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BackgroundA growing body of evidence suggests that neuroinflammation, which is characterized by infiltration of immune cells, activation of mast cells and glial cells, and production of inflammatory mediators in the peripheral and central nervous systems, plays an important role in the induction and maintenance of chronic pain. Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), which is a type of N-acylethanolamide and a lipid, has an anti-inflammatory effect. Relative to the anti-inflammatory effect, little is known about its analgesic effect in chronic pain. This study aimed to determine whether PEA relieves chronic inflammatory and neuropathic pain.MethodsMale Sprague-Dawley rats were injured by transection of the left L5 and L6 spinal nerves to induce neuropathic pain or were injected with monoiodoacetic acid into the synovial cavity of knee joints to induce inflammatory pain. To assess the degree of pain, two kinds of stimuli - pressing von Frey filaments and wetting with acetone - were applied to the plantar surface of the rat to measure mechanical and cold sensitivity, respectively. Pain was measured by assessing behavioral responses, including paw withdrawal response threshold and paw withdrawal frequency upon stimulation.ResultsNeuropathic pain caused by spinal nerve transection (SNT) decreased the mechanical threshold and increased the frequency of response to acetone application. But, cold allodynia caused by SNT did not decrease the withdrawal frequency. Mechanical hyperalgesia caused by chronic inflammation was significantly reduced by both intraperitoneal and intra-articular injections of PEA.ConclusionsThese outcomes revealed that PEA might be effective in relieving inflammatory and neuropathic pain, especially pain induced by mechanical hyperalgesia, but not cold allodynia.

AIM: To observe the choroidal thickness in nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy(NAION)measured by enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography(EDI-OCT)and evaluate its clinical significance. METHODS: Totally 30 patients diagnosed with NAION were studied and 60 individuals with normal fundus were set as control. Choroidal thickness was measured by EDI-OCT. Choroidal thickness of the affected eye and contralateral eye in patient group and right eye of the control group were evaluated and recorded. RESULTS: Differences in age, gender and refractive status between NAION group and control were not significant(P>0.05). Choroidal thickness near fovea and optic disc in affected eye and contralateral eye in patient group was thinner compared to these of control group(PP>0.05). CONCLUSION: In NAION patients, choroidal thickness of affected eyes and unaffected contralateral eyes were significantly thinner compared to these of control group. Diminish of the observed choroidal thickness in this study might be explained by small vessels occlusion in posterior ciliary artery, which would affect the blood supply of the choroid.

Abstract Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second‐leading cause of cancer‐related mortality worldwide, which may be effectively reduced by early screening. Colon cancer secreted protein‐2 (CCSP‐2) is a promising blood marker for CRC. An electric‐field effect colorectal sensor (E‐FECS), an ion‐sensitive field‐effect transistor under dual gate operation with nanostructure is developed, to quantify CCSP‐2 directly from patient blood samples. The sensing performance of the E‐FECS is verified in 7 controls and 7 CRC samples, and it is clinically validated on 30 controls, 30 advanced adenomas, and 81 CRC cases. The concentration of CCSP‐2 is significantly higher in plasma samples from CRC and advanced adenoma compared with controls (both P < 0.001). Sensitivity and specificity for CRC versus controls are 44.4% and 86.7%, respectively (AUC of 0.67), and 43.3% and 86.7%, respectively, for advanced adenomas (AUC of 0.67). CCSP‐2 detects a greater number of CRC cases than carcinoembryonic antigen does (45.6% vs 24.1%), and the combination of the two markers detects an even greater number of cases (53.2%). The E‐FECS system successfully detects CCSP‐2 in a wide range of samples including early stage cancers and advanced adenoma. CCSP‐2 has potential for use as a blood‐based biomarker for CRC.

Multi-view or light field images have recently gained much attraction from academic and commercial fields to create breakthroughs that go beyond simple video-watching experiences. Immersive virtual reality is an important example. High image quality is essential in systems with a near-eye display device. The compression efficiency is also critical because a large amount of multi-view data needs to be stored and transferred. However, noise can be easily generated during image capturing, and these noisy images severely deteriorate both the quality of experience and the compression efficiency. Therefore, denoising is a prerequisite to produce multi-view-based image contents. In this paper, the structural characteristics of linear multi-view images are fully utilized to increase the denoising speed and performance as well as to improve the compression efficiency. Assuming the sequential processes of denoising and compression, multi-view geometry-based denoising is performed keeping the temporal correlation among views. Experimental results show the proposed scheme significantly improves the compression efficiency of denoised views up to 76.05%, maintaining good denoising quality compared to the popular conventional denoise algorithms.

