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The aim of the present study was to establish a modular platform of poly-L-lysine-heparin (PLL-Hep) polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) coatings on titanium surfaces for dual growth factor delivery of recombinant human bone morphogenic protein 2 (rhBMP2) and recombinant human vascular endothelial growth factor 165 (rhVEGF165) in clinically relevant quantities. Release characteristics for both growth factors differed significantly depending on film architecture. rhBMP2 induced activation of alkaline phosphatase in C2C12 cells and proliferation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). rhVEGF mediated induction of von Willebrand factor (vWF) in hMSCs and proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Osteogenic and angiogenic effects were modified by variation in cross-linking and architecture of the PEMs. By creating multilayer films with distinct zones, release characteristics and proportion of both growth factor delivery could be tuned and surface-activity modified to enhance angiogenic or osteogenic function in various ways. In summary, the system provides a modular platform for growth factor delivery that allows for individual composition and accentuation of angiogenic and osteogenic surface properties.

Objectives To evaluate the relationship between gingival phenotype and tooth location based on selected index teeth ("Ramfjord") and assess possible differences between women and men. Material and methods Thirty-six women and 20 men voluntarily participated in this investigation with an average age of 23 years (min: 19; max: 37). Gingival phenotypes (GP) were assessed by transparency of a periodontal probe through the buccal gingival margin. Results A comparable and similar GP on all index teeth was only found in seven out of the 56 subjects, that is, thin or thick only: Five participants (three male/two female) showed a uniform and constantly thick and two females a constantly thin GP. While the majority of molars (94.6%; p = 0.006) showed a thick GP, premolars (61.6%; p = 0.09) as well as incisors (70.5%; p = 0.046) were predominantly categorized as thin. In addition, significantly thicker GP was in general observed for maxillary teeth (p = 0.001) but without differences between genders (p = 0.722). Conclusion No constant GP can be expected within one dentition. The use of the "Ramfjord teeth" may serve as a quick overview and reliable method to screen GP distribution.

The design and synthesis of a novel rotaxane/foldaxane hybrid architecture is reported. The winding of an aromatic oligoamide helix host around a dumbbell-shaped thread-like guest, or axle, already surrounded by a macrocycle was evidenced by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. The process proved to depend on the position of the macrocycle along the axle and the associated steric hindrance. The macrocycle thus behaves as a switchable shield that modulates the affinity of the helix for the axle. Reciprocally, the foldamer helix acts as a supramolecular auxiliary that compartmentalizes the axle. In some cases, the macrocycle is forced to move along the axle to allow the foldamer to reach its best recognition site.

AIM To compare the efficacy of transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) with percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) regarding patient-reported outcomes measures, specifically quality-of-life (QoL) improvement and patient's treatment benefit, on symptoms associated with overactive bladder (OAB). METHODS Patients with refractory OAB symptoms and detrusor overactivity were randomized to receive TTNS or PTNS for 12 weeks. Data from self-report OAB questionnaire short form (q-SF) and incontinence (I)-QoL questionnaires were collected pretreatment and at Weeks 6 and 12. Patients' self-perceived benefits on symptoms (treatment benefit scale, TBS) were also gathered. Mean change in scores within and between groups were estimated. RESULTS Sixty-eight adult patients (67.6% women) were included in the intention to treat analysis. Of those, 61 completed all questionnaires and were analyzed as per protocol. Statistically significant improvements in OAB-q-SF and I-QoL between baseline and end-of-treatment scores were observed in both TTNS and PTNS groups (p

Aerial parts containing cannabidiol can be purchased in a legal way but cannabis used as recreational drug is illegal in most European countries. Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol is one of the main cannabinoids responsible for the psychotropic effect. European Union countries and Switzerland authorize a concentration of THC of 0.2 % and 1.0 % w/w, respectively, for smoking products and industrial hemp. Public health inspectors and law enforcement officers need to check the legality of samples. Therefore there is a need for innovative approaches, allowing quality control of these products in an easy way and preferably on site. In many countries, cultivation of industrial hemp is permitted if the THC content does not exceed 0.2 % w/w. A portable equipment could be a useful measuring tool for farmers to check for the THC content at regular time. In this work, 189 samples were analysed with a benchtop and a handheld NIR device in order to create two classification methods according to European and Swiss laws. All samples were also analysed by GC-FID to determine their THC concentration. Supervised analysis was applied in order to establish the best model. For the first classification, the accuracy was 91% for the test set with the benchtop data and 93 % for the test set with the handheld data. For the second classification, the accuracies were respectively 91 % and 95 %. The obtained models, hyphenating spectroscopic techniques and chemometrics, enable to discriminate legal and illegal cannabis samples according to European and Swiss laws.

