Sheffield Engineers Discover Some Sugars are Good for You

Innovative Technique - Formation of Blood Vessel with Sugar

For years we have been cautioned to keep away from sugar. However a latest research has come up with some amazing discoveries which could in fact be very beneficial to all. A research carried out by the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the School of Clinical Dentistry at the University of Sheffield together with the Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Biomedical Materials Research at COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Lahore in Pakistan, has disclosed that sugar could be helpful in supporting new blood vessel formation which is also called as angiogenesis.

The formation of new blood vessel is vital in the process of wound healing since the blood vessels are inclined in carrying blood in every area of the body that tends to eventually supply the body with oxygen and the nutrients needed for the upkeep of health.

The latest technique of stimulating the formation of the blood vessel with sugar utilised a mixture of simple as well as economical sugar added to a hydrogel bandage. This method which has been effective tends to be much simpler as well as lucrative than the more traditional techniques like adding in expensive short-lived growth factors. This latest method considered as well as established by the research group, functions due to specific group of sugars has the capability of stimulating skin healing.
 

2 Deoxy-D-Ribose

 
Professor Sheila MacNeil from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield stated that all over the world people tend to live longer and have been experiencing more non-healing skin wounds related to age, poor blood supply together with diabetes. This tends to be complex to treat and is also expensive for healthcare system to handle.


The latest skin healing method utilising simple sugars has the potentials to assist healing of the wound in a very simple manner which means that patients tend to need less treatment; clinicians can treat more number of patients with the possibilities of savings which can be achieved by national healthcare systems.

Preliminary discovery done by Dr Muhammed Yar from COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Lahore at the time of his research to comprehend how tumours tend to stimulate new blood vessels and he observed that a naturally occurring sugar – 2-deoxy-D-ribose is said to increase when tumours encouraged new blood vessels to be prepared.
 

Ground-Breaking Discovery

 
The team working with Professor Sheila MacNeil together with professor Ian Douglas from the University of Sheffield then investigated the ability of this group of sugars in order to stimulate the formation of new blood vessels as well as the stimulation of wound healing with together produced amazing results.

This ground-breaking discovery is a significant step in developing simple robust as well as economical wound dressing which could be utilised in the treatment of poor-healing wounds like chronic ulcers in the case of the elderly and diabetic ulcers.

The research paper had been in print in Materials today Communications in a paper titled `Deoxy-sugar releasing biodegradable hydrogels promote angiogenesis and stimulate wound healing’, by Muhammad Yar, Lubna Shahzadi, Azra Mehmood, Muhammad Imran Raheen, Sabinian Roman, Aqif Anwar Chaudhry, Ihtesham ur Rehman, C.W. Ian Douglas together with Professor Sheila MacNeil.

Enormous growth had been envisaged by the Faculty of Engineering in the past four years which is a home to 5,400 students together with more than 1,000 staff which makes it one of the largest Institutes in the country. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, around 93 percent of the research had been rated internationally excellent or world prominent.
 

Sheffield - Most Leading Universities

 
The University of Sheffield is said to be one of the most leading universities in the world with almost 27,000 of the most intelligent students from across 140 countries, education beside over 1,200 of the best academics from all over the world. As member of the prestigious Russell Group of leading research led institutions in UK, Sheffield provides world-class teaching as well as research excellence through a wide range of restraints.

 Integrated with the influence of discovery as well as understanding, the staffs together with the students have been dedicated in identifying innovative methods of transforming the world which we tend to live in. Moreover, Sheffield is said to be the only university to be featuring in The Sunday Times 100 Best Not-For-Profit Organisation to Work For 2017 and had been voted as No. 1 University in the UK for Student Satisfaction by Times Higher Education for 2014.

Besides this it has also won four Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for exceptional involvement to the United Kingdom’s intellectual, cultural, economic as well as social life. Sheffield also has six Nobel Prize winners in the midst of earlier staff as well as students and its graduates are said to be holding position of immense responsibility and influence all across the globe. It has thus contributed in making substantial impact in their selected fields.

Flawed Fish Jaws Shed Light on Hearing Loss in Humans

Genetic Mutation – Malformation of Jaw

As per USC research in Scientific reports, the same genetic tweak which tends to cause malformed jaws in the case of fish could be responsible for some issues in hearing in humans which seems to have some evolutionary origins. Scientists are of the belief that the arrangements which seem to support the jaws of primeval ancestral fish gave rise to three tiny bones towards the middle ear of humans as well as other mammals which transmit sound vibrations where the bones are known as malleus, incus and stapes.

