Adaptable poly(ethylene glycol) microspheres capable of mixed-mode degradation.

A simple, degradable poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) microsphere system formed from a water-in-water emulsion process is presented. Microsphere network degradation and erosion were controlled by adjusting the number of hydrolytically labile sites, by varying the PEG molecular weight, and by adjusting the emulsion conditions. Microsphere size was also controllable by adjusting the polymer formulation. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that alternative degradation and erosion mechanisms, such as proteolytic degradation, can be incorporated into PEG microspheres, resulting in mixed-mode degradation. Owing to the adaptability of this approach, it may serve as an attractive option for emerging tissue engineering, drug delivery and gene delivery applications.

STICS: surface-tethered iterative carbohydrate synthesis.

A new surface-tethered iterative carbohydrate synthesis (STICS) technology is presented in which a surface functionalized 'stick' made of chemically stable high surface area porous gold allows one to perform cost efficient and simple synthesis of oligosaccharide chains; at the end of the synthesis, the oligosaccharide can be cleaved off and the stick reused for subsequent syntheses.

Heterogeneous shedding of Brucella abortus in milk and its effect on the control of animal brucellosis.

AIMS: To ascertain whether in Brucella abortus-infected water buffalo herds, the number of newly infected animals could be reduced by culling superspreaders (the animals secreting > or =10(4) CFU per ml of milk). METHODS AND RESULTS: The number of B. abortus present in the milk (CFU per ml) from 500 water buffaloes was measured by the culture. Each animal was tested three times, at one month intervals. The presence or the absence of B. abortus in each milk sample was confirmed by PCR. A majority of infected animals shed the pathogen at a low level (< or =10(3) CFU ml(-1)). However, a few infected individuals (superspreaders) shed large numbers of B. abortus (> or =10(4) CFU ml(-1)). Quantitative PCR of B. abortus positive milk samples gave comparable results to culture. Culling of the superspreaders was sufficient to arrest the spread of infection. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The approach described here can reduce significantly the cost of controlling brucellosis. Culture and quantitative PCR tests identify superspreaders and, compared with the serological tests in use to detect brucellosis, provide also a more accurate estimate of the disease incidence.

Mannose-binding lectin haplotypes influence Brucella abortus infection in the water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis).

A case-control study established that the haplotype pair HYA/HYA at the MBL (mannose binding lectin) locus of water buffalo is associated with resistance to Brucella abortus infection (P < 10(-7)) and the haplotype pairs LYD/LYD with susceptibility to the same pathogen (P < 10(-7)). The subjects included in the present study were tested twice-at a 1-month interval-for the presence of anti-B. abortus antibodies in the serum by agglutination, complement fixation and flow cytometry. Cases (335 subjects) included animals consistently positive to all these tests; controls (335 subjects) comprised animals exposed yet negative by the same tests. The serum from genetically resistant subjects displayed in vitro significantly higher antibacterial activity compared to the serum from genetically susceptible subjects, lending biological significance to the results from the association study. Inhibition of the antibacterial activity following heat treatment of the serum, addition of specific MBL inhibitors (EDTA, mannose, N-acetyl-D: -glucosamine) or anti-human MBL antiserum provide convincing evidence that the antibacterial activity present in the serum results from the interaction between MBL and B. abortus. A replication study (comprising 100 cases and 100 controls) confirmed the results from the original study.

Application of glycosyl thioimidates in solid-phase oligosaccharide synthesis.

Two stable classes of thioimidoyl derivatives, S-benzoxazolyl (SBox) and S-thiazolinyl (STaz) glycosides, were investigated as glycosyl donors for solid-phase oligosaccharide synthesis. It was demonstrated that these derivatives are suitable for both glycosyl acceptor-bound and glycosyl donor-bound strategies, commonly employed in resin-supported oligosaccharide synthesis.

S-adenosyl-L-methionine N-ole-1-oyltaurate: pharmacokinetic of the orally administered salt in rats.

A pharmacokinetic study based on the distribution of radioactivity from the double labelled S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) has been carried out by oral administration of the liposoluble stable salt [methyl-(14)C, 8-(3)H]SAM N-ole-1-oyltaurate to rats. The SAM sulfate p-toluensulfonate salt, the only SAM salt at present commercialized as drug, was chosen as reference compound to have a comparative pharmacokinetic analysis. The metabolism of the SAM is characterised by a differential use of the two labelled moieties by the various organs, liver being the most active in metabolizing the sulfonium compound with a preferential uptake of the methyl-(14)C fragment. The radioactivity detected after the administration of [methyl-(14)C, 8-(3)H]SAM N-ole-1-oyltaurate is, in all the organs examined, two times higher than the [methyl-(14)C, 8-(3)H]SAM sulfate p-toluensulfonate compound, attesting that the liposoluble [methyl-(14)C, 8-(3)H]SAM N-ole-1-oyltaurate is provided with better bioavailability.

