Advanced spectroscopic investigation of colour centres in LiF crystals irradiated with monochromatic hard x-rays

Nominally-pure lithium fluoride (LiF) crystals were irradiated with monochromatic hard x-rays of energy 5, 7, 9 and 12 keV at the METROLOGIE beamline of the SOLEIL synchrotron facility, in order to understand the role of the selected x-ray energy on their visible photoluminescence (PL) response, which is used for high spatial resolution 2D x-ray imaging detectors characterized by a wide dynamic range. At the energies of 7 and 12 keV the irradiations were performed at five different doses corresponding to five uniformly irradiated areas, while at 5 and 9 keV only two irradiations at two different doses were carried out. The doses were planned in a range between 4 and 1.4 × 103Gy (10.5 mJ cm-3to 3.7 J cm-3), depending on the x-ray energy. After irradiation at the energies of 7 and 12 keV, the spectrally-integrated visible PL intensity of the F2and F3+colour centres (CCs) generated in the LiF crystals, carefully measured by fluorescence microscopy under blue excitation, exhibits a linear dependence on the irradiation dose in the investigated dose range. This linear behaviour was confirmed by the optical absorption spectra of the irradiated spots, which shows a similar linear behaviour for both the F2and F3+CCs, as derived from their overlapping absorption band at around 450 nm. At the highest x-ray energy, the average concentrations of the radiation-induced F, F2and F3+CCs were also estimated. The volume distributions of F2defects in the crystals irradiated with 5 and 9 keV x-rays were reconstructed in 3D by measuring their PL signal using a confocal laser scanning microscope operating in fluorescence mode. On-going investigations are focusing on the results obtained through thisz-scanning technique to explore the potential impact of absorption effects at the excitation laser wavelength.

AB0969 Factors influencing the result of local injection therapy with hyaluronic acid preparations in osteoarthritis of the knee joint

Background

Local injection therapy (LIT) with hyaluronic acid (HA) preparations is one of the methods of conservative treatment of the knee joint osteoarthritis (KOA). However, the factors affecting the effectiveness of such treatment require clarification.

Objectives

to study the influence of age, body mass index (BMI), stage of KOA, the presence of deformity of the knee joint and enthesitis on the results of LIT with HA preparations in KOA.

Methods

from September 2017 to June 2019, intra-articular injections of HA were performed in 160 patients with primary and posttraumatic KOA stage I-III. For the analysis, the patients were divided into groups depending on the factor studied: by age into young - 36 (22.5%), middle age - 51 (31.3%), elderly - 61 (38.7%) and old age - 12 (7.5%); by BMI: on patients with normal values - 32 (20%), preobesity - 56 (35%), I - 43 (26.9%), II - 16 (10%) and III - 13 (8.1%) degrees of obesity; by stages of KOA: I - 37 (23.1%), II - 91 (56.8%), III - 32 (20.1%); by the presence of deformity: varus deformity <10° - 83 (51.8%), >10° - 23 (14.4%), valgus deformity - 22 (13.8%), no deformity - 32 (20%); and also depending on the presence (44 (27.5%)) or absence (116 (72.5%)) of enthesites. To assess the results, the pain intensity was determined using a visual analogue scale and the knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score before treatment, 1, 3, and 6 months after the course of LIT.

Results

1 month after the course of LIT, the best results were obtained in young patients (p=0.001), as well as stage I of KOA (p=0.0001) and normal BMI values (p=0.034), the worst in elderly patients (p=0.006), at stage III of KOA (p=0.01), varus deformity >10° (p=0.006), obesity degree 3 (p=0.015) and the presence of concomitant enthesitis (p=0.003). 3 months after the course of LIT, the previously identified differences persisted, so the best results were again revealed in young people (p=0.0001), in stage I of KOA (p=0.0001), in the absence of deformity (p=0.002) and in normal BMI values (p=0.002), while lack of improvement or deterioration in elderly patients (p=0.001), in stage III KOA (p=0.0001), varus deformity >10° (p=0.001), obesity degree 3 (p=0.022) and the presence of concomitant enthesitis (p=0.001). 6 months after the course of LIT, the improvement remained as before in young patients (p=0.0001), as well as stage I of KOA (p=0.0001), in the absence of deformity (p=0.001) and with normal BMI values (p=0.0001). Lack of improvement or deterioration of knee joint function 6 months after the course of LIT was found in the elderly (p=0.03) and old age patients (p=0.06), in stage II (p=0.045) and III of KOA (p=0.007), varus deformity >10° (p=0.015), obesity degree 2 (p=0.025) and the presence of concomitant enthesitis (p=0.02).

