Mechanism of the antimicrobial activity induced by phosphatase inhibitor sodium ortho-vanadate.

The present study describes a novel antimicrobial mechanism based on Sodium Orthovanadate (SOV), an alkaline phosphatase inhibitor. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were employed to examine the surface morphologies of the test organism, Escherichia coli (E. coli), during various antibacterial phases. Our results indicated that SOV kills bacteria by attacking cell wall growth and development, leaving E. coli's outer membrane intact. Our antimicrobial test indicated that the MIC of SOV for both E. coli and Lactococcus lactis (L. lactis) is 40 µM. A combination of quantum mechanical calculations and vibrational spectroscopy revealed that divanadate from SOV strongly coordinates with Ca2+ and Mg2+, which are the activity centers for the phosphatase that regulates bacterial cell wall synthesis. The current study is the first to propose the antibacterial mechanism caused by SOV attacking cell wall.

Physicochemical Characterization, Antioxidant and Tyrosinase Inhibitory Activities of Coffea Robusta Monofloral Honey from Dak Lak Province, Vietnam.

Robusta coffee blossom honey stands as a key regional product in Dak Lak province, Vietnam. Despite its significance, there exists a dearth of scientific data for assessing its quality. This study aims to fill this gap by characterizing the physicochemical properties and biological activities of coffee blossom honeys from three distinct sub-regions within Dak Lak province, Vietnam. These activities include ferric reducing power (FRP), DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging, as well as tyrosinase inhibitory activities. Moreover, the study compares these honey samples with other popular varieties in Vietnam, such as Lychee and Longan honeys. The physicochemical parameters of the honey samples meet the standards set by Codex Alimentarius 2001. Through UPLC analysis, eleven compounds were identified, with caffeine serving as a marker for coffee honey. Furthermore, by employing multiple factor analysis (MFA), it was observed that certain physicochemical properties correlate positively with tyrosinase inhibitory, DPPH, ABTS free radicals scavenging activities, and FRP. Notably, tyrosinase inhibitory activity exhibited a positive correlation with antioxidant activity. These findings underscore the high quality of Coffea robusta honey, showcasing its potent antioxidant and tyrosinase inhibitory activities.

Rapid detection of carcinoembryonic antigen by means of an electrochemical aptasensor.

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a critical biomarker for identifying colon cancer. This work presents an electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) based aptasensor for detecting CEA, utilizing a single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) aptamer previously selected and characterized by our research group. The surface of an interdigitated gold electrode (IDE) was successfully functionalized with an 18-HEG-modified aptamer sequence. The developed aptasensor demonstrated high specificity and sensitivity with detection limits of 2.4 pg/mL and 3.8 pg/mL for CEA in buffer and human serum samples, respectively. The optimal incubation time for the target protein was 20 min, and EIS measurements took less than 3 min. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) micrographs supported the EIS data, demonstrating a change in IDE surface roughness after each modification step, confirming the successful capture of the target. The potential of this developed EIS aptasensor in detecting CEA in complex samples holds promise.

Electrofermentation increases concentration of poly γ-glutamic acid in Bacillus subtilis biofilms.

Fluctuations in redox conditions in bioprocesses can alter the end-products, reduce their concentration, and lengthen the process time. Electrofermentation enables rapid metabolic modulation of biosynthesis and allows control of redox imbalances in biofilm-based fermentation processes. In this study, electrofermentation is used to boost the production of the bacterial biopolymer poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) from Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6051. When compared to control experiments (3.3 ± 0.99 g L-1 ), the application of an electrode potential E = 0.4 V versus Ag/AgCl results in a more than two-fold increase in the production of γ-PGA (9.13 ± 1.4 g L-1 ). Using an engineered B. subtilis strain, in which γ-PGA production is driven by isopropyl ß-d-1-thiogalactopyranoside, electrofermentation improves polymer concentrations from 15.4 ± 1.5 to 23.1 ± 1.6 versus g L-1 . These results confirm that electrofermentation conditions can be adopted to increase the concentration of γ-PGA and perhaps other extracellular biopolymers in industrial strains.

Community-based exercise program, self-reported health-related symptoms, and quality of life in persons with traumatic brain injury 45 + years old.

