Positive biocompatibility of several graphene derivatives with dopaminergic cells at long term culture

The emerging carbon nanomaterial graphene (G) and its oxidized derivative graphene oxide (GO) have recently gained considerable attention in biomedical applications such as cancer therapy or biosensors. It has for example been demonstrated that G has an efficient bioconjugation with common biomolecules and activates cell differentiation of neuronal stem cells (Li et al., 2013). This way, G could acts as a physical support or scaffold to promote axonal sprout as a “deceleration” support for the DA cells derived from neural stem cells. Since GO in its multilayer form and with multiples carboxilate and epoxy groups seems to shows interesting biological properties (Yang et al., 2013) the aim of the present work has been to test different graphene derivatives searching for the best scaffold to be used in stem cell differentiation. For this purpose we have tested the cytotoxicity of GO and reduced GO, and specifically its biocompatibility with SN4741, a dopaminergic cells line derived from mouse substance nigra, measuring the effect in the cells at long term culture. The cells were cultured in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium 10% FCS (Gibco) to about 80% confluence. Cells were incubated applying 1.000 cells in 96-well microliter plates with graphene using three chemically different types of GO as powders and films: 1) GO, which is hydrophilic; 2) partially reduced GO (PRGO) which is hydrophobic and 3) fully reduced GO (FRGO), also hydrophobic, in five concentrations: 1 mg/ml; 0.1 mg/ml; 0.05 mg/ml; 0.02 mg/ml and 0.01 mg/ml, in each type of graphene. Cells were cultured with GO and cell viability was determined after 24 hours, 1 week and 2 weeks using the MTT assay (Roche) and cytotoxicitity was determined by the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (Roche) assay measured at 560nm. The results demonstrated positive biocompatibility between the G-derivatives and SN4741 cells. We conclude that the use of our G-derivative scaffolds can enhance the neural differentiation towards neurons (TH positive) providing a cell growth microenvironments and appropriate synergistic cell guidance cues. This findings demonstrated that biocompatibility of scaffolds is a pre-requisite for generation of successful clinical application of graphene. It could offer a platform for neural stem cells and a promising approach for neural regeneration in the research of neurological diseases like PD. Long-term studies on the biological effects of graphene will now be performed for the development of therapeutic treatment as the goal. (Refs: Li N., Zhang Q, Gao S. et a., 2013, Nature/Sci Rep. 3:1604. doi: 10.1038/srep01604; Yan K., Li Y., Tan X., et al., 2013, Small., 9(9-10): 1492-1503)1. Universidad de Malaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucia Tech, España. 2. The Norwegian Research Council (grant nº 215086, Oslo, Noruega. 3. Karolinska Institute Reasearch Fund, Estocolmo, Suecia

Comparison of rule-based learning in monolinguals and multilinguals

The majority of multilingual research has studied monolinguals and bilinguals; however, with the increasing number of multilinguals, it is imperative to focus on multilingual language acquisition and retention. The current study compared the ability of monolinguals, bilinguals, and trilinguals to acquire and retain a morphosyntactic rule in a foreign language. Twelve monolingual, twelve bilinguals, and twelve trilingual participants completed a rule-based learning task. The participants were trained to use the preterite verb tense in Spanish, and their ability to retain this morphosyntactic rule was evaluated over three phases: baseline, immediate retention, and delayed retention. The accuracy of participants' responses and reaction time following the presentation of the stimuli was measured using E-prime software. The accuracy data found a significant main effect in the phases of learning across the participant groups. Similar results were noted for reaction time as well. There was a significant main effect of the phases of learning across the three groups for reaction time. All participants performed better during the delayed retention phase compared to immediate retention and baseline. Bilingual participants demonstrated better accuracy, while trilingual participants were the least accurate. On the contrary, trilingual participants had the shortest reaction time, while bilinguals had a longer reaction time. The current study found evidence for both facilitation and cross-linguistic interference during the process of language acquisition in multilinguals. Research in multilingual language acquisition suggests that previous language exposure may have both positive and negative impacts on novel language learning based on a range of factors

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En kasusstudie av hvordan Coop forholder seg til teknologisk innovasjon i dagligvarehandelen og konsekvensene dette har for forbrukerne og samfunnet.Masteroppgave i medier og kommunikasjonMEVI350MASV-MEV

Weight gain during treatment course of allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with hematological malignancies affects treatment outcome

This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Background aims: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is an effective treatment for patients with hematological malignancies; however, allo-HSCT does not come without the cost of treatmentrelated morbidity and mortality. Early detection of risk factors could be helpful in identifying patients who could benefit from early interventions. Many patients gain weight during the allo-HSCT treatment, although little is known about the impact of weight gain. Methods: Weight gain in 146 consecutively enrolled adult patients undergoing allo-HSCT was explored. Results: In total, 141 patients (97%) gained weight along the course of allo-HSCT. Median weight increase was 4.8 kg (range 0.016.1 kg), with median increase in body weight 6.5% (range 0.0%30.8%). Maximum weight increase was observed at day +7 (range day 8, +44). Weight gain was associated with increased incidence of acute graft-versus-host disease. Patients with weight gain >10% had a significantly greater 5-year mortality compared with those with lower weight gain (P = 0.031, rank sum test). Conclusions: Weight gain is a simple variable with the ability to provide prognostic information for patients undergoing allo-HSCT.publishedVersio