Conclusion

The best LIT results with HA preparations can be obtained in young patients with normal BMI values, at the initial stage of KOA, in the absence of deformity and enthesitis. The elderly age of patients, the presence of stage III KOA, varus deformity of the knee joint >10°, BMI >40 kg/m2, and the presence of enthesitis are associated with the lack of effect from intra-articular injections of HA preparations. Performing LIT with HA preparations in patients with stage II KOA and degree 2 obesity allows maintaining improvement for up to 6 months.

Disclosure of Interests

None declared

POS1110 WHAT FACTORS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF PAIN AFTER TOTAL JOINT REPLACEMENT?

Background

Chronic postoperative pain (CPP) is one of the most common complications of total hip (HJ) and knee (CJ) arthroplasty (TA). The search for the factors that determine this pathology is an urgent scientific and practical task.

Objectives

To determine the factors associated with the development of CPP in patients who underwent TA, CJ or HJ.

Methods

The study group consisted of 124 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip joint, mean age 63.6 + 9.9 years, 63% of women and 37% of men, who in 2019-2020 year done out by TA KJ or HJ. The development of CPP was assessed after 3 and 6 months. telephone survey of patients. This complication was diagnosed in the presence of moderate to severe pain (≥40 mm on a visual analogue scale, VAS), persisting for at least 3 months, causing concern in patients and / or requiring regular use of analgesics. A comparison was made between the groups of patients with CPP and the absence of CPP for a number of factors determined in the preoperative period.

Results

The incidence of CPP was 27.4%. There were no differences in the incidence of CPP in patients who underwent TA CJ and TA HJ: 28.1% and 26.9%, respectively (p = 0.88). The presence of CPP was significantly associated with such preoperative indicators as a higher body mass index (BMI), a higher intensity of pain at rest, higher values of the WOMAC pain index, WOMAC and WOMAC stiffness in general, and the severity of symptoms of neuropathic pain. (PainDetect questionnaire), signs of depression and anxiety (HADS questionnaire). The risk of developing CPP was significantly higher (p <0.05) in patients with BMI> 30 kg / m2 - odds ratio (OR) 2.755 (95% confidence interval, CI 1.053-7.206), for pain at rest ≥40 mm VAS - OR 1.349 (95% CI 0.478-3.803), Pain Detect score ≥13 - OR 3.598 (95% CI 1.048-12.36), depression score HADS ≥8 - OR 2.193 (95% CI 0.745-6.454), number of pain sources ≥ 2 - OR 6.996 (95% CI 2.358-20.756).

Conclusion

The risk of CPP after TA CJ and HJ is higher in patients with overweight, high preoperative pain, signs of neuropathic pain and depression, and in the presence of several sources of musculoskeletal pain (except for the affected joint planned for TA).

Disclosure of Interests

None declared

AB0404 DEPENDENCE OF COMPLICATIONS IN TOTAL HIP AND KNEE ARTHROPLASTY ON THE TREATMENT OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Background

Surgical treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with an increased risk of complications. This is due to the presence of an inflammatory process, a variety of variants of the course of the disease, reduced physical activity, the severity of functional disorders, prolonged therapy with glucocorticoids, disease-modifying and genetically engineered biological drugs, osteoporosis, as well as the activity of the underlying disease.

Objectives

to conduct a comparative analysis of the effect of RA treatment on local complications, such as periprosthetic infection, periprosthetic fractures, wound complications, ligamentous disorders in hip and knee total arthroplasty in patients with RA.

Methods

1113 arthroplasties of large joints in patients with RA, which were performed in the period from 2002 to 2020, were analyzed. Of these, 649 total knee replacements (TKA) and 464 total hip replacements (THA) were performed.

Results

In patients with therapy of methotrexate at an average dose of 12.5 mg per week, the incidence of local complications was 7.87%. In patients receiving Leflunomide (Arava), complications were detected in 9.29% of cases. In group of patients with Sulfasalazine (SSZ) intake, local complications were detected in 7.73% of cases. The complication rate of 7.01% was determined in group of patients who received Glucocorticoids (GC) at an average dose of 7.5 mg (recalculation in Prednisone). 1.87% of complications were observed in patients with intake of genetically engineered biological drugs (bDMARD). The highest incidence of local complications was found in patients with RA who had no therapy (27.27%).

Statistical data analysis revealed a significantly higher number of complications in the group of RA patients (p<0.005). Analyzing each type of complications, significant differences were also obtained (p<0.005).

