Styrene maleic acid copolymer (SMA) is widely used in various industrial applications, such as adhesives and coatings, because of its good durability and low cost. In this study, we investigated the ...biological safety and functions of nanoparticle formulations with varying molecular weights of SMA. The toxicity of SMA, measured by hemolytic activity and body weight loss, was examined in mice. Amphotericin B (AmB) and all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) are limited in clinical use because of their poor water solubility. We prepared AmB- and ATRA-loaded SMA nanoparticles for the first time; these are self-assembled nanoparticles with a high drug-loading capacity. The formation of monodispersed nanoparticles by self-assembly of SMA and their complex formations with drugs were studied by size-exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) and dynamic light scattering. After intravenous injection of the drug-loaded SMA nanoparticles, prolonged blood circulation of AmB and ATRA was observed.
The complement cascade is activated in normal pregnancy, and excessive complement activation propagates the systemic inflammatory response in severe preeclampsia. Consequently, biomarkers of ...complement dysregulation may be useful for prediction or treatment of disease. Because renal damage with proteinuria is a characteristic pathological feature of preeclampsia, we hypothesized that complement markers in urine, rather than plasma, could better reflect complement dysregulation in disease. To investigate this, we performed a case-control study of pregnant women, enrolling 25 cases with severe preeclampsia, 25 controls with chronic hypertension, and 25 healthy controls without hypertension matched by gestational age and parity. Subjects were recruited from the Brigham and Women's Hospital from March 2012 to March 2013. Urine and blood samples were collected on the day of enrollment, with complement activation (C3a, C5a, and C5b-9) measured by ELISA. Severe preeclampsia was associated with marked elevations in urinary C5b-9 (median interquartile range, 4.3 1.2-15.1 ng/mL) relative to subjects with chronic hypertension (0 0-0) and healthy controls (0 0-0; P<0.0001). Urinary excretion of C5b-9 was detected in 96% of cases with severe preeclampsia, 12% of controls with chronic hypertension, and 8% of healthy controls. Cases were also notable for significantly greater urinary excretion of C3a and C5a. Plasma levels of C5a and C5b-9, but not C3a, were increased in the cases with severe preeclampsia compared with healthy controls; however, they did not distinguish preeclampsia from chronic hypertension, supporting our hypothesis that complement markers in urine, rather than plasma, better reflect complement dysregulation. Complement inhibition is an intriguing treatment option for patients with severe preeclampsia.
Purpose:
In small animal imaging using a single photon emitting radionuclide, a high resolution gamma camera is required. Recently, position sensitive photomultiplier tubes (PSPMTs) with high quantum ...efficiency have been developed. By combining these with nonhygroscopic scintillators with a relatively low light output, a high resolution gamma camera can become useful for low energy gamma photons. Therefore, the authors developed a gamma camera by combining a pixelated Ce-doped Gd2SiO5 (GSO) block with a high quantum efficiency PSPMT.
Methods:
GSO was selected for the scintillator, because it is not hygroscopic and does not contain any natural radioactivity. An array of 1.9 mm × 1.9 mm × 7 mm individual GSO crystal elements was constructed. These GSOs were combined with a 0.1-mm thick reflector to form a 22 × 22 matrix and optically coupled to a high quantum efficiency PSPMT (H8500C-100 MOD8). The GSO gamma camera was encased in a tungsten gamma-ray shield with tungsten pixelated parallel hole collimator, and the basic performance was measured for Co-57 gamma photons (122 keV).
Results:
In a two-dimensional position histogram, all pixels were clearly resolved. The energy resolution was ∼15% FWHM. With the 20-mm thick tungsten pixelated collimator, the spatial resolution was 4.4-mm FWHM 40 mm from the collimator surface, and the sensitivity was ∼0.05%. Phantom and small animal images were successfully obtained with our developed gamma camera.
Conclusions
: These results confirmed that the developed pixelated GSO gamma camera has potential as an effective instrument for low energy gamma photon imaging.
We report the results of magnetic susceptibilities at temperatures between 2 and 300 K, and magnetization in magnetic fields of up to 52 T on polycrystalline samples of MnCl3(bpy) (bpy=2, ...2′-bipyridine) and the comparison with numerical calculations. This compound is one of the rare examples of the spin 2 quasi-one-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet, and the magnetic properties of tiny single crystal samples were reported previously. The temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility and the magnetization curve after subtracting the contribution of magnetic impurity are well fitted to those calculated by a quantum Monte Carlo method with the intrachain exchange constant J/kB =31.2 K and the g-value g=2.02 which are comparable to reported values (J/kB =34.8±1.6 K and g=2.04±0.04).
Introduction
Existing literature shows that increased community engagement is associated with decreased depressive symptoms. To our knowledge, no existing studies have investigated the relationship ...between community engagement and adverse mental health among mothers in a Canadian context, nor has this relationship been studied over time. The current study aims to address these gaps by modelling the association between community engagement and anxiety and depression longitudinally using a cohort of prenatal and postnatal mothers living in Calgary, Alberta.
Methods
We used data from the All our Families (AOF) study, a prospective cohort study of expectant and new mothers in Calgary, Alberta from 2008 to 2017 across seven timepoints. We used three-level latent growth curves to model the relationship between individual-level community engagement and maternal depression and anxiety scores, while adjusting for both individual and neighborhood-level characteristics.
Results
The study sample consisted of 2129 mothers across 174 neighborhoods in Calgary. Adjusted latent growth curve models demonstrated that community engagement was associated with lower depression (
b
= − 0.28, 95% CI − 0.33, − 0.23) and anxiety (
b
= − 0.07, 95% CI − 0.12, − 0.02) scores among mothers over time.
Discussion
Adjusted results show that community engagement has a protective effect against depression and anxiety amongst mothers. The results of this study are in line with existing evidence suggesting that social cohesion, civic participation, and community engagement are protective against adverse mental health outcomes.
To assess the efficacy of a lateral wedge insole with elastic strapping of the subtalar joint for conservative treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee.
The efficacy of a novel insole with ...elastic subtalar strapping and a traditional shoe insert wedge insole was compared. Ninety female outpatients with OA of the knee were treated with wedge insoles for 8 weeks. Randomization was performed according to birth date. Standing radiographs with unilateral insole use were used to analyze the femorotibial and talar tilt angles for each patient with and without their respective insole. Visual analog scale (VAS) score for subjective knee pain at the final assessment was compared with that at baseline in both groups.
Participants wearing the elastically strapped insole (n = 46) had significantly decreased femorotibial angle (p < 0.0001) and talar tilt angle (p = 0.005) and significantly improved VAS pain score (p = 0.045) in comparison with baseline assessments. These significant differences were not found in the group with the inserted insole (n = 44).
The novel strapped insole leads to valgus angulation of the talus, resulting in correction of the femorotibial angle in patients with knee OA with varus deformity, and may have a therapeutic effect similar to that of high tibial osteotomy.
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