Metal sulfide in a C82 fullerene cage: a new form of endohedral clusterfullerenes.

The row of endohedral fullerenes is extended by a new type of sulfur-containing clusterfullerenes: the metal sulfide (M(2)S) has been stabilized within a fullerene cage for the first time. The new sulfur-containing clusterfullerenes M(2)S@C(82)-C(3v)(8) have been isolated for a variety of metals (M = Sc, Y, Dy, and Lu). The UV-vis-NIR, electrochemical, and FTIR spectroscopic characterization and extended DFT calculations point to a close similarity of the M(2)S@C(82) cage isomeric and electronic structure to that of the carbide clusterfullerenes M(2)C(2)@C(2n).

Application of angle-resolved X-ray photon electron spectroscopy for interface and layer growth studies demonstrated on Ti/Ta-based films deposited on SiO2.

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is one of the main methods for elemental and bonding-state characterization in the near-surface region. Applying it as angle-resolved XPS (ARXPS), it is promising for non-destructive depth profiling in the nanometre-thickness range. The challenges for the application of ARXPS are discussed for the early film growth of Ti and Ta on SiO(2) produced by in situ magnetron sputtering.

Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions between the immunosuppressant sirolimus and the lipid-lowering drug ezetimibe in healthy volunteers.

Organ transplant recipients who have dyslipidemia related to immunosuppression may benefit from cholesterol-lowering therapy with ezetimibe, a substrate of ABCB1, ABCC2, and OATP1B1. Adverse pharmacokinetic interactions are hypothesized with sirolimus, which is a substrate of OATP1B1 and OATP1B3 and an inhibitor of ABCB1, OATP1B1, and OATP1B3 but not of ABCC2. However, competition between sirolimus and ezetimibe for ABCB1 and OATP1B1 is not of major clinical relevance, as confirmed in our randomized, controlled, single-dose study in healthy subjects.

History of maltreatment and mental health problems in foster children: a review of the literature.

Objective: Foster children often experience compromising situations such as neglect, physical abuse, or sexual abuse before out-of-home placement. This article aims to give a literature review related to the development and mental health of foster children with special consideration of trauma history.

Methods: A computer-based literature search was conducted in the databases Medline, PsycINFO, PSYNDEXplus, and SCOPUS.

Effect of focal adhesion proteins on endothelial cell adhesion, motility and orientation response to cyclic strain.

Focal adhesion proteins link cell surface integrins and intracellular actin stress fibers and therefore play an important role in mechanotransduction and cell motility. When endothelial cells are subjected to cyclic mechanical strain, time-lapse imaging revealed that cells underwent significant morphological changes with their resultant long axes aligned away from the strain direction. To explore how this response is regulated by focal adhesion-associated proteins the expression levels of paxillin, focal adhesion kinase (FAK), and zyxin were knocked down using gene silencing techniques.

How is wettability of titanium surfaces influenced by their preparation and storage conditions?

The effect of two different etching procedures with inorganic acids (HSE and CSE)-one using additionally strongly oxidising conditions due to the presence of CrO(3) (CSE)-and consecutive storage conditions (dry methanol and air) for previous corundum blasted titanium surfaces is compared with respect to their wettability behaviour and the potential of the etching processes for removing remaining blasting material. The etching procedures result in distinct different surface morphologies. Whereas the HSE surface shows sub-mm to sub-mum structures but neither porosity nor undercuts, the CSE surface is extremely rugged and porous with structures protruding the more homogeneously attacked areas by several micrometers.

Synergistic influence of Abcb1 and Abcc2 on disposition and sterol lowering effects of ezetimibe in rats.

Pharmacokinetics of the sterol-lowering drug ezetimibe (EZ) is influenced by intestinal ABCB1 and ABCC2. This study in Lew.1W rats with "chemical" and genetic Abcb1 and Abcc2 deficiency was initiated to evaluate the individual contribution of both efflux carriers to the overall disposition and sterol-lowering effects of EZ.

