Abdominal Fat Suspension Device for Maintaining Normal Cardiorespiratory Function in Patients Undergoing Conscious Sedation During Surgery: A Feasibility Study

Obese patients undergoing conscious-sedation surgery have increased perioperative morbidity because their excess abdominal tissue limits diaphragmatic excursion. We describe a simple device that might help attenuate this risk. We created a noninvasive suction device for abdominal suspension. By lifting the burden of excess weight, this device should decrease respiratory effort. To test the feasibility of excess weight removal in relieving cardiac stress, we tested 22 supine, healthy, normal-weight subjects by measuring their heart rates with and without a 13-kg tissue model on their abdomen to simulate excess weight. There was no significant difference in blood oxygen saturation before and after weight removal (P=0.318). However, the decrease in heart rate was significant (

Prevalence and detection of low-allele-fraction variants in clinical cancer samples

Accurate detection of genomic alterations using high-throughput sequencing is an essential component of precision cancer medicine. We characterize the variant allele fractions (VAFs) of somatic single nucleotide variants and indels across 5095 clinical samples profiled using a custom panel, CancerSCAN. Our results demonstrate that a significant fraction of clinically actionable variants have low VAFs, often due to low tumor purity and treatment-induced mutations. The percentages of mutations under 5% VAF across hotspots in EGFR, KRAS, PIK3CA, and BRAF are 16%, 11%, 12%, and 10%, respectively, with 24% for EGFR T790M and 17% for PIK3CA E545. For clinical relevance, we describe two patients for whom targeted therapy achieved remission despite low VAF mutations. We also characterize the read depths necessary to achieve sensitivity and specificity comparable to current laboratory assays. These results show that capturing low VAF mutations at hotspots by sufficient sequencing coverage and carefully tuned algorithms is imperative for a clinical assay

Facile synthesis of a mesostructured TiO2-graphitized carbon (TiO2-gC) composite through the hydrothermal process and its application as the anode of lithium ion batteries

A mesostructured TiO2-graphitic carbon (TiO2-gC) composite was synthesized through a simple and scalable hydrothermal method to be employed as an anode material in Li-ion batteries. In a wide voltage range (0.0-2.5 V), the TiO2-gC composite anode possesses a high initial lithiation capacity (598 mA h g(-1)) at 0.1 C (1 C: 150 mA g(-1)), and it still retains 369 mA h g(-1) after 50 cycles at 0.5 C. Furthermore, under a high current density of 2 C, the TiO2-gC anode exhibits stable capacity (252 mA h g(-1)) retention for up to 200 cycles. This excellent electrochemical performance could be ascribed to a synergistic effect of well-developed mesoporosity with a high surface area (345.4 m(2) g(-1)), the conductive graphitic carbon wall, and uniformly dispersed TiO2 nanoparticles, resulting in improved Li+ penetration, fast electron transport and high structural stability during cycling.116Nsciescopu

Tumorigenicity of EGFR- and/or HER2-Positive Breast Cancers Is Mediated by Recruitment of Tumor-Associated Macrophages

Basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) has a clinically aggressive nature. It is prevalent in young women and is known to often relapse rapidly. To date, the molecular mechanisms regarding the aggressiveness of BLBC have not been fully understood. In the present study, mechanisms of aggressiveness of BLBC involving EGFR and/or HER2 expression and interactions between tumor and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) were explored. The prognosis of breast cancer patients who underwent surgery at Samsung Medical Center was analyzed. It was found that the co-expression of EGFR and HER2 was associated with a worse prognosis. Therefore, we generated EGFR-positive BLBC cells with stable HER2 overexpression and analyzed the profile of secretory cytokines. Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) expression was increased in HER2-overexpressed BLBC cells. Recombinant human CCL2 treatment augmented the motility of TAMs. In addition, the conditioned culture media of HER2-overexpressed BLBC cells increased the motility of TAMs. Furthermore, activation of TAMs by CCL2 or the conditioned culture media of HER2-overexpressed cells resulted in the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-8 and IL-1β. These observations reveal that CCL2 derived from EGFR and HER2 co-expressed BLBC cells can lead to increased TAM recruitment and the induction of IL-8 and IL-1β from recruited TAMs, triggering the tumorigenesis of breast cancer with the expression of both EGFR and HER2. Our findings demonstrate that EGFR+ and HER2+ BLBC aggressiveness is partially mediated through the interaction between BLBC and TAMs recruited by CCL2

Bulk Concentration Dependence of Electrolyte Resistance Within Mesopores of Carbon Electrodes in Electric Double-Layer Capacitors

