Chitosan-Coated Liposome Formulations for Encapsulation of Ciprofloxacin and Etoposide.

Cancer and bacterial infections rank among the most significant global health threats. accounting for roughly 25 million fatalities each year. This statistic underscores the urgent necessity for developing novel drugs, enhancing current treatments, and implementing systems that boost their bioavailability to achieve superior therapeutic outcomes. Liposomes have been recognised as effective carriers; nonetheless, they encounter issues with long-term stability and structural integrity, which limit their pharmaceutical applicability. Chitosomes (chitosan-coated liposomes) are generally a good alternative to solve these issues. This research aims to demonstrate the effective individual encapsulation of ciprofloxacin (antibacterial, hydrophilic) and etoposide (anticancer, hydrophobic), within chitosomes to create more effective drug delivery systems (oral administration for ciprofloxacin, parenteral administration for etoposide). Thus, liposomes and chitosomes were prepared using the thin-film hydration technique and were characterised through ATR-FTIR, Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), zeta potential, and release profiling. In both cases, the application of chitosomes enhanced long-term stability in size and surface charge. Chitosome-encapsulated ciprofloxacin formulations exhibited a slower and sustained release profile, while the combined effect of etoposide and chitosan showed heightened efficacy against the glioblastoma cell line U373. Therefore, coating liposomes with chitosan improved the encapsulation system's properties, resulting in a promising method for drug delivery.

Author Correction: Increasing neurogenesis refines hippocampal activity rejuvenating navigational learning strategies and contextual memory throughout life.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Increasing neurogenesis refines hippocampal activity rejuvenating navigational learning strategies and contextual memory throughout life.

Functional plasticity of the brain decreases during ageing causing marked deficits in contextual learning, allocentric navigation and episodic memory. Adult neurogenesis is a prime example of hippocampal plasticity promoting the contextualisation of information and dramatically decreases during ageing. We found that a genetically-driven expansion of neural stem cells by overexpression of the cell cycle regulators Cdk4/cyclinD1 compensated the age-related decline in neurogenesis. This triggered an overall inhibitory effect on the trisynaptic hippocampal circuit resulting in a changed profile of CA1 sharp-wave ripples known to underlie memory consolidation. Most importantly, increased neurogenesis rescued the age-related switch from hippocampal to striatal learning strategies by rescuing allocentric navigation and contextual memory. Our study demonstrates that critical aspects of hippocampal function can be reversed in old age, or compensated throughout life, by exploiting the brain's endogenous reserve of neural stem cells.

[Vanishing prostate cancer. Clinical presentation and histological review]. / Cáncer evanescente de la próstata. Presentación clínica y revisión histológica.

The impossibility to identify cancer in the final surgical specimen has been reported in some patients with prostate cancer undergoing radical prostatectomy. This has been attributed to either a wrong diagnosis or pathological technique, or to spontaneous or biopsy-induced cure of the tumor. This study assessed the incidence of vanishing prostate cancer in our department for 12 years, the clinical characteristics of patients, and their follow-up. The initial puncture biopsies were also re-evaluated using inmunohistochemical stains. Prostate cancer could not be confirmed in the surgical specimen in six out of 346 operated patients (1.73%) receiving no neoadjuvant therapy. When the initial biopsies were reviewed, cancer was only confirmed in three patients. Incidence of vanishing cancer at our department in the 12-year period considered was 0.86% (3/346). No tumor relapse occurred during 4.5 years of follow-up.

Accumulation of De-Icing Salt and Leaching in Spanish Soils Surrounding Roadways.

The environmental implications of soil salinity caused by accumulation of de-icing salt and leaching in soils of northeastern Spain were examined. For this purpose, the concentrations of ions associated with diagnosing and managing this problem were evaluated from several measurements performed over one year along a road. This analysis demonstrated a higher concentration of soluble Na⁺ in the soil 3 m from a road in the northernmost part of the study area in February, which made the soil saline-sodic. Data from the rest of the study period (during the spring and summer) demonstrated that the de-icing salt moved to areas farther south by runoff water, which caused environmental impacts by modifying soil characteristics. These results suggest that leaching of Ca2+ and Mg2+ cations occurred faster in the studied systems in sodic soils. Leaching of these cations may affect plant yield, and results in environmental impacts within 3-30 m from the road. Awareness of this impact will be useful for developing future strategies for evaluating and reporting these complex relationships within Spain's transport system and environment.