 In zebra fish, a genetic mutation could result in malformation of the jaw and hence USC researchers speculated if an equivalent genetic change could activate hearing defects in mice and humans. To comprehend the query, Camilla Teng, USC PhD student coordinated along with the other colleagues in the USC Stem Cell laboratories of Gage Crump, Rob Maxson, and Neil Segil and with clinical experts in radiology, audiology and genetics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

They researched on two genes JAG1 and NOTCH2 which were mutated in most patients with Alagille syndrome - AGS which a genetic condition causing several symptoms in various parts of the body inclusive of the liver.

Hearing Loss – Deficits in Sensory Cells of Inner Ear

A person with Alagille syndrome tends to have less than normal number or small bile ducts in the liver which is the organ in the abdomen between the chest and hips that makes blood proteins, bile storing energy and nutrients, combats infection as well as eliminates harmful chemicals from the blood.At least in half of the patients, the syndrome tends to affect hearing loss besides liver, eye, heart and skeletal defects.

Though some of this could be hearing loss due to deficits in the sensory cells of the inner ear, the researchers have been speculating on the conductive hearing loss that involves essential components of the middle ear like the vibrating bones.

With the introduction of mutations in mice, the researchers observed flaws in the incus as well as the stapes bones together with corresponding hearing loss. Thereafter they attended Alagille Alliance meetings in 2011 and 2014 performing hearing tests later on 44 human patients affected with Alagille syndrome to determine if their hearing loss had been conductive, sensor in neural or mixed.

Conductive Hearing Loss

As predicted by their discoveries in zebra-fish and mice, they observed conductive hearing loss had been the most common type which had affected almost one third of all ears. The CT scans of 5 AGS patients showed a more considerable complex picture, an unexpected variety of basi cflaws in the middle ear having variable effects on hearing.

One out of the five patients had a stapes flaw precisely related with conductive hearing loss.Teng commented that their study emphasized a generally unnoticed phenotype of Alagille Syndromes.

According to Teng, the study provided some insight on generally overlooked issue arising among individuals with Alagille syndrome. She stated that if patients tend to be conscious of possible conductive hearing loss earlier in life, they can seek medical aidin time for abetter quality of life.

Peering Into Fish Brains to See How They Work

Transparent Fish – Work in the Dark

The main focus in the research of the latest group at the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience is transparent fish and the capability to work in the dark. One of the important challenges faced by neuroscientists wanting to comprehend how the brain works is essentially reckoning out how the brain is wired together and how neurons tend to interact.

NTNU neuroscientists and Nobel laureates May-Britt and Edvard Moser resolved this issue by studying how to record from individual neurons in the rat brain when the rats tend to move freely in space. They utilised the recording in order to make the findings that had attained them the Nobel Prize.

They were in a position to understand that certain neurons in the entorhinal cortex fired in a manner that created a grid pattern which could be utilised in navigating like an internal GPS. Emre Yaksi, the latest teamhead of the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience utilised a diverse approach to the issue of viewing what tends to go on within the brain.

Rather than studying rats or mice, Yakshi resorted to around 90 various types of genetically modified zebra-fish which he could breed in creating various fish with preferredphysiognomies.

Comprehending Universal Circuit Architectures in Brain

Young larval zebra-fish are said to be totally transparent and hence Yakshi needed only a systematic optical microscope to view what tends to occur inside their heads. Some of the fishes of Yakshi seem to have a genetic modification which makes their neurons light up while they direct signal to another neuron and he has informed that this is what tends to make circuits and connections visible to researchers.

He commented that they are interested in comprehending the universal circuit architectures in the brain which can perform interesting computation. Though fish are quite different from humans, their brains tend to have identical structures and in the end fish also have to find food, they also have to find a mate, they have to avoid dangers and they build brain circuits which can generate all these behaviours just the way humans tend to do.

When Yaksi had come to Kavli Institute in early 2015 together with a team of researchers they had a 900 kg anti-vibration table which was the size of a billiards table. The table had been big and heavy and was needed in the laboratory to reduce vibration when they had to use the highly sensitive optical microscopes to peer into the brains of the zebra-fish.

Zebra-Fish Genetically Adapted

The larval fish tend to be quite small that a slight vibration from cars or trucks passing by the streets could make the microscopes bounce away from their miniature brain targets. Zebra-fish brains are quite small, around 10,000 to 20,000 neurons which is a figure dwarfed by the human brain that tends to have an estimated neurons of 80 billion.

However the measurement that Yaksi together with his colleagues tend to make marks in huge quantities of data. According to him, a 30 minute of recording could generate data which tends to take about a week to process the same. It was for this purpose, the research group of Yaksiis a multi-disciplinary team of engineers, physicists and life scientists who seemed to be trained to develop and utilise computational tools in analysing these huge datasets.

Since few of the zebra-fish tend to be genetically adapted in order that their neurons light up with a fluorescent protein when the neurons are active, Yaksi and his colleagues tend to work frequently in low light or darkness. This is particularly obvious when he takes visitors in the subdued darkness of the laboratory where several of the fanciest microscopes are confined in boxes open towards the front, developed to restrict the amount of external light.

