Low-Pressure H2, NH3 Microwave Plasma Treatment of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) Powders: Chemical,Thermal and Wettability Analysis

Functionalization of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) powders of ~6 μm particle size is carried out using low-pressure 2.45 GHz H₂, NH₃ microwave plasmas for various durations (2.5, 10 h) to chemically modify their surface and alter their surface energy. The X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analyses reveal that plasma treatment leads to significant defluorination (F/C atomic ratio of 1.13 and 1.30 for 10 h NH₃ and H₂ plasma treatments, respectively vs. 1.86 for pristine PTFE), along with the incorporation of functional polar moieties on the surface, resulting in enhanced wettability. Analysis of temperature dependent XPS revealed a loss of surface moieties above 200 °C, however, the functional groups are not completely removable even at higher temperatures (>300 °C), thus enabling the use of plasma treated PTFE powders as potential tribological fillers in high temperature engineering polymers. Ageing studies carried over a period of 12 months revealed that while the surface changes degenerate over time, again, they are not completely reversible. These functionalised PTFE powders can be further used for applications into smart, high performance materials such as tribological fillers for engineering polymers and bio-medical, bio-material applications.     

Comparison of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress symptoms in relatives of ICU patients in an American and an Indian public hospital

Context:

An intensive care unit (ICU) admission of a patient causes considerable stress among relatives. Whether this impact differs among populations with differing sociocultural factors is unknown.

Aims:

The aim was to compare the psychological impact of an ICU admission on relatives of patients in an American and Indian public hospital.

Settings and Design:

A cross-sectional study was carried out in ICUs of two tertiary care hospitals, one each in major metropolitan cities in the USA and India.

Materials and Methods:

A total of 90 relatives visiting patients were verbally administered a questionnaire between 48 hours and 72 hours of ICU admission that included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R) for post-traumatic stress response.

Statistical Analysis:

Statistical analysis was done using the Mann-Whitney and chi-square tests.

Results:

Relatives in the Indian ICU had more anxiety symptoms (median HADS-A score 11 [inter-quartile range 9-13] vs. 4 [1.5-6] in the American cohort; P<0.0001), more depression symptoms (BDI-II score 14 [8.5-19] vs. 6 [1.5-10.5], P<0.0001) but a comparable post-traumatic stress response (IES-R score>30). 55% of all relatives had an incongruous perception regarding “change in the patient''s condition” compared to the objective change in severity of illness. “Change in worry” was incongruous compared to the perception of improvement of the patient''s condition in 78% of relatives.

Conclusions:

Relatives of patients in the Indian ICU had greater anxiety and depression symptoms compared to those in the American cohort, and had significant differences in factors that may be associated with this psychological impact. Both groups showed substantial discordance between the perceived and objective change in severity of illness.     

Combination therapy with paromomycin-associated stearylamine-bearing liposomes cures experimental visceral leishmaniasis through Th1-biased immunomodulation

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) caused by the parasite Leishmania donovani is a potentially fatal disease. Available limited drugs are toxic, require prolonged treatment duration, and are costly. A low-cost parenteral formulation of paromomycin sulfate (PM) has recently been approved for the treatment of VL. Monotherapy with PM runs the risk of development of resistance. Hence, efforts are needed to develop a combination therapy of PM with other drugs to shorten the duration of treatment and prolong the effective life of the drug. PM was formulated with leishmanicidal stearylamine (SA)-bearing phosphatidylcholine (PC) liposomes for low-dose therapy. In vitro and in vivo antileishmanial effects of the combination drug were determined. The immunomodulatory role of PC-SA-PM was determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and flow cytometry. Excluding the spleen, for which the therapeutic effect was additive, a remarkable synergistic activity toward cure and prophylaxis with a single-shot low-dose treatment with PC-SA-associated PM was achieved with BALB/c mice. PC-SA-PM showed an immunomodulatory effect on CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells for gamma interferon (IFN-γ) production and downregulated disease-associated interleukin-10 (IL-10) and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) to almost negligible levels. Such combination chemotherapy may provide a promising alternative for the cure of leishmaniasis, with a plausible conversion of the host immune response from a disease-promoting pattern to a Th1-biased response indicative of long-term resistance.     

Antioxidative potential of a combined therapy of anti TNFα and Zn acetate in experimental colitis

AIM:To evaluate whether combination therapy with antitumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) antibody and Zn acetate is beneficial in dextran sodium sulphate (DSS) colitis.METHODS:Colitis was induced in CD1-Swiss mice with 5% DSS for 7 d.The experimental mice were then randomised into the following subgroups:standard diet + DSS treated (induced colitis group);standard diet + DSS + subcutaneous 25 μg anti-TNFα treated group;Zn acetate treated group + DSS + subcutaneous 25 μg anti-TNFα;standard diet + DSS + subcutane...     

F-box protein FBXL19-mediated ubiquitination and degradation of the receptor for IL-33 limits pulmonary inflammation

The ST2L receptor for interleukin 33 (IL-33) mediates pulmonary inflammation and immune system-related disorders, such as asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. At present, very little is known about the molecular regulation of ST2L expression. Here we found that FBXL19, an 'orphan' member of the Skp1-Cullin-F-box family of E3 ubiquitin ligases, selectively bound to ST2L to mediate its polyubiquitination and elimination in the proteasome. Degradation of ST2L involved phosphorylation of ST2L at Ser442 catalyzed by the kinase GSK3β. Overexpression of FBXL19 abrogated the proapoptotic and inflammatory effects of IL-33 and lessened the severity of lung injury in mouse models of pneumonia. Our results suggest that modulation of the IL-33-ST2L axis by ubiquitin ligases might serve as a unique strategy for lessening pulmonary inflammation.     