Pavlovian Conditioning of Larval Drosophila: An Illustrated, Multilingual, Hands-On Manual for Odor-Taste Associative Learning in Maggots.

Larval Drosophila offer a study case for behavioral neurogenetics that is simple enough to be experimentally tractable, yet complex enough to be worth the effort. We provide a detailed, hands-on manual for Pavlovian odor-reward learning in these animals. Given the versatility of Drosophila for genetic analyses, combined with the evolutionarily shared genetic heritage with humans, the paradigm has utility not only in behavioral neurogenetics and experimental psychology, but for translational biomedicine as well. Together with the upcoming total synaptic connectome of the Drosophila nervous system and the possibilities of single-cell-specific transgene expression, it offers enticing opportunities for research. Indeed, the paradigm has already been adopted by a number of labs and is robust enough to be used for teaching in classroom settings. This has given rise to a demand for a detailed, hands-on manual directed at newcomers and/or at laboratory novices, and this is what we here provide. The paradigm and the present manual have a unique set of features: The paradigm is cheap, easy, and robust;The manual is detailed enough for newcomers or laboratory novices;It briefly covers the essential scientific context;It includes sheets for scoring, data analysis, and display;It is multilingual: in addition to an English version we provide German, French, Japanese, Spanish and Italian language versions as well.The present manual can thus foster science education at an earlier age and enable research by a broader community than has been the case to date.

Measurement, modeling, and prediction of temperature rise due to optogenetic brain stimulation.

Optogenetics is one of the most important techniques in neurophysiology, with potential clinical applications. However, the strong light needed may cause harmful temperature rises. So far, there are no methods to reliably estimate brain heating and safe limits in actual optogenetic experiments. We used thermal imaging to directly measure such temperature rises at the surface of live mouse brains during laser illumination with wavelengths and intensities typical for optogenetics. We then modeled the temperature rise with a simple logarithmic model. Our results indicate that previous finite-element models can underestimate temperature increases by an order of magnitude. We validate our empirical model by predicting the temperature rise caused by pulsed stimulation paradigms. These predictions fit closely to the empirical data and constitute a better estimate of real temperature increases. Additionally, we provide a web-based app for easy calculation that can be used as a tool for safe design of optogenetic experiments.

Flow cytometry to evaluate Anaplasma marginale parasitemia using a fluorescent nucleic acid stain.

In this work we describe a flow cytometry-based method using SYTO16 (a DNA intercalating agent) to quantify Anaplasma marginale-infected erythrocytes in blood from bovine animals. The linearity and reproducibility of the results obtained with SYTO16 labeling followed by flow cytometry analysis make it a suitable approach for measurement of parasitemia in A. marginale infections.

Proliferación de acinos pequeños atípicos (ASAP) en biopsias prostáticas transrectales / Atipical small acinar proliferation in transrectal prostatic biopsy

Introducción: El 2-5 por ciento de biopsias prostáticas transrectales (BpTr) contienen proliferaciones de pequeñosacinos sospechosos de cáncer, pero que no cumplen criterios diagnósticos de malignidad, denominados ASAP (“Atypical Small Acinar Proliferation”). Se ha identificado adenocarcinoma en 34- 60 por ciento de biopsias posteriores, sugiriéndose repetir BpTr en presencia de ASAP. Materiales y métodos: revisamos la prevalencia de ASAP en las BpTr realizadas entre enero de 2000y diciembre de 2005 y la asociación con cáncer prostático al realizar seguimiento con una nueva BpTr.Resultados: Se realizaron 2389 BpTr, identificándose ASAP en el 2,6 por ciento de estas. Se diagnosticóadenocarcinoma prostático en 39,5 por ciento de los pacientes con seguimiento histológico.Conclusiones: ASAP posee alta asociación con cáncer prostático en pacientes sometidos a seguimientocon BpTr, alertando la necesidad de un nuevo control histológico.

