Ultraviolet photodepletion spectroscopy of dibenzo-18-crown-6-ether complexes with alkali metal cations

Ultraviolet photodepletion spectra of dibenzo-18-crown-6-ether complexes with alkali metal cations (M+-DB18C6, M = Cs, Rb, K, Na, and Li) were obtained in the gas phase using electrospray ionization quadrupole ion-trap reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The spectra exhibited a few distinct absorption bands in the wavenumber region of 35450−37800 cm^(−1). The lowest-energy band was tentatively assigned to be the origin of the S_0-S_1 transition, and the second band to a vibronic transition arising from the “benzene breathing” mode in conjunction with symmetric or asymmetric stretching vibration of the bonds between the metal cation and the oxygen atoms in DB18C6. The red shifts of the origin bands were observed in the spectra as the size of the metal cation in M^+-DB18C6 increased from Li^+ to Cs^+. We suggested that these red shifts arose mainly from the decrease in the binding energies of larger-sized metal cations to DB18C6 at the electronic ground state. These size effects of the metal cations on the geometric and electronic structures, and the binding properties of the complexes at the S_0 and S_1 states were further elucidated by theoretical calculations using density functional and time-dependent density functional theories

PPM1A Controls Diabetic Gene Programming through Directly Dephosphorylating PPAR?? at Ser273

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma) is a master regulator of adipose tissue biology. In obesity, phosphorylation of PPAR gamma at Ser273 (pSer273) by cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) orchestrates diabetic gene reprogramming via dysregulation of specific gene expression. Although many recent studies have focused on the development of non-classical agonist drugs that inhibit the phosphorylation of PPAR gamma at Ser273, the molecular mechanism of PPAR gamma dephosphorylation at Ser273 is not well characterized. Here, we report that protein phosphatase Mg2+/Mn2+-dependent 1A (PPM1A) is a novel PPAR gamma phosphatase that directly dephosphorylates Ser273 and restores diabetic gene expression which is dysregulated by pSer273. The expression of PPM1A significantly decreases in two models of insulin resistance: diet-induced obese (DIO) mice and db/db mice, in which it negatively correlates with pSer273. Transcriptomic analysis using microarray and genotype-tissue expression (GTEx) data in humans shows positive correlations between PPM1A and most of the genes that are dysregulated by pSer273. These findings suggest that PPM1A dephosphorylates PPAR gamma at Ser273 and represents a potential target for the treatment of obesity-linked metabolic disorders

Acupuncture for the treatment of tinnitus: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials

BACKGROUND: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has frequently been used to treat tinnitus, and acupuncture is a particularly popular option. The objective of this review was to assess the evidence concerning the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for tinnitus. METHODS: Fourteen databases were searched from the dates of their creation to July 4th, 2012. Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) were included if acupuncture was used as the sole treatment. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the risk of bias. RESULTS: A total of 9 RCTs met all the inclusion criteria. Their methodological quality was mostly poor. Five RCTs compared the effectiveness of acupuncture or electroacupuncture with sham acupuncture for treating tinnitus. The results failed to show statistically significant improvements. Two RCTs compared a short one-time scalp acupuncture treatment with the use of penetrating sham acupuncture at non-acupoints in achieving subjective symptom relief on a visual analog scale; these RCTs demonstrated significant positive effects with scalp acupuncture. Two RCTs compared acupuncture with conventional drug treatments. One of these RCTs demonstrated that acupuncture had statistically significant effects on the response rate in patients with nervous tinnitus, but the other RCT did not demonstrate significant effects in patients with senile tinnitus. CONCLUSIONS: The number, size and quality of the RCTs on the effectiveness of acupuncture for the treatment of tinnitus are not sufficient for drawing definitive conclusions. Further rigorous RCTs that overcome the many limitations of the current evidence are warranted

Acupuncture and Moxibustion for Cancer-Related Fatigue: An Overview of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis

Although acupuncture (AT) is used in the treatment of CRF, the evidence from different systematic reviews (SRs) of AT has not yet been comprehensively evaluated. Moxibustion, which is a treatment method that is well established within Traditional East Asian Medicine, applies the heat of burning herbs towards or onto special points on the skin. Commonly, the herb Artemisia vulgaris, is used. It has been used for palliative cancer care, as well as for CRF. The aim of this overview was to evaluate the efficacy of AT and moxibustion in the management of CRF. Eleven databases were searched through for studies that were published from their dates of inception to February 2022. The study selection, the data extraction, and the assessment were performed independently by two researchers. The methodological and report quality were assessed by using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews-2 (AMSTAR-2) tool. The evidence quality was evaluated by using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system. Fifteen SRs on AT (n = 10) and moxibustion (n = 5) treatments for CRF were included, and they include 169 randomized controlled trials and 14,392 participants. All of the SRs that were evaluated by the AMASTAR-2 had more than one deficiency, and so all of the SRs were rated as either low or critically low. For the GRADE, 18 outcomes were rated as very-low-quality evidence, 13 as low-quality evidence, 3 as moderate-quality evidence, and 0 as high-quality evidence. Most of the SRs reached the potential benefits of AT for CRF. No serious adverse effects were identified. In conclusion, the evidence suggests that, despite the advantages of AT in terms of the improvement in and the safety of the treatment of CRF, the methodological quality of most of these studies is low, which limits our ability to draw definitive meanings. Further research of high quality is needed in order to confirm these findings.T.Y. Choi, L.A., J.H.J. and M.S.L. were supported by the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Korea (KSN2021210). T.A. is the PI of an ongoing study that is funded by a grant from Pink Ribbon, which is a collaboration between The Norwegian Cancer Association and the Breast Cancer Society (Contract no.: 207697-2019). The funder had no role in the study design, the data collection and analysis, the decision to publish, or the preparation of the manuscript.publishedVersio

