Development of Non-Conservative Joints in Beam Networks for Vibration Energy Flow Analysis

Our work aims to find a general solution for the vibrational energy flow through a plane network of beams on the basis of an energy flow analysis. A joint between two semi-infinite beams are modeled by three sets of springs and dashpots. Thus, the results can incorporate the case of complaint and non-conservative in all the three degrees of freedom. In the cases of finite coupled structures connected at a certain angle, the derived non-conservative joints and developed wave energy equation were applied. The joint properties, the frequency, the coupling angle, and the internal loss factor were changed to evaluate the proposed methods for predicting medium-to-high frequency vibrational energy and intensity distributions

Bambusae caulis in Liquamen Suppresses the Expression of Thymus and Activation-Regulated Chemokine and Macrophage-Derived Chemokine in Human Keratinocytes due to Antioxidant Effect

Bambusae caulis in Liquamen (BCL), traditional herbal medicine used in East Asia, is known to have antioxidative and immune-regulating properties. We hypothesized that the potential antioxidant effects of BCL might suppress the production of thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC) and macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC) in human keratinocytes (HaCaT cell). The immune-regulating effect of BCL was demonstrated by antioxidant capacity using DPPH analysis and DCFH-DA analysis. We found that BCL had strong ROS scavenge effect in HaCaT cell. BCL also showed suppression of IFN-γ-induced expression of TARC and MDC, activation of NF-κB, and, moreover, significant block of IFN-γ-induced degradation and phosphorylation of IκB. However, it had no effects on phosphorylation of p38 MAPK. Collectively, these results suggest that BCL may have a therapeutic potential on skin disease such as atopic dermatitis by inhibiting Th2 chemokines which is due, at least in part, to its antioxidant capacities

Could Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide Test be Useful in Predicting Inhaled Corticosteroid Responsiveness in Chronic Cough? A Systematic Review

© 2016 Background Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) is a safe and convenient test for assessing T H 2 airway inflammation, which is potentially useful in the management of patients with chronic cough. Objective To summarize the current evidence on the diagnostic usefulness of FENO for predicting inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) responsiveness in patients with chronic cough. Methods A systematic literature review was conducted to identify articles published in peer-reviewed journals up to February 2015, without language restriction. We included studies that reported the usefulness of FENO (index test) for predicting ICS responsiveness (reference standard) in patients with chronic cough (target condition). The data were extracted to construct a 2 × 2 accuracy table. Study quality was assessed with Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2. Results We identified 5 original studies (2 prospective and 3 retrospective studies). We identified considerable heterogeneities in study design and outcome definitions, and thus were unable to perform a meta-analysis. The proportion of ICS responders ranged from 44% to 59%. Sensitivity and specificity ranged from 53% to 90%, and from 63% to 97%, respectively. The reported area under the curve ranged from abou t 0.60 to 0.87; however, studies with a prospective design and a lower prevalence of asthma had lower area under the curve values. None measured placebo effects or objective cough frequency. Conclusions We did not find strong evidence to support the use of FENO tests for predicting ICS responsiveness in chronic cough. Further studies need to have a randomized, placebo-controlled design, and should use validated measurement tools for cough. Standardization would facilitate the development of clinical evidence

DIRECT CAROTID WALL SHEAR STRESS IN ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROME PATIENTS DECREASED AFTER ONE MONTH MEDICAL MANAGEMENT

Fuente Fuente, Carlos;Montes Gil, Antonio;Periel Piquer, Montserra

Development of key quality indicators for appropriate antibiotic use in the Republic of Korea: results of a modified Delphi survey