Hexagonally ordered mesoporous carbon materials were prepared and used as electrode materials in an electric double-layer capacitor. Using this electrode, the change of electrolyte resistance within the mesopores was investigated according to the bulk electrolyte concentration. Using three different electrochemical transient experiments—imaginary capacitance analysis, chronoamperometry, and chronopotentiometry—the time constant associated with electrolyte transport was determined, which was then used to obtain the electrolyte resistance within the mesopores. With decreasing electrolyte concentration, the increase in electrolyte resistance was smaller than the increase in the resistivity of the bulk electrolyte, which is indicative of a different environment for ionic transport within the mesopores. On using the confinement effect within the mesopores, the predicted higher concentration within mesopore probably results in lower electrolyte resistance, especially under low bulk concentrations.1111Nsciescopuskc

Autonomous calibration of EFDC for predicting chlorophyll-a using reinforcement learning and a real-time monitoring system

Cyanobacterial blooms cause critical damage to aquatic ecosystems and water resources. Therefore, numerical models have been utilized to simulate cyanobacteria by calibrating model parameters for accurate simulation. While conventional calibration, which uses fixed water quality parameters throughout the simulation period, is commonly utilized, it may lead to inaccurate modeling results. To address it, this study proposed a reinforcement learning and environmental fluid dynamics code (EFDC-RL) model that uses real-time pontoon monitoring data and hyperspectral images to autonomously control water quality parameters. The EFDC-RL model showed impressive performance, with an R2 value of 0.7406 and 0.4126 for the training and test datasets, respectively. In comparison, the Chlorophyll-a simulation of conventional calibration had an R2 of 0.2133 and 0.0220, respectively. This study shows that the EFDC-RL model is a suitable framework for autonomous calibration of water quality parameters and real-time spatiotemporal simulation of cyanobacteria distribution

MiRGator v3.0: A microRNA portal for deep sequencing, expression profiling and mRNA targeting

Biogenesis and molecular function are two key subjects in the field of microRNA (miRNA) research. Deep sequencing has become the principal technique in cataloging of miRNA repertoire and generating expression profiles in an unbiased manner. Here, we describe the miRGator v3.0 update (http://mirgator.kobic.re.kr) that compiled the deep sequencing miRNA data available in public and implemented several novel tools to facilitate exploration of massive data. The miR-seq browser supports users to examine short read alignment with the secondary structure and read count information available in concurrent windows. Features such as sequence editing, sorting, ordering, import and export of user data would be of great utility for studying iso-miRs, miRNA editing and modifications. miRNA-target relation is essential for understanding miRNA function. Coexpression analysis of miRNA and target mRNAs, based on miRNA-seq and RNA-seq data from the same sample, is visualized in the heat-map and network views where users can investigate the inverse correlation of gene expression and target relations, compiled from various databases of predicted and validated targets. By keeping datasets and analytic tools up-to-date, miRGator should continue to serve as an integrated resource for biogenesis and functional investigation of miRNAs

Probiotics reduce repeated water avoidance stress-induced colonic microinflammation in Wistar rats in a sex-specific manner.

The colonic response to stress is greater in female rats than in male rats. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of probiotics in the repeated water avoidance stress (rWAS)-induced colonic microinflammation model of Wistar rats in a sex-specific manner. The three groups (no-stress, WAS, and WAS with probiotics) were exposed to r-WAS for 1 h daily for 10 days, and Lactobacillus farciminis was administered by oral gavage for 10 days to animals in the probiotics group. The visceromotor response (VMR) to colorectal distension (CRD) was assessed using a barostat and noninvasive manometry before and after WAS exposure. Immunohistochemistry for mast cells and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for detection of mucosal cytokines were performed using distal colon tissue after the animals were sacrificed. Significant reduction of VMR to CRD (visceral analgesia) was observed at 60 mmHg in the female WAS group (P = 0.045), but not in males. In addition, the female WAS with probiotics group showed a significantly lower colonic mucosal mast cell count in comparison to the female WAS group (P = 0.013), but this phenomenon was not observed in the male group. The colonic mucosal mRNA levels of interferon-γ (IFNR), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFA), interleukin (IL) 6, and IL17 were higher in the female WAS group than in the male WAS group. The mRNA levels of IFNR, TNFA, and IL6 were significantly decreased in WAS females who received probiotics (all P < 0.050). In conclusion, rWAS is induced in a sex-specific manner. A 10-day-long treatment with L. farciminis is an effective therapy for rWAS-induced colonic microinflammation in female rates, but not in male rats