World's First Experience of the Low-dose radionuclide inhalation therapy in the treatment of COVID-19-associated viral pneumonia: phase 1/2 clinical trial

OBJECTIVE

Previously, the 99mTc inhalation was used for pneumonia treatment that decreases inflammation and disease severity. We aimed to investigate the safety and effectiveness of carbon nanoparticles labeled with Technetium isotope (99mTc) in a form of ultradispersed aerosol in combination with standard COVID-19 therapy. The study was a randomized phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trial of low-dose radionuclide inhalation therapy for patients with COVID-19 related pneumonia.

METHOD

We enrolled 47 patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection and early laboratory signs of cytokine storm and randomized them into the Treatment and Control groups. We analyzed blood parameters reflecting the COVID-19 severity and inflammatory response.

RESULTS

Low-dose 99mTc-labeled inhalation showed a minimal accumulation of radionuclide in lungs in healthy volunteers. We observed no significant differences between the groups before treatment in WBC-count, D-dimer, CRP, Ferritin or LDH levels. We found that Ferritin and LDH levels significantly raised after the 7th day follow-up only in the Control group (p<0.0001 and p=0.0005, respectively), while mean values of the same indicators did not change in patients in the Treatment group after the radionuclide treatment. D-dimer values also lowered in the radionuclide treated group, however, this effect was not statistically significant. Furthermore, we evaluated a significant decrease in CD19+ cell counts in patients of the radionuclide-treated group.

CONCLUSION

Inhaled low-dose radionuclide therapy of 99mTc aerosol affects the major prognostic indicators of COVID-19-related pneumonia restraining inflammatory response. Overall, we identified no evidence of major adverse events in the group receiving radionuclide.

Cytogenetic Damage Induced by Radioiodine Therapy: A Follow-Up Case Study

The risk of toxicity attributable to radioiodine therapy (RIT) remains a subject of ongoing research, with a whole-body dose of 2 Gy proposed as a safe limit. This article evaluates the RIT-induced cytogenetic damage in two rare differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) cases, including the first follow-up study of a pediatric DTC patient. Chromosome damage in the patient's peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) was examined using conventional metaphase assay, painting of chromosomes 2, 4, and 12 (FISH), and multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridization (mFISH). Patient 1 (female, 1.6 y.o.) received four RIT courses over 1.1 years. Patient 2 (female, 49 y.o.) received 12 courses over 6.4 years, the last two of which were examined. Blood samples were collected before and 3-4 days after the treatment. Chromosome aberrations (CA) analyzed by conventional and FISH methods were converted to a whole-body dose accounting for the dose rate effect. The mFISH method showed an increase in total aberrant cell frequency following each RIT course, while cells carrying unstable aberrations predominated in the yield. The proportion of cells containing stable CA associated with long-term cytogenetic risk remained mostly unchanged during follow-up for both patients. A one-time administration of RIT was safe, as the threshold of 2 Gy for the whole-body dose was not exceeded. The risk of side effects projected from RIT-attributable cytogenetic damage was low, suggesting a good long-term prognosis. In rare cases, such as the ones reviewed in this study, individual planning based on cytogenetic biodosimetry is strongly recommended.

Computer simulation of strength testing of an object based on signal shaped resources

Considered the problem of the effectiveness of the proposed and protected method for testing systems and structures, based on the use of the impulse response of the test object as an optimal test signal. The purpose of the study is to confirm the gain in the magnitude of the response of the test object to the optimal signal compared to traditional methods. To solve the considered problem, an approach based on the representation of the test object in the form of a matched filter is proposed. As a result of computer simulation of the procedure for the impact of various test signals on the test object, it was possible to show the advantage of the optimal test signal in the form of the maximum response of the test object to it.

WEIGHT LOSS IN A YOUNG PATIENT WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES: CHALLENGES OF DIABETES MANAGEMENT USING ONLINE PROGRAM OF GOOD NUTRITION (CASE REPORT)

A 31-year-old male with a history of obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and hypercholesterolemia came to our clinic for medical weight-loss management. According to his initial anthropometric measurements (weight - 193 kg, height - 181 cm, and body mass index (BMI) - 58 kg/m2) patient had morbid obesity. In order to educate our patient about good nutrition, physical activity and the need of sun exposure we used an online system based on the video lessons, full of humor, pictures, and cartoons. Even one month of watching the short educational movies was sufficient for the patient to form the habits of healthy eating, including restriction of fat and digestible carbohydrates and increase in daily consumption of low-fat dairy products, slow carbohydrates, protein and fiber. Endocrinologist was regularly available for any questions and inquiries that the patient might have had. In addition to the dietary recommendations subcutaneous liraglutide 2.4 mg daily was initiated. After 8 months of treatment the patient has lost 58 kg and reached the body weight of 135 kg; moreover, he had motivation to continue losing weight.

Nanoparticle-based paper sensor for thiols evaluation in human skin

A new sensitive non-invasive gold nanoparticle-based sensor that enables to detect thiols in the human skin has been developed. The detection procedure implied the assessment of the color change of a paper sensor resulting from aggregation of gold nanoparticles caused by thiols. The ratio of the intensity of the photo image blue channel vs the red one (in units of RGB coloration) served as analytical response. The main thiol in the skin is glutathione, therefore, it was used as model biothiol and spiking substance. The range of linearity for glutathione was 8-75µM, the detection limit was 6.9µM. RSD≤7% is for inter-day determination of 10μM glutathione and RSD≤12% is the intra-day value. The recovery of 5µM and 10µM of glutathione was evaluated by applying solution, containing thiol-spikes, on skin. The results varied in the range 77-138%. A hundred-fold excess of serine, alanine, histidine, threonine, creatinine, urea, and ammonia; a ten-fold excess of glycine, proline, leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, asparagine; and a five-fold excess of valine, tryptophan, tyrosine, and uric acid, which can be extracted from the skin and is contained in the test matrix, have no significant effect on 10µM glutathione signal. Thiols level in the skin of volunteers (21-65 years old, men and women) detected with the use of a proposed non-invasive sensor was 11.6-47.5µM.

Salmonella Enteritidis bacteriophage candidates for phage therapy of poultry

AIMS

Salmonella is a worldwide foodborne pathogen causing acute enteric infections in humans. In the recent years, the use of bacteriophages has been suggested as a possible tool to combat this zoonotic pathogen in poultry farms. This work aims to isolate and perform comparative studies of a group of phages active against a collection of specific Salmonella Enteritidis strains from Portugal and England. Also, suitable phage candidates for therapy of poultry will be selected.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The Salm. Enteritidis strains studied were shown to have a significantly high occurrence of defective (cryptic) prophages; however, no live phages were found in the strains. Bacteriophages isolated from different environments lysed all except one of the tested Salm. Enteritidis strains. The bacteriophages studied were divided into different groups according to their genetic homology, RFLP profiles and phenotypic features, and most of them showed no DNA homology with the bacterial hosts. The bacteriophage lytic efficacy proved to be highly dependent on the propagation host strain.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the evidences shown in this work that the Salm. Enteritidis strains used did not produce viable phages, we have confirmed that some phages, when grown on particular hosts, behaved as complexes of phages. This is most likely because of the presence of inactive phage-related genomes (or their parts) in the bacterial strains which are capable of being reactivated or which can recombine with lytic phages. Furthermore, changes of the bacterial hosts used for maintenance of phages must be avoided as these can drastically modify the parameters of the phage preparations, including host range and lytic activity.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

This work shows that the optimal host and growth conditions must be carefully studied and selected for the production of each bacteriophage candidate for animal therapy.

Localization of human coagulation factor VIII (hFVIII) in transgenic rabbit by FISH-TSA: identification of transgene copy number and transmission to the next generation

For chromosomal localization of the hFVIII human transgene in F2 and F3 generation of transgenic rabbits, FISH-TSA was applied. A short cDNA probe (1250 bp) targeted chromosomes 3, 7, 8, 9 and 18 of an F2 male (animal 1-3-8). Two transgenic offspring (F3) revealed signal positions in chromosome 3 and chromosomes 3 and 7, respectively. Sequencing and structure analysis of the rabbit orthologous gene revealed high similarity to its human counterpart. Part of the sequenced cDNA (1310 bp) served as a probe for FISH-TSA analysis. The rabbit gene was localized in the q arm terminus of the X chromosome. This result is in agreement with reciprocal chromosome painting between the rabbit and the human. The presented FISH-TSA method provides strong signals without any interspecies reactivity.

