPC/DPPG. The anticancer drug doxorubicin (Dox) was loaded into pure liposomes or LLDs and the final products were subjected to lyophilization. The loading of Dox as well as its in vitro release rate from all systems was determined and the interaction of liposomes with dendrimers was assessed by thermal analysis and fluorescence spectroscopy. The results were very promising in terms of drug encapsulation and release rate, factors that can alter the therapeutic profile of a drug with low therapeutic index such as Dox. Physicochemical methods revealed a strong, generation dependent, interaction between liposomes and dendrimers that probably is the basis for the higher loading and slower drug release from the LLDs comparing to pure liposomes. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association

Innovative Education for Sustainable Development in Peripheral Rural Areas

This paper aims to present the results of the Erasmus + RUR'UP project that developed educational tools for scientists, public managers, practitioners, and agricultural advisors living and working in peripheral rural areas. Based on the assessment of the educational needs and gaps for the sustainable development of the EU peripheral rural areas of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Finland, Ireland and France via a participatory innovation process, we have developed: an asynchronous e-learning course and supporting educational materials. The objective was to provide educational tools that will help the professional competencies of the Higher Education (HE) institutions working with peripheral rural regions by answering to the labour market and societal needs in these regions, thereby strengthening the collaboration between higher education and regional and cross-regional employers. The project resulted in 50 students who attended the e-learning course and the development of Open-Access educational materials with pedagogically sound activities associated with them, which can be used by any actor interested in the sustainable development of peripheral rural areas, especially those with high natural values in the form of a Virtual Bank of Case studies that gathers 14 examples of case studies. © 2022 Copyright for this paper by its authors. Use permitted under Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0

New Drug Delivery Nanosystem Combining Liposomal and Dendrimeric Technology (Liposomal Locked-In Dendrimers) for Cancer Therapy

Liposomal locked-in dendrimers (LLDs), the combination of liposomes and dendrimers in one formulation, represents a relatively new term in the drug carrier technology. LLDs undergone appropriate physicochemical investigation can merge the benefits of liposomal and dendrimeric nanocarriers. In this study generation 1 and 2 hydroxy-terminated dendrimers were synthesized and were then "locked" in liposomes consisting of DOPC/DPPG. The anticancer drug doxorubicin (Dox) was loaded into pure liposomes or LLDs and the final products were subjected to lyophilization. The loading of Dox as well as its in vitro release rate from all systems was determined and the interaction of liposomes with dendrimers was assessed by thermal analysis and fluorescence spectroscopy. The results were very promising in terms of drug encapsulation and release rate, factors that can alter the therapeutic profile of a drug with low therapeutic index such as Dox. Physicochemical methods revealed a strong, generation dependent, interaction between liposomes and dendrimers that probably is the basis for the higher loading and slower drug release from the LLDs comparing to pure liposomes