Printable-Microencapsulated Ascorbic Acid for Personalized Topical Delivery.

This study presents the successful development of printable-microencapsulated ascorbic acid (AA) for personalized topical delivery using laser printing technology. Rice flour with a 10% AA content was selected as an encapsulation material. Hydrophobic nanosilica was used to create negative electrostatic charges on the microencapsulated surfaces via a high-speed mixture. This process facilitated the microencapsulated AA fabrication using a commercial laser printer and produced a well-patterned design with some minor print defects, such as banding and scattering. The amount of encapsulated AA per area was 0.28 mg/cm2, and the RGB color code was 0,0,0. An emulsion carrier system comprising pentylene glycol (P5G) or diethylene glycol monoethyl ether (DEGEE), Tween 20, oleic acid, and deionized (DI) water at a ratio of 20:30:30:20 was developed to enhance AA transmission into the skin. The Franz diffusion cell technique was used to investigate topical absorption on Strat-M membranes using P5G and DEGEE as enhancers. The steady-state fluxes were 8.40 (±0.64) and 10.04 (±0.58) µg/h/cm2 for P5G and DEGEE, respectively. Cytotoxicity tests conducted on fibroblast cells revealed low cytotoxicity for the encapsulation products and carriers.

Clinical manifestations, management, and outcomes of primary silent sinus syndrome: a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Silent sinus syndrome (SSS) is a rare disorder of the maxillary sinus, which may present with orbital symptoms. Most reports of silent sinus syndrome are limited to small series or case reports. This systematic review comprehensively characterizes the various clinical presentations, management, treatment, and outcomes in patients with SSS. METHODS: A systematic literature search of the PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. Inclusion criteria were studies describing the presentation, management, or treatment of SSS or chronic maxillary atelectasis. RESULTS: One hundred fifty-three articles were included in the final review (n=558 patients). Mean age at diagnosis was 38.8 +- 14.1 years, with a relatively even distribution among sexes. Enophthalmos and/or hypoglobus were the most frequent symptoms, along with diplopia, headache, or facial pressure/pain. Most patients (87%) underwent functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS), and 23.5% received orbital floor reconstruction. Post-treatment, patients had significant reductions in enophthalmos (2.67 +- 1.39 vs. 0.33 +- 0.75 mm) and hypoglobus (2.22 +- 1.43 vs. 0.23 +- 0.62 mm). Most patients (83.2%) achieved partial or total resolution of clinical symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: SSS has a variable clinical presentation, with enophthalmos and hypoglobus being most common. FESS with or without orbital reconstruction are effective treatments to address the underlying pathology and structural deficits.

The Application of Differing Machine Learning Algorithms and Their Related Performance in Detecting Skin Cancers and Melanomas.

Skin cancer, and its less common form melanoma, is a disease affecting a wide variety of people. Since it is usually detected initially by visual inspection, it makes for a good candidate for the application of machine learning. With early detection being key to good outcomes, any method that can enhance the diagnostic accuracy of dermatologists and oncologists is of significant interest. When comparing different existing implementations of machine learning against public datasets and several we seek to create, we attempted to create a more accurate model that can be readily adapted to use in clinical settings. We tested combinations of models, including convolutional neural networks (CNNs), and various layers of data manipulation, such as the application of Gaussian functions and trimming of images to improve accuracy. We also created more traditional data models, including support vector classification, K-nearest neighbor, Naïve Bayes, random forest, and gradient boosting algorithms, and compared them to the CNN-based models we had created. Results had indicated that CNN-based algorithms significantly outperformed other data models we had created. Partial results of this work were presented at the CSET Presentations for Research Month at the Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Complicated Trichosporon asahii mastoiditis in immunocompetent child.

