Bac to Bac System Efficiency for Preparing HPV Type 16 Virus-Like Particle Vaccine.

Today, the human papillomavirus (HPV) L1 protein is the main target in the construction of prophylactic HPV vaccines. The production of virus-like particles (VLPs) that closely resemble the natural structure of the HPV16 virus and induce high levels of virus-neutralizing antibodies in animals and humans is facilitated by the expression of HPV16-L1 protein in eukaryotic cells. The Bac-to-Bac system has been previously used to produce high levels of recombinant proteins. In this study, we utilized this expression system to generate HPV16-L1 VLPs in Spodoptra frugipedra (Sf9) insect cells. The wild-type L1 gene of papillomavirus type 16 was selected from Gene Bank and placed in bacmid structure after codon optimization using pFast Bac vector. The recombinant baculovirus containing HPV-16/L1 gene was then provided using the Bac-to-Bac system. It should be mentioned that the vector was transfected into the Sf9 cell. The cells were then lysed and the expression of L1 protein was revealed by SDS-PAGE and confirmed by Western Blot. The L1 purification was performed through Ni-NTA chromatography. The VLP formation of papillomavirus L1 protein was visualized by transmission electron microscopy. The expressed recombinant L1 was ~60 KD on SDS-PAGE which was identified in western blot by a specific anti-L1 monoclonal antibody. The electron microscopy confirmed the assembly of VLPs. Results of this study showed that the production of this protein at the industrial level can be optimized using a baculovirus/Sf9 system. The characteristics and advantages of this system are promising and it is a suitable candidate for protein synthesis.

Trastuzumab-Emtansine and Osimertinib Combination Therapy to Target HER2 Bypass Track Resistance in EGFR Mutation-Positive NSCLC.

Introduction: EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor improved the survival of patients with metastatic EGFR mutation-positive (EGFRm+) NSCLC. Despite high response rates, resistance develops inevitably in every patient. In up to 13%, HER2 protein overexpression is found on progression. We hypothesized that dual blockade of EGFR and HER2 by osimertinib combined with trastuzumab-emtansine (T-DM1) could reinduce tumor responses. Methods: In this multicenter, single-arm, phase 1-2 study (NCT03784599), patients with EGFRm+ NSCLC, progressing on osimertinib and HER2 overexpression were included. Patients were treated with T-DM1 3.6 mg/kg (intravenously) every 3 weeks and osimertinib 80 mg once a day. Primary end points were objective response rate (ORR) at 12 weeks and safety. Responses were assessed every 6 weeks (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors 1.1). Sample size was calculated using Simon's two-stage minimax design (H0 = 41%, H1 > 55%, 80% power, one-sided type I error 10%: a ORR 16 of 36 was needed to proceed to 58 patients). Results: From January 2019 to April 2021, 27 patients were enrolled. ORR after 12 weeks of treatment was 4% (1 of 27). Median progression-free survival was 2.8 months (95% confidence interval: 1.4-4.6 mo). Most frequent treatment-related adverse events of any grade were fatigue, diarrhea, and nausea, among these, grade 3 in four patients. There were no grade 4 or 5 therapy-related adverse events. Conclusions: TRAEMOS (Trastuzumab-Emtansine and Osimertinib) is the first trial combining T-DM1 and osimertinib in patients with EGFRm+ NSCLC to target HER2 overexpression at osimertinib resistance. Safety profile was favorable compared with cytotoxic chemotherapy; but treatment revealed limited efficacy. Further clinical evaluation of this regimen is not warranted.

Impact of smoking status on the relative efficacy of the EGFR TKI/angiogenesis inhibitor combination therapy in advanced NSCLC-a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The ETOP 10-16 BOOSTER trial failed to demonstrate a progression-free survival (PFS) benefit for adding bevacizumab to osimertinib in second line. An exploratory subgroup analysis, however, suggested a PFS benefit of the combination in patients with a smoking history and prompted us to do this study. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the differential effect of smoking status on the benefit of adding an angiogenesis inhibitor to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy was carried out. All relevant randomized controlled trials appearing in main oncology congresses or in PubMed as of 1 November 2021 were used according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses statement. Primarily PFS according to smoking status, and secondarily overall survival (OS) were of interest. Pooled and interaction hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated by fixed or random effects models, depending on the detected degree of heterogeneity. Bias was assessed using the revised Cochrane tool for randomized controlled trials (RoB 2). RESULTS: Information by smoking was available for 1291 patients for PFS (seven studies) and 678 patients for OS (four studies). The risk of bias was low for all studies. Combination treatment significantly prolonged PFS for smokers [n = 502, HR = 0.55, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.44-0.69] but not for nonsmokers (n = 789, HR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.66-1.27; treatment-by-smoking interaction P = 0.02). Similarly, a significant OS benefit was found for smokers (n = 271, HR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.47-0.93) but not for nonsmokers (n = 407, HR = 1.07, 95% CI: 0.82-1.42; treatment-by-smoking interaction P = 0.03). CONCLUSION: In advanced EGFR-non-small-cell lung cancer patients, the addition of an angiogenesis inhibitor to EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy provides a statistically significant PFS and OS benefit in smokers, but not in non-smokers. The biological basis for this observation should be pursued and could determine whether this might be due to a specific co-mutational pattern produced by tobacco exposure.

