Particulate counter electrode system for enhanced light harvesting in dye-sensitized solar cells

A particulate counter electrode with photo scattering and redox catalytic properties is applied to dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) in order to improve photo conversion efficiency and simplify the assembly process. Our particulate counter electrode acts as both a photo reflecting layer and a catalyst for reduction of electrolyte. The reflective and catalytic properties of the electrode are investigated through optical and electrochemical analysis, respectively. A short circuit current density enhancement is observed in the DSSCs without the need to add an additional reflecting layer to the electrode. This leads to a simplified assembly process. (C) 2013 Optical Society of Americ

Case report of unusual complication following thread lifting: an obstructive stone in the parotid duct

Advances in plastic surgery have included a shift toward less invasive procedures. To improve outcomes and avoid incisional surgery, numerous noninvasive face-lifting techniques have been studied. This includes thread-lifting, a technique that promises to correct facial aging with limited scarring, rapid recovery, and minimal complications. As the population ages, an increasing number of ordinary people in South Korea are undergoing thread lifting procedures for the purpose of rejuvenation. The procedure involves insertion of a thread under the skin into the subcutaneous tissue, using a long needle as a guide. Dents or barbs prevent the thread from slipping and provide uniform aggregation of soft tissue to create a new volume contour when the thread is lifted. This procedure has gained worldwide popularity and is frequently performed. However, some minor complications have been reported. In this paper, we report an unusual complication: an obstructive stone in the parotid (Stensen) duct after a thread-lifting procedure using nonabsorbable anchoring threads

Flexible Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 solar cells with over 10% efficiency and methods of enlarging the cell area

For kesterite copper zinc tin sulfide/selenide (CZTSSe) solar cells to enter the market, in addition to efficiency improvements, the technological capability to produce flexible and large-area modules with homogeneous properties is necessary. Here, we report a greater than 10% efficiency for a cell area of approximately 0.5 cm2 and a greater than 8% efficiency for a cell area larger than 2 cm2 of certified flexible CZTSSe solar cells. By designing a thin and multi-layered precursor structure, the formation of defects and defect clusters, particularly tin-related donor defects, is controlled, and the open circuit voltage value is enhanced. Using statistical analysis, we verify that the cell-to-cell and within-cell uniformity characteristics are improved. This study reports the highest efficiency so far for flexible CZTSSe solar cells with small and large areas. These results also present methods for improving the efficiency and enlarging the cell area. © 2019, The Author(s).1

Drug-Eluting Stenting Followed by Cilostazol Treatment Reduces Late Restenosis in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus The DECLARE-DIABETES Trial (A Randomized Comparison of Triple Antiplatelet Therapy With Dual Antiplatelet Therapy After Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation in Diabetic Patients)

ObjectivesWe sought to evaluate the impact of cilostazol on neointimal hyperplasia after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM).BackgroundAlthough cilostazol has reduced the extent of neointimal hyperplasia and restenosis in patients after bare-metal stent implantation, it is not known whether this effect occurs after DES implantation in diabetic patients.MethodsThis randomized, multicenter, prospective study compared triple antiplatelet therapy (aspirin, clopidogrel, and cilostazol, triple group, n = 200) and dual antiplatelet therapy (aspirin and clopidogrel, standard group, n = 200) for 6 months in patients with DM receiving DES. The primary end point was in-stent late loss at 6 months.ResultsThe 2 groups had similar baseline clinical and angiographic characteristics. The in-stent (0.25 ± 0.53 mm vs. 0.38 ± 0.54 mm, p = 0.025) and in-segment (0.42 ± 0.50 mm vs. 0.53 ± 0.49 mm, p = 0.031) late loss were significantly lower in the triple versus standard group, as were 6-month in-segment restenosis (8.0% vs. 15.6%, p = 0.033) and 9-month target lesion revascularization (TLR) (2.5% vs. 7.0%, p = 0.034). At 9 months, major adverse cardiac events, including death, myocardial infarction, and TLR, tended to be lower in the triple than in the standard group (3.0% vs. 7.0%, p = 0.066). Multivariate analysis showed that sirolimus-eluting stents and the use of cilostazol were strong predictors of reduced restenosis or TLR.ConclusionsTriple antiplatelet therapy after DES implantation decreased angiographic restenosis and extent of late loss, resulting in a reduced risk of 9-month TLR compared with dual antiplatelet therapy in diabetic patients

