Molecular Targeted Therapy for the Bone Loss Secondary to Pyogenic Spondylodiscitis Using Medications for Osteoporosis: A Literature Review

Pyogenic spondylodiscitis can cause severe osteolytic and destructive lesions in the spine. Elderly or immunocompromised individuals are particularly susceptible to infectious diseases; specifically, infections in the spine can impair the ability of the spine to support the trunk, causing patients to be bedridden, which can also severely affect the physical condition of patients. Although treatments for osteoporosis have been well studied, treatments for bone loss secondary to infection remain to be elucidated because they have pathological manifestations that are similar to but distinct from those of osteoporosis. Recently, we encountered a patient with severely osteolytic pyogenic spondylodiscitis who was treated with romosozumab and exhibited enhanced bone formation. Romosozumab stimulated canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling, causing robust bone formation and the inhibition of bone resorption, which exceeded the bone loss secondary to infection. Bone loss due to infections involves the suppression of osteoblastogenesis by osteoblast apoptosis, which is induced by the nuclear factor-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways, and osteoclastogenesis with the receptor activator of the nuclear factor-κB ligand-receptor combination and subsequent activation of the nuclear factor of activated T cells cytoplasmic 1 and c-Fos. In this study, we review and discuss the molecular mechanisms of bone loss secondary to infection and analyze the efficacy of the medications for osteoporosis, focusing on romosozumab, teriparatide, denosumab, and bisphosphonates, in treating this pathological condition.     

Efficient Excitation of Hybrid Modes in a THz Clinotron

Journal of Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves - Various regimes of hybrid, bulk-surface, modes being excited in the clinotron oscillator with a sheet electron beam and nonuniform grating...     

Involvement of Cytokines in the Pathogenesis of Diabetic Macular Edema

Diabetic macular edema (DME) is a critical complication of diabetic retinopathy, a condition that arises from the breakdown of the blood–retinal barrier and the consequent increase in vascular permeability. Over the years, attempts have been made to treat DME by various approaches, including laser photocoagulation, steroid triamcinolone acetonide, and vitrectomy. However, treatment was unsatisfactory until research identified vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) as a factor in the pathogenesis of DME. Intraocular anti-VEGF agents show good efficacy in DME. Nevertheless, in some patients the condition recurs or becomes resistant to treatment, suggesting that other factors may be involved. Because inflammation and retinal hypoxia are seen in DME, research has examined the potential role of cytokines and other inflammatory mediators. In this review, we provide an overview of this research and describe feedback mechanisms that may represent a target for novel treatments.     

Additive-Free Enzymatic Phosphorylation and Ligation of Artificial Oligonucleotides with C-Nucleosides at the Reaction Points

We report enzymatic phosphorylation and additive-free ligation of DNAs containing unnatural C-nucleotide residues through the action of T4 polynucleotide kinase and T4 DNA ligase. The artificial units are each made up of an alkynyl deoxyribose component and one of the unnatural nucleobases D * , T * , G * , and C * , corresponding—from a viewpoint of hydrogen-bonding patterns—to natural A, T, G, and C, respectively. Phosphorylation progressed quantitatively at the 5′-end in the cases of all of the artificial units in the chimeric DNAs. Ligation also smoothly progressed at the 5′-end in the cases of the D* and G* nucleotide residues, but only negligibly in those of their T* and C* counterparts. Chemical redesign of the last two units successfully improved the ligation efficiency, so that enzymatic ligation worked well for all of the artificial units in every 3′-natural ⋅ 5′-artificial, 3′-artificial ⋅ 5′-natural, and 3′-artificial ⋅ 5′-artificial terminal combination at the nicks.     