Foldamers combining aliphatic and aromatic main‐chain units often produce atypical structures that cannot easily be accessed from purely aromatic or aliphatic sequences. We report solid‐state evidence that sequences comprising α‐amino acids and quinoline‐based monomers adopt conformations that combine the folding propensities of both components. Foldamers 2 and 3 having an XQQ repeat motif (X=α‐amino acid, Q=quinoline) were synthesized. Crystals of 2 (X=Phe, Q with an anionic side chain) obtained from water revealed an aromatic helix where amide groups belonging to the α‐amino acids created a hydrogen‐bond array typical of peptidic helices. Crystals of 3 (X=Ser, Q with a lipophilic side chain) obtained from organic solvents revealed a helix‐turn‐helix structure in which α‐amino acid side chains interfere with main‐chain hydrogen bonding. High sequence‐dependency of the conformation is typical of peptides but is shown here to include aromatic folding features., Neatly stacked: Crystallographic studies of hybrid XQQ‐type foldamers (X=α‐amino acid, Q=quinoline) were performed to explore their folding behavior. A water‐soluble sequence folded into a P‐helix in which aromatic residues stack, whereas α‐amino acid residues form an array of hydrogen bonds as in an M α‐helix. An organic soluble sequence was shown to adopt an unusual helix‐turn‐helix‐like conformation in which side chains interfere with main‐chain behavior.

International audience; Previous studies have shown that the human visual system can detect a face and elicit a saccadic eye movement toward it very efficiently compared to other categories of visual stimuli. In the first experiment, we tested the influence of facial expressions on fast face detection using a saccadic choice task. Face-vehicle pairs were simultaneously presented and participants were asked to saccade toward the target (the face or the vehicle). We observed that saccades toward faces were initiated faster, and more often in the correct direction, than saccades toward vehicles, regardless of the facial expressions (happy, fearful, or neutral). We also observed that saccade endpoints on face images were lower when the face was happy and higher when it was neutral. In the second experiment, we explicitly tested the detection of facial expressions. We used a saccadic choice task with emotional-neutral pairs of faces and participants were asked to saccade toward the emotional (happy or fearful) or the neutral face. Participants were faster when they were asked to saccade toward the emotional face. They also made fewer errors, especially when the emotional face was happy. Using computational modeling, we showed that this happy face advantage can, at least partly, be explained by perceptual factors. Also, saccade endpoints were lower when the target was happy than when it was fearful. Overall, we suggest that there is no automatic prioritization of emotional faces, at least for saccades with short latencies, but that salient local face features can automatically attract attention.

The TAR DNA-binding protein (TDP-43) self-assembles into prion-like aggregates considered to be the structural hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. Here, we use a combination of electron microscopy, X-ray fiber diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis, and solid-state NMR spectroscopy to investigate the molecular organization of different TDP constructs, namely the full-length TDP-43 (1-414), two C-terminal fragments [TDP-35 (90-414) and TDP-16 (267-414)], and a C-terminal truncated fragment (TDP-43 increment GaroS2), in their fibrillar state. Although the different protein constructs exhibit similar fibril morphology and a typical cross-beta signature by X-ray diffraction, solid-state NMR indicates that TDP-43 and TDP-35 share the same polymorphic molecular structure, while TDP-16 encompasses a well-ordered amyloid core. We identified several residues in the so-called C-terminal GaroS2 (368-414) domain that participates in the rigid core of TDP-16 fibrils, underlining its importance during the aggregation process. Our findings demonstrate that C-terminal fragments can adopt a different molecular conformation in isolation or in the context of the full-length assembly, suggesting that the N-terminal domain and RRM domains play an important role in the TDP-43 amyloid transition.