Introdução: A Hemodiluição normovolêmica Aguda (HNA) envolve a retirada do sangue total e concomitante infusão de fluidos de reposição volêmica para manutenção da normovolemia. É uma estratégia que restringe a transfusão de sangue e evita a transmissão de doenças, imunossupressão e outras complicações associadas à transfusão sanguínea. Objetivos: O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar os efeitos de diversos fluidos na resposta inflamatória durante o procedimento de HNA. Métodos: Foram utilizados 28 suínos (n=28; 7/grupo) randomizados nos seguinte grupos: Controle, grupo anestesiado sem HNA; HNA + Amido, os animais foram submetidos a HNA sendo a reposição volêmica realizada com amido hidroxietílico 6% (130/0,4) na taxa de 1 ml de fluido para 1 ml de sangue retirado; HNA + NaCl, animais submetidos a HNA com reposição volêmica realizada com solução de cloerto de sódio 0,9% na proporção de 3:1; HNA + GEL, procedimento de HNA realizado com infusão da gelatina fluida modificada na taxa de 1:1. Os animais foram hemodiluídos durante 30 minutos para o hematócrito de 15%. Foram mensurados os parâmetros hemodinâmicos e foram coletados sangue para realização da hemogasometria e determinação dos níveis plasmáticos de IL-1b, TNF-a, IL-6 e IL-10, além do burst oxidativo de neutrófilos e monócitos circulantes. O lavado broncoalveolar foi coletado para mensuração dos níveis da IL-8 e do burst oxidativo de células pulmonares. O tecido pulmonar foi coletado para análise histológica e para imunoistoquímica para detecção da expressão de COX-2 e Eselectina. A análise estatística foi realizada por meio de provas paramétricas como a análise de variância com medidas repetidas (ANOVA), seguido do teste de Tukey- Kramer e de provas não paramétricas, o teste de Kruskal-Wallis. O grau de significância estabelecido foi de 5% (p < 0,05). Resultados: Os principais resultados deste estudo demonstraram que os animais hemodiluídos tanto com gelatina, como solução de cloreto de sódio 0,9% apresentaram resposta inflamatória mais pronunciada quando comparado aos outros grupos, traduzida no aumento de citocinas (TNF-, IL-6 e IL-10), na expressão de COX-2 e E-selectina no tecido pulmonar, além da observação de edema pulmonar, congestão e colapso alveolar. Apesar destes fatos, a resposta inflamatória estudada no sangue foi considerada de baixa magnitude. Conclusão: Durante a HNA, tanto a gelatina quanto a solução de cloreto de sódio 0,9% promove resposta inflamatória mais intensa quando comparada ao amido hidroxietílico 6% / Background: Acute normovolemic hemodilution (ANH) involves intentional withdrawal of the whole blood with concurrent infusion of fluids to maintain normovolemia. ANH avoids blood transfusion and deleterious effects related with transfusion. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of diverse fluids on the inflammatory response during ANH. Methods: Twenty-eight pigs (n=28; 7/group) were randomized as follows: (Control) control group without ANH; (ANH + HES) ANH with 6% hydroxyethyl starch at a ratio of 1:1; (ANH + NS) ANH with normal saline at a ratio of 3:1; (ANH + GEL) ANH with gelatin 1:1. Animals were hemodiluted to a hematocrit of 15% in 30 min. Hemodynamic parameters were recorded, and blood samples were collected to determine plasma levels of IL-1, IL-6, TNF-, IL-10, as well as gas analysis. IL-8 was measured in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Neutrophil and macrophage oxidative burst activity were determined in the peripheral blood and BALF. Histophatological and immunohistochemistry to COX-2 and E-selectin expression were performed with the lung tissue. Data were submitted to analysis of Variance for repeated measures followed by the Tukey-Kramer test. To immunohistochemistry and histophatological scores the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to assess the significance. The p < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The principal findings of this investigation showed that animals hemodiluted with GEL and NS had a more pronounced inflammatory response when compared to those hemodiluted with HES. The animals in the GEL and NS groups showed an increase in cytokines (TNF-, IL-6, IL-10), a strong expression of COX-2 and Eselectin in the lung tissue and pulmonary edema, congestion and alveoli collapse. However, the magnitude of this response was quite small showing that ANH does not substantially activate the inflammatory system. Conclusion: During ANH, GEL and NS but not HES could elicit an inflammatory response besides the effective plasma volume therapy

