Effect of tocopherol on atherosclerosis, vascular function and inflammation in Apolipoprotein E knockout mice with subtotal nephrectomy

Background/Aims: Inflammation and endothelial dysfunction contribute to cardiovascular disease, prevalent in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Antioxidant supplements such as tocopherols may reduce inflammation and atherosclerosis. This study aimed to investigate the effect of tocopherol supplementation on vascular function, aortic plaque formation, and inflammation in apolipoprotein E−/− mice with 5/6 nephrectomy as a model of combined cardiovascular and kidney disease. Methods: Nephrectomized mice were assigned to a normal chow diet group (normal chow), a group receiving 1000 mg/kg diet of α-tocopherol supplementation or a group receiving 1000 mg/kg diet mixed-tocopherol (60% γ-tocopherol). Results: Following 12 weeks, in vitro aortic endothelial-independent relaxation was enhanced with both α-tocopherol and mixed-tocopherol (P < 0.05), while mixed-tocopherol enhanced aortic contraction at noradrenaline concentrations of 3 × 10−7 M to 3 × 10−5 M (P < 0.05), when compared to normal chow. Supplementation with α- and mixed-tocopherol reduced systemic concentrations of IL-6 (P < 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively) and IL-10 (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001, respectively), while α-tocopherol also reduced MCP-1 (P < 0.05) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α (P < 0.05). Aortic sinus plaque area was significantly reduced with α-tocopherol supplementation when compared to normal chow (P < 0.01). Conclusion: Tocopherol supplementation favorably influenced vascular function and cytokine profile, while it was also effective in reducing atherosclerosis in the apolipoprotein E−/− mouse with CKD.

An investigation into the effect of infrastructure on fly-in fly-out mining workers

Objective: To explore fly-in fly-out (FIFO) mining workers' attitudes towards the leisure time they spend in mining camps, the recreational and social aspects of mining camp culture, the camps' communal and recreational infrastructure and activities, and implications for health. Design: In-depth semistructured interviews. Setting: Individual interviews at locations convenient for each participant. Participants: A total of seven participants, one female and six males. The age group varied within 20–59 years. Marital status varied across participants. Main outcome measures: A qualitative approach was used to interview participants, with responses thematically analysed. Findings highlight how the recreational infrastructure and activities at mining camps impact participants' enjoyment of the camps and their feelings of community and social inclusion. Results: Three main areas of need were identified in the interviews, as follows: (i) on-site facilities and activities; (ii) the role of infrastructure in facilitating a sense of community; and (iii) barriers to social interaction. Conclusion: Recreational infrastructure and activities enhance the experience of FIFO workers at mining camps. The availability of quality recreational facilities helps promote social interaction, provides for greater social inclusion and improves the experience of mining camps for their temporary FIFO residents. The infrastructure also needs to allow for privacy and individual recreational activities, which participants identified as important emotional needs. Developing appropriate recreational infrastructure at mining camps would enhance social interactions among FIFO workers, improve their well-being and foster a sense of community. Introducing infrastructure to promote social and recreational activities could also reduce alcohol-related social exclusion.

The effect of alcohol on driver ability: Under the limit drink driving rehabilitation program

This video was prepared as a teaching resource for CARRS-Q's Under the Limit Drink Driving Rehabilitation Program

The effect of alcohol on the body: Under the limit drink driving rehabilitation program

This video was prepared as a teaching resource for CARRS-Q's Under the Limit Drink Driving Rehabilitation Program

Mechanisms underlying the effect of acupuncture on cognitive improvement: A systematic review of animal studies

Acupuncture has been reported to be beneficial in treating cognitive impairment in various pathological conditions. This review describes the effort to understand the signaling pathways that underlie the acupunctural therapeutic effect on cognitive function. We searched the literature in 12 electronic databases from their inception to November 2013, with full text available and language limited to English. Twenty-three studies were identified under the selection criteria. All recruited animal studies demonstrate a significant positive effect of acupuncture on cognitive impairment. Findings suggest acupuncture may improve cognitive function through modulation of signaling pathways involved in neuronal survival and function, specifically, through promoting cholinergic neural transmission, facilitating dopaminergic synaptic transmission, enhancing neurotrophin signaling, suppressing oxidative stress, attenuating apoptosis, regulating glycometabolic enzymes and reducing microglial activation. However, the quality of reviewed studies has room for improvement. Further high-quality animal studies with randomization, blinding and estimation of sample size are needed to strengthen the recognition of group differences.

