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Purpose: To build an age prediction model, we measured CD4+ and CD8+ cells, and humoral components in canine peripheral blood. Materials and Methods: Large Belgian Malinois (BGM) and German Shepherd Dog (GSD) breeds (n=27), aged from 1 to 12 years, were used for this study. Peripheral bloods were obtained by venepuncture, then plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were separated immediately. Six myokines, including interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-15, leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), growth differentiation factor 8 (GDF8), and GDF11 were measured from plasma and CD4+/CD8+ T-lymphocytes ratio were measured from PBMC. These parameters were then tested with age prediction models to find the best fit model. Results: we found that the T-lymphocyte ratio (CD4+/CD8+) was significantly correlated with age (r=0.46, p=0.016). Among the six myokines, only GDF8 showed a significant correlation with age (r=0.52, p=0.005). Interestingly, these two markers showed better correlations in male dogs than females, and BGM breed than GSD. Using these two age biomarkers, we could obtain the best fit in a quadratic linear mixed model (r=0.77, p=3×10-6). Conclusions: Age prediction is a challenging task because of complication with biological age. Our quadratic linear mixed model using CD4+/CD8+ ratio and GDF8 level showed a meaningful age prediction.

Abstract This study evaluated the bone regeneration capacity and mechanical properties of block-type hydroxyapatite (HA)/tricalcium phosphate (TCP) scaffolds in response to different concentrations of polydeoxyribonucleotide (PDRN) and recombinant human bone morphogenic protein 2 (rhBMP-2). Thirty-two male white rabbits were used as a model of calvarial bone defect and classified into eight groups according to type and concentration of growth factor administered, viz., control group (only HA/TCP scaffold), scaffold + PDRN (0.1, 1, 5, and 10 mg/mL each) and scaffold + rhBMP-2 (0.01, 0.05, and 0.1 mg/mL each). The specimens were evaluated using histomorphometric and radiological analyses. Histomorphometric analyses indicated that the administration of PDRN did not increase bone formation. However, significant increases in bone formation were observed with the administration of rhBMP-2 at 0.05 and 0.10 mg/mL on week 8 compared to the control (p

Abstract Background Chronic periodontitis is a multifactorial inflammatory disease resulting in patients exhibiting high levels of inflammatory factors causing systemic inflammatory bone destruction that may lead to osteoporosis development. The association between periodontitis and osteoporosis has been documented; however, the findings remain unclear. This study aimed to identify the association between periodontitis and osteoporosis using a cross-sectional study design and Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES) health examinee data. Methods This cross-sectional study used epidemiological data from the KoGES during 2004–2016. Of 125,324 participants (age, 40–79 years), 9969 with periodontitis and 115,332 controls (without periodontitis) were selected. We analyzed the history of osteoporosis and fractures of all participants. All participants were examined according to age, sex, income group, obesity, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, and food intake. To analyze the odds ratio (OR) of periodontitis for those with osteoporosis and fractures, a logistic regression model was used. Results The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of periodontitis for osteoporosis was 2.16 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.01–2.31; P

