Oncolytic viral therapy for gliomas: Advances in the mechanisms and approaches to delivery

Glioma is a diverse category of tumors originating from glial cells encompasses various subtypes, based on the specific type of glial cells involved. The most aggressive is glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), which stands as the predominant primary malignant tumor within the central nervous system in adults. Despite the application of treatment strategy, the median survival rate for GBM patients still hovers around 15 months. Oncolytic viruses (OVs) are artificially engineered viruses designed to selectively target and induce apoptosis in cancer cells. While clinical trials have demonstrated encouraging results with intratumoral OV injections for some cancers, applying this approach to GBM presents unique challenges. Here we elaborate on current trends in oncolytic viral therapy and their delivery methods. We delve into the various methods of delivering OVs for therapy, exploring their respective advantages and disadvantages and discussing how selecting the optimal delivery method can enhance the efficacy of this innovative treatment approach.

Application of Infrared Pyrolysis and Chemical Post-Activation in the Conversion of Polyethylene Terephthalate Waste into Porous Carbons for Water Purification

In this study, we compared the conversion of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into porous carbons for water purification using pyrolysis and post-activation with KOH. Pyrolysis was conducted at 400-850 °C, followed by KOH activation at 850 °C for samples pyrolyzed at 400, 650, and 850 °C. Both pyrolyzed and post-activated carbons showed high specific surface areas, up to 504.2 and 617.7 m2 g-1, respectively. As the pyrolysis temperature increases, the crystallite size of the graphite phase rises simultaneously with a decrease in specific surface area. This phenomenon significantly influences the final specific surface area values of the activated samples. Despite their relatively high specific surface areas, pyrolyzed PET-derived carbons prove unsuitable as adsorbents for purifying aqueous media from methylene blue dye. A sample pyrolyzed at 650 °C, with a surface area of 504.2 m2 g-1, exhibited a maximum adsorption value of only 20.4 mg g-1. We propose that the pyrolyzed samples have a surface coating of amorphous carbon poor in oxygen groups, impeding the diffusion of dye molecules. Conversely, post-activated samples emerge as promising adsorbents, exhibiting a maximum adsorption capacity of up to 127.7 mg g-1. This suggests their potential for efficient dye removal in water purification applications.

Fe-Co Alloy Nanoparticles Dispersed in Polymer-Derived Carbon Support: Effect of Initial Polymer Nature on the Size, Structure and Magnetic Properties

Fe-Co alloy nanoparticles with different sizes, supported by carbon derived from several polymers, namely polyacrylonitrile, polyvinyl alcohol and chitosan, have been synthesized by a one-pot method involving simultaneous metal nanoparticle formation and polymer carbonization. The method involves the joint dissolution of metal salts and a polymer, followed by annealing of the resulting dried film. Detailed XRD analysis confirmed the formation of Fe-Co alloy nanoparticles in each sample, regardless of the initial polymer used. Transmission electron microscopy images showed that the Fe-Co nanoparticles were all spherical, were homogeneously distributed within the carbon support and varied by size depending on the initial polymer nature and synthesis temperature. Fe-Co nanoparticles supported by polyacrylonitrile-derived carbon exhibited the smallest size (6-12 nm), whereas nanoparticles on chitosan-derived carbon support were characterized by the largest particle size (13-38 nm). The size dependence of magnetic properties were studied by a vibrating sample magnetometer at room temperature. For the first time, the critical particle size of Fe-Co alloy nanoparticles with equiatomic composition has been experimentally determined as 13 nm, indicating the transition of magnetic properties from ferromagnetic to superparamagnetic.

Formation Features of Polymer-Metal-Carbon Ternary Electromagnetic Nanocomposites Based on Polyphenoxazine

Novel ternary hybrid polyphenoxazine (PPOA)-derived nanocomposites involving Co-Fe particles and single-walled (SWCNTs) or multi-walled (MWCNTs) carbon nanotubes were prepared and investigated. An efficient one-pot method employing infrared (IR) heating enabled the formation of Co-Fe/CNT/PPOA nanocomposites. During this, the dehydrogenation of phenoxazine (POA) units led to the simultaneous reduction of metals by released hydrogen, yielding bimetallic Co-Fe particles with a size range from the nanoscale (5-30 nm) to the microscale (400-1400 nm). The synthesized Co-Fe/CNT/PPOA nanomaterials exhibited impressive thermal stability, demonstrating a half-weight loss at 640 °C and 563 °C in air for Co-Fe/SWCNT/PPOA and Co-Fe/MWCNT/PPOA, respectively. Although a slightly broader range of saturation magnetization values was obtained using MWCNTs, it was found that the type of carbon nanotube, whether an SWCNT (22.14-41.82 emu/g) or an MWCNT (20.93-44.33 emu/g), did not considerably affect the magnetic characteristics of the resulting nanomaterial. By contrast, saturation magnetization escalated with an increasing concentration of both cobalt and iron. These nanocomposites demonstrated a weak dependence of electrical conductivity on frequency. It is shown that the conductivity value for hybrid nanocomposites is higher compared to single-polymer materials and becomes higher with increasing CNT content.