Can administration of potentized homeopathic remedy, Arsenicum album, alter antinuclear antibody (ANA) titer in people living in high-risk arsenic contaminated areas? I. A correlation with certain hematological parameters

To examine whether elevated antinuclear antibody (ANA) titers reported in random human population of arsenic contaminated villages can be reverted to the normal range by administration of a potentized homeopathic drug, Arsenicum album, randomly selected volunteers in two arsenic contaminated villages and one arsenic-free village in West Bengal (India) were periodically tested for their ANA titer as well as various blood parameters in two types of experiments: 'placebo-controlled double blind' experiment for shorter duration and 'uncontrolled verum fed experiment' for longer duration. Positive modulation of ANA titer was observed along with changes in certain relevant hematological parameters, namely total count of red blood cells and white blood cells, packed cell volume, hemoglobin content, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and blood sugar level, mostly within 2 months of drug administration. Thus, Arsenicum album appears to have great potential for ameliorating arsenic induced elevated ANA titer and other hematological toxicities.     

F-box protein FBXL2 targets cyclin D2 for ubiquitination and degradation to inhibit leukemic cell proliferation

Hematologic maligancies exhibit a growth advantage by up-regulation of components within the molecular apparatus involved in cell-cycle progression. The SCF (Skip-Cullin1-F-box protein) E3 ligase family provides homeostatic feedback control of cell division by mediating ubiquitination and degradation of cell-cycle proteins. By screening several previously undescribed E3 ligase components, we describe the behavior of a relatively new SCF subunit, termed FBXL2, that ubiquitinates and destabilizes cyclin D2 protein leading to G(0) phase arrest and apoptosis in leukemic and B-lymphoblastoid cell lines. FBXL2 expression was strongly suppressed, and yet cyclin D2 protein levels were robustly expressed in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patient samples. Depletion of endogenous FBXL2 stabilized cyclin D2 levels, whereas ectopically expressed FBXL2 decreased cyclin D2 lifespan. FBXL2 did not bind a phosphodegron within its substrate, which is typical of other F-box proteins, but uniquely targeted a calmodulin-binding signature within cyclin D2 to facilitate its polyubiquitination. Calmodulin competes with the F-box protein for access to this motif where it bound and protected cyclin D2 from FBXL2. Calmodulin reversed FBXL2-induced G(0) phase arrest and attenuated FBXL2-induced apoptosis of lymphoblastoid cells. These results suggest an antiproliferative effect of SCF(FBXL2) in lymphoproliferative malignancies.     

Burnout in the intensive care unit professionals

Background:

Professional burnout has been widely explored in health care. We conducted this study in our hospital intensive care unit (ICU) in United States to explore the burnout among nurses and respiratory therapists (RT).

Materials and Methods:

A survey consisting of two parts was used to assess burnout. Part 1 addressed the demographic information and work hours. Part 2 addressed the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Service Survey.

Results:

The analysis included 213 total subjects; Nurses 151 (71%) and RT 62 (29%). On the emotional exhaustion (EE) scale, 54% scored “Moderate” to “High” and 40% scored “Moderate” to “High” on the depersonalization (DP) scale. Notably 40.6% scored “Low” on personal accomplishment (PA) scale.

Conclusion:

High level of EE, DP and lower PAs were seen among two groups of health care providers in the ICUs.     

Increased antibody response to microbial antigens in patients with Crohn's disease and their unaffected first-degree relatives

Background

Antibodies directed towards bacterial antigens are considered as serological markers of Crohn's disease. Their role in disease pathogenesis is still under investigation.

Aim

Assess the serologic response towards microbial antigens in Crohn's disease patients, their unaffected first-degree relatives and healthy controls.

Methods

This retrospective study included 60 Crohn's disease patients, 86 unaffected first-degree relatives and 100 healthy controls. Their sera were tested for anti-chitobioside, anti-laminaribioside, anti-mannobioside, anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae and anti-outer membrane porin C of Escherichia coli.

Results

The prevalence of anti-chitobioside and anti-laminaribioside was higher in Crohn's disease patients and their first-degree relatives than in healthy controls (51.67%, 61.63% and 8%, respectively, for anti-chitobioside and 76.17%, 88.37% and 23.00% for anti-laminaribioside; p < 0.0001).The cumulative semiquantitative immune response against all the tested antibodies was higher in unaffected relatives than in healthy controls (p < 0.001).The quantitative analysis revealed that serum levels of anti-chitobioside, anti-laminaribioside and anti-mannobioside were similar in first-degree relatives and Crohn's disease patients and higher than healthy controls (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Both qualitative and quantitative analysis revealed that unaffected first-degree relatives have increased antibody response to microbial antigens. This impaired immunological response towards enteric microorganisms may result from a genetic predisposition.     

Prevalence of chronic kidney disease in Bangladesh: a systematic review and meta-analysis

International Urology and Nephrology - Worldwide, chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major public health issue, with a leading cause of death and disability. The aim of our study to estimate the...