Antioxidant PLA Composites Containing Lignin for 3D Printing Applications: A Potential Material for Healthcare Applications

Lignin (LIG) is a natural biopolymer with well-known antioxidant capabilities. Accordingly, in the present work, a method to combine LIG with poly(lactic acid) (PLA) for fused filament fabrication applications (FFF) is proposed. For this purpose, PLA pellets were successfully coated with LIG powder and a biocompatible oil (castor oil). The resulting pellets were placed into an extruder at 200 °C. The resulting PLA filaments contained LIG loadings ranging from 0% to 3% (w/w). The obtained filaments were successfully used for FFF applications. The LIG content affected the mechanical and surface properties of the overall material. The inclusion of LIG yielded materials with lower resistance to fracture and higher wettabilities. Moreover, the resulting 3D printed materials showed antioxidant capabilities. By using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method, the materials were capable of reducing the concentration of this compound up to ca. 80% in 5 h. This radical scavenging activity could be potentially beneficial for healthcare applications, especially for wound care. Accordingly, PLA/LIG were used to design meshes with different designs for wound dressing purposes. A wound healing model compound, curcumin (CUR), was applied in the surface of the mesh and its diffusion was studied. It was observed that the dimensions of the meshes affected the permeation rate of CUR. Accordingly, the design of the mesh could be modified according to the patient’s needsThis work was supported by the Wellcome Trust Biomedical Vacation Scholarship (SS 213361/Z/18/Z) and the Society for Applied Microbiology Student Placement ScholarshipS

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis

[Purpose]: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. [Methods]: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015.Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65 years,65 to 80 years,and ≥ 80 years.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk. [Results]: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327 < 65 years;1291 65-80 years;502 ≥ 80 years) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients ≥80 years who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%,65 years; 20.5%,65-79 years; 31.3%,≥80 years). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%,<65 years;30.1%,65-79 years;34.7%,≥80 years;p < 0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65 years; 5.5%, 65-80 years;7.6%,≥80 years; p = 0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were age ≥ 80 years (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32–3.34), CCI ≥ 3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39–1.88),and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16–1.58).When the three age groups were compared,the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65 years(p < 0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality. [Conclusion]: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age ≥ 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI),and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group

Polysaccharide-based hydrogels for the controlled delivery of therapeutic biomacromolecules

In the last decade, polysaccharide hydrogels have been extensively used in the development of novel drug delivery systems. Their excellent biocompatible and biodegradation characteristics as well as their green origin make them an appealing resource for their implementation. In this chapter, we sum up various polysaccharide hydrogels of diverse nature, combined or not with other polymers or drug delivery systems, implemented in the delivery of biotherapeutics as proteins, growth factors, gene vector, enzymes, hormones or monoclonal antibodies, with a special focus on pharmaceutical and biotechnological fields.publishe

Temperature-sensitive biocompatible IPN hydrogels based on poly(NIPA-PEGdma) and photocrosslinkable gelatin methacrylate

The future of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine relies on the development of biomimetic extracellular matrices (ECM). Hydrogels based on biological and synthetic macromolecules could mimic native ECM which is an interpenetrating network (IPN) of proteins and other biomacromolecules. In thisstudy, gelatin and N-isopropylacrylamide-based IPN hydrogels, named as NPxG, were developed to fabricate 3D matrix systems. A series of IPN hydrogels with different contents in poly(NIPA-PEGdma) (NPx) and gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) were synthesized. NPx and GelMA were characterized by Habeeb?s assay, FTIR and 1H-NMR. IPN hydrogels were fully characterized by ATR-FTIR, swellingmeasurements, optical microscopy, SEM, DSC and rheology. Optical microscopy images and rheology demonstrated that hydrogel properties change around 37ºC. Above LCST, the translucent colorless hydrogel shifted to opaque white hydrogel and the storage modulus increased. A wide range of IPN gels with different swelling properties and potential applications in different fields can be produced by controlling experimental parameters.Fil: Aldana, Ana Agustina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Rial Hermida, María Isabel. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; EspañaFil: Abraham, Gustavo Abel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Concheiro, Angel. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; EspañaFil: Alvarez Lorenzo, Carmen. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; Españ

Surface-modified bioresorbable electrospun scaffolds for improving hemocompatibility of vascular grafts