Conclusion

The risk of local complications was 3 or more times higher in group of patients with RA without any treatment. So, arthroplasties of large joints in patients with RA without treatment are often accompanied by a high risk of intra- and postoperative complications.

Disclosure of Interests

None declared

AB0970 What is the effect of intra-articular injections of glucocorticoids in real clinical practice?

Background

Intra-articular injections of glucocorticoids (IAI GC) are widely used in the complex therapy of rheumatic diseases (RD). However, there are relatively few modern data on their efficacy and safety in real clinical practice.

Objectives

To evaluate the effectiveness of IAI HA in RD in clinical practice.

Methods

The study group consisted of 290 patients with RD, mainly osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (69.0% of women, age 55.6 ± 12.6 years), who underwent IAI GC in the knee joint. The indications for IAI were determined by the attending physicians. The control consisted of 112 patients with OA (71.4% of women, age 59.3 ± 14.6 years), who underwent a course of IAI of hyaluronic acid (HA). The result of treatment was assessed after 2 weeks, 1 and 3 months. according to a telephone survey.

Results

After 2 weeks, 1 month. and 3 months. after IAI GC, the severity of pain during movement decreased (numerical rating scale, NRS 0-10, Me [25%; 75%]) from 6.0 [4.0; 8.0] to 1.0 [0; 2.0], 2.0 [1.0; 4.0] and 2.5 [1.0; 4.0], respectively (p <0.001). After 3 months. the number of patients with no / mild pain (<4 according to the NRS) was 63.8%, with a complete / almost complete absence of pain (≤1 by the NRS) - 30.3%. The effect of HSI HA was higher in RA than in OA: the dynamics of pain after 3 months. -4.0 [-2.0; -6.0] and -2.0 [-1.0; -5.0], p = 0.003. In OA, the effect of HAI HA and HA did not differ: the dynamics of pain after 3 months. was -2.0 [-1.0; -5.0] and -3.0 [-1.0; -5.0] p = 0.869. There were no serious adverse reactions in IAI.

Conclusion

IAI GC are an effective and fairly safe method of short-term treatment of synovitis in RD.

Disclosure of Interests

None declared

POS1109 GENETIC MARKERS PREDICT THE DEVELOPMENT OF POSTOPERATIVE PAIN

Background

Postoperative pain (POP) is a serious complication that affects the outcome of total arthroplasty (TA) of the knee (CJ) and hip (HJ) joints in patients with osteoarthritis (OA). The search for the genetic characteristics of POP is an urgent direction in the study of this problem.

Objectives

To determine the relationship between the polymorphisms of the KCNS1, COMT, and OPRM1 genes and the development of postoperative pain in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee joint and hip joint who underwent total arthroplasty.

Methods

The study group consisted of 95 patients with knee osteoarthritis and / or hip joint osteoarthritis (64.6% of women; mean age - 65.4 ± 9.0 years) who underwent TA CJ (47.8%) or TA HJ (52.2 %). The presence of POP was determined when it persisted or appeared after 3 and 6 months. After surgery, pain in the area of the operated joint ≥40 mm by 100 mm visual analogue scale. All patients underwent genotyping of KCNS1 (rs734784), COMT (rs6269, rs4633), and OPRM1 (rs1799971) gene polymorphisms by real-time polymerase chain reaction using original sequence-specific primers and probes labeled with various fluorescent labels. Registration and interpretation of the obtained results were carried out on a DT-96 amplifier (DNA-Technology LLC, Russia).

Results

POP was observed in 32.6% of patients who underwent TA CJ or TA HJ. The incidence of POP after TA CJ and TA HJ was 30.2% and 34.0%, respectively (p = 0.882). There were no differences in the frequencies of genotypes of the studied genes (p>0.05). The presence of the homozygous GG genotype of the KCNS1 gene polymorphism (rs734784) was associated with the presence of POP in accordance with the recessive genetic model (GG vs AA + AG; odds ratio (OR) - 3.96 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1, 51; 10.37]; p = 0.005). The presence in the genotype of the mutant allele T (TT + CT) of the COMT polymorphism (rs4633) reduced the risk of developing POP compared with the carriage of the CC genotype (OR = 0.32 [95% CI: 0.12; 0.83]; p = 0, 02) according to the dominant genetic model. There was no statistically significant correlation between the development of POP and the carriage of various genotypes and alleles of the COMT (rs6269) and OPRM1 (rs1799971) genes.

Conclusion

There is a statistically significant association between the polymorphism of the KCNS1 (rs734784) and COMT (rs4633) genes and the development of chronic POP in patients who underwent TA CJ and TA HJ. Further studies of the genetic predisposition to POP are required using more clinical material.

