Synthesis of hetero-bifunctional, end-capped oligo-EDOT derivatives

Conjugated oligomers of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) are attractive materials for tissue engineering applications, and as model systems for studying the properties of the widely used polymer PEDOT. We report here the facile synthesis of a series of keto-acid end-capped oligo-EDOT derivatives (n = 2-7) through a combination of a glyoxylation end capping strategy and iterative direct arylation chain extension. Importantly, these structures not only represent the longest oligo-EDOTs reported, but are also bench stable in contrast to previous reports on such oligomers. The constructs reported here can undergo subsequent derivatization for integration into higher order architectures, such as those required for tissue engineering applications. The synthesis of hetero-bifunctional constructs, as well as those containing mixed monomer units is also reported, allowing further complexity to be installed in a controlled manner. Finally, we describe the optical and electrochemical properties of these oligomers and demonstrate the importance of the keto-acid in determining their characteristics

Strategies to reduce relapse after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation in acute myeloid leukemia.

The incidence of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is expected to increase in conjunction with our ageing population. Although it is proving to be a heterogeneous disease process, the only treatment with proven survival benefit for poor risk AML remains allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant. Although this is presumed to be a curative strategy, many patients relapse after transplant, prompting us to examine various ways that we can improve outcomes. These efforts involve every step of AML diagnostics and therapy, including the intricate processes of conditioning, graft manipulation and immunomodulation. The hope is that improvement in these steps will ultimately improve survival and decrease relapse rates for AML patients after transplant

Auxetic cardiac patches with tunable mechanical and conductive properties toward treating myocardial infarction

An auxetic conductive cardiac patch (AuxCP) for the treatment of myocardial infarction (MI) is introduced. The auxetic design gives the patch a negative Poisson's ratio, providing it with the ability to conform to the demanding mechanics of the heart. The conductivity allows the patch to interface with electroresponsive tissues such as the heart. Excimer laser microablation is used to micropattern a re-entrant honeycomb (bow-tie) design into a chitosan-polyaniline composite. It is shown that the bow-tie design can produce patches with a wide range in mechanical strength and anisotropy, which can be tuned to match native heart tissue. Further, the auxetic patches are conductive and cytocompatible with murine neonatal cardiomyocytes in vitro. Ex vivo studies demonstrate that the auxetic patches have no detrimental effect on the electrophysiology of both healthy and MI rat hearts and conform better to native heart movements than unpatterned patches of the same material. Finally, the AuxCP applied in a rat MI model results in no detrimental effect on cardiac function and negligible fibrotic response after two weeks in vivo. This approach represents a versatile and robust platform for cardiac biomaterial design and could therefore lead to a promising treatment for MI

Electroconductive Hydrogel Based on Functional Poly(Ethylenedioxy Thiophene).

Poly(ethylene dioxythiophene) with functional pendant groups bearing double bonds is synthesized and employed for the fabrication of electroactive hydrogels with advantageous characteristics: covalently cross-linked porous 3D scaffolds with notable swelling ratio, appropriate mechanical properties, electroactivity in physiological conditions, and suitability for proliferation and differentiation of C2C12 cells. This is a new approach for the fabrication of conductive engineered constructs

Systemic Resistance in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Elicited by Some Biotic Inducers Against Root Diseases

The effect of seed treatment of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) with biotic inducers such as Trichoderma viride, Trichoderma harzianum, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus subtilis in contrast to the fungicide Rizolex-T, were evaluated in the greenhouse and under field conditions during the 2017/2018 season to control the plant disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani, or Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, at Giza Agriculture Research Station, Agricultural Research Center, Giza Governorate, Egypt. The tested strains significantly inhibit the mycelial growth of the three tested fungi for pathogenic growth. Compared to the untreated control under greenhouse and field conditions, all the biotic inducer treatments tested significantly decreased the percentages of damping-off, root rot, stem rot and/or wilt diseases. It was noticed that Rizolex-T and (Trichoderma viride + Trichoderma harzianum) have reached the highest percentage of surviving plants followed by (Pseudomonas fluorescens + Bacillus subtilis), Trichoderma viride, Trichoderma harzianum, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Serratia marcescens, respectively. As well as all the treatments of the checked biocontrol agents increased the growth and yield parameters of chickpea significantly, i.e., plant hight, branches number per plant, pods number per plant, seeds number per plant, seeds weight per plant, 100 seeds weight, and chickpea yield ton/fed. In the presence of the three studied pathogens, defense-related enzyme activities (β-1,3 glucanase, peroxidase, and polyphenoloxidase) have also been determined in all chickpea plants treated with tested biotic inducers compared to untreated infested and non-infested control. The treatment of (Trichoderma harzianum + Trichoderma viride) showed the highest increase in phenol content and the activities of defense-related enzymes