Nutrition advocacy and national development: the PROFILES programme and its application.

Investment in nutritional programmes can contribute to economic growth and is cost-effective in improving child survival and development. In order to communicate this to decision-makers, the PROFILES nutrition advocacy and policy development programme was applied in certain developing countries. Effective advocacy is necessary to generate financial and political support for scaling up from small pilot projects and maintaining successful national programmes. The programme uses scientific knowledge to estimate development indicators such as mortality, morbidity, fertility, school performance and labour productivity from the size and nutritional condition of populations. Changes in nutritional condition are estimated from the costs, coverage and effectiveness of proposed programmes. In Bangladesh this approach helped to gain approval and funding for a major nutrition programme. PROFILES helped to promote the nutrition component of an early childhood development programme in the Philippines, and to make nutrition a top priority in Ghana's new national child survival strategy. The application of PROFILES in these and other countries has been supported by the United States Agency for International Development, the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Micronutrient Initiative and other bodies.

PIP: This paper describes a database approach to nutrition policy development and advocacy. The PROFILES nutrition advocacy and policy development program was applied in such developing countries as Bangladesh, Philippines, and Ghana. It has been used to increase awareness among decision-makers of the need for greater investment in nutrition, to facilitate the design and selection of programs, and to promote particular interventions that were already being designed. The program uses scientific knowledge to estimate development indicators such as mortality, morbidity, fertility, school performance, and labor productivity from the size and nutritional condition of populations. Nutritional condition changes were estimated from the costs, coverage and effectiveness of proposed programs. This nutritional program contributes to economic growth and is cost-effective in improving child survival and development. Thus, this approach has been successful: in Bangladesh, it played a vital role in bringing the government to accept the young child nutrition program and obtaining approval for assisted funding; in the Philippines, PROFILES also helped in developing and advocating an early childhood development program that included a large nutrition component in combination with health, family planning and educational components; in Ghana, it helped make nutrition the government's top priority, as evidenced by the Ministry of Health's new child survival strategy.

Parametros normales en Doppler Duplex obstétrico: tablas de índices de resistencia (IR) / Obstetric Doppler Duplex sonography

En el Servicio de Radiología del Hospital Francés de Buenos Aires se efectuaron 200 estudios Dopper-Duplex color obstétrico. El objetivo de nuestro trabajo fue la elaboración de tablas con valores normales de índices de resistencia (IR) de arterias uterina, umbilical, cerebral y aorta fetal en pacientes asintomáticas, comprendidas entre las semanas 26 y 38, a fin de poder ser utilizadas como parámetros de referencia en nuestro medio

Parametros normales en Doppler Duplex obstétrico: tablas de índices de resistencia (IR) / Obstetric Doppler Duplex sonography

En el Servicio de Radiología del Hospital Francés de Buenos Aires se efectuaron 200 estudios Dopper-Duplex color obstétrico. El objetivo de nuestro trabajo fue la elaboración de tablas con valores normales de índices de resistencia (IR) de arterias uterina, umbilical, cerebral y aorta fetal en pacientes asintomáticas, comprendidas entre las semanas 26 y 38, a fin de poder ser utilizadas como parámetros de referencia en nuestro medio (AU)

Reproductive performance in women with complete septate uteri.

Of 11 women with a diagnosis of complete septate uterus, 7 did not undergo any surgical correction, whereas 4 underwent metroplasty. The diagnosis was made in eight cases (73%) for reasons not related to the anomaly. In only three cases did the patients present with infertility complaints. Eight patients, one of whom was subsequently treated, had a total of 13 pregnancies, 3 (27%) of which ended in abortion, 4 (31%) in premature delivery and 6 (42%) in term births, for a live birth rate of 61.5%. The cumulative pregnancy rate was 80% at 12 months. The cumulative probability of carrying a pregnancy to term and giving birth to a live infant was 75% and 88%, respectively, for the second pregnancy. After metroplasty one patient still did not conceive, while three had a total of five pregnancies, one of which ended in abortion and four at term, for a live birth rate of 80%. With a complete septate uterus the ability to conceive is preserved, and the gestational ability is impaired only moderately. Metroplasty, if indicated, can yield good results in terms of the live birth rate.

[Chlorhexidine: review of the literature and comparison with Oradyne Z]. / Clorexidina: rassegna della letteratura e confronto con l'Oradyne Z.

In this work is taken into consideration the effectiveness therapeutics of the Chlorhexidine, in the practice of prevention of various forms of periodontal disease. The comparison with the Oradyne Z explain analogy of effects between the two compounds and the lack of collateral effects for part of this last.

[Removal of carious tissue with non-conventional methods: Caridex-therapy]. / L'asportazione del tessuto carioso con metodi non convenzionali: Caridex-terapia.

In this work the AA, take into account the characteristics of the Caridex system, doing an analysis, after a review of the literature, of the advantages and of the inconveniences.