Effect of pectoralis major myofascial release massage for breastfeeding mothers on breast pain, engorgement, and newborns’ breast milk intake and sleeping patterns in Korea: a randomized controlled trial

Purpose Supportive interventions to improve breastfeeding practice are needed in nursing. This study investigated the effects of pectoralis major myofascial release massage (MRM) on breast pain and engorgement among breastfeeding mothers and on breast milk intake and sleep patterns among newborns. Methods Breastfeeding mothers who had delivered between 37 and 43 weeks and had 7- to 14-day-old newborns were recruited from a postpartum care center in Gunpo, Korea. Participants were randomized to the MRM or control group. The outcome variables were breast pain and breast engorgement among breastfeeding mothers and breast milk intake and sleep time among newborns. The experimental treatment involved applying MRM to separate the pectoralis major muscle and the underlying breast tissue in the chest. After delivery, the first MRM session (MRM I) was provided by a breast specialist nurse, and the second (MRM II) was administered 48 hours after MRM I. Results Following MRM, breast pain (MRM I: t=−5.38, p<.001; MRM II: t=−10.05, p<.001), breast engorgement (MRM I: right, t=−1.68, p=.100; left, t=−2.13, p=.037 and MRM II: right, t=−4.50, p<.001; left, t=−3.74, p<.001), and newborn breast milk intake (MRM I: t=3.10, p=.003; MRM II: t=3.09, p=.003) differed significantly between the groups. Conclusion MRM effectively reduced breast engorgement and breast pain in breastfeeding mothers, reducing the need for formula supplementation, and increasing newborns’ breast milk intake. Therefore, MRM can be utilized as an effective nursing intervention to alleviate discomfort during breastfeeding and to improve the rate of breastfeeding practice (clinical trial number: KCT0002436)

Breathing silicon anodes for durable high-power operations

Silicon anode materials have been developed to achieve high capacity lithium ion batteries for operating smart phones and driving electric vehicles for longer time. Serious volume expansion induced by lithiation, which is the main drawback of silicon, has been challenged by multi-faceted approaches. Mechanically rigid and stiff polymers (e.g. alginate and carboxymethyl cellulose) were considered as the good choices of binders for silicon because they grab silicon particles in a tight and rigid way so that pulverization and then break-away of the active mass from electric pathways are suppressed. Contrary to the public wisdom, in this work, we demonstrate that electrochemical performances are secured better by letting silicon electrodes breathe in and out lithium ions with volume change rather than by fixing their dimensions. The breathing electrodes were achieved by using a polysaccharide (pullulan), the conformation of which is modulated from chair to boat during elongation. The conformational transition of pullulan was originated from its a glycosidic linkages while the conventional rigid polysaccharide binders have beta linkagesopen1

Role of interleukin-10 in endochondral bone formation in mice: Anabolic effect via the bone morphogenetic protein/Smad pathway

Objective: Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a pleiotropic immunoregulatory cytokine with a chondroprotective effect that is elevated in cartilage and synovium in patients with osteoarthritis. However, the role of IL-10 during endochondral bone formation and its mechanism of action have not been elucidated. Methods: IL-10-/- mice and IL-10-treated tibial organ cultures were used to study loss and gain of IL-10 functions, respectively, during endochondral bone formation. Primary chondrocytes from the long bones of mouse embryos were cultured with and without IL-10. To assess the role of IL-10 in chondrogenic differentiation, we conducted mesenchymal cell micromass cultures. Results: The lengths of whole skeletons from IL-10-/- mice were similar to those of their wild-type littermates, although their skull diameters were smaller. The tibial growth plates of IL-10-/- mice showed shortening of the proliferating zone. Treatment with IL-10 significantly increased tibial lengths in organ culture. IL-10 also induced chondrocyte proliferation and hypertrophic differentiation in primary chondrocytes in vitro. Mechanistically, IL-10 activated STAT-3 and the Smad1/5/8 and ERK-1/2 MAP kinase pathways and induced the expression of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) and BMP-6 in primary chondrocytes. Furthermore, the blocking of BMP signaling attenuated the IL-10-mediated induction of cyclin D1 and RUNX-2 in primary chondrocytes and suppressed Alcian blue and alkaline phosphatase staining in mesenchymal cell micromass cultures. Conclusion: These results indicate that IL-10 acts as a stimulator of chondrocyte proliferation and chondrogenic or hypertrophic differentiation via activation of the BMP signaling pathway. © 2013, American College of Rheumatology

Prevalence and characteristics of foodborne pathogens from slaughtered pig carcasses in Korea

