Drinking patterns as predictors of alcohol withdrawal reactions in DBA/2J mice

Individually housed DBA/2J mice were fed a liquid diet in which ethanol supplied 33% of the calories. The level of physical dependence that developed was estimated by scoring convulsions, elicited by handling the mice, after discontinuing the alcohol diet. The severity of the withdrawal reaction increased progressively with duration (5-12 days) of alcohol administration. A 2-day period on the diet produced no withdrawal reaction. Pretreatment of the mice with alcohol in their drinking water slightly increased the subsequent intake of the liquid diet. "Effective" alcohol intake was defined as uninterrupted alcohol consumption above 10 g/kg/day. Withdrawal scores correlated better with effective intake than with total intake under a variety of conditions. We interpret this to mean that brief interruptions in drinking (1 day) may allow the accrued physical dependence to disappear. On the basis of their effective alcohol intake, mice could be assigned to nondependent, moderately dependent or severely dependent groups for further study of the nature of physical dependence.     

Attention: Reaction Time and Accuracy Reveal Different Mechanisms.

The authors propose that there are 2 different mechanisms whereby spatial cues capture attention. The voluntary mechanism is the strategic allocation of perceptual resources to the location most likely to contain the target. The involuntary mechanism is a reflexive orienting response that occurs even when the spatial cue does not indicate the probable target location. Voluntary attention enhances the perceptual representation of the stimulus in the cued location relative to other locations. Hence, voluntary attention affects performance in experiments designed around both accuracy and reaction time. Involuntary attention affects a decision as to which location should be responded to. Because involuntary attention does not change the perceptual representation, it affects performance in reaction time experiments but not accuracy experiments. The authors obtained this pattern of results in 4 different versions of the spatial cuing paradigm. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

SK119, a Novel Shikonin Derivative,Leads to Apoptosis in Melanoma Cell Lines and Exhibits Synergistic Effects with Vemurafenib and Cobimetinib

Melanoma is a complex and heterogenous disease, displays the deadliest form of skin cancer, and accounts for approx. 80% of all skin cancer deaths. In this study, we reported on the synthesis and pharmacological effects of a novel shikonin derivative (SK119), which is active in a nano-molar range and exhibits several promising in vitro effects in different human melanoma cells. SK119 was synthesized from shikonin as part of our search for novel, promising shikonin derivatives. It was screened against a panel of melanoma and non-tumorigenic cell lines using XTT viability assays. Moreover, we studied its pharmacological effects using apoptosis and Western blot experiments. Finally, it was combined with current clinically used melanoma therapeutics. SK119 exhibited IC₅₀ values in a nano-molar range, induced apoptosis and led to a dose-dependent increase in the expression and protein phosphorylation of HSP27 and HSP90 in WM9 and MUG-Mel 2 cells. Combinatorial treatment, which is highly recommended in melanoma, revealed the synergistic effects of SK119 with vemurafenib and cobimetinib. SK119 treatment changed the expression levels of apoptosis genes and death receptor expression and exhibited synergistic effects with vemurafenib and cobimetinib in human melanoma cells. Further research indicates a promising potential in melanoma therapy.     

Massenspektren alicyclischer Verbindungen. VI. Massenspektrometrisches Fragmentierungsverhalten von Chloressigsäurediestern des trans-1,4-Cyclohexandiols

Mass Spectra of Alicyclic Compounds. VI. Mass Spectrometric Fragmentation of Chloroacetic Esters of the trans-1,4-Cyclohexanediol The electron impact mass spectra of some chloroacetic esters of trans-1,4-cyclo-hexanediol and of cyclohexanol are discussed. It was found that the fragmentation process in these compounds is determined by the number of chlorine atoms in the acid and the interactions between the two functional groups.     

