Reductive Extraction of Actinides and Lanthanides from Molten Chloride Salt into Liquid Zinc

As one of the basic investigations on the group partitioning of actinides and lanthanides by pyrochemical reductive extraction system, their distribution behavior in a binary phase system of molten chloride and liquid zinc was studied, Generally speaking, actinides were a litte more easily reduced and extracted from the salt phase into the metal phase than lanthanides. However, the separation factors which were the differences in the distribution coefficient between actinides and lanthanides were not so large even at lower temperatures, and the group partitioning of these elements seemed less attractive in this system. The present results were much the same as those in the LiF-BeF_2/Zn system and the effect of the selection of the salt phase on the separation factors were hardly observed. For some details, the thermodynamic quantities of actinides and lanthanides in the system were calculated from the equilibrium distributions and discussed

Mirtazapine exerts astrocyte-mediated dopaminergic neuroprotection

Mirtazapine, a noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressant (NaSSA), is known to activate serotonin (5-HT) 1A receptor. Our recent study demonstrated that stimulation of astrocytic 5-HT1A receptors promoted astrocyte proliferation and upregulated antioxidative property in astrocytes to protect dopaminergic neurons against oxidative stress. Here, we evaluated the neuroprotective effects of mirtazapine against dopaminergic neurodegeneration in models of Parkinson's disease (PD). Mirtazapine administration attenuated the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and increased the expression of the antioxidative molecule metallothionein (MT) in the striatal astrocytes of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-injected parkinsonian mice via 5-HT1A receptors. Mirtazapine protected dopaminergic neurons against 6-OHDA-induced neurotoxicity in mesencephalic neuron and striatal astrocyte cocultures, but not in enriched neuronal cultures. Mirtazapine-treated neuron-conditioned medium (Mir-NCM) induced astrocyte proliferation and upregulated MT expression via 5-HT1A receptors on astrocytes. Furthermore, treatment with medium from Mir-NCM-treated astrocytes protected dopaminergic neurons against 6-OHDA neurotoxicity, and these effects were attenuated by treatment with a MT-1/2-specific antibody or 5-HT1A antagonist. Our study suggests that mirtazapine could be an effective disease-modifying drug for PD and highlights that astrocytic 5-HT1A receptors may be a novel target for the treatment of PD

Verification of Implant Surface Modification by a Novel Processing Method

Metals have been used clinically as biomaterials, especially in the orthopaedic and dental fields. Metals used as implants wear at contact surfaces, producing metal particles and metal ions that may be harmful. Newly developed metal implants and methods of implant surface modification are currently under scrutiny. We evaluated the use of electrolytic in-process dressing (ELID) as a surface finishing method for metal implants. Metal implants processed using the ELID method (ELID group) or not processed (Non-ELID group) were inserted surgically into rabbit femurs. The rabbits were sacrificed postoperatively over a 24-week period. We assessed the concentrations of the cytokines, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α, the resistance to implant pull-out, and histopathology at the implant site. There was no significant difference between the groups regarding the cytokine concentrations or implant pull-out resistance. Many particles indicating wear around the implant were noted in the Non-ELID group (n=10) but not the ELID group (n=13), while a fibrous membrane adhering to the every implant was noted in the ELID group. The formation of a fibrous membrane rather than metal particles in the ELID group may indicate improved biocompatibility, and it suggests that ELID may prevent corrosion in the areas of contact

Dysconnectivity of the Agency Network in Schizophrenia: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Background: Self-disturbances in schizophrenia have recently been explained by an abnormality in the sense of agency (SoA). The cerebral structures of SoA in healthy people are considered to mainly include the insula and inferior parietal lobule. In contrast, the functional lesion of aberrant SoA in schizophrenia is not yet fully understood. Considering the recent explanation of establishing SoA from the standpoint of associative learning, the “agency network” may include not only the insula and inferior parietal lobule but also the striatum. We hypothesized that aberrant SoA in schizophrenia is based on a deficit in the “agency network.”Methods: Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired while patients with schizophrenia (n = 15) and matched controls (n = 15) performed our adaptation method of agency attribution task on a trial-by-trial basis to assess participants' explicit experience of the temporal causal relationship between an action and an external event with temporal biases. Analysis of functional connectivity was done using the right supramarginal gyrus and the right middle frontal gyrus as seed regions.Results: In healthy controls, analyses revealed increased activation of the right inferior parietal lobule (mainly the supramarginal gyrus), right insula, and right middle frontal gyrus as an activation of the agency condition. We defined activated Brodmann areas shown in the agency condition of healthy controls as the seed region for connectivity analysis. The connectivity analysis revealed lower connectivity between the head of the left caudate nucleus and right supramarginal gyrus in the patients compared to healthy controls.Conclusions: This dysconnectivity of the agency network in schizophrenia may lead to self-disturbance through deficits in associative learning of SoA. These findings may explain why pathological function of the striatum in schizophrenia leads to self-disturbance

Equilibrium Distributions of Actinides and Lanthanides in Molten Salt and Liquid Metal Binary Phase Systems

In support of the development of a pyrochemical group partitioning process of actinides and lanthanides, the equilibrium distributions of these elements were measured in some binary phase systems of molten salt and liquid metal. LiF-BeF_2 mixture was selected as the salt phase, and Bi, Sn, Cd and Zn were examined as the metal phase. In general, actinides were more easily reduced and extracted from the salt phase into the metal phase than lanthanides. The group partitioning is thus feasible. In different partitioning systems, systematic difference in the separation factor between actinides and lanthanides was observed. The difference is attributable to the difference in alloying energies in the metal phase