Disclosure of Interests

None declared

AB0585 COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HYALURONIC ACID PREPARATIONS WITH DIFFERENT MOLECULAR WEIGHTS AND IN COMBINATION WITH CHONDROITIN SULFATE DEPENDING ON THE STAGE OF OSTEOARTHRITIS OF THE KNEE JOINT

Background:

intra-articular (IA) injections of hyaluronic acid (HA) preparations are one of conservative treatment of the knee osteoarthritis (OA). However, the results of this treatment are inconsistent.

Objectives:

to evaluate the effectiveness of HA preparations with different molecular weights and in combination with chondroitin sulfate (HS) for IA injections in the treatment of patients with stage I-III knee OA.

Methods:

IA HA injections were performed 160 patients with primary and post-traumatic knee OA of the I-III stages at the department of rheumoorthopaedic and rehabilitation, V. A. Nasonova Research Institute of Rheumatology for the period from September 2017 to June 2019. Patients were divided into 4 groups. Group 1 consisted of 80 patients treated with low molecular weight (LMW) HA, group 2 - 20 patients treated with medium molecular weight (MMW) HA, group 3 - 30 patients treated with high molecular weight (HMW) HA, and group 4 - 30 patients who were intraarticular introduced HA with HS. The course of IA injections was 2 for LMW, HMW, and HA with HS, and 3 for MMW HA. Injections were performed with an interval of 1 week. To evaluate the results of treatment, we studied the intensity of pain according to VAS and the total score of KOOS before treatment and on follow-up examinations 1, 3 and 6 months after the course of IA HA injections.

Results:

the maximum reduction in pain with IA HA injections at stage I of knee OA occurred by 3 months after the course of treatment. Moreover, improvement was detected by 1 month in 84.3% of cases, and remained until the end of the study in 71.1% of patients. All HA preparations used in stage I of knee OA were effective. At stage II of the knee OA after 3 months after the course of IA HA, different efficiencies of HA preparations were revealed. So, in the groups of LMW, MMW and HA with HS, the improvement persisted up to 3 months, and in the group of HMW HA - up to 1 month. After 3 months, the best results were shown by HA with HS, by 6 months the results were comparable. IA HA injections at the II stage of knee OA led to good and excellent results 1 month after the course of treatment in 53.9% of cases, but by the end of the study, improvement remained in only 30.8% of patients. In the case of the use of HA in stage III of the knee OA, the effectiveness of the studied drugs was comparable, and the maximum improvement was achieved by 1 month. The positive effect of IA HA injections in patients with stage III of the knee OA one month after the course of treatment was obtained in 40.6% of cases, by 3 months it decreased to 18.8%, and by 6 months - to 15.7% of patients.

Conclusion:

IA injections of HA at stage I of the knee OA is a highly effective method of conservative treatment, which allows to relieve pain and improve the condition of the knee joint for a period of 6 months or more. The use of HA preparations at stage II of the knee OA allows reducing pain up to 3 months with IA injections of LMW and MMW HA, as well as HA with HS. HMW HA helps reduce pain intensity for a period of 1 month. The use of HA preparations in stage III of the knee OA leads to a short-term relief of symptoms of OA.

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared.

POS0098 THE INFLUENCE OF THE ACTIVITY OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS TO INFECTIOUS AND WOUND COMPLICATIONS AFTER TOTAL HIP AND KNEE ARTHROPLASTY

Background:

Surgical treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with an increased risk of complications. This is due to the presence of inflammation, many variants of the disease, reduced physical activity, severity of functional disorders, prolonged therapy with glucocorticoids, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and biological DMARDs, osteoporosis, as well as activity of the underlying disease.

Objectives:

to conduct a comparative analysis of the influence of RA activity levels on infectious complications (periprosthetic infection) and wound complications (poor healing, divergence, necrosis of the wound edges) after hip and knee arthroplasty in RA patients.

Methods:

1113 arthroplasties were analyzed in patients with RA, which were performed between 2002 and 2019. Of these, 649 total knee arthroplasties and 464 total hip arthroplasties were performed.

Results:

Infectious complications after total hip and knee arthroplasty did not occur at 0 grade of disease activity (remission). At the I grade of activity, periprosthetic infections were detected with a frequency of 0.31%, at the II grade – 0.89%, and at the III level in 3.06% of cases.

Complications from the operative wound occurred in 0.91% of cases with I grade of activity, at II grade with a frequency of 5.68%, and at III – 6.98%. There were no cases of complications from the wound in patients with remission of RA.