The diploma thesis is focused on the study of fibrous wound dressings prepared by electrospinning method from natural biopolymers. Three active ingredients were added to the dressings: ampicillin, ibuprofen and collagenase, which are responsible for relieving pain, reducing the risk of infection and selectively removing necrotic tissue in the wound. The theoretical part describes the therapeutic dressings currently available on the market and the most common methods of nanofiber production. The experimental part evaluates the optimization of the preparation of gelatin, alginate and chitosan fibrous wound dressings, which were subsequently enriched with active substances and their gradual release into the model environment was determined spectrophotometrically. Antimicrobial effects against E.coli and S. epidermidis strains andantifungal activity against C. glabrata yeast were monitored. Finally, two cytotoxicity tests on the human keratinocyte cell line HaCaT confirmed the safety of the prepared products, which can serve as bioactive skin dressings in the future.

Content: Nowadays, protein-based nanoparticle as a biodegradable, biocompatible product attracts considerable interest for new uses in specialized technical areas. Gelatin is a denatured, biodegradable, and nonimmunogenic protein obtained by controlled hydrolysis of the triple-helix structure of collagen into single-strain molecules. As an amphiphilic biopolymer, gelatin can easily assemble into different kinds of aggregates under the defined pH and temperature and the resulting gelatin nanoparticles have been developed to be applied in the food industry and biomedical fields. Herein we report a novel macromolecular microsphere composites (MMC) hydrogels with the use of prepared methacrylated gelatin nanoparticles (MA-GNP) as the cross-linker. MA-GNP have the ability of chemical crosslinking by the polymerization of C=C bonds, such that the composite hydrogels can be formed by radical polymerization of acrylamide (AAm) on the surface of MA-GNP. The smooth spherical particles with an average size of ~100 nm have been synthesized through a modified two-step desolvation method as proved by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results of nuclear magnetic resonance and dynamic light scattering further confirm the presence of reactive groups (C=C bonds) in the particles and its narrow sizes distribution. The resulting composite hydrogels (MA-GNP/PAAm) are porous materials with tunable pore sizes and exhibit enhanced compressive resistance and elasticity as well. Increasing appropriately the dosage of MA-GNP reduces the equilibrium swelling ratio and improves thermal stability of the gels. Moreover, all the hydrogels exhibit prolonged blood-clotting time, nonhemolytic nature and strong suitability for cell proliferation, indicating the improved antithrombogenicity and excellent cyto-compatibility. It suggests that the novel MA-GNP/PAAm hydrogels have potential application as tissue engineer scaffold materials, and the MA-GNP can be a promising macromolecular microsphere cross-linker for application in biomedical materials. The present work not only exploits new strategies to fabricate MMC hydrogels but also advance the potential application of biodegradable gelatin-based nanoparticles in biomedical fields. Take-Away: 1. A well-dispersed methacrylated gelatin nanoparticle (MA-GNP) with an average size of ~100 nm is presented by a modified two-step desolvation method. 2. MA-GNP is readily introduced into the polyacrylamide (PAAm) system as a cross-linker to prepare macromolecular microsphere composites (MMC) hydrogels via a free radical polymerization reaction. 3. MA-GNP is an effective cross-linker, improving both the compressive resistance and elasticity of MMC hydrogels as well as the biocompatibility.

In this thesis there was preparation optimized for agarose-gelatin hydrogels with addition of various concentrations of low-molecular and high-molecular hyaluronan and than there were examined viscoelastic properties of them by rheological oscilation tests and high-resolution ultrasonic spektrometry. By rheology were measured values of elastic and viscous modulus for selected amplitude of strain, oscilation frequencies and temperatures. In the second method there were recorded values of ultrasonic velocities of samples at temperature scanning from 85 to 25 °C and from 25 to 85 °C in HR-US 102, which were compared with ultrasonic velocities measured at the temperature 27,0±0,5 °C by gel-modul HR-EX-SSC.