Systematic packaging design tools integrating functional and environmental consequences on product life cycle: Case studies on laundry detergent and milk

This study presents systematic packaging design tools integrating functional and environmental consequences on product life cycle. To design packaging for sustainability, the trade-offs between functional and environmental aspects of packaging throughout the product life cycle should be considered. However, it is difficult for packaging designers to understand the overall trade-offs because the extent of the design consequences on the entire life cycle of packaging and its contents is unclear. We developed two tools for packaging design: the Life Cycle Association Matrix (LCAM) and the Function Network Diagram (FND). The following three steps, based on literature reviews and interviews with industrial experts, were applied. Firstly, we listed the product functions and design variables related to the functions as the attributes allocated to the product life cycle. Secondly, the attributes were connected appropriately based on causal relationships. Lastly, we identified the factors to support decision making in the packaging design procedure. As a result, the LCAM depicts the design consequences on the life cycle, and the FND determines the stakeholders affected by the design consequences. Two case studies were demonstrated to analyze the trade-offs by using our tools. In the case studies, a liquid laundry detergent bottle and a milk carton were redesigned. The tools identified the design consequences and stakeholders affected by the redesign of the usability and protective function for the detergent and milk cases, respectively. The results showed the significance of understanding the design consequences on the product life cycle by integrating the functional and environmental aspects.     

Investigation of high-temperature chemical interaction of calcium silicate insulation and cesium hydroxide

ABSTRACT

The interaction of cesium hydroxide and a calcium silicate insulation material was experimentally investigated at high-temperature conditions to evaluate the possibility of unprecedented cesium retention under severe accident of boiling water reactor. The temperature where the interactions occurred and chemical species of cesium after the interaction were examined in this study. A thermogravimetry equipped with differential thermal analysis was used to analyze thermal events in the samples of mixed calcium silicate and cesium hydroxide under oxidizing and reducing atmospheric conditions with a maximum temperature of 1100°C. Before being mixed with cesium hydroxide, a part of calcium silicate was pretreated at high temperature to evaluate the effect of possible structural changes of this material due to a preceding thermal history and also for the sake of thermodynamic evaluation. It was found that for the original material, as xonotlite (Ca₆Si₆O₁₇(OH)₂) crystal, the endothermic reaction with cesium hydroxide occurred over the temperature range 575–730°C; meanwhile, for heat-treated material, which varied the crystal phase of original material to wollastonite (CaSiO₃), the interaction occurred over the temperature range 700–1100°C. The X-ray diffraction analyses have indicated that both types of calcium silicates regardless of the atmospheric conditions, cesium aluminum silicate, CsAlSiO₄, was formed with aluminum in the samples as an impurity or adduct. The insolubility of this formed cesium suggested the potency of cesium localization in the primary containment vessels on other structural materials that possess similar elements to that of calcium silicate insulation; hence, an effective decommissioning process could be developed.     

Identification of factors that accelerate hydrogen production by Clostridium butyricum RAK25832 using casamino acids as a nitrogen source

The ability of Clostridium butyricum RAK25832 to use casamino acids as a nitrogen source was investigated. Strain RAK25832 showed the capacity to utilize different types of carbon sources. With glucose as a carbon source (10 g/L), the preferred final concentration of casamino acids was 26.67 g/L, with a cumulative hydrogen production, production rate, and yield of 2505 mL H₂/L, 160 mL/h, and 1.81 mol H₂/mol glucose, respectively. Eighteen metal elements were screened to identify the most important metals for biohydrogen production, and four elements were optimized. The optimal medium composition was MgCl₂·6H₂O (0.1 g/L), K₂HPO₄·3H₂O (6.67 g/L), NaHCO₃ (2.6 g/L), and FeCl₂·4H₂O (0.002 g/L). Vitamin supplementation of the medium showed no significant effect on hydrogen production. Under the optimized conditions, cumulative hydrogen production reached 3074 mL H₂/L. This is the first study to demonstrate the use of casamino acids as a nitrogen source by C. butyricum.     

Effect of impurity on dissolution behavior of simulated molybdenum cermet fuels

The effects of impurity Zr on dissolution behavior into nitric acid of sintered Mo pellets were investigated using simulated fuels to accumulate basic data and knowledge concerning the matrix of Mo-cermet fuels. Mo pellets containing 1– 10 mol% Zr were prepared by conventional powder metallurgical route. After characterization tests using optical microscopy (OM), X-ray diffraction and secondary electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), the sintered pellets were subjected to dissolution tests by nitric acid. The apparent dissolution rate of Mo pellets containing impurity Zr was found to be followed by the first-order chemical reaction form, which is generally known as a simple chemical reaction. The rate of dissolution of sintered Mo-cermet fuels by nitric acid was found to decrease with the increase of the amount of impurity Zr.