Acinetobacter baumannii invades epithelial cells and outer membrane protein A mediates interactions with epithelial cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Acinetobacter baumannii </it>is a nosocomial pathogen of increasing importance, but the pathogenic mechanism of this microorganism has not been fully explored. This study investigated the potential of <it>A. baumannii </it>to invade epithelial cells and determined the role of <it>A. baumannii </it>outer membrane protein A (AbOmpA) in interactions with epithelial cells.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>A. baumannii </it>invaded epithelial cells by a zipper-like mechanism, which is associated with microfilament- and microtubule-dependent uptake mechanisms. Internalized bacteria were located in the membrane-bound vacuoles. Pretreatment of recombinant AbOmpA significantly inhibited the adherence to and invasion of <it>A. baumannii </it>in epithelial cells. Cell invasion of isogenic AbOmpA^-mutant significantly decreased as compared with wild-type bacteria. In a murine pneumonia model, wild-type bacteria exhibited a severe lung pathology and induced a high bacterial burden in blood, whereas AbOmpA^-mutant was rarely detected in blood.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><it>A. baumannii </it>adheres to and invades epithelial cells. AbOmpA plays a major role in the interactions with epithelial cells. These findings contribute to the understanding of <it>A. baumannii </it>pathogenesis in the early stage of bacterial infection.</p

Treatment of Spontaneous Cervical Spinal Subdural Hematoma with Methylprednisolone Pulse Therapy

We report herein a case of hyperacute onset of spontaneous cervical spinal subdural hematoma treated with methylprednisolone pulse therapy that showed good results. A 57-year-old man was admitted for posterior neck pain and paraparesis which occurred an hour ago. MRI revealed a ventral subdural hematoma distributed from the level of C1 down to T3, compressing the spinal cord. Conservative management with methylprednisolone pulse therapy was administered considering the patient's poor general condition. Although emergent surgical decompression is necessary in most cases of spinal subdural hematoma, conservative management with steroid therapy could be effective

New microbial ecosystem created by artificak floating island

To scrutinize the microbial ecosystem and processing of water quality improvement under the artificial floating island, water quality parameteres, bacterial numbers and extracellular enzyme activities were measured biweekly flom 3, November 2001 to 20,April 2002 in Lake Paldang, Korea. Most of the mean encironmental parameters were not different from artificially floating island (AFI) site and control site. But,zooplankton numbers were about 100 times higher at AFI site than those of control site, even though the chlorophyll α concentrations were not so different. During winter, the rations of respiratory active bacteria to total bacterial number were two fold higher and enzyme activities of β-glucosidase and phosphatase were extremely higher at AFI site than those of contrl site. With these high densities of zooplankton, active bacteria and high rates of degradation under the AFI, the organic materials are eliminated at inside of lake with newly created ecosystem.Article信州大学山地水環境教育研究センター研究報告 2: 5-9(2004)departmental bulletin pape

Acupuncture for managing cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer in women and is a serious threat to women’s health. Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a distressing symptom in BC patients during and after chemotherapy or radiation therapy that severely affects quality of life (QoL). AT is widely used for fatigue management. However, the effect of AT on CRF is still uncertain. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of AT in the management of CRF in patients with BC. Eleven databases were searched through June 2022. Two researchers independently performed the database search, study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment. Study selection was performed based on predefined Participants, Intervention, Comparators, Outcomes, Study design (PICOS) criteria, and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed when reporting the results. A meta-analysis was performed according to the Cochrane systematic review method using RevMan 5.3. A total of 12 studies including a total of 1084 participants were included. The results showed that AT had a beneficial effect compared with sham AT (n = 256, SMD = −0.26, 95% CI [−0.51, −0.01], p = 0.04, I2 = 0%) and a long-term effect on fatigue score (n = 209, MD = −0.32, 95% CI [–0.59, −0.04], p = 0.02, I2 = 0%). Meta-analysis showed that AT had a beneficial effect compared with usual care (UC) on fatigue scores (n = 238, SMD = −0.39, 95% CI [−0.66 to −0.12], p = 0.005, I2 = 0%). Of the 12 articles, 3 articles were judged as having a low risk of bias in all domains and hence were of high quality. No serious adverse effects were identified. AT is an effective and safe treatment for CRF, and AT is more effective than sham AT or UC or wait-list control (WLC). Nevertheless, the methodological quality of most of these studies was low, and the included studies/sample sizes were small, so the ability to derive decisive implications was limited. Further research is needed to confirm these findings.publishedVersio