Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

ACS Nano 2020 Jul 13. Epub 2020 Jul 13.

Carbon nanomaterials, including 2D graphene-based materials (GBM) have shown promising applicability to drug delivery, tissue engineering, diagnostics and various other biomedical areas. However, to exploit the benefits of these materials in some of the areas mentioned, it is necessary to understand their possible toxicological implications and long-term fate in vivo. We previously demonstrated that following intravenous administration, 2D graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets are largely excreted via the kidneys, however, a small but significant portion of the material is sequestered in the spleen. Read More

Am J Perinatol 2020 Jul 9. Epub 2020 Jul 9.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Objective:  This study aimed to examine maternal outcomes of ongoing pregnancies complicated by fetal life-limiting conditions.

Study Design:  This was a retrospective matched cohort study of women with a diagnosis of fetal life-limiting condition between 2010 and 2018 in a single academic center. Cases were matched to controls (women who had normal fetal anatomic survey) according to year of delivery, body mass index, and parity in a 1:4 ratio. Read More

J Med Radiat Sci 2020 Jul 7. Epub 2020 Jul 7.

Department of Physics, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.

Introduction: The significantly greater cost of proton therapy compared with X-ray therapy is frequently justified by the expected reduction in normal tissue toxicity. This is often true for indications such as paediatric and skull base cancers. However, the benefit is less clear for other more common indications such as breast cancer, and it is possible that the degree of benefit may vary widely between these patients. Read More

J Inorg Biochem 2020 Jun 24;210:111161. Epub 2020 Jun 24.

Department of Chemistry, St. Edward's University, Austin, TX 78704, USA.

This work explores the pivotal role that protein mobility plays in facilitating the catalytic activity of Copper-Zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1). Through both localized active site distortions and correlated domain movement, these motions enable the enzyme to adopt the conformations necessary to achieve both substrate delivery and efficient catalytic transformation. Structural and computational studies of a biomimetic model complex are used to probe the localized interactions between substrate and secondary sphere residues that play a role in guiding substrate to the active site, as well as facilitating the conformational changes necessary for substrate turnover. Read More

J Perinat Med 2020 Jul 3. Epub 2020 Jul 3.

Women's Wellness and Research Center, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.

Objectives Attitudes towards labour care and women's choices for their preferred mode of delivery are documented in studies from the around the world, however less is known about women's birth choices in the Middle East. This study was designed with the aim of exploring beliefs and attitudes in this region. Methods Voluntary participation in an ethics-approved survey was offered to pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic at Sidra Medicine from August 2018 to January 2019 with no exclusion criteria. Read More

Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 2020 Jul 1. Epub 2020 Jul 1.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.

Introduction: Induction of labor has become an increasingly common obstetric procedure. However, in nulliparous women or women with a previous cesarean section, induction of labor can pose a clinical challenge. Despite an overall expansion of medical indications for labor induction, there is little international consensus regarding the criteria for induction of labor, or for the recommended methods among nulliparous women. Read More

Int J Womens Health 2020 15;12:455-462. Epub 2020 Jun 15.

University of Melbourne, Department of Medicine (Austin), Melbourne, Australia.

Background: Central homeostatic regulation of fat stores is attenuated during pregnancy, to allow for adequate fat deposition to support fetal development and lactation. What factors particular to pregnancy facilitate fat accumulation, and why gestational weight gain (GWG) is so variable, are not clear. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the associations between GWG and circulating hormones with known effects on appetite and growth. Read More

Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl 2020 Oct 16;115:111099. Epub 2020 May 16.

Key Laboratory of Advanced Textile Materials and Manufacturing Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China; Zhejiang-Mauritius Joint Research Center for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an emerging cancer treatment combining light, oxygen, and a photosensitizer (PS) to produce highly cytotoxic reactive oxygen species that cause cancer cell death. However, most PSs are hydrophobic molecules that have poor water solubility and cannot target tumor tissues, causing damage to normal tissues and cells during PDT. Thus, there is a substantial demand for the development of nanocarrier systems to achieve targeted delivery of PSs into tumor tissues and cells. Read More

Drug Dev Ind Pharm 2020 Jul 7:1-16. Epub 2020 Jul 7.

Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.

Cellulitis is a common bacterial infection of the skin and soft tissues immediately beneath the skin. Despite the successful use of antibiotics in the treatment of infectious diseases, bacterial infections continue to impose significant global health challenges because of the rapid emergence of antibiotic resistance. The aim of this work was to develop an hydrogel forming system containing highly permeable cephalexin-loaded nanotransfersomes (NTs), suitable for antibacterial drug delivery. Read More

Biomed Pharmacother 2020 Jun 24;129:110442. Epub 2020 Jun 24.

Department of Nanotechnology, Faculty of Advanced Sciences and Technology, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address:

Exosomes are biological nanoparticles (30-150 nm) secreted in the extracellular area from all of cells, that mediate intercellular message. Exosomes act as the carriers for numerous proteins, DNAs, RNAs and cell-signaling molecules. Therefore, exosomes secreted by the tumor cells are useful for diagnostic purposes because of their persistent presence in the blood and their provision of genetic cargo similar to those in tumor. Read More

Med Phys 2020 Jun 27. Epub 2020 Jun 27.

Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, USA.

Purpose: FLASH radiotherapy (FLASH-RT) is a novel irradiation modality with ultra-high dose rates (>40Gy/s) that have shown tremendous promise for its ability to enhance normal tissue sparing while maintaining comparable tumor cell eradication to conventional radiotherapy (CONV-RT). Due to its extremely high-dose rates, clinical translation of FLASH-RT is hampered by risky delivery and current limitations in dosimetric devices, which cannot accurately measure, in real-time, dose at deeper tissue. This work aims to investigate ionizing radiation acoustic imaging (iRAI) as a promising image-guidance modality for real-time deep tissue dose measurements during FLASH-RT. Read More

Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2020 Jun 17;194:111204. Epub 2020 Jun 17.

College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Bio-Functional Materials, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Centre of Biomedical Functional Materials, Key Laboratory of Applied Photochemistry, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210023, China; School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng, Jiangsu, 224051, China. Electronic address:

Amphiphilic block copolymer can self-assemble to stomatocyte-like structure as drug delivery carrier. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an emerging modality for cancer treatment. However, PDT has various problems, such as weak tumor accumulation ability of photosensitizers (PSs), short lifetime of singlet oxygen (O, main reactive oxygen species in PDT) and tumor hypoxia microenvironment, to restrict its therapeutic efficacy. Read More

J Biomater Sci Polym Ed 2020 Jul 9:1-13. Epub 2020 Jul 9.

Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Bio-functional Materials, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, P. R. China.

Nano-drug delivery system (NDDS) has attracted widespread attention for their controlled drug release. In this work, keratin nanoparticles (KNPs) were prepared by self-crosslinking. No toxic chemical crosslinkers were added in the whole procedure. Read More

Int J Pharm Pract 2020 Jun 26. Epub 2020 Jun 26.

Global Respiratory Franchise, GlaxoSmithKline plc., Brentford, Middlesex, UK.

Objective: Creating an environment that supports conditions of routine clinical practice and enables an effectiveness trial design with a pre-licensed medicine is extremely challenging. Here, we summarise our experiences and achievements with engaging and mobilising community pharmacies in and around Salford, United Kingdom, in the Phase III effectiveness Salford Lung Studies (SLS).

Methods: This article provides the authors' personal experiences and viewpoints on community pharmacy involvement in the SLS. Read More

Biomater Sci 2020 Jun 26. Epub 2020 Jun 26.

Zanjan Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology Research Center, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran. and Department of pharmaceutical biomaterials, School of Pharmacy, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.

The goal of this work is to harness the advantages of a targeted hybrid nanostructure, BSA-coated Fe3O4 (F)-Au heterodimer, as a radiosensitizer and co-delivery vehicle of chemotherapeutic drugs for enhanced synergic cancer therapy and protection of healthy tissues. F-Au-BSA-MTX-CUR combines the abilities of enhanced X-ray radiation therapy (F-Au), long blood circulation time (BSA), tumor targeting (MTX), enhanced chemotherapy (MTX and CUR), and protection of normal cells against the harmful effects of radiation (CUR). In this work, we present the radioprotective and radiosensitizing effects of CUR on normal tissues and the tumor site, respectively. Read More

J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 2020 Jun 25:1-7. Epub 2020 Jun 25.

Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.

Preterm delivery is a recognized complication of twins and higher order multiple pregnancies. Delayed interval delivery is a rarely used management option for pre- or peri-viable preterm labor in these pregnancies. We describe the management and outcomes of 7 delayed interval deliveries over an 8-year period in a large specialized twin center. Read More

Biomaterials 2020 Jun 17;255:120209. Epub 2020 Jun 17.

Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain Drug Research Institute, Advanced Drug Delivery and Biomaterials, 1200 Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address:

The delivery of therapeutic peptides via the oral route remains one of biggest challenges in the pharmaceutical industry. Recently, we have described an alternative improved drug delivery system for peptide delivery via the oral route, consisting of a lipidic nanocapsule. Despite the striking effects observed, it is still essential to develop strategies to strengthen the nanocarriers' glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretory effect of the nanocarrier and/or prolong its antidiabetic effect in vivo to facilitate its translation into the clinic. Read More

Radiother Oncol 2020 Jun 21;150:136-141. Epub 2020 Jun 21.

University of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, Department of Radiation Oncology, Groningen, The Netherlands.

Purpose: Patient specific quality assurance (PSQA) is required to verify the treatment delivery and the dose calculation by the treatment planning system (TPS). The objective of this work is to demonstrate the feasibility to substitute resource consuming measurement based PSQA (PSQA) by independent dose recalculations (PSQA), and that PSQA results may be interpreted in a clinically relevant manner using normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) and tumor control probability (TCP) models.

Methods And Materials: A platform for the automatic execution of the two following PSQA workflows was implemented: (i) using the TPS generated plan and (ii) using treatment delivery log files (log-plan). Read More

Biomater Sci 2020 Jun 23. Epub 2020 Jun 23.

College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, China.

Besides tumor hypoxia and limitation of superficial lesions, the short lifetime of photoinduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) is another factor repressing photodynamic therapy (PDT) efficacy. To overcome these problems, this study developed newly designed mitochondria-specific, H2O2-activatable, and O2-producing nanoparticles to achieve highly selective and efficient PDT and self-sufficiency of O2 in hypoxic tumors. The newly designed nanoparticles (BDPP NPs) are composed of a mitochondria-targeting photosensitizer and catalase in the aqueous core and a black hole quencher and fluorescent tracker in the polymeric shell, and modified with the tumor-targeting cyclic pentapeptide c(RGDfK). Read More

Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 2020 Jun 10;252:62-69. Epub 2020 Jun 10.

1(st)department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.

Several articles investigated the impact of prolonged second stage of labor on maternal and neonatal outcomes; however, strict consensus is still lacking. The purpose of the present meta-analysis is to investigate risk factors that contribute to the pathophysiology of prolonged labor as well as effect sizes of maternal and neonatal morbidity. We searched Medline, Scopus, Clinicaltrials. Read More

Clin Auton Res 2020 Jun 20. Epub 2020 Jun 20.

Women's Heart Health Laboratory, Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, 7232 Greenville Avenue, Suite 435, Dallas, TX, 75231, USA.

Purpose: Previous microneurographic studies found that muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) increased in normotensive pregnant women and was even greater in women with gestational hypertension and preeclampsia during the third trimester. It is possible that sympathetic activation during the latter months of normal pregnancy helps return arterial pressure to non-pregnant levels. However, when the increase in sympathetic activity is excessive, hypertension ensues. Read More

FASEB J 2020 Jun 18. Epub 2020 Jun 18.