Dosimetric verification of IMRT and 3D conformal treatment delivery using EPID.

PURPOSE: Electronic portal imaging devices (EPIDs) could potentially be useful for either in-vivo or pre-treatment dosimetric verification of external beam radiation therapy. The accuracy of EPID for dosimetric purposes is highly dependent on the specific method used for the determination of dose-response characteristics. The aim of this study was to develop a simple and time-saving EPID back-projection dosimetry algorithm for 2D dose verification in 3D conformal and intensity-modulated beams. METHODS: The procedure of dose reconstruction includes a first calibration step using ionization chamber measurements to convert the Electronic Portal Image (EPI) pixel values into an absorbed dose in water. Subsequently, several corrections were applied to the Portal Dose Images (PDIs) for the effect of field size, attenuator thickness, scattering radiation, beam hardening and EPID off-axis response. Furthermore, to consider tissue inhomogeneity for accurate dose reconstruction, the patient's water equivalent path length (WEPL) was calculated using a range of digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRRs) obtained at various thicknesses by Plastimatch software. The EPID-derived dose maps accuracy was assessed by comparing with the treatment planning system (TPS) calculated dose in the prostate region of Alderson phantom irradiated with 3D conformal and intensity-modulated beams. RESULTS: The gamma analysis for the dose plane showed agreements of 96.95% and 93.5% for 3D conformal and IMRT fields, respectively, with 3%/3 mm acceptance criteria. CONCLUSION: The presented algorithm can provide accurate absolute 2D dose maps for clinical use in the context of 3DCRT or IMRT Quality Assurance (QA) programs.

Characterization and Comparison of Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosome Isolation Methods using Culture Supernatant.

Exosomes are extracellular endosomal nanoparticles, which are formed under complex processes during the formation of multivesicular bodies. They are also achieved from conditioned media of a variety of cell types, especially mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Exosomes can modulate intracellular physiological actions via signaling molecules on the surface or secretion of components to the extracellular spaces. Furthermore, they are potentially used as crucial agents for cell-free therapy; however, their isolation and characterization can be challenging. In the current study, two methods of exosome isolation have been characterized and compared using a culture media of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells, namely ultracentrifugation and a commercial kit; moreover, the efficiency of these two methods was highlighted in this study. Two different isolation methods of exosomes from MSCs were used to compare the efficiency of exosomes. For both isolation methods, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and bicinchoninic acid (BCA) assay have been performed. The electron microscopy and DLS indicated the presence of exosomes. Moreover, the kit and ultracentrifugation isolates contained approximately comparable amounts of protein measured by the BCA. Overall, the two isolation methods had similar performances. Although ultracentrifugation is used as a gold standard for exosome isolation, the commercial kit has some advantages and can be applied alternatively according to its cost-effectiveness and time-saving properties.

A randomised phase II study of osimertinib and bevacizumab versus osimertinib alone as second-line targeted treatment in advanced NSCLC with confirmed EGFR and acquired T790M mutations: the European Thoracic Oncology Platform (ETOP 10-16) BOOSTER trial.

