Structure, chemistry, and charge transfer resistance of the interface between Li7La3Zr2O12 electrolyte and LiCoO2 cathode

All-solid-state batteries promise significant safety and energy density advantages over liquid-electrolyte batteries. The interface between the cathode and the solid electrolyte is an important contributor to charge transfer resistance. Strong bonding of solid oxide electrolytes and cathodes requires sintering at elevated temperatures. Knowledge of the temperature dependence of the composition and charge transfer properties of this interface is important for determining the ideal sintering conditions. To understand the interfacial decomposition processes and their onset temperatures, model systems of LiCoO2 (LCO) thin films deposited on cubic Al-doped Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) pellets were studied as a function of temperature using interface-sensitive techniques. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) data indicated significant cation interdiffusion and structural changes starting at temperatures as low as 300°C. La2Zr2O7 and Li2CO3 were identified as decomposition products after annealing at 500°C by synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD). X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) results indicate the presence of also LaCoO3, in addition to La2Zr2O7 and Li2CO3. Based on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and depth profiling of the Li distribution upon potentiostatic hold experiments on symmetric LCO|LLZO|LCO cells, the interfaces exhibited significantly increased impedance, up to 8 times that of the as-deposited samples after annealing at 500°C. Our results indicate that lower-temperature processing conditions, shorter annealing time scales, and CO2-free environments are desirable for obtaining ceramic cathode-electrolyte interfaces that enable fast Li transfer and high capacity

Efficacy and tolerability of vardenafil in Asian men with erectile dysfunction

10.1111/j.1745-7262.2008.00388.xAsian Journal of Andrology103495-50

Relationship between birth weight and retinal microvasculature in newborn infants

Objective: The purposes of this study were to determine the normal retinal microvasculature measurements in human infants who are born at term and to determine whether birth weight influences measurements of retinal microvasculature. Study Design: Retinal arteriole and venule measurements were obtained in a cohort of 24 infants who were born at term. Digital images of both the retinas were obtained using a digital retinal camera after pupillary dilation. Result: In all, 24 newborn infants born at term (12 females and 12 males) were analyzed in this study. The measured retinal arteriole diameters were from 66.8 to 147.8 μm (mean, 94.2±19.6 μm), and the venule diameters were from 102.0 to 167.8 μm (mean, 135.2±19.1 μm). Seven babies in the sample had low birth weight (LBW), while 17 babies were born with normal weight. Babies with lower birth weights had larger arteriole (113.1±17.9 μm vs 86.4±14.4 μm; P=0.0009) and venule diameters (151.7±14.9 μm vs 128.4±16.9 μm; P=0.0040). Conclusion: Retinal venules and arterioles in LBW babies are larger compared with those of normal-birth-weight babies. We postulate that the difference observed in our study was due to in utero pathophysiological changes that occurred in the cerebral circulation of growth-restricted fetuses

Retinopathy of prematurity and risk factors: a prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Increased survival of extremely low birth infants due to advances in antenatal and neonatal care has resulted in a population of infants at high risk of developing retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Therapeutic interventions include the use of antenatal and postnatal steroids however, their effects on the severity of ROP is in dispute. In addition, it has not been investigated whether severe ROP is due to therapeutic interventions or due to the severity of illness. The aim of the present study was to assess the association between the incidence of severe retinopathy of prematurity (greater than stage 2 – International classification of ROP) and mechanical ventilation, oxygen therapy, gestational age, antenatal and postnatal steroids in extremely low birth weight infants. METHODS: Neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit in Lansing, Michigan, during 1993–2000 were followed to determine factors influencing the development of severe retinopathy of prematurity. Ophthalmologic examinations were started at 6 weeks and followed until resolution. We used logistic regression to estimate the relative risk (odds ratio) associated with risk factors of ROP. RESULTS: Of the neonates with ≤ 1500 g birth weight, admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit, 85% (616/725) survived. Severe retinopathy of prematurity was detected in 7.8% of 576 neonates who had eye examinations. Neonates of lower gestational age (≤ 25 weeks and 26–28 weeks) had an increased odds ratio of 8.49 and 3.19 for the development of severe retinopathy of prematurity, respectively, compared to those 29 weeks and older. Late postnatal steroid treatment starting after 3 weeks of life showed 2.9-fold increased odds ratio, in particular administration for two weeks and more (OR: 4.09, 95% CI: 1.52–11.03). With increasing antenatal steroids courses the risk of severe retinopathy of prematurity decreased, however, it was not significant. Lower gestational age, dependence on ventilation, and use of postnatal steroids were intertwined. Simultaneous presence of these factors seems to indicate severe disease status. CONCLUSION: Prolonged and late postnatal steroids treatment in very low birth weight infants may pose an increased risk for the development of severe retinopathy of prematurity; however, use of postnatal steroids may also be a marker for severity of illness. Further studies need to focus on biologic markers in the pathogenesis of retinopathy of prematurity and to better understand the influence of therapies

