Development of HRPzyme-Integrated PCR Platform for Colorimetric Detection of Foodborne Pathogens

In recent years, foodborne illnesses have become the most significant public health issue in both developed and developing countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that in 2010, around 1.8 million people died due to foodborne illness. Therefore, the development of a cost-effective, sensitive, and selective detection method for identifying and monitoring foodborne pathogens is necessary for improved public health. Here, we describe a simple and ultrasensitive colorimetric method for the detection of foodborne pathogens based on HRPzyme-integrated PCR using PC-based ImageJ software. We present insights into different aspects of this method such as the importance of 16S rRNA detection, the modification of traditional PCR primers with a unique functional sequence for generating a color signal, and the application of ImageJ in colorimetric image data acquisition. The performance of the proposed strategy in detecting various foodborne pathogens is comparable to that of the commercial UV-Vis spectrophotometer Tecan Infinite 200 Pro. This detection platform exhibits linearity over wide range, high sensitivity, and high selectivity. The diagnostic capability of this colorimetric system to detect foodborne pathogens was demonstrated with spiked fruit and vegetable samples. This low-cost and effective colorimetric method can be conveniently employed for the analysis of DNA sequences arising from pathogenic bacteria

Pulsed Corona Discharge for Oxidation of Gaseous Elemental Mercury

Positive pulsed corona discharge has been applied for the oxidation of gaseous elemental mercury (Hg0) from a simulated flue gas. The oxidation of Hg0 to HgO and HgCl2 can significantly enhance the mercury removal from flue gas. At a gas condition of O2 (10%), H2O (3%), and N2 (balance), Hg0 oxidation efficiency of 84% was achieved at an input energy density of 45 J/l. The presence of NO, however, hinders Hg0 oxidation due to the preferential reaction of NO with O and O3. On the contrary, SO2 shows little effect on Hg0 oxidation due to its preferential reaction with OH. It has been also observed that the HCl in gas stream can be dissociated to Cl and Cl2 and can induce additional Hg0 oxidation to HgCl2

Experience of an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm in a Patient Having Crossed Ectopia with Fusion Anomaly of the Kidney

We report a case of surgically treated abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in a patient having crossed ectopia with fusion anomaly of the kidney. One artery from the abdominal aorta above the aneurysm supplies the right kidney while three renal arteries (two from the aneurysm itself and one from the left common iliac artery) supply the crossed ectopic kidney. Preoperative imaging to define the arterial and collecting systems along with a detailed planning of the operation is essential to prevent ischemic renal injury as well as ureteral injury during AAA repair

Overview of Asian clinical practice guidelines for the management of hepatocellular carcinoma: An Asian perspective comparison

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is highly prevalent and the third most common cause of cancer-related death in Asia. In contrast to the West, the main etiology of HCC in many Asian countries except Japan is chronic hepatitis B virus infection. Differences in the major causes of HCC lead to significant clinical and treatment differences. This review summarizes and compares guidelines on managing HCC from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea. From oncology and socio-economic perspectives, factors such as underlying diseases, staging methods, government policies, insurance coverage, and medical resources contribute to varying treatment strategies among countries. Furthermore, the differences in each guideline are fundamentally caused by the lack of incontrovertible medical evidence, and even existing results of clinical trials can be interpreted differently. This review will provide a complete overview of the current Asian guidelines for HCC in recommendations and in practice

Controlled manipulation of oxygen vacancies using nanoscale flexoelectricity

Oxygen vacancies, especially their distribution, are directly coupled to the electromagnetic properties of oxides and related emergent functionalities that have implication in device applications. Here using a homoepitaxial strontium titanate thin film, we demonstrate a controlled manipulation of the oxygen vacancy distribution using the mechanical force from a scanning probe microscope tip. By combining Kelvin probe force microscopy imaging and phase-field simulations, we show that oxygen vacancies can move under a stress-gradient-induced depolarisation field. When tailored, this nanoscale flexoelectric effect enables a controlled spatial modulation. In motion, the scanning probe tip thereby deterministically reconfigures the spatial distribution of vacancies. The ability to locally manipulate oxygen vacancies on-demand provides a tool for the exploration of mesoscale quantum phenomena, and engineering multifunctional oxide devices.Comment: 35 pages, Main text and the supplementary information combine

