Water absorption properties of phosphate glass fiber‐reinforced poly‐ϵ‐caprolactone composites for craniofacial bone repair

The moisture uptake of polymers and composites has increasing significance where these materials are specified for invasive, long‐term medical applications. Here we analyze mass gain and the ensuing degradation mechanisms in phosphate glass fiber reinforced poly‐?‐caprolactone laminates. Specimens were manufactured using in situ polymerization of ?‐caprolactone around a bed of phosphate glass fibers. The latter were sized with 3‐aminopropyltriethoxysilane to control the rate of modulus degradation. Fiber content was the main variable in the study, and it was found that the moisture diffusion coefficient increased significantly with increasing fiber volume fraction. Diffusion, plasticization, and leaching of constituents appear to be the dominant aspects of the process over these short‐term tests. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2008     

Diamino telechelic polybutadienes for solventless styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) triblock copolymer formation

High molecular weight, high functionality diamino telechelic polybutadienes (TPBs) were synthesized by ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of 1,5-cyclooctadiene (COD) in the presence of a chain transfer agent, 1,8-dicyano-4-octene, followed by lithium aluminum hydride reduction. Melt coupling of diamino TPB with anhydride-terminated polystyrene (PS-anh) resulted in the formation of styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) triblock copolymers; ca. 80% maximum conversion of PS-anh was achieved within 30 s. The results from SAXS, TEM, and rheological measurements of the coupling products confirmed the formation of SBS triblock copolymers having lamellar morphology. A fluorescent-labeled PS-anh was used to study the coupling kinetics by diluting the reactants by the addition of non-functional PS.     

Sustainability: ecological, social, economic, technological, and systems perspectives

Sustainability is generally associated with a definition by the World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987: "... development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs ..." However, there is no mathematical theory embodying these concepts, although one would be immensely valuable in humanity's efforts to manage the environment. The concept of sustainability applies to integrated systems comprising humans and the rest of nature; the structures and operation of the human component (society, economy, law, etc.) must be such that they reinforce the persistence of the structures and operation of the natural component (ecosystem trophic linkages, biodiversity, biogeochemical cycles, etc.). One of the challenges of sustainability research lies in linking measures of ecosystem functioning to the structure and operation of the associated social system. We review the nature of this complex system including its ecological, social, economic, and technological aspects, and propose an approach to assessing sustainability based on Information Theory that bridges the natural and human systems. These principles are then illustrated using a model system with an ecological food web linked to a rudimentary social system. This work is part of the efforts of a larger multidisciplinary group at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Risk Management Research Laboratory.     

Differences in Dialysis Practice Are the Main Reasons for the High Mortality Rate in the United States Compared to Japan

The cumulative survival of Japanese hemodialysis patients is more than 2.5 times better than that of dialysis patients in the United States (U.S.). The difference is particularly pronounced in older patients, being 4 times better in patients over the age of 50 years. The mortality in U.S. patients has increased from 10 to 25% over the last three decades, but has remained stable at around 10% in Japan.
There is no obvious difference in patient selection. The Japanese accept almost as high a proportion of diabetic patients as does the United States, and the mean age of incident patients is higher in Japan.
Renal transplantation, virtually absent in Japan, should increase mortality in U.S. dialysis patients by removing patients with the highest probability of survival, but even if one adds surviving transplant patients and studies prevalent populations, the survival rate is much better in Japan. Genetic factors are unlikely to explain differences in mortality, as older Americans live much longer than older Japanese.
We speculate that the difference lies in the practice of dialysis. Patients in the United States are generally treated by much faster and shorter dialysis than in Japan. This puts a severe burden on the cardiovascular system of older patients, leading to the poorer survival rate. Japanese physicians also appear to be better trained in dialysis and to spend more time with their patients. The nursing shortage in the United States may also contribute to the increased mortality. Whatever the explanations, the U.S. dialysis community must work to equal and, hopefully, surpass the now superior survival of Japanese dialysis patients.     