Glaucoma is one of the most devastating eye diseases, since the disease can develop into blindness and no effective therapeutics are available. Although the exact mechanisms and causes of glaucoma are unknown, increased intraocular pressure (IOP) has been demonstrated to be an important risk factor. Exosomes are lipid nanoparticles secreted from functional cells, including stem cells, and have been found to contain diverse functional molecules that control body function, inhibit inflammation, protect and regenerate cells, and restore damaged tissues. In the present study, exosome-rich conditioned media (ERCMs) were attained via hypoxic culture (2% O2) of human amniotic membrane mesenchymal stem cells (AMMSCs) and amniotic membrane epithelial stem cells (AMESCs) containing 50 times more exosome particles than normoxic culture (20% O2) medium (NCM). The exosome particles in ERCM were confirmed to be 77 nm in mean size and contain much greater amounts of growth factors (GFs) and neurotrophic factors (NFs) than those in NCM. The glaucoma-therapeutic effects of ERCMs were assessed in retinal cells and a hypertonic (1.8 M) saline-induced high-IOP animal model. CM-DiI-labeled AMMSC exosomes were found to readily penetrate the normal and H2O2-damaged retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), and AMMSC-ERCM not only facilitated retinal pigment epithelial cell (RPEC) proliferation but also protected against H2O2- and hypoxia-induced RPEC insults. The IOP of rats challenged with 1.8 M saline increased twice the normal IOP (12–17 mmHg) in a week. However, intravitreal injection of AMMSC-ERCM or AMESC-ERCM (3.9–4.5 × 108 exosomes in 10 μL/eye) markedly recovered the IOP to normal level in 2 weeks, similar to the effect achieved with platelet-derived growth factor-AB (PDGF-AB, 1.5 μg), a reference material. In addition, AMMSC-ERCM, AMESC-ERCM, and PDGF-AB significantly reversed the shrinkage of retinal layers, preserved RGCs, and prevented neural injury in the glaucoma eyes. It was confirmed that stem cell ERCMs containing large numbers of functional molecules such as GFs and NFs improved glaucoma by protecting retinal cells against oxidative and hypoxic injuries in vitro and by recovering IOP and retinal degeneration in vivo. Therefore, it is suggested that stem cell ERCMs could be a promising candidate for the therapy of glaucoma.

Background: This study analyzed the presentation, characteristics, and management of foreign bodies in different age groups of pediatric patients with ear, nose, and throat foreign bodies. Methods: A retrospective study was performed using data from October 2012 to September 2020. A total of 1285 patients with ear, nose, and throat foreign bodies who were less than 12 years of age and who presented to the emergency room were included in this study. Their biographical data, clinical presentations, foreign body types and locations, and management outcomes were obtained from medical records and analyzed as three age groups (infancy: n = 672; 52.2%). Throat was the most common location (59.2%), and bone was the most common type of foreign body. Among the children who visited our hospital, foreign bodies were actually found in only 657 patients (51.1%) and removed by an otolaryngologist in 625 (95.1%) cases. Conclusion: Our study could provide guidance for the diagnosis and management of pediatric patients who present to emergency departments with foreign bodies.

Our aim was to investigate the bone regeneration capacity of powder-type biphasic ceramic scaffold (BCP powder), block-type BCP (BCP block), and collagen-added block-type BCP (BCP collagen) with different concentrations of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (rhBMP-2) in an animal model. Four rabbits were assigned to each of the following groups: no graft + rhBMP-2 (0.1/0.2 mg/mL), BCP powder + rhBMP-2 (0.1/0.2 mg/mL), BCP block + rhBMP-2 (0.1/0.2 mg/mL), and BCP collagen + rhBMP-2 (0.1/0.2 mg/mL), i.e., a total of 32 rabbits. Polycarbonate tubes (Φ 7 mm × 5 mm) for supporting scaffolds were fixed into a 7 mm round border. Subsequently, 0.1 mL of rhBMP-2 solutions with different concentrations was injected into the tubes. Both radiological and histomorphometric analyses showed that osteogenesis was not enhanced by increasing the concentration of rhBMP-2 in all groups at both 3 and 6 weeks. Radiological analysis showed that bone formation was higher in the BCP collagen group than in the BCP powder and BCP block groups at both rhBMP-2 concentrations at 3 weeks. rhBMP-2 enhanced bone formation; however, as the concentration increased, bone formation could not be enhanced infinitely. Collagen-added alloplastic graft material may be useful for mediating rapid bone formation in initial stages.

This study performed two different analyses using a large set of population data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service Health Screening Cohort to evaluate the interactional association between temporomandibular disorder (TMD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). Two nested case–control population-based studies were conducted on 514,866 participants. In Study I, 4455 participants with TMD were matched with 17,820 control participants, with a ratio of 1:4. In Study II, 6076 participants with PD were matched with 24,304 control participants, with a ratio of 1:4. Obesity, smoking, alcohol consumption, systolic, diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose level, and total cholesterol were adjusted. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for TMD was 1.43 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02–2.00) in PD patients compared to non-PD patients in Study I (p < 0.001). The adjusted OR for PD was 1.56 (95% CI = 1.13–2.15) in TMD patients compared to non-TMD patients in Study II (p = 0.007). This study demonstrated that patients with TMD have a significantly higher risk of developing PD and, conversely, those with PD have a significantly higher risk of developing TMD.