Application of Computed Tomography in the Identification of Hollow Viscus Injuries in Blunt Trauma Patients

Purpose Despite advances in diagnostic and imaging technologies, the diagnosis of traumatic hollow viscus injury (HVI) remains a great challenge in clinical practice. This study aimed to determine the accuracy of computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis of HVI in emergent blunt trauma patients. Methods The study was conducted on patients with abdominal trauma who were admitted to our center, regional emergency center, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, between January 2008 and December 2018. The clinical data of patients with abdominal trauma who underwent CT and abdominal surgery within 24 hours of hospitalization were analyzed to determine the diagnostic capacity of CT. Results In total, 156 patients were included in the study. There were 88 cases of blunt trauma. Among these patients, 27 were diagnosed with HVI using CT, and 38 patients were diagnosed with HVI in the operating room. The median injury severity score for these patients was 10.0, the revised trauma score was 7.841, and the trauma injury severity score was 0.96. The sensitivity and specificity of CT in predicting HVI in these patients were 65.8%, and 96.0%, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 92.6%, and 78.7%, respectively. Conclusion In urgent situations, CT findings alone are insufficient for diagnosing HVI. Further research on the HVI diagnostic capacity of CT is required

Impact of central venous pressure on the mortality of patients with sepsis-related acute kidney injury: a propensity score-matched analysis based on the MIMIC IV database

Central venous pressure (CVP); Database; MortalityPressió venosa central (PVC); Base de dades; MortalitatPresión venosa central (PVC); Base de datos; MortalidadBackground: Sepsis has long been a life-threatening organ dysfunction. Sepsis associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI) is an important complication of sepsis, as an important hemodynamic index, the impact of central venous pressure (CVP) on sepsis patients needs to be explored. Thus this study aimed to investigate the relationship between CVP and the mortality of SA-AKI. Methods: Clinical data of adult patients with sepsis-related acute kidney injury, defined as met both the Sepsis 3.0 criteria and the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes Clinical Practice Guideline (KDIGO) criteria, were obtained from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care-IV (MIMIC-IV) database. The included cohort was divided into a high CVP and a low CVP group were determined based on the cuf-off value from receiver operating characteristic curve, with propensity score-matched analysis of the 28-day mortality for both groups and sensitivity analysis using inverse the probability-weighting model, multifactorial regression, and doubly robust estimation, patients acquired chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) and diabetes were also taken into consideration. Results: Of 1,377 patients with sepsis-related acute kidney injury, low CVP group (<13 mmHg) was 67.4% (n=928) and high CVP group (≥13 mmHg) was 32.6% (n=449). The two groups were matched 1:1 by propensity score to obtain a matched cohort (n=288). The mortality rates in the low versus high CVP group (19.4% vs. 34.7%) were statistically difference (odds ratio OR: 0.454; 95% confidence interval 0.263, 0.771). Moreover, the bistable analysis of logistic regression of the matched cohort (OR: 0.434; 95% CI: 0.244, 0.757), propensity score inverse probability weighting (IPW) (OR: 0.547; 95% CI: 0.454, 0.658), and multifactorial logistic regression (OR: 0.352; 95% CI: 0.127, 0.932) all yielded the same results. Conclusions: In patients with sepsis-related acute kidney injury, a lower CVP level (<13 mmHg) is an independent variable associated with decreased mortality. The threshold of CVP needs to be controlled in clinical work to improve the prognosis of patients with SA-AKI

NFATc1 regulates the transcription of DNA damage-induced apoptosis suppressor

AbstractDNA damage induced apoptosis suppressor (DDIAS), or human Noxin (hNoxin), is strongly expressed in lung cancers. DDIAS knockdown induced apoptosis in non-small cell lung carcinoma A549 cells in response to DNA damage, indicating DDIAS as a potential therapeutic target in lung cancer. To understand the transcriptional regulation of DDIAS, we determined the transcription start site, promoter region, and transcription factor. We found that DDIAS transcription begins at nucleotide 212 upstream of the DDIAS translation start site. We cloned the DDIAS promoter region and identified NFAT2 as a major transcription factor (Im et al., 2016 [1]). We demonstrated that NFATc1 regulates DDIAS expression in both pancreatic cancer Panc-1 cells and lung cancer cells