Implementation of pharmacists' monitoring for intravenous drug compatibility.

Background: Injectable medication errors primarily occur during preparation and administration. Currently, South Korea is experiencing chronic pharmacist shortages. Moreover, pharmacists have not routinely conducted prescription monitoring for intravenous compatibility.

Characterization of Medication Errors in a Medical Intensive Care Unit of a University Teaching Hospital in South Korea.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to characterize the current status of medication errors (MEs) throughout the medication therapy process from prescribing to use and monitoring in a medical intensive care unit (MICU) in Korea.

Methods: Four trained research pharmacists collected data through retrospectively reviewing electronic medical records for adults hospitalized in the MICU in 2017. The occurrence of MEs was determined through interprofessional team discussion led by an academic faculty pharmacist and a medical intensivist based on the medication administration records (MARs).

Sphingosine 1-Phosphate Receptor 4 Promotes Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis by Activating NLRP3 Inflammasome.

Background & Aims: Sphingosine 1-phosphate receptors (S1PRs) are a group of G-protein-coupled receptors that confer a broad range of functional effects in chronic inflammatory and metabolic diseases. S1PRs also may mediate the development of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), but the specific subtypes involved and the mechanism of action are unclear.

Methods: We investigated which type of S1PR isoforms is activated in various murine models of NASH.

Sphingomyelin synthase 1 mediates hepatocyte pyroptosis to trigger non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

Objective: Lipotoxic hepatocyte injury is a primary event in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), but the mechanisms of lipotoxicity are not fully defined. Sphingolipids and free cholesterol (FC) mediate hepatocyte injury, but their link in NASH has not been explored. We examined the role of free cholesterol and sphingomyelin synthases (SMSs) that generate sphingomyelin (SM) and diacylglycerol (DAG) in hepatocyte pyroptosis, a specific form of programmed cell death associated with inflammasome activation, and NASH.

Inhibition of Ceramide Accumulation in Podocytes by Myriocin Prevents Diabetic Nephropathy.

Background: Ceramides are associated with metabolic complications including diabetic nephropathy in patients with diabetes. Recent studies have reported that podocytes play a pivotal role in the progression of diabetic nephropathy. Also, mitochondrial dysfunction is known to be an early event in podocyte injury.

Oncologic Outcomes of Postoperative Chemoradiotherapy Versus Chemotherapy Alone in Stage II and III Upper Rectal Cancer.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess oncological outcomes of postoperative radiotherapy plus chemotherapy (CRT) versus chemotherapy alone (CTx) in stage II or III upper rectal cancer patients who underwent curative surgery.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 263 consecutive patients with pathologic stage II or III upper rectal cancer who underwent primary curative resection with postoperative CRT or CTx from January 2008 to December 2014 at Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital. Multivariate and propensity score matching analyses were used to reduce selection bias.

Small Heterodimer Partner Controls the Virus-Mediated Antiviral Immune Response by Targeting CREB-Binding Protein in the Nucleus.

Small heterodimer partner (SHP) is an orphan nuclear receptor that acts as a transcriptional co-repressor by interacting with nuclear receptors and transcription factors. Although SHP plays a negative regulatory function in various signaling pathways, its role in virus infection has not been studied. Here, we report that SHP is a potent negative regulator of the virus-mediated type I IFN signaling that maintains homeostasis within the antiviral innate immune system.

Retraction Note: Interferon-mediated antiviral activities of Angelica tenuissima Nakai and its active components.

The above article by Weeratunga et al. has been retracted from Journal of Microbiology at the request of the corresponding author. The authors found that they were unable to reproduce Figure 1, Figure 3(A), Figure 4(A) and Figure 7(D) presented in this paper.

Comparisons of auditory brainstem response and sound level tolerance in tinnitus ears and non-tinnitus ears in unilateral tinnitus patients with normal audiograms.

Objective: Recently, "hidden hearing loss" with cochlear synaptopathy has been suggested as a potential pathophysiology of tinnitus in individuals with a normal hearing threshold. Several studies have demonstrated that subjects with tinnitus and normal audiograms show significantly reduced auditory brainstem response (ABR) wave I amplitudes compared with control subjects, but normal wave V amplitudes, suggesting increased central auditory gain. We aimed to reconfirm the "hidden hearing loss" theory through a within-subject comparison of wave I and wave V amplitudes and uncomfortable loudness level (UCL), which might be decreased with increased central gain, in tinnitus ears (TEs) and non-tinnitus ears (NTEs).

Inhibition of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus by a peptide derived from vFLIP through its direct destabilization of viruses.

