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The widespread use of advanced technology and invasive intervention creates many psychological problems for hospitalized patients; it is especially common in critical care units.

Senolytics are a category of drugs that reduce the impact of cellular senescence, an effect associated with a range of chronic and age‐related diseases. Since the discovery of the first senolytics in 2015, the number of known senolytic agents has grown dramatically. This review discusses the broad categories of known senolytics—kinase inhibitors, Bcl‐2 family protein inhibitors, naturally occurring polyphenols, heat shock protein inhibitors, BET family protein inhibitors, P53 stabilizers, repurposed anti‐cancer drugs, cardiac steroids, PPAR‐alpha agonists, and antibiotics. The approaches used to screen for new senolytics are articulated including a range of methods to induce senescence, different target cell types, various senolytic assays, and markers. The choice of methods can greatly influence the outcomes of a screen, with high‐quality screens featuring robust systems, adequate controls, and extensive validation in alternate assays. Recent advances in single‐cell analysis and computational methods for senolytic identification are also discussed. There is significant potential for further drug discovery, but this will require additional research into drug targets and mechanisms of actions and their subsequent rigorous evaluation in pre‐clinical models and human trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic wounds, depending on the bacteria that caused the infection, can be associated with an extreme acidic or basic pH. Therefore, the application of pH-responsive hydrogels has been instigated for the delivery of therapeutics to chronic wounds. Herein, with the aim of developing a flexible pH-responsive hydrogel, we functionalized hydrophilic polyurethanes with either cationic (polyethylene imine) or anionic (succinic anhydride) moieties. A comprehensive physicochemical characterization of corresponding polymers was carried out. Particularly, when tested in aqueous buffers, the surface charge of hydrogel films was closely correlated with the pH of the buffers. The loading of the cationic and anionic hydrogel films with various compound models (bromophenol blue; negatively charged or Pyronin Y; positively charged) showed that the electrostatic forces between the polymeric backbone and the compound model will determine the ultimate release rate at any given pH. The potential application of these films for chronic wound drug delivery was assessed by loading them with an antibiotic (ciprofloxacin). In vitro bacterial culturing was performed using Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). Results showed that at the same drug dosage, different release profiles achievable from cationic and anionic polyurethanes can yield different degrees of an antibacterial effect. Overall, our results suggest the potential application of cationic and anionic hydrophilic polyurethanes as flexible pH-responsive materials for the delivery of therapeutics to chronic wounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congenital heart diseases (CHDs) frequently impact the right ventricular outflow tract, resulting in a significant incidence of pulmonary valve replacement in the pediatric population. While contemporary pediatric pulmonary valve replacements (PPVRs) allow satisfactory patient survival, their biocompatibility and durability remain suboptimal and repeat operations are commonplace, especially for very young patients. This places enormous physical, financial, and psychological burdens on patients and their parents, highlighting an urgent clinical need for better PPVRs. An important reason for the clinical failure of PPVRs is biofouling, which instigates various adverse biological responses such as thrombosis and infection, promoting research into various antifouling chemistries that may find utility in PPVR materials. Another significant contributor is the inevitability of somatic growth in pediatric patients, causing structural discrepancies between the patient and PPVR, stimulating the development of various growth‐accommodating heart valve prototypes. This review offers an interdisciplinary perspective on these challenges by exploring clinical experiences, physiological understandings, and bioengineering technologies that may contribute to device development. It thus aims to provide an insight into the design requirements of next‐generation PPVRs to advance clinical outcomes and promote patient quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the effect of nutrients on nattokinase activity during the fermentation of Bacillus subtilis natto was investigated. The highest nattokinase activity of 587 U/mL was obtained in fermenter for a media consisting of yeast extract (6%, w/v), soy peptone (1.2%, w/v) and glycerol (6%, w/v). The second order polynomial equation was fitted to the results by using central composite face design. The polynomial model fitted the experimental data well with R2 = 0.939 and R2(Adj) = 0.861. In addition, contribution of fed-batch glycerol addition on the nattokinase production pathway was further investigated. Maximum nattokinase activity was resulted when 3% (w/v) glycerol was added to the fermentation media during the cell growth phase. Results demonstrate 25 fold increase of nattokinase activity compared to the batch and not optimized culture. This study provides valuable data on the key nutrients and feeding strategy for further investigations and scale up of nattokinase production process.

CO2 sensing is important in many applications ranging from air‐quality monitoring to food packaging. In this study, an amine‐functionalized copolymer, poly(N‐[3‐(dimethylamino)propyl]‐methacrylamide‐co‐2‐N‐morpholinoethyl methacrylate) (p(D‐co‐M)) is synthesized, offering moderate basicity suitable for a wide CO2 detection range. Taking advantage of this characteristic of p(D‐co‐M), this polymer is used for designing a chemiresistive, low‐cost, flexible, and reversible CO2 sensor. The p(D‐co‐M)‐based sensors show a noticeable decrease in their direct current resistance and alternating current impedance upon exposure to a wide range of CO2 concentration (1–100%) at room temperature with a response and a recovery time of 6 and 14 min, respectively. Additionally, the p(D‐co‐M)‐based sensors demonstrate a favorable selectivity to CO2 in the presence of interfering gases including methanol, ethanol, toluene, and acetone. Surface potential measurements show an increase of +6.34 V upon exposure to humidity and CO2, indicating the protonation of the polymer's amine sites, facilitating the detection of CO2 in the wet environment. This sensor is efficient for detecting CO2 concentration released during fermentation of kimchi as a food model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deployment of structures that enable localized release of bioactive molecules can result in more efficacious treatment of disease and better integration of implantable bionic devices. The strategic design of a biopolymeric coating can be used to engineer the optimal release profile depending on the task at hand. As illustrative examples, here advances in delivery of drugs from bone, brain, ocular, and cardiovascular implants are reviewed. These areas are focused to highlight that both hard and soft tissue implants can benefit from controlled localized delivery. The composition of biopolymers used to achieve appropriate delivery to the selected tissue types, and their corresponding outcomes are brought to the fore. To conclude, key factors in designing drug‐loaded biopolymeric coatings for biomedical implants are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]