BACKGROUND: Individuals with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (msTBI) have reported a lack of motivation, lack of time, and fatigue as perceived barriers to exercise. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of an exercise program on self-reported health-related symptoms and quality of life in persons 45-years and older with msTBI. METHODS: Post-hoc analysis of a prospective community-based 12-week exercise program of 20 adults, age 45-80 years, with msTBI. Ten were in aerobic exercise training (AET) program and 10 in a stretching and toning (SAT) program. The AET group was instructed to exercise based on their estimated maximal heart rate (HR) for 150 minutes weekly. The SAT group was to stretch for the same target time without significantly increasing HR or level of exertion. Outcome measures were Traumatic Brain Injury Quality of Life (TBI-QOL) for global, cognitive, emotional, and social health, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for depressive symptoms, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for sleep quality. RESULTS: AET was associated with improved self-reported cognitive health and sleep compared to SAT. Moderate to large, positive effect sizes were also observed in the AET group in the QOL categories of global, emotional, and social health, and depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: This study offers preliminary evidence that AET may improve health-related QOL, especially for cognition and sleep, in middle-aged and older adults with msTBI.

Dynamic Measurement of a Cancer Biomarker: Towards In Situ Application of a Fiber-Optic Ball Resonator Biosensor in CD44 Protein Detection.

The accuracy and efficacy of medical treatment would be greatly improved by the continuous and real-time monitoring of protein biomarkers. Identification of cancer biomarkers in patients with solid malignant tumors is receiving increasing attention. Existing techniques for detecting cancer proteins, such as the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, require a lot of work, are not multiplexed, and only allow for single-time point observations. In order to get one step closer to clinical usage, a dynamic platform for biosensing the cancer biomarker CD44 using a single-mode optical fiber-based ball resonator biosensor was designed, constructed and evaluated in this work. The main novelty of the work is an in-depth study of the capability of an in-house fabricated optical fiber biosensor for in situ detection of a cancer biomarker (CD44 protein) by conducting several types of experiments. The main results of the work are as follows: (1) Calibration of the fabricated fiber-optic ball resonator sensors in both static and dynamic conditions showed similar sensitivity to the refractive index change demonstrating its usefulness as a biosensing platform for dynamic measurements; (2) The fabricated sensors were shown to be insensitive to pressure changes further confirming their utility as an in situ sensor; (3) The sensor's packaging and placement were optimized to create a better environment for the fabricated ball resonator's performance in blood-mimicking environment; (4) Incubating increasing protein concentrations with antibody-functionalized sensor resulted in nearly instantaneous signal change indicating a femtomolar detection limit in a dynamic range from 7.1 aM to 16.7 nM; (5) The consistency of the obtained signal change was confirmed by repeatability studies; (6) Specificity experiments conducted under dynamic conditions demonstrated that the biosensors are highly selective to the targeted protein; (7) Surface morphology studies by AFM measurements further confirm the biosensor's exceptional sensitivity by revealing a considerable shift in height but no change in surface roughness after detection. The biosensor's ability to analyze clinically relevant proteins in real time with high sensitivity offers an advancement in the detection and monitoring of malignant tumors, hence improving patient diagnosis and health status surveillance.

Functionalized optical fiber ball-shaped biosensor for label-free, low-limit detection of IL-8 protein.

Detection of biomarkers for tracking disease progression is becoming increasingly important in biomedicine. Using saliva as a diagnostic sample appears to be a safe, cost-effective, and non-invasive approach. Salivary interleukin-8 levels demonstrate specific changes associated with diseases such as obstructive pulmonary disease, squamous cell carcinoma, oral cancer, and breast cancer. Traditional protein detection methods, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), mass spectrometry, and Western blot are often expensive, complex, and time-consuming. In this study, an optical fiber-based biosensor was developed to detect salivary IL-8 protein in a label-free manner. The biosensor was able to achieve an ultra-low limit detection of 0.91 fM. Moreover, the tested concentration range was wide: from 273 aM to 59 fM. As a proof-of-concept for detecting the protein in real clinical samples, the detection was carried out in artificial saliva. It was possible to achieve high sensitivity for the target protein and minimal signal alterations for the control proteins.

Controlled Synthesis of Polyaniline-Based Nanomaterials with Self-Assembly and Interface Manipulation.