Background An effective antibiotic stewardship program relies on the measurement of appropriate antibiotic use, on which there is a lack of consensus. We aimed to develop a set of key quality indicators (QIs) for nationwide point surveillance in the Republic of Korea. Methods A systematic literature search of PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library (publications until 20th November 2019) was conducted. Potential key QIs were retrieved from the search and then evaluated by a multidisciplinary expert panel using a RAND-modified Delphi procedure comprising two online surveys and a face-to-face meeting. Results The 23 potential key QIs identified from 21 studies were submitted to 25 multidisciplinary expert panels, and 17 key QIs were retained, with a high level of agreement (13 QIs for inpatients, 7 for outpatients, and 3 for surgical prophylaxis). After adding up the importance score and applicability, six key QIs [6 QIs (Q 1–6) for inpatients and 3 (Q 1, 2, and 5) for outpatients] were selected. (1) Prescribe empirical antibiotic therapy according to guideline, (2) change empirical antibiotics to pathogen-directed therapy, (3) obtain culture samples from suspected infection sites, (4) obtain two blood cultures, (5) adapt antibiotic dosage to renal function, and (6) document antibiotic plan. In surgical prophylaxis, the QIs to prescribe antibiotics according to the guideline and initiate antibiotic therapy 1 h before incision were selected. Conclusions We identified key QIs to measure the appropriateness of antibiotic therapy to identify targets for improvement and to evaluate the effects of antibiotic stewardship intervention.This work was supported by a research program funded by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Grant No. 2019E280400). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, preparation of the manuscript, or the decision to publish

Metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma presenting as facial nerve palsy and facial pain

Facial nerve palsy due to temporal bone metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has rarely been reported. We experienced a rare case of temporal bone metastasis of HCC that initially presented as facial nerve palsy and was diagnosed by surgical biopsy. This patient also discovered for the first time that he had chronic hepatitis B and C infections due to this facial nerve palsy. Radiation therapy greatly relieved the facial pain and facial nerve palsy. This report suggests that hepatologists should consider metastatic HCC as a rare but possible cause of new-onset cranial neuropathy in patients with chronic viral hepatitis

Downregulation of Protein Kinase CK2 Activity Facilitates Tumor Necrosis Factor-α-Mediated Chondrocyte Death through Apoptosis and Autophagy

Despite the numerous studies of protein kinase CK2, little progress has been made in understanding its function in chondrocyte death. Our previous study first demonstrated that CK2 is involved in apoptosis of rat articular chondrocytes. Recent studies have suggested that CK2 downregulation is associated with aging. Thus examining the involvement of CK2 downregulation in chondrocyte death is an urgently required task. We undertook this study to examine whether CK2 downregulation modulates chondrocyte death. We first measured CK2 activity in articular chondrocytes of 6-, 21- and 30-month-old rats. Noticeably, CK2 activity was downregulated in chondrocytes with advancing age. To build an in vitro experimental system for simulating tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-induced cell death in aged chondrocytes with decreased CK2 activity, chondrocytes were co-treated with CK2 inhibitors and TNF-α. Viability assay demonstrated that CK2 inhibitors facilitated TNF-α-mediated chondrocyte death. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, nuclear staining, flow cytometry, TUNEL staining, confocal microscopy, western blot and transmission electron microscopy were conducted to assess cell death modes. The results of multiple assays showed that this cell death was mediated by apoptosis. Importantly, autophagy was also involved in this process, as supported by the appearance of a punctuate LC3 pattern and autophagic vacuoles. The inhibition of autophagy by silencing of autophage-related genes 5 and 7 as well as by 3-methyladenine treatment protected chondrocytes against cell death and caspase activation, indicating that autophagy led to the induction of apoptosis. Autophagic cells were observed in cartilage obtained from osteoarthritis (OA) model rats and human OA patients. Our findings indicate that CK2 down regulation facilitates TNF-α-mediated chondrocyte death through apoptosis and autophagy. It should be clarified in the future if autophagy observed is a consequence versus a cause of the degeneration in vivo

Characterization of an H4N2 influenza virus from Quails with a multibasic motif in the hemagglutinin cleavage site

AbstractThe cleavage motif in the hemagglutinin (HA) protein of highly pathogenic H5 and H7 subtypes of avian influenza viruses is characterized by a peptide insertion or a multibasic cleavage site (MBCS). Here, we isolated an H4N2 virus from quails (Quail/CA12) with two additional arginines in the HA cleavage site, PEKRRTR/G, forming an MBCS-like motif. Quail/CA12 is a reassortant virus with the HA and neuraminidase (NA) gene most similar to a duck-isolated H4N2 virus, PD/CA06 with a monobasic HA cleavage site. Quail/CA12 required exogenous trypsin for efficient growth in culture and caused no clinical illness in infected chickens. Quail/CA12 had high binding preference for α2,6-linked sialic acids and showed higher replication and transmission ability in chickens and quails than PD/CA06. Although the H4N2 virus remained low pathogenic, these data suggests that the acquisition of MBCS in the field is not restricted to H5 or H7 subtypes