Early reduction of regulatory T cells is associated with acute rejection in liver transplantation under tacrolimus-based immunosuppression with basiliximab induction.

Regulatory T (Treg) cells are important in preventing acute rejection (AR) in solid organ transplantation, but the clinical relevance of the different kinetics early after liver transplantation (LT) in acute rejectors and non-rejectors is unclear. We analyzed peripheral blood samples of 128 LT recipients receiving basiliximab induction plus tacrolimus immunosuppression. Samples were obtained at pretransplant, D7, and D30 after LT.

Efficacy of dual antiplatelet therapy as premedication before diagnostic cerebral digital subtraction angiography.

Objective: Several studies have reported that periprocedural dual antiplatelet therapy lowers the incidence of thromboembolic complications (TEC) associated with coiling of unruptured aneurysms. We hypothesized that preprocedural administration of dual antiplatelet agents (aspirin and cilostazol) for 7days may reduce the risk of complications associated with diagnostic cerebral digital subtraction angiography (DSA).

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients who underwent diagnostic cerebral DSA between September 2015 and April 2018.

Modulating cardiomyocyte and fibroblast interaction using layer-by-layer deposition facilitates synchronisation of cardiac macro tissues.

Maturation and synchronisation of heart cells, including cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts, are essential to develop functional biomimetic cardiac tissues for regenerative medicine and drug discovery. Synchronisation of cells in the biomimetic cardiac tissue requires the structural integrity and functional maturation of cardiomyocytes with other cell types. However, it is challenging to synchronise the beating of macroscale cardiac tissues and induce maturation of cardiomyocytes derived from stem cells.

Anti-Apoptotic and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Edible Fresh Water Algae in UVB-Irradiated Skin Keratinocytes.

Skin is the outer tissue layer and is a barrier protecting the body from various external stresses. The fresh water green edible algae has antiviral, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties; however, few studies of its effects on skin-protection have been reported. In this study, ethanol extract (Pj-EE) was prepared, and its skin-protective properties were investigated in skin keratinocytes.

Ginseng compound K incorporated porous Chitosan/biphasic calcium phosphate composite microsphere for bone regeneration.

There is a substantial for the bone graft materials in the clinical field. Porous, stable and biodegradable bone microsphere scaffold using biopolymer chitosan was studied, and biphasic calcium phosphate was added to improve mechanical and osteoconductivity properties later ginseng compound K was added for improving its medicinal properties. They were characterized using FTIR and XRD that showed the apatite crystal in the composite microsphere scaffolds were structurally similar to that of biogenic apatite crystals.

VEGF-A drives TOX-dependent T cell exhaustion in anti-PD-1-resistant microsatellite stable colorectal cancers.

Although immune checkpoint blockade therapies have demonstrated clinical efficacy in cancer treatment, harnessing this strategy is largely encumbered by resistance in multiple cancer settings. Here, we show that tumor-infiltrating T cells are severely exhausted in the microsatellite stable (MSS) colorectal cancer (CRC), a representative example of PD-1 blockade-resistant tumors. In MSS CRC, we found wound healing signature to be up-regulated and that T cell exhaustion is driven by vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A).

Occurrence of Typhoid Fever Complications and Their Relation to Duration of Illness Preceding Hospitalization: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Complications from typhoid fever disease have been estimated to occur in 10%-15% of hospitalized patients, with evidence of a higher risk in children and when delaying the implementation of effective antimicrobial treatment. We estimated the prevalence of complications in hospitalized patients with culture-confirmed typhoid fever and the effects of delaying the implementation of effective antimicrobial treatment and age on the prevalence and risk of complications.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed using studies in the PubMed database.

The Severe Typhoid Fever in Africa Program: Study Design and Methodology to Assess Disease Severity, Host Immunity, and Carriage Associated With Invasive Salmonellosis.

Background: Invasive salmonellosis is a common community-acquired bacteremia in persons residing in sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is a paucity of data on severe typhoid fever and its associated acute and chronic host immune response and carriage. The Severe Typhoid Fever in Africa (SETA) program, a multicountry surveillance study, aimed to address these research gaps and contribute to the control and prevention of invasive salmonellosis.