Orgasm is preserved regardless of ejaculatory dysfunction with selective α1A-blocker administration

We evaluated whether ejaculatory dysfunction induced with a selective α1A-blocker influenced orgasm. Fifteen healthy male volunteers took silodosin or a placebo in a randomized, double-blind crossover design. We investigated the ejaculatory volume before and after administration of the agents. After each ejaculation, participants self-reported the answers to an original questionnaire, which was about discomfort on ejaculation, orgasm and satisfaction with the discomforting ejaculation. All participants on silodosin had a complete lack of seminal emission and expulsion. All participants felt orgasm in spite of a complete lack of seminal emission. Of the 15, 12 (80%) who had a somewhat uncomfortable feeling during orgasm were dissatisfied with this feeling, although 9 of the 12 reported that its degree was mild. Orgasm is preserved regardless of the loss of seminal emission with silodosin administration. Although most participants reported mild discomfort during orgasm, they were greatly dissatisfied with the loss of seminal emission

Cross-sectional analysis of baseline differences of candidates for rotator cuff surgery: a sex and gender perspective

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The word "sex" refers to biological differences between men and women. Gender refers to roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women. Traditionally, treatment decisions have been based on patient's sex without including the gender. Assessment of disability secondary to musculoskeletal problems would not be complete or accurate unless potentially relevant biological and non-biological aspects of being a man or woman are taken into consideration. The purposes of this study were to: 1) investigate the difference in pre-operative characteristics between men and women who were candidates for rotator cuff surgery; and, 2) assess the relationship between level of disability and factors that represent sex and factors that signify gender.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>This was a cross-sectional study. The primary outcome measure of disability was a disease-specific outcome measure, the Western Ontario Rotator Cuff (WORC) index, and independent variables were sex, age, hand dominance, shoulder side involvement, BMI, co-morbidity, medication use, work status, smoking habits, strength, range of motion, level of pathology, concurrent osteoarthritis, expectations for recovery, and participation restriction. Parametric, non-parametric, univariable, subgroup, and multivariable analyses were conducted.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>One hundred and seventy patients were included in the study. The mean age was 57 ± 11, 85 were females. Women reported higher levels of disability despite similar or lower levels of pathology. Scores of the WORC were strongly influenced by factors that represented "gender" such as participation restriction (F = 28.91, p < 0.0001) and expectations for improved activities of daily living (F = 5.80, p = 0.004). Painfree combined range of motion, which represented an interaction between "sex" and "gender" was also associated with disability after being adjusted for all other relevant baseline factors (F = 25.82, p < 0.0001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Gender-related factors such as expectations and participation limitations have an independent impact on disability in men and women undergoing rotator cuff related surgery.</p

Does advancing male age influence the expression levels and localisation patterns of phospholipase C zeta (PLCζ) in human sperm?