Statistical analysis of the obtained data revealed a significantly higher number of complications in the group of RA patients (p<0.005). During analyzing each type of complication, significant differences were also obtained (p<0.005).

Conclusion:

Risk of periprosthetic infection and complications from the wound is several times higher in patients with a high grade of RA activity. This means that performing arthroplasty, as well as other operations, in patients with high RA activity correlates to a high risk of complications.

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared

AB0714 COMPARISON OF THE EFFECT OF SUBACROMIAL ADMINISTRATION OF HYALURONIC ACID AND PLATELET RICH PLASMA IN CASES OF DAMAGE TO THE TENDONS OF THE ROTATORS OF THE SHOULDER IN INDIVIDUALS OF DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS

Background:

Everyone has had shoulder pain at least once in their life. From 70 to 80% of chronic pain in the shoulder joint is associated with subacromial impingement syndrome. The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and glucocorticoids does not always meet the needs of patients and have a number of adverse reactions. Local administration of PRP and HA preparations is widely used for chronic shoulder pain. However, the question of the effectiveness of these drugs in patients of different ages has been insufficiently studied.

Objectives:

To compare the efficacy of GLA and PRP in patients with chronic shoulder pain by age.

Methods:

The study group included 100 patients, 46% women and 54% men, aged 51.5 ± 15.1, with chronic shoulder pain (≥3 months) caused by damage to the tendons of the muscles of the shoulder rotators. Patients <45 years old accounted for 34%, patients ≥45 years old - 66%. All patients were randomly divided into 2 groups. Patients in group 1 received 2 consecutive subacromial injections of GLK, groups 2 - 3 consecutive subacromial injections of PRP. Pain dynamics were assessed using a 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS), functional impairments according to ASS (American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Assessment) and CS (Constant Score), and a decrease in the need for NSAID use after 6 months. after the course of treatment.

Results:

The dynamics of pain and functional disorders in the treatment of GLC and PRP did not differ. The pain decreased from 57.6 ± 17.8 to 30.2 ± 26.3 and 56.0 ± 14.6 to 31.8 ± 26.3 (p = 0.768), ASS from 54.7 ± 15.1 to 77.3 ± 22.5 and 54.8 ± 13.8 to 74.6 ± 22.4 (p = 0.552), CS from 47.8 ± 16.9 to 65.6 ± 19.3 and 59.2 ± 14.4 to 66.9 ± 17.4 (p = 0.245). In general, with the treatment of GLA and PRP, the dynamics of pain and functional disorders was significantly better in patients <45 years old than in patients ≥45 years old. So, pain according to VAS after 6 months. was 22.4 ± 26.3 and 35.5 ± 26.2 (p = 0.022), ASS 83.3 ± 20.9 and 72.1 ± 22.6 (p = 0.017), CS 76.2 ± 16, 1 and 63.2 ± 18.2 (p = 0.001). There was no need to take NSAIDs in 82.4% and 65.2% of patients (p = 0.103). No serious adverse reactions have been reported with the treatment of GLC and PRP.

Conclusion:

The efficacy of GLA and PRP in chronic shoulder pain caused by damage to the tendons of the muscles of the rotator of the shoulder does not differ. The clinical response to both drugs was significantly higher in those under 45 years of age.

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared

Micron-scale phenomena observed in a turbulent laser-produced plasma

Turbulence is ubiquitous in the universe and in fluid dynamics. It influences a wide range of high energy density systems, from inertial confinement fusion to astrophysical-object evolution. Understanding this phenomenon is crucial, however, due to limitations in experimental and numerical methods in plasma systems, a complete description of the turbulent spectrum is still lacking. Here, we present the measurement of a turbulent spectrum down to micron scale in a laser-plasma experiment. We use an experimental platform, which couples a high power optical laser, an x-ray free-electron laser and a lithium fluoride crystal, to study the dynamics of a plasma flow with micrometric resolution (~1μm) over a large field of view (>1 mm²). After the evolution of a Rayleigh–Taylor unstable system, we obtain spectra, which are overall consistent with existing turbulent theory, but present unexpected features. This work paves the way towards a better understanding of numerous systems, as it allows the direct comparison of experimental results, theory and numerical simulations.

Turbulence effects explored use macroscale systems in general. Here the authors generate a turbulent plasma using laser irradiation of a solid target and study the dynamics of the plasma flow at the micron-scale by using scattering of an XFEL beam.

AB0900 FREQUENCY OF LOCAL COMPLICATIONS AFTER TOTAL HIP ARTHROPLASTY IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATIC DISEASES

Background:

Surgical treatment of patients with rheumatic diseases (RD) is associated with an increased risk of complications. It is caused by presence of an inflammatory process, osteoporosis, reduced physical activity, severity of functional impairment, long-term glucocorticoid therapy, biological and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. All this provides elongated wound healing period, the development of infectious complications and increased risk of periprosthetic fractures.

