Transparent titanium dioxide nanotubes: Processing, characterization, and application in establishing cellular response mechanisms.

Unlabelled: The therapeutic applications of titanium dioxide nanotubes as osteogenic surface treatments for titanium-based implants are largely due to the finely tunable physical characteristics of these nanostructures. As these characteristics change, so does the cellular response, yet the exact mechanisms for this relationship remains largely undefined. We present a novel TiO NT imaging platform that is suitable for use with live-cell imaging techniques, thereby enabling, for the first time, dynamic investigation of those mechanisms.

Security printing of covert quick response codes using upconverting nanoparticle inks.

Counterfeiting costs governments and private industries billions of dollars annually due to loss of value in currency and other printed items. This research involves using lanthanide doped β-NaYF(4) nanoparticles for security printing applications. Inks comprised of Yb(3+)/Er(3+) and Yb(3+)/Tm(3+) doped β-NaYF(4) nanoparticles with oleic acid as the capping agent in toluene and methyl benzoate with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as the binding agent were used to print quick response (QR) codes.

Nanomechanics of biocompatible TiO(2) nanotubes by Interfacial Force Microscopy (IFM).

Titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) coatings exhibit desirable properties as biocompatible coatings. In this paper we report on mechanical properties and deformation behavior of (TiO(2)) nanotubes grown on pure titanium substrates through anodic oxidation. Characterization of the as-processed coatings was conducted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Microstructure and deformation behavior of biocompatible TiO2 nanotubes on titanium substrate.

Titanium oxide coatings have been shown to exhibit desirable properties as biocompatible coatings. We report on the quantitative microstructure characterization and deformation behavior of TiO(2) nanotubes on Ti substrate. Nanotubes were processed using anodic oxidation of Ti in a NaF electrolyte solution.

Arginine vasopressin and osmolality in the elderly.

Objectives: To evaluate the influence of age on plasma arginine vasopressin (AVP) concentrations and the relationship between plasma AVP and serum osmolality in younger and older subjects, and in the elderly, to assess the effect of gender on plasma AVP concentration and to determine the impact of prostaglandin blockade on renal responsiveness to AVP.

Design: Cross-sectional study; randomized, double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled study.

Setting: The Renal Laboratory, Royal North Shore Hospital (younger adults) and Clinical Room, St Vincents Hospital (elderly subjects).

Arginine vasopressin in primigravid human pregnancy. A prospective study.

The relationship between plasma osmolality (Posm) and plasma arginine vasopressin (Pavp) was determined in: (1) 62 normal primigravidas (P) at various stages of gestation and 35 nonpregnant, healthy volunteers (NP) under conditions of normal hydration or water deprivation, and (2) a separate group of 29 normotensive primigravidas during both the second and third trimesters under normal hydration. Pavp was similar in the P and NP groups, and Posm and Pavp were correlated significantly in both groups, but the osmotic threshold was lowered by 11 mosm/kg in primigravidas. In the prospective study, Pavp and Posm were correlated significantly at both stages.

Careers with heroin.

This report examines heroin use careers within a sample of 147 Black male heroin addicts and their nonaddicted friends. Based on the extent of their heroin use, subjects were classified into the following subgroups: "light" experimenters, "moderate" experimenters, "heavy" experimenters, and addicts. Our findings indicate that no single career line of pattern characterizes all heroin users.

Impaired lipoprotein lipase activation by uraemic and post-transplant sera.

1. Lipoprotein lipase was separated from normal human post-heparin plasma by affinity chromatography and assayed with a 14C-labelled triolein emulsion. No enzyme activity was detected unless whole serum was included in the assay as a source of cofactor, apolipoprotein C-II.

Socio-familial characteristics of black male heroin addicts and their nonaddicted friends.

To determine whether family, peer, and school variables are associated with divergent heroin-use patterns or career outcomes, we interviewed 183 black male heroin addicts, experimenters, and non-heroin users from Chicago's south side. While subgroup differences on socio-familial variables generally were not statistically significant, we did observe a number of trends in the expected direction. For example, addicts were more likely than experimenters or nonusers to come from broken homes, to have friends who were involved in serious types of drug use and other illegal activities, and to drop out of high school.

Impaired plasma triglyceride clearance as a feature of both uremic and posttransplant triglyceridemia.

After accurate plasma volume calculation, endogenous plasma very-low-density-lipoprotein (VLDL)-triglyceride turnover rates were measured in 20 undialyzed patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) and in 16 renal transplant recipients with stable graft function. When kinetic criteria were based on a group of healthy subjects (Vmax = 36.7 mumoles/hr/kg), it was clear that, on the whole, CRF patients had a reduced capacity for VLDL-triglyceride removal (Vmax = 14.

Early life-style differences among black male heroin addicts and their nonaddicted friends.

To determine whether early life-style variables (i.e., involvement in illicit drug use and other illegal activities) might be associated with subsequent patterns of heroin use, we conducted personal history interviews with 186 Black male heroin addicts, experimenters, and nonheroin users.

Precursors to heroin: a pilot study of young heroin addicts and their nonaddicted friends.

To determine whether differences in life styles and patterns of drug use may help to account for willingness to try heroin and/or likelihood of becoming addicted, personal history interviews were conducted with 15 young heroin addict, 15 experimenters who used the drug but did not become addicts, and 15 nonusers who never tried heroin altough they wre exposed to it. The findings suggest that willingness to try heroin can be better understood within the context of a broader involvement in a deviant way of life. Unlike their nonuser peers, addict and experimenter subjects tended to have identified with deviant rather than conventional role models.