Socio-economic factors have led to an increasing trend for couples to delay parenthood. However, advancing age exerts detrimental effects upon gametes which can have serious consequences upon embryo viability. While such effects are well documented for the oocyte, relatively little is known with regard to the sperm. One fundamental role of sperm is to activate the oocyte at fertilisation, a process initiated by phospholipase C zeta (PLCζ), a sperm-specific protein. While PLCζ deficiency can lead to oocyte activation deficiency and infertility, it is currently unknown whether the expression or function of PLCζ is compromised by advancing male age. Here, we evaluate sperm motility and the proportion of sperm expressing PLCζ in 71 males (22–54 years; 44 fertile controls and 27 infertile patients), along with total levels and localisation patterns of PLCζ within the sperm head. Three different statistical approaches were deployed with male age considered both as a categorical and a continuous factor. While progressive motility was negatively correlated with male age, all three statistical models concurred that no PLCζ–related parameter was associated with male age, suggesting that advancing male age is unlikely to cause problems in terms of the sperm’s fundamental ability to activate an oocyt

The Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibitor Vardenafil Is a Potent Inhibitor of ABCB1/P-Glycoprotein Transporter

One of the major causes of chemotherapy failure in cancer treatment is multidrug resistance (MDR) which is mediated by the ABCB1/P-glycoprotein. Previously, through the use of an extensive screening process, we found that vardenafil, a phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE-5) inhibitor significantly reverses MDR in ABCB1 overexpressing cancer cells, and its efficacy was greater than that of tadalafil, another PDE-5 inhibitor. The present study was designed to determine the reversal mechanisms of vardenafil and tadalafil on ABC transporters-mediated MDR. Vardenafil or tadalafil alone, at concentrations up to 20 µM, had no significant toxic effects on any of the cell lines used in this study, regardless of their membrane transporter status. However, vardenafil when used in combination with anticancer substrates of ABCB1, significantly potentiated their cytotoxicity in ABCB1 overexpressing cells in a concentration-dependent manner, and this effect was greater than that of tadalafil. The sensitivity of the parenteral cell lines to cytotoxic anticancer drugs was not significantly altered by vardenafil. The differential effects of vardenafil and tadalafil appear to be specific for the ABCB1 transporter as both vardenafil and tadalafil had no significant effect on the reversal of drug resistance conferred by ABCC1 (MRP1) and ABCG2 (BCRP) transporters. Vardenafil significantly increased the intracellular accumulation of [3H]-paclitaxel in the ABCB1 overexpressing KB-C2 cells. In addition, vardenafil significantly stimulated the ATPase activity of ABCB1 and inhibited the photolabeling of ABCB1 with [125I]-IAAP. Furthermore, Western blot analysis indicated the incubation of cells with either vardenafil or tadalafil for 72 h did not alter ABCB1 protein expression. Overall, our results suggest that vardenafil reverses ABCB1-mediated MDR by directly blocking the drug efflux function of ABCB1

Specific binding of TES-23 antibody to tumour vascular endothelium in mice, rats and human cancer tissue: a novel drug carrier for cancer targeting therapy

The tissue distribution of anti-tumour vascular endothelium monoclonal antibody (TES-23) produced by immunizing with plasma membrane vesicles from isolated rat tumour-derived endothelial cells (TECs) was assessed in various tumour-bearing animals. Radiolabelled TES-23 dramatically accumulated in KMT-17 fibrosarcoma, the source of isolated TECs after intravenous injection. In Meth-A fibrosarcoma, Colon-26 adenocarcinoma in BALB/c mice and HT-1080 human tumour tissue in nude mice, radioactivities of 125I-labelled TES-23 were also up to 50 times higher than those of control antibody with little distribution to normal tissues. The selective recognition of TES-23 to TECs was competitively blocked by preadministration of unlabelled TES-23 in vivo. Furthermore, immunostaining of human tissue sections showed specific binding of TES-23 on endothelium in oesophagus cancers. These results indicate that tumour vascular endothelial cells express common antigen in different tumour types of various animal species. In order to clarify the efficacy of TES-23 as a drug carrier, an immunoconjugate, composed of TES-23 and neocarzinostatin, was tested for its anti-tumour effect in rats bearing KMT-17 fibrosarcomas. The immunoconjugate (TES-23-NCS) caused marked regression of the tumour, accompanied by haemorrhagic necrosis. Thus, from a clinical view, TES-23 would be a novel drug carrier because of its high specificity to tumour vascular endothelium and its application to many types of cancer. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig