The influence of cross shear and contact pressure on the wear of UHMWPE-on-PEEK-OPTIMA™ for use in total knee replacement

PEEK-OPTIMA™ polymer is being considered as an alternative material to cobalt chrome in the femoral component of total knee arthroplasty to give a metal-free knee replacement system. Simple geometry pin-on-plate wear simulation can be used to systematically investigate and understand the wear of materials under many different conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the wear of UHMWPE-on-PEEK-OPTIMA™ under a range of contact pressure (2.1–80 MPa) and cross-shear ratio (0–0.18) conditions. With increasing contact pressure, there was a trend of decreasing UHMWPE wear factor with a significant difference (p<0.001) in the wear factor of UHMWPE under the different contact pressure conditions of interest. Under uniaxial motion (cross-shear ratio = 0), the wear of UHMWPE was low, introducing multi-axial motion increased the wear of the UHMWPE. There was a significant difference (p<0.01) in the wear factor at different cross-shear ratios however, post hoc analysis showed only the study carried out under unidirectional motion to be significantly different from the other conditions. With varying contact pressure and cross-shear ratio, the wear of UHMWPE against PEEK-OPTIMA™ polymer showed similar trends to previous studies of UHMWPE-on-cobalt chrome

Radiocarbon Date List X: Baffin Bay, Baffin Island, Iceland, Labrador Sea, and the Northern North Atlantic

Date List X contains an annotated listing of 213 radiocarbon dates determined on samples from marine and terrestrial environments. The marine samples were collected from the East Greenland, Iceland, Spitzbergen, and Norwegian margins, Baffin Bay, and Labrador Sea. The terrestrial samples were collected from Vestfirdir, Iceland and Baffin Island. The samples were submitted by INSTAAR and researchers affiliated with INSTAAR\u27s Micropaleontology Laboratory under the direction of Dr.’s John T. Andrews and Anne E. Jennings. All of the dates from marine sediment cores were determined from either shells or foraminifera (both benthic and planktic). All dates were obtained by the Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) method. Regions of concentrated marine research include: Baffin Bay, Baffin Island, Labrador Sea, East Greenland fjords, shelf and slope, Denmark Strait, the southwestern and northwestern Iceland shelves, and Vestfirdir, Iceland. The non-marine radiocarbon dates are from peat, wood, plant microfossils, and mollusc. The radiocarbon dates have been used to address a variety of research objectives such as: 1. determining the timing of northern hemisphere high latitude environmental changes including glacier advance and retreat, and 2. assessing the accuracy of a fluctuating reservoir correction. Thus, most of the dates constrain the timing, rate, and interaction of late Quaternary paleoenvironmental fluctuations in sea level, glacier extent, sediment input, and changes in ocean circulation patterns. Where significant, stratigraphic and sample contexts are presented for each core to document the basis for interpretations

Blooms of cyanobacteria in a temperate Australian lagoon system post and prior to European settlement

Blooms of noxious N2 fixing cyanobacteria such as Nodularia spumigena are a recurring problem in some estuaries; however, the historic occurrence of such blooms in unclear in many cases. Here we report the results of a palaeoecological study on a temperate Australian lagoon system (the Gippsland Lakes) where we used stable isotopes and pigment biomarkers in dated cores as proxies for eutrophication and blooms of cyanobacteria. Pigment proxies show a clear signal, with an increase in cyanobacterial pigments (echinenone, canthaxanthin and zeaxanthin) in the period coinciding with recent blooms. Another excursion in these proxies was observed prior to the opening of an artificial entrance to the lakes in 1889, which markedly increased the salinity of the Gippsland Lakes. A coincident increase in the sediment organic-carbon content in the period prior to the opening of the artificial entrance suggests that the bottom waters of the lakes were more stratified and hypoxic, which would have led to an increase in the recycling of phosphorus. After the opening of the artificial entrance, there was a  ∼  60-year period with low values for the cyanobacterial proxies as well as a low sediment organic-carbon content suggesting a period of low bloom activity associated with the increased salinity of the lakes. During the 1940s, the current period of re-eutrophication commenced, as indicated by a steadily increasing sediment organic-carbon content and cyanobacterial pigments. We suggest that increasing nitrogen inputs from the catchment led to the return of hypoxia and increased phosphorus release from the sediment, which drove the re-emergence of cyanobacterial blooms

