Spinal Irisin Gene Delivery Attenuates Burn Injury-Induced Muscle Atrophy by Promoting Axonal Myelination and Innervation of Neuromuscular Junctions.

Muscle loss and weakness after a burn injury are typically the consequences of neuronal dysregulation and metabolic change. Hypermetabolism has been noted to cause muscle atrophy. However, the mechanism underlying the development of burn-induced motor neuropathy and its contribution to muscle atrophy warrant elucidation. Current therapeutic interventions for burn-induced motor neuropathy demonstrate moderate efficacy and have side effects, which limit their usage. We previously used a third-degree burn injury rodent model and found that irisin-an exercise-induced myokine-exerts a protective effect against burn injury-induced sensory and motor neuropathy by attenuating neuronal damage in the spinal cord. In the current study, spinal irisin gene delivery was noted to attenuate burn injury-induced sciatic nerve demyelination and reduction of neuromuscular junction innervation. Spinal overexpression of irisin leads to myelination rehabilitation and muscular innervation through the modulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and glial-cell-line-derived neurotrophic factor expression along the sciatic nerve to the muscle tissues and thereby modulates the Akt/mTOR pathway and metabolic derangement and prevents muscle atrophy.

A dual fluorescent/phosphorescent zincophosphite with interesting water adsorption and structural transformation properties.

A dual fluorescent/phosphorescent solid was produced using the triazole-assisted synthesis method under hydro(solvo)thermal conditions. The title compound emitted blue luminescence that turned green when UV irradiation was stopped. It also exhibited stable PL properties with good thermal and photostability. Furthermore, the 3D inorganic skeleton in NTOU-6 underwent structural transformation into another inorganic metallophosphite solid (NTOU-6b) and water adsorption was observed during this process of structural reconstruction. The detailed structural features of both compounds were also determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. This is a very rare example of a metallophosphite with the interesting properties of luminescence color switching (blue to green), water adsorption, and structural transformation. The synthesis, structural diversity, adsorption, material stability, and luminescence properties were also discussed.

Low-dose bupivacaine-fentanyl spinal anesthesia for lower extremity surgery in a nonparturient with Eisenmenger's syndrome.

Perioperative mortality in patients with Eisenmenger's syndrome is very high, particularly following cesarean section. This case report describes the successful use of low-dose bupivacaine-fentanyl spinal anesthesia for lower extremity surgery in a nonparturient with Eisenmenger's syndrome. A 21-year-old woman with Eisenmenger's syndrome was scheduled to have a fibular head tumor excision. After placement of routine monitor and an arterial line, we inserted an epidural catheter at the L3-L4 interspace to cover a potential inadequate block and then we administered 6 mg of hyperbaric bupivacaine 0.5% with 20 microg of fentanyl intrathecally via a 27-gauge needle at the L4-L5 interspace. There were no hypotension, respiratory depression, hypoxemia, and other severe hemodynamic alterations. No drug was administered via the epidural catheter in the 2-hour operative period and the postoperative course was uneventful. Therefore, we propose that intrathecal opioids combined with local anesthetics may be an alternative anesthetic method in patients with Eisenmenger's syndrome.

Effect of Free Ammonia, Free Nitrous Acid, and Alkalinity on the Partial Nitrification of Pretreated Pig Slurry, Using an Alternating Oxic/Anoxic SBR.

The effect of free ammonia (NH3 or FA), free nitrous acid (HNO2 or FNA), and total alkalinity (TA) on the performance of a partial nitrification (PN) sequencing batch reactor (SBR) treating anaerobically pretreated pig slurry was studied. The SBR was operated under alternating oxic/anoxic (O/A) conditions and was fed during anoxic phases. This strategy allowed using organic matter to partially remove nitrite (NO2-) and nitrate (NO3-) generated during oxic phases. The desired NH4+ to NO2- ratio of 1.3 g N/g N was obtained when an Ammonium Loading Rate (ALR) of 0.09 g NH4+-N/L·d was applied. The system was operated at a solid retention time (SRT) of 15-20 d and dissolved oxygen (DO) levels higher than 3 mg O2/L during the whole operational period. PN mainly occurred caused by the inhibitory effect of FNA on nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB). Once HNO2 concentration was negligible, NH4+ was fully oxidized to NO3- in spite of the presence of FA. The use of biomass acclimated to ammonium as inoculum avoided a possible effect of FA on NOB activity.

Effect of free ammonia nitrogen on the methanogenic activity of swine wastewater

Swine wastewater is characterized by high organic matter content, solids, nitrogen (expressed as total ammonia and protein) and heavy metals. This work determines the methanogenic toxicity effect of free ammonia contained in swine wastewater comparing raw swine wastewater (RW) and the liquid fraction of swine wastewater (TW). The values of IC50 (50 percent of inhibition) obtained for methanogenic bacteria ranged between 56 and 84 percent for RW, meanwhile IC50 for TW was ranged between 84 and 94 percent. Such inhibitory effects can be related to the free ammonia nitrogen concentration (> 40 mg NH3-N/L) contained in swine wastewater.