Objectives:

To study a frequency of local complications of total hip arthroplasty (THA) in patients with inflammatory RD and osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods:

We analyzed 1591 THA, which were performed to RD patients between 2000 and 2019 years.

Results:

We performed 882 arthroplasties in patients with inflammatory RD, which consisted of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), systemic scleroderma (SSD), and also 709 operations in OA patients.

Local complications after THA were 120 (7.54%), of these 83 (9.41%) in patients with inflammatory RD and 37 (5.22%) in OA patients.

We revealed a significantly greater number of complications in patients with inflammatory RD (p<0.005).

Conclusion:

Inflammatory RD (RA, SLE, JRA, AS, SSD) patients have local complications after THA (9.41%) 1.8 times more often than OA patients (5.22%). It shows that the operative treatment of patients with RD requires a special approach, management and careful treatment of the bone and surrounding tissues during surgery.

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared

Si1-xGex nanoantennas with a tailored Raman response and light-to-heat conversion for advanced sensing applications

Active light-emitting all-dielectric nanoantennas recently have demonstrated great potential as highly efficient nanoscale light sources owing to their strong luminescent and Raman responses. However, their large-scale fabrication faces a number of problems related to productivity limits of existing lithography techniques. Thus, high-throughput fabrication strategies allowing in a facile way to tailor of the nanoantenna emission and thermal properties in the process of their fabrication are highly desirable for various applications. Here, we propose a cost-effective approach to large-scale fabrication of Si1-xGex alloyed Mie nanoresonators possessing an enhanced inherent Raman response which can be simply tailored via tuning the Ge concentration. Moreover, by tailoring the relative Ge composition one can gradually change a complex refractive index of the produced Si1-xGex alloy, which affects the ratio between radiative and nonradiative losses in Si1-xGex nanoantennas, which is crucial for optimization of their optical heating efficiency. Composition-tunable Si1-xGex nanoantennas with an optimized size, light-to-heat conversion and Raman response are implemented for non-invasive sensing of 4-aminothiophenol molecules with a temperature feedback modality and high subwavelength spatial resolution. The results are important for advanced multichannel optical sensing, providing information on analyte's composition, analyte-nanoantenna temperature response and spatial position.

Characterization of high spatial resolution lithium fluoride X-ray detectors

The response of lithium fluoride (LiF) crystal detectors to monochromatic X-rays is measured in the multi-kilo-electron-volt range. This response, as a function of the X-ray dose, is independent of photon energy with no saturation level found. The response, as a function of the incident energy flux, is found to increase for photons of lower energy due to the differing attenuation lengths of X-ray photons within the crystal. Small differences are seen between different confocal microscopes used to scan the data, suggesting the need for absolute calibration. The spatial resolution of the LiF is also measured (1.19-1.36 μm) and is found to be independent of incident photon energy. Finally, a photometric study is performed in order to assess the feasibility of using these detectors at current X-ray free electron laser and laser facilities worldwide.

Evaluating biological activity of compounds by transcription factor activity profiling

Assessing the biological activity of compounds is an essential objective of biomedical research. We show that one can infer the bioactivity of compounds by assessing the activity of transcription factors (TFs) that regulate gene expression. Using a multiplex reporter system, the FACTORIAL, we characterized cell response to a compound by a quantitative signature, the TF activity profile (TFAP). We found that perturbagens of biological pathways elicited distinct TFAP signatures in human cells. Unexpectedly, perturbagens of the same pathway all produced identical TFAPs, regardless of where or how they interfered. We found invariant TFAPs for mitochondrial, histone deacetylase, and ubiquitin/proteasome pathway inhibitors; cytoskeleton disruptors; and DNA-damaging agents. Using these invariant signatures permitted straightforward identification of compounds with specified bioactivities among uncharacterized chemicals. Furthermore, this approach allowed us to assess the multiple bioactivities of polypharmacological drugs. Thus, TF activity profiling affords straightforward assessment of the bioactivity of compounds through the identification of perturbed biological pathways.

