Friction Tubes to Generate Nanobubble Ozone Water with an Increased Half-Life for Virucidal Activity

Nanobubbles and related technologies are expected to be highly utilized in water resource-based industries such as water purification, crops, horticulture, medicine, bio, and sterilization. Ozone, a chemical with high sterilizing power, is known as a natural substance that is reduced to oxygen and water after reacting with pollutants. Ozone water, which is generated by dissolving ozone in water, has been used in various industrial sectors such as medical care, food, and environment. Due to the unstable molecular state of ozone, however, it is difficult to produce, use, and supply ozone at industrial sites in a stable manner. This study proposed a method for constructing a system that can generate high-concentration ozone water in large quantities using low power in real time and maintaining the concentration of the generated ozone water over the long term. Friction tubes (called 'nanotube') played a key role to generate nanobubble ozone water with an increased half-life for virus killing activity. In addition, the safety of ozone water during its spray into the air was explained, and virucidal activity test cases for the influenza A (H1N1/A/PR8) and COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) virus using high-concentration ozone water as well as its technical efficacy were described

Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Intractable Childhood Epilepsy: a Korean Multicenter Experience

We evaluated the long-term outcome of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) in 28 children with refractory epilepsy. Of these 28 children, 15 (53.6%) showed a >50% reduction in seizure frequency and 9 (32.1%) had a >75% reduction. When we compared seizure reduction rates according to seizure types (generalized vs. partial) and etiologies (symptomatic vs. cryptogenic), we found no significant differences. In addition, there was no correlation between the length of the stimulation period and treatment effect. The seizure reduction rate, however, tended to be inversely related to the seizure duration before VNS implantation and age at the time of VNS therapy. VNS also improved quality of life in this group of patients, including improved memory in 9 (32.1%), improved mood in 12 (42.9%), improved behavior in 11 (39.3%), improved altertness in 12 (42.9%), improved achievement in 6 (21.4%), and improved verbal skills in 8 (28.6%). Adverse events included hoarseness in 7 patients, dyspnea at sleep in 2 patients, and wound infection in 1 patient, but all were transient and successfully managed by careful follow-up and adjustment of parameters. These results indicate that VNS is a safe and effective alternative therapy for pediatric refractory epilepsy, without significant adverse events

Characteristics of Outpatients with Pandemic H1N1/09 Influenza in a Tertiary Care University Hospital in Korea

The pandemic H1N1/09 emerged rapidly in Korea. Here, we describe the clinical characteristics of outpatients in Seoul, Korea who were infected in the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. We reviewed the cases of outpatients with pandemic H1N1/09 who visited a tertiary care teaching hospital between September 1 and December 31, 2009. Infection with pandemic H1N1/09 was confirmed by molecular tests. Of a total of 7,182 tests, 3,020 (42.0%) were positive. Compared with 473 cases of influenza-like illness (ILI), the 586 confirmed cases of pandemic H1N1/09 differed in age [odds ratio (OR) 0.975] and fulfilling at least one of the following factors: age <5 or ≥65 years, history of contact with other pandemic H1N1/09-infected individuals (OR 0.611), fever ≥37.8℃ (OR 3.567), cough (OR 2.290), and myalgia (OR 1.559). The sensitivity of the best criteria, "fever (≥37.8℃) plus cough" (41.03%) in this study was lower than that of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) criteria (47.95%), whereas the positive likelihood ratio (3.55) and positive predictive value (81.6) of this criteria was higher than those of the KCDC criteria (2.98 and 78.7, respectively). The clinical characteristics of pandemic H1N1/09 are, in many regards, indistinguishable from those of ILI. Moreover, the accuracy and predictability of criteria which include only symptoms or signs were not sufficient to diagnose pandemic H1N1/09 infection. Therefore, use of a combination of symptoms with confirmatory laboratory testing is necessary for accurate diagnosis of pandemic H1N1/09

Safety of reduced dose of mycophenolate mofetil combined with tacrolimus in living-donor liver transplantation

