Macrophage-like Cells Are Responsive to Titania Nanotube Intertube Spacing—An In Vitro Study

With the introduction of a new interdisciplinary field, osteoimmunology, today, it is well acknowledged that biomaterial-induced inflammation is modulated by immune cells, primarily macrophages, and can be controlled by nanotopographical cues. Recent studies have investigated the effect of surface properties in modulating the immune reaction, and literature data indicate that various surface cues can dictate both the immune response and bone tissue repair. In this context, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of titanium dioxide nanotube (TNT) interspacing on the response of the macrophage-like cell line RAW 264.7. The cells were maintained in contact with the surfaces of flat titanium (Ti) and anodic TNTs with an intertube spacing of 20 nm (TNT20) and 80 nm (TNT80), under standard or pro-inflammatory conditions. The results revealed that nanotube interspacing can influence macrophage response in terms of cell survival and proliferation, cellular morphology and polarization, cytokine/chemokine expression, and foreign body reaction. While the nanostructured topography did not tune the macrophages’ differentiation into osteoclasts, this behavior was significantly reduced as compared to flat Ti surface. Overall, this study provides a new insight into how nanotubes’ morphological features, particularly intertube spacing, could affect macrophage behavior.     

Professional publications of most use to full-time private practitioners.

Results of a survey in which 120 private practice psychologists indicated which journals were most useful to them reflected the Ss' diversity of interests and theoretical orientations. Considerable differences were found between the rankings of the present study and those reported by D. Koulack and H. J. Keselman (see record 1976-24649-001). Number of publications mentioned was positively related to Ss' income, patient hours, Diplomate status, and rated importance of state psychological associations and conventions. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Shifting the paradigm in community mental health: Towards empowerment and community.

Reviews the book, Shifting the paradigm in community mental health: Towards empowerment and community by Geoffrey Nelson, John Lord, and Joanna Ochocka (2001). This book, as it combines theory, practice, and research (a case study) about the processes of empowerment and integration of consumers of mental health care in a Canadian setting, delineates strategies and approaches that can be factors in fulfilling this important aim. Shifting the Paradigm in Community Mental Health is a welcome contribution to the literature on the implementation of consumer empowerment and involvement in mental health treatment and care. The authors offer an approach enabling the reader to see the dimensions for empowerment and community integration termed the empowerment-community integration paradigm. The book will be useful for a wide audience, including consumers, professionals, stakeholders, researchers, and policy makers, and should be in the libraries of all institutions, formal and informal, that deliver mental health care. The overall clarity of the writing and all the approaches will be very much appreciated by all those who work or receive services in mental health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

No ownership of common factors.

Comments on the original article, "The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy," by J. Shedler (see record 2010-02208-012). Shedler’s informative article raised several issues worthy of comment. His choice of the word distinctive (p. 98) in describing aspects of psychodynamic technique is open to at least two interpretations. On the one hand, distinctive can have a qualitative meaning and indicate the presence of a characteristic that is not shared. For example, a sign in the Bronx Zoo distinguishes birds from all other creatures as follows: “If it has feathers it’s a bird, if it doesn’t, it isn’t.” On the other hand, distinctive can have a quantitative meaning and indicate that one practice has more of a common element than another practice. Careful reading of Shedler’s article and the article by Blagys and Hilsenroth (2000) that forms the basis of the “seven features [that] reliably distinguished psychodynamic therapies from other therapies” (Shedler, 2010, p. 98) shows that Shedler subscribes to the latter, quantitative, definition of distinctive. In other words, the seven features he presented are present in both psychodynamic therapies and the cognitive-behavioral therapies to which he compares them. For example, although Shedler did not mention it, dialectical behavior therapy explicitly focuses on six of the seven features, namely, “focus on affect and expression of emotion,” “exploration of attempts to avoid distressing thoughts and feelings,” “identification of recurring themes and patterns,” “discussion of past experience,” “focus on interpersonal relations,” and “focus on the therapy relationship” (Shedler, 2010, p. 99). However, in the articles that Blagys and Hilsenroth reviewed, psychodyamic therapists engaged in more of these behaviors than did cognitive-behavioral therapists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Quantitative mid-infrared diffuse reflection of occupational wood dust exposures