Background and objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is closely associated with insulin resistance (IR) and is an independent risk factor for incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Most studies evaluate the correlation between OSA and IR in only obese or T2DM patients. Therefore, we tried to investigate the effect of OSA on metabolic syndrome and IR in the general healthy male population. Materials and Methods: 184 subjects who visited a preventive health examination program were recruited for this study. All subjects received overnight polysomnography by a portable device (Watch-PAT 200). We examined several metabolic parameters and a homeostasis model of assessment for insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR). The subjects were divided into three groups by AHI (Apnea-hyponea index): normal group (AHI < 5), mild OSA group (5 ≤ AHI < 15), and moderate-severe OSA group (AHI ≥ 15). They were also divided into two groups according to minimum oxygen saturation: low group, Min-SpO2 < 88%; and high group, Min-SpO2 ≥ 88%. Results: Parameters of metabolic syndrome, including waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol showed significant differences among the AHI groups. Furthermore, HOMA-IR showed significant differences among the AHI groups. Those parameters, including metabolic syndrome and HOMA-IR, also showed differences between Min-SpO2 groups. Conclusions: In summary, this study helps confirm that AHI is associated with HOMA-IR in the general male population. Furthermore, the severity of AHI correlated with the parameters of metabolic syndrome. Therefore, AHI might be an indicator for evaluating both T2DM and metabolic syndrome, even in the general male population.

This study evaluated the mechanical properties and bone regeneration ability of 3D-printed pure hydroxyapatite (HA)/tricalcium phosphate (TCP) pure ceramic scaffolds with variable pore architectures. A digital light processing (DLP) 3D printer was used to construct block-type scaffolds containing only HA and TCP after the polymer binder was completely removed by heat treatment. The compressive strength and porosity of the blocks with various structures were measured; scaffolds with different pore sizes were implanted in rabbit calvarial models. The animals were observed for eight weeks, and six animals were euthanized in the fourth and eighth weeks. Then, the specimens were evaluated using radiological and histological analyses. Larger scaffold pore sizes resulted in enhanced bone formation after four weeks (p < 0.05). However, in the eighth week, a correlation between pore size and bone formation was not observed (p > 0.05). The findings showed that various pore architectures of HA/TCP scaffolds can be achieved using DLP 3D printing, which can be a valuable tool for optimizing bone-scaffold properties for specific clinical treatments. As the pore size only influenced bone regeneration in the initial stage, further studies are required for pore-size optimization to balance the initial bone regeneration and mechanical strength of the scaffold.

In this study, we evaluated the bone regenerative capability of a customizable hydroxyapatite (HA) and tricalcium phosphate (TCP) scaffold using a digital light processing (DLP)-type 3D printing system. Twelve healthy adult male beagle dogs were the study subjects. A total of 48 defects were created, with two defects on each side of the mandible in all the dogs. The defect sites in the negative control group (sixteen defects) were left untreated (the NS group), whereas those in the positive control group (sixteen defects) were filled with a particle-type substitute (the PS group). The defect sites in the experimental groups (sixteen defects) were filled with a 3D printed substitute (the 3DS group). Six dogs each were exterminated after healing periods of 4 and 8 weeks. Radiological and histomorphometrical evaluations were then performed. None of the groups showed any specific problems. In radiological evaluation, there was a significant difference in the amount of new bone formation after 4 weeks (p < 0.05) between the PS and 3DS groups. For both of the evaluations, the difference in the total amount of bone after 8 weeks was statistically significant (p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in new bone between the PS and 3DS groups in both evaluations after 8 weeks (p > 0.05). The proposed HA/TCP scaffold without polymers, obtained using the DLP-type 3D printing system, can be applied for bone regeneration. The 3D printing of a HA/TCP scaffold without polymers can be used for fabricating customized bone grafting substitutes.

