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Advancing therapeutic effectiveness through the strategic co‐delivery of drugs in a sequential manner represents a compelling strategy. However, achieving precise and selective release of chemotherapeutic agents remains a formidable challenge. In this study, a co‐assembled Arginine‐Glycine‐Aspartate (RGD)‐functionalized dehydropeptide‐based gel loaded with magnetic liposomes and mesoporous silica‐coated gold nanorods is introduced. This composite system serves as a sophisticated tool to independently modulate the release of doxorubicin and methotrexate. The gel's properties are intricately tuned by the incorporation of liposomes or nanorods and/or the co‐assembly with an RGD‐functionalized peptide. Furthermore, the combined effects of sequential drug release, photothermia, and magnetic hyperthermia synergistically enhance therapeutic efficacy against 3D cancer cell cultures. Noteworthy attributes of the gel include its ability to orthogonally trigger loaded drugs, along with features such as injectability, rapid gelation, self‐healing, and mechanical properties suitable for drug delivery. Consequently, this versatile multimodal platform emerges as a promising option for therapeutic applications, particularly in the context of cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate the frequency of post‐treatment apical periodontitis associated with root filled teeth with at least one untreated root canal. Methodology: Eight hundred and seven cone beam computed tomography images containing at least one root filled tooth were selected from a collection of 1543 images from Brazilian individuals. Scans were taken using ICAT Classic devices (Imaging Sciences, Hatfield, PA, USA) in a private oral radiology clinic from January to April 2015. All root filled teeth were analysed for the presence of missed canals and apical periodontitis. The chi‐square and odds ratio tests were used to verify if there were an association and risk relationship between the occurrence of untreated canals and apical periodontitis. Results: A total of 2294 teeth with evidence of root fillings were identified. Two hundred and eighty‐one teeth had at least one untreated missed canal (12%). The frequency of apical periodontitis in teeth with at least one untreated canal was significantly greater in comparison to teeth with all canals treated (274/281, 98% versus 1736/2013, 86%) (P < 0.01). The odds for apical periodontitis to be present was 6.25 times greater for teeth with an untreated canal. The mesiobuccal roots of maxillary first molars had the greatest frequency of untreated canals (114/154, 74%), with the second mesiobuccal canal being the most frequently missed (n = 106/114, 93%). Conclusion: Root filled teeth with at least one missed canal had a high prevalence of post‐treatment apical periodontitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contents The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of 1 M dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO), ethylene glycol (EG), propylene glycol (PROH) and glycerol (GLY) to cryopreserve primordial follicles. The first evaluation was performed soon after cryopreservation and the second evaluation after 4 days of in vitro culture, using the cryoprotectants that allowed the higher results (higher follicular survival rate) after cryopreservation. The results after follicular isolation (control) and cryopreservation using 1 M DMSO, EG, PROH and GLY showed that the mean number (± SEM) of live follicles per millilitre was 3204 (100%) ± 319.27, 2798 (87%) ± 239.14, 2492 (78%) ± 345.8, 448 (14%) ± 46.3 and 208 (7%) ± 75.26, respectively. Higher follicular survival was reported when DMSO and EG were used. Control follicles and follicles cryopreserved with these two cryoprotectants were cultured and the percentage of follicular survival was 55% (control), 42% (EG) and 34% (DMSO). Similar results were found between control and follicles cryopreserved with EG. In conclusion, 1 M EG is the most effective cryoprotectant to preserve primordial follicles isolated from ovaries of sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contents The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of cooling ovarian tissue on pig pre-antral follicles. Ovaries were maintained in saline solution (0.9%) at 4 or 20°C for 6, 12 or 18 h. After storage, pre-antral follicles were morphologically evaluated. While primordial follicles were not affected by the storage, the percentage of morphologically normal growing follicles was significantly reduced in ovarian tissue stored at 20°C for 12 or 18 h. To test the viability of stored follicles, growing follicles isolated from ovaries stored at 4°C for 18 h and at 20°C for 6 h were cultured for 3 days. Follicles stored in either condition presented the same growth pattern in vitro as fresh follicles. We conclude that storage of pig ovaries at 4°C for up to 18 h or at 20°C for up to 6 h does not affect the morphology of growing follicles or their ability to grow in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been an increasing research interest in extending the use of Java towards high-performance demanding applications such as scalable Web servers, distributed multimedia applications, and large-scale scientific applications. However, extending Java to a multicomputer environment and improving the low performance of current Java implementations pose great challenges to both the systems developer and application designer. In this survey, we describe and classify 14 relevant proposals and environments that tackle Java's performance bottlenecks in order to make the language an effective option for high-performance network-based computing. We further survey significant performance issues while exposing the potential benefits and limitations of current solutions in such a way that a framework for future research efforts can be established. Most of the proposed solutions can be classified according to some combination of three basic parameters: the model adopted for inter-process communication, language extensions, and the implementation strategy. In addition, where appropriate to each individual proposal, we examine other relevant issues, such as interoperability, portability, and garbage collection. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]