Relationships between heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) and cancer aggressiveness, metastasis, drug resistance, and poor patient outcomes in various cancer types including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were reported, and inhibition of HSP27 expression is suggested to be a possible strategy for cancer therapy. Unlike HSP90 or HSP70, HSP27 does not have an ATP-binding pocket, and no effective HSP27 inhibitors have been identified. Previously, NSCLC cancer cells were sensitized to radiation and chemotherapy when co-treated with small molecule HSP27 functional inhibitors such as zerumbone (ZER), SW15, and J2 that can induce abnormal cross-linked HSP27 dimer. In this study, cancer inhibition effects of NA49, a chromenone compound with better solubility, longer circulation time, and less toxicity than J2, were examined in combination with anticancer drugs such as cisplatin and gefitinib in NSCLC cell lines. When the cytotoxic drug cisplatin was treated in combination with NA49 in epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFRs) WT cell lines, sensitization was induced in an HSP27 expression-dependent manner. With gefitinib treatment, NA49 showed increased combination effects in both EGFR WT and Mut cell lines, also with HSP27 expression-dependent patterns. Moreover, NA49 induced sensitization in EGFR Mut cells with a secondary mutation of T790M when combined with gefitinib. Augmented tumor growth inhibition was shown with the combination of cisplatin or gefitinib and NA49 in nude mouse xenograft models. These results suggest the combination of HSP27 inhibitor NA49 and anticancer agents as a candidate for overcoming HSP27-mediated drug resistance in NSCLC patients.

Background: Administering extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to critically ill patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome has substantially increased over the last decade, however administering ECMO to patients with hematologic malignancies may carry a particularly high risk. Here, we report the clinical outcomes of patients with hematologic malignancies and severe acute respiratory failure who were treated with ECMO. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of the medical records of patients with hematologic malignancies and severe acute respiratory failure who were treated with ECMO at the medical intensive care unit of a tertiary referral hospital between March 2010 and April 2015. Results: A total of 15 patients (9 men; median age 45 years) with hematologic malignancies and severe acute respiratory failure received ECMO therapy during the study period. The median values of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, Murray Lung Injury Score, and Respiratory Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Survival Prediction Score were 29, 3.3, and -2, respectively. Seven patients received venovenous ECMO, whereas 8 patients received venoarterial ECMO. The median ECMO duration was 2 days. Successful weaning of ECMO was achieved in 3 patients. Hemorrhage complications developed in 4 patients (1 pulmonary hemorrhage, 1 intracranial hemorrhage, and 2 cases of gastrointestinal bleeding). The longest period of patient survival was 59 days after ECMO initiation. No significant differences in survival were noted between venovenous and venoarterial ECMO groups (10.0 vs. 10.5 days; p = 0.56). Conclusions: Patients with hematologic malignancies and severe acute respiratory failure demonstrate poor outcomes after ECMO treatment. Careful and appropriate selection of candidates for ECMO in these patients is necessary.

BackgroundThe primary outcome of sugammadex reversal for rocuronium-induced neuromuscular block (NMB) is a train-of-four ratio (TOFR) of 0.9, not first twitch (T1) height. We investigated whether the recovery of TOFR or T1 differs based on the reversal of NMB with neostigmine or sugammadex.MethodsThe acceleromyographic responses from 0.6 mg/kg of rocuronium were monitored supramaximally in 80 patients after induction of anesthesia. The TOFR and T1 height were recorded, and saved in a personal computer using TOF-Watch SX Monitor software in all patients. Patients were randomly assigned to 2 groups to receive either neostigmine 50 µg/kg with glycopyrrolate 10 µg/kg (neostigmine group, n = 40) or sugammadex 2.0 mg/kg (sugammadex group, n = 40). The primary objective was to determine the difference of recovery time between TOFR to 0.9 and T1 to 0.9 after sugammadex or neostigmine administration during moderate rocuronium-induced NMB.ResultsThe recovery pattern of the TOFR 2 min after sugammadex administration was 1.0 or more, but that of T1 was less than 90% (T1 / control value) up to 6 min after drug was injected. The recovery pattern of TOFR and T1 was similar during the 20 min after reversal with neostigmine.ConclusionsIf you have not performed the T1 monitoring, both TOFR and T1 should be considered to confirm suitable recovery during the 6 min after reversal with sugammadex during rocuronium-induced moderate NMB.

