Novel sol–gel preparation of (PO)–(CaO)–(NaO)–(TiO) bioresorbable glasses (X = 0.05, 0.1, and 0.15)

Quaternary phosphate-based glasses in the PO–CaO–NaO–TiO system with a fixed PO and CaO content of 40 and 25 mol% respectively have been successfully synthesised via sol–gel method and bulk, transparent samples were obtained. The structure, elemental proportion, and thermal properties of stabilised sol–gel glasses have been characterised using X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), P nuclear magnetic resonance (P NMR), titanium K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The XRD results confirmed the amorphous nature for all stabilized sol–gel derived glasses. The EDX result shows the relatively low loss of phosphorus during the sol–gel process and Ti K-edge XANES confirmed titanium in the glass structure is in mainly six-fold coordination environment. The P NMR and FTIR results revealed that the glass structure consist of mainly Q and Q phosphate units and the Ti cation was acting as a cross-linking between phosphate units. In addition DTA results confirmed a decrease in the glass transition and crystallisation temperature with increasing NaO content. Ion release studies also demonstrated a decrease in degradation rates with increasing TiO content therefore supporting the use of these glasses for biomedical applications that require a degree of control over glass degradation. These sol–gel glasses also offer the potential to incorporate proactive molecules for drug delivery application due to the low synthesis temperature employed

The Effects of Laser Radiation on Exposed Dentine Surfaces in the Treatment of Dentine Sensitivity. An In Vitro Study.

Aim: This in vitro pilot study was undertaken to investigate the effects of Neodymium: Yttrium Aluminium Garnet (Nd:YAG), Erbium: Yttrium Aluminium Garnet (Er:YAG) and Helium Neon (HeNe) laser radiation on dentine surfaces in extracted human teeth. Material and Methods: Instrumented root surfaces and etched and unetched dentine discs were irradiated with a Nd:YAG laser operating at 3.5, 3.75 or 4W or an Er:YAG laser operating at 60, 80, 100mJ or with a HeNe laser. Results: The Nd:YAG laser produced melting and resolidification of dentine on all surfaces while the Er:YAG laser produced craters with closed tubules in root surfaces, but open tubules in dentine discs. The HeNe laser produced no apparent surface alteration. Both lased and unlased control surfaces were compared using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Conclusions: Irradiation with the Nd:YAG and Er:YAG lasers caused significant disruption of the dentine surfaces on both root surfaces and also on dentine discs. Nd:YAG radiation produced irregular melting and resolidification of the dentine surface with some occlusion of open dentine tubules. Er:YAG radiation caused ablation of dentine and produced craters with open tubules in the dentine discs, but closed tubules on most root surfaces. Irradiation using a HeNe laser produced no noticeable surface effect

Predicting the Perceptual Demands of Urban Driving with Video Regression

To drive safely requires perceiving vast amounts of rapidly changing visual information. This can exhaust our limited perceptual capacity and lead to cases of 'looking but failing to see', reportedly the third largest contributing factor to road traffic accidents. In the present work we use a 3D convolutional neural network to model the perceptual demand of varied driving situations. To validate the method we introduce a new labelled dataset of approximately 2300 videos of driving in Brussels and California

Health impacts of ambient biomass smoke in Tasmania, Australia

The island state of Tasmania has marked seasonal variations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations related to wood heating during winter, planned forest fires during autumn and spring, and bushfires during summer. Biomass smoke causes considerable health harms and associated costs. We estimated the historical health burden from PM2.5 attributable to wood heater smoke (WHS) and landscape fire smoke (LFS) in Tasmania between 2010 and 2019. We calculated the daily population level exposure to WHS- and LFS-related PM2.5 and estimated the number of cases and health costs due to premature mortality, cardiorespiratory hospital admissions, and asthma emergency department (ED) visits. We estimated 69 deaths, 86 hospital admissions, and 15 asthma ED visits, each year, with over 74% of impacts attributed to WHS. Average yearly costs associated with WHS were of AUD$293 million and AUD$ 16 million for LFS. The latter increased up to more than AUD$ 34 million during extreme bushfire seasons. This is the first study to quantify the health impacts attributable to biomass smoke for Tasmania. We estimated substantial impacts, which could be reduced through replacing heating technologies, improving fire management, and possibly implementing integrated strategies. This would most likely produce important and cost-effective health benefits

