Post-pulse addition of trans-cyclohexane-1,2-diol improves electrotransfer mediated gene expression in mammalian cells

AbstractElectric field mediated gene transfer is facing a problem in expression yield due to the poor transfer across the nuclear envelope. Trans-cyclohexane-1,2-diol (TCHD) was shown to significantly increase chemically mediated transfection by collapsing the permeability barrier of the nuclear pore complex. We indeed observed a significant increase in expression by electrotransfer when cells are treated post pulse by a low non toxic concentration of TCHD. This was obtained for different pulsing conditions, cell strains and plasmid constructs. An interesting improvement in cell viability can be obtained. This can significantly enhance the non-viral gene electrical delivery

Preparation and characterization of the defect–conductivity relationship of Ga-doped ZnO thin films deposited by nonreactive radio-frequency–magnetron sputtering

Ga-doped ZnO (ZnO:Ga) thin films were prepared by radio-frequency–magnetron sputtering on conventional glass substrates at room temperature. The structural, electrical, and optical properties of these films as a function of argon pressure and film thicknesses were studied. All the films crystallized with the hexagonal wurtzite structure. The x-ray diffraction studies show that the ZnO:Ga films are highly oriented with their crystallographic c-axis perpendicular to the substrate. We discuss a methodology of using a “standardized platform” for comparison of samples deposited at different pressures, which provides an insight into the defect–resistivity relationship of each sample with respect to their microstructure. After the first annealing, the electrical properties of the films are dependent on the atmosphere used during postdeposition annealing treatment. A resistivity of 2.5 × 10−3 Ω · cm was obtained after vacuum annealing, and the films became an insulator after air annealing. The reproducibility of this treatment was verified. The average transmittance of all ZnO:Ga thin films is more than 85% in the visible range

Topotecan-vincristine-doxorubicin in stage 4 high risk neuroblastoma patients failing to achieve a complete metastatic response to rapid COJEC : a SIOPEN study

Purpose : Metastatic response to induction therapy for high-risk neuroblastoma is a prognostic factor. In the International Society of Paediatric Oncology Europe Neuroblastoma (SIOPEN) HR-NBL-1 protocol, only patients with metastatic complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) with <= three abnormal skeletal areas on iodine 123-metaiodobenzylguanidine ([I-123] mIBG) scintigraphy and no bone marrow disease proceed to high dose therapy (HDT). In this study, topotecan-vincristine-doxorubicin (TVD) was evaluated in patients failing to achieve these criteria, with the aim of improving the metastatic response rate. Materials and Methods : Patients with metastatic high-risk neuroblastoma who had not achieved the SIOPEN criteria for HDT after induction received two courses of topotecan 1.5 mg/m(2)/day for 5 days, followed by a 48-hour infusion of vincristine, 2 mg/m(2), and doxorubicin, 45 mg/m(2). Results : Sixty-three patients were eligible and evaluable. Following two courses of TVD, four (6.4%) patients had an overall CR, while 28 (44.4%) had a PR with a combined response rate of 50.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 37.9 to 63.6). Of these, 23 patients achieved a metastatic CR or a PR with <= 3 mIBG skeletal areas and no bone marrow disease (36.5%; 95% CI, 24.7 to 49.6) and were eligible to receive HDT. Toxicity was mostly haematological, affecting 106 of the 126 courses (84.1%; 95% CI, 76.5 to 90.0), and dose reduction was necessary in six patients. Stomatitis was the second most common nonhematological toxicity, occurring in 20 patients (31.7%). Conclusion : TVD was effective in improving the response rate of high-risk neuroblastoma patients after induction with COJEC enabling them to proceed to HDT. However, the long-term benefits of TVD needs to be determined in randomized clinical trials

A multimaterial based on metallic copper and spinel oxide made by powder bed laser fusion: A new nanostructured material for inert anode dedicated to aluminum electrolysis

Coherent 3D parts of cermets, made of spinel ferrite and metallic copper, are prepared in a nitrogen atmosphere by powder bed additive manufacturing of a mixture of oxide and metallic powders. The cermets obtained are constituted by the association of blocks of about 500 μm, which create between them, a relatively large porosity (# 35%). Each block is subdivided into intimately nested zones that are either predominantly metallic or predominantly oxide type. In the metal parts, a dispersion of oxide crystals is observed, whose size varies from ten nanometers to a few micrometers. A similar distribution of metal particles in the oxide zones is also demonstrated. The chemical compositions of metallic and oxide phases are slightly different from those in the initial powders. Due to the high energy density of the laser, the melting temperature of the metal and oxides could be reached and therefore this could explain the chemical composition variations in the phases and the shape of oxide and metallic nanometric grains. The process used can therefore be described as powder bed fusion. These nanostructured cermets have been used as "inert" anodes for the electrolysis of aluminum in molten cryolite. Although penalized by a high porosity, 5 mm in diameter anodes allowed to carry out an electrolysis for 4 h. Since Spark Plasma Sintering can greatly reduce their porosity, while retaining their specific microstructure, the implementation of additive manufacturing for producing "inert" anodes is therefore of real interest