Background/AimsThe dose of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) has been reduced in Asia due to side effects associated with the conventional fixed dose of 2-3 g/day. We aimed to determine the pharmacokinetics of a reduced dose of MMF and to validate its feasibility in combination with tacrolimus in living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT).MethodsTwo sequential studies were performed in adult LDLT between October 2009 and 2011. First, we performed a prospective pharmacokinetic study in 15 recipients. We measured the area under the curve from 0 to 12 hours (AUC0-12) for mycophenolic acid at postoperative days 7 and 14, and we performed a protocol biopsy before discharge. Second, among 215 recipients, we reviewed 74 patients who were initially administered a reduced dose of MMF (1.0 g/day) with tacrolimus (trough, 8-12 ng/mL during the first month, and 5-8 ng/mL thereafter), with a 1-year follow-up. We performed protocol biopsies at 2 weeks and 1 year post-LDLT.ResultsIn the first part of study, AUC0-12 was less than 30 mgh/L in 93.3% of cases. In the second, validating study, 41.9% of the recipients needed dose reduction or cessation due to side effects within the first year after LDLT. At 12 months post-LDLT, 17.6% of the recipients were administered a lower dose of MMF (0.5 g/day), and 16.2% needed permanent cessation due to side effects. The 1- and 12-month rejection-free survival rates were 98.6% and 97.3%, respectively.ConclusionsA reduced dose of MMF was associated with low blood levels compared to the existing recommended therapeutic range. However, reducing the dose of MMF combined with a low level of tacrolimus was feasible clinically, with an excellent short-term outcome in LDLT

Benign Schwannoma of the Liver: A Case Report

A primary benign schwannoma of the liver is extremely rare. Only nine cases have been reported in the medical literature worldwide and no case has been reported in Korea previously. A 36-yr-old woman was admitted to our hospital with vague epigastric pain. The ultrasound and computed tomography scan revealed a multi-septated cystic mass in the right lobe of the liver. The mass was resected; it was found to be a 5 × 4 × 2 cm mass filled with reddish yellow fluid. The histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of a benign schwannoma, proven by positive immunoreaction with the neurogenic marker S-100 protein and a negative response to CD34, CD117 and smooth muscle actin. This is the first report of a benign schwannoma of the liver parenchyma in a Korean patient

Clinical and pathological significance of ROS1 expression in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.Background: More knowledge about genetic and molecular features of cholangiocarcinoma is needed to develop effective therapeutic strategies. We investigated the clinical and pathological significance of ROS1 expression in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Methods: One hundred ninety-four patients with curatively resected intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma were included in this study. Tumor tissue specimens were collected and analyzed for ROS1 gene rearrangement using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and ROS1 protein expression using immunohistochemistry (IHC). Results: ROS1 immunohistochemistry was positive (moderate or strong staining) in 72 tumors (37.1 %). ROS1 protein expression was significantly correlated with well differentiated tumors, papillary or mucinous histology, oncocytic/hepatoid or intestinal type tumors, and periductal infiltrating or intraductal growing tumors (vs. mass-forming cholangiocarcinoma). ROS-expressing tumors were associated with better disease-free survival (30.1 months for ROS1 expression (+) tumors vs. 9.0 months for ROS1 (-) tumors, p = 0.006). Moreover, ROS1 expression was an independent predictor of better disease-free survival in a multivariate analysis (HR 0.607, 95 % CI 0.377-0.976; p = 0.039). Although break-apart FISH was successfully performed in 102 samples, a split pattern indicative of ROS1 gene rearrangement was not found in the examined samples. Conclusion: ROS1 protein expression was associated with well-differentiated histology and better survival in our patients with resected intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. ROS1 gene rearrangement by break-apart FISH was not found in the examined samples

Prognostic impact of AJCC response criteria for neoadjuvant chemotherapy in stage II/III breast cancer patients: breast cancer subtype analyses

