1,721,023 research outputs found
Progress in Conductive Polyaniline-Based Nanocomposites for Biomedical Applications: A Review
No full textInherently conducting polymers (ICPs) are a specific category of synthetic polymers with distinctive electro-optic properties, which involve conjugated chains with alternating single and double bonds. Polyaniline (PANI), as one of the most well-known ICPs, has outstanding potential applications in biomedicine because of its high electrical conductivity and biocompatibility caused by its hydrophilic nature, low-toxicity, good environmental stability, and nanostructured morphology. Some of the limitations in the use of PANI, such as its low processability and degradability, can be overcome by the preparation of its blends and nanocomposites with various (bio)polymers and nanomaterials, respectively. This review describes the state-of-the-art of biological activities and applications of conductive PANI-based nanocomposites in the biomedical fields, such as antimicrobial therapy, drug delivery, biosensors, nerve regeneration, and tissue engineering. The latest progresses in the biomedical applications of PANI-based nanocomposites are reviewed to provide a background for future research
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Photoactive polymers-decorated Cu-Al layered double hydroxide hexagonal architectures: A potential non-viral vector for photothermal therapy and co-delivery of DOX/pCRISPR
Get PDFGene and drug co-delivery is considered a promising strategy in combination cancer therapy. In this study, we fabricated Cu-Al layered double hydroxide (LDH) decorated with nanoscale ortho-, meta-, and para-poly(phenylenediamine), and afterward, doxorubicin (DOX) was loaded into nanoparticles. Finally, LDH was wrapped with plasmid CRISPR (pCRISPR). The modified nanohexagonals had particle sizes of approximately less than 100 nm with drug uptake up to 62.3%. pH-responsive nanocarriers exhibited higher cargo release in an acidic environment (pH 5.5) compared to a neutral buffer of pH 7.4. CLSM analysis demonstrated internalization in MEF-7 and HEK-293 cells with high transfection efficiency, further confirming them as promising nanostructures in cargo delivery. Besides, the potential usage of the cell-imprinted technique in order to increase the interactions to the cells, and enhance the cellular internalizations/transfections were assessed and showed a considerable increase (up to 72%) in the cellular internalizations. LDH nanostructures displayed high biocompatibility against HEK-293 and PC12 cells after 24 and 48 h. While they had no significant impact on the viability of MCF-7 cells with the assistance of the cell-imprinted method, these non-viral vectors significantly reduced the viability of HT-29 cells, showing their anti-cancer activity. Ortho, meta, and para forms of the poly(phenylenediamine)s decorated on the surface of the LDH showed transfection efficiencies up to 29.1, 28.2, and 40.1%, respectively. Therefore, this study could be considered the highest record of the pCRISPR delivery using a composite substrate in the literature
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Advances in bio-based polymers for colorectal cancer treatment: hydrogels and nanoplatforms
Get PDFAdenocarcinoma of the colon is the most common malignant neoplasia of the gastrointesti-nal tract and is a major contributor to mortality worldwide. Invasiveness and metastatic behavior are typical of malignant tumors and, because of its portal drainage, the liver is the closest capillary bed available in this case, hence the common site of metastatic dissemination. Current therapies forecast total resection of primary tumor when possible and partial liver resection at advanced stages, along with systemic intravenous therapies consisting of chemotherapeutic agents such as 5-fluorouracil. These cures are definitely not exempt from drawbacks and heavy side effects. Biocompatible polymeric networks, both in colloids and bulk forms, able to absorb large quantities of water and load a variety of molecules-belong to the class of innovative drug delivery systems, thus suitable for the purpose and tunable on each patient can represent a promising alternative. Indeed, the implantation of polymeric scaffolds easy to synthesize can substitute chemotherapy and combination therapies scheduling, shortening side effects. Moreover, they do not require a surgical removal thanks to spontaneous degradation and guarantees an extended and regional cargo release, maintaining high drug concentrations. In this review, we focus our attention on the key role of polymeric networks as drug delivery systems potentially able to counteract this dramatic disease
In vivo drug delivery applications of nanogels: a review
No full textIn recent years, nanogels have emerged as promising drug delivery vehicles; their ability in holding active molecules, macromolecules and drugs, together with the capability to respond to external stimuli, makes them a suitable tool for a wide range of applications. These features allow nanogels to be exploited against many challenges of nanomedicine associated with different kinds of pathologies which require the use of specific drug delivery systems. In this review our aim is to give the reader an overview of the diseases that can be treated with nanogels as drug delivery systems, such as cancer, CNS disorders, cardiovascular diseases, wound healing and other diseases of human body. For all of these pathologies, biological in vivo assays can be found in the literature and in this work. We focus on the peculiarities of these nanogels, highlighting their features and their advantages in respect to conventional treatments
A perspective on the applications of functionalized nanogels: promises and challenges
Get PDFIn the last two decades nanogels have emerged as very promising and versatile biomaterials suitable for a wide range of applications. Their features such as large surface area, ability to hold molecules, flexibility in size and water-based formulations have ensured them great recognition as drug delivery systems with various in vivo applications which have confirmed their potential. On the other handnanogels have been investigated in recent years for applications in various fields other than biomedicine. Clear examples of this are represented by the possibility of employing nanogels as sensing materials, as catalysts or as adsorbents for environmental applications. In view of this variety of possible applications, in this work we extend our knowledge on the topic of their possible uses described in literature, taking stock of the state of the art for all possible nanogel employment and their synthesis methods
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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