BACKGROUND: While osimertinib, a third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) is the standard treatment in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with sensitising EGFR and acquired T790M mutations, progression inevitably occurs. The angiogenic pathway is implicated in EGFR TKI resistance. PATIENTS AND METHODS: BOOSTER is an open-label randomised phase II trial investigating the efficacy and safety of combined osimertinib 80 mg daily and bevacizumab 15 mg/kg every 3 weeks, versus osimertinib alone, in patients with EGFR-mutant advanced NSCLC and acquired T790M mutations after failure on previous EGFR TKI therapy. Primary endpoint was investigator-assessed progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR) and adverse events (AEs). RESULTS: Between May 2017 and February 2019, 155 patients were randomised (combination: 78; osimertinib: 77). At data cut-off of 22 February 2021, median follow-up was 33.8 months [interquartile range (IQR): 26.5-37.6 months] and 129 (83.2%) PFS events were reported in the intention-to-treat population. There was no difference in median PFS between the combination [15.4 months; 95% confidence interval (CI) 9.2-18.0 months] and osimertinib arm (12.3 months; 95% CI 6.2-17.2 months; stratified log-rank P = 0.83), [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.96; 95% CI 0.68-1.37]. Median OS was 24.0 months (95% CI 17.8-32.1 months) in the combination arm and 24.3 months (95% CI 16.9-37.0 months) in the osimertinib arm (stratified log-rank P = 0.91), (HR = 1.03; 95% CI 0.67-1.56). Exploratory analysis revealed a significant interaction of smoking history with treatment for PFS (adjusted P = 0.0052) with a HR of 0.52 (95% CI 0.30-0.90) for smokers, and 1.47 (95% CI 0.92-2.33) for never smokers. ORR was 55% in both arms and the median time to treatment failure was significantly shorter in the combination than in the osimertinib arm, 8.2 months versus 10.8 months, respectively (P = 0.0074). Safety of osimertinib and bevacizumab was consistent with previous reports with grade ≥3 treatment-related AEs (TRAEs) reported in 47% and 18% of patients on combination and osimertinib alone, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: No difference in PFS was observed between osimertinib plus bevacizumab and osimertinib alone. Grade ≥3 TRAEs were more common in patients on combination.

Knowledge, attitude, and practice among staff associated with Human Papillomavirus Vaccine of young children in Iran.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to evaluate knowledge, attitudes, practice associated with Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine for Young Children among lecturers and health staffs of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU). METHOD: This was a cross-sectional study with 220 adults from five different specialties, randomly selected. Data was collected using 45-item questionnaire on knowledge (12- item), attitude (18-item) and practice (15-item) (KAP) about HPV. The demographic questionnaire included information on age, gender, level of education, occupation, and marital status. Content validity was calculated by content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI). Reliability was evaluated using test-retest and by Cronbach's Alpha coefficient, internal consistency was calculated values >0.81 which considered as satisfactory. RESULTS: The mean age of the studied population was 37.70± 8.07 (23-67) years. Of the 220 participants, 80 (36.4%) were males and 140 (63.6%) were females. In evaluating KAP in the men and women, the mean and standard deviation of knowledge were estimated at good level and one-way ANOVA analysis showed significant differences between women and men (p=0.019). There was no significant difference in men and women related to attitude (p=0.92) and practice (p=0.38). CONCLUSION: The KAP about HPV among participants was significantly higher at good levels compared to average levels. Women's knowledge was significantly higher than men. Attitude and practice could have been higher because there was consensus to the usage of vaccine among the specialists to prevent HPV.

Osimertinib treatment for patients with EGFR exon 20 mutation positive non-small cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVES: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 20 insertions comprise 4-10 % of EGFR mutations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and are associated with primary resistance to first and second generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). In vitro and preclinical animal studies have shown that osimertinib exerts antitumor activity against EGFR exon 20 mutation positive NSCLC. We report on a cohort of advanced stage NSCLC patients who harbor an EGFR exon 20 mutation and received osimertinib treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty-one patients were treated with osimertinib 80 or 160 mg once daily from April 2016 to June 2018, in four institutions in the Netherlands. Data were obtained retrospectively. Progression free survival (PFS), disease control rate (DCR), overall survival (OS) and objective response rate (ORR) were assessed using RECIST v1.1. RESULTS: Thirteen patients received prior platinum-based chemotherapy, and three patients a first - or second generation EGFR TKI. We observed 1 partial response, 17 patients with stable disease and 3 with progressive disease as best response to osimertinib (ORR 5 %). Median PFS was 3.6 (95 % CI, 2.6-4.5) months. PFS did not differ for patients with co-occurring TP53 mutations (p = 0.937). The DCR at three months was 71 %. Median OS was 8.7 (95 % CI, 1.1-16.4) months. CONCLUSION: Osimertinib has limited antitumor activity in patients with EGFR exon 20 mutated NSCLC, with an ORR of 5 %.

ALK immunohistochemistry positive, FISH negative NSCLC is infrequent, but associated with impaired survival following treatment with crizotinib.

