REMOVED: Optimization of VMD Process as Draw Solution Recovery Unit in FO Process

This article has been removed: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy).This article has been removed at the request of the Executive Publisher.This article has been removed because it was published without the permission of the author(s)

Polyethylene wear particles play a role in development of osteoarthritis via detrimental effects on cartilage, meniscus, and synovium

SummaryObjectiveWhile ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) wear particles are known to cause periprosthetic osteolysis, its interaction with other intra-articular tissues in the case of partial joint arthroplasties is not well understood. We hypothesized that UHMWPE particles per se would interact with intra-articular tissue, which by acting as inflammatory reservoirs, would subsequently induce osteoarthritic (OA) changes. Our goal was to assess the inflammatory response, phagocytic activity, as well as apoptosis of intra-articular cells in the presence of UHMWPE particles in vitro, and the in vivo response of those tissues after intra-articular injection of particles in a murine model.DesignThree cell types were used for the in vitro study; chondrocytes, meniscal fibrochondrocytes, and synoviocytes. Each cell type was cultured with two different concentrations of UHMWPE particles. Pro-inflammatory cytokine production, phagocytosis, and apoptosis were analyzed. In vivo experiments were done by injecting two concentrations of UHMWPE particles into normal and murine OA model knee joints.ResultsIn vitro experiments showed that UHMWPE particles increase pro-inflammatory cytokine and mediator (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, Nitric Oxide, and Prostaglandin E2) production, phagocytosis of particles, and apoptosis in all cell types. In vivo experiment showed degeneration of cartilage and meniscus, as well as synovitis after particle injection.ConclusionsUHMWPE wear particles per se exert detrimental effects in cartilage, synovium, and meniscus of the knee joint resulting in pro-inflammatory cytokine release, phagocytosis of particles and apoptosis. Particles induced and exacerbated OA changes in a murine model

Antidepressants have complex associations with longitudinal depressive burden in bipolar disorder

Aims: Antidepressants are common in bipolar disorder (BD), but controversial due to questionable efficacy/tolerability. We assessed baseline antidepressant use/depression associations in BD. Methods: Stanford BD Clinic outpatients, enrolled during 2000\u20132011, assessed with the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for BD (STEP-BD) Affective Disorders Evaluation, were monitored up to two years with the STEP-BD Clinical Monitoring Form while receiving naturalistic expert treatment. Prevalence/correlates of baseline antidepressant use in recovered (euthymic 658 weeks)/depressed patients were assessed. Kaplan\u2013Meier survival analyses assessed times to depressive recurrence/recovery in patients with/without baseline antidepressant use, and Cox Proportional Hazard regression analyses assessed covariate effects. Results: Baseline antidepressant use was significantly (albeit without Bonferroni multiple comparison correction) less among 105 recovered (31.4%) versus 153 depressed (44.4%) patients, and among recovered patients (again without Bonferroni correction), associated with Caucasian race, earlier onset, worse Clinical Global Impression scores, and hastened depressive recurrence (only if mood elevation episodes were not censored), driven by lifetime anxiety disorder, and more (even with Bonferroni correction) bipolar II disorder, lifetime anxiety and eating disorders, and core psychotropics. Baseline antidepressant use among depressed patients was associated with significantly (again without Bonferroni correction) older age, female gender, and more (even with Bonferroni correction) anxiolytics/hypnotics, complex pharmacotherapy, and core psychotropics, but no other unfavorable illness characteristic/current mood symptom, and not time to depressive recovery. Limitations: Tertiary BD clinic referral sample receiving open naturalistic expert treatment. Analyses without/with Bonferroni correction. Conclusions: Additional research is required to assess the complex associations between baseline antidepressant use and longitudinal depressive burden in BD