Carbapenem‐resistant enterobacteriaceae—implications for treating acute leukemias, a subgroup of hematological malignancies

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Acute leukemias (AL) are a group of aggressive malignant diseases associated with a high degree of morbidity and mortality. Patients with AL are highly susceptible to infectious diseases due to the disease itself, factors attributed to treatment, and specific individual risk factors. Enterobacteriaceae presence (e.g., Klebsiella pneumonia and Escherichia coli) is a frequent cause of bloodstream infections in AL patients. Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) is an emerging health problem worldwide; however, the incidence of CRE varies greatly between different regions. Carbapenem resistance in Enterobacteriaceae is caused by different mechanisms, and CRE may display various resistance profiles. Bacterial co-expression of genes conferring resistance to both broad-spectrum β-lactam antibiotics (including carbapenems) and other classes of antibiotics may give rise to multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). The spread of CRE represents a major treatment challenge for clinicians due to lack of randomized clinical trials (RCTs), a limited number of antibiotics available, and the side-effects associated with them. Most research concerning CRE infections in AL patients are limited to case reports and retrospective reviews. Current research recommends treatment with older antibiotics, such as polymyxins, fosfomycin, older aminoglycosides, and in some cases carbapenems. To prevent the spread of resistant microbes, it is of pivotal interest to implement antibiotic stewardship to reduce broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment, but without giving too narrow a treatment to neutropenic infected patients.publishedVersio

Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae—Implications for Treating Acute Leukemias, a Subgroup of Hematological Malignancies

Acute leukemias (AL) are a group of aggressive malignant diseases associated with a high degree of morbidity and mortality. Patients with AL are highly susceptible to infectious diseases due to the disease itself, factors attributed to treatment, and specific individual risk factors. Enterobacteriaceae presence (e.g., Klebsiella pneumonia and Escherichia coli) is a frequent cause of bloodstream infections in AL patients. Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) is an emerging health problem worldwide; however, the incidence of CRE varies greatly between different regions. Carbapenem resistance in Enterobacteriaceae is caused by different mechanisms, and CRE may display various resistance profiles. Bacterial co-expression of genes conferring resistance to both broad-spectrum β-lactam antibiotics (including carbapenems) and other classes of antibiotics may give rise to multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). The spread of CRE represents a major treatment challenge for clinicians due to lack of randomized clinical trials (RCTs), a limited number of antibiotics available, and the side-effects associated with them. Most research concerning CRE infections in AL patients are limited to case reports and retrospective reviews. Current research recommends treatment with older antibiotics, such as polymyxins, fosfomycin, older aminoglycosides, and in some cases carbapenems. To prevent the spread of resistant microbes, it is of pivotal interest to implement antibiotic stewardship to reduce broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment, but without giving too narrow a treatment to neutropenic infected patients.publishedVersio

Endocan in Acute Leukemia: Current knowledge and future perspectives

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).Endocan is a soluble dermatan sulfate proteoglycan expressed by endothelial cells and detected in serum/plasma. Its expression is increased in tumors/tumor vessels in several human malignancies, and high expression (high serum/plasma levels or tumor levels) has an adverse prognostic impact in several malignancies. The p14 endocan degradation product can also be detected in serum/plasma, but previous clinical studies as well as previously unpublished results presented in this review suggest that endocan and p14 endocan fragment levels reflect different biological characteristics, and the endocan levels seem to reflect the disease heterogeneity in acute leukemia better than the p14 fragment levels. Furthermore, decreased systemic endocan levels in previously immunocompetent sepsis patients are associated with later severe respiratory complications, but it is not known whether this is true also for immunocompromised acute leukemia patients. Finally, endocan is associated with increased early nonrelapse mortality in (acute leukemia) patients receiving allogeneic stem cell transplantation, and this adverse prognostic impact seems to be independent of the adverse impact of excessive fluid overload. Systemic endocan levels may also become important to predict cytokine release syndrome after immunotherapy/haploidentical transplantation, and in the long-term follow-up of acute leukemia survivors with regard to cardiovascular risk. Therapeutic targeting of endocan is now possible, and the possible role of endocan in acute leukemia should be further investigated to clarify whether the therapeutic strategy should also be considered.publishedVersio

