Systems View of Coronavirus

No one envisioned the kinds of problems that emerged from the novel coronavirus nor had anyone considered its interactive scope. Now is the time to begin to redesign our processes and systems so that when confronted again we can cope and navigate better. Everyone needs to be a partner in these redesigns and each of the health, social, educational, and other systems must be integrated because it is their interconnections that coproduce and give meaning to our lives

Evaluating the effect of database inflation in proteogenomic search on sensitive and reliable peptide identification

Comparison of novel peptides identified from real proteogenomic databases. (DOCX 68 kb

Antifungal and antiaflatoxigenic methylenedioxy-containing compounds and piperine-like synthetic compounds

Twelve methylenedioxy-containing compounds including piperine and 10 piperine-like synthetic compounds were assessed to determine their antifungal and antiaflatoxigenic activities against Aspergillus flavus ATCC 22546 in terms of their structure-activity relationships. Piperonal and 1,3-benzodioxole had inhibitory effects against A. flavus mycelial growth and aflatoxin B1 production up to a concentration of 1000 mu g/mL. Ten piperine-like synthetic compounds were synthesized that differed in terms of the carbon length in the hydrocarbon backbone and the presence of the methylenedioxy moiety. In particular, 1-(2-methylpiperidin-1-yl)-3-phenylprop-2-en-1-one had potent antifungal and antiaflatoxigenic effects against A. flavus up to a concentration of 1 mu g/mL. This synthetic compound was remarkable because the positive control thiabendazole had no inhibitory effect at this concentration. Reverse transcription-PCR analysis showed that five genes involved in aflatoxin biosynthesis pathways were down-regulated in A. flavus, i.e., aflD, aflK, aflQ, aflR, and aflS; therefore, the synthetic compound inhibited aflatoxin production by down-regulating these genes.ope

Efficacy and safety evaluation of black ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Mey.) extract (CJ EnerG): broad spectrum cytotoxic activity in human cancer cell lines and 28-day repeated oral toxicity study in Sprague-Dawley rats

Abstract Background Ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Mey.) has been used as a valuable ingredient in traditional medicine for thousands of years mostly in Asian countries due to its therapeutic effects in various diseases. Among the processed ginseng products, black ginseng is produced by a repeated steaming and drying process of ginseng roots and has been known for its superior efficacy based on high accumulation of minor ginsenosides as recently discovered. Despite its popularity and increasing use, the toxicity information on black ginseng still remained largely lacking, raising safety concerns. This study was therefore carried out to determine the repeated oral toxicity of black ginseng extract (BGE; CJ EnerG) with evaluation of cytotoxic activity as validation of its pharmacological activity for toxicity testing. Methods Prior to the toxicity test, we examined the cytotoxicity of BGE in six cancer cell lines derived from distinct human tissues in comparison with red ginseng extract (RGE), ginsenosides Rg5 and 20(S)-Rg3, and then assessed 28-day repeated oral toxicity in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats using daily administration of up to 2000 mg/kg BGE. Results BGE showed higher cytotoxicity than RGE in all the cell lines used in this study. Interestingly, the efficacy of BGE closely resembled the cytotoxic pattern of Rg5, suggesting Rg5 as the main effector in the cytotoxic activity of BGE. During the toxicity study, BGE-treated groups showed no noticeable abnormality in clinical signs, body weight gain, food and water consumption and urinalysis. Furthermore, hematological, serum biochemical and histopathological analyses did not find any BGE-related toxicity. Conclusion Our findings demonstrated that BGE has broad-spectrum in vitro cytotoxic activity, and that NOAEL of BGE in SD rats is > 2000 mg/kg, providing the essential safety information for human consumption

Ideal Design for Emergence of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Community Health Engagement Using Systems Thinking

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and community health engagement (DEICHE) are complex contextual elements with interactions and interdependencies that make their emergence and sustainability in a community a significant challenge. This dissertation examines this argument by exploring the impact of Einstein Healthcare Network initiatives that sought to address social determinants of health in the Philadelphia Korean community. It applies systems thinking to understand these complex issues, and design thinking to generate an ideal concept for the emergence and sustainability of diversity, equity, inclusion, and community health engagement for the Philadelphia Korean community as a model for multicultural society in the greater Philadelphia regio