Inhibition of Neuromuscular Contractions of Human and Rat Colon by Bergamot Essential Oil and Linalool: Evidence to Support a Therapeutic Action

Bergamot essential oil (BEO) added to food and drink promotes a citrus flavour. Folklore suggests benefits on gastrointestinal functions but with little supporting evidence. BEO and major constituents (linalool, limonene, linalyl acetate) were therefore examined for any ability to influence neuromuscular contractions of human and rat colon. Circular muscle strips (macroscopically-normal human colon obtained following ethical approval at cancer surgery; Sprague–Dawley rats) were suspended in baths (Krebs solution; 37 °C; 5% CO2 in O2) for measurement of neuronally-mediated contractions (prevented by tetrodotoxin or atropine) evoked by electrical field stimulation (5 Hz, 0.5 ms pulse width, 10s/minute, maximally-effective voltage), or contractions evoked by KCl (submaximally-effective concentrations). BEO and each constituent concentration dependently inhibited neuronally-mediated and KCl-induced contractions. In human: apparent pIC50 for BEO (volume/volume Krebs), respectively, 3.8 ± 0.3 and 4.4 ± 0.3; Imax 55.8% ± 4.2% and 37.5% ± 4.2%. For the constituents, the rank order of potency differed in human (linalool > limonene >> linalyl-acetate) and rat colon (linalyl-acetate > limonene = linalool), but rank order of efficacy was similar (linalool >> (BEO) = linalyl-acetate >> limonene). Thus, linalool had high efficacy but greater potency in human colon (Imax 76.8% ± 6.9%; pIC50 6.7 ± 0.2; n = 4) compared with rat colon (Imax 75.3% ± 1.9%; pIC50 5.8 ± 0.1; n = 4). The ability of BEO and linalool to inhibit human colon neuromuscular contractility provides a mechanism for use as complementary treatments of intestinal disorders

Serum levels of phosphorus, parathyroid hormone, and calcium and risks of death and cardiovascular disease in individuals with chronic kidney disease a systematic review and meta-analysis

Context: Clinical practice guidelines on the management of mineral and bone disorders due to chronic kidney disease recommend specific treatment target levels for serum phosphorus, parathyroid hormone, and calcium. Objective: To assess the quality of evidence for the association between levels of serum phosphorus, parathyroid hormone, and calcium and risks of death, cardiovascular mortality, and nonfatal cardiovascular events in individuals with chronic kidney disease. Data Sources: The databases of MEDLINE (1948 to December 2010) and EMBASE (1947 to December 2010) were searched without language restriction. Hand searches also were conducted of the reference lists of primary studies, review articles, and clinical guidelines along with full-text review of any citation that appeared relevant. Study Selection: Of 8380 citations identified in the original search, 47 cohort studies (N=327 644 patients) met the inclusion criteria. Data Extraction: The characteristics of study design, participants, exposures, and covariates together with the outcomes of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and nonfatal cardiovascular events at different levels of serum phosphorus, parathyroid hormone, and calcium were analyzed within studies. Data were summarized across studies (when possible) using random-effects meta-regression. Data Synthesis: The risk of death increased 18% for every 1-mg/dL increase in serum phosphorus (relative risk [RR], 1.18 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.12-1.25]). There was no significant association between all-cause mortality and serum level of parathyroid hormone (RR per 100-pg/mL increase, 1.01 [95% CI, 1.00-1.02]) or serum level of calcium (RR per 1-mg/dL increase, 1.08 [95% CI, 1.00-1.16]). Data for the association between serum level of phosphorus, parathyroid hormone, and calcium and cardiovascular death were each available in only 1 adequately adjusted cohort study. Lack of adjustment for confounding variables was not a major limitation of the available studies. Conclusions: The evidentiary basis for a strong, consistent, and independent association between serum levels of calcium and parathyroid hormone and the risk of death and cardiovascular events in chronic kidney disease is poor. There appears to be an association between higher serum levels of phosphorus and mortality in this population. ©2011 American Medical Association. All rights reserved