Although several recent studies reported that probiotics might be beneficial for allergic rhinitis (AR), the effect of probiotics on AR is not consistent and have not been reproduced between studies. We aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of probiotic NVP-1703, a mixture of Bifidobacterium longum and Lactobacillus plantarum, in subjects with perennial AR. Adult subjects with perennial AR received either NVP-1703 (n = 47) or placebo (n = 48) for four weeks. Total nasal symptom scores (TNSS), rhinitis control assessment test (RCAT), blood eosinophil count, allergen-specific IgE, and immunological parameters in serum and urine were compared at baseline and after four weeks. TNSS changes from baseline at weeks 1, 3, and 4 were significant between the NVP-1703 and placebo groups (p = 0.033, 0.031, and 0.029, respectively). RCAT score showed significant differences between the NVP-1703 and placebo groups (p = 0.049) at week 4. Dermatophagoides farinae-specific IgE levels and serum IL-10 levels were significantly different between the NVP-1703 and placebo groups (p = 0.033 and p = 0.047, respectively). IL-10/IL-4 and IL-10/IL-13 ratios were different between the NVP-1703 and placebo groups at week 4 (p = 0.046 and 0.018, respectively). NVP-1703 treatment reduced urinary prostaglandin F2α and leukotriene E4 levels (p > 0.05). Therefore, NVP-1703 can be treatment option for perennial AR.

In a DC distribution system configured by AC/DC power conversion system (PCS), the voltage control performance of the AC/DC PCS determines the stability and reliability of the DC distribution grid. The DC voltage of grid is maintained by capacitor, thus transient voltage is an inevitable problem when a grid is connected with a high amount of load or renewable energy. Space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) is well known as a stable modulation method and is used in AC/DC PCS and many types of topologies, but a solution for the transient states issue of DC link has not clearly been studied. In this paper, a feedforward compensation method based on the mathematical model of SVPWM is proposed to solve the transient state problem in a DC distribution system. The proposed method is verified by simulation and experiment. AC/DC PCS with the proposed feedforward compensation method has more robust DC voltage control characteristics.

Background and Objectives Zonulin is a human protein that regulates intercellular tight junctions and increases the permeability of the intestinal epithelium. In light of the increasing focus on zonulin’s role in numerous chronic inflammatory diseases, this study aimed to investigate whether differences exist in serum zonulin levels and bronchial epithelium zonulin expression in vivo between asthma and normal groups, using a mouse model. Methods Sixteen mice were utilized in this study, divided evenly between the normal and asthma groups. Serum zonulin levels, the expression of zonulin antibody in the bronchial epithelium, and serum cytokine levels were evaluated in both groups. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and RNA in situ hybridization were utilized for the analysis. Results The asthma group exhibited significantly higher levels of serum zonulin. High zonulin antibody expression was also observed in the bronchial epithelium of the asthma group. Given that our mouse model demonstrated a significant difference in interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-6 between the normal and asthma groups, zonulin may be associated not only with type 2 responses but also with various subtypes of asthma. Further studies are required to investigate this relationship in greater detail. Conclusion Zonulin may play a role in the complex pathophysiology of asthma and could serve as a biomarker in various asthma-related situations.

Background and Objectives: Preoperative prophylactic balloon-assisted occlusion (PBAO) of the internal iliac arteries minimizes blood loss and facilitates surgery performance, through reductions in the rate of uterine perfusion, which allow for better control in hysterectomy performance, with decreased rates of bleeding and surgical complications. We aimed to investigate the maternal and fetal outcomes associated with PBAO use in women with placenta increta or percreta. Material and Methods: The records of 42 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of placenta increta or percreta were retrospectively reviewed. Of 42 patients, 17 patients (40.5%) with placenta increta or percreta underwent cesarean delivery after prophylactic balloon catheter placement in the bilateral internal iliac artery (balloon group). The blood loss volume, transfusion volume, postoperative hemoglobin changes, rates of hysterectomy and hospitalization, and infant Apgar score in this group were compared to those of 25 similar women who underwent cesarean delivery without balloon placement (surgical group). Results: The mean intraoperative blood loss volume in the balloon group (2319 ± 1191 mL, range 1000–4500 mL) was significantly lower than that in the surgical group (4435 ± 1376 mL, range 1500–10,500 mL) (p = 0.037). The mean blood unit volume transfused in the balloon group (2060 ± 1154 mL, range 1200–8000 mL) was significantly lower than that in the surgical group (3840 ± 1464 mL, range 1800–15,200 mL) (p = 0.043). There was no significant difference in the postoperative hemoglobin change, hysterectomy rates, length of hospitalization, or infant Apgar score between the groups. Conclusion: PBAO of the internal iliac artery prior to cesarean delivery in patients with placenta increta or percreta is a safe and minimally invasive technique that reduces the rate of intraoperative blood loss and transfusion requirements.