Versatile nanostructures of conducting polymers are highly relevant based on unique properties, including electrical, optical, and thermal, with changes in morphology. This contribution reports a facile and reproducible synthesis approach for the design of conducting polymer nanostructures from zero- to three-dimensional composites. Two polymerization steps, namely, self-assembly-directed and interface thin layer-templated polymerizations in this synthesis, were kinetically controlled to fabricate such nanostructures directly. The uniquely designed bicontinuous nanoreactor offers an easy synthesis technique for fabricating 3D multifunctional conducting polymer composites. Self-assembly-directed polymerization could be controlled to form nanorods and further directed to form nanobowl/hollow spherical structures. The interface thin layer template process was tuned to produce hollow spherical and 2D film nanostructures. Kinetic control of polymerization was able to provide access to unprecedented nanostructures of the conducting polymers ranging from DNA origami to gecko-inspired nanostructures, with potential applications in drug delivery, energy storage, and adhesive materials. For example, this is the first conducting polymer material that can demonstrate similar adhesiveness (around 8 N/cm2) to gecko finger hairs.

A hybrid fluorescent nanofiber membrane integrated with microfluidic chips towards lung-on-a-chip applications.

Here, we report a fluorescent electrospun nanofiber membrane for integration into microfluidic devices towards lung-on-a-chip applications complemented with the results of computational fluid dynamics modelling. A proposed hybrid poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)-collagen membrane was developed, characterized, tested, and integrated into a prototype microfluidic chip for biocompatibility studies. The resulting membrane has a thickness of approximately 10 µm, can be adjusted for appropriate porosity, and offers excellent biocompatibility for mimicry of a basement membrane to be used in lung-on-a-chip device applications. Several membrane variations were synthesized and evaluated using SEM, FTIR, AFM, and high-resolution confocal fluorescence microscopy. A sample microfluidic chip made of cyclic olefin copolymer and polydimethylsiloxane was built and integrated with the developed PCL-collagen membrane for on-chip cell culture visualisation and biocompatibility studies. The sample chip design was modelled to determine the optimal fluidic conditions for using the membrane in the chip under fluidic conditions for future studies. The integration of the proposed membrane into microfluidic devices represents a novel strategy for improving lung-on-a-chip applications which can enhance laboratory recapitulation of the lung microenvironment.

4-Nitrophenol reduction and antibacterial activity of Ag-doped TiO2 photocatalysts.

Water contamination by organic pollutants is a serious environmental problem. 4-Nitrophenol (4-NP) is a potentially harmful chemical, which is commonly present in industrial effluents and can severely damage human health. Photocatalytic reduction of hazardous 4-NP by nano-sized materials to produce 4-aminophenol (4-AP), which is a commercially valuable product, is a promising alternative as the process is framed within the circular economy. In this context, Ag-doped TiO2 (AT) catalysts were synthesized by liquid impregnation and reduction techniques, and their structure, morphology, elemental composition, textural, and light absorption properties were evaluated by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, TEM, EDS, BET, and DRS spectroscopy. AT catalysts exhibited an enhanced photocatalytic reduction of 4-NP into 4-aminophenol (4-AP) in the presence of NaBH4. Among the tested catalysts, AT21 prepared by a simple aqueous reduction method showed the highest activity reaching about 98% 4-NP reduction within 10 min. Antibacterial tests of these catalysts against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa revealed that AT21 also exhibited the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration, suggesting that it has the strongest antibacterial activity. These findings suggest that AT21 catalyst with improved catalytic and antibacterial properties can potentially be utilized for the remediation of 4-NP-contaminated water environment.

Age-related smartphone use patterns among individuals with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: With mobile health technologies serving as an alternative means of providing healthcare, evaluating patients' abilities to navigate digital infrastructures is becoming increasingly relevant. The goal of this study is to investigate smartphone use patterns among individuals with history of moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: An anonymous survey was delivered via e-mail or text message to eligible participants who had a history of moderate-to-severe TBI and were prospectively followed at one of the eight participating Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems centers for at least 1-year post-injury. The survey captured demographic data and included a questionnaire to evaluate smartphone use (calling, texting, web browsing, etc.). RESULTS: A total of 2665 eligible individuals were contacted to complete the survey, 472 of which responded. 441 of them reported smartphone use. Individuals ages 45 and older were significantly less likely to use their phones for functions other than calling and texting when compared to individuals ages 18-44 (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Most individuals with moderate-to-severe TBI in this cohort demonstrated intentional smartphone use, suggesting that mobile health technologies may be feasible as a cost-effective healthcare alternative. However, doing so will require additional interventions to provide further technological education especially in older individuals with TBI.