Introduction: About 2 percent to 5 percent of prostate needle biopsies contain atypical small acinar proliferation (ASAP) that is suspicious of cancer but is not clearly malignant. Prostate cancer has been identified in34-60 percent of biopsies on follow up. This finding suggests repeat prostate needle biopsy in the presence of ASAP.Material and methods: We reviewed ASAP prevalence on prostate needle biopsies between January 2000 and December 2005 and the relation with adenocarcinoma on histological follow up.Results: A total of 2389 prostate needle biopsies were performed, ASAP was founded in 2.6 percent. Prostaticadenocacinoma was founded in 39.5 percent patients with histological follow up.Conclusions: The ASAP finding has high association with prostate adenocarcinoma in patients with histological follow up warning to perform an histological control.

Invasión perineural en la biopsia prostática transrectal: ¿Aumenta la probabilidad de cáncer extraprostático? / Perineural invasion in transrectal prostatic biopsy: is there an increase of extracapsular disease?

Introducción: La invasión perineural en biopsia transrectal se ha relacionado con un cáncer prostático de mayor estadío patológico. Materiales y métodos: Para determinar si la invasión perineural es un factor de riesgo de enfermedad extraprostática analizamos las biopsias transrectales y de prostatectomías radicales durante 11 años. Se agruparon según grupos de riesgo y se estimó Likelihood ratio (LR) de la invasión perineural como predictor de etapa pT3. Resultados: De 269 pacientes, 5,97 por ciento (16) presentaba invasión perineural en la biopsia transrectal. De estos 87,5 por ciento presentaba un estadio pT3, comparado a 41 por ciento del total. La invasión perineural tiene un LR (+) de 10,05 para enfermedad extraprostática. Cuando está presente la probabilidad de enfermedad pT3 aumenta de 20,1 por ciento a 71,6 por ciento en el grupo de riesgo bajo, de 54 por ciento a 92,1 por ciento en el riesgo medio y de 59,7 por ciento a 93,1 por ciento en el riesgo alto. Conclusiones: La invasión perineural en la biopsia prostática transrectal es un factor de riesgo de cáncer extraprostático.

Introduction: Perineural invasion in transrectal biopsy specimens correlates with higher pathological stages in prostate cancer. Material and methods: To determinate if perineural invasion is a risk factor for non organo-confined disease we analyzed 269 consecutive transrectal biopsy and radical prostatectomy specimens over the period of eleven years. They were categorized in risk groups and the Likelihood ratio (LR) of the perineural invasion as a predictor of phase pT3 was calculated. Results: Of 269 patients, 5.97 percent (16) had a perineural invasion in a transrectal biopsy. Of those patients, 87.5 percent had phase pT3, compared to 41 percent of the total. The perineural invasion has an LR (+) 10,05 for non organo-confined disease, when it’s present the LR of pT3 disease increases from 20.1percent to 71.6 percent in the low-risk group, from 54 percent to 92.1 percent in the medium risk and 59.7 percent to 93.1 percent in the high risk group. Conclusions: The perineural invasion in transrectal prostate biopsy is a risk factor for non organo-confined disease.

Displasia congénita de cadera: un sub-programa modificado para su aplicación en cualquier hospital tipo-4 / Congenital hip dysplasia: a modified sub-program for application in any hospital type-4

Se presenta la forma de implementación de un sub-programa modificado de D.C.C. para su aplicación en cualquier Hospital tipo-4. Dicho sub-programa se implementó tras la apreciación que en la localidad de Chanco existen una serie de factores adversos que dificultan su tratamiento, pero se desea dejar en claro que es una medida paliativa en espera de la hora de interconsulta. Consideramos que el tratamiento de la D.C.C. corresponde a la especialidad de Traumatología y Ortopedia infantil. Se detaca la importancia de un diagnóstico precoz y tratamiento oportuno, la importancia de educación a madres del grupo etario e riesgo y capacitación del equipo de Salud que con dicho grupo trabaja