This work reports a series of new organic electro‐optic salt crystals possessing unusual orthogonal dipole‐coupling assembly that act as dimple‐free THz generators. In the new crystals, optically anisotropic aromatic anions introducing highly electronegative fluorinated substituents are orthogonally assembled with optically anisotropic nonlinear optical benzothiazolium cations. These orthogonal cation–anion assembled crystals exhibit strong suppression of intrinsic THz phonon modes along the polar axis, which results in a wide THz absorption‐free range from 1.5 to 4.0 THz without substantial absorption peaks. This is sharply in contrast to previous benchmark crystals with parallel cation–anion assembly; for example, in analogous crystals, several strong absorption peaks appear in this frequency range. This absence of strong absorption peaks is attributed to the orthogonal cation–anion dipole coupling assembly, the formation of fluorinate‐induced strong interionic interactions, and a high packing ability of uniaxial anions. With top‐level macroscopic optical nonlinearity, new orthogonal‐dipole assembled crystals make dimple‐free THz wave generation possible in the range of about 1.5–4.0 THz, which is very beneficial for characterizing signature peaks related to molecular phonon motions of analytes in THz spectroscopy. Therefore, orthogonal molecular assembly of optically highly anisotropic molecules provides an efficient way to substantially reduce and control intrinsic THz phonon modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Periventricular nodular heterotopia (PNH) is a neuronal migration disorder that occurs during early brain development. Patients with PNH may be asymptomatic and have normal intelligence; however, PNH is also known to cause various symptoms such as seizures, dyslexia, and cardiovascular anomalies. PNH is not commonly diagnosed during early infancy because of the lack of clinical manifestations during this period. We present the case of a female infant diagnosed with PNH based on brain magnetic resonance imaging, who had symptomatic patent ductus arteriosus that had to be ligated surgically and had prolonged feeding cyanosis with frequent apneic spells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid‐state molecular phonons play a crucial role in the performance of diverse photonic and optoelectronic devices. In this work, new organic terahertz (THz) generators based on a catechol group that acts as a phonon suppressing intermolecular adhesive are developed. The catechol group is widely used in mussel‐inspired mechanical adhesive chemistry. Newly designed organic electro‐optic crystals consist of catechol‐based nonlinear optical 4‐(3,4‐dihydroxystyryl)‐1‐methylpyridinium (DHP) cations and 4‐(trifluoromethyl)benzenesulfonate anions (TFS), which both have multiple interionic interaction capability. Interestingly, compared to benchmark organic crystals for THz generators, DHP‐TFS crystals concomitantly achieve top level values of the lowest void volume and the highest crystal density, resulting in an exceptionally small amplitude of solid‐state molecular phonons. Simultaneously achieving small molecular phonon amplitude, large optical nonlinearity and good phase matching at infrared optical pump wavelengths, DHP‐TFS crystals are capable of generating broadband THz waves of up to 16 THz with high optical‐to‐THz conversion efficiency; one order of magnitude higher than commercial inorganic THz generators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Newly designed halogenated organic quinolinium crystals proposed in this work provide fully optimized molecular ordering for maximizing the optical nonlinearity and high‐performance broadband terahertz (THz) wave generation. The ultralarge diagonal optical nonlinearity (almost 300 × 10−30 esu) of the new halogenated crystals is approximately two times larger than that of state‐of‐the‐art pyridinium‐based crystals. In contrast, nonhalogenated analogous crystals exhibit very low (or vanishing) diagonal optical nonlinearity. This is attributed to halogen‐induced unique interionic interactions and fine‐tuning of the space‐filling characteristics. In addition, the halogenated crystals show a good ability for bulk crystal growth of few millimeters lateral size with plate‐like morphology and high thermal stability that are finally required for real‐world applications. The new halogenated quinolinium crystals exhibit excellent THz wave generation characteristics, significantly surpassing the limit of conversion efficiency and spectral bandwidth of inorganic benchmark crystals. A 0.16 mm thick chlorinated crystal generates a 29‐times larger THz field than 1.0 mm thick inorganic ZnTe crystals at 1500 nm pump