Evaluation of the effects of mastication and swallowing on gastric motility using electrogastrography

Objectives : The influence of mastication and swallowing on gastric motor function was evaluated by electrogastrography (EGG) and abdominal ultrasonography. Methods: The subjects were 30 elderly patients with tubal feeding without mastication and swallowing (T group) and 30 elderly controls who processed food by mastication and swallowing (C group). Gastric motor function was percutaneously examined before and after the ingestion of 250 ml of a liquid diet using an electrogastrograph (NIPRO EGG, A&D, Tokyo, Japan). The cross-sectional area of the gastric antrum was measured at 1 and 30min after the start of ingestion of the liquid diet by external ultrasonography of the abdomen, and the gastric excretion function was evaluated. Furthermore, the spectral analysis of heart rate variability was performed using Holter electrocardiograms before and after ingestion. The low frequency power (LF power, 0.04-0.15 Hz), high frequency power (HF power, 0.15-0.40 Hz), and the LF/HF ratio were determined. Results: The peak amplitude at 3 cycles perminute (cpm)was significantly increased after ingestion in the C and T groups (p<0.05), and the ratio of increase was significantly lower in the T group (p<0.05). The mean amplitude for the brady-gastria and tachy-gastria was significantly higher in the T group than in the C group (p<0.05). The gastric excretion function, as evaluated by external ultrasonography of the abdomen, was significantly lower in the T group than in the C group (p<0.05). An analysis of heart rate variability demonstrated that the HF power, a parameter of parasympathetic activity, after ingestion was significantly higher in the C group than in the T group (p<0.05). No changes in LF power or LF/HF ratio, parameters of sympathetic activity, were induced by ingestion in either the C or T groups. Conclusions: The parasympathetic nerve dominantly controls gastric motor function, but autonomic nervous activity is reduced in patients who are unable to masticate and swallow food, resulting in adverse effects on gastric motor function and excretion function. Mastication and swallowing not only prepare food for passage from the oral cavity to the esophagus but are also important in terms of subsequent events that occur in stomach. It has been proposed that autonomic nervous activity might be involved in mastication and swallowing

High pressure effects on the superconductivity of beta-pyrochlore oxides AOs2O6

High pressure effects on the superconducting transitions of beta-pyrochlore superconductors AOs2O6 (A = Cs, Rb, K) are studied by measuring resistivity under high pressures up to 10 GPa. The superconducting transition temperature Tc first increases with increasing pressure in all the compounds and then exhibits a broad maximum at 7.6 K (6 GPa), 8.2 K (2 GPa) and 10 K (0.6 GPa) for A = Cs, Rb and K, respectviely. Finally, the superconductivity is suppressed completely at a critical pressure near 7 GPa and 6 GPa for A = Rb and K and probably above 10 GPa for A = Cs. Characteristic changes in the coefficinet A of the T2 term in resistivity and residual resistivity are observed, both of which are synchronized with the corresponding change in Tc. It is suggested that electron correlations and certain quantum fluctuations play important roles in the occurrence or suppression of superconductivity in the beta-pyrochlore oxides.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Effectiveness of Reduced-fluence Photodynamic Therapy for Chronic Central Serous Chorioretinopathy

[Purpose] To investigate the 2-year effectiveness of reduced-fluence photodynamic therapy (rf-PDT) for chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (cCSC). [Design] Retrospective cohort study. [Participants] A total of 223 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed cCSC with active serous retinal detachment (SRD) were included from May 2007 to June 2017 and followed up for at least 2 years. Patients who underwent ocular treatment other than cataract surgery before the beginning of recruitment and those who had macular neovascularization at baseline were excluded. [Methods] All patients underwent a comprehensive ophthalmic evaluation, including measurements of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), slit-lamp examination, dilated fundus examination, color fundus photography, fundus autofluorescence, fluorescein angiography, indocyanine green angiography, and spectral-domain OCT. An inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) methodology was applied to balance 18 baseline characteristics between patients who received rf-PDT (rf-PDT group) and those who did not receive treatment (controls). Inverse probability of treatment weighting survival analysis and regression were performed. [Main Outcome Measures] The proportion of patients whose BCVA at 24 months was the same or improved compared with the baseline visual acuity (VA) (VA maintenance rate). [Results] A total of 155 eyes (rf-PDT group: 74; controls: 81) were analyzed. The patients’ backgrounds were well balanced after IPTW with standardized differences of < 0.10. An IPTW regression analysis revealed that the VA maintenance rate was significantly higher in the rf-PDT group than in the controls (93.6% vs. 70.9%, P < 0.001, 12 months; 85.7% vs. 69.8%, P = 0.019, 24 months). The rf-PDT group tended to show better VA improvement, but was not statistically significant (–0.06 vs. –0.008, P = 0.07, 12 months; –0.06 vs. –0.03, P = 0.32, 24 months). An IPTW Cox regression showed a significantly higher rate of complete SRD remission in the rf-PDT group (hazard ratio, 5.05; 95% confidence interval, 3.24–7.89; P < 0.001). [Conclusions] The study suggests the beneficial effect of rf-PDT for cCSC for both VA maintenance and higher proportion of complete SRD remission in the clinical setting