The antiviral activities of synthesized Kα2-helix peptide, which was derived from the viral FLICE-like inhibitor protein (vFLIP) of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), against influenza A virus (IAV) were investigated in vitro and in vivo, and mechanisms of action were suggested. In addition to the robust autophagy activity of the Kα2-helix peptide, the present study showed that treatment with the Kα2 peptide fused with the TAT peptide significantly inhibited IAV replication and transmission. Moreover, TAT-Kα2 peptide protected the mice, that were challenged with lethal doses of highly pathogenic influenza A H5N1 or H1N1 viruses.

Protective role of endogenous plasmalogens against hepatic steatosis and steatohepatitis in mice.

Unlabelled: Free cholesterol (FC) accumulation in the liver is an important pathogenic mechanism of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Plasmalogens, key structural components of the cell membrane, act as endogenous antioxidants and are primarily synthesized in the liver. However, the role of hepatic plasmalogens in metabolic liver disease is unclear.

Construction of stabilized and tagged foot-and-mouth disease virus.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious and economically devastating disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals worldwide. Construction and purification of stable antigen for vaccine are necessary but technically difficult and laborious. Here, we have tried to investigate an alternative method by inserting a hexa-histidine tag (6xHIS) in the VP1 C-terminal for easy purification and replacing two amino acids of VP1/VP2 to enhance the stability of the capsid of the FMD virus (FMDV) Asia1/MOG/05.

Inhibitory effects of an aqueous extract from Cortex Phellodendri on the growth and replication of broad-spectrum of viruses in vitro and in vivo.

Background: Cortex Phellodendri (C. Phellodendri), the dried trunk bark of Phellodendron amurense Ruprecht, has been known as a traditional herbal medicine, showing several bioactivities. However, antiviral activity of C.

Tristetraprolin suppresses the EMT through the down-regulation of Twist1 and Snail1 in cancer cells.

Inhibition of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-inducing transcription factors Twist and Snail prevents tumor metastasis but enhances metastatic growth. Here, we report an unexpected role of a tumor suppressor tristetraprolin (TTP) in inhibiting Twist and Snail without enhancing cellular proliferation. TTP bound to the AU-rich element (ARE) within the mRNA 3'UTRs of Twist1 and Snail1, enhanced the decay of their mRNAs and inhibited the EMT of cancer cells.

HDAC6 regulates cellular viral RNA sensing by deacetylation of RIG-I.

RIG-I is a key cytosolic sensor that detects RNA viruses through its C-terminal region and activates the production of antiviral interferons (IFNs) and proinflammatory cytokines. While posttranslational modification has been demonstrated to regulate RIG-I signaling activity, its significance for the sensing of viral RNAs remains unclear. Here, we first show that the RIG-I C-terminal region undergoes deacetylation to regulate its viral RNA-sensing activity and that the HDAC6-mediated deacetylation of RIG-I is critical for viral RNA detection.

Interferon-mediated antiviral activities of Angelica tenuissima Nakai and its active components.

Angelica tenuissima Nakai is a widely used commodity in traditional medicine. Nevertheless, no study has been conducted on the antiviral and immune-modulatory properties of an aqueous extract of Angelica tenuissima Nakai. In the present study, we evaluated the antiviral activities and the mechanism of action of an aqueous extract of Angelica tenuissima Nakai both in vitro and in vivo.

Mucosally administered Lactobacillus surface-displayed influenza antigens (sM2 and HA2) with cholera toxin subunit A1 (CTA1) Induce broadly protective immune responses against divergent influenza subtypes.

The development of a universal influenza vaccine that provides broad cross protection against existing and unforeseen influenza viruses is a critical challenge. In this study, we constructed and expressed conserved sM2 and HA2 influenza antigens with cholera toxin subunit A1 (CTA1) on the surface of Lactobacillus casei (pgsA-CTA1sM2HA2/L. casei).

Changes of the Airway Space and the Position of Hyoid Bone after Mandibular Set Back Surgery Using Bilateral Sagittal Split Ramus Osteotomy Technique.

Purpose: Although there have been several studies of reduced airway space after mandibular setback surgery using the sagittal split ramus osteotomy technique, research on the risk factors for changes of the airway space is lacking. Therefore, this study was performed to examine airway changes and the position of the hyoid bone after orthognathic surgery, and to assess possible risk factors.

Methods: In this retrospective study, 50 patients who underwent posterior displacement of the mandible by the bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomy technique were included.

Antibiotic susceptibility and imaging findings of the causative microorganisms responsible for acute urinary tract infection in children: a five-year single center study.

Purpose: We studied the differences in the antibiotic susceptibilities of the microorganisms that causeing urinary tract infections (UTI) in children to obtain useful information on appropriate drug selection for childhood UTI.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the antibiotic susceptibilities of 429 microorganisms isolated from 900 patients diagnosed with UTI in the Department of Pediatrics, Chungbuk National University Hospital, from 2003 to 2008.

Results: The most common causative microorganisms for UTI were Escherichia coli (81.