wavelength with a flat and broadband spectrum extending up to ≈8 THz. Therefore, introducing halogen substituents is a potential design strategy for designing new organic crystals showing ultralarge macroscopic hyperpolarizability and high‐performance THz wave generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultra‐broadband THz photonics covering the 0.3–20 THz range provides a very attractive foundation for a wide range of basic research and industrial applications. However, the lack of ultra‐broadband THz devices has yet to be overcome. In this work, high‐density organic electro‐optic crystals are newly developed for efficient THz wave generation in a very broad THz spectral range and are successfully used for a broadband THz time‐domain spectroscopy. The new organic THz generator crystals, namely the OHP‐TFS crystals, have very low void volume, high density, and are shown to cover the ultra‐broadband THz spectrum up to about 15 THz, which cannot be easily accessed with the more widely used inorganic‐based THz generators. In addition to the very favorable broadband properties, the generated THz electric‐field amplitude at the pump wavelength of 1560 nm is about 40 times higher than that generated by a commercial inorganic THz generator (ZnTe crystal). By using the newly developed OHP‐TFS as generation crystal in a compact table‐top all‐organic THz time‐domain spectrometer based on a low‐cost telecom fiber laser, the optical characteristics of a model material are successfully determined in the broad 1.5–12.5 THz range with high accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic nonlinear optical salt crystals are widely used as efficient broadband THz generators. Although solid state molecular motions of organic crystals can greatly influence THz generation characteristics, their origin and effects on THz photonics are not clearly identified. In this work, the origin of solid‐state molecular motions of the state‐of‐the‐art nonlinear optical organic salt crystals and their effects on THz generation characteristics are theoretically investigated. A model crystal, HMQ‐TMS (2‐(4‐hydroxy‐3‐methoxystyryl)‐1‐methylquinolinium 2,4,6‐trimethylbenzenesulfonate) with large macroscopic optical nonlinearity, which is very attractive for intense broadband and narrowband THz wave generation, is chosen. The solid‐state molecular vibrations of HMQ‐TMS crystals can be classified in three frequency regions: phonon mode region, intramolecular motion region, and their mixing region. For the first time for ionic organic crystalline THz generators, the contributions of cationic chromophores and anionic matchmakers on each of vibrational modes are quantitatively separated. In addition, the influence of solid‐state molecular vibrations of HMQ‐TMS crystals on the generated THz spectra is investigated. These results provide an essential information for design of new organic nonlinear optical salt crystals for THz generators as well as detectors and for optimization of THz generation performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 53-year-old woman presented with dyspnea. She had undergone extended thymectomy for an invasive thymoma two months prior. CT revealed numerous small nodules in the lung. After that, she deteriorated owing to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and the vascular surgeon planned veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). During percutaneous cannulation through the left femoral vein, a vascular injury was suspected, and the patient's vital signs became unstable. Diagnostic angiography showed a ruptured left common iliac vein, and the bleeding was stopped by placement of a stent-graft. May-Thurner syndrome was diagnosed on abdominal CT. Here, we report a rare case of ECMO-related vascular injury in a patient with an unrecognized anatomical variant, May-Thurner syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a rare case of a 73-year-old male patient who presented with hematochezia and was treated using transcatheter arterial embolization following upper gastrointestinal bleeding in the third portion of the duodenum. The cause of the bleeding was not found on gastrointestinal endoscopy and CT. On the third day of hospitalization, the hemoglobin level continued to decrease. A technetium-99m-labeled red blood cell scan revealed suspicious bleeding in the diverticulum of the third portion of the duodenum. Superior mesenteric artery angiography showed active bleeding from the posteroinferior pancreaticoduodenal artery, which was embolized with N-butyl cyanoacrylate. The patient was discharged on the seventh day after embolization without re-bleeding or complication. We report a rare case of a patient with active bleeding