Determination of etoposide serum concentrations in small pediatric samples by an improved method of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

Several specific assays have been developed for the measurement of etoposide in biological fluids. As large samples are required for high sensitivity, these systems are not appropriate for a pediatric practice. In the present study, however, an improved method for the determination of serum levels of the anticancer drug etoposide was developed, using high-performance liquid chromatography with fixed-wavelength ultraviolet detection. Etoposide was extracted from serum using dichloromethane. The efficiency of extraction from serum was 85.7 +/- 7.7% for etoposide and 81.1 +/- 8.4% for diphenylhydantoin, the internal standard. The serum concentrations of etoposide were measured in 0.2-ml serum samples. The lower limit of detection was 50 ng/ml. Each measurement was completed within 5 min. The linear quantitation range for etoposide was 0.05-50 microg/ml. This assay presents an alternative method for routine measurement of serum levels of etoposide in the pediatric oncology setting.</p

The impact of rotating work schedules, chronotype, and restless legs syndrome/Willis-Ekbom disease on sleep quality among female hospital nurses and midwives: A cross-sectional survey

Background: Decreases in subjective sleep quality are prevalent among nurses and midwives engaged in rotating shift work. Objectives: The present study aimed to examine the relationship between differences in work schedules and subjective sleep quality among female nursing staff. Design: A cross-sectional survey design was used for descriptive and logistic regression analyses. Data collection was conducted from December 2016 to September 2017. Settings: Participants were recruited from five regional core hospitals in Japan. Participants: A total of 1253 nurses and midwives were included in the final analysis. Methods: Subjective sleep quality was assessed using the Japanese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Chronotype and social jet lag were calculated for both work day and work-free day. Symptoms related to restless legs syndrome/Willis-Ekbom disease were assessed using the Japanese version of the Cambridge-Hopkins questionnaire short form 13. Participants with the urge to move their legs, though not fulfilling the restless legs syndrome/Willis-Ekbom disease criteria, were classified as having leg motor restlessness. Logistic regression analyses for poor sleep were adjusted for age, body mass index, smoking, drinking, menstruation status, the presence of premenstrual syndrome, and the presence of a spouse. Results: Rates of poor sleep (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score ?6) among those working, day shifts, rotating 12.5 hour night shifts, rotating 16 hour night shifts, and three-shift rotations were 41.2%, 51.1%, 44.5%, and 60.4%, respectively. Approximately 40% of three-shift rotation workers experienced difficulty initiating sleep. Shift workers tended to exhibit evening chronotype, delayed sleep phase, and high social jet lag. The prevalence of restless legs syndrome/Willis-Ekbom disease was 2.5%. Leg motor restlessness was observed in. 15.5% of participants. The adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of three-shift work (vs. day shift), evening chronotype (vs. morning chronotype), and the presence of leg motor restlessness (vs. no leg motor restlessness) for those with poor sleep were 2.20 (1.47?3.30), 1.95 (1.29?2.94),and 1.66 (1.15?2.39), respectively. Conclusions: Regardless of the working schedules, rates of poor sleep were high among female hospital nurses and midwives. Our findings suggest that poor sleep quality is influenced by three-shift rotation, the evening chronotype, and leg motor restlessness

Bir kırmızı, bir sarı gül ve Gülbaba

Taha Toros Arşivi, Dosya Adı: Galatasarayİstanbul Kalkınma Ajansı (TR10/14/YEN/0033) İstanbul Development Agency (TR10/14/YEN/0033

Development of an apolipoprotein E mimetic peptide–lipid conjugate for efficient brain delivery of liposomes

Liposomes are versatile carriers that can encapsulate various drugs; however, for delivery to the brain, they must be modified with a targeting ligand or other modifications to provide blood–brain barrier (BBB) permeability, while avoiding rapid clearance by reticuloendothelial systems through polyethylene glycol (PEG) modification. BBB-penetrating peptides act as brain-targeting ligands. In this study, to achieve efficient brain delivery of liposomes, we screened the functionality of eight BBB-penetrating peptides reported previously, based on high-throughput quantitative evaluation methods with in vitro BBB permeability evaluation system using Transwell, in situ brain perfusion system, and others. For apolipoprotein E mimetic tandem dimer peptide (ApoEdp), which showed the best brain-targeting and BBB permeability in the comparative evaluation of eight peptides, its lipid conjugate with serine–glycine (SG)5 spacer (ApoEdp-SG-lipid) was newly synthesized and ApoEdp-modified PEGylated liposomes were prepared. ApoEdp-modified PEGylated liposomes were effectively associated with human brain capillary endothelial cells via the ApoEdp sequence and permeated the membrane in an in vitro BBB model. Moreover, ApoEdp-modified PEGylated liposomes accumulated in the brain 3.9-fold higher than PEGylated liposomes in mice. In addition, the ability of ApoEdp-modified PEGylated liposomes to localize beyond the BBB into the brain parenchyma in mice was demonstrated via three-dimensional imaging with tissue clearing. These results suggest that ApoEdp-SG-lipid modification is an effective approach for endowing PEGylated liposomes with the brain-targeting ability and BBB permeability

