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To assess the virus reducing capacity of Cohn's cold ethanol fractionation process for the production of intravenous (IVIg) and intramuscular (IMIg) immunoglobulin products, and treatment of these products at pH 4, a validation study of virus removal and/or inactivation was performed using both lipid-enveloped viruses [human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) and pseudorabies virus (PSR)], and non-lipid-enveloped viruses [(simian virus 40 (SV40) and encephalomyocarditis virus (EMC)]. For the cold ethanol fractionation process, overall reduction factors of 3.0 logs, > or = 2.6 ( or = 2.6 ( or = 8.4 logs, > or = 4.0 logs, > or = 7.1 logs, 4.8 logs and 1.4 logs for HIV, BVDV, PSR, SV40 and EMC, respectively. The effectiveness of this process step could be enhanced by extending incubation to 40 h at pH 4.25 compared to 16 h at pH 4.05. The extended incubation, as applied in the production of IMIg, yields a reduction of infectivity of SV40 by > or = 5.5 ( or = 4.1 (< 7.1) logs. Storage of IMIg, which is formulated as a solution, at 2-8 degrees C also contributes to virus safety. For storage periods of 8 weeks or longer, reduction factors of 2 to 6 logs were found for all viruses, except for BVDV which remained unaffected. These data indicate that the production processes for IVIg and IMIg as described here have sufficient virus reducing capacity to achieve a high margin of virus safety.

The rate of hip fractures due to falls increases with age. External hip protectors placed over the greater trochanter can prevent hip fractures, but the willingness to wear such protective devices is rather low. Most of the commercially available hip protectors consist either of an energy-absorbing foam pad or of a hard shell that distributes the load to the surrounding tissue. In the present study, a fibre-reinforced shell composed of three curved strips bonded with a ring, was designed and lined with shock absorbing foam. The development of the new shell design was based on quasi-static and impact tests of manufactured shells in combination with finite element simulations. The results of the numerical analysis showed the potential protection effect of the shell and indicated how the design can be further improved. First impact tests on an anatomical hip model showed promising results of the new protector shell in combination with a foam pad.

Maximal L-glutamate/glycine-evoked currents were inhibited by ethanol in Xenopus laevis oocytes expressing recombinant heteromeric NMDA receptors consisting of NR1-NR2A, NR1-NR2B, and NR1-NR2C subunit combinations. Concentration-dependent inhibition was observed at ethanol concentrations of > or = 50 mM both in Ca(2+)-containing and Ca(2+)-deficient, Ba(2+)-containing Mg(2+)-free media. The NR1-NR2C channels were slightly less sensitive to ethanol inhibition than the other heteromeric channels in Ca(2+)-deficient, Ba(2+)-containing medium. The inhibition was unaffected by the clamping-voltage and by a mutation [NR1-NR2A(N595Q)] that prevents the Mg(2+)-blockade of the channels, indicating that the mechanism of action of ethanol differs from that of Mg2+. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the NMDA receptor subtypes can mediate many behavioural actions of ethanol.