The introduction of bacteria into slaughterhouses can lead to microbial contamination in carcasses during slaughter, and the initial level of bacteria in carcasses is important because it directly affects spoilage and the shelf life. This study was conducted to investigate the microbiological quality, and the prevalence of foodborne pathogens in 200 carcasses from 20 pig slaughterhouses across Korea. Distribution of microbial counts were significantly higher for aerobic bacteria at 3.01–4.00 log10 CFU/cm2 (42.0%) and 2.01–3.00 log10 CFU/cm2 (28.5%), whereas most of Escherichia coli showed the counts under 1.00 log10 CFU/cm2 (87.0%) (P &lt; 0.05). The most common pathogen isolated from 200 carcasses was Staphylococcus aureus (11.5%), followed by Yersinia enterocolitica (7.0%). In total, 17 S. aureus isolates from four slaughterhouses were divided into six pulsotypes and seven spa types, and showed the same or different types depending on the slaughterhouses. Interestingly, isolates from two slaughterhouses carried only LukED associated with the promotion of bacterial virulence, whereas, isolates from two other slaughterhouses carried one or more toxin genes associated with enterotoxins including sen. In total, 14 Y. enterocolitica isolates from six slaughterhouses were divided into nine pulsotypes, 13 isolates belonging to biotype 1A or 2 carried only ystB, whereas one isolate belonging to bio-serotype 4/O:3 carried both ail and ystA. This is the first study to investigate microbial quality and the prevalence of foodborne pathogens in carcasses from slaughterhouses nationally, and the findings support the need for ongoing slaughterhouse monitoring to improve the microbiological safety of pig carcasses

Value of virtual monochromatic spectral image of dual-layer spectral detector CT with noise reduction algorithm for image quality improvement in obese simulated body phantom

Background Dual-layer spectral detector CT (SDCT) may provide several theoretical advantages over pre-existing DECT approaches in terms of adjustment-free sampling number and dose modulation, beam hardening correction, and production spectral images by post-processing. In addition, by adopting noise reduction algorithm, high contrast resolution was expected even in low keV level. We surmised that this improvement would be beneficial to obese people. Therefore, our aim of study is to compare image quality of virtual monochromatic spectral images (VMI) and polychromatic images reconstructed from SDCT with different body size and radiation dose using anthropomorphic liver phantom. Methods One small and one large size of body phantoms, each containing eight (four high- and four low-contrast) simulated focal liver lesions (FLLs) were scanned by SDCT (at 120 kVp) using different Dose Right Indexes (DRIs). VMI were reconstructed from spectral base images from 40 keV to 200 keV. Hybrid iterative reconstruction (iDose4) was used for polychromatic image reconstruction. Image noise and contrast to noise ratio (CNR) were compared. Five radiologists independently rated lesion conspicuity, diagnostic acceptability and subjective noise level in every image sets, and determined optimal keV level in VMI. Results Compare with conventional polychromatic images, VMI showed superior CNR at low keV level regardless of phantom size at every examined DRIs (Ps < 0.05). As body size increased, VMI had more gradual CNR decrease and noise increase than conventional polychromatic images. For low contrast FLLs in large phantom, lesion conspicuities at low radiation dose levels (DRI 16 and 19) were significantly increased in VMI (Ps < 0.05). Subjective image noise and diagnostic acceptabilities were significantly improved at VMI in both phantom size. Conclusions VMI of dual-layer spectral detector CT with noise reduction algorithm provides improved CNR, noise reduction, and better subjective image quality in imaging of obese simulated liver phantom compared with polychromatic images. This may hold promise for improving detection of liver lesions and improved imaging of obese patients.This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors

Clear Cell "Sugar" Tumor of the Lung: A Well-Enhanced Mass with an Early Washout Pattern on Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Computed Tomography

Clear cell tumor of the lung is a rare and very unusual benign pulmonary tumor. As clear cell tumor of the lung contains abundant cytoplasmic glycogen, this tumor is called "sugar tumor". We report a case of sugar tumor in a 64-yr-old man presenting as a round pulmonary nodule. On dynamic computed tomography (CT) scans, the solitary pulmonary nodule showed early wash-in enhancement with an early washout pattern like a lung malignancy. The patient underwent wedge resection for the tumor. Pathologic examination, including immunohistochemical studies, revealed that the nodule was a benign clear cell tumor, so-called "sugar tumor". Because only a small number of cases have been reported previously, clinical aspects, radiological characteristics on dynamic contrast-enhanced CT, and differential diagnosis of the tumor are not well established. Herein we present a clear cell tumor of the lung and discuss the clinical, radiological, and pathological features of the tumor