Physicochemical and Biological Characterisation of Diclofenac Oligomeric Poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate) Hybrids as β-TCP Ceramics Modifiers for Bone Tissue Regeneration

Nowadays, regenerative medicine faces a major challenge in providing new, functional materials that will meet the characteristics desired to replenish and grow new tissue. Therefore, this study presents new ceramic-polymer composites in which the matrix consists of tricalcium phosphates covered with blends containing a chemically bounded diclofenac with the biocompatible polymer-poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate), P(3HO). Modification of P(3HO) oligomers was confirmed by NMR, IR and XPS. Moreover, obtained oligomers and their blends were subjected to an in-depth characterisation using GPC, TGA, DSC and AFM. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the hydrophobicity and surface free energy values of blends decreased with the amount of diclofenac modified oligomers. Subsequently, the designed composites were used as a substrate for growth of the pre-osteoblast cell line (MC3T3-E1). An in vitro biocompatibility study showed that the composite with the lowest concentration of the proposed drug is within the range assumed to be non-toxic (viability above 70%). Cell proliferation was visualised using the SEM method, whereas the observation of cell penetration into the scaffold was carried out by confocal microscopy. Thus, it can be an ideal new functional bone tissue substitute, allowing not only the regeneration and restoration of the defect but also inhibiting the development of chronic inflammation

Zimbabwe’s land reform: challenging the myths

Most commentary on Zimbabwe’s land reform insists that agricultural production has almost totally collapsed, that food insecurity is rife, that rural economies are in precipitous decline, that political ‘cronies’ have taken over the land and that farm labour has all been displaced. This paper however argues that the story is not simply one of collapse and catastrophe; it is much more nuanced and complex, with successes as well as failures. The paper provides a summary of some of the key findings from a ten-year study in Masvingo province and the book Zimbabwe’s Land Reform: Myths and Realities. The paper documents the nature of the radical transformation of agrarian structure that has occurred both nationally and within the province, and the implications for agricultural production and livelihoods. A discussion of who got the land shows the diversity of new settlers, many of whom have invested substantially in their new farms. An emergent group ‘middle farmers’ is identified who are producing, investing and accumulating. This has important implications – both economically and politically – for the future, as the final section on policy challenges discusses.ESR

DIAPH3 predicts survival of patients with MGMT-methylated glioblastoma

Background: Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive primary brain tumors, with a poor outcome despite multimodal treatment. Methylation of the MGMT promoter, which predicts the response to temozolomide, is a well-established prognostic marker for glioblastoma. However, a difference in survival can still be detected within the MGMT methylated group, with some patients exhibiting a shorter survival than others, emphasizing the need for additional predictive factors. Methods: We analyzed DIAPH3 expression in glioblastoma samples from the cancer genome atlas (TCGA). We also retrospectively analyzed one hundred seventeen histological glioblastomas from patients operated on at Saint-Luc University Hospital between May 2013 and August 2019. We analyzed the DIAPH3 expression, explored the relationship between mRNA levels and Patient's survival after the surgical resection. Finally, we assessed the methylation pattern of the DIAPH3 promoter using a targeted deep bisulfite sequencing approach. Results: We found that 36% and 1% of the TCGA glioblastoma samples exhibit copy number alterations and mutations in DIAPH3, respectively. We scrutinized the expression of DIAPH3 at single cell level and detected an overlap with MKI67 expression in glioblastoma proliferating cells, including neural progenitor-like, oligodendrocyte progenitor-like and astrocyte-like states. We quantitatively analyzed DIAPH3 expression in our cohort and uncovered a positive correlation between DIAPH3 mRNA level and patient's survival. The effect of DIAPH3 was prominent in MGMT-methylated glioblastoma. Finally, we report that the expression of DIAPH3 is at least partially regulated by the methylation of three CpG sites in the promoter region. Conclusion: We propose that combining the DIAPH3 expression with MGMT methylation could offer a better prediction of survival and more adapted postsurgical treatment for patients with MGMT-methylated glioblastoma