AIM: To investigate the clinical features of dry eye with type 2 diabetic patients, and to analyze the correlation between the clinical features of dry eye and the disease condition. METHODS: Retrospective case series study. Dry eye cases with type 2 diabetic were analyzed from March to December in 2016. And the clinical features of patients were summarized. Dry eye examination including tear break-up time(BUT)and Schirmer test(schirmer Ⅰ test, SⅠt). Patients were divided into RESULTS: There were 178 cases collected. All cases were diagnosed as dry eye both eyes. The patient's age ranged from 32 to 85 years, with an average 58.41±13.06 years. There were 110(61.8%)male cases, and 68(38.2%)female cases. In all cases, the mean value of BUT was 4.52±2.31s, and the mean value of SⅠt was 4.25±1.99mm/5min. The value of women were more than men, but the differences were not significant statistically. Patients of ≥60 group were less than the age group of t=4.153, 4.021; PF=68.884, 60.204; Pt=-6.615, -5.918; PCONCLUSION:There were two types dry eye in 2 diabetic patients: the instability of tear-film and the reduction of tear secretion. The clinic features of dry eye were related to age, the course of the disease, and the level of blood glucose.

We suggest an alternative to conventional coating methods for accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) cladding. A Zircaloy-4 tube was inserted into metal tubes of different materials and the inserted tubes were subjected to physical force at room temperature. The manufactured tube exhibited a pseudo-single tube (PST) structure and had higher thermal stability than a Zircaloy-4 tube. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy images showed that the PST had a uniform and well-bonded interface structure, i.e., no gaps or voids were found at the interface between the inner and outer tubes. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis confirmed that the metal components did not interdiffuse at the interface of the PST, even after being kept at 600 and 900 °C for 1 h and rapidly cooled to room temperature. Unlike pure Zircaloy-4 tubes, Zircaloy-4/stainless use steel (SUS) 316 PST did not show significant structural collapse, even after being stored at 1200 °C for 1 h. Based on these results, if a PST was fabricated using a Zircaloy-4 tube thinner than the Zircaloy-4 tube used in this study and an outer tube of micron-scale thickness, swaging may be a feasible alternative to Zircaloy-4-based ATF cladding.

Treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains inefficient due to drug resistance and relapse, particularly in patients with FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3)-internal tandem duplication (ITD). Marine-derived natural products have recently been used for drug development against AML. We show in this study that petromurin C, which was isolated from the culture extract of the marine-derived fungus Aspergillus candidus KUFA0062, isolated from the marine sponge Epipolasis sp., induces early autophagy followed by apoptotic cell death via activation of the intrinsic cell death pathway concomitant with mitochondrial stress and downregulation of Mcl-1 in FLT3-ITD mutated MV4-11 cells. Moreover, petromurin C synergized with the clinically-used FLT3 inhibitor gilteritinib at sub-toxic concentrations. Altogether, our results provide preliminary indications that petromurin C provides anti-leukemic effects alone or in combination with gilteritinib.

Objective To determine whether intubation education using the Pentax Airway Scope (AWS) in normal airways is more useful than direct laryngoscopy (Macintosh laryngoscope) in novice personnel. Methods Eleven intern doctors without intubation experience performed 60 sequential intubations with each device on a manikin and 10 sequential intubations in adult patients. The time required for successful intubation, percentage of glottic opening (POGO) score, number of intubation attempts, and number of dental injuries were analyzed for each intubation technique. Results The mean (standard deviation) time required for successful intubation decreased as the number of intubations increased and was significantly shorter with the Pentax AWS than direct laryngoscope [22.6 (7.3) vs. 29.6 (10.0) and 33.0 (8.0) vs. 44.7 (5.6) s, respectively] in both the manikin and clinical studies. The Pentax AWS was also associated with higher POGO scores than the direct laryngoscope [81.7 (8.9) vs. 55.1 (13.2) and 80.9 (9.7) vs. 49.6 (16.5), respectively] and fewer intubation attempts. Fewer dental injuries occurred with the Pentax AWS in the manikin study. Conclusions Novices performed intubation more rapidly and easily with an improved laryngeal view using the Pentax AWS. We suggest that intubation education with video laryngoscopy should be mandatory along with direct laryngoscope training.