BACKGROUND: Trichosporon asahii is an opportunistic fungus that causes infections in immunosuppressed patients. It is rarely seen in children and immunocompetent hosts. The mortality rates are still high despite early treatment with proper antifungal drugs. Trichosporon asahii mastoiditis in an immunocompetent child makes this case challenging. CASE PRESENTATION: This report presents a case of Trichosporon asahii mastoiditis which was complicated by transverse sinus thrombosis, in an otherwise healthy 21-month-old girl, and successfully treated with voriconazole. Trichosporon asahii was isolated, in three different occasions, from ear discharge of an immunocompetent healthy child, who presented with prolonged history of fever and received appropriate dosages of multiple types of antimicrobials as an outpatient but without improvement. After 48 h of starting the Voriconzole; post auricular swelling and ear discharge improved significantly. CONCLUSION: A high index of clinical and microbiological suspicion is needed for optimal diagnosis of Trichosporon infection. Trichosporon asahii can also cause infection in immunocompetent individual even without previous history of hospitalization or intervention. We emphasize the importance of early pediatric infectious evaluation and intervention.

Prevalence of COVID-19 among blood donors: The Jordan University of Science and Technology experience.

ABSTRACT: The corona virus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, had health and economic results that profoundly affected communities worldwide. Investigating the seroprevalence of SARS-Cov-2 in blood donors is of a significant clinical and scientific value as it adds to knowledge about local herd immunity levels.To study the prevalence of SARS-Cov-2 infection among blood donors at a tertiary referral hospital in the north of Jordan.This is a prospective study that included all blood donors between September 2020 and March 2021. Donors' IgG antibodies were qualitatively immunoassayed to determine the antibody status against SARS-CoV-2. The Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 technique was utilized.One thousand samples were tested by total antibody against SARS-CoV-2. The median age was 29 years, 96.7% were males. The seroprevalence was 14.5%, and 80% of the positive participants did not report previous COVID-19 infection. The seroprevalence of COVID-19 antibodies was less among smokers and those with an O blood group and higher among donors with an AB blood group.The prevalence of COVID-19 among healthy young blood donors at a tertiary teaching health facility in the north of Jordan was 14.5%. Smokers and those with an O blood group were less likely to be seropositive, as opposed to donors with an AB blood group.

Central pancreatectomy for solid pseudopapillary neoplasm: A pancreatic-preserving procedure.

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Solid pseudopapillary neoplasm (SPN) is a rare pancreatic disorder that usually affects young women with no or nonspecific clinical manifestation. It accounts for approximately 1% of pancreatic neoplasms. The incidence of SPN is increasing, owing to improved imaging techniques and better recognition of this entity. Although most patients with SPNs have a favorable prognosis after radical resection, local recurrence or metastasis still occurs after surgery. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a 15-year-old female with a small solid pseudopapillary neoplasm in the Pancreas' proximal body. The patient presented with nonspecific symptoms and was diagnosed incidentally. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: The patient underwent a central pancreatectomy and was discharged on the fifth postoperative day without complications. Central pancreatectomy may prevent devastating complications of pancreaticoduodenectomy surgery. CONCLUSION: As SPN is a rare entity of pancreatic tumors, the surgical options for management are still debated. The respect for surgery should account for the tumor site and size. Also, life expectancy and surgical complications for each choice should be considered. In localized disease, segmental resection may prevent devastating complications of radical resection.

The health-related quality of life of Syrian refugee women in their reproductive age.

BACKGROUND: Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) for refugee women in reproductive age is highly affected by physical, political, psychosocial and environmental conditions in countries of asylum. HRQoL is enormously affected by the satisfaction of this vulnerable group with the physical, psychological, emotional and social care services provided in this critical time. Therefore, this study aimed toassess the HRQoL among Syrian refugee women of reproductive age living outside camps in Jordan. METHODS: A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted with a convenience sample of 523 Syrian refugee women in the host communities in Jordan.Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) was measured using the short-form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire. RESULTS: Significant negative correlations were found between SF-36 individual subscales score and the length of marriage, the number of children, parity and family income. The strongest correlations were between pain scale and length of marriage (r =  - .21), and between Energy/Fatigue and 'number of children' (r =  - .21). Conversely, antenatal care was positively correlated with physical, role emotional, pain, and general health. Physical functioning and general health were predicted significantly with less years of marriage, younger age at marriage, less violence and by higher family income. CONCLUSION: This study suggests low HRQoL scores for women of reproductive age across all domains. Several factors such as years of marriage, age at marriage, the number of children, violence, antenatal care and family income affected the women's general health. The provision of appropriate and accessible reproductive and maternal healthcare services in antenatal visits is critical for ensuring the immediate and long-term health and wellbeing of refugee women and their families.