An Unbiased CO Survey Toward the Northern Region of the Small Magellanic Cloud with the Atacama Compact Array. II. CO Cloud Catalog

The nature of molecular clouds and their statistical behavior in sub-solar metallicity environments are not fully explored yet. We analyzed an unbiased CO($J$ = 2-1) survey data at a spatial resolution of $\sim$2 pc in the northern region of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) with the Atacama Compact Array to characterize the CO cloud properties. A cloud decomposition analysis identified 426 spatially/velocity-independent CO clouds and their substructures. Based on the cross-matching with known infrared catalogs by Spitzer and Herschel, more than 90% CO clouds show spatial correlations with point sources. We investigated the basic properties of the CO clouds and found that the radius-velocity linewidth ($R$-$\sigma_{v}$) relation follows the Milky Way (MW) like power-low exponent, but the intercept is $\sim$1.5 times lower than that in the MW. The mass functions ($dN/dM$) of the CO luminosity and virial mass are characterized by an exponent of $\sim$1.7, which is consistent with previously reported values in the Large Magellanic Cloud and MW.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Epirubicin, Identified Using a Novel Luciferase Reporter Assay for Foxp3 Inhibitors, Inhibits Regulatory T Cell Activity

<div><p>Forkhead box protein p3 (Foxp3) is crucial to the development and suppressor function of regulatory T cells (Tregs) that have a significant role in tumor-associated immune suppression. Development of small molecule inhibitors of Foxp3 function is therefore considered a promising strategy to enhance anti-tumor immunity. In this study, we developed a novel cell-based assay system in which the NF-κB luciferase reporter signal is suppressed by the co-expressed Foxp3 protein. Using this system, we screened our chemical library consisting of approximately 2,100 compounds and discovered that a cancer chemotherapeutic drug epirubicin restored the Foxp3-inhibited NF-κB activity in a concentration-dependent manner without influencing cell viability. Using immunoprecipitation assay in a Treg-like cell line Karpas-299, we found that epirubicin inhibited the interaction between Foxp3 and p65. In addition, epirubicin inhibited the suppressor function of murine Tregs and thereby improved effector T cell stimulation <i>in vitro</i>. Administration of low dose epirubicin into tumor-bearing mice modulated the function of immune cells at the tumor site and promoted their IFN-γ production without direct cytotoxicity. In summary, we identified the novel action of epirubicin as a Foxp3 inhibitor using a newly established luciferase-based cellular screen. Our work also demonstrated our screen system is useful in accelerating discovery of Foxp3 inhibitors.</p></div

Epirubicin (EPI) might modulate immunosuppressive function of Tregs <i>in vivo</i>.

<p>(A) CMS5a tumor cells (1 x10⁶) were injected (s.c.) in the right inguinal region of BALB/c mice (8 mice per group). Mice were treated with epirubicin (0.1, 0.3 or 1 mg/kg i.v. dosing on days 3, 5 and 7 as indicated by arrows) or saline, and tumor volume was measured at appropriate intervals until day 29. The data are shown as the mean ± SD (n = 4). (B) The percentage of IFN-γ-positive cells within the CD4⁺FoxP3⁺ cell population. (C) The percentage of IFN-γ-positive cells within the CD4⁺FoxP3^- cell population. On day 8, the mice treated with epirubicin or saline were euthanized and tumors were removed. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes dissociated from the pooled tumors were stained with anti-CD4, anti-CD8, anti-Foxp3 and anti-IFN-γ antibodies, and then analyzed by flow cytometry. Each column represents the mean ± SD (n = 3). Asterisks represent statistically significant differences as determined by Student’s <i>t</i> test (*, <i>p</i>< 0.05).</p

Epirubicin (EPI) inhibits the immunosuppressive activity of murine Tregs <i>in vitro</i>.

<p>(A) Tregs were isolated from BALB/c mouse spleens and were cultured for a total of 48 h with plate-bound anti-CD3, soluble anti-CD28 and IL-2 with epirubicin at the indicated concentrations. Effects of epirubicin on Treg proliferation was determined by the CFSE method. CFSE proliferation profile shows representative result of two independent experiments. (B) Tregs from spleens of BALB/c mice were exposed to increasing but non-toxic concentrations of epirubicin for 48 h, recovered and washed three times in complete medium to eliminate residual epirubicin. The effect of treated or untreated Tregs on the proliferation of stimulated responder CD8⁺ T cells was determined by the CFSE method. CFSE proliferation profile depicts a representative data. (C) CD8⁺ T cell proliferation was analyzed using CFSE proliferation profile (<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0156643#pone.0156643.g004" target="_blank">Fig 4B</a>). Each column represents the mean ± SD (n = 3). Asterisks represent statistically significant differences as determined by Dunnett’s test (**, <i>p</i>< 0.01; ***, <i>p</i>< 0.001).</p