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.Background Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is a standard treatment for stage II/III breast cancer patients, and response to NAC is a useful prognostic marker. Since its introduction, 6–8 cycles of NAC has become the standard regimen to improve the outcome of these patients. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prognostic impact of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) response criteria and this tools usefulness in four different breast cancer subtypes. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of clinical stage II/III breast cancer patients who received NAC of more than 6 cycles. Response after NAC and the clinicopathological factors were reviewed. AJCC response criteria for NAC were adopted from the AJCC Manual, 7th edition: complete response (CR), partial response (PR), and no response (NR). Results A total of 183 patients were enrolled; 22 (12.0 %), 123 (67.2 %), and 38 (20.8 %) patients showed CR, PR, and NR, respectively. The AJCC response was significantly associated with relapse-free survival (RFS) (P < 0.001), whereas pathologic CR (pCR), the current gold standard for response evaluation for NAC, was not (P = 0.140). AJCC response was a significant prognostic factor for RFS in all four breast cancer subtypes, namely luminal A (P = 0.006), luminal B (P = 0.001), HER-2 enriched (P = 0.039), and triple-negative breast cancer (P = 0.035). Conclusions The AJCC response criteria represent a simple and easily reproducible tool for response evaluation of NAC patients and a useful clinical prognostic marker for RFS. These criteria also have a prognostic impact in all four breast cancer subtypes, including luminal A in which pCR has a limited role

INHIBITORY EFFECT OF EMODIN ON RAW 264.7 ACTIVATED WITH DOUBLE STRANDED RNA ANALOGUE POLY I:C

Background: Emodin (3-methyl-1, 6, 8-trihydroxyanthraquinone) is a compound which can be found in Polygoni Multiflori Radix (PMR). PMR is the root of Polygonum multiflorum. PMR is used to treat dizziness, spermatorrhea, sores, and scrofula as well as chronic malaria traditionally in China and Korea. The anti-tumor property of emodin was already reported. However, anti-viral activity of emodin on macrophages are not fully reported. Materials and Methods: Effects of emodin on RAW 264.7 mouse macrophages induced by polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly I:C), a synthetic analog of double-stranded RNA, were evaluated. Results: Emodin restored the cell viability in poly I:C-induced RAW 264.7 at concentrations of up to 50 μM. Emodin significantly inhibited the production of nitric oxide, IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, GM-CSF, G-CSF, M-CSF, MCP-1, MIP-1α, MIP-1β, MIP-2, RANTES, and IP-10 as well as calcium release and mRNA expression of signal transducer and activated transcription 1 (STAT1) in poly I:C-induced RAW 264.7 (P < 0.05). Conclusion: This study shows the inhibitory effect of emodin on poly I:C-induced RAW 264.7 via calcium-STAT pathway

Weekly Paclitaxel and Trastuzumab as a First-Line Therapy in Patients with HER2-Overexpressing Metastatic Breast Cancer: Magnitude of HER2/neu Amplification as a Predictive Factor for Efficacy

We evaluated the efficacy and safety of weekly paclitaxel plus trastuzumab as firs-tline chemotherapy in women with HER2-overexpressing metastatic breast cancer (MBC), and we investigated the prognostic factors including magnitude of HER2/neu amplification in this population. We analyzed 54 patients with HER2-overexpressing MBC that were treated with weekly paclitaxel plus trastuzumab as first-line chemotherapy from February 2004 to December 2006. At a median follow-up of 28 months, median time to progression (TTP) was 16.6 months (95% CI, 9.4 to 23.7 months) and median overall survival was 25.6 months (95% CI, 21.8 to 27.3 months). Therapy was generally well tolerated, although three patients (5.5%) experienced reversible, symptomatic heart failure. Of the 27 patients evaluable for the HER2 FISH, patients with a HER2/CEP17 ratio of ≤4.0 had significantly shorter TTP than those with a HER2/CEP17 ratio of >4.0 (10.8 vs. 23.2 months, P=0.034). A HER2/CEP17 ratio of >4.0 was identified as significant predictive factor of TTP by multivariate analysis (P=0.032). The combination of weekly paclitaxel plus trastuzumab as first-line chemotherapy is an effective regimen in patients with HER2-FISH-positive MBC. Furthermore, the magnitude of HER2 amplification is an independent predictive factor of TTP