DIAPH3 predicts survival of patients with MGMT-methylated glioblastoma

Background: Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive primary brain tumors, with a poor outcome despite multimodal treatment. Methylation of the MGMT promoter, which predicts the response to temozolomide, is a well-established prognostic marker for glioblastoma. However, a difference in survival can still be detected within the MGMT methylated group, with some patients exhibiting a shorter survival than others, emphasizing the need for additional predictive factors. Methods: We analyzed DIAPH3 expression in glioblastoma samples from the cancer genome atlas (TCGA). We also retrospectively analyzed one hundred seventeen histological glioblastomas from patients operated on at Saint-Luc University Hospital between May 2013 and August 2019. We analyzed the DIAPH3 expression, explored the relationship between mRNA levels and Patient's survival after the surgical resection. Finally, we assessed the methylation pattern of the DIAPH3 promoter using a targeted deep bisulfite sequencing approach. Results: We found that 36% and 1% of the TCGA glioblastoma samples exhibit copy number alterations and mutations in DIAPH3, respectively. We scrutinized the expression of DIAPH3 at single cell level and detected an overlap with MKI67 expression in glioblastoma proliferating cells, including neural progenitor-like, oligodendrocyte progenitor-like and astrocyte-like states. We quantitatively analyzed DIAPH3 expression in our cohort and uncovered a positive correlation between DIAPH3 mRNA level and patient's survival. The effect of DIAPH3 was prominent in MGMT-methylated glioblastoma. Finally, we report that the expression of DIAPH3 is at least partially regulated by the methylation of three CpG sites in the promoter region. Conclusion: We propose that combining the DIAPH3 expression with MGMT methylation could offer a better prediction of survival and more adapted postsurgical treatment for patients with MGMT-methylated glioblastoma

Pembrolizumab in Combination with Ipilimumab as Second-Line or Later Therapy for Advanced Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer: KEYNOTE-021 Cohorts D and H

Objectives Combination immunotherapy may result in improved antitumor activity compared with single-agent treatment. We report results from dose-finding and dose-expansion cohorts of the phase 1/2 KEYNOTE-021 study that evaluated combination therapy with anti‒programmed death 1 (PD-1) antibody pembrolizumab plus anti‒cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) antibody ipilimumab in patients with previously treated advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Materials and Methods Eligibility criteria stipulated histologically/cytologically confirmed advanced NSCLC and treatment failure on ≥1 prior systemic therapy (platinum-based chemotherapy or targeted therapy for patients with EGFR/ALK aberrations). In the dose-finding cohort, patients initially received pembrolizumab 10 mg/kg plus ipilimumab 1 or 3 mg/kg once every 3 weeks for 4 cycles followed by pembrolizumab 10 mg/kg monotherapy for up to 2 years. Based on emerging published data, subsequent patients received pembrolizumab 2 mg/kg plus ipilimumab 1 mg/kg. Objective response rate (ORR; primary efficacy endpoint) was assessed per RECIST version 1.1 by blinded, independent central review. Phase 2 hypothesis that ORR would be greater than the 20% rate for historical controls was evaluated using the exact binomial test. Results Fifty-one patients were enrolled; 71% received ≥2 prior lines of therapy. No dose-limiting toxicities occurred at any dose level. Among patients who received pembrolizumab 2 mg/kg plus ipilimumab 1 mg/kg (n = 44), ORR was 30% (95% CI, 17%–45%), but not statistically significantly >20% (P = 0.0858). Median progression-free survival in this group was 4.1 (95% CI, 1.4–5.8) months; median overall survival was 10.9 (95% CI, 6.1–23.7) months. With pembrolizumab 2 mg/kg plus ipilimumab 1 mg/kg, incidences of treatment-related adverse events, grade 3–5 treatment-related adverse events, and immune-mediated adverse events and infusion reactions were 64%, 29% and 42%, respectively. Conclusions In patients with heavily pretreated advanced NSCLC, pembrolizumab plus ipilimumab showed evidence of antitumor activity, but was associated with meaningful toxicity