Effects of growth with ethanol on fermentation and membrane fluidity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Saccharomyces cerevisiae HSc was grown with ethanol at concentrations up to 10% (v/v). The immediate effects of additions of externally added ethanol on CO₂ production and O₂ consumption of washed organisms were studied by stopped-flow membrane inlet quadrupole mass spectrometry. Fermentative activities of organisms grown with ethanol (0–5% v/v) showed similar sensitivities to inhibition by ethanol, whereas those grown with 10% (v/v) ethanol had become protected and were markedly less sensitive. The fluidity of subcellular membrane fractions was measured by determination of the temperature dependence of the rotational order parameter of the spin label 5-doxyl stearic acid (free radical) by electron spin resonance. Mitochondria prepared from yeasts grown with 0, 7 and 9% (v/v) ethanol showed similar overall fluidity, although differences in temperature-dependent behaviour indicate altered lipid composition or lateral phase separations. On the other hand the microsomal fraction from organisms grown with 9% ethanol showed a remarkable increase in fluidity. These data suggest that the protective effects of growth with ethanol near the limit of tolerance on fermentative activities may arise from altered plasma membrane fluidity properties.     

High-Temperature Chemical Stability of Plasma-Sprayed Ca05Sr05Zr4P6O24 Coatings on Nicalon/SiC Ceramic Matrix Composite and Ni-Based Superalloy Substrates

The potential application of Ca05Sr05Zr4P6O24 (CS50) as a corrosion-resistant coating material for Si-based ceramics and as a thermal barrier coating material for Ni-based superalloys was explored. A ∼200 (xm thick CS50 coating was prepared by air plasma spray with commercially available powder. A Nicalon/SiC ceramic matrix composite and a Ni-based superalloy coated with a ∼200 (xm thick metallic bond coat layer were used as substrate materials. Both the powder and coating contained ZrP2O7 as an impurity phase, and the coating was highly porous as-deposited. The coating deposited on the Nicalon/SiC substrate was chemically stable upon exposure to air and Na2SO4/O2 atmospheres at 1000°C for 100 h. In contrast, the coating sprayed onto the superalloy substrate significantly reacted with the bond coat surface after similar oxidation in air.     

Quantitative studies on the movement of fluid and lymphocytes through periodontal tissue and into the draining lymph.

Chronic lymph drainage techniques in sheep have been used to map the pathways and to quantify the fluid and cell traffic through periodontal tissues. The continuous collection of cervical and prescapular lymph has demonstrated that 65% of labelled protein tracer injected into the periodontal tissues could be found in lymph over a period of 7.5 hours. Nearly 90% of the total radioactivity could be accounted for between the lymph and the tissue site. When silk was impregnated with radiolabelled albumin and a tooth ligated, the kinetics of the subsequent appearance of the tracer in lymph emphasized the ease with which macromolecules surrounding the teeth gain access to the lymphatics, regional lymph nodes, and immune apparatus. Animals were primed with BCG and then tuberculin (delayed hypersensitivity) lesions were simultaneously induced in the skin, bowel, and periodontium. When T cells were labelled with radioisotopes and their migration from blood to lymph measured, the periodontal tissue traffic pattern was distinct from the traffic pattern through DTH in the skin and also distinct from the pattern through the small intestine. This indicates that the lymphocyte traffic through the inflamed periodontium has unique features. This tissue specificity was not apparent when lesions were induced with TNFalpha. The static assessment of lymphocyte subsets within the tissues was also assessed with immunohistochemistry.     

Methotrexate treatment of idiopathic granulomatous hepatitis

OBJECTIVE: To test the efficacy and safety of low-dose oral pulse methotrexate therapy in patients with idiopathic granulomatous hepatitis who had complications of, did not respond to, or refused glucocorticoid therapy. DESIGN: Prospective case study. SETTING: Academic medical center hospital. PATIENTS: Seven patients with biopsy-proven, idiopathic granulomatous hepatitis who could not tolerate or were unresponsive to glucocorticoid therapy. INTERVENTION: Low-dose oral pulse methotrexate, 15 mg/wk. MEASUREMENTS: Temperature, symptoms, dose of concurrent glucocorticoids, biochemical tests of liver function, side effects of methotrexate, and assessment of liver biopsy specimens. RESULTS: All six febrile patients became afebrile within 3 months of starting methotrexate. Fatigue and anorexia improved in all patients. Glucocorticoid therapy was successfully discontinued within 6 months of starting methotrexate in four patients receiving prednisone at entry. Liver biopsy specimens were obtained again after methotrexate therapy and showed absence of granulomas in four of four patients. The minimum effective dose of methotrexate was 0.20 mg/kg body weight per week. No serious adverse effects and no failures to respond to methotrexate therapy were noted in this group of patients. In three patients, methotrexate therapy has been successfully tapered without signs or symptoms of recurrent disease. CONCLUSIONS: Low-dose oral pulse methotrexate was effective in treating patients with granulomatous hepatitis.