Endocan in Acute Leukemia: Current Knowledge and Future Perspectives

Endocan is a soluble dermatan sulfate proteoglycan expressed by endothelial cells and detected in serum/plasma. Its expression is increased in tumors/tumor vessels in several human malignancies, and high expression (high serum/plasma levels or tumor levels) has an adverse prognostic impact in several malignancies. The p14 endocan degradation product can also be detected in serum/plasma, but previous clinical studies as well as previously unpublished results presented in this review suggest that endocan and p14 endocan fragment levels reflect different biological characteristics, and the endocan levels seem to reflect the disease heterogeneity in acute leukemia better than the p14 fragment levels. Furthermore, decreased systemic endocan levels in previously immunocompetent sepsis patients are associated with later severe respiratory complications, but it is not known whether this is true also for immunocompromised acute leukemia patients. Finally, endocan is associated with increased early nonrelapse mortality in (acute leukemia) patients receiving allogeneic stem cell transplantation, and this adverse prognostic impact seems to be independent of the adverse impact of excessive fluid overload. Systemic endocan levels may also become important to predict cytokine release syndrome after immunotherapy/haploidentical transplantation, and in the long-term follow-up of acute leukemia survivors with regard to cardiovascular risk. Therapeutic targeting of endocan is now possible, and the possible role of endocan in acute leukemia should be further investigated to clarify whether the therapeutic strategy should also be considered.publishedVersio

Exposure to graphene in a pilot production plant

Workers exposure to graphene was measured in a pilot production plant. Reduced graphene oxide was produced through graphite oxidation and posterior thermal reduction. The monitoring was performed using two handheld on-line devices covering the particle size range from 10 nm to 10 μm (CPC3007 and OPS3330). Simultaneously, personal and area filter samples were collected for off line analysis, including gravimetric, elemental carbon analysis and SEM/EDX. Significant releases of particles were identified in two tasks, during the graphene oxide washing, and during its milling. However, the analysis of the particles size distribution and of their morphology suggested that the released particles were not the target nanomaterial but engine generated nanoparticles. The mass of elemental carbon in the collected filters was below the quantification limit and the calculated graphene mass concentrations were quite below the selected reference exposure limit. Overall, this work showed that worker exposure to graphene was low in this pilot plant, contributing to guarantee a safe process, prior to its industrialization.This research was carried out as part of the project FAST- Functionally Graded Additive Manufacturing Scaffolds by Hybrid Manufacturing. The project FAST has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 685825

Forskjeller og likheter mellom klynger i industrien og reiselivet : et eksplorativt casestudie av ARMS og Snowball

Formål- Formålet med denne studien har vært å studere forskjeller og likheter mellom klynger i industrien og reiselivet. Målet med dette var å øke kunnskapen om hva som kjennetegner industri- og reiselivsklynger. Metode- Studien er et flercasestudie basert på FoU-prosjektet ARMS på Røros og klyngeprosjektet Snowball i Lillehammer og Midt-Gudbrandsdalen. ARMS er industricasen, mens Snowball er reiselivscasen i denne studien. Empiri har blitt innhentet gjennom i alt 12 intervjuer med bedrifter, prosjektledere og FoU-aktører. Seks intervjuer for hvert case. Både datainnsamling og dataanalyse har vært teoristyrt med utgangspunkt i klynger, Porters diamantmodell, kunnskapsbaser, samarbeid og rivalisering samt innovasjonssystemer. Funn- Studien finner at industricasen har kunnskapskoblinger og reiselivscasen har markedskoblinger. Klyngene er like i forhold til klyngedefinisjonen, mens det finnes forskjeller i forhold til Porters diamantmodell, kunnskapsbase, og samarbeid og rivalisering. Industriklynger er kjennetegnet av samarbeid, og har typisk vitenskapelig kunnskapsbase. Studien viser at Porters Diamantmodell ikke kan benyttes som analyseverktøy for å forstå industriklyngers konkurransedyktighet. Reiselivsklynger er kjennetegnet av både samarbeid og rivalisering, og har typisk erfaringsbasert kunnskapsbase. Det konkluderes med at Porters diamantmodell kan benyttes som analyseverktøy til å forstå reiselivsklyngers konkurransedyktighet. Det blir også funnet at industriklynger og reiselivsklynger inngår i to ulike innovasjonssystemer. Koblingen mellom klynger og innovasjonssystemer danner grunnlaget for utvikling av et analyseverktøy, som har fått navnet “Klyngesystemet”. Ettersom industricasen har kunnskapskoblinger og reiselivscasen har markedskoblinger er funnene kun representative for industri- og reiselivsklynger med tilsvarende koblinger. Verdi- Der er forsket både på klynger i industrien og reiselivet, men det er i liten grad forsket på likheter og forskjeller mellom klynger i de to næringene. Dette studiet besvarer denne problemstillingen, og gir på denne måten et teoretisk bidrag. Modellen “Klyngesystemet” kan benyttes som et analyseverktøy til å analysere styrker og svakheter for klyngers konkurranse- og innovasjonsevne