Graphene Oxide Electroreduced onto Boron-Doped Diamond and Electrodecorated with Silver (Ag/GO/BDD) Electrode for Tetracycline Detection in Aqueous Solution.

A new electrochemical sensor designed by modifying the commercial boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode with graphene oxide (GO) reduced electrochemically and further electrodecorated with silver (Ag), named the Ag/GO/BDD electrode, was selected among a series of the BDD, GOelectroreduced onto BDD (GO/BDD) and silver electrodeposited onto BDD (Ag/BDD) electrodes for the detection of tetracycline (TC) in aqueous solution. The best results regarding the sensitivity of 46.6 µA·µM-1·cm-2 and the lowest limit of detection of 5 nM was achieved using square-wave voltammetry (SWV) operated at the step potential of 5 mV, modulation amplitude of 200 mV and the frequency of 10 Hz in alkaline medium. The application of the alkaline supporting electrolyte-based procedure is limited for water monitoring due to the presence of chloride that interferes with TC detection; however, it can be applied for quantitative determination of pharmaceutical formulations. 0.1 M Na2SO4 supporting electrolyte eliminated chloride interference and can be used for the application of Ag/GO/BDD in practical detection of TC in water.

Active protein and calcium hydroxyapatite bilayers grown by laser techniques for therapeutic applications.

Active protein and bioceramic calcium hydroxyapatite (HA) bilayers were grown by combining conventional pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) techniques. A pulsed UV KrF* excimer laser was used for the irradiations. The HA layers were grown by PLD. Proteins with antimicrobial action were attached to the bioceramic layers using MAPLE. The composite MAPLE targets were obtained by dissolving the proteins powder in distilled water. The crystalline status and chemical composition of the obtained structures were studied by X-ray diffractometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The layers were grown for the design of advanced future metal implants coatings, ensuring both enhanced bone formation and localized antimicrobial therapy. Our results demonstrated that protein coatings improve bone cell proliferation in vitro. Immunofluorescence experiments show that actin filaments stretch throughout bone cells and sustain their optimal spreading.

Preliminary results of orthotopic en bloc uterus and ovary transplantation in the laboratory rat.

A new experimental model of whole uterus and ovary transplantation in the laboratory rat was achieved. The main goals of this study were concerned with developing and standardizing the microsurgical technique of uterus transplantation in rats and observing the particular cellular patterns of acute allograft rejection at the level of the transplanted graft. Thirty-five orthotopic uterus transplantations were performed. An additional 20 female rats were used for dissection training sessions. Recipients were euthanasied at 24 hours, 48 hours and 72 hours. Immediate postoperative survival was 100%. Patency of the microsurgical anastomoses, checked at 24 hours, was 100%. At 72 hours thrombosis occurred in all anastomoses. The explanted uterine grafts were fixed in formaline and analyzed under light microscopy and specific imunohistochemical analysis. The acute allograft rejection has a particular cellular reaction pattern, probably due to the unique diversity of the tissues that compose it. Inflammatory cells like LTCD8+, LBCD20+ and mastocytes tend to agglomerate in the vicinity of nervous and vascular structures, showing no signs of lymphoid tissue disposition like in typical acute rejection. Uterus transplantation in rats has proven to be a valid experiment that allows us to express hope that by further research on transplantation of the uterus gynecologists will be able to introduce an adapted technique in the treatment of specific cases of human female infertility.

Variation of cephalometric parameters in peri-puberty cephalometric aspects of sexual dymorphism.

The data regarding the global and segmental growth and development of the child are useful in pluri-disciplinary studies which view the human body as an entity where the biological aspects (both the normal and the pathological ones) interlace with the socio-cultural ones, thus offering the possibility to any specialist in the field of humanities and morphological studies to cover a wide range in contemporary anthropological research. The development of the skull takes place in two active stages separated by a stage of relative quiet during the age of seven and puberty when the skull has a dolicocephalic aspect. During the second stage of active growth (which starts with puberty) there is a transversal growth of the basis of the cranium followed by an anteroposterior growth. The degree of gender-related differences as far as the dimensions and proportions of the skull are concerned vary greatly according to race, therefore we may say that general ethnic differences are more pronounced than gender-related ones.