Recent Developments and Applications of Hemicellulose From Wheat Straw: A Review

Hemicellulose is an important component of plant cell walls, which is mainly used in biofuels and bioproducts. The hemicellulose extracted from different plant sources and plant locations has different microstructure and molecule. Wheat straw is an important biomass raw material for the extraction of hemicellulose. The aims of this review are to summary the recent developments and various applications of hemicellulose from wheat straw. The microstructure and molecule of hemicellulose extracted by different methods are comparably discussed. The hemicellulose-based derivatives and composites are also reviewed. Special attention was paid to the applications of hemicellulose such as biofuel production, packaging field, and adsorbent. The problems and developing direction were given based on our knowledge. We expect that this review will put forward to the development and high-value applications of hemicellulose from wheat straw

Neurocognitive impairments and neuropsychiatric risk in 22q11 deletion syndrome

22q11 Deletion Syndrome (22q11DS) is associated with somatic anomalies, learning disability, and psychiatric disturbance; a high rate of schizophrenia (10-40%) has been reported in affected adults. The aim of this study was to acquire evidence for genetic disruption of specific developmental processes that may explain the later emergence of psychotic illness in 22q11DS. Neurobiological traits associated with risk for psychosis (endophenotypes) were selected for investigation following review of the existing literature on genetics, neurodevelopment and schizophrenia, and were investigated using cognitive and EEG event-related potential (ERP) methodologies. Adolescents and young adults with 22q11DS were compared to age- and IQ-matched controls on all measures. Between-groups analysis revealed abnormalities of auditory processing, working memory and expressive language in 22q11DS. ERPs provided strong evidence for schizophrenia-like disruption; mismatch negativity (MMN), an ERP elicited by any discriminable change in a repetitive auditory sequence, was reduced in amplitude at frontal electrodes but not at temporal sites. Anomalous context-dependence of speech MMN was also observed; individuals with 22q11DS displayed a specific deficit in eliciting MMN in response to voicing contrasts between speech sounds. No such deficits were found in children with Specific Language Impairment, although other abnormalities in auditory processing were apparent. Within-group analysis indicated that abnormal auditory ERPs were associated with psychiatric symptoms akin to schizotypal personality disorder in some 22q11DS individuals. The association between these impairments supports the view that MMN indexes neurophysio logical processes relevant to psychotic illness. The severity of neurocognitive abnormalities in 22q11DS was found to be modulated by the catechol-o- methyl transferase met 158 val polymorphism on the single non-deleted chromosome 22. Functional variants of the COMT gene have been associated with risk for schizophrenia and schizophrenia-like cognitive abnormalities in the general population. Thus developmental dysregulation of catecholamine systems may at least partially explain the association between 22q11DS and psychosis

Once-Daily Gentamicin Administration for Community-Associated Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in an in vitro Pharmacodynamic Model: Preliminary Reports for the Advantages for Optimizing Pharmacodynamic Index

∙The authors have no financial conflicts of interest. Purpose: Community-associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infections are increasing. Although gentamicin (GEN) is usually susceptible against CA-MRSA, GEN is rarely considered for treatment as monotherapy. We employed an in vitro pharmacodynamic model (IVPDM) to compare efficacies of GEN against CA-MRSA with two dosing regimens [thrice-daily (TD), once-daily (OD)]. Materials and Methods: Using two strains of CA-MRSA, we adopted IVPDM comprised of two-compartments with a surface-to-volume ratio of 5.34 cm-1. GEN regimens were simulated with human pharmacokinetic data of TD and OD. Experiments were performed over 48 hours in triplicate for each strain and dosing regimen. Results: MICs of GEN for YSSA1 and YSSA15 were 1 and 2 mg/L, respectively. In OD, indices of peak/MIC were> 8.6 at least, in contrast to < 6.4 in TD. A ≥ 3-log10 reduction in CFU/mL was demonstrated prior to 4 hours in TD and OD, and continued until 8 hours for both strains. However, reductions in the colon

Molecular Epidemiologic Analysis of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolates from Bacteremia and Nasal Colonization at 10 Intensive Care Units: Multicenter Prospective Study in Korea