THYROID STATUS OF ATHLETES IN VARIOUS DISCIPLINES

Aim. The article deals with the assessment of the thyroid status of athletes engaged in physical activity of varying intensity. Materials ant methods. 146 elite athletes involved in bobsleigh, biathlon, shooting and snowboarding participated in the study. We determined the serum concentration of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (f.T3), free thyroxin (f.T4) and thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPO-ab) with the COBAS e411 immunochemistry analyzer (Roche, Germany). The integral thyroid index ((f.T3 + f.T4)/TSH) was used for the assessment of the level of function of the thyroid proper. The conversion index of thyroxin to triiodothyronine (f.T4/ f.T3) was also studied. Results. 40 % of the bobsleigh athletes examined and 29 % of the snowboarders had high serum f.T3. The concentration of f.T4 in all examined athletes both male and female was within normal limits. Approximately 25 % of the male athletes examined had low II values. Among female athletes, 25 % of shooters and 33 % of bobsleigh athletes had low II values. In male biathletes and bobsleigh athletes, TPO-ab was 56 % higher than in shooters and snowboarders. In 43 % of bobsleigh athletes, 19 % of shooters, 10 % of biathletes and snowboarders, the content of TSH in males exceeded the reference intervals. Among females, TSH was high in 25 % of shooters and bobsleigh athletes. Conclusion. There were no statistically significant differences in the content of thyroid hormones in the compared sports groups, which can probably be explained by the activity of deiodinases at the local, intracellular level. At the same time, in a large number of respondents surveyed, the indicators of II and TPO-ab were outside the physiological norm.

[Invariants of spatial summation for S (short wavelength) cone vision]

Spatial summation in the human visual system was studied as a function of retinal eccentricity upon selective stimulation of the short-wavelength sensitive cones. The area of complete spatial summation (Ricco's area) was found to increase with retinal eccentricity while the threshold of stimuli equal in size with Ricco's area remained constant. Comparisons with known morphology of the small bistratified retinal ganglion cells, the only cells known to be excited by S-one ON stimulation, showed that Ricco's area included 2-4 such cells and is up to 1.5 times larger than the dendritic field of a single cell. These relationships were relatively constant within the eccentricity range tested (5-20 deg along the temporal horizontal meridian) and might be the source of threshold invariance of stimuli matching Ricco's area.

Stress Relaxation of SBR Vulcanizates with Various Crosslinking and Modifying Agents

From the results of the investigation on stress relaxation in air of vulcanizates based on SBR containing ε-caprolactam and alkylated phenol formaldehyde oligomer, the following conclusions can be made : 1. ε-caprolactam has an effective action as an accelerating and modifying agent leading to vulcanizates of improved behavior in stress relaxation at temperatures up to 120°C. The characteristics of the vulcanizates deteriorate at higher temperatures because of the strong temperature dependence of the rate constants of thermo-oxidative aging processes. 2. ε-caprolactam in combinations with Vulkacit CZ or Captax added in recipes of SBR leads to improved relaxation properties of the vulcanizates at low temperatures and to a lower resistance to aging at higher temperatures. 3. The vulcanizate containing the crosslinking and modifying group of alkylated phenol formaldehyde oligomer with ε-caprolactam is characterized by its highest thermostability at high temperatures in comparison with all tested compositions, and by relaxation properties at low temperatures comparable to those of the compound with Captax (Table II). 4. The relaxation curves are comparatively well described by the Berry equation for simultaneous occurrence of breakdown processes for several kinds of crosslinks by first-order reaction. 5. The slow stage of physical relaxation is described by a sum of several exponential processes with relaxation times characteristic of each composition, i.e., the various accelerators and modifying additives have a strong effect on the supermolecular arrangement of the network of vulcanizates made of SBR (Bulex).