Novel (Germany)

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) poses a significant risk to human health. In Europe, the majority of HEV infection are caused by the zoonotic genotype 3 (HEV-3), which can cause chronic hepatitis E in immunocompromised patients and those with pre-existing liver disease, and may eventually develop into fatal liver cirrhosis. In this study, we examined the effectiveness of a monoclonal antibody (MAb) treatment strategy using a well established HEV-3 pig model with intravenous infection. For this purpose, nine MAbs raised against the viral capsid protein were generated and the neutralizing activities were compared using in vitro assays. The antibody with the highest neutralizing activity, MAb 5F6A1, was selected for an in vivo study in pigs infected with HEV-3. Following the initial infection of pigs with HEV-3, MAb 5F6A1 was administered intravenously one and seven days post-infection. The results suggest MAb 5F6A1 significantly reduced viremia and virus shedding in pigs infected with HEV-3. This study provides significant insight into the dynamics of HEV infection in pigs and highlights the efficacy of MAb based therapy as an option for treating HEV in porcine hosts and, potentially, humans.

The Cover Feature illustrates the sample environment of a neutron diffraction instrument filled with tetrahedra. These tetrahedra are key structural elements of the reported compound Sr4Ba3(BO3)3.83H2.5 and represent the sample. The blue ray displays the neutron beam that gets scattered by the central tetrahedron. Only by the means of neutron diffraction, was it possible to determine the exact chemical composition, particularly of the tetrahedra. In this case, a unique complex [BO3H]4− anion was discovered. More information can be found in the Research Article by A. Mutschke and co-workers (DOI: 10.1002/chem.202403048).

In this study, the aerogel technology was used to prepare pulmonary drug carriers consisting of alginate and alginate–hyaluronic acid by an emulsion gelation technique and supercritical CO2 drying. During the preparation process, the emulsification rate and inner phase viscosity were varied to control the diameter of aerogel microspheres. Results showed that the aerogel microspheres were highly porous (porosity > 98%) with low densities in the range between 0.0087 and 0.0634 g/cm3 as well as high surface areas between 354 and 759 m2/g. The obtained microspheres showed aerodynamic diameter below 5 µm making them suitable for pulmonary drug delivery. An in vitro drug release study with the model drug sodium naproxen was conducted and a non-Fickian drug release mechanism was observed, with no significant difference between the release profiles of alginate and alginate–hyaluronic acid microspheres. During the emulsion gelation step, the feasibility of using the capillary number to estimate the largest stable droplet size in the emulsions was also studied and it was found that using this number, the droplet size in the emulsions may well be predicted.

Background: Dupuytren's contractures interfere with physiological gripping. While limited aponeurectomy is an accepted treatment modality to restore finger mobility, methods to objectify functional outcome beyond determination of the range of motion are scarce.Methods: Patients with Dupuytren's contracture being scheduled for unilateral limited aponeurectomy were invited to participate. Clinical data were gathered prospectively by chart review and interview. The DASH-score and flexion contracture for fingers were registered prior to surgery, 3 and 6 months afterwards. At the same time, dynamic manugraphy for simultaneous recording of the grip pattern and forces generated by the affected hand and anatomic areas (i.e., thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, little finger and palm) were performed. All findings obtained during the follow-up period were compared to the situation at baseline. Comparison between paired samples was done using Wilcoxon rank test. All p-values are two-sided and p < 0.05 was considered to be significant.Results: Out of 23 consecutively enrolled patients, 19 (15 men, 4 women) completed follow-up examinations. Manugraphy confirmed the impairment of physiological gripping with concomitant pathological load distribution at base line. Limited aponeurectomy significantly reduced flexion contractures. However, the DASH-score remained at an excellent level in one patient, indicated improvement in 11 and worsening in seven patients. Six patients had lower grip force at t6 compared to the preoperative condition, although the preoperative flexion contracture (≥110°) was considerably improved in all of them. In four of those, the DASH-score improved while it turned worse in two of them. The force of surgically treated fingers remained unchanged in three patients while it was improved and worsened in half of the remaining patients, respectively. Manugraphy revealed physiological gripping by enlargement of contact area and higher force transmission by the fingertips in 10 of 12 patients with constant or even improved DASH-score and in three of seven patients with a worsened DASH-score.Conclusions: Assessing the reduction of flexion contracture and grip force alone is not sufficient to comprehensively reflect the functional outcome of aponeurectomy for Dupuytren's disease. Visualizing physiological grip pattern provides an additional tool to objectify the success of surgical treatment.