Occupational exposure to airborne wood dust has been implicated in the development of several symptoms and diseases, including nasal carcinoma. However, the assessment of occupational wood dust exposure is usually performed by gravimetric analysis, which is non-specific. In this study, a mid-infrared (mid-IR) diffuse reflection method was adapted for direct on-filter determination of wood dust mass. The cup from the diffuse reflection unit was replaced with a horizontal translational stage and a filter with wood dust was set thereon. Diffuse reflection (DR) spectra were collected from filters with six different diameters in order to average the signal from the most filter surface. Two absorption bands around 1595 and 1510 cm(-1), attributed to lignin, were monitored for quantitative analysis. Calibration curves were constructed for standard extrathoracic red oak and yellow pine (aerodynamic particle diameters between 10 and 100 μm). Calibration of DR intensity versus known wood dust mass on the filter using the Kubelka-Munk function showed a nonlinear dependence for mass of less than 10 mg of wood dust. The experimental data and small-thickness samples indicate that Kubelka-Munk conditions are not obeyed. Alternatively, the pseudo-absorption function log(1/R), for which R is the relative reflectance, while still giving nonlinear dependence against mass, is closer to a linear dependence and has been preferred by other researchers. Therefore, we consider the use of the log(1/R) function for mid-infrared DR analysis of neat, small-thickness wood dust samples. Furthermore, we suggest the use of a silver metal membrane filter for direct on-filter analysis of wood dust rather than the glass fiber filters that have been used previously.     

Preparation and characterization of new hybrid nanostructured thin films for biosensors design

The present paper reports on an innovative route for the preparation of new hybrid nanostructured thin films based on hydroxyapatite and functionalized polyurethane. Hybrid nanopowders based on hydroxyapatite and functionalized polyurethane have been synthesized by a hydrothermal method with high pressure and low temperature conditions and further used for spin coating deposition. Biocompatible thin films with a thickness of about 50 nm have been deposited onto Si/SiO₂/Ti/Au substrates and their properties recommend them suitable as possible electrodes for the fabrication of impedance biosensors. Hybrid materials with improved properties are obtained, combining the mechanical properties of polyurethane with biocompatible properties of hydroxyapatite (bioactivity and osteoconductivity). The presence of functional groups in polyurethane structure ensures the existence of strong interactions between components and an increased affinity of the thin films for further protein bonding in biosensor design. Hybrid nanostructured thin films based on hydrothermally synthesized hydroxyapatite-polyurethane nanopowders could enhance the amount of immobilized biomolecules in the construction of an impedance biosensor for diagnosis and therapy of bone diseases.     

Duodenal Ampulla Neuroendocrine Tumor with GISTs of the Proximal Jejunum: A Case Report

Neuroendocrine tumors (NEN) are a type of heterogenous, slow-growing tumors, that only in about half of the cases can be found in the gastrointestinal tract. Half of these is in the small intestine. The ampullary NENs are rare, accounting for less than 1% of gastroenteropancreatic NENs. Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are a more common type of tumors of the gastrointestinal tract that consist of pacemaker cells. The occurrence of both tumors simultaneously is rare, but in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1, the co-existence of NEN and GIST is more often. Here we report a case of simultaneous occurrence of a well-differentiated NEN and a GIST in a patient without neurofibromatosis. Also, we provide a short review of the current knowledge and treatment strategies regarding these tumors.     

Snapshot into the Type-2-Diabetes-Associated Microbiome of a Romanian Cohort

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is alarmingly increasing worldwide, urgently calling for a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms in order to step up prevention and improve therapeutic approaches. It is becoming evident that the gut microbiota seem to have an endless capacity to impact T2D. In this study, we profile the gut microbiome patterns in T2D patients from Romania, by using quantitative Real-Time PCR and next generation sequencing. We enrolled a total of 150 individuals (105 T2D patients, 50 of them without metformin treatment and 45 healthy volunteers). The levels of potentially beneficial butyrate-producing bacteria were significantly reduced, while potentially pathogenic microorganisms such as Enterobacteriaceae and Fusobacterium were enriched in T2D patients. We evaluated the correlation between clinical parameters and gut microbiota and identified the genera Bacteroides, Alistipes, Dialister, Bilophila and Sutterella as possible detrimental factors in T2D. Our findings suggest that the gut microbiota may be a potential target in novel approaches to halt the development of T2D-associated complications.     

Metastatic leiomyosarcoma of the uterus: unusual presentation of a case with late endobronchial and small bowel metastases

A 56-year-old woman, 8 years after a total abdominal hysterectomy for leiomyosarcoma of the uterus, presented with simultaneous metastatic tumors to the bronchus and the small bowel. The former presented as atelectasis of a lung lobe and the latter as an ileoileal intussusception. Both lesions were resected and proved to be similar to the original tumor. The patient died of metastatic liver disease, 10 years after the hysterectomy and 2 years after resection of the metastases.     

Producing high-grade nickel sulfate with solvent displacement crystallization

Solvent displacement crystallization entails the addition of water-miscible organic solvents to aqueous metalliferous solutions to cause salt crystallization. In this work, isopropanol is used to produce well-grown and relatively pure nickel-sulfate hexahydrate crystals from industrial de-copperized electrolyte. By proper selection of the organic-to-aqueous ratio, the method of solvent addition and seeding/product recycling, nickel-sulfate crystals were produced with at least an order of magnitude higher purity than the ones conventionally produced by evaporative crystallization. The processing and product quality advantages of integrating solvent displacement crystallization with electrolyte purification in a copper refinery context are discussed.