Design of Photosensitizing Agents for Targeted Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy

Photodynamic inactivation of microorganisms has gained substantial attention due to its unique mode of action, in which pathogens are unable to generate resistance, and due to the fact that it can be applied in a minimally invasive manner. In photodynamic therapy (PDT), a non-toxic photosensitizer (PS) is activated by a specific wavelength of light and generates highly cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as superoxide (O2-, type-I mechanism) or singlet oxygen (1O2*, type-II mechanism). Although it offers many advantages over conventional treatment methods, ROS-mediated microbial killing is often faced with the issues of accessibility, poor selectivity and off-target damage. Thus, several strategies have been employed to develop target-specific antimicrobial PDT (aPDT). This includes conjugation of known PS building-blocks to either non-specific cationic moieties or target-specific antibiotics and antimicrobial peptides, or combining them with targeting nanomaterials. In this review, we summarise these general strategies and related challenges, and highlight recent developments in targeted aPDT

High fidelity fibre-based physiological sensing deep in tissue

Physiological sensing deep in tissue, remains a clinical challenge. Here a flexible miniaturised sensing optrode providing a platform to perform minimally invasive in vivo in situ measurements is reported. Silica microspheres covalently coupled with a high density of ratiometrically configured fluorophores were deposited into etched pits on the distal end of a 150 micron diameter multicore optical fibre. With this platform, multiplexed photonic measurements of pH and oxygen concentration with high precision in the distal alveolar space of the lung is reported. We demonstrated the phenomenon that high-density deposition of carboxyfluorescein covalently coupled to silica microspheres shows an inverse shift in fluorescence in response to varying pH. This platform delivered fast and accurate measurements, near instantaneous response time, no photobleaching, immunity to power fluctuations and a flexible architecture for addition of multiple sensors

Risk factors for complications in cancer patients with totally implantable access ports: A retrospective study and review of the literature

Objectives To analyze the risk factors for complications associated with the use of totally implantable access ports (TIAPs) in cancer patients. Methods Data for 2,713 cancer patients who received a TIAP between January 2010 and September 2016 at a single center were analyzed retrospectively. Results The average age of the patients was 54.2 +/- 9.92 years, and 1,247 (47.5%) were women. The right subclavian vein was the preferred insertion site. Seventy-seven patients developed early complications and 50 developed late complications. The incidence of complications increased as the number of punctures increased. Percutaneous intervention increased the risk of complications during port insertion, but age, sex, body mass index, and the use of physiological saline solution instead of heparin for washing after port insertion did not increase the risk. The use of ultrasonography during insertion reduced the risk of complications. Conclusions Various factors may affect the function of TIAPs in cancer patients both during insertion and follow-up. Age, sex, body mass index, and the use of physiological saline solution for washing did not affect the incidence of complications, but the use of ultrasonography during insertion did affect the complication rate

Care burden and burnout levels of individuals caring for homecare patients

Aging is an important problem. Nowadays life conditions have become more sophisticated. Homecare services include people with old age, disabilities, chronic illnesses, or individuals in recovery. We all have to support our elderly people's life feel more comfortable but should not forget the difficulties of caregivers in life. In this study, we aimed to evaluate that may occur in our elderly population as well as their relatives. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. The sociodemographic characteristics of the participants, the General Health Questionnaire – 28 (GHQ-28), Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale (ZCBS) were analyzed. SPSS 24.0 program was used for the analysis. Of the 150 caregiving people included in the study, 67.3% of the caregivers were first-degree relatives. The main disease of 65.3% of the patients who were cared for was neurological. Caregivers who performed care over two years had higher scores on the ZCBS and MBI, but it was only ZCBS that was statistically significant in this group (p=0.16). It may be a support method for both parts to reduce the burden of care of individuals who care for their patients at home and to contribute to their social lives. [Med-Science 2023; 12(4.000): 1128-33

Metastatic Lymph Node Ratio (Nratio) is an Independent Parameter of TNM Classification in Gastric Cancer Prognosis

Objective: Lymph node metastasis is known to be an important prognostic factor in the gastric cancers. In different staging classifications, the nodal involvement is evaluated in terms of the location and/or number of the metastatic lymph nodes. However, in the Western countries the minimum number of 15 lymph nodes required for an evaluation has been obtained in only 30% of the radical resections performed in the gastric cancer cases; and due to the heterogeneous survival responses in the same stage patients and the phase shifts, use of the metastatic lymph node ratio (N-ratio) rather than of the total number of positive nodes has recently been recommended for the nodal evaluation. In this study, our main objective is to retrospectively analyze the effect of the prognostic parameters to the five-year survival in the gastric cancers, and to particularly investigate the prognostic value of the N-ratio

The Diagnostic Significance of PDGF, EphA7, CCR5, and CCL5 Levels in Colorectal Cancer

In this study, we compared the levels of C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5), C-C motif chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and EphrinA7 (EphA7) in patients with colorectal carcinoma and healthy controls in order to investigate the significance and usability of these potential biomarkers in early diagnosis of colorectal cancer. The study included 70 colorectal carcinoma patients and 40 healthy individuals. The CCR5, CCL5, PDGF, and EphA7 levels were measured using ELISA in blood samples. PDGF-BB, EphA7, CCR5, and CCL5 levels of the patients with colorectal carcinoma were significantly higher compared to the control group (p < 0.001 for each comparison). Our logistic regression analysis (the area under the curve was 0.958) supports the notion that PDGF-BB, EphA7, and CCL5 are potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of colon cancer. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were found to be 87.9%, 87.5%, 92.1%, and 81.4%, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the relationship between colorectal carcinoma and the four biomarkers CCL5, CCR5, PDGF, and EphA7. The significantly elevated levels of all these parameters in the patient group compared to the healthy controls indicate that they can be used for the early diagnosis of colorectal carcinoma

Nectin-2 and Nectin-4 Adhesion Molecules in Patients with Breast Cancer

OBJECTIV