We investigated molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated at 10 intensive care units (ICUs) in Korea. MRSA isolates from bacteremia and nasal colonization were collected prospectively from October 2008 through May 2009 at 10 University-affiliated hospital ICUs. A total of 83 and 175 MRSA strains were isolated from bacteremia and nasal colonization, respectively. Acquired group accounted for 69.9% (n = 58) of bacteremia and 73.1% (n = 128) of nasal colonization. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) type B (SCCmec type II/ST5) was dominant in the acquired group followed by PFGE type D (SCCmec type IVA/ST72; a community genotype). Seven of 58 (12.1%) acquired bacteremia and 15 of 128 (11.8%) acquired nasal colonizations had SCCmec type IVA/ST72 genotype, which indicated that the community genotype had already emerged as a cause of ICU acquired MRSA infection or colonization. Antibiotic resistance rates to ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, clindamycin and trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole were 84.4%, 67.1%, 78.1%, and 12.0%, respectively. Susceptibility to ciprofloxacin best predicted a community genotype (sensitivity 96.5%; specificity 96.9%; odds ratio 861; 95% confidence interval 169-4,390, P < 0.001) and the positive predictive value was 90.2%. Among 23 nasal re-colonized strains, 7 MRSA strains (30.4%) were different from the originally colonized strains on the basis of PFGE types

Intradiscal Electrothermal Treatment for Chronic Lower Back Pain Patients with Internal Disc Disruption

Chronic lower back pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal problems; it is also the most expensive industrial injury. Not surprisingly, many treatments have been developed to combat this expensive and debilitating condition. One of these, intradiscal electrothermal treatment (IDET), was developed for patients with chronic discogenic lower back pain who failed to improve with any of the wide variety of non-surgical treatments. The present study sought to evaluate the efficacy of IDET for patients with chronic lower back pain. Twenty-five patients were enrolled in this prospective study; the patients received IDET between June 2001 and June 2003. MRI was used to confirm the diagnosis of internal disc disruption in all patients. The patients then underwent a pre-operative provocative test and discography. The follow-up duration was at least 1 year in all cases, and the visual analogue scale, recovery rate, and satisfaction of each patient were evaluated. The average age of the patients was 32 years (age range 18 to 49 years), and the patient group was 33% male and 67% female. Of the 25 patients, 5 underwent lumbar fusion surgery within 1 year of IDET. After IDET, 8 patients (32%) reported more pain than before, 14 patients (56%) reported less pain, and 3 patients (12%) experienced no change. Twelve patients (48%) were satisfied with IDET, 11 (44%) were dissatisfied, and 2 (8%) were undecided about the treatment. At least 1 year after IDET, nearly half the study patients were dissatisfied with their medical outcome. Consequently, 5 patients (20%) underwent fusion surgery at 1 year after IDET. Although other studies have shown good results with IDET for at least 2 years, this investigation suggests the IDET may be somewhat less effective. In order to firmly establish the efficacy of IDET for treating chronic discogenic lower back pain, additional studies with larger numbers of patients evaluated over longer time periods are recommended

Trousseau's Syndrome in Association with Cholangiocarcinoma: Positive Tests for Coagulation Factors and Anticardiolipin Antibody

Thromboembolic events are reported to occur with a high frequency in the setting of malignancy. However, reports on an association between cholangiocarcinoma and pulmonary thromboembolism, thus far, are almost lacking. We present here an unusual case of a 56-yr-old patient presenting cholangiocarcinoma and unexplained pulmonary thromboembolism. The patient had been quite healthy before the diagnosis. Coagulation tests showed elevated levels of fibrinogen, fibrinogen degradation product (FDP), D-dimer, and IgM anticardiolipin antibody (aCL Ab). The thromboemboli were resolved 3 weeks after anticoagulant therapy using low-molecular-weight-heparin. Then, follow-up coagulation tests showed a marked decrease to normal in aCL Ab titer as well as the normalization of FDP and D-dimer levels. In this case, we describe pulmonary thromboembolism caused by hypercoagulable state associated with cholangiocarcinoma and speculate that such a thrombotic phenomenon could be regressed by anticoagulant therapy

