ABSTRACT
This paper presents pioneering results on the evaluation of noble metal film hetero-structures to improve some functional characteristics of carbon-based implant materials: carbon-composite material (CCM) and carbon-fiber-reinforced polyetheretherketone (CFR-PEEK). Metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) was successfully applied to the deposition of Ir, Pt, and PtIr films on these carriers. A noble metal layer as thin as 1 µm provided clear X-ray imaging of 1−2.5 mm thick CFR-PEEK samples. The coated and pristine CCM and CFR-PEEK samples were further surface-modified with Au and Ag nanoparticles (NPs) through MOCVD and physical vapor deposition (PVD) processes, respectively. The composition and microstructural features, the NPs sizes, and surface concentrations were determined. In vitro biological studies included tests for cytotoxicity and antibacterial properties. A series of samples were selected for subcutaneous implantation in rats (up to 3 months) and histological studies. The bimetallic PtIr-based heterostructures showed no cytotoxicity in vitro, but were less biocompatible due to a dense two-layered fibrous capsule. AuNP heterostructures on CFR-PEEK promoted cell proliferation in vitro and exhibited a strong inhibition of bacterial growth (p < 0.05) and high in vitro biocompatibility, especially Au/Ir structures. AgNP heterostructures showed a more pronounced antibacterial effect, while their in vivo biocompatibility was better than that of the pristine CFR-PEEK, but worse than that of AuNP heterostructures.
ABSTRACT
The demarcation of boundaries between protist species is often problematic because of the absence of a uniform species definition, the abundance of cryptic diversity, and the occurrence of convergent morphology. The ciliates belonging to the Paramecium aurelia complex, consisting of 15 species, are a good model for such systematic and evolutionary studies. One member of the complex is P. sonneborni, previously known only from one stand in Texas (USA), but recently found in two new sampling sites in Cyprus (creeks running to Salt Lake and Oroklini Lake near Larnaca). The studied Paramecium sonneborni strains (from the USA and Cyprus) reveal low viability in the F1 and F2 generations of interstrain hybrids and may be an example of ongoing allopatric speciation. Despite its molecular distinctiveness, we postulate that P. sonneborni should remain in the P. aurelia complex, making it a paraphyletic taxon. Morphological studies have revealed that some features of the nuclear apparatus of P. sonneborni correspond to the P. aurelia spp. complex, while others are similar to P. jenningsi and P. schewiakoffi. The observed discordance indicates rapid splitting of the P. aurelia-P. jenningsi-P. schewiakoffi group, in which genetic, morphological, and molecular boundaries between species are not congruent.
Subject(s)
Paramecium/classification , Phylogeny , DNA, Protozoan/genetics , DNA, Ribosomal/genetics , Paramecium/cytology , Paramecium/genetics , Species SpecificityABSTRACT
Se realizó una investigación descriptiva y retrospectiva en el Departamento de Anatomía Patológica del Hospital General Docente "Dr. Juan Bruno Zayas" de Santiago de Cuba, con vistas a comparar los diagnósticos obtenidos a través de los estudios citológicos e histológicos efectuados en pacientes con enfermedades tiroideas, durante el trienio 2010-2012. En la serie se destacó una importante concordancia entre los diagnósticos citológicos e histológicos, los cuales predominaron en mujeres, principalmente en las edades de 30 a 60 años; asimismo, mayormente se determinó el bocio como lesión benigna y el carcinoma papilar como neoplasia maligna. Pudo concluirse que la efectividad del estudio citológico en el laboratorio fue de 91,0 %.
A descriptive and retrospective investigation was carried out in the Pathology Department of "Dr. Juan Bruno Zayas" Teaching General Hospital in Santiago de Cuba, with the objective of comparing the diagnoses obtained through the cytological and histological studies in patients with thyroid diseases, during the triennium 2010-2012. In the series there was an important concordance between the cytological and histological diagnoses, which prevailed in women, mainly in the ages of 30-60 years; also, goiter was mostly determined as benign lesion and the papillary carcinoma as malignant neoplasia. It could be concluded that the effectiveness of the cytological study in the laboratory was 91.0%.
