Low Serum Pancreatic Amylase and Lipase Values Are Simple and Useful Predictors to Diagnose Chronic Pancreatitis

Background/Aims This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic role of low serum amylase and lipase values in the detection of chronic pancreatitis. Methods Patients underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and were diagnosed with non-calcific chronic pancreatitis (NCCP; n=99) and calcific chronic pancreatitis (CCP; n=112). Patient serum amylase and lipase values were compared with those of healthy controls (H; n=170). Results The median serum amylase (normal range, 19 to 86 U/L) and lipase values (7 to 59 U/L) (P25–P75) were 47.0 (39.8 to 55.3) and 25.0 (18.0 to 35.0) for H, 34.0 (24.5 to 49.0) and 19.0 (9.0 to 30.0) for NCCP, and 30.0 (20.0 to 40.8) and 10.0 (3.0 to 19.0) for CCP, respectively. The cutoff values with the highest diagnostic accuracy for discriminating NCCP from H were 40 U/L for amylase and 20 U/L for lipase, respectively, and for CCP from H were 38 U/L for amylase and 15 U/L for lipase, respectively. For the diagnosis of NCCP with a criterion of serum amylase <40 and lipase <20 U/L, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive values were 37.4%, 88.8%, 66.1%, and 70.9%, respectively. Conclusions Serum amylase and/or lipase levels below the normal serum range are highly specific for chronic pancreatitis patients. Clinicians should not ignore low serum pancreatic enzyme values

Additional flap on plastic stents for improved antimigration effect in the treatment of post-cholecystectomy bile leak

Background and study aims: In plastic stent insertion for treatment of post-cholecystectomy bile leak, stent migration may be more common due to the absence of a shelf to anchor the stent. We evaluated how adding a flap to straight plastic stents for this indication might influence the rate of stent migration when compared to use of conventional plastic stents. Patients and methods: This is a retrospective study including patients referred for ERCP for treatment of post-cholecystectomy bile leak. Patients with a customized anti-migration flap stent had the additional flap created on the distal end of straight plastic stents, intended to aid in anchoring in the distal supra-sphincteric biliary duct. The primary endpoint is stent migration events. The secondary endpoint is bile leak resolution after first ERCP session. Results: Thirty-two patients were treated with the experimental additional flap stents and 225 patients were treated with standard straight biliary stents. The total failure rate of bile leak resolution after a single endoscopic treatment for all treated was 10.5 % (27/257) and the total stent migration rate for all enrolled was 15.2 % (39/257). Stent migration rate was lower in the additional flap stent group than in the conventional group (3.1 % vs. 16.9 %, respectively, P  = 0.04). Furthermore, significantly more patients had resolution of their bile leak after the first ERCP session in the group with the additional flap (100 % vs. 88 %, respectively, P  = 0.03). Conclusion: A plastic biliary stent with an extra flap may have improved performance with regard to stent migration and resolution of bile leak over standard plastic biliary stents

Dexrazoxane for Preventing Anthracycline Cardiotoxicity in Children with Solid Tumors

This study attempted to assess the incidence and outcome of anthracycline cardiotoxicity and the role of dexrazoxane as a cardioprotectant in childhood solid tumors. The dexrazoxane group included 47 patients and the control group of historical cohort included 42. Dexrazoxane was given in the 10:1 ratio to doxorubicin. Fractional shortening and systolic and diastolic left ventricular diameters were used to assess the cardiac function. The median follow-ups were 54 months in the dexrazoxane group and 86 months in the control group. The mean cumulative doses of doxorubicin were 280.8±83.4 mg/m2 in the dexrazoxane group and 266.1±75.0 mg/m2 in the control group. The dexrazoxane group experienced significantly fewer cardiac events (27.7% vs. 52.4%) and less severe congestive heart failure (6.4% vs. 14.3%) than the control group. Thirteen cardiotoxicities including one cardiac death and 2 congestive heart failures occurred in the dexrazoxane group, and 22 cardiotoxicities including 2 cardiac deaths and 4 congestive heart failures, in the control group. Five year cardiac event free survival rates were 69.2% in the dexrazoxane group and 45.8% in the control group (P=0.04). Dexrazoxane reduces the incidence and severity of early and late anthracycline cardiotoxicity in childhood solid tumors

Three-Dimensional Human Alveolar Stem Cell Culture Models Reveal Infection Response to SARS-CoV-2.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is the cause of a present pandemic, infects human lung alveolar type 2 (hAT2) cells. Characterizing pathogenesis is crucial for developing vaccines and therapeutics. However, the lack of models mirroring the cellular physiology and pathology of hAT2 cells limits the study. Here, we develop a feeder-free, long-term, three-dimensional (3D) culture technique for hAT2 cells derived from primary human lung tissue and investigate infection response to SARS-CoV-2. By imaging-based analysis and single-cell transcriptome profiling, we reveal rapid viral replication and the increased expression of interferon-associated genes and proinflammatory genes in infected hAT2 cells, indicating a robust endogenous innate immune response. Further tracing of viral mutations acquired during transmission identifies full infection of individual cells effectively from a single viral entry. Our study provides deep insights into the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 and the application of defined 3D hAT2 cultures as models for respiratory diseases