The effect of osteoimmunomodulation on the osteogenic effects of cobalt incorporated β-tricalcium phosphate

Osteoblast lineage cells are direct effectors of osteogenesis and are, therefore, commonly used to evaluate the in vitro osteogenic capacity of bone substitute materials. This method has served its purposes when testing novel bone biomaterials; however, inconsistent results between in vitro and in vivo studies suggest the mechanisms that govern a material's capacity to mediate osteogenesis are not well understood. The emerging field of osteoimmunology and immunomodulation has informed a paradigm shift in our view of bone biomaterials–from one of an inert to an osteoimmunomodulatory material–highlighting the importance of immune cells in materials-mediated osteogenesis. Neglecting the importance of the immune response during this process is a major shortcoming of the current evaluation protocol. In this study we evaluated a potential angiogenic bone substitute material cobalt incorporated with β-tricalcium phosphate (CCP), comparing the traditional “one cell type” approach with a “multiple cell types” approach to assess osteogenesis, the latter including the use of immune cells. We found that CCP extract by itself was sufficient to enhance osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs), whereas this effect was cancelled out when macrophages were involved. In response to CCP, the macrophage phenotype switched to the M1 extreme, releasing pro-inflammatory cytokines and bone catabolic factors. When the CCP materials were implanted into a rat femur condyle defect model, there was a significant increase of inflammatory markers and bone destruction, coupled with fibrous encapsulation rather than new bone formation. These findings demonstrated that the inclusion of immune cells (macrophages) in the in vitro assessment matched the in vivo tissue response, and that this method provides a more accurate indication of the essential role of immune cells when assessing materials-stimulated osteogenesis in vitro.

Pilot study: Effect of age on visual acuity with defocus and astigmatism

PURPOSE: To investigate how distance visual acuity in the presence of defocus and astigmatism is affected by age and whether aberration properties of young and older eyes can explain any differences. METHODS: Participants were 12 young adults (mean [±SD] age, 23 [±2] years) and 10 older adults (mean [±SD] age, 57 [±4] years). Cyclopleged right eyes were used with 4-mm effective pupil sizes. Thirteen blur conditions were used by adding five spherical lens conditions (-1.00 diopters [D], -0.50 D, plano/0.00 D, +0.50 D, and +1.00 D) and adding two cross-cylindrical lenses (+0.50 DS/-1.00 DC and +1.00 D/-2.00 DC, or 0.50 D and 1.00 D astigmatism) at four negative cylinder axes (45, 90, 135, and 180 degrees). Targets were single lines of high-contrast letters based on the Bailey-Lovie chart. Successively smaller lines were read until a participant could no longer read any of the letters correctly. Aberrations were measured with a COAS-HD Hartmann-Shack aberrometer. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the two age groups. We estimated that 70 to 80 participants per group would be needed to show significant effects of the trend of greater visual acuity loss for the young group. Visual acuity loss for astigmatism was twice that for defocus of the same magnitude of blur strength (0.33 logMAR [logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution]/D compared with 0.18 logMAR/D), contrary to the geometric prediction of similar loss. CONCLUSIONS: Any age-related differences in visual acuity in the presence of defocus and astigmatism were swamped by interparticipant variation.

Effect of decellularization on the load-bearing characteristics of articular cartilage matrix

The application of decellularized extracellular matrices to aid tissue regeneration in reconstructive surgery and regenerative medicine has been promising. Several decellularization protocols for removing cellular materials from natural tissues such as heart valves are currently in use. This paper evaluates the feasibility of potential extension of this methodology relative to the desirable properties of load bearing joint tissues such as stiffness, porosity and ability to recover adequately after deformation to facilitate physiological function. Two decellularization protocols, namely: Trypsin and Triton X-100 were evaluated against their effects on bovine articular cartilage, using biomechanical, biochemical and microstructural techniques. These analyses revealed that decellularization with trypsin resulted in severe loss of mechanical stiffness including deleterious collapse of the collagen architecture which in turn significantly compromised the porosity of the construct. In contrast, triton X-100 detergent treatment yielded samples that retain mechanical stiffness relative to that of the normal intact cartilage sample, but the resulting construct contained ruminant cellular constituents. We conclude that both of these common decellularization protocols are inadequate for producing constructs that can serve as effective replacement and scaffolds to regenerate articular joint tissue.

Investigation of the effect of balconies on natural ventilation of dwellings in high-rise residential buildings in subtropical climate

Balconies, as one of the main architectural features in subtropical climates, are assumed to enhance the ventilation performance of buildings by redirecting the wind. Although there are some studies on the effect of balconies on natural ventilation inside buildings, the majority have been conducted on single zone buildings with simple geometries. The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of balconies on the internal air flow pattern and ventilation performance of multi-storey residential buildings with internal partitions. To this end, a sample residential unit was selected for investigation and three different conditions tested, base case (no balcony), an open balcony and a semi-enclosed balcony. Computational Fluid Dynamics is used as an analysis method due to its accuracy and ability to provide detailed results. The cases are analysed in terms of average velocity, flow uniformity and number of Air Changes per Hour (ACH). The results suggest the introduction of a semi-enclosed balcony into high-rise dwellings improves the average velocity and flow uniformity. Integrating an open balcony results in reduction of the aforementioned parameters at 0° wind incidence.