Abstract Alginate‐based aerogels were shown to be non‐cytotoxic and to feature good cell adhesion, thus drawing their attention towards tissue engineering and regenerative medicine [1]. To this end, their mechanical properties under dry as well as wet conditions were subsequently investigated [2]. Upon wetting, these aerogels showed strong stiffening in their mechanical behavior. In this work, a micromechanically motivated model approach to describe this phenomenon is proposed. The nanofibers in the aerogel network are considered to undergo structural rearrangement upon being subjected to water. Furthermore, the collapse of the micropores (pore diameter below 5 nm) results in the formation of local hydrogel‐like network phase. The constitutive model is based upon the assumption that the total network can be decomposed into a hydrogel‐like network and a restructured aerogel network. The aerogel network is described based on the micromechanical model proposed by Rege et al. [3], while the hydrogel‐like network is modeled based on the phenomenological approach of Gent [4]. This first approach towards modeling shows reliable results against the experimental stress‐strain curves of alginate‐starch aerogels [5].

This work presents two novel methods to investigate in situ the carbon dioxide (CO2)-induced gelation of biopolymer-based solutions. The CO2-induced gelation is performed in a viewing cell at room temperature under CO2 pressure (20 to 60 bar), whereby calcium precursors are used as cross-linkers. The novel methods allow the in situ optical observation and evaluation of the gelation process via the change in turbidity due to dissolution of dispersed calcium carbonate (CaCO3) particles and in situ pH measurements. The combination of both methods enables the determination of the gelation direction, gelation rate, and the pH value in spatial and temporal resolution. The optical gelation front and pH front both propagate equally from top to bottom through the sample solutions, indicating a direct link between a decrease in the pH value and the dissolution of the CaCO3 particles. Close-to-vertical movement of both gelation front and pH front suggests almost one dimensional diffusion of CO2 from the contact surface (gel–CO2) to the bottom of the sample. The gelation rate increases with the increase in CO2 pressure. However, the increase in solution viscosity and the formation of a gel layer result in a strong decrease in the gelation rate due to a hindrance of CO2 diffusion. Released carbonate ions from CaCO3 dissolution directly influence the reaction equilibrium between CO2 and water and therefore the change in pH value of the solution. Increasing the CaCO3 concentrations up to the solubility results in lower gelation rates.

Several approaches to characterizing damage evolution and fracture behaviour of sheet metal materials are currently in existence. These are based on different testing methodologies and test specimen designs, some of which, when combined with higher sheet thicknesses used for aluminium alloys in the automotive field, can reach and exceed geometrical limits required for the plane stress assumption commonly applied to numerical modelling of sheet metal materials. Furthermore, if shell elements are to be used in modelling of such structures, the characteristic length of the element should be larger than the thickness of the modelled sheet material. In order to allow for element sizes accounting for the two considerations outlined above, new test specimen geometries covering a range of stress triaxialities have been developed with a deformation region significantly larger than that of other commonly used test specimen designs. The geometries have been manufactured and tested on an automotive grade AA6xxx series aluminium alloy with DIC strain measurement to determine failure strains. The results were then applied to finite element models using various element sizes and the behaviour of the numerical models compared to the test results.

The optical properties of rare earth ions in different inorganic host materials, for instance oxides, silicates, borates, or nitrides, have been used in applications for many years, from color TV to fluorescent tubes, lasers, or pc‐LEDs. However, rare earth metal ion‐doped hydrides have not really been considered as host lattices and up to now only been studied in a relatively small number of investigations. Yet, for certain metal hydrides these studies, e.g., allowed the determination of the crystal field strength and nephelauxetic effect of the hydride anion using the Eu2+ 5d excited state. In air‐sensitive hydrides, the use may be restricted to fundamental studies and local probes. But recently more and more air‐stable mixed anionic hydrides have been discovered, which may serve as hosts. This short review summarizes the synthesis and characterization of rare earth metal ion‐doped hydrides reported so far.