3D scaffold fabrication by mask projection excimer laser stereolithography

The production of 3D scaffolds with well-controlled architecture at the micrometer-scale is a fundamental issue for the advancement of tissue engineering towards applications in health care. Stereolithography is a highly versatile and accurate technique to fabricate 3D scaffolds with controlled architectures. Here, a scalable stereolithography method combining mask projection with excimer laser is reported. Its capability is showcased by a variety of mm-sized 3D biodegradable scaffolds patterned with a spatial resolution well-suited for tissue engineering applications. The presented method offers a concrete possibility to scale-up stereolithography-based production of 3D scaffolds to be used in regenerative medicine with potentially high-impact on health care. (C) 2014 Optical Society of Americ

Elastin-coated biodegradable photopolymer scaffolds for tissue engineering applications

One of the main open issues in modern vascular surgery is the nonbiodegradability of implants used for stent interventions, which can lead to small caliber-related thrombosis and neointimal hyperplasia. Some new, resorbable polymeric materials have been proposed to substitute traditional stainless-steel stents, but so far they were affected by poor mechanical properties and low biocompatibility. In this respect, a new material, polypropylene fumarate (PPF), may be considered as a promising candidate to implement the development of next generation stents, due to its complete biodegradability, and excellent mechanical properties and the ease to be precisely patterned. Besides all these benefits, PPF has not been tested yet for vascular prosthesis, mainly because it proved to be almost inert, while the ability to elicit a specific biological function would be of paramount importance in such critical surgery applications. Here, we propose a biomimetic functionalization process, aimed at obtaining specific bioactivation and thus improved cell-polymer interaction. Porous PPF-based scaffolds produced by deep-UV photocuring were coated by elastin and the functionalized scaffolds were extensively characterized, revealing a stable bound between the protein and the polymer surface. Both 3T3 and HUVEC cell lines were used for in vitro tests displaying an enhancement of cells adhesion and proliferation on the functionalized scaffolds

Ultrasmall, Ligand-Free Ag Nanoparticles with High Antibacterial Activity Prepared by Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquid

Since ancient times, silver and its compounds have been known to have a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activities for bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Due to the increasing bacterial resistance to classic antibiotics, the investigations of Ag NPs have increased. Herein, we present the preparation of ligand-free Ag NPs with 3 and 20 nm sizes by applying picosecond laser ablation in liquid at 355 and 1065 nm. Our laser processing system allows a high control on particle sizes. The produced nanoparticles were characterized by means of transmission electron microscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The size effect on the antibacterial activity of Ag NPs was tested againstE. coliandS. aureus. The growth curves of bacteria were monitored at 0–5 mg/L of Ag NPs by a multimode microplate reader. The size effects as well as the concentration of Ag NPs on their antibacterial activity are discussed

Dongaláb-specifikus életminőség-kérdőív magyar adaptációja = Hungarian validation of the Clubfoot Disease-Specific Instrument