Overlapping regions of Caf20 mediate its interactions with the mRNA-5′cap-binding protein eIF4E and with ribosomes

By interacting with the mRNA 5′ cap, the translation initiation factor eIF4E plays a critical role in selecting mRNAs for protein synthesis in eukaryotic cells. Caf20 is a member of the family of proteins found across eukaryotes termed 4E-BPs, which compete with eIF4G for interaction with eIF4E. Caf20 independently interacts with ribosomes. Thus, Caf20 modulates the mRNA selection process via poorly understood mechanisms. Here we performed unbiased mutagenesis across Caf20 to characterise which regions of Caf20 are important for interaction with eIF4E and with ribosomes. Caf20 binding to eIF4E is entirely dependent on a canonical motif shared with other 4E-BPs. However, binding to ribosomes is weakened by mutations throughout the protein, suggesting an extended binding interface that partially overlaps with the eIF4E-interaction region. By using chemical crosslinking, we identify a potential ribosome interaction region on the ribosome surface that spans both small and large subunits and is close to a known interaction site of eIF3. The function of ribosome binding by Caf20 remains unclear

Some (further) Comments on the Theta(1540) Pentaquark

Additional broader I=0 states in the KN channel near $\Theta^+$(1540) are expected in many models, making the absence of any signature in the K$^+$-deuteron scattering data even more puzzling. In an ideal "three-body" picture the $\Theta$ is viewed as two compact ud(1)ud(2) $\bar{3}$ color diquarks and an $\bar{s}$ quark. A "QCD-type" inequality involving $m(\Theta^+), m(\Lambda)$, the mass of the $\Lambda(1/2^-)$ L=1 excitation and that of a new I=0 tetraquark vector meson then follows. The inequality suggests a very light new vector meson, and is violated. We note that "associated production" of the pentaquark with another quadriquark or anti-pentaquark may be favored. This along with some estimates of the actual production cross sections suggest that the $\Theta$ can be found in BaBar or Belle e$^+$-e$^-$ colliders.Comment: 6 page

Radiative capture and electromagnetic dissociation involving loosely bound nuclei: the 8^8B example

Electromagnetic processes in loosely bound nuclei are investigated using an analytical model. In particular, electromagnetic dissociation of $^8$B is studied and the results of our analytical model are compared to numerical calculations based on a three-body picture of the $^8$B bound state. The calculation of energy spectra is shown to be strongly model dependent. This is demonstrated by investigating the sensitivity to the rms intercluster distance, the few-body behavior, and the effects of final state interaction. In contrast, the fraction of the energy spectrum which can be attributed to E1 transitions is found to be almost model independent at small relative energies. This finding is of great importance for astrophysical applications as it provides us with a new tool to extract the E1 component from measured energy spectra. An additional, and independent, method is also proposed as it is demonstrated how two sets of experimental data, obtained with different beam energy and/or minimum impact parameter, can be used to extract the E1 component.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. C. 10 pages, 7 figure

Functional performance of a bi-layered chitosan-nano-hydroxyapatite osteochondral scaffold: a pre-clinical <i>in vitro</i> tribological study

Osteochondral grafts are used for repair of focal osteochondral lesions. Autologous grafts are the gold standard treatment; however, limited graft availability and donor site morbidity restrict use. Therefore, there is a clinical need for different graft sources/materials which replicate natural cartilage function. Chitosan has been proposed for this application. The aim of this study was to assess the biomechanics and biotribology of a bioresorbable chitosan/chitosan-nano-hydroxyapatite osteochondral construct (OCC), implanted in an in vitro porcine knee experimental simulation model. The OCC implanted in different surgical positions (flush, proud and inverted) was compared to predicate grafts in current clinical use and a positive control consisting of a stainless steel graft implanted proud of the cartilage surface. After 3 h (10 800 cycles) wear simulation under a walking gait, subsidence occurred in all OCC samples irrespective of surgical positioning, but with no apparent loss of material and low meniscus wear. Half the predicate grafts exhibited delamination and scratching of the cartilage surfaces. No graft subsidence occurred in the positive controls but wear and deformation of the meniscus were apparent. Implanting a new chitosan-based OCC either optimally (flush), inverted or proud of the cartilage surface resulted in minimal wear, damage and deformation of the meniscus

Preservation of Smooth Muscle Cell Integrity and Function: A Target for Limiting Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Expansion?