Acute Febrile Illness Among Children in Butajira, South-Central Ethiopia During the Typhoid Fever Surveillance in Africa Program.

Background: Clearly differentiating causes of fever is challenging where diagnostic capacities are limited, resulting in poor patient management. We investigated acute febrile illness in children aged ≤15 years enrolled at healthcare facilities in Butajira, Ethiopia, during January 2012 to January 2014 for the Typhoid Fever Surveillance in Africa Program.

Methods: Blood culture, malaria microscopy, and blood analyses followed by microbiological, biochemical, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of isolates were performed.

A Systematic Review of Typhoid Fever Occurrence in Africa.

Background: Our current understanding of the burden and distribution of typhoid fever in Africa relies on extrapolation of data from a small number of population-based incidence rate estimates. However, many other records on the occurrence of typhoid fever are available, and those records contain information that may enrich our understanding of the epidemiology of the disease as well as secular trends in reporting by country and over time.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of typhoid fever occurrence in Africa, published in PubMed, Embase, and ProMED (Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases).

Impact of sequential lines of palliative chemotherapy in patients with recurrent/metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: A retrospective analysis of 107 patients at a single center.

Aim: This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of palliative chemotherapy by the lines of chemotherapy in recurrent/metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and to compare the efficacy between the patients with initially metastatic ESCC and those with recurrent/progressed ESCC after curative treatment.

Materials And Methods: All 107 patients who began palliative chemotherapy for recurrent/metastatic ESCC from March 2015 to October 2017 were included, and grouped according to previous treatment: Groups A (previous chemoradiation alone, n = 30), B (previous surgery alone, n = 11), C (previous chemoradiation and surgery, n = 30), and D (initially metastatic or de novo stage IV, n = 36). Groups A, B, and C (pretreated group) and Group D (treatment-naïve group) were reorganized according to treatment history.

Oxaliplatin-Based Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Rectal Cancer After Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy (ADORE): Long-Term Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Purpose: We evaluated the role of oxaliplatin as adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with rectal cancer who received preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with fluoropyrimidine monotherapy and total mesorectal excision (TME).

Methods: The ADORE trial (adjuvant oxaliplatin in rectal cancer) is a multicenter, randomized trial in patients with postoperative ypStage II (ypT3-4N0) or III (ypTN1-2) rectal cancer after fluoropyrimidine-based preoperative CRT and TME. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive adjuvant chemotherapy either with FL (fluorouracil 380 mg/m and leucovorin 20 mg/m) or FOLFOX (oxaliplatin 85 mg/m, leucovorin 200 mg/m, and fluorouracil bolus 400 mg/m on day 1, fluorouracil infusion 2,400 mg/m for 46 hours).

Patterns of recurrence after radiation therapy for high-risk neuroblastoma.

Purpose: To investigate the patterns of recurrence in patients with neuroblastoma treated with radiation therapy to the primary tumor site.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients with high-risk neuroblastoma managed with definitive treatment with radiation therapy to the primary tumor site between January 2003 and June 2017. These patients underwent three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy or intensity-modulated radiation therapy.

A Randomized Phase III Trial on the Role of Esophagectomy in Complete Responders to Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESOPRESSO).

Background/aim: We investigated the role of esophagectomy after clinical complete response (cCR) to chemoradiotherapy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Patients And Methods: Patients with resectable cT3-T4a/anyN/M0 or anyT/N+/M0 thoracic ESCC received two cycles of induction chemotherapy and then chemoradiotherapy (50.4 Gy/28 fractions).

Combined transarterial chemoembolization and radiotherapy as a first-line treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma with macroscopic vascular invasion: Necessity to subclassify Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage C.

Background And Purpose: Systemic therapy such as sorafenib is the standard for Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage C hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, the survival benefits are modest especially for HCC with macroscopic vascular invasion (MVI). Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) plus external beam radiotherapy (RT) is an alternative treatment to sorafenib, with favorable clinical results. We evaluated the outcomes of respiratory-gated RT and TACE in treatment-naïve BCLC stage C HCC patients with MVI and proposed a subclassification model.

Freshness-based real-time shelf-life estimation of packaged chicken meat under dynamic storage conditions.