Localization of the single copy gene Mdh2 on Xenopus tropicalis chromosomes by FISH-TSA

A single copy gene, mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase 2 (Mdh2), was localized on Xenopus tropicalis chromosomes by fluorescence in situ hybridization coupled with tyramide signal amplification (FISH-TSA). The respective cDNA was cloned and sequenced. The labeled probe hybridized with a subcentromeric region of the long arms of homologous chromosomes 3. Results of comparison of the gene localization with previously mapped X. laevis paralogs strongly suggest a common evolutionary origin of chromosomes 3 and 8 in X. laevis and chromosome 3 in X. tropicalis. This is the first time that a single copy gene has been visualized on X. tropicalis chromosomes. The FISH-TSA method gives a strong signal with a 1-kb labeled probe.

Effect of protein supplement source on porcine oocyte maturation and subsequent embryonic development after parthenogenetic activation

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of purified GPBoS and commonly used FCS on porcine oocyte maturation and subsequent embryonic development after their parthenogenetic activation. COCs were obtained from dissected follicles and cultured for 18, 24, 30, 36, 42 and 48 h in M-199 medium either with GPBoS or FCS. After 24 h with GPBoS, 91% of oocytes reached MI stage while in the medium supplemented with FCS, only 29% of oocytes reached the same stage (P < 0.05). The majority of oocytes from the FCS group (61%) reached MI stage approximately 6 h later. In the time periods between 36 to 48 h both groups of oocytes reached the same stage of maturation. After 48 h of culture the oocytes with extruded polar bodies were activated by a single electric pulse and then cultured with 4 mM 6-DMAP. Activated oocytes were cultured in PZM-3 medium supplemented with 3 mg/ml of BSA. After 7 days, the development and the quality of embryos were evaluated. The results showed that the maturation of oocytes in the presence of GPBoS significantly increased their subsequent developmental ability when compared with FCS supplementation (27% vs. 19% of blastocysts, P < 0.05). However, differential staining revealed that once blastocysts were formed in either group, they had the same total cell number (40 vs. 41) and also the ICM/total cell ratio (0.27 vs. 0.29).

The c-src1 gene visualized by in situ hybridization on Xenopus laevis chromosomes

Fluorescent in situ hybridization followed by tyramide signal amplification was used to map the site of the c-SRC1 gene on XENOPUS LAEVIS chromosomes. Positive results were obtained with a cDNA probe of about 1 kb. The c-SRC1 gene is located in the subcentromeric region in the long arm of one of the acrocentric chromosomes of the G category (classified according to Graf and Kobel, 1991). The c-SRC1 gene and the XENOPUS major histocompatibility complex (MHC) 1b locus, which consists of 20 tandemly arranged gene copies, are situated on different chromosomes of the G category.

Xstir polymorphism and absence of sex linkage in Xenopus laevis ME2 gene

A fragment of ME2 cDNA from exon 2 to exon 11 was sequenced and the sequence submitted to GenBank. Analysis of the intron, probably intron 13, revealed a polymorphism which is due to the presence of tandem repetitions of Xstir elements. Genetic analysis of the parents and the offspring showed a standard distribution of intron variants. This distribution was not dependent on sex. We conclude, contrary to previous reports, that the ME2 gene is not linked to sex. Consequently, the Xstir polymorphism can be used as a tool for genetic analysis.

Extending the Tuning Range of Short-Pulse Lasers by Transient Stimulated Raman Scattering in Gases

Transient stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) is a convenient method to extend the tuning range of short-pulse lasers. In this paper we present results obtained by using 400 nm pump pulses of 2.5 ps duration. After briefly reviewing earlier work on transient SRS in pure hydrogen and in H

Cerebellar haemorrhage after supratentorial aneurysm surgery with lumbar drainage

Haemorrhage within the posterior fossa (PF) after supratentorial surgery is a very rare and exceedingly dangerous complication. Only 28 cases were found in the literature. Up to now, no pathogenetic factor has decisively proven to be the cause of this phenomenon. We present clinical details of a patient operated on for aneurysm of the anterior communicating artery. Lumbar drainage was used during surgery, with the loss of a large amount of cerebrospinal fluid (200 ml). Other causes in our case which may have led to cerebellar shift or a critical increase in transmural venous pressure with subsequent vascular disruption and haemorrhage were extreme head rotation during lengthy surgery and blood pressure peaks in the early postoperative period. Repeated computed tomography (CT) allowed immediate diagnosis of this complication and control of its conservative management. After postponed ventriculoperitoneal shunt, the patient recovered completely.