Investigation of Natural Mucilage for Enhanced Oil Recovery: the Potential of Corchorus Olitorius Hydrocolloid.

The need for an effective offshore enhanced oil recovery (EOR) solution led to the focus on natural hydrocolloids. Polysaccharide hydrocolloid research is constantly expanding in a variety of petroleum applications such as drilling, flow assurance, and EOR. Corchorus olitorius is being examined in the present study as a potential natural polymer for chemical flooding. This study investigated the rheology and fluid flow characteristics in porous media, focusing on the effects of the concentration, temperature, and salinity of the fluid. Furthermore, core flooding was carried out to evaluate the potential recovery was characterized and found to contain a significant amount of polysaccharides and cellulose. The rheological behavior demonstrated an increase in viscosity with concentration. The relationship between viscosity and temperature is inversely proportional. Additionally, the mucilage viscosity significantly increased in the presence of 35,000 ppm NaCl, varying from 39 to 48 cp. The improvement of oil recovery by a unit PV injection is around 10 and 20% at 0 and 35,000 ppm of NaCl, respectively. In sandstone with a moderate porosity and permeability, the overall oil recovery ranges between 59 and 70%. C. olitorius has complex polysaccharide/cellulose derivatives that improved rheology and produced results that are promising for future offshore applications.

Novel carbon nanozymes with enhanced phosphatase-like catalytic activity for antimicrobial applications.

In this work, Sulfur and Nitrogen co-doped carbon nanoparticles (SN-CNPs) were synthesized by hydrothermal method using dried beet powder as the carbon source. TEM and AFM images indicated that these SN-CNPs form a round-shape ball with an approximate diameter of 50 nm. The presence of Sulfur and Nitrogen in these carbon-based nanoparticles was confirmed by FTIR and XPS analyses. These SN-CNPs were found to have strong phosphatase-like enzymatic activity. The enzymatic behavior of SN-CNPs follows the Michaelis-Menten mechanism with greater vmax and much lower Km values compared to alkaline phosphatase. Their antimicrobial properties were tested on E. coli and L. lactis, with MIC values of 63 µg mL-1 and 250 µg mL-1, respectively. SEM and AFM images of fixed and live E. coli cells revealed that SN-CNPs strongly interacted with the outer membranes of bacterial cells, significantly increasing the cell surface roughness. The chemical interaction between SN-CNPs and phospholipid modeled using quantum mechanical calculations further support our hypothesis that the phosphatase and antimicrobial properties of SN-CNPs are due to the thiol group on the SN-CNPs, which is a mimic of the cysteine-based protein phosphatase. The present work is the first to report carbon-based nanoparticles with strong phosphatase activity and propose a phosphatase natured antimicrobial mechanism. This novel class of carbon nanozymes has the potential to be used for effective catalytic and antibacterial applications.

Quality of clinical practice guidelines on interventional management of low back pain: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To appraise the quality of low back pain (LBP) clinical practice guidelines (CPG) that include interventional management recommendations and to associate their quality with characteristics including publication year and creating organization. TYPE: Systematic Review. LITERATURE SURVEY: LBP (subacute or chronic) CPGs in English (symptom based, governmental or professional society created, January 1990-May 2020) were found using MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Ortho Guidelines, CPG Infobase, ECRI, Guidelines International Network, NICE, and SIGN. METHODOLOGY: In this third order systematic review, search results were deduplicated, title and abstract screened by two independent reviewers, and full texts reviewed by four reviewers. Discrepancies were resolved by a third reviewer. Resulted CPGs were appraised using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE II) Tool by four appraisers each. Association of their quality with creating organization, geographical region, and year of creation was calculated. SYNTHESIS: Seven hundred fourteen screened documents resulted in 21 final CPGs. On appraisal, average overall CPG quality was 5.2 (range 2.5-6.75). Domain 5 (applicability) had the lowest average (44%) and domain 4 (clarity of presentation) had the highest average score (82%). For overall recommendation, 16 received "yes" or "yes with modifications," six received unanimous "yes" and two unanimous "no" votes. The interrater agreement of domain scoring was excellent (0.8-1.0; p < .001). There was no association found between quality of CPG and (1) year of publication (R2  = 0.0006), (2) whether the CPG was updated or new (p = .17), and (3) region of publication (p = .37). CONCLUSIONS: The majority of the 21 CPGs identified in this systematic review were of high quality, but overall quality and recommendation ratings were variable. The quality of appraised CPGs showed no association with their characteristics. Some domains such as "applicability" scored uniformly lower, revealing opportunity for improvement in future CPG development. LBP CPGs should be scrutinized before adopting their recommendations.

