Identification of Cerebral Artery Stenosis Using Bilateral Photoplethysmography.

Cerebral artery stenosis is currently diagnosed by transcranial Doppler (TCD), computed tomographic angiography (CTA), or magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). CTA exposes a patient to radiation, while CTA and MRA are invasive and side effects were related to contrast medium use. This study aims to provide a technique that can simply discriminate between people with normal blood vessels and those with cerebral artery stenosis using photoplethysmography (PPG), which is noninvasive and inexpensive.

Enhanced production of reactive oxygen species in HeLa cells under concurrent low‑dose carboplatin and Photofrin® photodynamic therapy.

Concurrent low‑dose carboplatin/Photofrin® photodynamic therapy (ccPDT) has been shown to promote relapse‑free complete tumor regression in cervical or endometrial cancer patients as a fertility‑preservation therapy. This study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanism of the enhanced therapeutic efficacy of ccPDT by determining intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and necrotic or apoptotic cell damage in HeLa cells loaded with fluorescent oxidant agents and Photofrin or/and carboplatin under light irradiation. The cytotoxic effects of ccPDT were compared when monitored with a light dose under carboplatin or Photofrin alone.

Combination of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and inline hemofiltration for the acute hyperkalemic cardiac arrest in a patient with Duchenne muscular dystrophy following orthopedic surgery -a case report.

Background: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common childhood muscular dystrophy that anesthesiologists can encounter in the operation room, and patients with DMD are susceptible to complications such as rhabdomyolysis, hyperkalemic cardiac arrest, and hyperthermia during the perioperative period. Acute onset of hyperkalemic cardiac arrest is a crisis because of the difficulty in achieving satisfactory resuscitation owing to the sustained hyperkalemia accompanied by rhabdomyolysis.

Case: We here report a case of a 13-year-old boy who had multiple leg fractures and other trauma after a car accident and who had suffered from acute hyperkalemic cardiac arrest.

The regulation of combined treatment-induced cell death with recombinant TRAIL and bortezomib through TRAIL signaling in TRAIL-resistant cells.

Background: Multiple trials have attempted to demonstrate the effective induction of cell death in TRAIL-resistant cancer cells, including using a combined treatment of recombinant TRAIL and various proteasome inhibitors. These studies have yielded limited success, as the mechanism of cell death is currently unidentified. Understanding this mechanism's driving forces may facilitate the induction of cell death in TRAIL-resistant cancer cells.

Combination of Mean Platelet Volume and Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio Predicts Long-Term Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

We hypothesized that the combination of a high neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and mean platelet volume (MPV) would be a stronger predictor of future cardiovascular events after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Both NLR and MPV were measured in 364 consecutive patients undergoing PCI. The primary end point was the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), including cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and stent thrombosis.

A Case of First Branchial Cleft Fistula Presenting with an External Opening on the Root of the Helical Crus.

Background: First branchial cleft anomalies (FBCA) are rare clinical entities of the head and neck. Typically, the tract of the FBCA begins in the external auditory canal and ends in the postauricular or submandibular region.

Case Presentation: We present a case of a 23-year-old man who had a first branchial cleft fistula with atypical opening on the root of the helical crus.

Management Outcomes of Colonoscopic Perforations Are Affected by the General Condition of the Patients.

Purpose: The management of a colonoscopic perforation (CP) varies from conservative to surgical. The objective of this study was to evaluate the outcomes between surgical and conservative treatment of patients with a CP.

Methods: From 2003 to 2016, the medical records of patients with CP were retrospectively reviewed.

The crystal structure of methanol dehydrogenase, a quinoprotein from the marine methylotrophic bacterium Methylophaga aminisulfidivorans MP.

The first crystal structure of a pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ)-dependent methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) from a marine methylotrophic bacterium, Methylophaga aminisulfidivorans MP (MDH ), was determined at 1.7 Å resolution. The active form of MDH (or MDHI ) is a heterotetrameric αβ, where each β-subunit assembles on one side of each of the α-subunits, in a symmetrical fashion, so that two β-subunits surround the two PQQ-binding pockets on the α-subunits.

Correlation between macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer thickness and visual acuity after resolution of the macular edema secondary to central retinal vein occlusion.

Aim: To examine the thickness of the ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) in eyes with resolved macular edema (ME) in non-ischemic central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), applying spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), and its relationship with visual acuity.

Methods: The retrospective observational case-control study included 30 eyes of non-ischemic CRVO patients with resolved ME (ME eyes) after treatment, and 30 eyes of non-ischemic CRVO patients without ME (non-ME eyes). The macular GCIPL thickness, peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) thickness and central macular thickness (CMT) were measured on a SD-OCT scan.

Contribution of the Ligamentum Teres to Hip Stability in the Presence of an Intact Capsule: A Cadaveric Study.

Purpose: To determine the contribution of the ligamentum teres (LT) to hip stability in the presence of an intact capsule with special attention to the change in range of motion and femoral head translation.

Methods: Seven fresh-frozen cadaveric pelvises were used. Following visual inspection of the LT at different hip positions, internal rotation angles were measured at 10° of extension and at 0° of flexion, while external rotation was measured at 60°, 90°, and 110° of flexion with different hip abduction angles using electromagnetic motion tracking sensor.

Prognostic value of preoperative systemic inflammation markers in localized upper tract urothelial cell carcinoma: a large, multicenter cohort analysis.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of preoperative systemic inflammation markers in upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC).

