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Aims The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Lactobacillus casei variety rhamnosus ( LCR35) on Atopic dermatitis ( AD)-like symptoms in mice. Methods and Results AD-like skin lesions in BALB/C mice were induced by sensitization and subsequent repeated challenges with trimellitic anhydride ( TMA) for 10 days. LCR35 was orally administered to the mice once daily throughout the study. In the TMA-induced AD model, orally administered LCR35 suppressed significantly irritant-related scratching behaviour and skin dehydration as well as apparent severity of AD. LCR35 also significantly decreased serum levels of IgE and IL-4, but not IFN- γ, implying the restoration of TMA-induced disruption of Th1/Th2 balance. Quantitative real-time PCR targeting hypervariable regions of 16S rDNA gene of faecal microbiota indicated that the LCR35 treatment increased the population of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacilli, Enterococcus and Bacteroides fragilis group, but decreased those of Clostridium coccoides group. Conclusions LCR35 has the ability to suppress the development of AD in mice, possibly through the modulation of Th1/Th2 balance and gut microbiota. Significance and Impact of the Study LCR35 has a strong potential as a probiotic for preventing AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Purpose: Apoptosis is a central mechanism of ischemic-reperfusion injury (IRI) to the liver. Among the methods to reduce IRI, ischemic preconditioning (IP) has been shown to confer protection. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine if IP conferred protection against hepatic IRI under isoflurane anesthesia in rats and to investigate underlying protective mechanisms. Materials and Methods: Twenty-three rats weighing 270 to 300 grams were randomly divided into three groups: (1) the sham operated group (n = 5); (2) the non-IP group (n = 9; 45 minutes of hepatic ischemia followed by 2 hours of reperfusion); and (3) the IP group (n = 9); IP induced by 10 minutes of hepatic ischemia followed by 15 minutes of reperfusion before 45 minutes of prolonged hepatic ischemia). Anesthesia was maintained with isoflurane (1.5%). We compared the degrees of hepatic injury and expressions of B cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) and caspase 3 and 8 mRNAs. Results: The IP group showed significantly lower levels of aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase as well as reduced histological grades of hepatocyte injury compared with the non-IP group at 2 hours after reperfusion. At the corresponding time, the Bcl-2 mRNA level was 2-fold higher in the IP group. Caspase 3 mRNA levels were highest in the non-IP group significantly compared with the sham cohort. Similarly, caspase 8 mRNA levels were highest in the Non_IP group albeit not significancely. Conclusion: IP protected against hepatic IRI under isoflurane anesthesia in rats. The mechanism of protection appeared to involve upregulation of Bcl-2 expression resulting in inhibited apoptosis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary Background Recently, photodynamic therapy (PDT) using a variety of light sources and photosensitizers has been used for the treatment of acne vulgaris. PDT with aminolaevulinic or methylaminolaevulinic acid has also been used in clinical trials as a treatment for acne, but adverse effects such as pain, erythema and pustular eruption are common. Indocyanine green (ICG) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), newer photosensitizers, are known to have minimal adverse effects. Objectives This study was designed to compare the safety and efficacy of PDT using ICG and PDT using IAA in the treatment of mild to moderate acne vulgaris. Methods In this prospective, single-blind, clinical trial, 34 patients with mild to moderate acne were treated with IAA with green light (520 nm) on half of the face and with ICG with near-infrared radiation (805 nm) on the other half. The procedure was carried out five times at 1-week intervals. Results With regard to acne lesions (inflammatory and noninflammatory) and sebum secretion, there were statistically significant reductions at each time point compared with the baseline values ( P < 0·05). However, there were no statistically significant differences between the two treatment types ( P > 0·05). Both ICG-PDT and IAA-PDT showed better responses for inflammatory lesions than for noninflammatory lesions ( P < 0·05). Subjective satisfaction score were statistically significant at 4 and 5 weeks of treatment as well as at 1, 2 and 3 months follow-up ( P < 0·05). Conclusions Both PDT with ICG and PDT with IAA are safe and effective for the treatment of mild to moderate acne vulgaris. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) is upgraded for its KSTAR 3rd campaign for new target mission to produce the D-shaped plasma with a target plasma current of 500kA and/or pulse length of 5s. New Plasma Facing Components (PFCs) are installed which leads to the increase of the surface area of the vessel by a factor of about 5. The vacuum conditioning such as the vessel baking has been performed in order to remove various kinds of impurities including H2O, carbon and oxygen for the plasma. The total outgassing rate in the KSTAR 1st campaign was measured as 1.5×10−4 mbarℓs−1 which is increased by a factor of 3 (6.49×10−4 mbarℓs−1) in the KSTAR 3rd campaign. Nevertheless, the outgassing rates per unit area have been decreased from 9.31×10−5 mbarℓm−2 s−1 to 1.22×10−5 mbarℓm−2 s−1 due to the upgrade of baking system and series of baking operation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The wall conditioning of the KSTAR vacuum vessel has been performed in order to remove various kinds of impurities including H2O, carbon and oxygen for the first plasma. The first step of the wall conditioning was baking to 100 by hot pressurized water which circulates through the water channels between inner and outer wall of the vacuum vessel. The baking process continued for more than 200h. Next step of the wall conditioning was the R-GDC with both hydrogen and helium. The R-GDC was operated in low level of 10−3 mbar range. The partial pressure analysis showed that the R-GDC in the baking process is satisfactory and efficient and the outgassing rate is remarkably reduced. In addition to the R-GDC, the ICRH discharge cleaning under 1.5T of the toroidal field is performed between plasma shots. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Pain is common in cancer and a patient’s self-report of pain is an essential first step in the management of such pain. However, according to reports of many studies, cancer pain is often managed inadequately because we do not listen to patients’ complaints of pain and tend to underestimate their cancer pain. The aim in this study was to assess the effectiveness of self-assessments of pain intensity at the bedside of inpatients, using a self-reporting pain board. Methods: Pain assessments were done with patients’ answers to questions asked by the medical staff that were recorded with a numerical rating scale (NRS) for 3 days and then for the next 3 days patients reported pain using a self-reporting pain board with moving indicators, representing 0–10 on the NRS, and they reported the frequency of their breakthrough pain. Findings: Fifty consecutive inpatients admitted to the Oncology Department of Chungbuk National University Hospital were included in this observational prospective study from February 2011 to December 2011. Reliability in the patients’ self-reported pain versus that recorded by the medical staff increased from 74% to 96% with use of the self-reporting pain board (p =0.004). The difference (mean standard deviation [SD]) between the NRS reported by patients and that reported in medical records decreased from 3.16 2.08 to 1.00 1.02 (p <0.001). Patients’ satisfaction with pain management increased from 54% to 82% (p =0.002). Moreover, the difference in the workload of medical staff in assessing patients’ pain (mean SD) decreased from 46.9 15.5 to 24.3 11.2 (p <0.001). Interpretation: We suggest that this self-reporting bedside pain assessment tool provides a reliable and effective means for the assessment of cancer pain in inpatients. The authors declared no conflicts of interest. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]