[Discussion on early warning, prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases from a macroscopic perspective based on big data and effective distance model: enlightenment of COVID-19 epidemic data in China].

Objective: To provide a system for warning, preventing and controlling emerging infectious diseases from a macroscopic perspective, using the COVID-19 epidemic data and effective distance model. Methods: The dates of hospitalization/isolation treatment of the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 and the cumulative numbers of confirmed cases in different provinces in China reported as of 23 February, 2020 were collected. The Location Based Service (LBS) big data platform of "Baidu Migration" was employed to obtain the data of the proportion of the floating population from Wuhan to all parts of the country. Effective distance models and linear regression models were established to analyze the relationship between the effective distance and the arrival time of the epidemic as well as the number of cumulative confirmed cases at provincial and municipal levels. Results: The arrival time of the epidemic and the cumulative number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 had significant linear relationship at both provincial and municipal levels in China, and the regression coefficients of each linear model were significant (P<0.001). At the provincial level, the effective distance could explain about 71% of the variation of the model with arrival time along with around 90% of the variation for the model in the cumulative confirmed case magnitude; at the municipal level, the effective distance could explain about 66% of the variation for the model in arrival time, and about 85% of the variation of the model with the cumulative confirmed case magnitude. Conclusions: The fitting degree of the models are good. The LBS big data and effective distance model can be used to estimate the track, time and extent of epidemic spread to provide useful reference for early warning, prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases.

Detecting Axial Ratio of Microwave Field with High Resolution Using NV Centers in Diamond.

Polarization property characterization of the microwave (MW) field with high speed and resolution is vitally beneficial as the circularly-polarized MW field plays an important role in the development of quantum technologies and satellite communication technologies. In this work, we propose a scheme to detect the axial ratio of the MW field with optical diffraction limit resolution with a nitrogen vacancy (NV) center in diamond. Firstly, the idea of polarization selective detection of the MW magnetic field is carried out using a single NV center implanted in a type-IIa CVD diamond with a confocal microscope system achieving a sensitivity of 1.7 µ T/ Hz . Then, high speed wide-field characterization of the MW magnetic field at the submillimeter scale is realized by combining wide-field microscopy and ensemble NV centers inherent in a general CVD diamond. The precision axial ratio can be detected by measuring the magnitudes of two counter-rotating circularly-polarized MW magnetic fields. The wide-field detection of the axial ratio and strength parameters of microwave fields enables high speed testing of small-scale microwave devices.

Mechanical Ventilation and Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation as a Bridging Strategy to Lung Transplantation: Significant Gains in Survival.

Mechanical ventilation (MV) and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) are increasingly used to bridge patients to lung transplantation. We investigated the impact of using MV, with or without ECMO, before lung transplantation on survival after transplantation by performing a retrospective analysis of 826 patients who underwent transplantation at our high-volume center. Recipient characteristics and posttransplant outcomes were analyzed. Most lung transplant recipients (729 patients) did not require bridging; 194 of these patients were propensity matched with patients who were bridged using MV alone (48 patients) or MV and ECMO (49 patients). There was no difference in overall survival between the MV and MV+ECMO groups (p = 0.07). The MV+ECMO group had significantly higher survival conditioned on surviving to 1 year (median 1,811 days ([MV] vs. not reached ([MV+ECMO], p = 0.01). Recipients in the MV+ECMO group, however, were more likely to require ECMO after lung transplantation (16.7% MV vs. 57.1% MV+ECMO, p < 0.001). There were no differences in duration of postoperative MV, hospital stay, graft survival, or the incidence of acute rejection, renal failure, bleeding requiring reoperation, or airway complications. In this contemporary series, the combination of MV and ECMO was a viable bridging strategy to lung transplantation that led to acceptable patient outcomes.

