Cervical spine motion during videolaryngoscopic intubation using a Macintosh-style blade with and without the anterior piece of a cervical collar: a randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: Applying a cervical collar during videolaryngoscopic intubation can increase the lifting force required to achieve adequate glottic view, potentially increasing cervical spine motion. We aimed to compared cervical spine motion during videolaryngoscopic intubation between applying only the posterior piece (posterior-only group) and applying both the anterior and posterior pieces (anterior-posterior group) in patients wearing a cervical collar.

Methods: We conducted a dingle-centre, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial in 102 patients (each group, N = 51).

Development of a Soil Organic Matter Content Prediction Model Based on Supervised Learning Using Vis-NIR/SWIR Spectroscopy.

In the current scenario of anthropogenic climate change, carbon credit security is becoming increasingly important worldwide. Topsoil is the terrestrial ecosystem component with the largest carbon sequestration capacity. Since soil organic matter (SOM), which is mostly composed of organic carbon, and can be affected by rainfall, cultivation, and pollutant inflow, predicting SOM content through regular monitoring is necessary to secure a stable carbon sink.

Nanocomplex-Mediated In Vivo Programming to Chimeric Antigen Receptor-M1 Macrophages for Cancer Therapy.

Chimeric antigen receptor-T (CAR-T) cell immunotherapy has shown impressive clinical outcomes for hematologic malignancies. However, its broader applications are challenged due to its complex ex vivo cell-manufacturing procedures and low therapeutic efficacy against solid tumors. The limited therapeutic effects are partially due to limited CAR-T cell infiltration to solid tumors and inactivation of CAR-T cells by the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.

Renal Tubular Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Expression Is Increased in Early Sepsis but Reduced in Chronic Kidney Disease and Sepsis-Induced Kidney Injury.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in patients with sepsis and causes renal ischemia. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) protects the vascular system and the kidney, and GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) is expressed in the kidney. Renal GLP-1R activity is decreased in chronic kidney disease (CKD), but is increased by the inflammatory response; however, the effect of AKI on GLP-1R expression is unknown.

Indoor levels of volatile organic compounds and formaldehyde from emission sources at elderly care centers in Korea.

The objective of this study is to characterize indoor and outdoor levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and formaldehyde (HCHO) and identify indoor emission sources in thirty elderly care centers (ECCs) located in the Seoul metropolitan city and Gyeonggi province in Korea. Air monitoring samples from indoor and outdoor environments were collected from January to December in 2007. Statistical analyses of indoor and outdoor VOCs and HCHO levels in three rooms (a bedroom, living, and dining rooms) of each ECC were performed, and these were compared to identify environmental factors associated with an increase of indoor pollution levels.

Clinical usefulness of double balloon enteroscopy in suspected Crohn's disease: the KASID multi-center trial.

Background/aims: The recently developed double balloon enteroscopy (DBE) may be useful to evaluate small bowel lesions in patients with suspected Crohn’s disease (CD). We investigated the findings of DBE, small bowel follow-through and abdominal CT in patients with suspected CD who could not be diagnosed with CD using conventional colonoscopy.

Methodology: Thirty patients (27 males, mean age 32.

Complete gate control of supercurrent in graphene p-n junctions.

In a conventional Josephson junction of graphene, the supercurrent is not turned off even at the charge neutrality point, impeding further development of superconducting quantum information devices based on graphene. Here we fabricate bipolar Josephson junctions of graphene, in which a p-n potential barrier is formed in graphene with two closely spaced superconducting contacts, and realize supercurrent ON/OFF states using electrostatic gating only. The bipolar Josephson junctions of graphene also show fully gate-driven macroscopic quantum tunnelling behaviour of Josephson phase particles in a potential well, where the confinement energy is gate tuneable.

Paranoid Adipsia-induced Severe Hypernatremia and Uremia treated with Hemodialysis.

We describe a patient with severe hypernatremia and uremia caused by paranoid adipsia who was treated successfully with hydration and hemodialysis. A previously healthy 40-year-old woman developed the paranoid idea that her water was poisoned, so she refused to drink any water. On admission, her blood urea nitrogen was 208mg/dL, creatinine 4.

Endoscopic treatment of duodenal bleeding caused by direct hepatocellular carcinoma invasion with an ethanol injection.

We report a case of a man who developed duodenal bleeding caused by direct hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) invasion, which was successfully treated with endoscopic ethanol injection. A 57-year-old man with known HCC was admitted for melena and exertional dyspnea. He had been diagnosed with inoperable HCC a year ago.

Electrically tunable macroscopic quantum tunneling in a graphene-based Josephson junction.

