Plasma chemical driven biomedical applications with a radio frequency driven atmospheric pressure plasma jet

2012 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.We present radio frequency driven atmospheric pressure plasma jet for various biomedical applications such as tissue removal, bacterial sterilization, and tooth whitening. Two different types of plasma assisted electrosurgery, remote electrode plasma jet and plasma jet surrounding monopolar electrosurgical electrode, were employed to enhance tissue removal in terms of less heat damage on contiguous tissue and fast removal rate. Chlorine based chemical (CHxClx) additives in argon plasma jet enhanced tissue removal rate, proportional to the Cl radical density in the plasma jet. Pulsed RF provided another knob to control the removal profile, heat damage, and removal rate. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) additive provided abundant OH generation in the helium plasma jet. It not only enhanced tissue removal rate but also reduced heat damage on the contiguous tissue. The tissue removal mechanism of helium-H2O2 plasma is explained based on the FTIR measurement of the tissue samples, and optical emission and absorption spectra. Hydrogen peroxide addition to argon plasma jet was employed for bacterial inactivation. Observed OH density by optical emission and absorption was proportional to the number of deactivated microorganism. Argon plasma jet in DI water also provided abundant OH on the interface of water and gas plasma. The OH radicals applied on porcine tooth sample selectively removed the stain without damaging the underlying enamel

Randomized Clinical Trials of Constitutional Acupuncture: A Systematic Review

The aim of this systematic review is to compile and critically evaluate the evidence from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) for the effectiveness of acupuncture using constitutional medicine compared to standard acupuncture. Ten databases were searched through to December 2008 without language restrictions. We also hand-searched nine Korean journals of oriental medicine. We included prospective RCTs of any form of acupuncture with or without electrical stimulation. The included trials had to investigate constitutional medicine. There were no restrictions on population characteristics. Forty-one relevant studies were identified, and three RCTs were included. The methodological quality of the trials was variable. One RCT found Sasang constitutional acupuncture to be superior to standard acupuncture in terms of the Unified PD Rating Scale and freezing gate in Parkinson's disease (PD). Another two RCTs reported favorable effects of eight constitutional acupuncture on pain reduction in patients with herniated nucleus pulposi and knee osteoarthritis. Meta-analysis demonstrated positive results for eight constitutional acupuncture compared to standard acupuncture on pain reduction (weighted mean difference: 10 cm VAS, 1.69, 95% CI 0.85–2.54, P < 0.0001; heterogeneity: τ2 = 0.00, χ2 = 0.00, P = 0.96, I2 = 0%). Our results provide suggestive evidence for the effectiveness of constitutional acupuncture in treating pain conditions compared to standard acupuncture. However, the total number of RCTs and the total sample size included in our analysis were too small to draw definite conclusions. Future RCTs should assess larger patient samples with longer treatment periods and appropriate controls

Bacterial Inactivation of Wound Infection in a Human Skin Model by Liquid-Phase Discharge Plasma

Background: We investigate disinfection of a reconstructed human skin model contaminated with biofilm-formative Staphylococcus aureus employing plasma discharge in liquid. Principal Findings: We observed statistically significant 3.83-log10 (p,0.001) and 1.59-log10 (p,0.05) decreases in colony forming units of adherent S. aureus bacteria and 24 h S. aureus biofilm culture with plasma treatment. Plasma treatment was associated with minimal changes in histological morphology and tissue viability determined by means of MTT assay. Spectral analysis of the plasma discharge indicated the presence of highly reactive atomic oxygen radicals (777 nm and 844 nm) and OH bands in the UV region. The contribution of these and other plasma-generated agents and physical conditions to the reduction in bacterial load are discussed. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate the potential of liquid plasma treatment as a potential adjunct therapy for chronic wounds

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies in East Asian-ancestry populations identifies four new loci for body mass index

