Tacrolimus-Induced Intestinal Angioedema: Diagnosis by Capsule Endoscopy

Small intestinal angioedema has been reported with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors therapy, but not in implanted patients treated with tacrolimus. We present a kidney transplanted patient, hospitalized with severe diarrhea, diagnosed with tacrolimus-induced intestinal angioedema with abdominal computerized tomography and capsule endoscopy. To the best of our knowledge this is the first described case of tacrolimus-induced small bowel angioedema diagnosed with capsule endoscopy

Feasibility of Photofrin II as a radiosensitizing agent in solid tumors - Preliminary results

Background: Photofrin II has been demonstrated to serve as a specific and selective radiosensitizing agent in in vitro and in vivo tumor models. We aimed to investigate the feasibility of a clinical application of Photofrin II. Material and Methods: 12 patients were included in the study (7 unresectable solid tumors of the pelvic region, 3 malignant gliomas, 1 recurrent oropharyngeal cancer, 1 recurrent adenocarcinoma of the sphenoid sinus). The dose of ionizing irradiation was 30-50.4 Gy; a boost irradiation of 14 Gy was added for the pelvic region. All patients were intravenously injected with 1 mg/kg Photofrin II 24 h prior to the commencement of radiotherapy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) controls and in some cases positron emission tomography (PET) were performed in short intervals. The mean follow-up was 12.9 months. Results: No major adverse events were noted. Minor adverse events consisted of mild diarrhea, nausea and skin reactions. A complete remission was observed in 4/12 patients. A reduction in local tumor volume of > 45% was achieved in 4/12 patients. Stable disease was observed in 4/12 patients. 1 patient showed local disease progression after 5 months. Conclusion: The early follow-up results are encouraging regarding the feasibility of the application of Photofrin II as a radiosensitizing agent

Enhancement of electroporation facilitated immunogene therapy via T-reg depletion

Regulatory T cells (T-regs) can negatively impact tumor antigen-specific immune responses after infiltration into tumor tissue. However, depletion of T-regs can facilitate enhanced anti-tumor responses, thus augmenting the potential for immunotherapies. Here we focus on treating a highly aggressive form of cancer using a murine melanoma model with a poor prognosis. We utilize a combination of T-reg depletion and immunotherapy plasmid DNA delivered into the B16F10 melanoma tumor model via electroporation. Plasmids encoding murine granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor and human B71 were transfected with electroporation into the tumor and transient elimination of T-regs was achieved with CD25-depleting antibodies (PC61). The combinational treatment effectively depleted T-regs compared to the untreated tumor and significantly reduced lung metastases. The combination treatment was not effective in increasing the survival, but only effective in suppression of metastases. These results indicate the potential for combining T-reg depletion with immunotherapy-based gene electrotransfer to decrease systemic metastasis and potentially enhance survival

Coupling models of cattle and farms with models of badgers for predicting the dynamics of bovine tuberculosis (TB)

Bovine TB is a major problem for the agricultural industry in several countries. TB can be contracted and spread by species other than cattle and this can cause a problem for disease control. In the UK and Ireland, badgers are a recognised reservoir of infection and there has been substantial discussion about potential control strategies. We present a coupling of individual based models of bovine TB in badgers and cattle, which aims to capture the key details of the natural history of the disease and of both species at approximately county scale. The model is spatially explicit it follows a very large number of cattle and badgers on a different grid size for each species and includes also winter housing. We show that the model can replicate the reported dynamics of both cattle and badger populations as well as the increasing prevalence of the disease in cattle. Parameter space used as input in simulations was swept out using Latin hypercube sampling and sensitivity analysis to model outputs was conducted using mixed effect models. By exploring a large and computationally intensive parameter space we show that of the available control strategies it is the frequency of TB testing and whether or not winter housing is practised that have the most significant effects on the number of infected cattle, with the effect of winter housing becoming stronger as farm size increases. Whether badgers were culled or not explained about 5%, while the accuracy of the test employed to detect infected cattle explained less than 3% of the variance in the number of infected cattle

Effects of long-term exposure of gelatinated and non-gelatinated cadmium telluride quantum dots on differentiated PC12 cells