The replacement of small-diameter vessels is one of the main challenges in tissue engineering. Moreover, the surface modification of small-diameter vascular grafts (SDVG) is a key factor in the success of the therapy due to their increased thrombogenicity and infection susceptibility caused by the lack of a functional endothelium.In this work, electrospun scaffolds were prepared from blends of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) and segmented polyurethane (PHD) with a composition designed to perform as SDVG inner layer. The scaffolds were then successfully surface-modified with heparin following two different strategies that rely on grafting of heparin to eitherPLLA or PHD functional groups. Both strategies afforded high heparin density, being higher for urethane methodology. The functionalized scaffolds did not cause hemolysis and inhibited platelet adhesion to a large extent. However, lysozyme/heparin-functionalized scaffolds obtained through urethane methodology achieved the highest platelet attachment inhibition. The increase in hydrophilicity and water absorption of the surfacefunctionalized nanostructures favored adhesion and proliferation of human adipose-derived stemcells. Heparinized surfaces conjugated with lysozyme presented microbial hydrolysis activity dependent on heparin content. Overall, a better performance obtained for urethane-modified scaffold, added to the fact that no chain scission is involved in urethane methodology, makes the latter the best choice for surface modification of PLLA/PHD 50/50 electrospun scaffolds. Scaffolds functionalized by this route may perform as advanced components ofSDVG suitable for vascular tissue engineering, exhibiting biomimetic behavior, avoiding thrombi formation and providing antimicrobial features.Fil: Caracciolo, Pablo Christian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Rial-Hermida, María Isabel. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; EspañaFil: Montini Ballarin, Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Abraham, Gustavo Abel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Concheiro, Angel. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; EspañaFil: Álvarez Lorenzo, Carmen. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; Españ

Discovering HIV related information by means of association rules and machine learning

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is still one of the main health problems worldwide. It is therefore essential to keep making progress in improving the prognosis and quality of life of affected patients. One way to advance along this pathway is to uncover connections between other disorders associated with HIV/AIDS-so that they can be anticipated and possibly mitigated. We propose to achieve this by using Association Rules (ARs). They allow us to represent the dependencies between a number of diseases and other specific diseases. However, classical techniques systematically generate every AR meeting some minimal conditions on data frequency, hence generating a vast amount of uninteresting ARs, which need to be filtered out. The lack of manually annotated ARs has favored unsupervised filtering, even though they produce limited results. In this paper, we propose a semi-supervised system, able to identify relevant ARs among HIV-related diseases with a minimal amount of annotated training data. Our system has been able to extract a good number of relationships between HIV-related diseases that have been previously detected in the literature but are scattered and are often little known. Furthermore, a number of plausible new relationships have shown up which deserve further investigation by qualified medical experts

Contemporary use of cefazolin for MSSA infective endocarditis: analysis of a national prospective cohort

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the real use of cefazolin for methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) infective endocarditis (IE) in the Spanish National Endocarditis Database (GAMES) and to compare it with antistaphylococcal penicillin (ASP). Methods: Prospective cohort study with retrospective analysis of a cohort of MSSA IE treated with cloxacillin and/or cefazolin. Outcomes assessed were relapse; intra-hospital, overall, and endocarditis-related mortality; and adverse events. Risk of renal toxicity with each treatment was evaluated separately. Results: We included 631 IE episodes caused by MSSA treated with cloxacillin and/or cefazolin. Antibiotic treatment was cloxacillin, cefazolin, or both in 537 (85%), 57 (9%), and 37 (6%) episodes, respectively. Patients treated with cefazolin had significantly higher rates of comorbidities (median Charlson Index 7, P <0.01) and previous renal failure (57.9%, P <0.01). Patients treated with cloxacillin presented higher rates of septic shock (25%, P = 0.033) and new-onset or worsening renal failure (47.3%, P = 0.024) with significantly higher rates of in-hospital mortality (38.5%, P = 0.017). One-year IE-related mortality and rate of relapses were similar between treatment groups. None of the treatments were identified as risk or protective factors. Conclusion: Our results suggest that cefazolin is a valuable option for the treatment of MSSA IE, without differences in 1-year mortality or relapses compared with cloxacillin, and might be considered equally effective

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis.

The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015.Patients were stratified into three age groups: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327  There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age ≥ 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI),and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in th