Selection of nitric oxide-releasing materials incorporating S-nitrosothiols, A

2017 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.Nitric oxide (NO) is a diatomic radical that occurs as a crucial component of mammalian biochemistry. As a signaling molecule, NO participates in the regulation of vascular tone and maintains the natural antithrombotic function of the healthy endothelium. Furthermore, NO is produced by phagocytes as part of the immune response, and exhibits both antimicrobial and wound-healing effects. In combination, these beneficial properties have led to the use of exogenous NO as a multifunctional therapeutic agent. However, the comparatively short half-life of NO under physiological conditions often renders systemic administration infeasible. This limitation is addressed by the use of NO-releasing polymeric materials, which permit the localized delivery of NO directly at the intended site of action. Such polymers have been utilized in the development of antithrombotic or antibacterial materials for biointerfacial applications, including tissue engineering and the fabrication of medical devices. NO release from polymers has most frequently been achieved through the incorporation of functional groups that are susceptible to NO-forming chemical decomposition in response to appropriate environmental stimuli. While numerous synthetic sources of NO are known, the S-nitrosothiol (RSNO) functional group occurs naturally in the form of S-nitrosocysteine residues in both proteins and small molecule species such as S-nitrosoglutathione. RSNOs are synthesized directly from thiol precursors, and their NO-forming decay has generally been established to produce the corresponding disulfide as a relatively benign organic byproduct. For these reasons, RSNOs have been conscripted as practical NO donors within a physiological environment. This dissertation describes the synthesis and characterization of RSNO-based NO-releasing polymers derived from the polysaccharides chitin and chitosan, as well as the development of amino acid ester-based NO-releasing biodegradable poly(organophosphazenes) (POPs). The broad use of chitin and chitosan in the development of materials for tissue engineering and wound treatment results in a significant overlap with the therapeutic properties of NO. NO-releasing derivatives of chitin and chitosan were prepared through partial substitution of the carbohydrate hydroxyl groups with the symmetrical dithiols 1,2-ethanedithiol, 1,3-propanedithiol, and 1,6-hexanedithiol, followed by S-nitrosation. Similarly, thiol-bearing polyphosphazenes were synthesized and used to produce NO-releasing variants. Polyphosphazenes are a unique polymer class possessing an inorganic backbone composed of alternating phosphorus and nitrogen atoms, and hydrolytically-sensitive POP derivatives with organic substituents have been prepared with distinctive physical and chemical properties. Although POPs have been evaluated as biomaterials, their potential as NO release platforms has not been previous explored. This work describes the development of NO-releasing biodegradable POPs derived from both the ethyl ester of L-cysteine and the 3-mercapto-3-methylbutyl ester of glycine. The NO release properties of all polymers were evaluated at physiological temperature and pH, and the results suggested potential suitability in future biomaterials applications

Rising cost of workers\u27 compensation premiums at the Wallander Company

This report concentrates on the escalating cost of workers\u27 compensation premiums at the Wallander Company. The rising cost is associated with the increasing number of work related injuries and lost workdays and the rising cost of health care. Workers\u27 compensation premiums are increasing at a greater pace than the other lines of casualty insurance, and there is indication this upward cost spiral will continue into the 1990\u27s

How palliative care professionals in multicultural or monocultural dyads incorporate humor in their work

Some religions/people believe that a persons\u27 core being, or spirit will cease to be at death, some believe in reincarnation, and others believe in eternal life. With the seriousness of one\u27s spirit ending, transforming, or transitioning from this life to another, some believe it is a most solemn and serious time, where there is no room for humor. Others believe there are no boundaries to contain humor. It is part of life and death. The objective of this qualitative study was to explore how palliative care professionals in multicultural or monocultural dyads incorporated humor in their work. The narratives in this study offered positive and negative experiences of thirteen palliative care professionals. The study utilized an interview questionnaire guide, a demographic information questionnaire, and the Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale developed by Dr. James A. Thorson and F. C. Powell (1993). A growing body of research is demonstrating that the use of humor in palliative care is both positive and normalizing for the client, allowing the client to continue to live while dying. Social workers are encouraged to be aware of cultural differences and actively to explore the diverse cultures of their clients

Simple Interventions Can Help Inhibit the Spread of Fake News about Climate Change