The current study was performed to develop dynamic quality and shelf-life prediction models using selected index for packaged chicken meat during storage. Generally, the results showed that meat deterioration, with respect to the different quality indices considered in the investigation, proceeds with increasing temperature and storage time. Highly significant (P ≤ 0.

Synthetic probes for in vitro purification and in vivo tracking of hepatocytes derived from human pluripotent stem cells.

Hepatocytes derived from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are promising candidates for cell therapy and drug discovery. However, it remains challenging to efficiently purify hepatocytes from undesired cell types after differentiation and to accurately monitor grafted cells after transplantation. Indocyanine Green (ICG), an FDA-approved, near-infrared (NIR) dye, has been used for various clinical purposes and is exclusively taken up by hepatocytes.

Antioxidant and Cytoprotective Effects of (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-(3″--methyl) Gallate.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generated from diverse cellular processes or external sources such as chemicals, pollutants, or ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Accumulation of radicals causes cell damage that can result in degenerative diseases. Antioxidants remove radicals by eliminating unpaired electrons from other molecules.

Advantages of Coil Embolization Performed Immediately After Diagnostic Cerebral Digital Subtraction Angiography in Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms: Patients' Perspective.

Background: We are inevitably faced with the need to perform coil embolization immediately after diagnostic cerebral digital subtraction angiography (DSA) for economic reasons, patient convenience, fear of rupture, and other reasons. Here we report the advantages of coil embolization performed immediately after diagnostic cerebral DSA for unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) from the patients' perspective.

Methods: Between January 2017 and October 2018, 145 patients were treated for UIAs with endovascular coil embolization at the Yeungnam University Medical Center.

Tumor Homing Reactive Oxygen Species Nanoparticle for Enhanced Cancer Therapy.

Multifunctional nanoparticles that carry chemotherapeutic agents can be innovative anticancer therapeutic options owing to their tumor-targeting ability and high drug-loading capacity. However, the nonspecific release of toxic DNA-intercalating anticancer drugs from the nanoparticles has significant side effects on healthy cells surrounding the tumors. Herein, we report a tumor homing reactive oxygen species nanoparticle (THoR-NP) platform that is highly effective and selective for ablating malignant tumors.

Paraneoplastic Pemphigus: Paraneoplastic Autoimmune Disease of the Skin and Mucosa.

Paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP) is a rare but life-threatening mucocutaneous disease mediated by paraneoplastic autoimmunity. Various neoplasms are associated with PNP. Intractable stomatitis and polymorphous cutaneous eruptions, including blisters and lichenoid dermatitis, are characteristic clinical features caused by humoral and cell-mediated autoimmune reactions.

Relationship of self-transcendence traits with in vivo dopamine D2/3 receptor availability and functional connectivity: An [ F]fallypride PET and fMRI study.

Genetic research has implicated dopamine neurotransmission in the expression of the self-transcendence trait in humans. However, molecular imaging of dopaminergic markers is undocumented in relation to this personality trait. In this multimodal imaging study, we first investigated the relationship between the self-transcendence trait and in vivo dopamine D receptor availability using [ F]fallypride positron emission tomography (PET).

Octylphenol and nonylphenol affect decidualization of human endometrial stromal cells.

This study investigated the effect of octylphenol (OP) and nonylphenol (NP) on decidualization of endometrial stromal cells. Telomerase-immortalized human endometrial stromal cells were cultured for 12 days and decidualization was induced in vitro. The cells were exposed to OP (5 or 10 μM) or NP (5 μM) during in vitro decidualization.

Relationship Between Impaired Consciousness and Injury of Ascending Reticular Activating System in Patients With Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

Background and Purpose- We investigated the relationship between impaired consciousness and ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) characteristics on diffusion tensor tractography during the early stage of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage confined to a unilateral supratentorial area. Methods- A total of 29 consecutive patients with impaired consciousness (the patient group A), 31 age- and sex-matched patients without impaired consciousness (the patient group B), and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects were recruited. The Glasgow Coma Scale was used to evaluate patients' conscious state in the early stage of intracerebral hemorrhage (within 30 days after onset).