No abstract

Antibiotic-resistant infections present a serious health concern worldwide. It is estimated that there are 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections and 35,000 deaths in the United States every year. Such microorganisms include Acinetobacter, Enterobacterioceae, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus and Mycobacterium. Alternative treatment methods are, thus, necessary to treat such infections. Bacteriophages are viruses of bacteria. In a lytic infection, the newly formed phage particles lyse the bacterium and continue to infect other bacteria. In the early 20th century, d’Herelle, Bruynoghe and Maisin used bacterium-specific phages to treat bacterial infections. Bacteriophages are being identified, purified and developed as pharmaceutically acceptable macromolecular “drugs,” undergoing strict quality control. Phages can be applied topically or delivered by inhalation, orally or parenterally. Some of the major drug-resistant infections that are potential targets of pharmaceutically prepared phages are Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Acinetobacter baumannii.

OBJECTIVE:A unilateral sinonasal mass is a common pathology in ear, nose, and throat clinical practice. However, it may be confused with early stage inflammatory pathologies. The aim of this study was to examine the diagnostic histopathological, clinical, and radiological criteria for a unilateral nasal mass.METHODS:The present study examined the clinical and pathological profiles of unilateral sinonasal masses observed in patients at an ear, nose, and throat clinic in Istanbul between January 2008 and January 2016. During the period of this retrospective study, 195 patients presented with a single-sided sinonasal mass (males: 130, females: 65; age range: 9-93 years). The data analyzed were obtained from patient records.RESULTS:The single-sided sinonasal mass was benign in 187 (95.9%) cases and malignant in 8 (4.1%) cases. Inflammatory polyps (81.03%) were the most frequent benign finding. Squamous cell carcinoma (1.54%) was the most commonly diagnosed malignant lesion.CONCLUSION:A single-sided sinonasal mass is commonly detected by otorhinolaryngologists. Although most often the diagnosis is inflammatory nasal polyposis, the risk of malignancy should not be overlooked. For this reason, careful endoscopic examination should be performed, all lesions should undergo a pathological examination, and it should be kept in mind that neoplastic disease can occur at any age and may be associated with many symptoms.

Gelatin is a biocompatible, biodegradable, cheap, and nontoxic material, which is already used for pharmaceutical applications. Nanoparticles from gelatin (GNPs) are considered a promising delivery system for hydrophilic and macromolecular drugs. Mechanical properties of particles are recognized as an important parameter affecting drug carrier interaction with biological systems. GNPs offer the preparation of particles with different stiffness. GNPs were loaded with Fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled 150 kDa dextran (FITC-dextran) yielding also different elastic properties. GNPs were visualized using atomic force microscopy (AFM), and force–distance curves from the center of the particles were evaluated for Young’s modulus calculation. The prepared GNPs have Young’s moduli from 4.12 MPa for soft to 9.8 MPa for stiff particles. Furthermore, cytokine release (IL-6 and TNF-α), cell viability, and cell uptake were determined on macrophage cell lines from mouse (RAW 264.7) and human (dTHP-1 cells, differentiated human monocytic THP-1 cells) origin for soft and stiff GNPs. Both particle types showed good cell compatibility and did not induce IL-6 and TNF-α release from RAW 264.7 and dTHP-1 cells. Stiffer GNPs were internalized into cells faster and to a larger extent.