Yes(1) Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a silent, progressive disease with significant mortality from rupture. Whilst screening programmes are now able to detect this pathology early in its development, no therapeutic intervention has yet been identified to halt or retard aortic expansion. The inability to obtain aortic tissue from humans at early stages has created a necessity for laboratory models, yet it is essential to create a timeline of events from EARLY to END stage AAA progression. (2) We used a previously validated ex vivo porcine bioreactor model pre-treated with protease enzyme to create "aneurysm" tissue. Mechanical properties, histological changes in the intact vessel wall, and phenotype/function of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMC) cultured from the same vessels were investigated. (3) The principal finding was significant hyperproliferation of SMC from EARLY stage vessels, but without obvious histological or SMC aberrancies. END stage tissue exhibited histological loss of α-smooth muscle actin and elastin; mechanical impairment; and, in SMC, multiple indications of senescence. (4) Aortic SMC may offer a therapeutic target for intervention, although detailed studies incorporating intervening time points between EARLY and END stage are required. Such investigations may reveal mechanisms of SMC dysfunction in AAA development and hence a therapeutic window during which SMC differentiation could be preserved or reinstated.This research was funded in part by The Leeds Teaching Hospitals Charitable Foundation (R11/8002). E.R.C. was supported by a PhD studentship from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC; EP/F500513/1). R.J.H. was the recipient of an Intercalated Batchelor of Science Degree in Science award from the Royal College of Surgeons of England. M.A.B.(FS/18/12/33270 and FS/12/54/29671), K.I.B. (FS/12/26/29395), and K.J.G. (FS/11/91/29090) were supported by BHF Clinical Research Training Fellowships

Tourism Destination Management: A Collaborative Approach

Collaboration is a key factor of sustainable growth across territories and industrial sectors. Tourism, one of the largest industries in the world, has been subject to strongest innovation in the last years. Main reasons of this reside both in the availability of new ICTs - Information and Communication Technologies - and organizational models, which directly connect tourists among them and with service providers, and in the always more personalized supply of tourism experience. Tourism destinations can benefit of such innovations if they are able to reorganize the territorial tourism offer around different pattern of collaboration in order to give 2.0 tourists opportunities to live an augmented tourism experience. This paper deals with the possible forms of collaborative networks that can rise within a destination with a focus on relationships between services delivered by the Tourism Destination and the requests of services at the different phases of the tourist 2.0 lifecycle

Development and characterization of acellular porcine pulmonary valve scaffolds for tissue engineering.

Currently available replacement heart valves all have limitations. This study aimed to produce and characterize an acellular, biocompatible porcine pulmonary root conduit for reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract e.g. during Ross procedure. A process for the decellularization of porcine pulmonary roots was developed incorporating trypsin treatment of the adventitial surface of the scraped pulmonary artery and sequential treatment with: hypotonic Tris buffer (HTB; 10mM Tris pH 8.0, 0.1% (w/v) EDTA, 10KIU aprotinin), 0.1% (w/v) SDS in HTB, two cycles of DNase and RNase, and sterilisation with 0.1% (v/v) peracetic acid. Histology confirmed an absence of cells and retention of the gross histoarchitecture. Immunohistochemistry further confirmed cell removal and partial retention of the extra cellular matrix, but a loss of collagen type IV. DNA levels were reduced by more than 96 % throughout all regions of the acellular tissue and no functional genes were detected using PCR. Total collagen levels were retained but there was a significant loss of glycosaminoglycans following decellularization. The biomechanical, hydrodynamic and leaflet kinematics properties were minimally affected by the process. Both immunohistochemical labelling and antibody absorption assay confirmed a lack of α-gal epitopes in the acellular porcine pulmonary roots and in vitro biocompatibility studies indicated that acellular leaflets and pulmonary arteries were not cytotoxic. Overall the acellular porcine pulmonary roots have excellent potential for development of a tissue substitute for right ventricular out flow tract reconstruction e.g. during the Ross procedure