from a duodenal diverticulum that was difficult to diagnose using routine modalities. Herein, we report a rare case of a patient with active bleeding from a duodenal diverticulum that was difficult to diagnose using routine modalities. We also conducted a relavant literature review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report new organic nonlinear optical salt crystals comprising bis(head-to-tail) complementary cation–anion assembly that results in extremely efficient THz wave generation. In the new salt crystals, each of the ends of the molecular anion, 4-(trifluoromethyl)benzenesulfonate, possesses bis(hydrogen-bond acceptors), while each of the ends of the nonlinear optical molecular cationic chromophore, 2-(4-(4-(hydroxymethyl)piperidin-1-yl)styryl)-3-methylbenzothiazol-3-ium, possesses bis(hydrogen-bond donors). The resulting assembly fulfills the requirements for efficient broadband THz wave generation, namely, perfectly parallel alignment of the nonlinear optical cationic chromophores for maximizing the optical nonlinearity as well as strong interionic binding interactions for reducing self-absorption of the generated THz waves. The new benzothiazolium crystals provide extremely high optical-to-THz conversion efficiency with a broad THz spectral bandwidth of 8 THz, where the peak-to-peak THz electric field amplitude is 36 times higher than that of the benchmark inorganic 1.0 mm-thick ZnTe crystal when pumped at 1300 nm and also notably higher than those of benchmark organic analogous crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new approach for the molecular design of highly efficient nonlinear optical organic crystals is proposed by introducing substituents that form σ‐holes on both nonlinear optical cationic chromophores and aromatic anions. Introducing chlorinated substituents, in which a relatively positive σ‐hole and a negative belt coexist, provides selective reduction capability of specific π–π intermolecular interactions and simultaneous multiple secondary bonding capabilities. This leads to a crystalline state with enhanced first‐order hyperpolarizability βcrystal of chromophores that favors parallel chromophore alignment and suppression of molecular vibrations, which are optimal characteristics for electro‐optic and nonlinear optical applications, including efficient THz wave generation. Compared to benchmark nonhalogenated and fluorinated analogous crystals with state‐of‐the‐art macroscopic optical nonlinearity, σ‐hole containing chloro‐quinolinium crystals exhibit up to two times higher macroscopic nonlinear optical response and remarkably different crystal characteristics. As a result, a 0.16 mm thick chloro‐quinolinium crystal exhibits ≈22 times higher optical‐to‐THz conversion efficiency than the widely used 1.0 mm thick ZnTe inorganic crystal. Moreover, chloro‐quinolinium crystals exhibit very broad THz spectra, up to 8 THz with significantly different THz spectral shape compared to benchmark organic crystals, which is attributed to different phase matching between optical and THz frequencies and molecular vibration motions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: The adenoid pad, which is located between the orifice of the Eustachian tube (ET) and posterior nasal cavity, can affect the development of otitis media with effusion (OME) because of its anatomical location. The aim of the present study was to evaluate adenoid microbial colonization through 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) pyrosequencing, an advanced molecular technique, and to document the relationship with OME. MATERIALS and METHODS: Adenoid samples were collected using sterile cotton from 32 children during ventilation tube insertion. Sixteen children with OME who underwent tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy due to obstructive symptoms were assigned to the OME group and sixteen children without OME were assigned to the control group. We performed a 16S rRNA-based culture-independent survey of bacterial communities using the MiSeq platform. RESULTS: The diversity index, mean operational taxonomic units, and Shannon index were lower in the OME group than those in the control group. A taxonomic analysis showed differences in microbiota distribution between the OME and control groups at the phylum, genus, and species levels. The analysis, which was based on weighted UniFrac distances, revealed differences in microbial composition between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Bacterial community analysis using 16S rRNA pyrosequencing allows us to understand the relationship between the microbial communities of adenoids and the development of OME better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]