Iron overload in polytransfused patients without heart failure is associated with subclinical alterations of systolic left ventricular function using cardiovascular magnetic resonance tagging

BACKGROUND: It remains incompletely understood whether patients with transfusion related cardiac iron overload without signs of heart failure exhibit already subclinical alterations of systolic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. Therefore we performed a comprehensive evaluation of systolic and diastolic cardiac function in such patients using tagged and phase-contrast CMR. METHODS: 19 patients requiring regular blood transfusions for chronic anemia and 8 healthy volunteers were investigated using cine, tagged, and phase-contrast and T2* CMR. LV ejection fraction, peak filling rate, end-systolic global midventricular systolic Eulerian radial thickening and shortening strains as well as left ventricular rotation and twist, mitral E and A wave velocity, and tissue e' wave and E/e' wave velocity ratio, as well as isovolumic relaxation time and E wave deceleration time were computed and compared to cardiac T2*. RESULTS: Patients without significant iron overload (T2* > 20 ms, n = 9) had similar parameters of systolic and diastolic function as normal controls, whereas patients with severe iron overload (T2* 20 ms) or normal controls. Patients with moderate iron overload (T2* 10-20 ms, n = 5), had preserved ejection fraction (59 ± 6%, p = NS vs. pts. with T2* > 20 ms and controls), but showed reduced maximal LV rotational twist (1.8 ± 0.4 degrees). The magnitude of reduction of LV twist (r = 0.64, p < 0.001), of LV ejection fraction (r = 0.44, p < 0.001), of peak radial thickening (r = 0.58, p < 0.001) and of systolic (r = 0.50, p < 0.05) and diastolic twist and untwist rate (r = -0.53, p < 0.001) in patients were directly correlated to the logarithm of cardiac T2*. CONCLUSION: Multiple transfused patients with normal ejection fraction and without heart failure have subclinical alterations of systolic and diastolic LV function in direct relation to the severity of cardiac iron overload. Among all parameters, left ventricular twist is affected earliest, and has the highest correlation to log (T2*), suggesting that this parameter might be used to follow systolic left ventricular function in patients with iron overload

Laser Shock Adhesion Test (LASAT) of electron beam physical vapor deposited thermal barrier coatings (EB-PVD TBCs)

International audienceDamage prediction, adhesion strength and remaining lifetime of TBC are highly important data for understanding and preventing TBC spallation on blades. LAser Shock Adhesion Test (LASAT) is a powerful method to measure adhesion of coating due to its rapidity, simplicity and capabilities to distinguish different strength levels and the easy damage observation in case of TBCs. A new protocol of LASAT has been introduced in order to measure the adhesion level of the ceramic coating from the exploitation of the two-dimensional effects that promotes a shock wave pressure-dependent size of the damage. Finite element modeling, taking into account the TBCs dimensions, showed the edges effect on interfacial stress applied by laser shock

Assessment of left ventricular mass and volumes by three-dimensional echocardiography in patients with or without wall motion abnormalities: comparison against cine magnetic resonance imaging

To evaluate if three-dimensional echocardiography (3-DE) is as accurate and reproducible as cine magnetic resonance imaging (cMR) in estimating left ventricular (LV) parameters in patients with and without wall motion abnormalities (WMA)

Gender-Related Differences in the Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors and their Correlates in Urban Tanzania.

\ud Urban areas in Africa suffer a serious problem with dual burden of infectious diseases and emerging chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and diabetes which pose a serious threat to population health and health care resources. However in East Africa, there is limited literature in this research area. The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors and their correlates among adults in Temeke, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Results of this study will help inform future research and potential preventive and therapeutic interventions against such chronic diseases. The study design was a cross sectional epidemiological study. A total of 209 participants aged between 44 and 66 years were included in the study. A structured questionnaire was used to evaluate socioeconomic and lifestyle characteristics. Blood samples were collected and analyzed to measure lipid profile and fasting glucose levels. Cardiovascular risk factors were defined using World Health Organization criteria. The age-adjusted prevalence of obesity (BMI > or = 30) was 13% and 35%, among men and women (p = 0.0003), respectively. The prevalence of abdominal obesity was 11% and 58% (p < 0.0001), and high WHR (men: >0.9, women: >0.85) was 51% and 73% (p = 0.002) for men and women respectively. Women had 4.3 times greater odds of obesity (95% CI: 1.9-10.1), 14.2-fold increased odds for abdominal adiposity (95% CI: 5.8-34.6), and 2.8 times greater odds of high waist-hip-ratio (95% CI: 1.4-5.7), compared to men. Women had more than three-fold greater odds of having metabolic syndrome (p = 0.001) compared to male counterparts, including abdominal obesity, low HDL-cholesterol, and high fasting blood glucose components. In contrast, female participants had 50% lower odds of having hypertension, compared to men (95%CI: 0.3-1.0). Among men, BMI and waist circumference were significantly correlated with blood pressure, triglycerides, total, LDL-, and HDL-cholesterol (BMI only), and fasting glucose; in contrast, only blood pressure was positively associated with BMI and waist circumference in women. The prevalence of CVD risk factors was high in this population, particularly among women. Health promotion, primary prevention, and health screening strategies are needed to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease in Tanzania.\u