Pulsed Wave Doppler Ultrasound Is Useful to Assess Vasomotor Response in Patients with Multiple System Atrophy and Well Correlated with Tilt Table Study

The study aim was to assess sympathetic vasomotor response (SVR) by using pulsed wave Doppler (PWD) ultrasound in patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA) and correlate with the tilt table study. We recruited 18 male patients and 10 healthy men as controls. The SVR of the radial artery was evaluated by PWD, using inspiratory cough as a provocative maneuver. The response to head-up tilt was studied by a tilt table with simultaneous heart rate and blood pressure recording. The hemodynamic variables were compared between groups, and were examined by correlation analysis. Regarding SVR, MSA patients exhibited a prolonged latency and less heart rate acceleration following inspiratory cough. Compared with the tilt table test, the elevation of heart rate upon SVR was positively correlated to the increase of heart rate after head-up tilt. The correlation analysis indicated that the magnitude of blood pressure drop from supine to upright was positively associated with the SVR latency but negatively correlated with the heart rate changes upon SVR. The present study demonstrated that blunted heart rate response might explain MSA's vulnerability to postural challenge. PWD may be used to predict cardiovascular response to orthostatic stress upon head-up tilt in MSA patients

Effects of Gelatin Methacrylate Bio-ink Concentration on Mechano-Physical Properties and Human Dermal Fibroblast Behavior

Gelatin-methacryloyl (GelMa) is a very versatile biomaterial widely used in various biomedical applications. The addition of methacryloyl makes it possible to have hydrogels with varying mechanical properties due to its photocuring characteristics. In addition, gelatin is obtained and derived from natural material; thus, it retains various cell-friendly motifs, such as arginine-glycine-aspartic acid, which then provides implanted cells with a friendly environment for proliferation and differentiation. In this study, we fabricated human dermal fibroblast cell (hDF)-laden photocurable GelMa hydrogels with varying physical properties (5%, 10%, and 15%) and assessed them for cellular responses and behavior, including cell spreading, proliferation, and the degree of extracellular matrix remodeling. Under similar photocuring conditions, lower concentrations of GelMa hydrogels had lower mechanical properties than higher concentrations. Furthermore, other properties, such as swelling and degradation, were compared in this study. In addition, our findings revealed that there were increased remodeling and proliferation markers in the 5% GelMa group, which had lower mechanical properties. However, it was important to note that cellular viabilities were not affected by the stiffness of the hydrogels. With this result in mind, we attempted to fabricate 5–15% GelMa scaffolds (20 × 20 × 3 mm3) to assess their feasibility for use in skin regeneration applications. The results showed that both 10% and 15% GelMa scaffolds could be fabricated easily at room temperature by adjusting several parameters, such as printing speed and extrusion pressure. However, since the sol-gel temperature of 5% GelMa was noted to be lower than its counterparts, 5% GelMa scaffolds had to be printed at low temperatures. In conclusion, GelMa once again was shown to be an ideal biomaterial for various tissue engineering applications due to its versatile mechanical and biological properties. This study showed the feasibility of GelMa in skin tissue engineering and its potential as an alternative for skin transplants

Circulating Levels of Markers of Inflammation and Endothelial Activation are Increased in Men with Chronic Spinal Cord Injury

