Search

Purpose: To investigate the effect of culturing human corneal endothelial cells (HCEnCs) from older donors on extracellular matrix (ECM) derived from human corneal endothelial cell line (HCEC‐12). Methods: HCEC‐12 cells were cultured on lab‐tek chamber slides for 9 days. Upon confluence, the cells were ruptured using ammonium hydroxide leaving the released ECM on the slide surface which was visualized using scanning electron microscope (SEM). HCEnCs from old aged donor tissues (n = 40) were isolated and cultured on either fibronectin‐collagen (FNC) or HCEC‐12 ECM at passage (P) 0. At subsequent passages (P1 and P2), cells were sub‐cultured on FNC and ECM separately. Live/dead analysis and tight junction using ZO‐1 staining were used to record percentage viability and morphological changes. The protein composition of HCEC‐12 ECM was then analysed using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Results: SEM images showed long fibrillar‐like structures and a fully laid ECM upon confluence. HCEnCs cultured from older donor tissues on this ECM showed significantly better proliferation and morphometric characteristics at subsequent passages. Out of 1307 proteins found from the HCEC‐12 derived ECM, 93 proteins were evaluated to be matrix oriented out of which 20 proteins were exclusively found to be corneal endothelial specific. Conclusions: ECM derived from HCEC‐12 retains protein and growth factors that stimulate the growth of HCEnCs. As the current clinical trials are from younger donors that are not available routinely for cell culture, HCEnCs from older donors can be cultured on whole ECM and passaged successfully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) experiments are adequately simulated assuming the thin sample approximation and using a Fresnel or Fraunhofer wavefront propagator to obtain the diffraction pattern. Although this method is used in wave‐based or hybrid X‐ray simulators, here the applicability and effectiveness of an alternative approach that is based solely on ray tracing of Huygens wavelets are investigated. It is shown that diffraction fringes of a grating‐like source are accurately predicted and that diffraction patterns of a ptychography dataset from an experiment with realistic parameters can be sampled well enough to be retrieved by a standard phase‐retrieval algorithm. Potentials and limits of this approach are highlighted. It is suggested that it could be applied to study imperfect or non‐standard CDI configurations lacking a satisfactory theoretical formulation. The considerable computational effort required by this method is justified by the great flexibility provided for easy simulation of a large‐parameter space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is associated with the lowest treatment response rate among all anxiety disorders. Understanding mechanisms of improvement may help to develop more effective and personalized treatments. Aim: The objective of the study was to investigate different improvement mechanisms in the treatment of individuals diagnosed with GAD. Design: We reported data from a randomized controlled trial that evaluated three different GAD treatments (mindfulness‐based intervention, BMT; fluoxetine, FLX; and an active comparison group, QoL) for 8 weeks. Method: Mediation analyses were performed evaluating the association between worry symptoms at baseline and anxiety scoring at the endpoint, considering self‐compassion or mindfulness or its dimensions at mid‐treatment as mediators for the whole sample (assessing GAD improvement mechanism) and the different interventions as moderators. Results: Contrary to mindfulness state scoring (C =.06; 95% CI = −.05 to.20), self‐compassion (C =.11; 95% CI =.01 to.28) and non‐judgement of inner experience (C =.10; 95% CI =.004 to.21) mediated the association between worry symptoms at baseline and anxiety at the endpoint. When comparing BMT to FLX, the intervention modality did not moderate these associations. Conclusion: Self‐compassion and non‐judgement of inner experience seem to be essential targets in GAD treatment, contrary to the mindfulness state itself. Although no difference was found considering the intervention modality, future research may assess how to boost these dimensions in specific treatments for GAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]