The effect of light on cognitive performance of partially sleep-deprived young drivers

Sleepiness remains a primary cause of road crashes, the major cause of death in young adults. Light is known to produce a direct alerting effect, but little is known about its effects on sleepy drivers. This study aimed to compare the effect of blue-green light and caffeine on young drivers’ cognitive performance after chronic-partial sleep loss.

Effect of position on precision within the recording field of a markerless motion capture system

Introduction Markerless motion capture systems are relatively new devices that can significantly speed up capturing full body motion. A precision of the assessment of the finger’s position with this type of equipment was evaluated at 17.30 ± 9.56 mm when compare to an active marker system [1]. The Microsoft Kinect was proposed to standardized and enhanced clinical evaluation of patients with hemiplegic cerebral palsy [2]. Markerless motion capture systems have the potential to be used in a clinical setting for movement analysis, as well as for large cohort research. However, the precision of such system needs to be characterized. Global objectives • To assess the precision within the recording field of the markerless motion capture system Openstage 2 (Organic Motion, NY). • To compare the markerless motion capture system with an optoelectric motion capture system with active markers. Specific objectives • To assess the noise of a static body at 13 different location within the recording field of the markerless motion capture system. • To assess the smallest oscillation detected by the markerless motion capture system. • To assess the difference between both systems regarding the body joint angle measurement. Methods Equipment • OpenStage® 2 (Organic Motion, NY) o Markerless motion capture system o 16 video cameras (acquisition rate : 60Hz) o Recording zone : 4m * 5m * 2.4m (depth * width * height) o Provide position and angle of 23 different body segments • VisualeyezTM VZ4000 (PhoeniX Technologies Incorporated, BC) o Optoelectric motion capture system with active markers o 4 trackers system (total of 12 cameras) o Accuracy : 0.5~0.7mm Protocol & Analysis • Static noise: o Motion recording of an humanoid mannequin was done in 13 different locations o RMSE was calculated for each segment in each location • Smallest oscillation detected: o Small oscillations were induced to the humanoid mannequin and motion was recorded until it stopped. o Correlation between the displacement of the head recorded by both systems was measured. A corresponding magnitude was also measured. • Body joints angle: o Body motion was recorded simultaneously with both systems (left side only). o 6 participants (3 females; 32.7 ± 9.4 years old) • Tasks: Walk, Squat, Shoulder flexion & abduction, Elbow flexion, Wrist extension, Pronation / supination (not in results), Head flexion & rotation (not in results), Leg rotation (not in results), Trunk rotation (not in results) o Several body joint angles were measured with both systems. o RMSE was calculated between signals of both systems. Results Conclusion Results show that the Organic Motion markerless system has the potential to be used for assessment of clinical motor symptoms or motor performances However, the following points should be considered: • Precision of the Openstage system varied within the recording field. • Precision is not constant between limb segments. • The error seems to be higher close to the range of motion extremities.

Effect of LiYO2 on the synthesis and pressureless sintering of Y2SiO5

Y2SiO5 has potential applications as a high-temperature structural ceramic and environmental/thermal barrier coating. In this work, we synthesized single-phase Y2SiO5 powders utilizing a solid-liquid reaction method with LiYO2 as an additive. The reaction path of the Y2O3/SiO2/LiYO2 mixture with variation in temperatures and the role of the LiYO2 additive on preparation process were investigated in detail. The powders obtained by this method have good sinterability. Through a pressureless sintering process, almost fully dense Y2SiO5 bulk material was achieved with a very high density of 99.7% theoretical.

Effect of pretreatment on the formation of 5-chloromethyl furfural derived from sugarcane bagasse

Chloromethylfurfural (CMF), a valuable intermediate for the production of chemicals and fuel, can be derived in high yields from the cellulose component of biomass. This study examined the effect of sugar cane bagasse components and biomass architecture on CMF/bio-oil yield using a HCl/dichloroethane biphasic system. The type of pretreatment affected bio-oil yield, as the CMF yield increased with increasing glucan content. CMF yield reached 81.9% with bagasse pretreated by acidified aqueous ionic liquid, which had a glucan content of 81.6%. The lignin content of the biomass was found to significantly reduce CMF yield, which was only 62.3% with acid-catalysed steam exploded sample having a lignin content of 29.6%. The change of CMF yield may be associated with fibre surface changes as a result of pretreatment. The hemicellulose content also impacted negatively on CMF yield. Storage of the bio-oil in chlorinated solvents prevented CMF degradation.