Stretchable aqueous-based Zn-ion batteries have shown promise as a sustainable and safe energy storage system for wearable electronics used in healthcare, sports, soft robotics, and prosthetics. A battery consists of the active electrode, electrolyte, current collector, and encapsulation. In this work, we focus on the development of the electrolyte component, which is a hydrogel based on polymers. Natural polymers (e.g proteins, polysaccharides) are chosen over synthetic ones because they are biodegradable, abundant in nature, and environmentally sustainable. Here, a hydrogel based on gelatin (G) and kappa-carrageenan (kC) were prepared and evaluated. We observed that the addition of kC into the hydrogel composite improved its mechanical properties. Optimum conditions at weight ratios of G:kC -99:1 wt%, the hydrogel showed good mechanical strength with an elongation at break of 370 ± 28%, elastic modulus of 0.119 ± 0.0256 MPa, and reversibility during 100 cyclic stretching at 50% strain. The hydrogel had a reasonable ionic conductivity of 14.80 mS/cm and was successfully integrated into a battery with a capacity of 0.24 mA/cm2. / <p>Examensarbetet är utfört vid Institutionen för teknik och naturvetenskap (ITN) vid Tekniska fakulteten, Linköpings universitet</p>

No description available.

The prevalence of images of the fragmented bodies of nonhuman animals is largely unaccounted for in the history of interwar European art, photography, and cinema, a result of the historical marginalization of the slaughterhouse to the edges of Western culture. But despite, and sometimes because of, the suppression of the visibility of the abattoir, visions of the grisly world of modern animal production form a sizeable and important subset of avant-garde art, photography, film, and literature beginning in the 1920s. No significant studies have placed images of real, disassembled animals into a broader account of avant-garde photography, nor have they made the connection between the great increase in photographic and filmic art and media in the period and the simultaneously rapid growth of animal production leading up to and during it. I argue that the interwar period witnessed a profound interplay between the industrial slaughterhouse, visual culture, and avant-garde art, marked by the dual meaning of Nicole Shukin’s conceptualization of rendering as both the creating of images of and the material processing of nonhuman animal bodies. I assert that through the use of animal-derived gelatin, the industrial processing of animals helped to fuel the explosive growth of photography, cinema, and thus visual culture in the period. I examine a number of examples of artistic and photographic works that picture slaughter animals, ironically through a medium (photography) that is materially tied to the history and conditions of the abattoir, revealing a poignant connection between the content of the images seen and the form of their material substrate. I further read the photographic projects under study in this dissertation as each in their own way turning our attention to the material precarity of the animal body, both human and nonhuman, and a questioning of the human/animal divide that had been accelerating since the nineteenth century.

Biological hydrogels are highly promising materials for bone tissue engineering (BTE) due to their high biocompatibility and biomimetic characteristics. However, for advanced and customized BTE, precise tools for material stabilization and tuning material properties are desired while optimal mineralisation must be ensured. Therefore, reagent-free crosslinking techniques such as high energy electron beam treatment promise effective material modifications without formation of cytotoxic by-products. In the case of the hydrogel gelatin, electron beam crosslinking further induces thermal stability enabling biomedical application at physiological temperatures. In the case of enzymatic mineralisation, induced by Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) and mediated by Calcium Glycerophosphate (CaGP), it is necessary to investigate if electron beam treatment before mineralisation has an influence on the enzymatic activity and thus affects the mineralisation process. The presented study investigates electron beam-treated gelatin hydrogels with previously incorporated ALP and successive mineralisation via incubation in a medium containing CaGP. It could be shown that electron beam treatment optimally maintains enzymatic activity of ALP which allows mineralisation. Furthermore, the precise tuning of material properties such as increasing compressive modulus is possible. This study characterizes the mineralised hydrogels in terms of mineral formation and demonstrates the formation of CaP in dependence of ALP concentration and electron dose. Furthermore, investigations of uniaxial compression stability indicate increased compression moduli for mineralised electron beam-treated gelatin hydrogels. In summary, electron beam-treated mineralized gelatin hydrogels reveal good cytocompatibility for MG-63 osteoblast like cells indicating a high potential for BTE applications.

No description available.

Driven by the crippling command of Eros, my work provides a veiled exposure to my secret life in love, desire, fear, and obsession. My sculptures are the physical evidence of an emotional realm coming forth in a coded language that is, even to me, only remotely accessible. The Demon that Lives in My Bedroom, the saga of the Cat People, the stories of Trasnichi and the Love Crusade; all came to me in a beam of thought. Once the beam takes hold, it becomes my obsession, and the era of that work begins. I can trace my development through these eras of obsessions.