The Identification of Pivotal Transcriptional Factors Mediating Cell Responses to Drugs With Drug-Induced Liver Injury Liabilities

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a leading cause of drug attrition during drug development and a common reason for drug withdrawal from the market. The poor predictability of conventional animal-based approaches necessitates the development of alternative testing approaches. A body of evidence associates DILI with the induction of stress-response genes in liver cells. Here, we set out to identify signal transduction pathways predominantly involved in the regulation of gene transcription by DILI drugs. To this end, we employed ATTAGENE's cell-based multiplexed reporter assay, the FACTORIAL transcription factor (TF), that enables quantitative assessment of the activity of multiple stress-responsive TFs in a single well of cells. Homogeneous reporter system enables quantitative functional assessment of multiple transcription factors. Nat. Methods 5, 253-260). Using this assay, we assessed TF responses of the human hepatoma cell line HepG2 to a panel of 64 drug candidates, including 23 preclinical DILI and 11 clinical DILI compounds and 30 nonhepatotoxic compounds from a diverse physicochemical property space. We have identified 16 TF families that specifically responded to DILI drugs, including nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 antioxidant response element, octamer, hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha, farnesoid-X receptor, TCF/beta-catenin, aryl hydrocarbon receptor, activator protein-1, E2F, early growth response-1, metal-response transcription factor 1, sterol regulatory element-binding protein, paired box protein, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, liver X receptor, interferone regulating factor, and P53, and 2 promoters that responded to multiple TFs (cytomegalovirus and direct repeat 3/vitamin D receptor). Some of TFs identified here also have previously defined role in pathogenesis of liver diseases. These data demonstrate the utility of cost-effective, animal-free, TF profiling assay for detecting DILI potential of drug candidates at early stages of drug development.

Resonant silicon nanoparticles for enhancement of light absorption and photoluminescence from hybrid perovskite films and metasurfaces

Recently, hybrid halide perovskites have emerged as one of the most promising types of materials for thin-film photovoltaic and light-emitting devices because of their low-cost and potential for high efficiency. Further boosting their performance without detrimentally increasing the complexity of the architecture is critically important for commercialization. Despite a number of plasmonic nanoparticle based designs having been proposed for solar cell improvement, inherent optical losses of the nanoparticles reduce photoluminescence from perovskites. Here we use low-loss high-refractive-index dielectric (silicon) nanoparticles for improving the optical properties of organo-metallic perovskite (MAPbI₃) films and metasurfaces to achieve strong enhancement of photoluminescence as well as useful light absorption. As a result, we observed experimentally a 50% enhancement of photoluminescence intensity from a perovskite layer with silicon nanoparticles and 200% enhancement for a nanoimprinted metasurface with silicon nanoparticles on top. Strong increase in light absorption is also demonstrated and described by theoretical calculations. Since both silicon nanoparticle fabrication/deposition and metasurface nanoimprinting techniques are low-cost, we believe that the developed all-dielectric approach paves the way to novel scalable and highly effective designs of perovskite based metadevices.

Laser printing of resonant plasmonic nanovoids

Hollow reduced-symmetry resonant plasmonic nanostructures possess pronounced tunable optical resonances in the UV-vis-IR range, being a promising platform for advanced nanophotonic devices. However, the present fabrication approaches require several consecutive technological steps to produce such nanostructures, making their large-scale fabrication rather time-consuming and expensive. Here, we report on direct single-step fabrication of large-scale arrays of hollow parabolic- and cone-shaped nanovoids in silver and gold thin films, using single-pulse femtosecond nanoablation at high repetition rates. The lateral and vertical size of such nanovoids was found to be laser energy-tunable. Resonant light scattering from individual nanovoids was observed in the visible spectral range, using dark-field confocal microspectroscopy, with the size-dependent resonant peak positions. These colored geometric resonances in far-field scattering were related to excitation and interference of transverse surface plasmon modes in nanovoid shells. Plasmon-mediated electromagnetic field enhancement near the nanovoids was evaluated via finite-difference time-domain calculations for their model shapes simulated by three-dimensional molecular dynamics, and experimentally verified by means of photoluminescence microscopy and Raman spectroscopy.

A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study adding high dose vitamin D to analgesic regimens in patients with musculoskeletal pain

BACKGROUND

The current mode of therapy for many patients with musculoskeletal pain is unsatisfactory.

PURPOSE

We aimed to assess the impact of adding 4000 IU of vitamin D on pain and serological parameters in patients with musculoskeletal pain.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This was a randomized, double-blinded and placebo-controlled study assessing the effect of 4000 IU of orally given vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) (four gel capsules of 1000 IU, (SupHerb, Israel) vs. placebo on different parameters of pain. Eighty patients were enrolled and therapy was given for 3 months. Parameters were scored at three time points: prior to intervention, at week 6 and week 12. Visual analogue scale (VAS) scores of pain perception were recorded following 6 and 12 weeks. We also measured serum levels of leukotriene B4 (LTB4), interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) by ELISA.

