Treatment of postural headache occurred 26 days after spinal pain procedure - A case report -

Background Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage may cause intracranial hypotension and postural headache. Secondary intracranial hypotension may result from an iatrogenic dural puncture or traumatic injury associated with pain procedures. Case A 45-year-old male developed a headache 26 days after spinal pain procedure. Headache was characterized as postural, worsening with standing or sitting and improving while lying down. The pain did not resolve despite the administration of oral and intravenous analgesics. A spinal magnetic resonance imaging revealed epidural venous congestion and a suspicious CSF leak around the left L4/5 level. The patient received an epidural blood patch (EBP), the headache improved dramatically, and the patient was discharged. Conclusions Delayed postural headaches may not be directly related to pain management. Nevertheless, intracranial hypotension related to pain management should be suspected even in this case. If confirmed, quickly applying an EBP is an effective treatment option

One-pot Enzymatic Synthesis of Deoxy-thymidine-diphosphate (TDP)-2-deoxy-∝-d-glucose Using Phosphomannomutase

Production of deoxy-thymidine-diphosphate (TDP)-sugars as substrates of glycosyltransferases, has been one of main hurdles for combinatorial antibiotic biosynthesis, which combines sugar moiety with aglycon of various antibiotics. Here, we report the one-pot enzymatic synthesis of TDP-2-deoxy-glucose employing high efficient TMP kinase (TMK; E.C. 2.7.2.12), acetate kinase (ACK; E.C. 2.7.1.21), and TDP-glucose synthase (TGS; E.C. 2.7.7.24) with phosphomannomutase (PMM; E.C. 5.4.2.8). In this study, replacing phosphoglucomutase (PGM; E.C. 5.4.2) by PMM from Escherichia coli gave four times higher specific activity on 2-deoxy-6-phosphate glucose, suggesting that the activity on 2-deoxy-glucose-6-phosphate was mainly affected by PMM activity, not PGM activity. Using an in vitro system starting from TMP and 2-deoxy-glucose-6-phosphate glucose, TDP-2-deoxy-glucose (63% yield) was successfully synthesized. Considering low productivity of NDP-sugars from cheap starting materials, this paper showed how production of NDP-sugars could be enhanced by controlling mutase activity

Mechanical Properties of Fiber Reinforced Lightweight Concrete Containing Surfactant

Fiber reinforced aerated lightweight concrete (FALC) was developed to reduce concrete's density and to improve its fire resistance, thermal conductivity, and energy absorption. Compression tests were performed to determine basic properties of FALC. The primary independent variables were the types and volume fraction of fibers, and the amount of air in the concrete. Polypropylene and carbon fibers were investigated at 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4% volume ratios. The lightweight aggregate used was made of expanded clay. A self-compaction agent was used to reduce the water-cement ratio and keep good workability. A surfactant was also added to introduce air into the concrete. This study provides basic information regarding the mechanical properties of FALC and compares FALC with fiber reinforced lightweight concrete. The properties investigated include the unit weight, uniaxial compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, and toughness index. Based on the properties, a stress-strain prediction model was proposed. It was demonstrated that the proposed model accurately predicts the stress-strain behavior of FALC

Parameter-robust linear quadratic Gaussian technique for multi-agent slung load transportation

This paper copes with parameter-robust controller design for transportation system by multiple unmanned aerial vehicles. The transportation is designed in the form of string connection. Minimal state-space realization of slung-load dynamics is obtained by Newtonian approach with spherical coordinates. Linear quadratic Gaussian / loop transfer recovery (LQG/LTR) is implemented to control the position and attitude of all the vehicles and payloads. The controller's robustness against variation of payload mass is improved using parameter-robust linear quadratic Gaussian (PRLQG) method. Numerical simulations are conducted with several transportation cases. The result verifies that LQG/LTR shows fast performance while PRLQG has its strong point in robustness against system variation

Flora of Vascular Plants in Ridgelines in the Palgongsa Procincial Park, Korea

AbstractWe investigated and analyzed the flora of vascular plants around ridgelines in the Palgongsan Provincial Park to suggest fundamental data for establishing preservation plans of them. The flora of vascular plants around ridgelines was a total of 587 taxa including 102 familiies, 314 genera, 518 species, 58 varieties, 7 forma, and 4 subspecies. Rare plants designated by Korea Forest Service were 27 taxa including Semiquilegia mandshurica and Aristolochia manshuriensis. Endemic plants were 15 taxa including Clematis trichotoma and Carex okamotoi. Floristic special plants were a total of 100 taxa including all five classes. Naturalized plants were 13 taxa including Phytolacca Americana, ambrosia, and Taraxacum officinale

Graphene quantum dots as anti-inflammatory therapy for colitis

While graphene and its derivatives have been suggested as a potential nanomedicine in several biomimetic models, their specific roles in immunological disorders still remain elusive. Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) may be suitable for treating intestinal bowel diseases (IBDs) because of their low toxicity in vivo and ease of clearance. Here, GQDs are intraperitoneally injected to dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced chronic and acute colitis model, and its efficacy has been confirmed. In particular, GQDs effectively prevent tissue degeneration and ameliorate intestinal inflammation by inhibiting T(H)1/T(H)17 polarization. Moreover, GQDs switch the polarization of macrophages from classically activated M1 to M2 and enhance intestinal infiltration of regulatory T cells (T-regs). Therefore, GQDs effectively attenuate excessive inflammation by regulating immune cells, indicating that they can be used as promising alternative therapeutic agents for the treatment of autoimmune disorders, including IBDs.

Prevention of hypoglycemia-induced neuronal death by minocycline

Diabetic patients who attempt strict management of blood glucose levels frequently experience hypoglycemia. Severe and prolonged hypoglycemia causes neuronal death and cognitive impairment. There is no effective tool for prevention of these unwanted clinical sequelae. Minocycline, a second-generation tetracycline derivative, has been recognized as an anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective agent in several animal models such as stroke and traumatic brain injury. In the present study, we tested whether minocycline also has protective effects on hypoglycemia-induced neuronal death and cognitive impairment. To test our hypothesis we used an animal model of insulin-induced acute hypoglycemia. Minocycline was injected intraperitoneally at 6 hours after hypoglycemia/glucose reperfusion and injected once per day for the following 1 week. Histological evaluation for neuronal death and microglial activation was performed from 1 day to 1 week after hypoglycemia. Cognitive evaluation was conducted 6 weeks after hypoglycemia. Microglial activation began to be evident in the hippocampal area at 1 day after hypoglycemia and persisted for 1 week. Minocycline injection significantly reduced hypoglycemia-induced microglial activation and myeloperoxidase (MPO) immunoreactivity. Neuronal death was significantly reduced by minocycline treatment when evaluated at 1 week after hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia-induced cognitive impairment is also significantly prevented by the same minocycline regimen when subjects were evaluated at 6 weeks after hypoglycemia. Therefore, these results suggest that delayed treatment (6 hours post-insult) with minocycline protects against microglial activation, neuronal death and cognitive impairment caused by severe hypoglycemia. The present study suggests that minocycline has therapeutic potential to prevent hypoglycemia-induced brain injury in diabetic patients