Injection molding of products with functional surfaces by micro-structured, PVD coated injection molds

Molding of micro structures by injection molding leads to special requirements for the molds e.g. regarding wear resistance and low release forces of the molded components. At the same time it is not allowed to affect the replication precision. Physical vapor deposition (PVD) is one of the promising technologies for applying coatings with adapted properties like high hardness, low roughness, low Young’s modulus and less adhesion to the melt of polymers. Physical vapor deposition technology allows the deposition of thin films on micro structures. Therefore, the influence of these PVD layers on the contour accuracy of the replicated micro structures has to be investigated. For this purpose injection mold inserts were laser structured with micro structures of different sizes and afterwards coated with two different coatings, which were deposited by a magnetron sputter ion plating PVD technology. After deposition, the coatings were analyzed by techniques regarding hardness, Young’s modulus and morphology. The geometries of the micro structures were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy before and after coating. Afterwards, the coated mold inserts were used for injection molding experiments. During the injection molding process, a conventional and a variothermal temperature control of the molds were used. The molded parts were analyzed regarding roughness, structure height and structure width by means of laser microscopy.     

In-vivo study of adhesion and bone growth around implanted laser groove/RGD-functionalized Ti-6Al-4V pins in rabbit femurs

Titanium surfaces were designed, produced, and evaluated for levels of osseointegration into the femurs of rabbits. A total of 36 Ti-6Al-4V pins (15 mm length, 1.64 mm diameter) were prepared into three experimental groups. These were designed to test the effects of osseointegration on laser grooved, RGD coated, and polished control surfaces, as well as combined effects. Circumferential laser grooves were introduced onto pin surfaces (40 μm spacing) using a UV laser (λ = 355 nm). The tripeptide sequence, Arginine-Glycine-Aspartic acid (RGD), was functionalized onto laser grooved surfaces. Of the prepared samples, surface morphology and chemistry were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Immunoflourescence (IF) spectroscopy, respectively. The experimental pin surfaces were surgically implanted into rabbit femurs. The samples were then harvested and evaluated histologically. Sections of the sample were preserved in a methylmethacralate mold, sliced via a hard microtome, and polished systematically. In the case of the RGD coated and laser grooved surfaces, histological results showed accelerated bone growth into the implant, pull-out tests were also used to compare the adhesion between bone and the titanium pins with/without laser textures and/or RGD coatings.     

Comparison of different failure criteria for fiber-reinforced plastics in terms of fracture curves for arbitrary stress combinations

For fiber-reinforced plastics exists a big number of different criteria for the failure prediction. The intention of this paper is to compare the TSAI-HIL-, the LaRC04- and PUCK’s criterion in terms of their fracture curves for a unidirectional glass-fiber reinforced composite layer. Therefore after the implementation of these three criteria, the two-dimensional fracture curves for all possible stress combinations, which can be derived from a general spatial stress tensor, are computed. In this way, the characteristics of the criteria, similarities and differences and possible weak points become obvious.     

Charaterization of UHMWPE fiber/matrix adhesion by dynamic mechanical spectrometry

The tensile and dynamic mechanical properties of polystyrene and a poly(styrene-co-buty1 acrylate-co-cyclohexy1 methacrylate) statistical terpolymer (terpolymer) reinforced by randomly oriented, discontinuous ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers are presented in terms of the fiber/matrix interfacial properties. Using a thermomechanical block model based on the parallel rule of mixtures, the adhesion characteristics of poly(butyl acrylate) (PBA) and poly(cyclohexyl methacrylate) (PCHM) grafted, plasma treated, and untreated fibers were determined. The model successfully predicts the tan δ response of the composites including peak height variations and the development of additional loss dispersions associated with the interphase. Moreover, the model yields a fiber reinforcement efficiency factor, K, which gives a quantitative measure of adhesion. The contact angle of PBA and PCHM grafted high density polyethylene (HDPE) films are also included and are compared to the contact angle of plasma treated fibers. The results indicate that PBA and PCHM grafts enhance adhesion through polymer graft/matrix interactions, not simply by improved wetting.