Primary cilia elongation in response to interleukin-1 mediates the inflammatory response

Primary cilia are singular, cytoskeletal organelles present in the majority of mammalian cell types where they function as coordinating centres for mechanotransduction, Wnt and hedgehog signalling. The length of the primary cilium is proposed to modulate cilia function, governed in part by the activity of intraflagellar transport (IFT). In articular cartilage, primary cilia length is increased and hedgehog signaling activated in osteoarthritis (OA). Here, we examine primary cilia length with exposure to the quintessential inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1 (IL-1), which is up-regulated in OA. We then test the hypothesis that the cilium is involved in mediating the downstream inflammatory response. Primary chondrocytes treated with IL-1 exhibited a 50 % increase in cilia length after 3 h exposure. IL-1-induced cilia elongation was also observed in human fibroblasts. In chondrocytes, this elongation occurred via a protein kinase A (PKA)-dependent mechanism. G-protein coupled adenylate cyclase also regulated the length of chondrocyte primary cilia but not downstream of IL-1. Chondrocytes treated with IL-1 exhibit a characteristic increase in the release of the inflammatory chemokines, nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2. However, in cells with a mutation in IFT88 whereby the cilia structure is lost, this response to IL-1 was significantly attenuated and, in the case of nitric oxide, completely abolished. Inhibition of IL-1-induced cilia elongation by PKA inhibition also attenuated the chemokine response. These results suggest that cilia assembly regulates the response to inflammatory cytokines. Therefore, the cilia proteome may provide a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of inflammatory pathologies, including OA

Development of Continuous Flow Systems to Access Secondary Amines Through Previously Incompatible Biocatalytic Cascades**

A key aim of biocatalysis is to mimic the ability of eukaryotic cells to carry out multistep cascades in a controlled and selective way. As biocatalytic cascades get more complex, reactions become unattainable under typical batch conditions. Here a number of continuous flow systems were used to overcome batch incompatibility, thus allowing for successful biocatalytic cascades. As proof-of-principle, reactive carbonyl intermediates were generated in situ using alcohol oxidases, then passed directly to a series of packed-bed modules containing different aminating biocatalysts which accordingly produced a range of structurally distinct amines. The method was expanded to employ a batch incompatible sequential amination cascade via an oxidase/transaminase/imine reductase sequence, introducing different amine reagents at each step without cross-reactivity. The combined approaches allowed for the biocatalytic synthesis of the natural product 4O-methylnorbelladine

Exogenous spatial precuing reliably modulates object processing but not object substitution masking

Object substitution masking (OSM) is used in behavioral and imaging studies to investigate processes associated with the formation of a conscious percept. Reportedly, OSM occurs only when visual attention is diffusely spread over a search display or focused away from the target location. Indeed, the presumed role of spatial attention is central to theoretical accounts of OSM and of visual processing more generally (Di Lollo, Enns, & Rensink, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 129:481–507, 2000). We report a series of five experiments in which valid spatial precuing is shown to enhance the ability of participants to accurately report a target but, in most cases, without affecting OSM. In only one experiment (Experiment 5) was a significant effect of precuing observed on masking. This is in contrast to the reliable effect shown across all five experiments in which precuing improved overall performance. The results are convergent with recent findings from Argyropoulos, Gellatly, and Pilling (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 39:646–661, 2013), which show that OSM is independent of the number of distractor items in a display. Our results demonstrate that OSM can operate independently of focal attention. Previous claims of the strong interrelationship between OSM and spatial attention are likely to have arisen from ceiling or floor artifacts that restricted measurable performance