Visualization of a mammalian mitochondrion by coherent x-ray diffractive imaging

We report a three dimensional (3D) quantitative visualization of a mammalian mitochondrion by coherent x-ray diffractive imaging (CXDI) using synchrotron radiation. The internal structures of a mitochondrion from a mouse embryonic fibroblast cell line (NIH3T3) were visualized by tomographic imaging at approximately 60 nm resolution without the need for sectioning or staining. The overall structure consisted of a high electron density region, composed of the outer and inner membranes and the cristae cluster, which enclosed the lower density mitochondrial matrix. The average mass density of the mitochondrion was about 1.36 g/cm3. Sectioned images of the cristae reveal that they have neither a baffle nor septa shape but were instead irregular. In addition, a high resolution, about 14 nm, 2D projection image was captured of a similar mitochondrion with the aid of strongly scattering Au reference objects. Obtaining 3D images at this improved resolution will allow CXDI to be an effective and nondestructive method for investigating the innate structure of mitochondria and other important life supporting organelles. ? 2017 The Author(s).11Ysciescopu

A Perturbative Calculation of the Electromagnetic Form Factors of the Deuteron

Making use of the effective field theory expansion recently developed by the authors, we compute the electromagnetic form factors of the deuteron analytically to next-to-leading order (NLO). The computation is rather simple, and involves calculating several Feynman diagrams, using dimensional regularization. The results agree well with data and indicate that the expansion is converging. They do not suffer from any ambiguities arising from off-shell versus on-shell amplitudes.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figures. Discussion of effective range theory added, typos correcte

Two-photon exchange effect on deuteron electromagnetic form factors

Corrections of two-photon exchange to proton and neutron electromagnetic form factors are employed to study the effect of two-photon exchange on the deuteron electromagnetic form factors. Numerical results of the effect are given. It is suggested to test the effect in the measurement of $P_z$ in a small angle limit.Comment: 12 pages 9 figure

Efficient intracellular siRNA delivery strategy through rapid and simple two steps mixing involving noncovalent post-PEGylation

peer reviewedTwo different and well-defined methacrylate-based (co)polymers were employed as a polymeric siRNA delivery system. siRNA, poly(2-(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate) homopolymers (PDMAEMA) and poly(2-(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate)-b-poly (ethyleneglycol) a-methoxy, ?-methacrylate (PDMAEMA-b-PMAPEG) palm-tree-like copolymer ternary complexes were prepared using a rapid and simple two-step mixing protocol involving noncovalent post-PEGylation, and physicochemical properties including hydrodynamic diameter, zeta-potential and siRNA condensation efficiency were characterized. Transfection efficiency, intracellular uptake, and cytotoxicity of ternary complexes were also evaluated. Ternary complexes provide efficient condensation and compaction of siRNA within the cationic core of complexes. Noncovalent post-PEGylation provides the ternary complexes with enzymatic and serum stability without harming complex formation and condensation of siRNA. Thereby, under an optimal N/P ratio, ternary complexes exhibited brilliant gene silencing efficiency with low cytotoxicity in media containing 10% serum. Confocal microscopy clearly showed efficient and even intracellular uptake of complexes by cells via endocytosis. This study highlights the excellent properties of noncovalent post-PEGylated ternary complexes produced by rapid and simple mixing. Accordingly, these findings suggest that the formation of ternary complexes could be utilized as a safe and effective polymeric siRNA delivery strategy

Extremal black holes in the Ho\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity

We study the near-horizon geometry of extremal black holes in the $z=3$ Ho\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity with a flow parameter $\lambda$. For $\lambda>1/2$, near-horizon geometry of extremal black holes are AdS$_2 \times S^2$ with different radii, depending on the (modified) Ho\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity. For $1/3\le \lambda \le 1/2$, the radius $v_2$ of $S^2$ is negative, which means that the near-horizon geometry is ill-defined and the corresponding Bekenstein-Hawking entropy is zero. We show explicitly that the entropy function approach does not work for obtaining the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of extremal black holes.Comment: 18 pages, v2:some points on Lifshitz black holes claified, v3: version to appear in EJP