Medium Diradical Character, Small Hole and Electron Reorganization Energies and Ambipolar Transistors in Difluorenoheteroles

Four difluorenoheteroleshavinga centralquinoidalcore with the heteroringvaryingas furan,thiophene,its dioxidederivativeand pyrrolehave shownto be mediumcharacterdiradicals.Solid-statestructures,optical,photophysical,magnetic,and electrochemicalpropertieshave been discussedin termsof diradicalcharacter,variationof aromaticcharacterand captoda-tive effects(electronaffinity).Organicfield-effecttran-sistors(OFETs)have been prepared,showingbalancedholeand electronmobilitiesof the orderof103cm2V1s1or ambipolarchargetransportwhichisfirst inferredfrom their redoxamphoterism.Quantumchemicalcalculationsshow that the electricalbehaviorisoriginatedfrom the mediumdiradicalcharacterwhichproducessimilarreorganizationenergiesfor hole andelectrontransports.The visionof a diradicalas simulta-neouslybearingpseudo-holeand pseudo-electronde-fects might justifythe reducedvaluesof reorganizationenergiesfor both regimes.Structure-functionrelation-ships betweendiradicaland ambipolarelectricalbehav-ior are revealed.The authorsthankthe SpanishMinistryof ScienceandInnovation(projectsMINECO/FEDERPGC2018-098533-B-100,and PID2019-110305GB-I00),the Junta de Andalucíaand GeneralidadValenciana,Spain (UMA18FEDERJA057,P18-FR-4549and Prometeo/2019/076)and JSPS KAKENHIgrant (JP21K05042for S.-i.K.,JP21K04995and JP21H05489for R.K., JP21H01887and JP20K21173for M.N.).S.-i.K.gratefullyacknowledgesthe AsahiGlassFoundationforfinancialsupport.We also thankthe ResearchCentralServices(SCAI)of the Universityof Málaga,UnidaddeEspectroscopíaVibracional(Dra. Capely Dr. Zafra)andUnidadde OpticaNo-Linealy EspectroscopíaUltrarápida(Dr. Román).This work was partiallysupportedby theCooperativeResearchProgram“NetworkJoint ResearchCenterfor Materialsand Devices”(KyushuUniversity).WethankProf. ShuheiHigashibayashi(KeioUniversity)forassistancewith synthesis.Mass spectrometricdata werecollectedat HiroshimaUniversity(N-BARD:Ms. TomokoAmimoto).Theoreticalcalculationswere partlyperformedusing ResearchCenterfor ComputationalScience(R-CCS),Okazaki,Japan.F.N and Y.D. acknowledgesupportfrom“Valutazionedella Ricercadi Ateneo”(VRA)—Universityof Bologna.Y.D. acknowledgesMinisterodell’Universitàedella Ricerca(MUR)for her Ph.D. fellowship. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBU

Toro Times: Raising Our Voices!

During the Spring 2019 semester, Dr. Noah Asher Golden\u27s Teaching of Writing K-12 students partnered with the Journalism class at Yorba Academy for the Arts. Through collaboration over a four-month period, Chapman\u27s future teachers and Yorba\u27s junior high journalists engaged a deep writing process to write a series of features, editorials, and news articles related to a number of global issues. Thank you to Principal Preciado-Martin, former principal Tracy Knibb, Mrs. Andrea Lopez, Mrs. Kori Shelton, and the Lloyd E. and Elisabeth H. Klein Family Foundation for supporting this project.https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/yorba-chapman/1004/thumbnail.jp

Long-Term Efficacy of S-1 Chemotherapy plus Administration of Octreotide for a Patient with Metastatic Neuroendocrine Tumor (Gastrinoma)

Metastatic neuroendocrine tumors (gastrinomas) have a poor prognosis. Octreotide can reduce gastrin levels and alleviate hormonal symptoms, and possibly slow tumor growth as well. No drugs were available except streptozocin for the treatment of metastatic pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (PNET) in 2008. We report a case of PNET in a 53-year-old woman with multiple liver tumors treated with S-1 plus octreotide. After 6 months from the initiation of the treatment, the pancreatic tumor and liver metastases regressed, and the patient achieved partial response without the development of any serious adverse event. For more than 8 years, the patient has remained asymptomatic without disease progression and is continuing treatment with octreotide and S-1. A marked suppression of gastrin levels has also been achieved. Combination therapy with octreotide and S-1 has been effective and well tolerated in patients with metastatic gastrinoma