Background: The inherent toxicity of unmodified Quantum Dots (QDs) is a major hindrance to their use in biological applications. To make them more potent as neuroprosthetic and neurotherapeutic agents, thioglycolic acid (TGA) capped CdTe QDs, were coated with a gelatine layer and investigated in this study with differentiated pheochromocytoma 12 (PC12) cells. The QD - cell interactions were investigated after incubation periods of up to 17 days by MTT and APOTOX-Glo Triplex assays along with using confocal microscopy. Results: Long term exposure (up to 17 days) to gelatinated TGA-capped CdTe QDs of PC12 cells in the course of differentiation and after neurites were grown resulted in dramatically reduced cytotoxicity compared to nongelatinated TGA-capped CdTe QDs. Conclusion: The toxicity mechanism of QDs was identified as caspase-mediated apoptosis as a result of cadmium leaking from the core of QDs. It was therefore concluded that the gelatine capping on the surface of QDs acts as a barrier towards the leaking of toxic ions from the core QDs in the long term (up to 17 days)

Resection of thoracic malignancies infiltrating cardiac structures with use of cardiopulmonary bypass

Background: Only few reports exist on malignant thoracic neoplasms that require cardiopulmonary bypass during resection. We aimed to investigate the early and late clinical outcome of these patients. Methods: Patients with thoracic malignancies that underwent surgery between 2002 and 2014 were analyzed. All patients had cardiopulomonary bypass support during resection. Clinical and perioperative data was retrospectively reviewed for outcome and overall survival. Results: Fifteen patients (12 female, mean age of 55 ± 15 years, range 24 to 80 years) were identified. Eleven (8 female) were diagnosed with primary thoracic malignomas and four with metastases. Three patients died early postoperatively. Patients diagnosed with sarcoma had a significantly worse outcome than non-sarcoma patients (83.3 ± 15.2 % after 1 year, 31.3 ± 24.5 % after 5 years vs. 83.3 ± 15.2 % after 1 year, 0 ± 0 % after 5 years, p = 0.005). Conclusions: Malignancies with extension into cardiac structures or infiltration of great vessels can be resected with cardiopulmonary bypass support and tolerable risk. Carefully selected patients can undergo advanced operative procedures with an acceptable 1-year-survival, but only few patients achieved good long-term outcome

A survey of free software for the design, analysis, modelling, and simulation of an unmanned aerial vehicle

The objective of this paper is to analyze free software for the design, analysis, modelling, and simulation of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Free software is the best choice when the reduction of production costs is necessary; nevertheless, the quality of free software may vary. This paper probably does not include all of the free software, but tries to describe or mention at least the most interesting programs. The first part of this paper summarizes the essential knowledge about UAVs, including the fundamentals of flight mechanics and aerodynamics, and the structure of a UAV system. The second section generally explains the modelling and simulation of a UAV. In the main section, more than 50 free programs for the design, analysis, modelling, and simulation of a UAV are described. Although the selection of the free software has been focused on small subsonic UAVs, the software can also be used for other categories of aircraft in some cases; e.g. for MAVs and large gliders. The applications with an historical importance are also included. Finally, the results of the analysis are evaluated and discussed—a block diagram of the free software is presented, possible connections between the programs are outlined, and future improvements of the free software are suggested. © 2015, CIMNE, Barcelona, Spain.Internal Grant Agency of Tomas Bata University in Zlin [IGA/FAI/2015/001, IGA/FAI/2014/006

Frequent attenders in general practice: problem solving treatment provided by nurses [ISRCTN51021015]

BACKGROUND: There is a need for assistance from primary care mental health workers in general practice in the Netherlands. General practitioners (GPs) experience an overload of frequent attenders suffering from psychological problems. Problem Solving Treatment (PST) is a brief psychological treatment tailored for use in a primary care setting. PST is provided by nurses, and earlier research has shown that it is a treatment at least as effective as usual care. However, research outcomes are not totally satisfying. This protocol describes a randomized clinical trial on the effectiveness of PST provided by nurses for patients in general practice. The results of this study, which currently being carried out, will be presented as soon as they are available. METHODS/DESIGN: This study protocol describes the design of a randomized controlled trial to investigate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of PST and usual care compared to usual care only. Patients, 18 years and older, who present psychological problems and are frequent attenders in general practice are recruited by the research assistant. The participants receive questionnaires at baseline, after the intervention, and again after 3 months and 9 months. Primary outcome is the reduction of symptoms, and other outcomes measured are improvement in problem solving skills, psychological and physical well being, daily functioning, social support, coping styles, problem evaluation and health care utilization. DISCUSSION: Our results may either confirm that PST in primary care is an effective way of dealing with emotional disorders and a promising addition to the primary care in the UK and USA, or may question this assumption. This trial will allow an evaluation of the effects of PST in practical circumstances and in a rather heterogeneous group of primary care patients. This study delivers scientific support for this use and therefore indications for optimal treatment and referral