Exploiting the layer-by-layer nanoarchitectonics for the fabrication of polymer capsules : A toolbox to provide multifunctional properties to target complex pathologies

Polymer capsules fabricated via the layer-by-layer (LbL) approach have attracted a great deal of attention for biomedical applications thanks to their tunable architecture. Compared to alternative methods, in which the precise control over the final properties of the systems is usually limited, the intrinsic versatility of the LbL approach allows the functionalization of all the constituents of the polymeric capsules following relatively simple protocols. In fact, the final properties of the capsules can be adjusted from the inner cavity to the outer layer through the polymeric shell, resulting in therapeutic, diagnostic, or theranostic (i.e., combination of therapeutic and diagnostic) agents that can be adapted to the particular characteristics of the patient and face the challenges encountered in complex pathologies. The biomedical industry demands novel biomaterials capable of targeting several mechanisms and/or cellular pathways simultaneously while being tracked by minimally invasive tech-niques, thus highlighting the need to shift from monofunctional to multifunctional polymer capsules. In the present review, those strategies that permit the advanced functionalization of polymer capsules are accordingly introduced. Each of the constituents of the capsule (i.e., cavity, multilayer membrane and outer layer) is thor-oughly analyzed and a final overview of the combination of all the strategies toward the fabrication of multi-functional capsules is presented. Special emphasis is given to the potential biomedical applications of these multifunctional capsules, including particular examples of the performed in vitro and in vivo validation studies. Finally, the challenges in the fabrication process and the future perspective for their safe translation into the clinic are summarized.Peer reviewe

An Analysis of the Economic Costs of Seeking the Death Penalty in Washington (Report)

Professor Boruchowitz and colleagues published the results of a seven-month study into the costs of the death penalty in Washington state and has found a more than $1 million price break in cases where capital punishment is not sought

An Analysis of the Economic Costs of Seeking the Death Penalty in Washington (Report)

Professor Boruchowitz and colleagues published the results of a seven-month study into the costs of the death penalty in Washington state and has found a more than $1 million price break in cases where capital punishment is not sought

On the Thermodynamical Relation between Rotating Charged BTZ Black Holes and Effective String Theory

In this paper we study the first law of thermodynamics for the (2+1) dimensional rotating charged BTZ black hole considering a pair of thermodinamical systems constructed with the two horizons of this solution. We show that these two systems are similar to the right and left movers of string theory and that the temperature associated with the black hole is the harmonic mean of the temperatures associated with these two systems.Comment: 9 page

Assessment of the first 10 years institutional programme on rational use of antibiotics in Gipuzkoa: 1999-2009

En 1999 el COF de Gipuzkoa puso en marcha un programa institucional con el objetivo de promover el uso racional de antibióticos,conocer la situación de la demanda y dispensación de antibióticos con y sin receta en las farmacias de Gipuzkoa y reforzar la actuaciónprofesional del farmacéutico.En este estudio se presenta la evaluación de los resultados de 10 años de duración del programa. Método: Se diseñó un protocolo de actuación y un procedimiento de recogida de datos en la farmacia, para su posterior evaluación,siendo la participación voluntaria. Resultados: Se presentan los datos obtenidos en 3 puntos de corte, al inicio del programa (1999), a los cinco y a los 10 años delinicio (2009). El número de farmacias participantes disminuyó desde 152 (54,7%) a 86 (30,6%), con una media de 280 farmaciasexistentes en la provincia.El número de solicitudes de antibióticos sin receta disminuyó de un 13,6% a un 1,5% respecto a la solicitud total de antibióticos, cono sin receta.En cuanto a la dispensación de antibióticos sin receta se pasó de un 68,9% al 39,2% respecto a los solicitados sin receta. Sobre lademanda total de antibióticos, con o sin receta, se pasó del 9,8% al 0,6%. Conclusiones: Durante los 10 años de duración del I Programa institucional de uso racional de antibióticos en Gipuzkoa, se disminuyótanto la solicitud de antibióticos sin receta, como la dispensación de los mismos sin receta.Este tipo de Programas contribuyen a mejorar el uso prudente de antibióticos

An International Perspective on Chronic Multimorbidity: Approaching the Elephant in the Room

Multimorbidity is a common and burdensome condition that may affect quality of life, increase medical needs, and make people live more years of life with disability. Negative outcomes related to multimorbidity occur beyond what we would expect from the summed effect of single conditions, as chronic diseases interact with each other, mutually enhancing their negative effects, and eventually leading to new clinical phenotypes. Moreover, multimorbidity mirrors an accelerated global susceptibility and a loss of resilience, which are both hallmarks of aging. Due to the complexity of its assessment and definition, and the lack of clear evidence steering its management, multimorbidity represents one of the main current challenges for clinicians, researchers, and policymakers. The authors of this article recently reflected on these issues during two twin international symposia at the 2016 European Union Geriatric Medicine Society (EUGMS) meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, and the 2016 Gerontological Society of America (GSA) meeting in New Orleans, USA. The present work summarizes the most relevant aspects related to multimorbidity, with the ultimate goal to identify knowledge gaps and suggest future directions to approach this condition

Geometrothermodynamics of the Kehagias-Sfetsos Black Hole

The application of information geometric ideas to statistical mechanics using a metric on the space of states, pioneered by Ruppeiner and Weinhold, has proved to be a useful alternative approach to characterizing phase transitions. Some puzzling anomalies become apparent, however, when these methods are applied to the study of black hole thermodynamics. A possible resolution was suggested by Quevedo et al. who emphasized the importance of Legendre invariance in thermodynamic metrics. They found physically consistent results for various black holes when using a Legendre invariant metric, which agreed with a direct determination of the properties of phase transitions from the specific heat. Recently, information geometric methods have been employed by Wei et al. to study the Kehagias-Sfetsos (KS) black hole in Horava-Lifshitz gravity. The formalism suggests that a coupling parameter in this theory plays a role analogous to the charge in Reissner-Nordstrom (RN) black holes or angular momentum in the Kerr black hole and calculation of the specific heat shows a singularity which may be interpreted as a phase transition. When the curvature of the Ruppeiner metric is calculated for such a theory it does not, however, show a singularity at the phase transition point. We show that the curvature of a particular Legendre invariant ("Quevedo") metric for the KS black hole is singular at the phase transition point. We contrast the results for the Ruppeiner, Weinhold and Quevedo metrics and in the latter case investigate the consistency of taking either the entropy or mass as the thermodynamic potential.Comment: v2: some references adde