Absztrakt: Bevezetés: A veleszületett strukturális dongaláb a leggyakoribb veleszületett lábdeformitás. Eredményesnek mondható kezelése ellenére is az érintett oldalon a lábszár atrophiájával, a láb hosszkülönbségével, funkcionális elmaradásával és esetleges fájdalmával kell számolnunk. Számos nemzetközi kutatás foglalkozik a dongalábbal élők életminőségének vizsgálatával, ennek ellenére hazánkban még nem történt ilyen felmérés. A betegalapú értékelést használják a kezelés eredményességének megállapításához, illetve a hagyományos és a Ponseti-féle kezelési módszer összehasonlításához. Célkitűzés: A szerzők célja a dongaláb esetén nemzetközileg legismertebb speciális életminőség-kérdőív, a 10 tételből és két alskálából (elégedettség, funkció) álló „Clubfoot Disease-Specific Instrument” (a továbbiakban: „Dongaláb Specifikus Mérőeszköz”) használatának engedélyeztetése, illetve szülői és gyermekváltozatának hazai adaptálása, majd a belső és külső validitás vizsgálata. Módszer: A kérdőíveket 75 fő (44 fiú, 28 lány) töltötte ki három korcsoporti megoszlásban (12 év alattiak, 12–17,99 év közöttiek és 18 év felettiek); átlagéletkor: 12,45 év (2–44 év). Mérőeszközök: a „Dongaláb Specifikus Mérőeszköz” magyar nyelvű (korcsoportnak megfelelő) változatai; az általános életminőség mérésére az EQ-5D-3L magyar nyelvű verziója. Eredmények: A „Dongaláb Specifikus Mérőeszköz” gyermek- és szülői változata megfelelő belső validitással rendelkezik (szülői: 0,872, gyermek: 0,923), illetve az egyes tételei és az EQ-5D-3L dimenziói között közepes és erős korrelációs értékek jellemzik az összefüggéseket a meglévő szignifikáns kapcsolatok mellett. Következtetés: A mérőeszköz hazai adaptálása sikeresnek mondható, amely hozzájárult a dongalábbal élő betegek életminőségének megismeréséhez, és lehetőséget nyújt a gyakorlatban a kezelés eredményességének megítélésére. Orv Hetil. 2018; 159(31): 1269–1277. | Abstract: Introduction: Congenital structural clubfoot is the most common congenital deformity of the foot. Despite successful treatment, the affected side may present signs of athrophy, differences in length, functional maldevelopment and in some cases it may also result in pain. Although several international studies have been investigating the quality of life of individuals with clubfoot, no research has been done in Hungary. Patient-based assessment is used for the evaluation of the effectiveness of treatment and for the comparison of the traditional versus the Ponseti method. Aim: To gain permission for the use of the internationally most well-known Clubfoot Disease-Specific Instrument (hereafter: ‘Clubfoot Specific Questionnaire’) consisting of 10 items and two subscales, and furthermore, to adapt its parent and child-version for Hungary and to carry out the internal and external validity testing of the measure. Method: The Questionnaire was completed by 75 individuals (44 boys, 28 girls) belonging to three age groups (under age 12, aged 12–17.99 years and those aged above 18); the mean age was 12.45 years (range: 2–44 years). The measures used: the Hungarian version of the ‘Clubfoot Specific Questionnaire’ (adapted versions for the given age groups), and the Hungarian version of EQ-5D-3L to measure the general quality of life. Results: Both the parent- and the child-version of the ‘Clubfoot Specific Questionnaire’ showed adequate internal validity (parent-version: 0.872, child-version: 0.923); the individual items showed medium to strong correlations with the EQ-5D-3L dimensions besides the existing significant connections. Conclusion: The Hungarian adaptation of the measure proved to be successful. The validated questionnaire provides a further tool for the assessment of the quality of life of individuals with clubfoot and also for the evaluation of the success rate of therapies. Orv Hetil. 2018; 159(31): 1269–1277

Amino-Termination of Silicon Carbide Nanoparticles

Silicon carbide nanoparticles (SiC NPs) are promising inorganic molecular-sized fluorescent biomarkers. It is imperative to develop methods to functionalize SiC NPs for certain biological applications. One possible route is to form amino groups on the surface, which can be readily used to attach target biomolecules. Here, we report direct amino-termination of aqueous SiC NPs. We demonstrate the applicability of the amino-terminated SiC NPs by attaching bovine serum albumin as a model for functionalization. We monitor the optical properties of the SiC NPs in this process and find that the fluorescence intensity is very sensitive to surface termination. Our finding may have implications for a few nanometers sized SiC NPs containing paramagnetic color centers with optically read electron spins

LEISURE TIME OF TEACHERS’ TRAINING FACULTY STUDENTS IN SUBOTICA

Physical activity contributes to physical, mental and social health and improves the quality of life of people of all ages. Physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyle are a public health problems in Serbia. The purpose of study was to collect a data from students of Teachers’ Training Faculty on Hungarian (TTFH) in Subotica about behaving at their free time, focusing on physical activities and sedentary behavior.The TTFH carried out a survey to assess the leisure time habits of their students in academic year 2013/2014. This study included a total of 116 voluntary undergraduated students (male:23, female:93). The questionnaire included 31 items, distributed in 5 blocks: descriptive data (3 items), healthy habits (5 items), feeding habits (5 items), sedentary behavior (14 items) and unhealthy behaviors (4 items). The anthropometric measures body mass and body height were taken using standard procedures and instruments, and accordingly, BMI (height/weight2) values were calculated. Surveyed male students reported greater participation in healthy habits than did female students, and they also spent more time with sedentary behavior, but the difference weren’t significant. Students spent little time on physical activities in their free time and a lot of time with sedentary behaviour. It has to be changed, because by time they will become teachers and if they are bad examples to children we can’t expect from the society to be healthie

Negative PARP immunohistochemistry as a predictor of platinum sensitivity in ovarian cancer

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The Prognostic Value of PARP Expression in High-Grade Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

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