Transforming Growth Factor-Beta in Skeletal Muscle Wasting

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) is part of a family of molecules that is present in many body tissues and performs many different functions. Evidence has been obtained from mice and human cancer patients with bony metastases and non-metastatic disease, as well as pediatric burn patients, that inflammation leads to bone resorption and release of TGF-β from the bone matrix with paracrine effects on muscle protein balance, possibly mediated by the generation of reactive oxygen species. Whether immobilization, which confounds the etiology of bone resorption in burn injury, also leads to the release of TGF-β from bone contributing to muscle wasting in other conditions is unclear. The use of anti-resorptive therapy in both metastatic cancer patients and pediatric burn patients has been successful in the prevention of muscle wasting, thereby creating an additional therapeutic niche for this class of drugs. The liberation of TGF-β may be one way in which bone helps to control muscle mass, but further investigation will be necessary to assess whether the rate of bone resorption is the determining factor for the release of TGF-β. Moreover, whether different resorptive conditions, such as immobilization and hyperparathyroidism, also involve TGF-β release in the pathogenesis of muscle wasting needs to be investigated.     

Crystallization of calcium sulphate hemihydrate in concentrated phosphoric acid solutions

We aim to show the existence of agglomeration by measuring and modelling secondary nucleation and crystal growth rates of calcium sulphate hemihydrate, CaSO₄-0.5 H₂O, in concentrated phosphoric acid solutions. Using a batch crystallizer we measured the evolution of the population density as a function of supersaturation, H₂SO₄ excess and stirring rates. All experiments were carried out at 90 °C in solutions at 40 wt.% of P₂O₅, simulating the usual conditions for crystallizing hemihydrate in the industrial processes of phosphoric acid production. Nucleation and growth rates were calculated from the population number densities, using the moments analysis method. A model is presented for describing the crystallization process of hemihydrate. It is shown that secondary nucleation and growth rates are quadratic functions of supersaturation. H₂SO₄ concentrations affect supersaturation but at the same supersaturation the growth rates are not significantly different. Nucleation is independent of the stirring rate, whereas growth rates are slightly affected for stirring rates up to 500 rpm. Taking agglomeration into account, the moments method fits very well the experimental data.     

Microcrystalline silicon films and solar cells deposited by PECVD and HWCVD

The application of microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) in thin-film solar cells is addressed in the present paper. Results of different technologies for the preparation of μc-Si:H are presented, including plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) using 13.56 MHz (radio frequency, rf) and 94.7 MHz (very high frequency, vhf) and hot-wire chemical vapour deposition (HWCVD). The influence of the silane concentration (SC) on the material and solar cell parameters is studied for the different techniques as the variation of SC allows to optimise the solar cell performance in each deposition regime. The best performance of μc-Si:H solar cells is always observed near the transition to amorphous growth. The highest efficiency obtained so far at a deposition rate of 5 Å/s is 9.4%, achieved with rf-PECVD in a deposition regime of using high pressure and high discharge power. High deposition rates and solar cell efficiencies could be also achieved by vhf-PECVD. An alternative approach represents the HWCVD which also demonstrated high deposition rates for μc-Si:H. However, good material quality and solar cell performance could only be achieved at low substrate temperatures and, consequently, low deposition rates. The μc-Si:H solar cells prepared by HWCVD exhibit comparably high efficiencies up to 9.4% and exceptionally high open circuit voltages up to 600 mV but at lower deposition rates (≈1 Å/s). The properties of PECVD and HWCVD solar cells are carefully compared.     

Partitioning of monobutyl itaconate and β‐carboxyethyl acrylate between organic and water phases

Unsaturated carboxylic acids are usually used as functional monomers at low concentrations in emulsion polymerization to improve the colloidal stability and the mechanical properties of the films prepared from the corresponding latexes. These acids are distributed between the aqueous and organic phases to different extents due to their various water solubilities. The partitioning behavior of two new vinyl acids, monobutyl itaconate (MBI) and β‐carboxyethyl acrylate (β‐CEA), between n‐butyl methacrylate (BMA) and the water phases was studied in this work. In addition, the partitioning of commonly used acrylic acid (AA) and methacrylic acid (MAA) was also determined as a benchmark. It was found that the partition coefficients (D) of MBI and β‐CEA depended to a large extent on the acid concentration in the total comonomer mixture; the same trends were observed for AA and MAA. With the variation in monomer to water ratio (M/W), the D value of lipophilic acid MBI changed significantly, while for hydrophilic acid β‐CEA, the D value changed very little. Furthermore, the values of the partition coefficient of MBI and β‐CEA were very strong functions of pH, decreasing rapidly as the pH is increased. On the other hand, temperature has little effect on the partition coefficients for vinyl acids under typical emulsion polymerization reaction conditions. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40868.     

An approach to technical risk assessment

This paper describes a framework for assessment of the risk that a proposed machine or system, such as an aircraft or computer, will not operate to its required performance specifications when it is developed. The method is based upon decomposition of the system under assessment into a hierarchy of functionally or structurally defined assessment areas. Within each area, technical risks, and methods of assessing these risks, are identified. The framework provides a systematic structure for selecting assessment methods and integrating results of the use of selected methods into a coherent overall assessment of the system.     

Description of the activities of the Division of Patent Information (DLI) of the Dutch government industrial consulting service (Rijksnijverheidsdienst)

The DLI (which stands for Documentation, Literature search and Information) arose from the setting up within the Dutch Patent Office of a division of the Governmental Industrial Consulting Service (RND) forming a technical information centre. Out of this came a special service provided by the Dutch Government to help inventors hampered by lack of money. If an inventor proves that his financial situation is poor, the filing of a patent application and patent agent's fees will be paid for by the government. The DLI performs a novelty search, and if this shows that the inventor's application meets the requirements of patentability of the Dutch Law, the inventor qualifies for financial assistance in filing the application. Further assistance for prosecution of the application is dependent upon a third party certifying that they are willing to exploit the invention. The DLI also gives lectures on intellectual property and general advice to anyone having difficulty with the patent system.     

Potential Pro-Inflammatory Effect of Vitamin E Analogs through Mitigation of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) Binding to the Cannabinoid 2 Receptor

Vitamin E acetate, which is used as a diluent of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), has been reported as the primary causative agent of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI). Here, we employ in vitro assays, docking, and molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulations to investigate the interaction of vitamin E with the membrane-bound cannabinoid 2 receptor (CB2R), and its role in modulating the binding affinity of THC to CB2R. From the MD simulations, we determined that vitamin E interacts with both CB2R and membrane phospholipids. Notably, the synchronized effect of these interactions likely facilitates vitamin E acting as a lipid modulator for the cannabinoid system. Furthermore, MD simulation and trajectory analysis show that when THC binds to CB2R in the presence of vitamin E, the binding cavity widens, facilitating the entry of water molecules into it, leading to a reduced interaction of THC with CB2R. Additionally, the interaction between THC and vitamin E in solution is stabilized by several H bonds, which can directly limit the interaction of free THCs with CB2R. Overall, both the MD simulations and the in vitro dissociation assay results indicate that THC binding to CB2R is reduced in the presence of vitamin E. Our study discusses the role of vitamin E in limiting the effect of THCs and its implications on the reported pathology of EVALI.