Millicurrent stimulation of human articular chondrocytes cultivated in a collagen type-I gel and of human osteochondral explants

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Here we investigate the effect of millicurrent treatment on human chondrocytes cultivated in a collagen gel matrix and on human osteochondral explants.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Human chondrocytes from osteoarthritic knee joints were enzymatically released and transferred into a collagen type-I gel. Osteochondral explants and cell-seeded gel samples were cultivated in-vitro for three weeks. Samples of the verum groups were stimulated every two days by millicurrent treatment (3 mA, sinusoidal signal of 312 Hz amplitude modulated by two super-imposed signals of 0.28 Hz), while control samples remained unaffected. After recovery, collagen type-I, type-II, aggrecan, interleukin-1β, IL-6, TNFα and MMP13 were examined by immunohistochemistry and by real time PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>With regard to the immunostainings 3 D gel samples and osteochondral explants did not show any differences between treatment and control group. The expression of all investigated genes of the 3 D gel samples was elevated following millicurrent treatment. While osteochondral explant gene expression of col-I, col-II and Il-1β was nearly unaffected, aggrecan gene expression was elevated. Following millicurrent treatment, IL-6, TNFα, and MMP13 gene expression decreased. In general, the standard deviations of the gene expression data were high, resulting in rarely significant results.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We conclude that millicurrent stimulation of human osteoarthritic chondrocytes cultivated in a 3 D collagen gel and of osteochondral explants directly influences cell metabolism.</p

Castles and the Militarisation of Urban Society in Imperial Japan

Castles are some of Japan’s most iconic structures and popular tourist destinations. They are prominent symbols of local, regional and national identity recognised both at home and abroad. Castles occupy large areas of land at the centre of most Japanese cities, shaping the urban space. Many castles have their roots in the period of civil war that ended in the early seventeenth century, and now house museums, parks and reconstructions of historic buildings. The current heritage status of Japan’s castles obscures their troubled modern history. During the imperial period (1868–1945), the vast majority of pre-modern castles were abandoned, dismantled or destroyed before being rediscovered and reinvented as physical links to an idealised martial past. Japan’s most important castles were converted to host military garrisons that dominated city centres and caused conflict with civilian groups. Various interests competed for control and access, and castles became sites of convergence between civilian and military agendas in the 1920s and 1930s. This paper argues that castles contributed both symbolically and physically to the militarisation of Japanese society in the imperial period. The study of these unique urban spaces provides new approaches to understanding militarism, continuity and change in modern Japan

Synthesis and structure of indenyl rhodium(I) complexes containing unsaturated phosphines: catalyst precursors for alkene hydroboration

The indenyl compound (eta(5)-C9H7)Rh(coe)(2) (1, coe = cis- cyclooctene) has been prepared as a thermally stable alternative to the diethylene derivative (eta(5)-C9H7)Rh(eta(2)-H2C=CH2)(2). Compound 1 reacts with unsaturated phosphines Ph2PR (R = CH=CH2, 2; CH2CH=CH2, 3; and C C-tert-Bu, 4) to give complexes of the type (eta(5)-C9H7)Rh(Ph2PR)(2), where bonding occurs through the phosphorus atom. Addition of Ph2PC CPPh2 to 1 gave the dimer [(eta(5)-C9H7)Rh(mu-Ph2PC CPPh2)](2) (5). Solution and solid state data showed that these new phosphine complexes have only a moderate amount of distortion within the indenyl ring. These compounds were found to catalyse the hydroboration of vinylarenes and the first example of an internal hydroboration of diphenylvinylphosphine has been reported