Stereotactic body radiation therapy with or without transarterial chemoembolization for patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma: preliminary analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The objectives of this retrospective study was to evaluate the efficacy of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for small non-resectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and SBRT combined with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) for advanced HCC with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Thirty one patients with HCC who were treated with SBRT were used for the study. We studied 32 HCC lesions, where 23 lesions (22 patients) were treated targeting small non-resectable primary HCC, and 9 lesions (9 patients) targeting PVTT using the Cyberknife. All the 9 patients targeting PVTT received TACE for the advanced HCC. Tumor volume was 3.6–57.3 cc (median, 25.2 cc) and SBRT dose was 30–39 Gy (median, 36 Gy) in 3 fractions for consecutive days for 70–85% of the planned target volume.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The median follow up was 10.5 months. The overall response rate was 71.9% [small HCC: 82.6% (19/23), advanced HCC with PVTT: 44.4% (4/9)], with the complete and partial response rates of 31.3% [small HCC: 26.1% (6/23), advanced HCC with PVTT: 11.1% (1/9)], and 50.0% [small HCC: 56.5% (13/23), advanced HCC with PVTT: 33.3% (3/9)], respectively. The median survival period of small HCC and advanced HCC with PVTT patients was 12 months and 8 months, respectively. No patient experienced Grade 4 toxicity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>SBRT for small HCC and SBRT combined with TACE for advanced HCC with PVTT showed feasible treatment modalities with minimal side effects in selected patients with primary HCC.</p

Serial Monitoring of Immune Markers Being Represented Regulatory T Cell/T Helper 17 Cell Ratio: Indicating Tolerance for Tapering Immunosuppression after Liver Transplantation

Recipients of liver transplantation (LT) require long-term immunosuppressive drug treatment, but lifelong immunosuppressive treatment has severe side effects. It is known that some LT recipients develop immune tolerance, and although the development of such operational tolerance should allow a decrease in the burden of immunosuppressive drug treatment, the factors that indicate operational tolerance are not clear. This study aimed to monitor immunological markers over time in LT recipients to identify those markers indicating the development of operational tolerance. We performed a prospective pilot study measuring immune markers, including the ratio of regulatory T (Treg) and T helper (Th) 17 cells in peripheral blood in the 14 most immunologically stable patients among 70 clinically stable LT recipients. The doses of immunosuppressive drugs given to these 14 LT recipients were tapered over time and they were monitored for immunological markers related to the development of immune tolerance. As the doses of immunosuppressive drugs were reduced, the Treg/Th17, Th1/Th17, and CD8/Th17 ratio in tolerant recipients was significantly increased compared with that of nontolerant recipients. These results suggest that monitoring of changes in the immune makers, including Treg/Th17 ratio during tapering of immunosuppression may allow prediction of the development of tolerance

Conductive Cellulose Composites with Low Percolation Threshold for 3D Printed Electronics

We are reporting a 3D printable composite paste having strong thixotropic rheology. The composite has been designed and investigated with highly conductive silver nanowires. The optimized electrical percolation threshold from both simulation and experiment is shown from 0.7&thinsp;vol. % of silver nanowires which is significantly lower than other composites using conductive nano-materials. Reliable conductivity of 1.19&thinsp;×&thinsp;102&thinsp;S/cm has been achieved from the demonstrated 3D printable composite with 1.9&thinsp;vol. % loading of silver nanowires. Utilizing the high conductivity of the printable composites, 3D printing of designed battery electrode pastes is demonstrated. Rheology study shows superior printability of the electrode pastes aided by the cellulose\u27s strong thixotropic rheology. The designed anode, electrolyte, and cathode pastes are sequentially printed to form a three-layered lithium battery for the demonstration of a charging profile. This study opens opportunities of 3D printable conductive materials to create printed electronics with the next generation additive manufacturing process

Evaluation of several adjuvants in avian influenza vaccine to chickens and ducks

The effects of three different adjuvants, mineral oil, Montanide™ ISA 70M VG, and Montanide™ ISA 206 VG, were evaluated on reverse genetics H5N3 avian influenza virus cell cultured vaccine. The immune results of SPF chickens after challenging with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus demonstrated that mineral oil adjuvant group and 70M adjuvant group provided 100% protection efficiency, but 206 adjuvant group provided only 40%. Statistical analysis indicated that the protection effects of mineral oil adjuvant group and the 70M adjuvant showed no significant difference to each other, but with significant difference to 206 adjuvant group. All three groups could induce high titres of antibody after immunizing SPF ducks, but there was no significant difference among them. The immunization effect of 70M adjuvant group on SPF chickens were the best and showed significant difference compared with optimized 70Mi Montanide™ eight series adjuvants groups. These results suggest that 70M adjuvant could be a novel adjuvant for preparing avian influenza vaccine