Methods: A total of 1137 patients who underwent radical nephroureterectomy with bladder cuff excision at 9 institutions from 2004 to 2015, were retrospectively reviewed. The Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), modified GPS (mGPS), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) for each patient were calculated.

A Study on Laparoscopic Sacral Colpopexy for Uterine Prolapse.

Objectives: We sought to describe the perioperative and postoperative adverse events associated with sacral colpopexy and evaluate the surgical outcome, complications, and benefits of laparoscopic sacral fixation for patients with pelvic prolapse.

Methods: Ninety-two women with uterine prolapse underwent sacral colpopexy between January 2011 and September 2016 at Chosun University Hospital. Patients' electronic medical records were investigated for demographic, intraoperative, and postoperative data.

The Effect of Lipopolysaccharide on Noxa Expression Is Mediated through IRF1, 3, and 7.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a component of the cell wall of gram-negative bacteria, elicits the secretion of cytokines, such as interferons, that stimulate the host defense system. Previously, we demonstrated that interferons induce interferon regulatory factors (IRFs) 1, 3, and 7, which regulate the transcription of Noxa and alter the expression profiles of Bcl-2 family proteins in tumors. However, the immediate consequences of LPS stimulation on Noxa and BH3 expression in tumor cells remain uncharacterized.

Urinary Nerve Growth Factor as a Potential Biomarker of Treatment Outcomes in Overactive Bladder Patients.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate urinary nerve growth factor (NGF) as a biomarker of treatment efficacy and recurrence in overactive bladder (OAB) patients.

Methods: We enrolled 189 OAB subjects who visited our outpatient clinic from February 2010 to February 2015. All subjects with OAB received antimuscarinic treatment.

Erratum to: Potentiation of TRAIL killing activity by multimerization through isoleucine zipper hexamerization motif.

The BMB Reports would like to correct in the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS of BMB Rep. 49(5), 282-287 titled "Potentiation of TRAIL killing activity by multimerization through isoleucine zipper hexamerization motif."

Perioperative Comparison of Hip Arthroplasty Using the Direct Anterior Approach with the Posterolateral Approach.

Purpose: The aim of the current study is to report the advantage and disadvantage of total hip arthroplasty performed in direct anterior approach (DAA) by comparing it to the posterolateral approach (PLA).

Materials And Methods: Twenty-five hip arthroplasty done in DAA (12 total hip arthroplasty [THA] and 13 bipolar hemiarthroplasty [BHA]) were compared with the same number done in PLA (13 THA and 12 BHA). Intraoperative assessments including operation time, anesthetic time, bleeding amount were recorded with intraoperative complications.

Prevalence of fluoroquinolone-resistant rectal flora in patients undergoing transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate needle biopsy: A prospective multicenter study.

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of fluoroquinolone-resistant rectal flora in patients undergoing transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate needle biopsy and to identify the high-risk groups.

Methods: From January 2015 to March 2016, rectal swabs of 557 men who underwent transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate needle biopsy were obtained from five institutions. Clinical variables, including demographics, rectal swab culture results and infectious complications, were evaluated.

MTD-like motif of a BH3-only protein, BNIP1, induces necrosis accompanied by an intracellular calcium spike.

The mitochondrial targeting domain (MTD) of Noxa has necrosis-inducing activity when conjugated with cell-penetrating peptide (CPP). In this study, we report another MTD-like motif, B1MLM, found in BNIP1, a pro-apoptotic BH3-only protein found in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. The B1MLM peptide, conjugated with CPP, induced necrosis in a way similar to that of R8:MTD.

The ratio of circulating regulatory cluster of differentiation 4 T cells to endothelial progenitor cells predicts clinically significant acute rejection after heart transplantation.

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the value of the ratio of the percentage of circulating regulatory cluster of differentiation 4 T cells (%Tregs) to the percentage of endothelial progenitor cells (%EPCs; Treg/EPC ratio) for predicting clinically significant acute rejection.

Methods: Peripheral blood %Tregs and %EPCs were quantified in 91 cardiac transplant recipients using flow cytometry at a mean of 42 ± 13 days after transplant. The primary end point was clinically significant acute rejection, defined as an event that led to an acute augmentation of immunosuppression in conjunction with an International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation grade ≥ 2R in a right ventricular endomyocardial biopsy specimen or non-cellular rejection (specimen-negative rejection) with hemodynamic compromise (decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction by > 25%).

Designing a cancer therapeutic peptide by combining the mitochondrial targeting domain of Noxa and ErbB2-targeting moieties.

Many anticancer drugs target epidermal growth factor receptors to inhibit receptor tyrosine kinases and tumor growth. Here, we show that an ErbB2-targeting pronecrotic peptide (KWSY:MTD) selectively kills tumor cells expressing ErbB2 in vitro. An antibody against ErbB2 inhibits KWSY:MTD-induced cell death.

Prognostic roles of lymph node micrometastasis in non-small cell lung cancer.

Objective: This study aimed to confirm the prognostic roles of lymph node (LN) micrometastasis (LNMM) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) through a meta-analysis.

Methods: This study included 2026 NSCLC cases without detection of LN metastasis in histologic examination. We investigated the detection rate of LNMM in early-stage NSCLC and analyzed the correlation between LNMM and the rates of recurrence and survival.

Cervical myelitis presenting as occipital neuralgia.

Aim: Occipital neuralgia is a common form of headache that is characterized by paroxysmal severe lancinating pain in the occipital nerve distribution.

Methods: The exact pathophysiology is still not fully understood and occipital neuralgia often develops spontaneously. There are no specific guidelines for evaluation of patients with occipital neuralgia.