Physical activity and perceived barriers in individuals with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury.

INTRODUCTION: Regular physical activity (PA), especially aerobic exercise, may benefit cognitive function in middle-aged and older adults, but promoting regular PA in individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a challenge. OBJECTIVE: To characterize PA and perceived barriers to PA in younger (<45 years) and middle age and older (≥45 years) individuals ≥1 year after moderate-to-severe TBI. DESIGN: Multicenter survey study. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: Persons who met the following criteria were included in the study: (1) 18 years and older; (2) English speaking; (3) History of moderate-to-severe TBI; (4) Followed in a TBI Model Systems Center for at least 1 year; and (5) Able to complete the survey independently. INTERVENTION: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): PA level measured by Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity questionnaire (RAPA) and self-reported barriers to PA. RESULTS: A total of 472 participants completed the survey (response rate of 21%). More individuals in the younger group (<45 years old) met Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended aerobic PA guidelines compared to the middle-aged and older group (≥ 45 years old) (62% vs 36%, p < .001). Lack of motivation, lack of time, and fatigue were the most reported barriers. Perceived barriers to PA varied by age and PA level: the middle-aged and older individuals (≥ 45 years old) were more likely to report no barriers and inactive individuals (RAPA ≤5) more likely to report lack of motivation and money, pain, and lack of resources. CONCLUSION: Participants ≥45 years of age were less likely to meet the CDC PA guidelines than younger individuals after moderate-to-severe TBI. Because perceived barriers to PA varied between age groups and PA levels, individualized approaches may be needed to promote PA in this population.

Clinical practice guidelines on interventional management of low back pain: A synthesis of recommendations.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the recommendations on the interventional management of subacute and chronic nonradicular low back pain (LBP) from the 21 quality-appraised clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) identified in a previously published paper: "Quality of Clinical Practice Guidelines on Interventional Management of Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review." By disseminating this information, we aimed to facilitate the implementation of these recommendations into clinical practice. TYPE: Systematic Review LITERATURE SURVEY: Electronic bibliographic databases, guideline databases, and gray literature were searched from January 2016 to January 2020 to identify CPGs that met study criteria. METHODOLOGY: A total of 21 CPGs were quality appraised and interventional management recommendations were extracted and organized into several treatment categories including epidural steroid injections, radiofrequency procedures (RF), facet injections, sacroiliac injections, and prolotherapy. Within each treatment category, the recommendations were organized based on two factors: quality of CPG and strength of recommendation. SYNTHESIS: Overall, there was no consistency in recommendations for or against any interventional procedure, even when accounting for the quality of the CPG. In all of the CPGs reviewed, the most common strength of recommendation was weakly for. The second, third, and fourth most common strength of recommendations were inconclusive, weakly against, and strongly against, respectively, and the least common was strongly for. The treatment categories with the greatest number of recommendations were RF procedures (most common strength of recommendation was weakly for) and facet procedures. Among the high-quality CPGs, the most common strength of recommendation was inconclusive. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the interventional management recommendations for management of nonradicular LBP in the 21 CPGs appraised in this review were either weakly for, weakly against, or inconclusive, with several recommendations within each treatment category contradicting each other. Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation Instrument quality appraisals of CPGs on interventional management of LBP were of unclear utility in guiding clinical implementation.

Biochemical and electrochemical characterization of biofilms formed on everolimus-eluting coronary stents.