RESULTS

The group receiving vitamin D achieved a statistically significant larger decline of their VAS measurement throughout the study compared with the placebo group. The need for analgesic 'rescue therapy' was significantly lower among the vitamin D-treated group. TNFα levels decreased by 54.3% in the group treated with vitamin D and increased by 16.1% in the placebo group. PGE2 decreased by39.2% in the group treated with vitamin D and increased by 16% in the placebo group. LTB4 levels decreased in both groups by 24% (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Adding 4000 IU of vitamin D for patients with musculoskeletal pain may lead to a faster decline of consecutive VAS scores and to a decrease in the levels of inflammatory and pain-related cytokines.

Benchmarking organic micropollutants in wastewater, recycled water and drinking water with in vitro bioassays

Thousands of organic micropollutants and their transformation products occur in water. Although often present at low concentrations, individual compounds contribute to mixture effects. Cell-based bioassays that target health-relevant biological endpoints may therefore complement chemical analysis for water quality assessment. The objective of this study was to evaluate cell-based bioassays for their suitability to benchmark water quality and to assess efficacy of water treatment processes. The selected bioassays cover relevant steps in the toxicity pathways including induction of xenobiotic metabolism, specific and reactive modes of toxic action, activation of adaptive stress response pathways and system responses. Twenty laboratories applied 103 unique in vitro bioassays to a common set of 10 water samples collected in Australia, including wastewater treatment plant effluent, two types of recycled water (reverse osmosis and ozonation/activated carbon filtration), stormwater, surface water, and drinking water. Sixty-five bioassays (63%) showed positive results in at least one sample, typically in wastewater treatment plant effluent, and only five (5%) were positive in the control (ultrapure water). Each water type had a characteristic bioanalytical profile with particular groups of toxicity pathways either consistently responsive or not responsive across test systems. The most responsive health-relevant endpoints were related to xenobiotic metabolism (pregnane X and aryl hydrocarbon receptors), hormone-mediated modes of action (mainly related to the estrogen, glucocorticoid, and antiandrogen activities), reactive modes of action (genotoxicity) and adaptive stress response pathway (oxidative stress response). This study has demonstrated that selected cell-based bioassays are suitable to benchmark water quality and it is recommended to use a purpose-tailored panel of bioassays for routine monitoring.

Winklerites serbicus, a new endogean species of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Bembidiini) from southeastern Serbia

A new endogean bembidiine ground beetle species, Winklerites serbicus sp. n., from a cave in the southeastern part of Serbia is both described and diagnosed. Male and female genital structures and other taxonomically important characters are illustrated. The new species is clearly distinct from its closest congeners. Fifteen species of the genus so far known are arranged in six groups. The new species is both endemic and relict, inhabiting southeastern Serbia only.

Cytokine biomarkers and chronic pain: association of genes, transcription, and circulating proteins with temporomandibular disorders and widespread palpation tenderness

For reasons unknown, temporomandibular disorder (TMD) can manifest as localized pain or in conjunction with widespread pain. We evaluated relationships between cytokines and TMD without or with widespread palpation tenderness (TMD-WPT or TMD+WPT, respectively) at protein, transcription factory activity, and gene levels. Additionally, we evaluated the relationship between cytokines and intermediate phenotypes characteristic of TMD and WPT. In a case-control study of 344 females, blood samples were analyzed for levels of 22 cytokines and activity of 48 transcription factors. Intermediate phenotypes were measured by quantitative sensory testing and questionnaires asking about pain, health, and psychological status. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) coding cytokines and transcription factors were genotyped. TMD-WPT cases had elevated protein levels of proinflammatory cytokine monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP-1) and antiinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-1ra, whereas TMD+WPT cases had elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokine IL-8. MCP-1, IL-1ra, and IL-8 were differentially associated with experimental pain, self-rated pain, self-rated health, and psychological phenotypes. TMD-WPT and TMD+WPT cases had inhibited transcription activity of the antiinflammatory cytokine transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1). Interactions were observed between TGFβ1 and IL-8 SNPs: an additional copy of the TGFβ1 rs2241719 minor T allele was associated with twice the odds of TMD+WPT among individuals homozygous for the IL-8 rs4073 major A allele, and half the odds of TMD+WPT among individuals heterozygous for rs4073. These results demonstrate how pro- and antiinflammatory cytokines contribute to the pathophysiology of TMD and WPT in genetically susceptible people. Furthermore, they identify MCP-1, IL-1ra, IL-8, and TGFβ1 as potential diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for pain in patients with TMD.