Antidepressant Effects on Insulin Sensitivity and Proinflammatory Cytokines in the Depressed Males

Growing evidence suggests that mood disorder is associated with insulin resistance and inflammation. Thus the effects of antidepressants on insulin sensitivity and proinflammatory responses will be a crucial issue for depression treatment. In this study, we enrolled 43 non-diabetic young depressed males and adapted standard testing procedures to assess glucose metabolism during 4-week hospitalization. Before and after the 4-week antidepressant treatment, participants underwent oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test (FSIGT). Insulin sensitivity (SI), glucose effectiveness (SG), acute insulin response, and disposition index (DI) were estimated using the minimal model method. The plasma levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and adiponectin were measured. The Hamilton depression rating scale (HAM-D) total scores were reduced significantly during the course of treatment. There were no significant changes in the parameters of SI, SG, and DI. Compared to drug naïve status, the level of plasma IL-6 was significantly elevated (0.77 to 1.30 pg/ml; P = .001) after antidepressant therapy. However, the concentrations of CRP, TNF-α, and adiponectin showed no differences during the course of treatment. The results suggest that antidepressants may promote stimulatory effect on the IL-6 production in the early stage of antidepressant treatment

Photo-patternable gelatin as protection layers in surface micromachinings

This paper describes a newly developed low-temperature photo-patternable Gelatin technology that is useful to produce a thick (greater than 10 microns) Gelatin protecting and strengthening layer for weak MEMS micro-structures. Example demonstrated here is the Gelatin process integrated with the Parylene MEMS technology. What is reported here is the complete processing details and formulae that allow anyone to use Gelatin like photo-resist. We find that it is a chemical-resistant and mechanical-robust material for MEMS applications

Magnon-induced non-Markovian friction of a domain wall in a ferromagnet

Motivated by the recent study on the quasiparticle-induced friction of solitons in superfluids, we theoretically study magnon-induced intrinsic friction of a domain wall in a one-dimensional ferromagnet. To this end, we start by obtaining the hitherto overlooked dissipative interaction of a domain wall and its quantum magnon bath to linear order in the domain-wall velocity and to quadratic order in magnon fields. An exact expression for the pertinent scattering matrix is obtained with the aid of supersymmetric quantum mechanics. We then derive the magnon-induced frictional force on a domain wall in two different frameworks: time-dependent perturbation theory in quantum mechanics and the Keldysh formalism, which yield identical results. The latter, in particular, allows us to verify the fluctuation-dissipation theorem explicitly by providing both the frictional force and the correlator of the associated stochastic Langevin force. The potential for magnons induced by a domain wall is reflectionless, and thus the resultant frictional force is non-Markovian similarly to the case of solitons in superfluids. They share an intriguing connection to the Abraham-Lorentz force that is well-known for its causality paradox. The dynamical responses of a domain wall are studied under a few simple circumstances, where the non-Markovian nature of the frictional force can be probed experimentally. Our work, in conjunction with the previous study on solitons in superfluids, shows that the macroscopic frictional force on solitons can serve as an effective probe of the microscopic degrees of freedom of the system.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figure

Immunotherapy: rAAV2 expressing interleukin-15 inhibits HeLa cell tumor growth in mice

Human interleukin-15 (hIL15) has anti-tumor activities, but it is not convenient for tumor treatment because of its short half-life. A gene therapy for mouse lung cancer using an adenovirus vector expressing IL15 has been reported. However, adenovirus vector-mediated gene therapy can provoke cellular toxicity and inflammatory reactions. The recombinant adenovirus-associated vector 2 (rAAV2) is safer due to minimal cellular toxicity and immune response. In order to demonstrate that gene therapy can be used safely and successfully for human cancer treatment, the rAAV2 expressing hIL15 gene (rAAV2-hIL15) is applied for human cervical cancer, HeLa cell, in this study. This study successfully demonstrates that rAAV2-hIL15 can express IL15 with bioactivities in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, our studies show that human cervical cancers are inhibited on animal model with rAAV2-hIL15 treatment and provide a safer and important reference for human cancer gene therapy