Of the ionotropic glutamatergic receptors, the NMDA receptor is clearly implicated in the acute and chronic effects of ethanol; however, the role of the AMPA receptor in mediating the effects of ethanol in vivo is as yet unclear. Using mice deficient in the AMPA receptor subunit GluR1 (GluR1-/- mice), we investigated whether the AMPA receptor had a significant role in mediating the effects of ethanol. GluR1-/- mice showed greater locomotor activity in a novel environment, but by the fifth day of repeated testing their activity was the same as that of wild-type mice. In contrast to their enhanced locomotor activity, on an accelerating rotarod GluR1-/- mice performed consistently worse than wild-types. With regard to the effects of ethanol on motor responses, GluR1-/- mice did not differ significantly from wild-type mice in ethanol's sedative or incoordinating effects. However, the GluR1-/- mice were insensitive to the hypothermic effects of a hypnotic dose of ethanol in contrast to wild-types; this effect was dissociable from the hypnotic effects of ethanol. Further, tolerance to ethanol developed equally for GluR1-/- mice versus wild-type mice. In terms of alcohol drinking behavior, compared to wild-types, GluR1-/- mice differed neither in the acquisition of voluntary ethanol consumption nor in stress-induced ethanol drinking, nor in the expression of an alcohol deprivation effect (ADE) which is used as a model of relapse-like drinking behavior. In summary, although the loss of a hypothermic effect of ethanol in GluR1-/- mice indicates a critical role for the AMPA receptors in this effect, the GluR1 subunit of the AMPA receptor does not seem to play a critical role in the etiology of alcohol dependence. However, changes observed in activity patterns may be related to the putative role of AMPA receptors in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Many people begin to experiment with alcohol during adolescence, an important developmental period during which sex differences in the effects of ethanol appear. In the present study we evaluated the effect of ethanol (0, 0.625, 1.25 or 2.5 g/kg) on the acquisition of a conditioned place preference (CPP) in early and late adolescent male and female mice. In addition, we assessed the capacity of ethanol to induce reinstatement of the CPP after its extinction. CPP was induced in early and late adolescent females with 2.5 g/kg, and in early adolescent males with 1.25 or 2.5 g/kg of ethanol. No CPP was observed in late adolescent males. Priming with ethanol reinstated the CPP induced by the highest dose in early adolescent male and early and late adolescent female mice. Our data suggest that early adolescents of both sex and late adolescent females are particularly vulnerable to the effects of ethanol.

Caries and gingivitis prevention may benefit from chemotherapeutic plaque control, therefore we compared in a cross–over study with 5 subjects the anti–acidogenic effects of a single use of AmF–SnF₂ mouthrinse solutions (Meridol^® with and without 5% alcohol) with baseline and with the effects of a placebo and a chlorhexidine mouthrinse (CHX). Buccal plaque was collected 0.5, 3 and 8 h after the subjects used one of the mouthrinses, each time before and after a rinse with 10% sucrose to induce lactic acid production. Samples were analysed for acid anions by capillary electrophoresis and for protein. At 0.5 h after the use of AmF–SnF₂ or CHX, the concentration of acetate in resting plaque was 70% lower than at baseline or after using the placebo. Average post–sucrose acetate and lactate concentrations in the placebo group were 30–80% higher than at baseline; up to 3 h this difference was significant. 8 h after using AmF–SnF₂ or CHX, the post–sucrose acetate and lactate concentrations were still 30–50% lower than after the placebo, and up to 40% lower than at baseline. To conclude, AmF–SnF₂ in both Meridol formulations and CHX were shown to have a similar potency to inhibit acid production after a single rinse.

Plogging, a practice that combines outdoor exercise with waste collection, is a novel alternative to physical activity; therefore, it has not been extensively studied in the scientific literature yet. The aim of this research is to analyse whether students’ environmental attitudes are affected by a 6-week intervention based on plogging. A total of 143 students (mean age 15.58 ± 3.28) participated in the study. A pre-post design with control and experimental group was carried out. To assess attitudes, a diagnostic questionnaire of attitudes towards the environment in secondary school students was used. The instrument is composed of five factors (motivation, participation, communication, environment and education). To measure the effect of the intervention, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was performed. The results showed that the experimental group significantly improved in factors such as motivation and environmental awareness. These results contribute to increasing research on the integration of sustainability in Physical Education.

Pancreatic cancer has a very poor prognosis resulting in the death of 98% of patients. Pain may be severe and difficult to treat. Management of pain includes chemotherapy, radiotherapy, pharmacologic treatment, and neurolytic celiac plexus block. Recent reviews of the efficacy of neurolytic celiac plexus block however, have reached conflicting conclusions. In this paper, we present two patients with severe pancreatic cancer pain resistant to pharmacologic treatment. Analgesic effect following repeated neurolytic celiac plexus blocks with alcohol was limited in time. Post‐mortem neurohistopathologic examination of the celiac plexus revealed an abnormal celiac architecture with a combination of abnormal neurons with vacuolization and normal looking neuronal structures (ganglionic structures and nerve fibers) embedded in fibrotic hyalinized tissue. Our results show that a neurolytic celiac plexus block with alcohol is capable of partially destroying the celiac plexus. These findings may explain the significant but short‐lasting analgesic effect following neurolytic celiac plexus block with alcohol.