Since the period leading to and following the American election cycle of 2016, a variety of sources have warned that people in the U.S. are being exposed to fake news. In light of this problem, our study tested the effect of exposure to guidelines (for evaluating the credibility of news online) on a person’s assessment of real and fake news about climate change on Facebook. Through an online experiment (n = 2,750 participants), we tested two conditions and a control. Those in our Guidelines condition read guidelines for evaluating news online while participants in our Enhanced Guidelines condition read the same guidelines and rated them in terms of how important each guideline would be for evaluating news online. The control group was not exposed to guidelines at all. Then, participants were shown a Facebook post containing either real or fake news about climate change and asked to evaluate the post in terms of its trustworthiness, and how likely they would be to like or share the post on Facebook. Our results show that participants in both conditions were less likely to trust, like, or share fake climate news compared to the control group. Encouragingly, these interventions did not reduce a participant’s likelihood to trust, like, or share real climate news. Both conditions had consistently small effect sizes for each dependent variable (trusting, liking, and sharing). However, even if exposure to guidelines only has a small chance of reducing a person’s likelihood to trust, like, or share fake news, that small probability could still provoke meaningful behavior change if a population as massive as all U.S. internet users were to experience our interventionsMaster of ScienceSchool for Environment and SustainabilityUniversity of Michiganhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/148818/1/Lutzke_Lauren_Thesis.pd

American Contemporary Music Ensemble

The American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) present a special performance at Kennesaw State as part of the School of Music\u27s 2017-18 Signature Series. This performance will feature works inspired by the group’s debut portrait album, Thrive on Routine, which highlights ACME\u27s make-up of performers who are also composers.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/2034/thumbnail.jp

ASPECTOS EPIDEMILÓGICOS, CLÍNICOS E TERAPÊUTICOS DE FELINOS COM LINFOMA E POSITIVOS PARA LEUCEMIA VIRAL FELINA (FELV) ATENDIDOS EM UM HOSPITAL VETERINÁRIO UNIVERSITÁRIO

A leucemia viral felina (FeLV) é uma enfermidade importante dentre as doenças virais em felinos, o agente é considerado um oncovírus mutagênico por se integrar ao DNA dos linfócitos causando mutações que elevam as chances de linfomas e leucemias nos pacientes infectados. Sendo assim, o presente estudo tem como objetivo correlacionar felinos diagnosticados como positivos para leucemia viral felina com o aparecimento de linfomas de acordo com a localização anatômica e descrever os aspectos relacionados a adesão a tratamento por parte do tutor e as respostas terapêuticas dos paciente com diferentes protocolos quimioterápicos. Foram analisados 533 testes de FIV/FeLV de felinos atendidos no Hospital Veterinário “Prof. Ricardo Alexandre Rippler” da Universidade Vila Velha-UVV e observado que 128/24% dos testes foram positivos para FeLV. Dos animais positivos 25/19,5% desenvolveram linfoma e a maioria era da classificação anatômica mediastinal 16/64%. O estudo demonstrou que primariamente obteve-se alta adesão ao tratamento quimioterápico proposto 17/68%, entretanto, apenas 8/32% realizaram sua continuidade, resultando desta forma em uma média de sobrevida significativamente baixa, principalmente dentre os felinos que não realizaram tratamento 6/100% vieram a óbito. Conclui-se que o linfonodo mediastinal foi a principal localização anatômica do linfoma em gatos FeLV positivos e que houve alta taxa de abandono para com a continuidade do tratamento dos pacientes, sendo necessário a conscientização por parte dos tutores para com o segmento adequado do tratamento, orientações médico-veterinárias necessárias e prevenção do vírus da leucemia felina afim de aumentar o tempo de sobrevida dos pacientes

Scissor-type knife improves the safety of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) among endoscopists without experience in ESD: A randomized ex vivo study

Background and study aims Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is technically challenging, difficult to learn, and carries a substantial risk of perforation, all of which remain significant barriers to its adoptability. We aimed to determine whether use of a novel scissor-type knife improved efficacy and safety among novice performers of ESD. Materials and methods Following a brief didactic session on ESD, participants performed ESD of two lesions (2 cm diameter) in an ex vivo porcine gastric model. One resection was performed with a conventional knife and the other with the scissor knife (order of knife randomized). We recorded procedure time, successful en bloc resection, and adverse events (including full-thickness perforation and muscle injury) for each dissection. Participants completed a post-study survey. Results 10 endoscopists (8 trainees, 2 staff) considered novices in ESD participated. Compared with the conventional knife, use of the scissor knife was associated with a significantly shorter time to completion of submucosal dissection (mean 6.2 [SD 5.6] vs. 15.6 [SD 15.6] minutes; P = 0.04) and total procedure time was not significantly different (22.1 [SD 13.3] vs. 24.9 [SD 26.5] minutes; P = 0.65). Scissor knife use was also associated with a significantly lower proportion of perforation and/or muscle injury (10.0 % vs. 70.0 %; P < 0.01) and proportion of muscle injury alone (10.0 % vs. 60.0 %; P  = 0.02). Conclusions Among novices performing ESD on an ex vivo animal model, use of a scissor knife was associated with a significantly lower proportion of adverse events without prolonging procedure time. Scissor-type knives may improve ESD safety, at least among novices