Research – Causes of Seizures/How Seizures Prevented

Yaksi had informed that other zebra-fish are genetically modified to shine a blue light in their brain which tends to activate certain neurons enabling the researchers to plan connections between neuron. Major part of the study being done by the group of Yaksiis basic research with findings which tend to improve our understanding of the brain computation though does not specifically have any instant clinical implications.

However, Nathalie Jurisch-Yaksi, wife and colleague of Yaksi is working with medical doctors in order to develop genetically modified zebra-fish which could be helpful in shedding light on brain disease like epilepsy.According to Yaksi, most of the people in his lab are doing basis research attempting to ask how does the brain works, how is it connected, how is it built.

 Nonetheless, Nathalie is working at NTNU with medical doctors and they are trying to reach out to clinicians. For instance he stated that if a brain disorder like epilepsy tends to have a genetic component, that same genetic mutation could be developed in the transgenic group of zebra-fish facility in order that the team could research on the causes of seizures in a diseased brain and how the seizures can be prevented.

Kavli Institute – Excellent Science Environment

The Kavli Institute had been on an institute-wider retreat, when he had come to Trondheim for interview for the position, so Yaksi had the opportunity of meeting not just group leaders but also technicians, master’s students, PhD candidates and everyone. He informed that what was most impressive besides the excellent science environment was that people had been happy and satisfied with what was being done and it was a good atmosphere.

 Though the science had been the most serious part of his decision to move to Trondheim, he informed that he was excited to be a part of the Kavli Institute since he and his wife desired to live in a smaller town as well as close to nature.

He had stated that Trondheim seems to be a unique place and one can do really good science and yet be close to nature, which was a big thing for him and his wife. Going to London or another big city was never an option and they did not desire to deal with big city life. He also informed that when May-Britt Moser had asked him at the time of his interview on what he knew regarding Scandinavia. His reply had been that he did not know much though he had added that he and his wife loved being outdoors.

This FDA-Approved Medical Syringe Fills Bullet Wounds in 20 Seconds

Xstat Rapid Hemostasis System – Designed to Control Haemorrhaging

Around 30 – 40% of civilian death from traumatic injury is due to haemorrhaging and 33 – 56% of them tend to die prior to reaching the hospital according to the United States Army Institute of Surgical Research.The best option of survival is to staunch the flow of blood as rapidly as possible. Hence a newly approved medical device has come up. The Xstat Rapid Hemostasis System is mainly a syringe filled with tiny sponges which is now made available to people. It has been designed to control haemorrhaging especially for bleeding which cannot be stopped with a tourniquet.

The sponge filled syringe tends to fill gunshot wounds within 20 seconds and the device which had been formerly limited to military use, has received approval for use on the general population in America. Recently the Food and Drug Administration had cleared the syringe which is designed to prevent the flow of blood from an open wound, for use on adult and adolescent citizens. The Xstat had been initially developed for use by the military, wherein the risk of traumatic injury and bullet wounds was higher than in the civilian population.

Sterile Sponges of Cellulose

It was earlier organized in 2014, though the FDA has now finished evaluating the device and has made it available for use by first responders in case of an accident, shooting or natural disaster. In the Xstat syringe there are 92 tablet-sized sterile sponges made up of cellulose which is intended to stop the bleeding in wounds that do not stop easily by any other means.

Bleeding can usually tend to be effectively slowed with simple tourniquet which restricts the flow of blood to the injury. However a bullet wound or any other deep injury would be difficult to close. In such a situation, the Xstat is inserted into the wound and activated to release the sponge wherein each sponge tends to have an x-ray marker so that doctors can ensure that they are all removed from the body later on.

The Verge reports that the syringe tends to work on wounds that cannot be stopped with the use of a tourniquet which is a compression tool developed to control haemorrhaging. These may be wounds in the groin or the armpit.

Control on Severe Life Threatening Bleeding

As per io9, the Xstat Rapid Hemostasis System tends to work by filling a wound with a group of sponges which tends to expand rapidly thereby blocking the flow of the blood and provides pressure cause the bleeding to stop. According to Dr William Maisel, acting director of the Office of Device Evaluation in the FDA’s Centre for Devices and Radiological Health had mentioned in a press release issued by RevMedX which manufactures the devices, that `when a product is developed for use in the battlefield it is usually intended to work in worst case scenario where advanced care would not be immediately available.

 It is exciting to see this technology transition in helping civilian first responders control some severe life threatening bleeding at the time of the trauma scene’. Each applicator tends to absorb around a pint of blood and works up to four hours which provides adequate time for the injured person to receive surgery for the wound.