Effects of Combined Therapy with Ezetimibe Plus Simvastatin After Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation in a Porcine Coronary Restenosis Model

The aim of this study was to examine the anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory effects of ezetimibe/simvastatin (E/S) after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation in a porcine coronary restenosis model. Pigs were randomized into two groups in which the coronary arteries (23 pigs) had DES. Stents were deployed with oversizing (stent/artery ratio 1.3:1) in porcine coronary arteries. Fifteen pigs were taken 10/20 mg of E/S and eight pigs were not taken E/S. Histopathologic analysis was assessed at 28 days after stenting. In neointima, most inflammatory cells were lymphohistiocytes. Lymphohistiocyte count was not different between two groups (337±227 vs. 443±366 cells, P=0.292), but neointima area was significantly smaller (1.00±0.49 mm2 vs. 1.69±0.98 mm2, P=0.021) and percent area stenosis was significantly lower (23.3±10% vs. 39±19%, P=0.007) in E/S group compared with control group. There were no significant differences in fibrin score (1.99±0.79 vs. 1.81±0.88, P=0.49), endothelial score (1.75±0.66 vs. 1.80±0.59, P=0.79), and the percent of endothelium covered lumen (43±21% vs. 45±21%, P=0.84) between E/S group and control group. Combined therapy with ezetimibe and simvastatin inhibits neointimal hyperplasia, but does not inhibit inflammatory infiltration and arterial healing after DES implantation in a porcine coronary restenosis model

Anti-Allergic Activity of a Platycodon Root Ethanol Extract

Platycodon grandiflorum (Campanulaceae) is used as traditional medicine in Asian countries. In Korean traditional medicine, Platycodon root has been widely used since ancient times as a traditional drug to treat cold, cough and asthma. However, its effects on bone marrow-derived mast cell (BMMC)-mediated allergy and inflammation mechanisms remain unknown. In this study, the biological effect of Platycodon root ethanol extract (PE) was evaluated in BMMC after induction of allergic mediators by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) plus calcium ionophore A23187 (A23187) stimulation. The effect of PE on the production of several allergic mediators, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), prostaglandin D2 (PGD2), leukotriene C4 (LTC4), β-Hexosaminidase (β-Hex) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) protein, was investigated. The results demonstrate that PE inhibits PMA + A23187 induced production of IL-6, PGD2, LTC4, β-Hexosaminidase and COX-2 protein. Taken together, these results indicate that PE has the potential for use in the treatment of allergy

25th annual computational neuroscience meeting: CNS-2016

The same neuron may play different functional roles in the neural circuits to which it belongs. For example, neurons in the Tritonia pedal ganglia may participate in variable phases of the swim motor rhythms [1]. While such neuronal functional variability is likely to play a major role the delivery of the functionality of neural systems, it is difficult to study it in most nervous systems. We work on the pyloric rhythm network of the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion (STG) [2]. Typically network models of the STG treat neurons of the same functional type as a single model neuron (e.g. PD neurons), assuming the same conductance parameters for these neurons and implying their synchronous firing [3, 4]. However, simultaneous recording of PD neurons shows differences between the timings of spikes of these neurons. This may indicate functional variability of these neurons. Here we modelled separately the two PD neurons of the STG in a multi-neuron model of the pyloric network. Our neuron models comply with known correlations between conductance parameters of ionic currents. Our results reproduce the experimental finding of increasing spike time distance between spikes originating from the two model PD neurons during their synchronised burst phase. The PD neuron with the larger calcium conductance generates its spikes before the other PD neuron. Larger potassium conductance values in the follower neuron imply longer delays between spikes, see Fig. 17.Neuromodulators change the conductance parameters of neurons and maintain the ratios of these parameters [5]. Our results show that such changes may shift the individual contribution of two PD neurons to the PD-phase of the pyloric rhythm altering their functionality within this rhythm. Our work paves the way towards an accessible experimental and computational framework for the analysis of the mechanisms and impact of functional variability of neurons within the neural circuits to which they belong

