Study of the stability of packaging and storage conditions of human mesenchymal stem cell for intra-arterial clinical application in patient with critical limb ischemia

Critical limb ischemia (CLI) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In this study, we developed and characterized an intra-arterial cell suspension containing human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) for the treatment of CLI. Equally, the stability of cells was studied in order to evaluate the optimal conditions of storage that guarantee the viability from cell processing to the administration phase. Effects of various factors, including excipients, storage temperature and time were evaluated to analyze the survival of hMSCs in the finished medicinal product. The viability of hMSCs in different packaging media was studied for 60 h at 4 °C. The best medium to maintain hMSCs viability was then selected to test storage conditions (4, 8, 25 and 37 °C; 60 h). The results showed that at 4 °C the viability was maintained above 80% for 48 h, at 8 °C decreased slightly, whereas at room temperature and 37 °C decreased drastically. Its biocompatibility was assessed by cell morphology and cell viability assays. During stability study, the stored cells did not show any change in their phenotypic or genotypic characteristics and physicochemical properties remained constant, the ability to differentiate into adipocytes and osteocytes and sterility requirements were also unaltered. Finally, our paper proposes a packing media composed of albumin 20%, glucose 5% and Ringer's lactate at a concentration of 1 × 106 cells/mL, which must be stored at 4 °C as the most suitable to maintain cell viability (>80%) and without altering their characteristics for more than 48 h. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This study was supported by Grants RD08/0010/2005 (Red TERCEL) and PI10/00964 from Institute of Heath Carlos III and TRA-120 (Ministry of Health) to BS.Peer Reviewe

Global retrieval of ATSR cloud parameters and evaluation (GRAPE): dataset assessment

The Along-Track Scanning Radiometers (ATSRs) provide a long time-series of measurements suitable for the retrieval of cloud properties. This work evaluates the freely-available Global Retrieval of ATSR Cloud Parameters and Evaluation (GRAPE) dataset (version 3) created from the ATSR-2 (1995�2003) and Advanced ATSR (AATSR; 2002 onwards) records. Users are recommended to consider only retrievals flagged as high-quality, where there is a good consistency between the measurements and the retrieved state (corresponding to about 60% of converged retrievals over sea, and more than 80% over land). Cloud properties are found to be generally free of any significant spurious trends relating to satellite zenith angle. Estimates of the random error on retrieved cloud properties are suggested to be generally appropriate for optically-thick clouds, and up to a factor of two too small for optically-thin cases. The correspondence between ATSR-2 and AATSR cloud properties is high, but a relative calibration difference between the sensors of order 5�10% at 660 nm and 870 nm limits the potential of the current version of the dataset for trend analysis. As ATSR-2 is thought to have the better absolute calibration, the discussion focusses on this portion of the record. Cloud-top heights from GRAPE compare well to ground-based data at four sites, particularly for shallow clouds. Clouds forming in boundary-layer inversions are typically around 1 km too high in GRAPE due to poorly-resolved inversions in the modelled temperature profiles used. Global cloud fields are compared to satellite products derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) measurements, and a climatology of liquid water content derived from satellite microwave radiometers. In all cases the main reasons for differences are linked to differing sensitivity to, and treatment of, multi-layer cloud systems. The correlation coefficient between GRAPE and the two MODIS products considered is generally high (greater than 0.7 for most cloud properties), except for liquid and ice cloud effective radius, which also show biases between the datasets. For liquid clouds, part of the difference is linked to choice of wavelengths used in the retrieval. Total cloud cover is slightly lower in GRAPE (0.64) than the CALIOP dataset (0.66). GRAPE underestimates liquid cloud water path relative to microwave radiometers by up to 100 g m�2 near the Equator and overestimates by around 50 g m�2 in the storm tracks. Finally, potential future improvements to the algorithm are outlined

Properties of amorphous silicon thin films grown in square wave modulated silane rf discharges.

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a‐Si:H) thin films have been obtained from pure SiH4 rf discharges by using the square wave modulation (SQWM) method. Film properties have been studied by means of spectroellipsometry, thermal desorption spectrometry, photothermal deflection spectroscopy and electrical conductivity measurements, as a function of the modulation frequency of the rf power amplitude (0.2-4000 Hz). The films deposited at frequencies about 1 kHz show the best structural and optoelectronic characteristics. Based upon the experimental results, a qualitative model is presented, which points up the importance of plasma negative ions in the deposition of a‐Si:H from SQWM rf discharges through their influence on powder particle formation

In vivo pharmacokinetic evaluation of carprofen delivery from intra-articular nanoparticles in rabbits: A population modelling approach

Osteoarthritis is treated with COX or fosfolipase A2 inhibitors such as carprofen, a propionic acid NSAID. The enhancement of its action over the articular cartilage is mandatory to facilitate its therapeutic application. Drug uptake into the cartilage requires high synovial fluid concentrations, anticipating its rapid distribution towards bloodstream. Thus, intraarticular administration improves local targeting of the drug, lining with the site of action. A pharmacokinetic study in rabbits has been performed to evaluate carprofen nanoparticles after intraarticular administration. Pharmacokinetic analysis of plasma profiles through a modelling approach, has demonstrated the rapid distribution of drug outside of synovial chamber but mainly remaining in plasma. The data modelling has demonstrated the existence of two release-absorption processes when the nanoparticles are administered in the synovial space. Additionally, results are predictive of the PK profile of some other species such as cat, dogs or humansIncluye referencias bibliográfica

Cloud retrievals from satellite data using optimal estimation: evaluation and application to ATSR

Clouds play an important role in balancing the Earth's radiation budget. Hence, it is vital that cloud climatologies are produced that quantify cloud macro and micro physical parameters and the associated uncertainty. In this paper, we present an algorithm ORAC (Oxford-RAL retrieval of Aerosol and Cloud) which is based on fitting a physically consistent cloud model to satellite observations simultaneously from the visible to the mid-infrared, thereby ensuring that the resulting cloud properties provide both a good representation of the short-wave and long-wave radiative effects of the observed cloud. The advantages of the optimal estimation method are that it enables rigorous error propagation and the inclusion of all measurements and any a priori information and associated errors in a rigorous mathematical framework. The algorithm provides a measure of the consistency between retrieval representation of cloud and satellite radiances. The cloud parameters retrieved are the cloud top pressure, cloud optical depth, cloud effective radius, cloud fraction and cloud phase. <br><br> The algorithm can be applied to most visible/infrared satellite instruments. In this paper, we demonstrate the applicability to the Along-Track Scanning Radiometers ATSR-2 and AATSR. Examples of applying the algorithm to ATSR-2 flight data are presented and the sensitivity of the retrievals assessed, in particular the algorithm is evaluated for a number of simulated single-layer and multi-layer conditions. The algorithm was found to perform well for single-layer cloud except when the cloud was very thin; i.e., less than 1 optical depths. For the multi-layer cloud, the algorithm was robust except when the upper ice cloud layer is less than five optical depths. In these cases the retrieved cloud top pressure and cloud effective radius become a weighted average of the 2 layers. The sum of optical depth of multi-layer cloud is retrieved well until the cloud becomes thick, greater than 50 optical depths, where the cloud begins to saturate. The cost proved a good indicator of multi-layer scenarios. Both the retrieval cost and the error need to be considered together in order to evaluate the quality of the retrieval. This algorithm in the configuration described here has been applied to both ATSR-2 and AATSR visible and infrared measurements in the context of the GRAPE (Global Retrieval and cloud Product Evaluation) project to produce a 14 yr consistent record for climate research