Low Frequency and Variability of FLT3 Mutations in Korean Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia

FLT3 mutations are common genetic changes, and are reported to have prognostic significance in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The FLT3 internal tandem duplication (ITD) and the D835 activating mutation in the tyrosine kinase domain (TKD) were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the genomic DNA of Korean patients with AML at diagnosis and during follow-up. There were 226 patients with AML enrolled between March 1996 and August 2005. The incidence of ITD and TKD at diagnosis was 13% (29/226) and 3% (6/226). When compared to Western and other Asian patients with AML, Korean patients had a lower frequency by about two-thirds of ITD and TKD. Among the non-M3 cases (N=203), the patients with an ITD had a significantly shorter event-free survival when compared with those without an ITD (p=0.0079). Among 54 relapsed patients, 9 patients had the FLT3 ITD at diagnosis. Six patients demonstrated a reappearance of the ITD and 3 patients remained negative at relapse. One patient, among 45 patients who relapsed, had a negative baseline ITD but acquired a de novo ITD at relapse. There were 101 samples from 93 patients in remission; they were all negative for an ITD. Among 34 patients who failed to achieve a remission, five patients had a persistent ITD and one patient had a de novo ITD. These results support the concept of resistance of FLT3 ITD leukemic clones to chemotherapy. Therefore, effective therapy with FLT3 targeting agents may improve the prognosis of non-M3 AML patients with the FLT3 mutation

The relationship between periodontitis and metabolic syndrome among a Korean nationally representative sample of adults

Aims: The aim of this study was to examine whether metabolic syndrome (MS) is associated with periodontitis in a representative sample of Korean adults, who were involved in the Fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Materials and Methods: A total of 7178 subjects over the age of 19 years who participated in KNHANES were examined. MS was defined as the definition proposed by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III and the abdominal obesity cut-off line based on Korean Society for the Study of Obesity. The periodontal status was assessed by the Community Periodontal Index. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was carried out adjusting for the sociodemographics, oral health behaviours and status, and health behaviour. All analyses considered a complex sampling design, and multivariate analysis was also performed in the subgroups (age, gender, current smoking status). Results: Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed significant associations between MS and periodontitis. After adjusting for all covariates, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) of periodontitis (community periodontal index3) was 1.55 (1.32-1.83) for MS. In subgroup analysis, periodontitis is associated with MS in subjects over age 40 and the adjusted ORs were higher in females and in the smoker group than in males and in non-smokers. Conclusions: MS is associated with periodontitis. ⓒ 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S

Harnessing low energy photons (635 nm) for the production of H2O2 using upconversion nanohybrid photocatalysts

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Mixed Sulfur and Iodide-Based Lead-Free Perovskite Solar Cells

The use of divalent chalcogenides and monovalent halides as anions in a perovskite structure allows the introduction of 3(+) and 4(+) charged cations in the place of the 2(+) metal cations. Herein we report for the first time on the fabrication of solar cells exploiting methylammonium antimony sulfur diiodide (MASbSI(2)) perovskite structures, as light harvesters. The MASbSI(2) was prepared by annealing, under mild temperature conditions, via a sequential reaction between antimony trisulfide (Sb2S3); which is deposited by the chemical bath deposition (CBD) method, antimony triiodide (SbI3), and methylammonium iodide (MAI) onto a mesoporous TiO2 electrode, and then annealed at 150 degrees C in an argon atmosphere. The solar cells fabricated using MASbSI(2) exhibited power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of 3.08%, under the standard illumination conditions of 100 mW/cm(2)

Regulating the Surface Passivation and Residual Strain in Pure Tin Perovskite Films

The passivation of electronic defects at the surfaces and grain boundaries of perovskite materials is one of the most important strategies for suppressing charge recombination in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Although several passivation molecules have been investigated, few studies have focused on their application in regulating both the surface passivation and residual strain of perovskite films. In this study, the residual strain distribution profiles of the Cs(0.1)FA(0.9)SnI(3) perovskite thin films and their effect on the photovoltaic device efficiencies were investigated. We found a gradient distribution of the out-of-plane compressive strain that correlated with the compositional inhomogeneity perpendicular to the substrate surface. By deliberately engineering dual effects of the surface passivation and residual strain, we achieved a record power conversion efficiency of up to 9.06%, the highest ever reported in a typical n-i-p architecture