GABA-B Agonist Baclofen Normalizes Auditory-Evoked Neural Oscillations and Behavioral Deficits in the Fmr1 Knockout Mouse Model of Fragile X Syndrome.

Fragile X syndrome is a genetic condition resulting from FMR1 gene mutation that leads to intellectual disability, autism-like symptoms, and sensory hypersensitivity. Arbaclofen, a GABA-B agonist, has shown efficacy in some individuals with FXS but has become unavailable after unsuccessful clinical trials, prompting interest in publicly available, racemic baclofen. The present study investigated whether racemic baclofen can remediate abnormalities of neural circuit function, sensory processing, and behavior in Fmr1 knockout mice, a rodent model of fragile X syndrome. Fmr1 knockout mice showed increased baseline and auditory-evoked high-frequency gamma (30-80 Hz) power relative to C57BL/6 controls, as measured by electroencephalography. These deficits were accompanied by decreased T maze spontaneous alternation, decreased social interactions, and increased open field center time, suggestive of diminished working memory, sociability, and anxiety-like behavior, respectively. Abnormal auditory-evoked gamma oscillations, working memory, and anxiety-related behavior were normalized by treatment with baclofen, but impaired sociability was not. Improvements in working memory were evident predominantly in mice whose auditory-evoked gamma oscillations were dampened by baclofen. These findings suggest that racemic baclofen may be useful for targeting sensory and cognitive disturbances in fragile X syndrome.

Prevalence and drug resistance of avian Eimeria species in broiler chicken farms of Zhejiang province, China.

In this study, coccidia were isolated and identified from 5 main poultry farms located in Zhejiang province, eastern China. The overall prevalence of Eimeria spp. was 30.7% (95 of 310). Five common species were observed: E. tenella, E. acervulina, E. maxima, E. necatrix, and E. mitis. Two isolates (HZ and QZ) were tested for sensitivity to 8 anticoccidial drugs using 4 indexes including anticoccidial index (ACI), percent of optimum anticoccidial activity (POAA), reduction of lesion scores (RLS), and relative oocyst production (ROP): sulfachloropyrazine, toltrazuril, diclazuril, sulfamonomethoxine/trimethoprim, and amprolium; sulfaquinoxaline/sulfadimethoxine, nicarbazin, and halofuginone. The results showed that the 2 isolates have developed various degrees of resistance to most of the tested drugs. The multi-resistance coccidia are a potential threat to local poultry farming. Rotation of anticoccidial drugs and shuttle programs are recommended to prevent further economic losses caused by coccidiosis.

Anticoccidial evaluation of a traditional Chinese medicine--Brucea javanica--in broilers.

The traditional Chinese medicinal plant Brucea javanica has received much attention for its significant antiprotozoal effects in recent years; however, little is known about its potential anticoccidial functions. In the present study, a series of experiments was conducted to investigate the prophylactic and therapeutic effects of ethanol extract from B. javanica on coccidiosis induced by Eimeria tenella in broiler chickens. Chickens infected with E. tenella were treated with B. javanica extract and compared either with broilers treated with the anticoccidial halofuginone hydrobromide (Stenorol) or with control groups that consisted of infected-unmedicated and uninfected-unmedicated broilers. The experiments revealed that the B. javanica extract could significantly (P<0.05) reduce bloody diarrhea and lesion scores. Additional, OPG output in these plant extract treated groups was reduced in comparison with non-treated groups (P<0.05). However, there was no evidence to show that the extract could promote BWG. Histological data showed that the number of second-generation schizonts in the medicated groups was substantially less than that in the infected-unmedicated control. In summary, our work showed that B. javanica extract exerted considerable anticoccidial effects, supporting its use as a promising therapeutic in controlling avian coccidiosis.

Cooling field and temperature dependent exchange bias in spin glass/ferromagnet bilayers.