Generation of Insulin-Producing Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Using Recombinant Adeno-Associated Virus

The purpose of current experiment is the generation of insulin-producing human mesenchymal stem cells as therapeutic source for the cure of type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is generally caused by insulin deficiency accompanied by the destruction of islet β-cells. In various trials for the treatment of type 1 diabetes, cell-based gene therapy using stem cells is considered as one of the most useful candidate for the treatment. In this experiment, human mesenchymal stem cells were transduced with AAV which is containing furin-cleavable human preproinsulin gene to generate insulin-producing cells as surrogate β-cells for the type 1 diabetes therapy. In the rAAV production procedure, rAAV was generated by transfection of AD293 cells. Human mesenchymal stems cells were transduced using rAAV with a various multiplicity of infection. Transduction of recombinant AAV was also tested using β-galactosidse expression. Cell viability was determined by using MTT assay to evaluate the toxicity of the transduction procedure. Expression and production of Insulin were tested using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and immunocytochemistry. Secretion of human insulin and C-peptide from the cells was assayed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Production of insulin and C-peptide from the test group represented a higher increase compared to the control group. In this study, we examined generation of insulin-producing cells from mesenchymal stem cells by genetic engineering for diabetes therapy. This work might be valuable to the field of tissue engineering for diabetes treatment

Molecular diagnosis of hereditary spherocytosis by multi-gene target sequencing in Korea: matching with osmotic fragility test and presence of spherocyte

Background Current diagnostic tests for hereditary spherocytosis (HS) focus on the detection of hemolysis or indirectly assessing defects of membrane protein, whereas direct methods to detect protein defects are complicated and difficult to implement. In the present study, we investigated the patterns of genetic variation associated with HS among patients clinically diagnosed with HS. Methods Multi-gene targeted sequencing of 43 genes (17 RBC membrane protein-encoding genes, 20 RBC enzyme-encoding genes, and six additional genes for the differential diagnosis) was performed using the Illumina HiSeq platform. Results Among 59 patients with HS, 50 (84.7%) had one or more significant variants in a RBC membrane protein-encoding genes. A total of 54 significant variants including 46 novel mutations were detected in six RBC membrane protein-encoding genes, with the highest number of variants found in SPTB (n = 28), and followed by ANK1 (n = 19), SLC4A1 (n = 3), SPTA1 (n = 2), EPB41 (n = 1), and EPB42 (n = 1). Concurrent mutations of genes encoding RBC enzymes (ALDOB, GAPDH, and GSR) were detected in three patients. UGT1A1 mutations were present in 24 patients (40.7%). Positive rate of osmotic fragility test was 86.8% among patients harboring HS-related gene mutations. Conclusions This constitutes the first large-scaled genetic study of Korean patients with HS. We demonstrated that multi-gene target sequencing is sensitive and feasible that can be used as a powerful tool for diagnosing HS. Considering the discrepancies of clinical and molecular diagnoses of HS, our findings suggest that molecular genetic analysis is required for accurate diagnosis of HS.Support was provided by: the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government(MSIT) (NRF-2017R1A2A1A17069780) http://www.nrf.re.kr/