Stochastic switching-current distribution in a graphene-based Josephson junction exhibits a crossover from the classical to quantum regime, revealing the macroscopic quantum tunneling of a Josephson phase particle at low temperatures. Microwave spectroscopy measurements indicate a multiphoton absorption process occurring via discrete energy levels in washboard potential well. The crossover temperature for macroscopic quantum tunneling and the quantized level spacing are controlled with the gate voltage, implying its potential application to gate-tunable superconducting quantum bits.

Positive response to trastuzumab in a case of HER2-overexpressing metastatic gastric cancer that presented as severe thrombocytopenia.

Background: Trastuzumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody directed against human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), has been shown to be active against metastatic gastric cancers that overexpress HER2.

Case Report: A 47-year-old man presented with a headache and visual disturbance. He was subsequently found to have an intracranial hemorrhage.

The efficacy of early scheduled follow-up endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography after common bile duct stone removal.

Background/aims: To investigate the efficacy of early scheduled follow-up endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) after common bile duct (CBD) stone removal.

Methods: Patients who underwent endoscopic CBD stone removal and who had at least one risk factor for stone recurrence were enrolled. Six months after complete clearance of the CBD, patients underwent follow-up ERCP at an ambulatory care center, irrespective of symptoms.

[Changes in liver stiffness after acute or chronic liver injury due to viral hepatitis--does fibrosis exist after recovery from acute viral hepatitis?].

Background/aims: Liver stiffness (LS) measurement by transient elastography can estimate the degrees of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease. However, longitudinal data of LS after recovery of acute viral hepatitis are still lacking. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate among LS of patients at various stages of viral hepatitis and normal control.

How good is cola for dissolution of gastric phytobezoars?

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of cola treatment for gastric phytobezoars, including diospyrobezoars.

Methods: A total of 17 patients (range: 48 to 78 years) with symptomatic gastric phytobezoars treated with cola and adjuvant endoscopic therapy were reviewed. Three liters of cola lavage (10 cases) or drink (7 cases) were initially used, and then endoscopic fragmentation was done for the remnant bezoars by using a lithotripsy basket or a polypectomy snare.

Electrical characteristics of various submucosal injection fluids for endoscopic mucosal resection.

Submucosal fluid injection, prerequisite to endoscopic mucosal resection, necessitates detailed evaluation for proper selection. We aimed to compare height of gastric tissues after submucosal injection, and to verify electrical implications of injectants. Porcine stomach pieces were cut out, and eight solutions were used: normal saline, 0.

Pneumoretroperitoneum, pneumomediastinum, peumopericardium, and subcutaneous emphysema after colonoscopic examination.

Colonoscopy is regarded as a relatively safe procedure and is widely performed. However, complications such as bleeding, perforation, and coagulation syndromes can occur during colonoscopy. Although bowel perforation is as rare as 0.

Josephson-vortex-flow terahertz emission in layered high-Tc superconducting single crystals.

We report on the successful terahertz emission (0.6-1 THz) that is continuous and tunable in its frequency and power, by driving Josephson vortices in resonance with the collective standing Josephson plasma modes excited in stacked Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x intrinsic Josephson junctions. Shapiro-step detection was employed to confirm the terahertz-wave emission.

Follow-up study of peripheral blood carcinoembryonic antigen mRNA using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction as an early marker of clinical recurrence in patients with curatively resected gastric cancer.

In this study, we evaluated the clinical significance of detecting carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) mRNA in the peripheral blood samples of patients with gastric cancer. We analyzed the peripheral blood of 46 patients with gastric cancer who had undergone curative resection. The presence of CEA mRNA was serially monitored using a CEA-specific reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) every 2 months.

The pqrAB operon is responsible for paraquat resistance in Streptomyces coelicolor.

Paraquat (methyl viologen)-resistant mutants of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) that grew and sporulated normally in the presence of paraquat were isolated. Based on the positions of the mutant loci in the genetic map, we isolated the pqr (paraquat resistance) gene whose mutation (pqr501) caused a dominant paraquat-resistant phenotype. The pqr locus consists of two genes (pqrA and pqrB) that form a transcription unit.

The role of nitric oxide in experimental cerulein induced pancreatitis.

An enhanced formation of nitric oxide (NO), due to the induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), has been implicated in the pathogenesis of shock and inflammation, but its role in acute pancreatitis still remains controversial. To clarify the role of NO in acute pancreatitis, the present experiment investigated the expression of iNOS and the effect of NOS inhibition on cerulein-induced pancreatitis in rats. Group I received intraperitoneal (ip) injection of normal saline.