OBJECTIVE: Metastasized non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with an anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangement is usually sensitive to a range of ALK-tyrosine kinase inhibitors. ALK-positive NSCLC have been identified in pivotal phase III trials with fluorescence in situ hybridization (ALK FISH+). These tumors are also expressing the fusion product (ALK immunohistochemistry (IHC)+). However, discrepant cases occur, including ALK IHC + FISH-. The aim of this study was to collect ALK IHC + cases and compare within this group response to crizotinib treatment of ALK FISH + cases with ALK FISH- cases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this European prospective multicenter research study patients with Stage IV ALK IHC + NSCLC treated with crizotinib were enrolled. Tumor slides were validated centrally for ALK IHC and ALK FISH. RESULTS: Registration of 3523 ALK IHC tests revealed a prevalence of 2.7% (n = 94) ALK IHC + cases. Local ALK FISH analysis resulted in 48 concordant (ALK IHC+/FISH+) and 16 discordant (ALK IHC+/FISH-) cases. Central validation revealed 37 concordant and 7 discordant cases, 5 of which had follow-up. Validation was hampered by limited amount of tissue in biopsy samples. The PFS at 1 year for ALK concordant and discordant was 58% and 20%, respectively (HR = 2.4; 95% CI: 0.78-7.3; p = 0.11). Overall survival was significantly better for concordant cases than discordant cases after central validation (HR=4.5; 95% CI= 1.2-15.9; p=0.010. CONCLUSION: ALK IHC + FISH- NSCLC is infrequent and associated with a worse outcome on personalized treatment. A suitable predictive testing strategy may be to screen first with IHC and then confirm with FISH instead of considering ALK IHC equivalent to ALK FISH according to the current guidelines.

Mathematical Analysis of a Modified Closed-Form Formula for Design a Uniform Leaky-Wave Antenna With Ultra-Low SLL.

Straight long slots have high side-lobes in the far-field amplitude patterns, which reduces their use as high-performance antennas. To reduce these side-lobes, a long slot may be tapered to produce the desired radiation patterns. The theory of control of the aperture distribution to reduce side-lobes has been already reported in some works and well known for already some decades. It is, however, shown in this paper that it may not be good enough to achieve ultra-low side lobes. The theory to analyze and design tapered leaky-wave antennas is described in this paper. Since it is very challenging to achieve a mathematical equation in this regard, some parameters will be calculated using simulation in the first step and the shape of the antenna field is obtained based on these parameters. In the next step, a differential equation is derived for the first step parameters. The solution of this differential equation which is the main motivation of this paper will be expressed in three ways where each part is more accurate than the previous one. According to the measurement results, the structure has a side-lobe level more than -45 dB.

Immunomodulatory effects of hydroxychloroquine on Th1/Th2 balance in women with repeated implantation failure.

BACKGROUND: Cellular immune abnormalities such as the imbalance between T-helper (Th) 1 and Th2 cytokines have been implicated as potentially modifiable causes of idiopathic repeated implantation failures (RIF). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of hydroxychloroquine on IL-10 and TNF-α secretion, expression of T-bet and GATA-3 transcription factors and cellular localization of TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-10 and IL-4 in endometrial cells in women with RIF. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 17 women with a history of RIF and elevated TNFα/IL-10 ratio (TNFα/IL-10> = 30.6) were included in the study. The serum levels of TNFα and IL-10, the expression of transcription factors related to Th1 and Th2 cells and the immune-reactivity of TNFα, IFN-γ as Th1 related cytokines and IL-10, IL-4 as Th2 related cytokines in endometrial tissues were evaluated by ELISA, real-time PCR, and fluorescent immunohistochemistry respectively. All, evaluations were done both before and after treatment with hydroxychloroquine (400 mg/orally per day). RESULTS: Hydroxychloroquine treatment significantly decreased (p < 0.0001) serum level of TNF-α and significantly increased serum level of IL-10 (p < 0.0001). T-bet, the Th1 transcription factor, expression was down-regulated and GATA-3, the Th2 transcription factor, expression was up-regulated. IL-10 and IL-4 fluorescent immunoreactivities significantly increased (p < 0.05 and p < 0.001 respectively) and TNFα and IFN-γ fluorescent immunoreactivities significantly decreased (p < 0.05) in endometrial tissue in women with RIF after treatment in comparison with before treatment. CONCLUSION: Hydroxychloroquine administration in women with RIF With a high TNF-α/IL-10 ratio during the implantation window can decrease this ratio and seems to be an effective therapeutic strategy in RIF caused by cellular immune abnormalities through a shift in Th2 responses.