School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia.

Male development, fertility, and lifelong health are all androgen-dependent. Approximately 95% of circulating testosterone is synthesized by the testis and the final step in this canonical pathway is controlled by the activity of the hydroxysteroid-dehydrogenase-17-beta-3 (HSD17B3). To determine the role of HSD17B3 in testosterone production and androgenization during male development and function we have characterized a mouse model lacking HSD17B3. Read More

PLoS One 2020 18;15(6):e0234810. Epub 2020 Jun 18.

Saint Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Background: Intrauterine growth restriction is defined as a fetal weight below the 10th percentile for a given gestational age and can be identified using umbilical artery Doppler velocimetry which is a non-invasive technique. The objective of this study was to determine the perinatal outcome of growth-restricted fetuses with abnormal umbilical artery Doppler study compared to those with normal umbilical artery Doppler waveforms at a tertiary referral hospital in Ethiopia.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted among pregnant mothers with fetal growth restriction admitted for labour and delivery from September 2018-February 2019. Read More

Langmuir 2020 Jul 18;36(26):7181-7189. Epub 2020 Jun 18.

Key Laboratory of Biomass Chemical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027, China.

Albumin mimics could be an attractive platform for nanodrug carriers through systematic administration because of high safety and plentiful properties to be adjusted for a high drug efficacy, such as pH-triggered targeting cellular uptake and drug release. In this work, negative-biased zwitterionic nanodrug carriers based on zwitterionic polypeptide chains that mimic albumin were prepared, which have an outermost layer of zwitterionic glutamic acid (E) and lysine (K) pairs with a small amount of aspartic acid (D) to adjust the overall ζ potential. On the other hand, doxorubicin (Dox) was encapsulated in a hydrophobic core by 11-maleimidoundecanoic acid covalently linked with additional cysteine (C) residues on the polypeptide. Read More

Reprod Sci 2020 Jun 16. Epub 2020 Jun 16.

Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism Translational Research Unit, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW, 2560, Australia.

The purpose of this study is to determine the factors associated with adverse maternal outcomes in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in urban Fiji. This cross-sectional study used data from existing records of singleton pregnant women with GDM attending the Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH) Suva Fiji between June 2013 and May 2014. Data retrieved included demographic data, antenatal and intrapartum care data, route of delivery, treatment modality, and maternal risk factors. Read More

Int J Pharm 2020 Jun 13;586:119546. Epub 2020 Jun 13.

Department of Pharmaceutical Biomaterials, School of Pharmacy, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran; Zanjan Applied Pharmacology Research Center, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran; Zanjan Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Research Center, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran. Electronic address:

In the present study, we successfully synthesized nanocarriers (NCs) based on Y-shaped miktoarm copolymers, Poly Ethylene Glycol-Lysine-(Poly Caprolactone) (PEG-Lys-PCL), which were loaded by baicalein (B) through the nanoprecipitation process to assess their in-vitro and in-vivo properties. We applied various methods and measurements including proton nuclear magnetic resonance (HNMR), dynamic light scattering (DLS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), MTT assay, hemolysis test, lethal dose, real-time PCR, and Morris water maze. The results of DLS indicated that the size and zeta potential of the obtained NCs and B-loaded NCs were acceptable. Read More

Palliat Med 2020 Jun 15:269216320929559. Epub 2020 Jun 15.

Institute of Nursing and Health Research, Ulster University, Newtownabbey, UK.

Background: Access to community palliative care 'out-of-hours' - defined as care provided after the normal hours of work - is advocated globally. Healthcare assistants, who provide care under the direction of a qualified professional, are increasingly employed to help deliver such care, yet there is a little understanding regarding their role, responsibilities or contribution.