Drug-eluting stents (DES) are mostly used in percutaneous coronary intervention, which is the main treatment for coronary artery occlusion. This procedure aims to restore the natural lumen, while minimizing the risk of restenosis. However, stent insertion increases the risk for infections, due to contamination of the device or insertion hub with normal skin flora. While coronary stent infection is a rare complication, it can be fatal. Currently, there is little information on biofilm formation on everolimus-eluting stents. Although everolimus is not designed as an antimicrobial agent, its antimicrobial activity should be investigated. In this study, biofilm formation on everolimus-eluting and bare metal stents (BMS) is characterized through biochemical and electrochemical methods. DES and BMS are inoculated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus epidermidis, both independently and in co-culture. Biofilms formed on DES were 49.6 %, 12.9 % and 47.5 % higher than on BMS for P. aeruginosa, S. epidermidis and their co-culture, respectively. Further, the charge output for DES was 18.9 % and 59.7 % higher than BMS for P. aeruginosa and its co-culture with S. epidermidis, respectively. This observation is most likely due to higher surface roughness of DES, which favors biofilm formation. This work shows that bioelectrochemical methods can be used for rapid detection of biofilms on drug-eluting and bare metal stents, which may find application in quality assessment of stents and in characterization of stents removed after polymicrobial infections.

Strategic Synthesis of 2D and 3D Conducting Polymers and Derived Nanocomposites.

In recent decades, there has been a great deal of interest in conducting polymers due to their broad applications. At the same time, various synthetic techniques have been developed to produce various nanostructures of the conducting polymers with their fascinating properties. However, the techniques for the manufacture of 2D nanosheets are either complex or expensive. No comprehensive approach for constructing 2D and 3D materials or their composites has been documented. Herein, a simple and scalable synthetic protocol is reported for the design of 2D, 3D, and related conducting polymer nanocomposites by interface manipulation in a bicontinuous microemulsion system. In this method, diverse bicontinuous thin layers of oil and water are employed to produce 2D nanosheets of conducting polymers. For the fabrication of 3D polypyrrole (PPY) and their composites, specially designed linkers of the monomers are applied to lock the 3D networks of the conducting polymers and their composites. The technique can be extended to the fabrication of most conducting polymer composites, being cost-effective and easily scalable. The optimum electrical conductivity obtained for 2D PPY nanosheets is 219 S cm-1 , the highest literature value reported to date to the best of knowledge.

The production of recombinant platelet-derived growth factor D using the second generation modified vaccinia Ankara viral system.

The vaccinia virus expression system is known for the efficient production of recombinant proteins with "appropriate" posttranslational modification using desired mammalian cell lines. However, being a replication competent virus, vaccinia virus poses a health threat to immunocompromised individuals and requires biosafety level 2 (BSL2) laboratory precautions, thereby restricting its use by the scientific community. Development of the host range restricted modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) system has allowed researchers to work with a safer virus even at BSL1. Here, we report on the use of an improved second generation MVA viral system incorporating two selective markers and fluorescent proteins for easier recombinant virus identification. Notably, we demonstrate that this novel system is capable of producing secreted recombinant proteins, a finding not previously reported. Through purification and characterization of wild type and mutant platelet-derived growth factor D (PDGF D) dimer species, we demonstrate this system is capable of producing the latent full-length PDGF D dimer, partially processed intermediate dimer (hemidimer), as well as fully processed growth factor domain dimer that show chemical integrity and biological activity. Importantly, this system is amenable to scaling up for the mass production of recombinant PDGF D (rPDGF D) dimer species.

Clinical feasibility and preliminary outcomes of a novel mixed reality system to manage phantom pain: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: To assess the clinical feasibility of a virtual mirror therapy system in a pilot sample of patients with phantom pain. METHODS: Our Mixed reality system for Managing Phantom Pain (Mr. MAPP) mirrors the preserved limb to visualize the amputated limb virtually and perform exercises. Seven patients with limb loss and phantom pain agreed to participate and received the system for 1-month home use. Outcome measures were collected at baseline and 1 month. RESULTS: Four (of seven recruited) participants completed the study, which was temporarily suspended due to COVID-19 restrictions. At 1 month, in-game data showed a positive trend, but pain scores showed no clear trends. Functioning scores improved for 1 participant. CONCLUSIONS: Mr. MAPP is feasible and has the potential to improve pain and function in patients with phantom pain. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials Registration, NCT04529083.