A randomized controlled trial comparing indwelling pleural catheters with talc pleurodesis (NVALT-14).

BACKGROUND: Symptomatic malignant pleural effusion (MPE) occurs frequently in patients with metastatic cancer. The associated prognosis is poor and the success rate of talc pleurodesis (TP) is low. Indwelling pleural catheters (IPCs) are commonly inserted when TP has been unsuccessful. METHODS: We compared talc pleurodesis with the use of an indwelling pleural catheter in patients with recurrent MPE in a multicenter randomized controlled trial (superiority design). The primary endpoint was improvement from baseline in Modified Borg Score (MBS) 6weeks after randomized treatment. Secondary endpoints were hospitalization days, re-interventions, and adverse events. RESULTS: Dyspnea improved significantly (p<0.01) after either treatment, but the magnitude of this improvement did not differ significantly between arms (median 3 and 1 for TP:IPC respectively in rest, p=0.16, (TP 13:IPC 16) and 3 and 1 during exercise, p=0.72 (TP 13:IPC 17)). There was no difference in dyspnea during exercise between TP and IPC at week 6 following treatment, while at rest TP patients (n=13) reported less dyspnea than IPC patients (n=18) (median 0 vs 1, p=0.002). Compared to TP, patients with an IPC had significantly less hospital days during randomized treatment (median: 0 vs 5, p<0.0001), and total hospitalizations for all causes (median: 1.6 vs 1.0, p=0.0035). Fewer IPC patients underwent more than one re-intervention (7/45 vs 15/43, p=0.09). The mean number of re-interventions was lower following IPC (0.21 vs 0.53, p=0.05). Equal number of adverse events occurred. CONCLUSIONS: IPC was not superior in the primary endpoint, improvement of the modified Borg scale (MBS). However, IPC patients had lower hospital stay, fewer admissions and fewer re-interventions. The IPC is an effective treatment modality in patients with symptomatic malignant pleural effusion.

Fractal nematic colloids.

Fractals are remarkable examples of self-similarity where a structure or dynamic pattern is repeated over multiple spatial or time scales. However, little is known about how fractal stimuli such as fractal surfaces interact with their local environment if it exhibits order. Here we show geometry-induced formation of fractal defect states in Koch nematic colloids, exhibiting fractal self-similarity better than 90% over three orders of magnitude in the length scales, from micrometers to nanometres. We produce polymer Koch-shaped hollow colloidal prisms of three successive fractal iterations by direct laser writing, and characterize their coupling with the nematic by polarization microscopy and numerical modelling. Explicit generation of topological defect pairs is found, with the number of defects following exponential-law dependence and reaching few 100 already at fractal iteration four. This work demonstrates a route for generation of fractal topological defect states in responsive soft matter.

Non-classic EGFR mutations in a cohort of Dutch EGFR-mutated NSCLC patients and outcomes following EGFR-TKI treatment.

BACKGROUND: Data on non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with non-classic epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations are scarce, especially in non-Asian populations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate prevalence, clinical characteristics and outcome on EGFR-TKI treatment according to type of EGFR mutation in a Dutch cohort of NSCLC patients. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated a cohort of 240 EGFR-mutated NSCLC patients. Data on demographics, clinical and tumour-related features, EGFR-TKI treatment and clinical outcome were collected and compared between patients with classic EGFR mutations, EGFR exon 20 insertions and other uncommon EGFR mutations. RESULTS: Classic EGFR mutations were detected in 186 patients (77.5%) and non-classic EGFR mutations in 54 patients (22.5%); 23 patients with an exon 20 insertion (9.6%) and 31 patients with an uncommon EGFR mutation (12.9%). Median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) on EGFR-TKI treatment were 2.9 and 9.7 months, respectively, for patients with an EGFR exon 20 insertion, and 6.4 and 20.2 months, respectively, for patients with an uncommon EGFR mutation. Patients with a double uncommon EGFR mutation that included G719X/L861Q/S768I had longer PFS and OS on EGFR-TKI treatment compared with patients with a single G719X/L861Q/S768I EGFR mutation (both P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: In our Dutch cohort, prevalence and genotype distribution of non-classic EGFR mutations were in accordance with previously reported data. The PFS and OS on EGFR-TKI treatment in patients with an uncommon EGFR mutation were shorter compared with patients with classic EGFR mutations, but varied among different uncommon EGFR mutations.

miR-608 rs4919510 C>G polymorphism decreased the risk of breast cancer in an Iranian subpopulation.

