Evaluation of laser bacterial anti-fouling of transparent nanocrystalline yttria-stabilized-zirconia cranial implant.

Background and objectiveThe development and feasibility of a novel nanocrystalline yttria-stabilized-zirconia (nc-YSZ) cranial implant has been recently established. The purpose of what we now call "window to the brain (WttB)" implant (or platform), is to improve patient care by providing a technique for delivery and/or collection of light into/from the brain, on demand, over large areas, and on a chronically recurring basis without the need for repeated craniotomies. WttB holds the transformative potential for enhancing light-based diagnosis and treatment of a wide variety of brain pathologies including cerebral edema, traumatic brain injury, stroke, glioma, and neurodegenerative diseases. However, bacterial adhesion to the cranial implant is the leading factor for biofilm formation (fouling), infection, and treatment failure. Escherichia coli (E. coli), in particular, is the most common isolate in gram-negative bacillary meningitis after cranial surgery or trauma. The transparency of our WttB implant may provide a unique opportunity for non-invasive treatment of bacterial infection under the implant using medical lasers.Study design/materials and methodsA drop of a diluted overnight culture of BL21-293 E. coli expressing luciferase was seeded between the nc-YSZ implant and the agar plate. This was followed by immediate irradiation with selected laser. After each laser treatment the nc-YSZ was removed, and cultures were incubated for 24 hours at 37 °C. The study examined continuous wave (CW) and pulsed wave (PW) modes of near-infrared (NIR) 810 nm laser wavelength with a power output ranging from 1 to 3 W. During irradiation, the temperature distribution of nc-YSZ surface was monitored using an infrared thermal camera. Relative luminescence unit (RLU) was used to evaluate the viability of bacteria after the NIR laser treatment.ResultsAnalysis of RLU suggests that the viability of E. coli biofilm formation was reduced with NIR laser treatment when compared to the control group (P < 0.01) and loss of viability depends on both laser fluence and operation mode (CW or PW). The results demonstrate that while CW laser reduces the biofilm formation more than PW laser with the same power, the higher surface temperature of the implant generated by CW laser limits its medical efficacy. In contrast, with the right parameters, PW laser produces a more moderate photothermal effect which can be equally effective at controlling bacterial growth.ConclusionsOur results show that E. coli biofilm formation across the thickness of the nc-YSZ implant can be disrupted using NIR laser treatment. The results of this in vitro study suggest that using nc-YSZ as a cranial implant in vivo may also allow for locally selective, non-invasive, chronic treatment of bacterial layers (fouling) that might form under cranial implants, without causing adverse thermal damage to the underlying host tissue when appropriate laser parameters are used. Lasers Surg. Med. 48:782-789, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Characterization of ageing resistant transparent nanocrystalline yttria-stabilized zirconia implants.

The "Window to the Brain" is a transparent cranial implant under development, based on nanocrystalline yttria-stabilized zirconia (nc-YSZ) transparent ceramic material. Previous work has demonstrated the feasibility of this material to facilitate brain imaging over time, but the long-term stability of the material over decades in the body is unknown. In this study, the low-temperature degradation (LTD) of nc-YSZ of 3, 6, and 8 mol % yttria is compared before and after accelerated ageing treatments following ISO standards for assessing the ageing resistance of zirconia ceramics. After 100 hr of accelerated ageing (equivalent to many decades of ageing in the body), the samples do not show any signs of phase transformation to monoclinic by X-ray diffraction and micro-Raman spectroscopy. Moreover, the mechanical hardness of the samples did not decrease, and changes in optical transmittance from 500 to 1000 nm due to ageing treatments was minimal (below 3% for all samples), and unlikely to be due to phase transformation of surface crystals to monoclinic. These results indicate the nc-YSZ has excellent ageing resistance and can withstand long-term implantation conditions without exhibiting LTD

Smanjeni omjer mineralnog ulja poboljšava prinos blastocista u sustavu mikrojažica i jednozametnim kulturama u poliesterskim mrežama - kratko priopćenje.