Physicochemical and biological characterisation of diclofenac oligomeric poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate) hybrids as β-TCP ceramics modifiers for bone tissue regeneration

Nowadays, regenerative medicine faces a major challenge in providing new, functional materials that will meet the characteristics desired to replenish and grow new tissue. Therefore, this study presents new ceramic-polymer composites in which the matrix consists of tricalcium phosphates covered with blends containing a chemically bounded diclofenac with the biocompatible polymer—poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate), P(3HO). Modification of P(3HO) oligomers was confirmed by NMR, IR and XPS. Moreover, obtained oligomers and their blends were subjected to an in-depth characterisation using GPC, TGA, DSC and AFM. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the hydrophobicity and surface free energy values of blends decreased with the amount of diclofenac modified oligomers. Subsequently, the designed composites were used as a substrate for growth of the pre-osteoblast cell line (MC3T3-E1). An in vitro biocompatibility study showed that the composite with the lowest concentration of the proposed drug is within the range assumed to be non-toxic (viability above 70%). Cell proliferation was visualised using the SEM method, whereas the observation of cell penetration into the scaffold was carried out by confocal microscopy. Thus, it can be an ideal new functional bone tissue substitute, allowing not only the regeneration and restoration of the defect but also inhibiting the development of chronic inflammation

On the beneficial effect of noise in vertex localization

A theoretical and experimental analysis related to the effect of noise in the task of vertex identication in unknown shapes is presented. Shapes are seen as real functions of their closed boundary. An alternative global perspective of curvature is examined providing insight into the process of noise- enabled vertex localization. The analysis reveals that noise facilitates in the localization of certain vertices. The concept of noising is thus considered and a relevant global method for localizing Global Vertices is investigated in relation to local methods under the presence of increasing noise. Theoretical analysis reveals that induced noise can indeed help localizing certain vertices if combined with global descriptors. Experiments with noise and a comparison to localized methods validate the theoretical results

DIAPH3 predicts survival of patients with MGMT-methylated glioblastoma

BackgroundGlioblastoma is one of the most aggressive primary brain tumors, with a poor outcome despite multimodal treatment. Methylation of the MGMT promoter, which predicts the response to temozolomide, is a well-established prognostic marker for glioblastoma. However, a difference in survival can still be detected within the MGMT methylated group, with some patients exhibiting a shorter survival than others, emphasizing the need for additional predictive factors.MethodsWe analyzed DIAPH3 expression in glioblastoma samples from the cancer genome atlas (TCGA). We also retrospectively analyzed one hundred seventeen histological glioblastomas from patients operated on at Saint-Luc University Hospital between May 2013 and August 2019. We analyzed the DIAPH3 expression, explored the relationship between mRNA levels and Patient’s survival after the surgical resection. Finally, we assessed the methylation pattern of the DIAPH3 promoter using a targeted deep bisulfite sequencing approach.ResultsWe found that 36% and 1% of the TCGA glioblastoma samples exhibit copy number alterations and mutations in DIAPH3, respectively. We scrutinized the expression of DIAPH3 at single cell level and detected an overlap with MKI67 expression in glioblastoma proliferating cells, including neural progenitor-like, oligodendrocyte progenitor-like and astrocyte-like states. We quantitatively analyzed DIAPH3 expression in our cohort and uncovered a positive correlation between DIAPH3 mRNA level and patient’s survival. The effect of DIAPH3 was prominent in MGMT-methylated glioblastoma. Finally, we report that the expression of DIAPH3 is at least partially regulated by the methylation of three CpG sites in the promoter region.ConclusionWe propose that combining the DIAPH3 expression with MGMT methylation could offer a better prediction of survival and more adapted postsurgical treatment for patients with MGMT-methylated glioblastoma