Guidelines for the Ligation of the Sigmoid or Transverse Sinus during Large Petroclival Meningioma Surgery

The authors present guidelines for the ligation of the transverse or sigmoid sinus during the surgical removal of petroclival meningiomas. The medical records and venograms of 14 patients with a petroclival meningioma requiring transverse or sigmoid sinus ligation treated in the Department of Neurosurgery, Seoul National University Hospital between 1986 and 1999 were reviewed. All patients successfully received a sinus trial clamping during the operation. The drainage pattern of the confluens of Herophili was classified into four types: Type A, confluens and equal on both transverse sinuses; Type B, confluens and nondominant transverse sinus on the tumor side; Type C, confluens and dominant transverse sinus on the tumor side; and Type D, unilateral transverse sinus only. Of the 14 cases, four were Type A, five were Type B, and two were Type C. There was no brain swelling after intraoperative test clamping of the sinus for more than 30 minutes. None of the cases developed postoperative complications related to the sinus ligation. Patients with Type A, B, or C drainage patterns were ideal candidates for sinus ligation, especially transverse sinus ligation, if the test clamping proved to be safe. The sinus was cut proximal to the superior petrosal sinus, distal to the vein of Labbé

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the cranial vault with retrobulbar metastasis mimicking a subacute subdural hematoma: case report

Primary skeletal non-Hodgkin lymphoma is rare. The authors report a case of a small lymphocytic B-cell lymphoma of the skull occurring in a 53-year-old man who presented with right-hand apraxia. Initial computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a hematoma-mimicking lesion in the left frontoparietal subdural area. A frontotemporoparietal craniectomy and biopsy procedure yielded a diagnosis of small lymphocytic B-cell lymphoma, with a metastatic nodule in the retrobulbar area. Three years after undergoing radiation therapy and surgery, the patient has shown neurological improvement without systemic dissemination of the malignancy. The lesion in this case was misdiagnosed as a subdural hematoma, and shows the importance of including lymphoma in the differential diagnosis of subdural mass lesions

Chromosome 1p and 19q status and p53 and p16 expression patterns as prognostic indicators of oligodendroglial tumors: A clinicopathological study using fluorescence in situ hybridization.

To verify the prognostic implications of the statuses of chromosome 1p and 19q and the expressions of p53, p16 and GFAP in oligodendrogliomas, we investigated these parameters and correlated the results with patient outcome. Twenty-seven cases of low-grade oligodendroglioma (LO) and 29 cases of anaplastic oligodendroglioma (AO) were analyzed by FISH for 1p and 19q status and by immunohistochemistry for p53, p16, and GFAP expression using a tissue microarray. Direct sequencing of the p53 gene was also performed. 1p deletion was observed in 39 of 56 patients (69.9%), and 19q deletion in 41 of 56 (73.2%). Combined loss of 1p and 19q was found in 38 of 56 (67.9%) and exhibited distinct concomitant deletion ( P = 0.000). p53 overexpression was observed in 17 cases (30.3%), GFAP expression in 18 cases (32.1%), and p16 loss in 40 cases (74%) of oligodendrogliomas. The expressions of p53 and GFAP were more frequent in AO than in LO ( P = 0.015 and 0.001). In contrast, p53 expression was more common in oligodendrogliomas with an intact 19q ( P = 0.029), or an intact 1p ( P = 0.071). Only five of 14 patients with p53 expression showed TP53 mutation, which was inversely correlated with 1p deletion ( P = 0.036). Patients with combined loss of 1p and 19q exhibited better overall survival ( P = 0.045). Patients with p53 expression without combined 1p and 19q loss showed poor overall survival ( P < 0.000). However, TP53 mutation along with 1p and 19q status could not predict patient outcome. Patients with p16 loss without combined 1p and 9q loss showed poor overall survival ( P = 0.011). Therefore, in oligodendrogliomas, the absence of the combined deletion of 1p and 19q and the aberrant expression of p53 or loss of p16 could be used as poor prognostic markers.This study was supported by a grant (21-2004-023) from the Seoul National University Hospital Research Fund