Aim: The aim of this study was to identify the roles, responsibilities and contributions of healthcare assistants in out-of-hours community palliative care. Read More

J Med Imaging Radiat Sci 2020 Jun 11. Epub 2020 Jun 11.

School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon-Accra, Ghana.

Background: The goal of quality care is to ensure that the health care services provided to individuals and patient populations improve desired health outcomes. However, as medical imaging services increase in Ghana, empirical evidence show a low level of care. Despite this, there exists no study in the public domain on the barriers to quality care. Read More

Dig Dis Sci 2020 Jun 12. Epub 2020 Jun 12.

Division of Gastroenterology, Mount Sinai Hospital, Sinai Health System, University of Toronto, Suite 441-600 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X5, Canada.

Background: The role of fecal calprotectin in predicting pregnancy-related outcomes in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remains unknown.

Aim: To determine whether increased fecal calprotectin during pregnancy is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes in IBD.

Methods: This is a multicenter cohort study of women with IBD who underwent fecal calprotectin monitoring during pregnancy. Read More

J Dev Orig Health Dis 2020 Jun 11:1-7. Epub 2020 Jun 11.

Department of Physiological Sciences, Federal University of Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil.

Nutritional disorders during the perinatal period cause cardiometabolic dysfunction, which is observable in the early overfeeding (EO) experimental model. Therefore, severe caloric restriction has the potential of affecting homeostasis through the same epigenetic mechanisms, and its effects need elucidation. This work aims to determine the impact of food restriction (FR) during puberty in early overfed obese and non-obese animals in adult life. Read More

Int J Nanomedicine 2020 14;15:3433-3445. Epub 2020 May 14.

Department of Pharmacy, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221004, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.

Background: Reconstituted lipoproteins (rLips) based on endogenous lipid nanostructures has been increasingly regarded as an excellent and promising antitumor drug delivery. However, some problems relating to the main component, apolipoprotein, for instance, rare source, unaffordable price, and low specificity of relevant receptor expression, become chief obstacles to its broad development and application.

Purpose: The primary aim of this study is to develop biomimetic rLips by utilizing folic acid (FA)-modified bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a replacement for apolipoprotein and demonstrate its tumor targeting and antitumor efficacy. Read More

Sci Rep 2020 Jun 10;10(1):9399. Epub 2020 Jun 10.

Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.

The placenta is a metabolically active interfacial organ that plays crucial roles in fetal nutrient delivery, gas exchange and waste removal reflecting dynamic maternal and fetal interactions during gestation. There is growing evidence that the sex of the placenta influences fetal responses to external stimuli in utero, such as changes in maternal nutrition and exposure to environmental stressors. However, the exact biochemical mechanisms associated with sex-specific metabolic adaptations during pregnancy and its link to placental function and fetal development remain poorly understood. Read More

J Appl Gerontol 2020 Jul 6;39(7):712-721. Epub 2019 Sep 6.

The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

This study aims to identify older people's home- and community-based care (HCBC) service need patterns and explore the role of living arrangement and filial piety in affecting such patterns. A total of 556 older people were selected in Beijing, China. Latent class analysis and multinomial logistic regression were adopted to identify the service need patterns and the influencing factors. Read More

Am J Reprod Immunol 2020 Jun 7:e13283. Epub 2020 Jun 7.

Department of Rehabilitation, Guangdong Women and Children Hospital, Guangzhou, China.

Problem: Preterm delivery is the leading cause of neonatal mortality and contributes to delayed physical and cognitive development in children. At present, there is no efficient therapy to prevent preterm labor. A large body of evidence suggests that infections might play a significant and potentially preventable cause of premature birth. Read More

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2020 Jun 5;20(1):347. Epub 2020 Jun 5.

Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Lund University, Faculty of Medicine, Lund, Sweden.

Background: It is discussed whether fetal scalp stimulation (FSS) test is a reliable complimentary tool to cardiotocography (CTG) to assess fetal wellbeing during labor. The test is based on the assumption that a well-oxygenated fetus, in contrast to the depressed fetus, will respond to a certain stimulus. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the FSS-test. Read More

Curr Med Chem 2020 Jun 5. Epub 2020 Jun 5.

Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Bio-Sensing and Chemometrics, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Changsha, Hunan 410082. China.

Nanoparticles have been widely used in cancer therapy because of its nanoscale, high surface ratio, multifuntions and so on. With specific construction of nanoparticles, such as choosing magnetic nanomaterials or citric acid coated nanoparticle, scientists can kill tumor cells effectively and accurately，importantly， reducing the side effect of conventional chemotherapy. Currently, they have been continually applied in cancer therapeutics research. Read More

J Gerontol Soc Work 2020 Jun 5:1-4. Epub 2020 Jun 5.

Professor Emeritus at the Boston College School if Social Work and Founding Director of the National Resource Center for Participant-Directed Services.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing homes and assisted living facilities have accounted for over 20% of all infections, adult day care and other congregate sites have closed, and traditional home care agencies are facing staff shortages. In this environment, self-direction of home and community-based services, where the participant can hire their own staff and manage a budget that can be used for a broad range of goods and services including home modifications and assistive devices, is seen as a promising intervention. Using self-direction participants can minimize the number of people who enter their homes and pay close family and friends who were already providing many hours of informal care, and now may be unemployed. Read More

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2020 Jun 3;20(1):344. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Akita University Hospital, 1-1-1 Hondo, Akita, 010-8543, Japan.

Background: Approximately 10% of all Graves' disease cases are triiodothyronine (T3)-predominant. T3-predominance is characterized by higher T3 levels than thyroxine (T4) levels. Thyroid stimulating hormone receptor autoantibody (TRAb) levels are higher in T3-predominant Graves' disease cases than in non-T3-predominant Graves' disease cases. Read More

Inflamm Res 2020 Jun 2. Epub 2020 Jun 2.

Department of Perinatology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland.

Objective And Design: The purpose of the review was to gather information on the role and possibilities of using lipoxin in the treatment of infertility and maintaining a normal pregnancy. Ovulation, menstruation, embryo implantation, and childbirth are reactions representing short-term inflammatory events involving lipoxin activities. Lipoxin A4 (LXA4) is an arachidonic acid metabolite, and in cooperation with its positional isomer lipoxin B4 (LXB4), it is a major lipoxin in mammals. Read More

Carbohydr Res 2020 Jul 25;493:108034. Epub 2020 May 25.

Department of Pharmacy, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong Province, PR China.

A novel 2-fluorodeoxyglucose conjugated derivative of paclitaxel was efficiently synthesized using a linker between 2'-OH of paclitaxel and C1-hydroxyl group of 2-fluorodeoxyglucose. In preparation of the prodrug, allyl carbonates were selected as the protective group and the efficient one-step removal of allyloxycarbonyl groups at the end of the synthesis using palladium chemistry gave the target molecule in good yield. The prodrug not only improved the pharmaceutical properties of paclitaxel, such as solubility and stability, but also demonstrated enhanced cytotoxicity and selectivity for cancer cells and less toxicity toward normal HUVEC cells. Read More

J Midwifery Womens Health 2020 May 1;65(3):323-334. Epub 2020 Jun 1.

College of Nursing, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center, Aurora, Colorado.

Introduction: Labor dystocia is the most common cause of cesarean birth in the United States, yet how dystocia develops during labor remains elusive. Uterine activity monitoring has significant potential for advancing our understanding of labor dystocia. While evaluating contraction frequency and amplitude is a common component of labor dystocia management, the literature describing the relationship between measures of uterine activity and labor dystocia is heterogeneous and has not been synthesized to identify the best methods for use in clinical investigation. Read More

Pharm Res 2020 May 31;37(6):112. Epub 2020 May 31.

Centre for Research in Topical Drug Delivery and Toxicology, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield, AL10 9AB, UK.