Photodynamic treatment of human breast and prostate cancer cells using rose bengal-encapsulated nanoparticles

Cancer, a prominent cause of death, presents treatment challenges, including high dosage requirements, drug resistance, poor tumour penetration and systemic toxicity in traditional chemotherapy. Photodynamic therapy, using photosensitizers like rose bengal (RB) with a green laser, shows promise against breast cancer cells in vitro. However, the hydrophilic RB struggles to efficiently penetrate the tumour site due to the unique clinical microenvironment, aggregating around rather than entering cancer cells. In this study, we have synthesized and characterized RB-encapsulated chitosan nanoparticles with a peak particle size of ~200 nm. These nanoparticles are readily nternalized by cells and, in combination with a green laser (λ = 532 nm) killed 94–98% of cultured human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) and prostate cancer cells (PC3) at a low dosage (25 μg/mL RB-nanoparticles, fluence ~126 J/cm2, and irradiance ~0.21 W/cm2). Furthermore, these nanoparticles are not toxic to cultured human normal breast cells (MCF10A), which opens an avenue for translational applications

A conducting polymer with enhanced electronic stability applied in cardiac models

Electrically active constructs can have a beneficial effect on electroresponsive tissues, such as the brain, heart, and nervous system. Conducting polymers (CPs) are being considered as components of these constructs because of their intrinsic electroactive and flexible nature. However, their clinical application has been largely hampered by their short operational time due to a decrease in their electronic properties. We show that, by immobilizing the dopant in the conductive scaffold, we can prevent its electric deterioration. We grew polyaniline (PANI) doped with phytic acid on the surface of a chitosan film. The strong chelation between phytic acid and chitosan led to a conductive patch with retained electroactivity, low surface resistivity (35.85 ± 9.40 kilohms per square), and oxidized form after 2 weeks of incubation in physiological medium. Ex vivo experiments revealed that the conductive nature of the patch has an immediate effect on the electrophysiology of the heart. Preliminary in vivo experiments showed that the conductive patch does not induce proarrhythmogenic activities in the heart. Our findings set the foundation for the design of electronically stable CP-based scaffolds. This provides a robust conductive system that could be used at the interface with electroresponsive tissue to better understand the interaction and effect of these materials on the electrophysiology of these tissues

Aneurysm Ostium Angle: A Predictor of the Need for Stent as Assistance for Endovascular Aneurysm Coiling in Internal Carotid Artery Sidewall Aneurysms

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There is no satisfactory parameter that can predict the need for assistant devices for endovascular aneurysm coiling. Our aim was to evaluate the utility of MOA as a predictor of the need for stent-assisted coiling in ICA sidewall aneurysms

Inter-observer variability of radiologists for Cambridge classification of chronic pancreatitis using CT and MRCP: results from a large multi-center study

Purpose: Determine inter-observer variability among radiologists in assigning Cambridge Classification (CC) of chronic pancreatitis (CP) based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) and contrast-enhanced CT (CECT). Methods: Among 422 eligible subjects enrolled into the PROCEED study between 6/2017 and 8/2018, 39 were selected randomly for this study (chronic abdominal pain (n = 8; CC of 0), suspected CP (n = 22; CC of 0, 1 or 2) or definite CP (n = 9; CC of 3 or 4). Each imaging was scored by the local radiologist (LRs) and three of five central radiologists (CRs) at other consortium sites. The CRs were blinded to clinical data and site information of the participants. We compared the CC score assigned by the LR with the consensus CC score assigned by the CRs. The weighted kappa statistic (K) was used to estimate the inter-observer agreement. Results: For the majority of subjects (34/39), the group assignment by LR agreed with the consensus composite CT/MRCP score by the CRs (concordance ranging from 75 to 89% depending on cohort group). There was moderate agreement (63% and 67% agreed, respectively) between CRs and LRs in both the CT score (weighted Kappa [95% CI] = 0.56 [0.34, 0.78]; p-value = 0.57) and the MR score (weighted Kappa [95% CI] = 0.68 [0.49, 0.86]; p-value = 0.72). The composite CT/MR score showed moderate agreement (weighted Kappa [95% CI] = 0.62 [0.43, 0.81]; p-value = 0.80). Conclusion: There is a high degree of concordance among radiologists for assignment of CC using MRI and CT