Fabrication of 3D cylindrical thermosensitive hydrogels as supports for cell culture and detachment of tubular cell sheets.

Pseudo interpenetrating vinyl-caprolactam (VCL) based thermosensitive tubular hydrogels with a volume phase transition temperature, VPTT, around 35 °C, have been prepared by combining two different crosslinkers, a di-methacrylate (C1) and a di-vinyl urea (C2). The molar ratio between the two crosslinkers (for a global crosslinker molar percentage of 1.9) has shown to play a key role on the properties of the hydrogel. Increasing the amount of di-vinyl urea, leads to transparent but rather fragile materials and to a lower extent of thermosensitivity, that is, to a lower variation in the hydrogel swelling upon temperature change. However, tubes prepared with a selected crosslinker molar ratio C1/C2 of 65/35 provided a compromise between transparency, thermosensitivity and maneuverability and were, thus, evaluated as supports for cell culture using premyoblastic cells. These hydrogels, used as supports, allow for surface adhesion and cell proliferation until confluence, and eventually an efficient monolayer detachment (and transplant to a 3D-printed polylactic acid (PLA) support) through a controlled drop in temperature. As a result, this method permits to obtain tubular tissue constructs with potential applications in tissue engineering such as in the elaboration of vascular grafts.

Antiplatelet Therapy in a Patient with Coronary Artery Disease and Myelodysplastic Syndrome with Thrombocytopenia.

To date, there are no sufficient data to make firm recommendations on the treatment of patients with severe thrombocytopenia who require antiplatelet therapy after experiencing acute coronary syndrome. Therefore, we think that it is important to communicate the experience with individual cases. We report the case of a patient who presented with pericardial effusion causing cardiac tamponade. He had thrombocytopenia associated with myelodysplastic syndrome, and ten weeks before this admission, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty with implantation of drug-eluting stents was performed for non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome. Platelets in myelodysplastic syndromes are dysfunctional, which exacerbates bleeding from thrombocytopenia, and the management of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in these patients is challenging.

[Knowledge and attitudes as regards Living Wills between Primary and Specialised Care Doctors in the Ferrol Health Area]. / Conocimientos y actitudes sobre las instrucciones previas de los médicos de Atención Primaria y Especializada del área sanitaria de Ferrol.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the knowledge, the experience and the attitudes of the health professionals of Primary (PC) and Specialized (SC) Carein our Health Area with respect to Living Wills (LW). MATERIAL AND METHOD: Descriptive, cross-sectional study, by means of a survey addressed to PC and SC doctors Ferrol (Galicia, Spain) Health Area RESULTS: A total of 120 (42.85%) doctors completed the questionnaire.The professionals self-assessed their level of knowledge with a mean of 3.83 (rank from 0 to 10). Only 21 professionals (17.5%) had objective knowledge of LW, that is to say, they fulfilled the following premises: they had read some pieces of LW legislation, had read an LW document and knew the elements that could figure in it. There were differences that verged on the statistical significance in the objective knowledge between PC and SC doctors (11.7% versus 23.3%, P= .093) and between professionals with under 10 years of professional experience and those with more than 10 years (6.9% versus 21.1%, P=.081). These differences reached statistical significance in some of the items that valued the objective knowledge. A few professionals (28 (23.3%)), had explained to their patients the convenience of having written an LW document, and even fewer (8 (6,7%)) had helped patients with writing one. CONCLUSIONS: The knowledge of health care professionals can be clearly improved. The highest deficiency was found between PC professionals and those with less experience. Nevertheless, they showed a favourable attitude towards them.