Recent genetic association studies have identified 55 genetic loci associated with obesity or body mass index (BMI). The vast majority, 51 loci, however, were identified in European-ancestry populations. We conducted a meta-analysis of associations between BMI and ∼2.5 million genotyped or imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms among 86 757 individuals of Asian ancestry, followed by in silico and de novo replication among 7488–47 352 additional Asian-ancestry individuals. We identified four novel BMI-associated loci near the KCNQ1 (rs2237892, P = 9.29 × 10−13), ALDH2/MYL2 (rs671, P = 3.40 × 10−11; rs12229654, P = 4.56 × 10−9), ITIH4 (rs2535633, P = 1.77 × 10−10) and NT5C2 (rs11191580, P = 3.83 × 10−8) genes. The association of BMI with rs2237892, rs671 and rs12229654 was significantly stronger among men than among women. Of the 51 BMI-associated loci initially identified in European-ancestry populations, we confirmed eight loci at the genome-wide significance level (P < 5.0 × 10−8) and an additional 14 at P < 1.0 × 10−3 with the same direction of effect as reported previously. Findings from this analysis expand our knowledge of the genetic basis of obesity

A Velocity Structure Analysis of Giant Molecular Cloud Associated with HII Region S152

S152 is a small bright emission nebula located in the Perseus arm. Its optical diameter corresponds to 1.5 pc for an adopted distance 3.5 kpc. However, S152 is a part of a giant molecular cloud complex, which consists of several dense cores, containing active star-forming sites, and well aligned arm-like features. We analyzed the FCRAO 12CO (J = 1→0) Outer Galaxy Survey data in this region to study the kinematical structure of this region, which resembles a big ``scorpion". We found that there exist three different velocity components, about --54.5, --50.4, --48.8 km s-1, depending on the position of the ``scorpion". There also exist velocity gradients of 0.21 km s-1 pc-1 and 0.16 km s-1 pc-1 through the whole extent of the ``scorpion". Interestingly, these two velocity gradients show an opposite direction with each other. It is likely that the velocity structure of this region may result from the mergence of different gas clouds, and the interaction with the SNR 109.1-1.0 occurred later, mostly at the region around the ``head of the scorpion" only

Cyclophilin A Promotes Osteoblast Differentiation by Regulating Runx2

Cyclophilin A (CypA) is a ubiquitously expressed and highly conserved protein with peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase activity that is involved in various biological activities by regulating protein folding and trafficking. Although CypA has been reported to positively regulate osteoblast differentiation, the mechanistic details remain largely unknown. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the mechanism of CypA-mediated regulation of osteoblast differentiation. Overexpression of CypA promoted osteoblast differentiation in bone morphogenic protein 4 (BMP4)-treated C2C12 cells, while knockdown of CypA inhibited osteoblast differentiation in BMP4-treated C2C12. CypA and Runx2 were shown to interact based on immunoprecipitation experiments and CypA increased Runx2 transcriptional activity in a dose-dependent manner. Our results indicate that this may be because CypA can increase the DNA binding affinity of Runx2 to Runx2 binding sites such as osteoblast-specific cis-acting element 2. Furthermore, to identify factors upstream of CypA in the regulation of osteoblast differentiation, various kinase inhibitors known to affect osteoblast differentiation were applied during osteogenesis. Akt inhibition resulted in the most significant suppression of osteogenesis in BMP4-induced C2C12 cells overexpressing CypA. Taken together, our results show that CypA positively regulates osteoblast differentiation by increasing the DNA binding affinity of Runx2, and Akt signaling is upstream of CypA

Effect of Traditional Korean Medicine Treatments on the Discoid Meniscus of Knee Joint: Two Clinical Cases

The discoid meniscus is an innate modified form of the meniscus, characterized by middle hypertrophy and a larger than the regular diameter, leading to an absence of the characteristic “C” arrangement. Previously, no study has reported the traditional Korean medicine treatment of knee pain mainly due to discoid meniscus. Here, we report two cases of a discoid meniscus of the knee as the cause of knee pain. Patients were diagnosed with magnetic resonance imaging for discoid meniscus and received traditional Korean medicine treatments, including pharmacopuncture, acupuncture, herbal medicine, and chuna. The pain was alleviated when assessed by patient-reported pain scale scores, and the general knee condition was improved. Thus, traditional Korean medicine treatments could be effective for patients who had discoid meniscus of the knee joint in this case report