Accelerated atherogenesis is often seen in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the mechanisms contributing to this phenomenon remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate whether SCI per se is associated with a low-grade chronic inflammatory state and endothelial activation, both of which are well-documented prerequisites for atherogenesis. Methods: Serum levels of markers of inflammation (C-reactive protein [CRP], interleukin-6, and soluble CD40 ligand) and endothelial activation (endothelin-1, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1, and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 [sVCAM-1]) were measured in SCI patients with CRP levels < 10 mg/L and with no evidence of active infection. Sixty-two men with traumatic neurologically complete SCI (20 tetraplegics and 42 paraplegics) and 29 age-matched male controls were enrolled. Results: Compared with able-bodied controls, subjects with SCI had a significantly lower body mass index (BMI) (−7%) and significantly lower serum levels of albumin (−10%), creatinine (−20%), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (−10%), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (−25%), and showed a trend toward higher fasting insulin levels. Irrespective of injury level and duration, subjects with SCI had significantly higher serum levels, compared to able-bodied controls, of CRP (mean, 4.0 ± 2.7 mg/L vs. 1.4 ± 1.1 mg/L), interleukin-6 (median, 2.5 pg/mL vs. 0.4 pg/mL; range, 1.5–3.6 pg/mL vs. 0.2–0.5 pg/mL), endothelin-1 (mean, 1.3 ± 0.4 pg/mL vs. 0.9 ± 0.3 pg/mL), and sVCAM-1 (mean, 1170 ± 318 ng/mL vs. 542 ± 318 ng/mL). The serum levels of all four factors correlated negatively with levels of serum albumin, creatinine and HDL cholesterol, but not with BMI or fasting insulin levels. In multivariate analyses, SCI was the only factor that was independently associated with increased serum levels of CRP, interleukin-6, endothelin-1 and sVCAM-1 after adjustment for confounding factors such as serum albumin and creatinine levels and parameters of dyslipidemia and insulin resistance. Conclusion: In this study, we have, for the first time, demonstrated that SCI per se is associated with a lowgrade chronic inflammatory state and endothelial activation, which may partly explain the increased atherogenic risk in patients with long-standing SCI

The cientificWorldJOURNAL Clinical Study Pulsed Wave Doppler Ultrasound Is Useful to Assess Vasomotor Response in Patients with Multiple System Atrophy and Well Correlated with Tilt Table Study

The study aim was to assess sympathetic vasomotor response (SVR) by using pulsed wave Doppler (PWD) ultrasound in patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA) and correlate with the tilt table study. We recruited 18 male patients and 10 healthy men as controls. The SVR of the radial artery was evaluated by PWD, using inspiratory cough as a provocative maneuver. The response to head-up tilt was studied by a tilt table with simultaneous heart rate and blood pressure recording. The hemodynamic variables were compared between groups, and were examined by correlation analysis. Regarding SVR, MSA patients exhibited a prolonged latency and less heart rate acceleration following inspiratory cough. Compared with the tilt table test, the elevation of heart rate upon SVR was positively correlated to the increase of heart rate after head-up tilt. The correlation analysis indicated that the magnitude of blood pressure drop from supine to upright was positively associated with the SVR latency but negatively correlated with the heart rate changes upon SVR. The present study demonstrated that blunted heart rate response might explain MSA&apos;s vulnerability to postural challenge. PWD may be used to predict cardiovascular response to orthostatic stress upon head-up tilt in MSA patients

Solid Phase Epitaxy of Single Phase Two-Dimensional Layered InSe Grown by MBE

Single-phase two-dimensional (2D) indium monoselenide (γ-InSe) film is successfully grown via solid phase epitaxy in the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system. Having high electron mobility and high photoresponsivity, ultrathin 2D γ-InSe semiconductors are attractive for future field-effect transistor and optoelectronic devices. However, growing single-phase γ-InSe film is a challenge due to the polymorphic nature of indium selenide (γ-InSe, α-In2Se3, β-In2Se3, γ-In2Se3, etc.). In this work, the 2D α-In2Se3 film was first grown on a sapphire substrate by MBE. Then, the high In/Se ratio sources were deposited on the α-In2Se3 surface, and an γ-InSe crystal emerged via solid-phase epitaxy. After 50 min of deposition, the initially 2D α-In2Se3 phase was also transformed into a 2D γ-InSe crystal. The phase transition from 2D α-In2Se3 to γ-InSe was confirmed by Raman, XRD, and TEM analysis. The structural ordering of 2D γ-InSe film was characterized by synchrotron-based grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS)