Bioresorption control and biological response of magnesium alloy az31 coated with poly-β-hydroxybutyrate

Magnesium and its alloys are not normally used as bioresorbable temporary implants due to their high and uncontrolled degradation rate in a physiological liquid environment. The improvement of corrosion resistance to simulated body fluids (SBF) of a magnesium alloy (AZ31) coated with poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) was investigated. Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, and contact angle measurements were used to characterize surface morphology, material composition, and wettability, respectively. pH modification of the SBF corroding medium, mass of Mg2+ ions released, weight loss of the samples exposed to the SBF solution, and electrochemical experiments were used to describe the corrosion process and its kinetics. The material’s biocompatibility was described by evaluating the effect of corrosion by products collected in the SBF equilibrating solution on hemolysis ratio, cytotoxicity, nitric oxide (NO), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC). The results showed that the PHB coating can diffusively control the degradation rate of magnesium alloy, improving its biocompatibility: the hemolysis rate of materials was lower than 5%, while in vitro human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) compatibility experiments showed that PHB-coated Mg alloy promoted cell proliferation and had no effect on the NO content and that the T-AOC was enhanced compared with the normal group and bare AZ31 alloy. PHB-coated AZ31 magnesium alloy extraction fluids have a less toxic behavior due to the lower concentration of corrosion byproducts deriving from the diffusion control exerted by the PHB coating films both from the metal surface to the solution and vice versa. These findings provide more reference value for the selection of such systems as tunable bioresorbable prosthetic materials

Asymmetric properties of long-term and total heart rate variability

We report on two new physiological phenomena: the long-term and total heart rate asymmetry, which describe a significantly larger contribution of heart rate accelerations to long-term and total heart rate variability. In addition to the existing pair of indices, \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${\text {SD1}}_{\rm d}, {\text {SD1}}_{\rm a},$$\end{document} which are based on partitioning short-term variance, we introduce two other pairs of descriptors based on partitioning long-term (\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${\text {SD2}}_{\rm d}, {\text {SD2}}_{\rm a}$$\end{document}) and total (\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${\text {SDNN}}_{\rm d}, {\text {SDNN}}_{\rm a}$$\end{document}) heart rate variability. The new asymmetric descriptors are used to analyze RR intervals time series derived from the 30-min ECG recordings of 241 healthy subjects resting in supine position. It is shown that both new types of asymmetry are present in 76% of the subjects. The new phenomena reported here are real physiological findings rather than artifacts of the method since they vanish after data shuffling

Study of e+e−→ppˉe^+e^- \rightarrow p\bar{p} in the vicinity of ψ(3770)\psi(3770)

Using 2917 $\rm{pb}^{-1}$ of data accumulated at 3.773~$\rm{GeV}$, 44.5~$\rm{pb}^{-1}$ of data accumulated at 3.65~$\rm{GeV}$ and data accumulated during a $\psi(3770)$ line-shape scan with the BESIII detector, the reaction $e^+e^-\rightarrow p\bar{p}$ is studied considering a possible interference between resonant and continuum amplitudes. The cross section of $e^+e^-\rightarrow\psi(3770)\rightarrow p\bar{p}$, $\sigma(e^+e^-\rightarrow\psi(3770)\rightarrow p\bar{p})$, is found to have two solutions, determined to be ($0.059\pm0.032\pm0.012$) pb with the phase angle $\phi = (255.8\pm37.9\pm4.8)^\circ$ ($<$0.11 pb at the 90% confidence level), or $\sigma(e^+e^-\rightarrow\psi(3770)\rightarrow p\bar{p}) = (2.57\pm0.12\pm0.12$) pb with $\phi = (266.9\pm6.1\pm0.9)^\circ$ both of which agree with a destructive interference. Using the obtained cross section of $\psi(3770)\rightarrow p\bar{p}$, the cross section of $p\bar{p}\rightarrow \psi(3770)$, which is useful information for the future PANDA experiment, is estimated to be either ($9.8\pm5.7$) nb ($<17.2$ nb at 90% C.L.) or $(425.6\pm42.9)$ nb

Cinetique et voie de dégradation photocatalytique d'acides aminés- Influence du pH et du flux lumineux

nationa

Evidence of innate immune dysfunction in first-episode psychosis patients with accompanying mood disorder

