Supply Chain Tracing and Anti-Counterfeiting with Distributed Ledger Technology

In recent times, there has been a rampant proliferation of counterfeit products that has left a trail of devastation in the manufacturing sectors. The repercussions of this extend to companies, impacting their brand reputation, revenue streams and overall profitability. Industries like agriculture, banking, electronics, and high-value deliveries uses the emergence of blockchain technology as a powerful tool to discern between authentic and counterfeit items. Its potential as a means to curtail the influx of fake products in the market is substantial. Blockchain technology, at its core, operates as a decentralized and distributed digital ledger system, meticulously recording transactions within interconnected blocks across multiple databases. The inherent security of this technology ensures the immutability of these blocks, rendering them invulnerable to alteration or hacking. By leveraging blockchain technology, consumers can independently verify the authenticity of a product, eliminating the need for reliance on third-party intermediaries. Incorporating recent technological advancements, the utilization of Quick Response (QR) codes offers a robust approach to combat the proliferation of counterfeit goods. The integration of blockchain technology with QR codes serves as a means to uphold the integrity of products. This innovative system securely stores product details and unique codes in the form of blocks,  where QR codes play a pivotal role in collecting and matching these unique codes with entries in the blockchain database. If the QR code matches with entries in the database, the user receives a confirmation of the product's authenticity; otherwise, an alert is triggered, signaling the presence of a counterfeit product

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles 2018 (MISEV2018):a position statement of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles and update of the MISEV2014 guidelines

The last decade has seen a sharp increase in the number of scientific publications describing physiological and pathological functions of extracellular vesicles (EVs), a collective term covering various subtypes of cell-released, membranous structures, called exosomes, microvesicles, microparticles, ectosomes, oncosomes, apoptotic bodies, and many other names. However, specific issues arise when working with these entities, whose size and amount often make them difficult to obtain as relatively pure preparations, and to characterize properly. The International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) proposed Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles (“MISEV”) guidelines for the field in 2014. We now update these “MISEV2014” guidelines based on evolution of the collective knowledge in the last four years. An important point to consider is that ascribing a specific function to EVs in general, or to subtypes of EVs, requires reporting of specific information beyond mere description of function in a crude, potentially contaminated, and heterogeneous preparation. For example, claims that exosomes are endowed with exquisite and specific activities remain difficult to support experimentally, given our still limited knowledge of their specific molecular machineries of biogenesis and release, as compared with other biophysically similar EVs. The MISEV2018 guidelines include tables and outlines of suggested protocols and steps to follow to document specific EV-associated functional activities. Finally, a checklist is provided with summaries of key points

Yb(OTf)₃-catalyzed Mannich reaction of imidazo[1,2-<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">a</i>]pyridine and <span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-IN">pyrazolo[1,5-<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">a</i>]pyrimidines </span>

290-300An efficient one-pot condensation reaction of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine/pyrazolo[1,5-a] pyrimidines, aldehydes and acetamide has been investigated using Yb(OTf)3 as catalyst in 1,4-dioxane. The reaction furnishes good to excellent yield of 1-amidomethyl-imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines and 1-amidomethyl-pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines along with small quantities of bis(imidazo[1,2-<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">a]pyridyl)methanes and bis(pyrazolo[1,5-<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">a]pyrimidinyl)methanes. The product distribution is found to be dependent on the nature of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine/pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines and aldehydes. </i

Access to Substituted Dihydrothiopyrano[2,3‑<i>b</i>]indoles via Sequential Rearrangements During <i>S</i>‑Alkylation and Au-Catalyzed Hydroarylation on Indoline-2-thiones

An efficient methodology for the synthesis of indole-fused dihydrothiopyrans has been developed from indoline-2-thiones. The protocol involves the synthesis of conjugated ene-yne-substituted indole-sulfides, a gold­(III)-catalyzed rearrangement of the ene-yne side chain followed by intramolecular hydroarylation via C3–H functionalization of the indole core. This new synthesis of functionalized tricyclic indole derivatives through sequential rearrangements is quite general in natur

Outcome following renal autotransplantation in renal artery stenosis

Introduction: With significant advances in the area of interventional radiology, angioplasty and stenting have become preferred first-line treatment in patients with significant renal artery stenosis. However, not all patients have favorable anatomy to undergo minimally invasive treatments, and reconstruction of the renal artery is an option. In select cases, either improved renal function or maintenance of existing function and sometimes resolution of hypertension can follow surgical treatment. Material and Methods: This was a prospective observational study conducted from August 2010 to June 2016. Patients <45 years of age with uncontrolled hypertension secondary to renovascular hypertension (RVH) and refractory to medical management and renal arterial disease unfavorable for percutaneous intervention were included in the study. All patients were evaluated thoroughly using computed tomography angiography and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid renal scan. Patients underwent autotransplantation either into the right or left iliac fossa. Some kidneys required bench reconstruction of the renal artery and/or its branches before being implanted into either iliac fossa. Results: Nine patients were included in the study. The mean age was 27 years. Seven were males and two were females. Five patients had bilateral renal artery stenosis. After autotransplantation, initially five patients became free of antihypertensive medicines, but on the follow-up, two patients showed rising trend of blood pressure. The evaluation revealed narrowing at anastomosis site in both patients with salvageable kidney function in one patient. Angioplasty with stenting was done in this patient while the second patient underwent secondary nephrectomy. At 2 years of follow-up, four patients required no antihypertensive medicines. Conclusion: Autotransplantation can be a successful treatment of severe RVH and should be considered in patients with renal arterial disease unfavorable for percutaneous intervention

A Simple and Efficient Synthesis of 2,3-Diarylnaphthofurans Using Sequential Hydroarylation/Heck Oxyarylation

An efficient and simple strategy has been developed for the synthesis of 2,3-diarylnaphthofurans using sequential hydroarylation of naphthols and alkynes in the presence of In(OTf)₃ under microwave irradiation followed by one-pot Heck-oxyarylation of generated 1-substituted-α-hydroxy styrenes

Dual-Wavelength Surface Plasmon Resonance for Determining the Size and Concentration of Sub-Populations of Extracellular Vesicles

Accurate concentration determination of subpopulations of extracellular vesicles (EVs), such as exosomes, is of importance both in the context of understanding their fundamental biological role and of potentially using them as disease biomarkers. In principle, this can be achieved by measuring the rate of diffusion-limited mass uptake to a sensor surface modified with a receptor designed to only bind the subpopulation of interest. However, a significant error is introduced if the targeted EV subpopulation has a size, and thus hydrodynamic diffusion coefficient, that differs from the mean size and diffusion coefficient of the whole EV population and/or if the EVs become deformed upon binding to the surface. We here demonstrate a new approach to determine the mean size (or effective film thickness) of bound nanoparticles, in general, and EV subpopulation carrying a marker of interest, in particular. The method is based on operating surface plasmon resonance simultaneously at two wavelengths with different sensing depths and using the ratio of the corresponding responses to extract the particle size on the surface. By estimating in this way the degree of deformation of adsorbed EVs, we markedly improved their bulk concentration determination and showed that EVs carrying the exosomal marker CD63 correspond to not more than around 10% of the EV sample