It is common to apply a mineral oil (MO) overlay to in vitro embryo cultures, even though the use of MO may be harmful to embryo development. To examine whether the volume of MO used in overlays for well-of-the-well (WOW) and polyester mesh (PM) single-embryo culture systems can be reduced, two sets of experiments were performed and the resulting blastocyst formation rates were compared with a conventional group (CG) embryo culture system. In Experiment 1, groups of 20 embryos in 100 μL microdrops of CDM-2 medium were plated in Petri dishes and then were covered with 3.5 mL of MO (resulting in a 1:35 ratio of medium to MO). Groups of 20 embryos were also placed in four-well plates in 400 μL CDM-2 medium per well, and the wells were covered with 400 μL MO (resulting in a 1:1 ratio of medium to MO). In Experiment 2, groups of 20 embryos were plated in four-well plates with 400 μL CDM-2 medium per well, and 1 mL of purified water was added to the center hole of the plate. Two sets of these plates were set up in parallel, and only one of the plates received an additional 400 μL of MO per well (resulting in a 1:1 ratio of medium to MO). A greater percentage of embryos reached the blastocyst stage when they were cultured in a 1:1 ratio of medium to MO, compared with embryos that were cultured in a 1:35 ratio of medium to MO (55 % vs. 41 %, respectively; P<0.01). In addition, a greater percentage of embryos reached the blastocyst stage in the WOW and PM systems that included a 1:1 ratio of medium to MO overlay than the embryos that were cultured in the presence of water in the central hole of a four-well plate without MO (48 % vs. 39 %, respectively; P<0.01). Therefore, a 1:1 ratio of medium to MO was found to improve blastocyst rates in both WOW and PM embryo culture systems.U in vitro kulturama zametaka uobičajeno je primjenjivati sloj mineralnog ulja (MU), iako to može biti štetno za razvoj embrija. U radu su provedeni pokusi s ciljem da se istraži može li se smanjiti količina primijenjenog MU u sustavu mikrojažica i u poliesterskim mrežama za uzgoj pojedinačnog zametka. Pri tome je stopa nastalih blastocista bila uspoređena s konvencionalnim načinom uzgoja zametaka. U prvom pokusu su skupine od 20 zametaka u mikrokapi od 100 μL CDM-2 medija bile stavljene na podlogu u Petrijeve zdjelice i nakon toga prekrivene s 3,5 mL MU (omjer između medija i MU iznosio je 1:35). Skupine od 20 zametaka također su bile smještene u četverodijelne plitice s 400 μL CDM-2 medija po jažici i prekrivene s 400 μL MU (omjer između medija i MU iznosio je 1:1). U drugom pokusu, skupine od 20 zametaka bile su smještene u četverodijelne plitice s 400 μL CDM-2 medija po jažici, u čiji je središnji otvor dodan 1 mL pročišćene vode. Dvije skupine tih plitica bile su istodobno postavljene, a samo u jednu pliticu dodano je 400 μL MU po jažici (omjer između medija i MU iznosio je 1:1). Veći postotak embrija dosegao je stadij blastociste kada je u kulturi bio primijenjen omjer 1:1 između medija i MU. U usporedbi sa zametcima kod kojih je u kulturi bio primijenjen omjer između medija i MU 1:35, razlika je iznosila 55 % prema 41 %, P<0,01. Osim toga, veći postotak zametaka dosegnuo je stadij blastociste u sustavu mikrojažica i poliesterskih mrežica u kojima je omjer između medija i MU bio 1:1, nego što je to bio slučaj kad je kulturi zametaka u središnjoj jažici plitice bila dodana voda (48 % prema 39 %, P<0,01). Utvrđeno je da omjer 1:1 između medija i MU poboljšava stopu razvijenih blastocista u oba sustava

Systematic Control of Strain-Induced Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy in Epitaxial Europium and Terbium Iron Garnets Thin Films

We show tunable strain-induced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) over a wide range of thicknesses in epitaxial ferrimagnetic insulator Eu3Fe5O12 (EuIG) and Tb3Fe5O12 (TbIG) thin films grown by pulsed-laser deposition on Gd3Ga5O12 with (001) and (111) orientations, respectively. The PMA field is determined by measuring the induced anomalous Hall loops in Pt deposited on the garnet films. Due to positive magnetostriction constants, compressive in-plane strain induces a PMA field as large as 32.9 kOe for 4 nm thick EuIG and 66.7 kOe for 5 nm thick TbIG at 300 K, and relaxes extremely slowly as the garnet film thickness increases. In bilayers consisting of Pt and EuIG or Pt and TbIG, robust PMA is revealed by squared anomalous Hall hysteresis loops in Pt, the magnitude of which appears to be only related to the net magnetic moment of iron sublattices. Furthermore, the magnetostriction constant is found to be 2.7x10^(-5) for EuIG and 1.35x10^(-5) for TbIG, comparable with the values for bulk crystals. Our results demonstrate a general approach of tailoring magnetic anisotropy of rare earth iron garnets by utilizing modulated strain via epitaxial growth

Iron oxide-based nanostructured ceramics with tailored magnetic and mechanical properties: Development of mechanically robust, bulk superparamagnetic materials

