Osborn Waves: History and Significance

The Osborn wave is a deflection with a dome or hump configuration occurring at the R-ST junction (J point) on the ECG (Fig. 1). In the historical view, different names have been used for this wave in the medical literature, such as “camel-hump sign”, “late delta wave”, “hathook junction”, “hypothermic wave”, “J point wave”, “K wave”, “H wave” and “current of injury”.1 Although there is no definite consensus about terminology of this wave, either “Osborn wave” or “J wave” are the most commonly used names for this wave in the current clinical and experimental cardiology. The Osborn wave can be generally observed in hypothermic patients,1,2,3,4 however, other conditions have been reported to cause Osborn waves, such as hypercalcemia,5 brain injury,6 subarachnoid hemorrhage,7 cardiopulmonary arrest from oversedation,8 vasospastic angina,9 or idiopathic ventricular fibrillation.10,11,12 Our knowledge about the link between the Osborn waves and cardiac arrhythmias remains sparse and the arrhythmogenic potential of the Osborn waves is not fully understood. In this paper, we present a historic review of Osborn waves and discuss their clinical significance in the various clinical settings

Sensory neurons are required for migration and axon pathfinding of relay motor neurons

The confluence Genil-Guadalquivir in Palma del Río (Córdoba), shows a system composed by four terraces of the Upper and Middle Pleistocene and two episodes of colluvial deposits. The Paleolithic sites (Acheulean and Middle Paleolithic) are linked to lateral bars and colluviums

Leader (L) and L* proteins of Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) and their regulation of the virus' biological activities

Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) is divided into two subgroups on the basis of their different biological activities. GDVII subgroup strains produce fatal poliomyelitis in mice without virus persistence or demyelination. In contrast, TO subgroup strains induce demyelinating disease with virus persistence in the spinal cords of weanling mice. Two proteins, whose open reading frames are located in the N-terminus of the polyprotein, recently have been reported to be important for TMEV biological activities. One is leader (L) protein and is processed from the most N-terminus of the polyprotein; its function is still unknown. Although the homology of capsid proteins between DA (a representative strain of TO subgroup) and GDVII strains is over 94% at the amino acid level, that of L shows only 85%. Therefore, L is thought to be a key protein for the subgroup-specific biological activities of TMEV. Various studies have demonstrated that L plays important roles in the escape of virus from host immune defenses in the early stage of infection. The second protein is a 17–18 kDa protein, L*, which is synthesized out-of-frame with the polyprotein. Only TO subgroup strains produce L* since GDVII subgroup strains have an ACG rather than AUG at the initiation site and therefore do not synthesize L*. 'Loss and gain of function' experiments demonstrate that L* is essential for virus growth in macrophages, a target cell for TMEV persistence. L* also has been demonstrated to be necessary for TMEV persistence and demyelination. Further analysis of L and L* will help elucidate the pathomechanism(s) of TMEV-induced demyelinating disease

Investigation of superconductivity in Ce-doped (La,Pr)OBiS2 single crystals

Single crystals of Ce-doped (La,Pr)OBiS2 superconductors, multinary rare-earth elements substituted ROBiS2, were successfully grown. The grown crystals typically had a size of 1-2 mm and a plate-like shape with a well-developed c-plane. The c-axis lattice constants of the obtained (La,Ce,Pr)OBiS2 single crystals were approximately 13.6-13.7 A, and the superconducting transition temperature was 1.23-2.18 K. Valence fluctuations of Ce and Pr were detected through X-ray absorption spectroscopy analysis. In contrast to (Ce,Pr)OBiS2 and (La,Ce)OBiS2, the superconducting transition temperature of (La,Ce,Pr)OBiS2 increased with increasing concentrations of the tetravalent state at the R-site

Effects of equivalent composition on superconducting properties of high-entropy REOBiS2_2 (RE = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd) single crystals

Superconductors are influenced by high-entropy alloys (HEAs); these have been investigated in various functional materials. REOBiS$_2$ (RE = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, and Gd in different combinations) single crystals with HEAs at the RE-site were successfully grown using the flux method. The obtained crystals were plate-shaped (1 mm$^2$) with a well-developed c-plane. Ce was present in both trivalent (Ce$^{3+}$) and tetravalent (Ce$^{4+}$) electronic configurations; the concentration of Ce$^{4+}$ at the RE-site was approximately 10 at% in all single crystals. The single crystals showed superconducting transition temperature with zero resistivity within 1.2-4.2 K. The superconducting transition temperature, superconducting anisotropy, electronic specific heat coefficient, and Debye temperature of the crystals were not correlated with the mixed entropy at the RE-site. Except for the electronic specific heat coefficient, the variation of these parameters as a function of mixed entropy showed different trends for equivalent and non-equivalent RE element compositions. Thus, the configuration of RE elements influences the superconducting properties of REOBiS$_2$ single crystals, alluding to a method of modulating transition temperatures

Growth of Acetaminophen Polymorphic Crystals and Solution-Mediated Phase Transition from Trihydrate to Form II in Agarose Gel

The growth of acetaminophen polymorphic crystals and the solution-mediated phase transition from trihydrate to form II in agarose gel were investigated. The form II crystals grown in gels, presumably because of the agarose content, dissolved less rapidly at high temperatures and were more stable than in water. The trihydrate crystals in the gel were also expected to be stabilized by containing agarose, but in fact the fine morphology resulted in reduced stability. The solution-mediated phase transition from trihydrate to form II via form II seeding took longer in the gel because the gel slowed down the dissolution of the trihydrate by hindering the dispersion of the form II seeds and delayed the growth of form II by reducing the diffusion rate of the molecules dissolved from the trihydrate. Delays in solution-mediated phase transition and changes in stability for crystals grown in gels indicate the effectiveness of gels in controlling polymorphisms in pharmaceutical compounds.Nishigaki A., Maruyama M., Tanaka S.I., et al. Growth of acetaminophen polymorphic crystals and solution-mediated phase transition from trihydrate to form II in agarose gel. Crystals 11, 1069 (2021); https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst11091069