AIM: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that function as oncogene or tumor suppressors. The single nucleotide polymorphisms in miRNAs potentially can alter miRNA-binding sites on target genes as well as affecting miRNAs expression. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of miR-608 rs4919510 C>G variant on breast cancer (BC) risk. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This case-control study conducted on 160 women with BC and 192 age-matched healthy women. Genotyping of miR-608 rs4919510 was done using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. RESULTS: Our findings showed that GC genotype significantly decreased the risk of BC (odds ratio (OR) = 0.49, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.28-0.88, p = 0.018) compared to CC genotype. Furthermore the G allele decreased the risk of BC (OR = 0.53, 95%CI 0.30-0.92, p = 0.024). No significant association was found between miR-609 genotypes and clinicopathological characteristics of BC patients (p >0.05). CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that miR-608 polymorphism might be associated with decreased risk of BC in an Iranian subpopulation. Further large-scale studies with different ethnicities are needed to verify our findings.

Co-transplantation of autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells and Schwann cells through cerebral spinal fluid for the treatment of patients with chronic spinal cord injury: safety and possible outcome.

STUDY DESIGN: This is a clinical trial (phase 1). OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to asses the safety and feasibility of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) and Schwann cell (SC) co-injection through cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) for the treatment of patients with chronic spinal cord injury. METHODS: Six subjects with complete spinal cord injury due to trauma according to International Standard of Neurological Classification for Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI) developed by the American Spinal Injury Association were enrolled. They received autologous co-transplantation of MSC and SC through lumbar puncture. Neurological status of the patients was determined by ISNCSCI, as well as by assessment of functional status by Spinal Cord Independent Measure. Before and after cell transplantation, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed for all the patients. Before the procedure, all the patients underwent electromyography, urodynamic study (UDS) and MRI tractograghy. After transplantation, these assessments were performed in special cases when the patients reported any changes in motor function or any changes in urinary sensation. RESULTS: Over the mean 30 months of follow-up, the radiological findings were unchanged without any evidence of neoplastic tissue overgrowth. American Spinal Injury Association class in one patient was changed from A to B, in addition to the improvement in indexes of UDS, especially bladder compliance, which was congruous with axonal regeneration detected in MRI tractography. No motor score improvement was observed among the patients. CONCLUSION: No adverse findings were detected at a mean of 30 months after autologous transplantation of the combination of MSCs and SCs through CSF. It may suggest the safety of this combination of cells for spinal cord regeneration.

Vapor-fed microfluidic hydrogen generator.

Water-splitting devices that operate with humid air feeds are an attractive alternative for hydrogen production as the required water input can be obtained directly from ambient air. This article presents a novel proof-of-concept microfluidic platform that makes use of polymeric ion conductor (Nafion®) thin films to absorb water from air and performs the electrochemical water-splitting process. Modelling and experimental tools are used to demonstrate that these microstructured devices can achieve the delicate balance between water, gas, and ionic transport processes required for vapor-fed devices to operate continuously and at steady state, at current densities above 3 mA cm(-2). The results presented here show that factors such as the thickness of the Nafion films covering the electrodes, convection of air streams, and water content of the ionomer can significantly affect the device performance. The insights presented in this work provide important guidelines for the material requirements and device designs that can be used to create practical electrochemical hydrogen generators that work directly under ambient air.

Association study of hsa-mir-603 rs11014002 polymorphism and risk of breast cancer in a sample of Iranian population.

Accumulated evidence have proposed that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in microRNAs (miRNAs) are connected to breast cancer (BC) risk. We have done a case-control study with 258 BC patients and 209 control women to examine the potential association of Hsa-mir-603 rs11014002 C>T polymorphisms with BC susceptibility. The polymorphisms were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Our findings showed that the rs11014002 C>T variant was not associated with an increased risk of BC in codominant (OR=0.67, 95%CI=0.42-1.08, P=0.121, CT vs CC; and OR=0.18, 95%CI=0.02-1.67, P=0.170, TT vs CC), dominant (OR=0.64, 95%CI=0.41-1.01, P=0.062, CT+TT vs CC), and recessive (OR=0.20, 95%CI=0.02-1.81, P=0.178, TT vs CC+CT) inheritance models tested. While, the T allele significantly decreased the risk of BC (OR= 0.63; 95% CI =0.41-0.95; P=0.032) compared to C allele. In conclusion, the findings indicated that Mir603 rs11014002 T allele might contribute to decrease the risk of BC in a sample of Iranian population. Further studies with larger sample sizes and different ethnicities are warranted to confirm our findings.