Purpose: The aim of this work was to evaluate whether improved topical delivery of finasteride, focussed to the hair follicles of human scalp skin could be achieved with application of short durations of heat and use of specific chemical penetration enhancers.

Methods: Franz cell experiments with human scalp skin were performed with a range of chemical penetration enhancers at 32°C and 45°C to simulate normal and heated conditions. Selected chemical penetration enhancers were taken forward for finite dose Franz cell studies which examined the effect of heat produced by a prototype external heating system that supplied either 20 or 30 min of additional heat over both a 24 h and a 1 h time period. Read More

Int J Pharm 2020 Jul 28;585:119477. Epub 2020 May 28.

Department of Pharmacy, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 54000, Pakistan. Electronic address:

The skeletal system is fundamental for the structure and support of the body consisting of bones, cartilage, and connective tissues. Poor fracture healing is a chief clinical problem leading to disability, extended hospital stays and huge financial liability. Even though most fractures are cured using standard clinical methods, about 10% of fractures are delayed or non-union. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2020 May 26;21(11). Epub 2020 May 26.

Institute of Cell Biology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.

In contrast to reversible activation by agonist, cholecystokinin 1 receptor (CCK1R) is permanently activated by singlet oxygen generated in photodynamic action, with sulphonated aluminium phthalocyanine or genetically encoded mini singlet oxygen generator (miniSOG) as photosensitizer. In these works, a halogen light source was used to power photodynamic action. For possible in vivo application of photodynamic CCK1R physiology, bearing a cumbersome light-delivery device connected to an external light source by experimental animals might interfere with their behavior. Read More

J Obstet Gynaecol Res 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.

Aim: Obesity has been associated with changes in autophagy and its increasing prevalence among pregnant women is implicated in higher rates of placental-mediated complications of pregnancy such as pre-eclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction. Autophagy is involved in normal placentation, thus changes in autophagy may lead to impaired placental function and development. The aim of this study was to investigate the connection between obesity and autophagy in the placenta in otherwise uncomplicated pregnancies. Read More

Hamostaseologie 2020 May 28;40(2):226-232. Epub 2020 May 28.

Universitätsklinikum Dresden Klinik/Poliklinik für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin Bereich Hämatologie, Dresden, Germany.

The aim of this review is to provide practical guidance for the treatment of carriers of haemophilia and newborns presenting with haemophilia. Both mother and newborn have an increased risk for clinically relevant bleeding. An experienced team should manage genetic counselling, prenatal diagnosis, pregnancy, delivery and the newborn presenting with haemophilia. Read More

Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 2020 Aug 12;251:8-13. Epub 2020 May 12.

Professor, Exercise Scientist, Physical Therapist, Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, Department of Sports Medicine, Norway. Electronic address:

Objectives: Today all pregnant women are recommended to participate in moderate intensity aerobic and resistance-based physical activity/exercise ≥150 min/week. However, there are still controversies and scant knowledge on the role of regular exercise on delivery outcomes, including mode of delivery and length of active labour. In addition, nutritional counselling have often been examined together with exercise, which may independently effect the outcomes. Read More

Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol 2020 May 26. Epub 2020 May 26.

Advanced Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology Research Center (ADIR), Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran.

Uterine artery embolization (UAE) has been introduced for uterine fibroid treatment for two decades. Most of the patients are in reproductive age and many want future pregnancy. In this study, we will assess fertility, pregnancy and its outcomes in patients who have undergone UAE. Read More

Cancers (Basel) 2020 May 22;12(5). Epub 2020 May 22.

Central Institute for Translational Cancer Research (TranslaTUM), Klinikum rechts der Isar der Technischen Universität München, 81675 Munich, Germany.

Imaging techniques such as computed tomographies (CT) play a major role in clinical imaging and diagnosis of malignant lesions. In recent years, metal nanoparticle platforms enabled effective payload delivery for several imaging techniques. Due to the possibility of surface modification, metal nanoparticles are predestined to facilitate molecular tumor targeting. Read More