Transient stimulated Raman scattering in gas mixtures

We studied, for the first time to our knowledge, transient stimulated Raman scattering in H(2)- D(2) and H(2)- CH(4) gas mixtures excited with 200-fs and 2-ps, 390-nm pulses. Depending on the composition and partial pressure, of those gases, we observed approximately 40 output lines simultaneously. Under optimum conditions a conversion efficiency of as much as 8% in the combination Raman line at 556 nm was obtained in the H(2)- CH(4) gas mixtures. The difference between picosecond and femtosecond pumping is due to self-phase modulation and to generation of a spectral continuum in the latter. Our calculation of the ratio of the partial pressures is in a good agreement with the experimental results. A new method for measuring the unknown Raman scattering cross section of gas molecules is suggested.

Efficient noncollinear parametric amplification of weak femtosecond pulses in the visible and near-infrared spectral range

We report measurement of efficient amplification of weak femtosecond supercontinuum seed pulses by use of a noncollinear optical parametric process in BBO crystal pumped with 150-fs pulses from a frequency-doubled regenerative-amplified Ti:sapphire laser at 390nm . The highest amplification factor, 10(8) , was achieved for 3x10(-16)J energy seed pulses at wavelength of 560nm.

Hologram recording in DuPont photopolymer films by use of pulse exposure

Reflection hologram recording in DuPont HRF-800X071-20 photopolymer films has been demonstrated by use of pulsed laser exposure with pulse lengths of 25 ns. An expected weak reflectance of the recorded mirror holograms could be significantly increased by preillumination. Although pulsed preillumination enhanced only the reflectance, continuous incoherent preillumination significantly increased both the diffraction efficiency (which reached ~80%) and the sensitivity (which reached an increase of ~100 times, thus approaching the sensitivity of cw recording). The results are compared with those for hologram recordings obtained with cw exposure under the same processing conditions. Spectral absorbance curves of recorded holograms are presented, and possible mechanisms of hologram formation are discussed.

Stimulated Raman amplification of femtosecond pulses in hydrogen gas

We report efficient amplification of weak femtosecond supercontinuum pulses by a stimulated Raman scattering process in pressurized H(2) gas excited with 350-fs-duration frequency-doubled pulses from a regenerativeamplified Ti:sapphire laser. An amplification factor of 10(9) is obtained at the wavelength of 465 nm for seed pulses produced by supercontinuum generation in glass.

Stimulated Raman scattering in hydrogen by frequency-doubled amplified femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser pulses

We present results on stimulated Raman scattering in hydrogen excited by 200-fs-duration 1-kHz repetitionrate and 0.6-W average-power Ti:sapphire (780-nm) and 0.2-W average-power second-harmonic (390-nm) laser pulses with linear and circular polarizations. Spectral and temporal measurements of the vibrational and rotational components at Stokes and anti-Stokes frequencies in the wavelength range of 289-1154 nm are reported. We observe threefold shortening of the first vibrational Stokes component pulses, excited by 400-fsduration second-harmonic pulses.

Introduction of Pseudomonas aeruginosa mutator phage D3112 into Alcaligenes eutrophus strain CH34

We have investigated the possibility of growing mutator phages from Pseudomonas aeruginosa on various isolates of Alcaligenes eutrophus. Although none out of 10 A. eutrophus strains were susceptible to infection with any of the phages tested, phage D3112 could be readily transferred in our model strain CH34 by means of an RP4::D3112 plasmid. CH34/RP4::D3112 lysogens were stable and produced phages. However, neither mitomycin C nor UV treatment increased the phage yield.

Second-harmonic generation of amplified femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser pulses

We study theoretically and experimentally second-harmonic generation (SHG) of 150-fs-duration amplified Ti:sapphire laser pulses at a wavelength of 780 nm in the nonlinear crystal KDP of different lengths and at different power densities as high as 150 GW cm(-2). The experimentally observed SHG conversion efficiency does not exceed 50%. It is shown theoretically that one possible process limiting the SHG efficiency at low as well as at high intensities is the modulation of the phase of the fundamental wave. In addition, continuum generation is observed at high intensities and can decrease the SHG efficiency.

Noncollinear parametric generation in LiIO(3) and beta-barium borate by frequency-doubled femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser pulses

In LiIO(3) and BBO crystals the wave-matching conditions for femtosecond noncollinear parametric light generation at lambda = 390 nm pumping wavelength are investigated. In the LiIO(3) crystal simultaneous phase- and group-velocity-matching angles are determined. Parametric generation occurred at 0.45-2.9-mu;m wavelengths by pumping with the second harmonic of 150-fs Ti:sapphire laser pulses and is in qualitative agreement with calculated directions in both crystals.