BackgroundInflammation and increases in inflammatory cytokines are common findings in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BD), and major depressive disorder (MDD). Meta-analyses of studies that measured circulating cytokines have provided evidence of innate inflammation across all three disorders, with some overlap of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-α. However, differences across disorders were also identified, including increased IL-4 in BD that suggest different immune mechanisms may be involved depending on the type of disorder present.MethodsWe sought to identify if the presence or absence of an affective disorder in first-episode psychotic (FEP) patients was associated with variations in cytokine production after stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). 98 participants were recruited and grouped into healthy controls (n = 45) and first-episode psychosis patients (n = 53). Psychosis patients were further grouped by presence (AFF; n = 22) or lack (NON; n = 31) of an affective disorder. We cultured isolated PBMC from all participants for 48&nbsp;h at 37&nbsp;°C under four separate conditions; (1) culture media alone for baseline, or the following three stimulatory conditions: (2) 25&nbsp;ng/mL lipopolysaccharide (LPS), (3) 10&nbsp;ng/mL phytohemagglutinin (PHA), and (4) 125&nbsp;ng/ml α-CD3 plus 250&nbsp;ng/ml α-CD28. Supernatants collected at 48&nbsp;h were analyzed using multiplex Luminex assay to identify differences in cytokine and chemokine production. Results from these assays were then correlated to patient clinical assessments for positive and negative symptoms common to psychotic disorders.ResultsWe found that PBMC from affective FEP patients produced higher concentrations of cytokines associated with both innate and adaptive immunity after stimulation than non-affective FEP patients and healthy controls. More specifically, the AFF PBMC produced increased tumor necrosis fctor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and others associated with innate inflammation. PBMC from AFF also produced increased IL-4, IL-17, interferon (IFN)γ, and other cytokines associated with adaptive immune activation, depending on stimulation. Additionally, inflammatory cytokines that differed at rest and after LPS stimulation correlated with Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) scores.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that immune dysfunction in affective psychosis may differ from that of primary psychotic disorders, and inflammation may be associated with increased negative symptoms. These findings could be helpful in determining clinical diagnosis after first psychotic episode

Implementation of 5S in Manufacturing Industry: A Case of Foreign Workers in Melaka

Lean manufacturing system has been infiltrated in manufacturing sectors across the world. In fact, Lean manufacturing system is a practice which regards the use of the resources, creation of value for the end customers, and as the ways to eliminate the waste. There are several tools that can be used to eliminate the waste within the industry. This research is a study of the implementation of 5S in manufacturing industry. Despite this, the research study focused on manufacturing industry, which has been implemented 5S system in Melaka State. Although there are number of tools and technique available to help in improving the manufacturing process, however, there is only few industries could implement the tools successfully. In this research, foreign workers play a main role in implement the 5S systems as the manufacturing industry in Malaysia adopt large amount of foreign workers to work as employees. Therefore, it is important to ensure the foreign workers truly understand the concept of 5S system and adopt the best ways to implement it in order to have better performance. This research study has been proposed by the research model of the barriers to implementation of 5S in manufacturing industry among foreign workers. A several research method has been adopted to do the research, such as descriptive research design with quantitative methods, survey questionnaire and cross-sectional studies

Implementation of 5S in Manufacturing Industry: A Case of Foreign Workers in Melaka

Lean manufacturing system has been infiltrated in manufacturing sectors across the world. In fact, Lean manufacturing system is a practice which regards the use of the resources, creation of value for the end customers, and as the ways to eliminate the waste. There are several tools that can be used to eliminate the waste within the industry. This research is a study of the implementation of 5S in manufacturing industry. Despite this, the research study focused on manufacturing industry, which has been implemented 5S system in Melaka State. Although there are number of tools and technique available to help in improving the manufacturing process, however, there is only few industries could implement the tools successfully. In this research, foreign workers play a main role in implement the 5S systems as the manufacturing industry in Malaysia adopt large amount of foreign workers to work as employees. Therefore, it is important to ensure the foreign workers truly understand the concept of 5S system and adopt the best ways to implement it in order to have better performance. This research study has been proposed by the research model of the barriers to implementation of 5S in manufacturing industry among foreign workers. A several research method has been adopted to do the research, such as descriptive research design with quantitative methods, survey questionnaire and cross-sectional studies

Differential Macrophage Responses in Affective Versus Non-Affective First-Episode Psychosis Patients

Increased innate immune activation and inflammation are common findings in psychotic and affective (mood) disorders such as schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BD), and major depressive disorder (MDD), including increased numbers and activation of monocytes and macrophages. These findings often differ depending on the disorder, for example, we previously found increases in circulating inflammatory cytokines associated with monocytes and macrophages in SCZ, while BD had increases in anti-inflammatory cytokines. Despite these differences, few studies have specifically compared immune dysfunction in affective versus non-affective psychotic disorders and none have compared functional monocyte responses across these disorders. To address this, we recruited 25 first episode psychosis (FEP) patients and 23 healthy controls (HC). FEP patients were further grouped based on the presence (AFF) or absence (NON) of mood disorder. We isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells and cultured them for 1 week with M-CSF to obtain monocyte-derived macrophages. These cells were then stimulated for 24 h to skew them to inflammatory and alternative phenotypes, in order to identify differences in these responses. Following stimulation with LPS and LPS plus IFNγ, we found that macrophages from the NON-group had diminished inflammatory responses compared to both HC and AFF groups. Interestingly, when skewing macrophages to an alternative phenotype using LPS plus IL-4, the AFF macrophages increased production of inflammatory cytokines. Receiver operating curve analysis showed predictive power of inflammatory cytokine concentrations after LPS stimulation in the AFF group versus NON-group. Our results suggest dysfunctional monocyte responses in both affective and non-affective psychotic disorder, with varying types of immune dysfunction depending on the presence or absence of a mood component