Nanostructured iron-oxide based materials with tailored mechanical and magnetic behavior are produced in bulk form. By applying ultra-fast heating routines via spark plasma sintering (SPS) to supercrystalline pellets, materials with an enhanced combination of elastic modulus, hardness and saturation magnetization are achieved. Supercrystallinity-namely the arrangement of the constituent nanoparticles into periodic structures-is achieved through self-assembly of the organically-functionalized iron oxide nanoparticles. The optimization of the following SPS regime allows the control of organics' removal, necking, iron oxide phase transformations and nano-grain size retention, and thus the fine-tuning of both mechanical properties and magnetic response, up until the production of bulk mm-size superparamagnetic materials.Deusche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG

Directional electromigration-enhanced interdiffususion in the Cu–Ni system

The effect of a dc on the interdiffusivity D in the Cu-Ni system was investigated over the temperature range of 650-850 degrees C and at current densities in the range of 0-1000 A cm(-2). Interdiffusivities were calculated using the Sauer-Freise-den Broeder method and the values calculated in the absence of a current were in agreement with previously published results. The influence of the current on D depended on its direction relative to the two interfaces in the trilayered Cu-Ni-Cu samples. When the electronic flow was from Ni to Cu (cocurrent interface), the interdiffusivity showed a marked increase relative to copper content but was unchanged when the electronic flow was from Cu to Ni (countercurrent interface). The increase of D in the cocurrent interface depended on concentration and temperature. At lower temperatures, the increase becomes significant at higher copper concentrations but for the same value of current density, the increase is apparent at lower concentrations. The effective activation energy of interdiffusivity depended on concentration and decreased with the application of a current. The decrease was largest for higher copper concentrations. The results are interpreted in terms of a proposed vacancy-atom interaction for copper with the implication that the electron wind effect on Cu is counteracted by the effect of vacancies. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics

Thermal neutron background at Laboratorio Subterráneo de Canfranc (LSC)

The thermal neutron background at Laboratorio Subterráneo de Canfranc (LSC) has been determined using several He proportional counter detectors. Bare and Cd shielded counters were used in a series of long measurements. Pulse shape discrimination techniques were applied to discriminate between neutron and gamma signals as well as other intrinsic contributions. Montecarlo simulations allowed us to estimate the sensitivity of the detectors and calculate values for the background flux of thermal neutrons inside Hall-A of LSC. The obtained value is (3.5±0.8)×10 n/cms, and is within an order of magnitude compared to similar facilities.This work was supported partially by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and its Plan Nacional de I+D+i de Física de Partículas projects: FPA2016-76765-P and FPA2018-096717-B-C21. The authors want to acknowledge the help provided by the staff at LSC in the preparation and support for this work

CLYC as a neutron detector in low background conditions

We report on the thermal neutron flux measurements carried out at the Laboratorio Subterráneo de Canfranc (LSC) with two commercial 2 × 2 CLYC detectors. The measurements were performed as part of an experimental campaign at LSC with He detectors, for establishing the sensitivity limits and use of CLYCs in low background conditions. A careful characterization of the intrinsic α and γ -ray background in the detectors was required and done with dedicated measurements. It was found that the α activities in the two CLYC crystals differ by a factor of three, and the use of Monte Carlo simulations and a Bayesian unfolding method allowed us to determine the specific α activities from the U and Th decay chains. The simulations and unfolding also revealed that the γ -ray background registered in the detectors is dominated by the intrinsic activity of the components of the detector such as the aluminum housing and photo-multiplier and that the activity within the crystal is low in comparison. The data from the neutron flux measurements with the two detectors were analyzed with different methodologies: one based on an innovative α /neutron pulse shape discrimination method and one based on the subtraction of the intrinsic α background that masks the neutron signals in the region of interest. The neutron sensitivity of the CLYCs was calculated by Monte Carlo simulations with MCNP6 and GEANT4. The resulting thermal neutron fluxes are in good agreement with complementary flux measurement performed with He detectors, but close to the detection limit imposed by the intrinsic α activity

Challenges in Ceramic Science: A Report from the Workshop on Emerging Research Areas in Ceramic Science

In March 2012, a group of researchers met to discuss emerging topics in ceramic science and to identify grand challenges in the field. By the end of the workshop, the group reached a consensus on eight challenges for the future:—understanding rare events in ceramic microstructures, understanding the phase-like behavior of interfaces, predicting and controlling heterogeneous microstructures with unprecedented functionalities, controlling the properties of oxide electronics, understanding defects in the vicinity of interfaces, controlling ceramics far from equilibrium, accelerating the development of new ceramic materials, and harnessing order within disorder in glasses. This paper reports the outcomes of the workshop and provides descriptions of these challenges