Effect of osteotropic agents on the expression of RANKL and OPG in Saos-2 cells

Various osteotropic agents that influence bone resorption are known to act primarily via osteoblasts/stromal cells. Recently, receptor activator of nuclear factor-kB ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) have been suggested to be key molecules that regulate osteoclast differentiation and activation. RANKL induces osteoclastogenesis and activates mature osteoclasts while OPG acts as a physiologic inhibtor of RANKL. It is conceivable, therefore, that change in RANKL and OPG expression in osteoblasts/stromal cells affect their ability to support osteoclast formation, activity and survival. In this study, we examined the effects of several osteotropic agents on RANKL and OPG mRAN expression in Saos-2 human osteoblastic cells. Cells were exposed to parathyroid hormone (PYH, 10^-8M), 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D_3 (1,25(OH)_2D_3, 10^-8M), dexamethasone (10^-8M), interleukin-1β (IL-1β, 5ng/ml), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α, 5ng/ml), transforming growth factor-β (TNF-β, 5ng/ml), or insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I, 10ng/ml) for 2, 4, 8, and 24h, and mRNA levels were analyzed by semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. All the tested osteotropic agents more or less regulated both RANKL and OPG mRNA level during the examined period. RaNKL/OPG ratio was up-regulated by PTH, 1,25(OH)_2D_3, dexamethasone, TGF-β, IGF-I, and increased RANKL/OPG ratio was maintained up to 24h. IL-1β and TNF-α transiently they greatlhy decreased RANKL/OPG ratio. These results showed that RANKL and OPG could be potential targets for bone resorption regulation by osteotropic hormenes, cytokines, and growth factors. However, regulatory patterns were not alvays coincident with in vivo or in vitro effects on osteoclastogenesis, implying that RANKL and OPG are not the sole mediators of their action.This work was supported in part by the Research Fund from the Korea Research Foundation(1997) and year (2001) BK21 project for Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmacy

p44/42 MAPK is necessary for receptor activator of nuclear factor-kB ligand induction by extracellular high calcium

Although extracellular calcium (Ca2+o) has been suggested to modulate bone remodeling, the exact mechanism is unclear. This study was performed to explore the signaling pathways of high Ca2+o that are responsible for controlling the expression of receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) in mouse osteoblastic cells. As previously reported, high Ca2+o increased RANKL expression. However, the G protein-coupled Ca2+o-sensing receptor (CaSR) was not detected in the primary cultured mouse osteoblastic cell. The inhibition of the pertussis-sensitive G protein, phospholipase C, protein kinase C, intracellular calcium mobilization, p38 MAPK, or phosphoinositide 3-kinase did not block RANKL induction caused by high Ca2+o. In contrast, the inhibition of p44/42 MAPK pathway reduced the RANKL expression induced by high Ca2+o. Moreover, high Ca2+o activated p44/42 MAPK and MEK1/2. These results suggest that RANKL induction by high Ca2+o might not be mediated by CaSR and its putative downstream signaling pathways, but the pathway employing p44/42 MAPK is involved in the high Ca2+o-induced RANKL expression in mouse osteoblastic cells

High extracellular Ca2+ alone stimulates osteoclast formation but inhibits in the presence of other osteoclastogenic factors

High ambient Ca(2+) at bone resorption sites have been implicated to play an important role in the regulation of bone remodeling. The present study was performed to clarify the mode of high extracellular Ca(2+) (Ca(2+)(e))-induced modulation of osteoclastogenesis and the expression of receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG), thereby to define its role in osteoclast formation. Mouse bone marrow cells were cocultured with osteoblastic cells in the absence or presence of osteoclastogenic factors such as 1,25-dihydroxyvitaminD(3) (1,25-(OH)(2)vitD(3)) and macrophage colony-stimulating factor/soluble RANKL. Ca(2+) concentration in media (1.8 mM) was adjusted to 3, 5, 7 or 10 mM. Osteoclast formation was confirmed by the appearance of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)-positive multinuclear cells and the expression of osteoclast phenotypic markers (calcitonin receptor, vitronectin receptor, cathepsin K, matrix metalloproteinase-9, carbonic anhydrase 2). High Ca(2+)(e) alone significantly stimulated osteoclast formation in a dose-dependent manner. However, in the presence of highly osteoclastogenic factors, high Ca(2+)(e) significantly inhibited osteoclastogenesis. High Ca(2+)(e) alone continuously up-regulated RANKL expression while only transiently increased OPG expression. However, in the presence of 1,25-(OH)(2)vitD(3), high Ca(2+)(e) did not change the 1,25-(OH)(2)vitD(3)-induced RANKL expression while increased OPG expression. Taken together, these findings suggest that high Ca(2+)(e) alone increase osteoclastogenesis but inhibit in the presence of other osteoclastogenic factors. In addition, high Ca(2+)(e)-induced osteoclastogenesis may be mediated by osteoblasts via up-regulation of RANKL expression. Meanwhile up-regulated OPG might participate in the inhibitory effect of high Ca(2+)(e) on 1,25-(OH)(2)vitD(3)-induced osteoclastogenesis