Human platelets express organic anion-transporting peptide 2B1, an uptake transporter for atorvastatin.

Statins are widely used to treat dyslipidemia. Effects of statins in addition to low-density lipoprotein lowering include altered platelet aggregation, requiring drug uptake into platelets. Possible candidates for mediating intraplatelet accumulation of statins include members of the organic anion-transporting polypeptide family such as OATP2B1 (SLCO2B1), a high-affinity uptake transporter for atorvastatin.

Quasi in situ XPS investigations on intercalation mechanisms in Li-ion battery materials.

New concepts for Li-ion batteries are of growing interest for high-performance applications. One aim is the search for new electrode materials with superior properties and their detailed characterization. We demonstrate the application of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to investigate electrode materials (LiCoO(2), LiCrMnO(4)) during electrochemical cycling.

Mechanical properties of actin stress fibers in living cells.

Actin stress fibers (SFs) play an important role in many cellular functions, including morphological stability, adhesion, and motility. Because of their central role in force transmission, it is important to characterize the mechanical properties of SFs. However, most of the existing studies focus on properties of whole cells or of actin filaments isolated outside cells.

Interplay between oxygen demand reactions and kinetic gas-water transfer in porous media.

Gas-water phase transfer associated with the dissolution of trapped gas in porous media is a key process that occurs during pulsed gas sparging operations in contaminated aquifers. Recently, we applied a numerical model that was experimentally validated for abiotic situations, where multi-species kinetic inter-phase mass transfer and dissolved gas transport occurred during pulsed gas penetration-dissolution events [Balcke, G.U.

Disposition of ezetimibe is influenced by polymorphisms of the hepatic uptake carrier OATP1B1.

Objectives: Genetic variability in hepatic uptake was recently shown to influence the disposition and cholesterol-lowering effects of statins. Ezetimibe, an inhibitor of the intestinal cholesterol uptake protein Niemann-Pick C 1 like 1, is another drug for which genetic polymorphisms of hepatic organic anion transporting polypeptides (OATPs) are expected to be of clinical relevance because ezetimibe undergoes intensive enterohepatic circulation for which hepatic uptake transporters may be rate-limiting determinants.

Methods: Using OATP1B3-, OATP2B1-, and OATP1B1-transfected HEK cells, including the OATP1B1 variants OATP1B1*1b and OATP1B1*5, we measured the uptake of ezetimibe and its glucuronide and we analyzed the competition with the common OATP-substrate bromosulfophthalein.

Strain-induced orientation response of endothelial cells: effect of substratum adhesiveness and actin-myosin contractile level.

Endothelial cells subjected to cyclic stretching change orientation so as to be aligned perpendicular to the direction of applied strain in a magnitude and time-dependent manner. Although this type of response is not the same as motility, it could be governed by motility-related factors such as substratum adhesiveness and actin-myosin contractile level. To examine this possibility, human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC) were uniaxially, cyclically stretched on silicone rubber membranes coated with various concentrations of fibronectin, collagen type IV and laminin to produce differing amounts of adhesiveness (measured using a radial flow detachment assay).

Carbon nanotubes filled with a chemotherapeutic agent: a nanocarrier mediates inhibition of tumor cell growth.

Aim: In this paper, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are presented as feasible carriers for carboplatin, a therapeutic agent for cancer treatment. The drug was introduced into CNTs to demonstrate that they are suited as nanocontainers and nanocarriers and can release the drug to initialize its medical virtue.

Method: The filling was accomplished by a wet-chemical approach after the CNTs were opened.

An open-label trial of escitalopram in children and adolescents with social anxiety disorder.

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a highly prevalent and disabling disorder in children and adolescents. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a highly potent and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, escitalopram, in the treatment of SAD in children and adolescents. Twenty outpatients with a primary diagnosis of SAD were treated in a 12-week open trial with escitalopram.

Fracture configurations of the equine radius and tibia after a simulated kick.

