A cell delivery strategy was investigated that was hypothesized to enable magnetic targeting of endothelial cells to the steel surfaces of intraarterial stents because of the following mechanisms: (i) preloading cells with biodegradable polymeric superparamagnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), thereby rendering the cells magnetically responsive; and (ii) the induction of both magnetic field gradients around the wires of a steel stent and magnetic moments within MNPs because of a uniform external magnetic field, thereby targeting MNP-laden cells to the stent wires. In vitro studies demonstrated that MNP-loaded bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) could be magnetically targeted to steel stent wires. In vivo MNP-loaded BAECs transduced with adenoviruses expressing luciferase (Luc) were targeted to stents deployed in rat carotid arteries in the presence of a uniform magnetic field with significantly greater Luc expression, detected by in vivo optical imaging, than nonmagnetic controls.cell therapy ͉ gene therapy ͉ local delivery ͉ nanotechnology C ell therapy represents a forefront approach with great promise. In particular, reendothelization of diseased or injured arteries is a goal of endothelial-related cell therapies (1, 2). However, there is a paucity of delivery strategies for localizing cell therapy to target sites (1, 2). The present studies report an approach for delivering endothelial cells to intravascular steel stents. Balloon-deployable stents are now the treatment of choice for vasoocclusive disease. Advanced stent designs with drug-eluting capabilities have resulted in a paradigm shift in the care of coronary disease (3-6). However, the lack of reendothelization (1, 2) after stent angioplasty remains an unsolved problem (3-6). Stents are commonly composed of steel alloys, such as the medical-grade stainless-steel 316L, which exhibits a minimal response to external magnetic fields. However, we hypothesized that by using a more magnetically responsive alloy, such as a 304-grade stainless steel, instead of 316L, it would be possible to locally deliver genetically modified endothelial cells to stent surfaces by using magnetic gradient-related mechanisms.Previous investigations of magnetically targeted cell-delivery systems, which have all exclusively used locally applied magnets, rather than uniform magnetic fields, have been hampered by a number of factors. These studies by others (7-9) have used nonbiodegradable magnetic nanoparticles that cannot be removed from the tissue after delivery. More fundamentally, these previous studies used magnetic field sources in a suboptimal manner. Thus, prior work has been limited to using a single source of magnetic field, in which either a locally applied permanent magnet (7,8) or a ferromagnetic medical implant (9) was used to implement the magnetic capture system. Such sources can be designed to increase the magnetizing field of cells loaded with magnetic nanoparticles or the field gradient, but not both, making it impossible to maximize the fraction of captured nanopar...

Communication is a major problem in the management of patients. Miscommunication occurs frequently in populations with low reading skills, illiteracy does not completely account for the observed low rates of recall of communicated information. Transmission of the message also plays an important role. Successful strategies to improve communication with patients include the use of videotapes, videotape modeling or cartoon illustrations. Do these products communicate effectively because they overcome illiteracy or because they also transmit a very clear message? Can good transmission of messages overcome illiteracy? In this study, we compared the effectiveness of a printed message about polio vaccinations with the same message converted into a production of animated cartoons using marketing and advertising techniques. The production that resulted from using this strategy showed that in the setting of this study, a well-designed animated cartoon is more effective in delivering a message than the same information provided in written instructional materials.

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In order to enhance the utilization of inorganic nanoparticles in biological systems, it is important to develop a fundamental understanding of the influence they have on cellular health and function. Experiments were conducted to test silica, silica/iron oxide, and gold nanoparticles for their effects on the growth and activity of Escherichia coli (E. coli). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) were used to characterize the morphology and quantify size distribution of the nanoparticles, respectively. TEM was also used to verify the interactions between composite iron oxide nanoparticles and E. coli. The results from DLS indicated that the inorganic nanoparticles formed small aggregates in the growth media. Growth studies measured the influence of the nanoparticles on cell proliferation at various concentrations, showing that the growth of E. coli in media containing the nanoparticles indicated no overt signs of toxicity.

In this study, we synthesized the literature on how informal contexts, namely friends and family social groups, shape high school students’ likelihood of pursuing advanced math and science coursework. Extending scholarly understandings of STEM education, we turned to the body of literature with three guiding questions: (1) What influence do friends have on advanced math and science coursetaking? (2) What influence does family, particularly parents, have on advanced math and science coursetaking? (3) Do the effects vary by gender among each social group? By synthesizing existing literature on the influence of family and friends on advanced math and science coursetaking in high school, we find that both friends and families can influence the number of advanced math and science courses students complete, but the amount of advanced coursework students complete also varies based on the gender of the individual student, the gender of his/her friends, as well as by mother or father. Implications and limitations are discussed.