Comparison of the Nucleophilicities of Alkynes and Alkenes. Quantitative Determination of the Nucleophilicities of Alkynes toward Carbenium Ions

Relative reactivities of alkenes and alkynes toward diarylmethyl cations have been determined by direct rate measurements and by competition experiments in dichloromethane. At -70°C alkynes are found to be one to two orders of magnitude less reactive than analogously substituted alkenes (e.g. phenylacetylene/styrene), but the reactivity difference reduces strongly as the temperature is raised. The stereochemistry of the vinyl chlorides produced by addition of benzhydryl chlorides to alkynes is characterized

Magnetic resonance imaging of adipose-derived adult stem cells labelled with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles

The application of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) represents a new promising approach for treating neurodegenerative diseases. Recently, considerable attention has been paid to adipose-derived adult MSC (ADAS), thanks to the easy availability of adipose tissue and to the possibility of autologous cells transplantation. Any possible application of therapies based on ADAS in the clinics cannot occur without elucidation of their homing. Superparamagnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles (NPs) can be used to label and track cells in vivo via Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI

Cervical musculoskeletal impairments and pressure pain sensitivity in office workers with headache

Background: Office workers are specifically vulnerable to headache conditions. Neck pain is reported by almost 80% of patients with headaches. Associations between currently recommended tests to examine cervical musculoskeletal impairments, pressure pain sensitivity and self-reported variables in headache, are unknown. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether cervical musculoskeletal impairments and pressure pain sensitivity are associated with self-reported headache variables in office workers. Methods: This study reports a cross-sectional analysis using baseline data of a randomized controlled trial. Office workers with headache were included in this analysis. Multivariate associations, controlled for age, sex and neck pain, between cervical musculoskeletal variables (strength, endurance, range of motion, movement control) and pressure pain threshold (PPT) over the neck and self-reported headache variables, such as frequency, intensity, and the Headache-Impact-Test-6, were examined. Results: Eighty-eight office workers with a 4-week headache frequency of 4.8 (±5.1) days, a moderate average headache intensity (4.5 ± 2.1 on the NRS), and “some impact” (mean score: 53.7 ± 7.9) on the headache-impact-test-6, were included. Range of motion and PPT tested over the upper cervical spine were found to be most consistently associated with any headache variable. An adjusted R2 of 0.26 was found to explain headache intensity and the score on the Headache-Impact-Test-6 by several cervical musculoskeletal and PPT variables. Discussion: Cervical musculoskeletal impairments can explain, irrespective of coexisting neck pain, only little variability of the presence of headache in office workers. Neck pain is likely a symptom of the headache condition, and not a separate entity

Evaluation of the synthesis process of SPIONs for MPI with different iron salts with MPS

Tracers play a decisive role for the image quality in the MPI. The gold standard Resovist provides acceptable images, but not all of the iron in the Resovist contributes to signal generation. This results in a much higher amount of iron having to be injected into the organism than would be necessary for imaging. Although iron is one of the essential trace elements, it is toxic in higher doses. Therefore, tracer development must focus equally on improving image quality and reducing iron doses. This paper presents the standard method of co-precipitation with different iron salts. The different anions used have different ionic strengths and thus influence the crystal formation of the superparamagnetic magnetite.   Int. J. Mag. Part. Imag. 6(2), Suppl. 1, 2020, Article ID: 2009070, DOI: 10.18416/IJMPI.2020.200907

Stability analysis of ferrofluids

Superparamagnetic iron oxides (SPIOs) are used as tracer for the new imaging technique Magnetic Particle Imaging. The stability of ferrofluids for medical application has a great importance, in addition to the particle size. The shell material, which protects the iron core prior from agglomeration and sedimentation, can be degraded by various processes. Another important aspect of stability is the constant performance of magnetisation. Therefore, the measurement of the magnetisation of the particles must be controlled in order to ensure the stability of the samples