The objective of this postmortem study was to determine the fracture configurations of the equine radius and tibia after a simulated kick. Fracture configurations of 35 radii and 36 tibiae from 19 adult horses were evaluated after a simulated kick in an experimental ex-vivo study. The bones were dissected, the proximal and distal ends were embedded in resin, fixed horizontally and preloaded in compression, and a steel impactor, designed to simulate a shod equine hoof, was dropped from a height of three to six metres onto the diaphysis.

Application of FTIR spectra for evaluating interfacial reactions in metal matrix composites.

Manufacturing of Saffil/MgLi metal matrix composites by the melt infiltration process is accompanied by extensive interfacial redox reaction between delta-Al(2)O(3) fibers (Saffil) and lithium. The present paper deals with the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy examination of Saffil fibers isolated from Mg-8 wt% Li alloy by the bromine/methylacetate agent focusing on the insertion of Li(+) ions into delta-Al(2)O(3) and their influence on water adsorption. Insertion of Li(+) into delta-Al(2)O(3) is monitored by gradual change of Al-O stretching bands (400-900 cm(-1)) towards more simple patterns of a spinel-like product assigned as delta(Li) which transforms to LiAl(5)O(8) during subsequent annealing.

Actin stress fiber pre-extension in human aortic endothelial cells.

Actin stress fibers (SFs) enable cells to sense and respond to mechanical stimuli and affect adhesion, motility and apoptosis. We and others have demonstrated that cultured human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs) are internally stressed so that SFs are pre-extended beyond their unloaded lengths. The present study explores factors affecting SF pre-extension.

Transporter-mediated uptake into cellular compartments.

Active transport across biological membranes represents a critical step in the disposition of many drugs. It is now well-established that different efflux and uptake transporters such as P-glycoprotein (P-gp), multidrug resistance-associated proteins (MRPs) or organic anion transporting polypeptides (OATPs) are involved in the overall disposition and efficacy of numerous compounds. These proteins are mainly expressed at physiological sites of drug absorption and elimination, thus leading to diminished absorption and/or increased transporter-facilitated excretion.

An interspecific test of allen's rule: evolutionary implications for endothermic species.

Ecogeographical rules provide potential to describe how organisms are morphologically constrained to climatic conditions. Allen's rule (relatively shorter appendages in colder environments) remains largely unsupported and there remains much controversy whether reduced surface area of appendages provides energetic savings sufficient to make this morphological trend truly adaptive. By showing for the first time that Allen's rule holds for closely related endothermic species, we provide persuasive support of the adaptive significance of this trend for multiple species.

Disposition of the cholesterol absorption inhibitor ezetimibe in mdr1a/b (-/-) mice.

The lipid lowering agent ezetimibe (EZ) and its intestinally formed glucuronide (GLUC) were shown to be substrates of the efflux transporters P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and the multidrug resistance associated protein 2 (MRP2) which markedly influences the disposition and efficacy of EZ in man. This study aims to elucidate the unique meaning of P-gp in the pharmacokinetics of EZ in mice. In brief, serum concentrations, organ distribution and elimination of EZ were determined in 10 male wild-type and mdr1a/b (-/-) mice after oral treatment with EZ (10 mg/kg, 10 days).

Kinetic gas-water transfer and gas accumulation in porous media during pulsed oxygen sparging.

Gas-water mass transfer and the transport of dissolved gases in variably saturated porous media are key processes for in-situ remediation by pulsed gas sparging. In this context, gas dissolution tests were conducted during pulsed oxygen gas injection into sand columns. The columns were recharged with anoxic water, effluents were analyzed for dissolved O2, and tracer tests were performed to detect accumulation of trapped gas.

Dispensing error rate after implementation of an automated pharmacy carousel system.

Purpose: A study was conducted to determine filling and dispensing error rates before and after the implementation of an automated pharmacy carousel system (APCS).

Methods: The study was conducted in a 613-bed acute and tertiary care university hospital. Before the implementation of the APCS, filling and dispensing rates were recorded during October through November 2004 and January 2005.