Establishment and operation of industrial accident prevention system

노트 : Government Publications Registration Number 11-7003625-000055-0

2012 경제발전경험모듈화사업 : 산업재해 예방제도 구축 및 운영

Chapter 1 OSH and Labor Market in Korea 1. Change in the Labor Market 2. Importance of OSH Chapter 2 Introduction and Development of Prevention System 1. Advances in OSH Regulations 2. Advances in Administrative System on OSH 3. Implementation of Various Accident Prevention Plans 4. Establishment of KOSHA Chapter 3 Statistics System and Trends on OSH 1. Introduction of Statistics System on Industrial Accidents 2. Statistics on Industrial Accidents Chapter 4 Application and Implementation of OSH Policy 1. Laying the Foundation for OSH 2. Technical Guidance and Support Program that Bring Changes to Worksites 3. Accident Prevention in Construction Industry through Participation and Support 4. Improving Work Environment and Health Management for Workers 5. Securing Professional Knowledge and Capacity in OSH 6. Enhancing the Level of Expertise in OSH Training 7. Raising Safety Awareness at the National Level 8. Advancement and Globalization of OSH Chapter 5 Assessment and Application of Industrial Accident Prevention System 1. Laws and Regulations on Industrial Accident Prevention and Relevant Administrative System · 2. Establishment and Implementation of Industrial Accident Prevention Strategies 3. Introduction and Operation of Statistics System on Industrial Accidents 4. Establishment and Operation of an Independent Organization Specializing in Industrial Accident Prevention Chapter 6 Conclusio

Nano-structured Pt–Cr anode catalyst over carbon support, for direct methanol fuel cell

In this study, several kinds of carbon were used as the support for the Pt-based catalyst of the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). Mesoporous carbons with large BET surface area and a commercial carbon were used as the support for the anode catalyst. The maximum current densities of the catalysts were compared by cyclic voltammogram. The catalyst supported on Vulcan XC-72, the commercial carbon support, showed the highest catalytic activity because of its high electric conductivity in spite of small BET surface area. Transition metals such as Cr, Mn, Y, or Zn were impregnated simultaneously with a Pt precursor on Vulcan XC-72, respectively, and then the catalytic activity was tested. The Pt–Cr/C catalyst showed the highest catalytic activity among this catalyst series, and was more active than the Pt/C catalyst. Furthermore, in order to improve the activity of the Pt–Cr/C catalyst, sintering of active metals by thermal reduction during the preparation should be avoided. Therefore, alkaline aluminum leaching method was applied for the purpose of decreasing the particle size of the active metals by reducing the sintering of Pt and Cr. Aluminum precursor was introduced together with Pt and Cr precursors into the commercial carbon support in the preparation process. After reduction of the sample, aluminum species were selectively leached out. The catalyst showed a much improved activity as expected and characterized by H2 chemisorption and TEM analyses.the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation through the Research Center for Energy Conversion and Storage, and by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Korea through the Research Center for Nanocatalysis, one of the National Science Programs for Key Nanotechnolog

Shape memory alloy (SMA)-based head and neck immobilizer for radiotherapy

Head-and-neck cancer is often treated with intensive irradiation focused on the tumor, while delivering the minimum amount of irradiation to normal cells. Since a course of radiotherapy can take 5–6 weeks or more, the repeatability of the patient posture and the fastening method during treatment are important determinants of the success of radiotherapy. Many devices have been developed to minimize positional discrepancies, but all of the commercial devices used in clinical practice are operated manually and require customized fixtures for each patient. This is inefficient and the performance of the fixture device depends on the operator׳s skill. Therefore, this study developed an automated head-and-neck immobilizer that can be used during radiotherapy and evaluated the positioning reproducibility in a phantom experiment. To eliminate interference caused by the magnetic field from computed tomography hardware, Ni−Ti shape-memory alloy wires were used as the actuating elements of the fixtures. The resulting positional discrepancy was less than 5 mm for all positions, which is acceptable for radiotherapy