We report on the experimental and theoretical studies of cooling field (HFC) and temperature (T) dependent exchange bias (EB) in FexAu1-x/Fe19Ni81 spin glass (SG)/ferromagnet (FM) bilayers. When x varies from 8% to 14% in the FexAu1-x SG alloys, with increasing T, a sign-changeable exchange bias field (HE) together with a unimodal distribution of coercivity (HC) are observed. Significantly, increasing in the magnitude of HFC reduces (increases) the value of HE in the negative (positive) region, resulting in the entire HE∼T curve to move leftwards and upwards. In the meanwhile, HFC variation has weak effects on HC. By Monte Carlo simulation using a SG/FM vector model, we are able to reproduce such HE dependences on T and HFC for the SG/FM system. Thus this work reveals that the SG/FM bilayer system containing intimately coupled interface, instead of a single SG layer, is responsible for the novel EB properties.

Inter- and Intra-individual Variability in the Pharmacokinetics of Agomelatine Tablets in Chinese Healthy Male Subjects.

Agomelatine is an antidepressant with a unique action mechanism differing from conventional antidepressants. The high inter- and intra-individual variability of agomelatine was previously reported, but no exact data values about the inter- and intra-individual variability in AUC and Cmax were mentioned. The current study aimed to determine and evaluate the inter- and intra-individual variability in AUC and Cmax of agomelatine tablets in Chinese healthy male subjects, providing useful information for designing bioequivalence studies of agomelatine. Each of 12 Chinese healthy male subjects received a 25-mg agomelatine tablet on 2 separate periods, and plasma samples were collected up to 24 h after dose and analyzed for agomelatine. Inter- and intra-individual variability in the pharmacokinetic parameters (Cmax, AUC0-t and AUC0-∞) of agomelatine was assessed. High variations in the plasma concentrations of agomelatine could be observed at each sampling time between the different subjects and in one subject on different periods. The inter-individual CVs of Cmax, AUC0-t and AUC0-∞ were 102.20%, 131.74% and 130.59%, respectively. The intra-individual CVs of Cmax, AUC0-t and AUC0-∞ were 84.34%, 49.61% and 50.83%, respectively. The results showed high inter- and intra-individual variability in the pharmacokinetics of agomelatine in Chinese healthy male subjects, and the intra-individual variability at CV>80% should be considered in the design of bioequivalence studies.

Clinical and experimental observations of peripheral blood leukocytes and nucleated bone marrow cells after local irradiation.

AIM: Aim of the study was to observe the impact of bone marrow damage induced by local irradiation on leukopenia. METHODS: For the human study, five cancer patients received local radiation therapy. Bone marrow aspiration was conducted to measure nucleated cell count and 99mTc-Sc sulfur colloid ECT imaging was carried out to examine bone marrow function. For the animal study, fifty New Zealand white rabbits were divided into 3 groups: non-irradiated control group (N.=10), abdomen irradiation group (irradiation area did not cover bone marrow) (N.=20), chest irradiation group (irradiation area covered bone marrow) (N.=20). Nucleated cell counts were taken after confirming onset of leukopenia. RESULTS: Bone marrow of five patients proliferated normally. ECT imaging showed no abnormality in the pattern of red bone marrow distribution. Hematopoietic function was mildly active. CONCLUSION: Suppressed myeloproliferative function does not fully account for irradiation-induced leukopenia.

[Facial skin lesions in male patients with liver cirrhosis: role of serum sex hormones and correlation with impaired liver function].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between serum sex hormone levels, liver function, and pathogenic mechanisms related to cutaneous lesions involving the facial skin in male patients with liver cirrhosis. METHODS: Fifty male cirrhotic patients with facial skin lesions, including spider angiomas, angiotelectasis and special type rash, (mean age: 48.1 +/- 12.2 years) were randomly selected for study and enrolled as the case group. Thirty cirrhotic male patients without facial skin lesions (mean age: 44.5 +/- 11.7 years) were enrolled as the control group. Serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicular stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin (PRL), estradiol (E2), progesterone (PRGE), and testosterone (T) were detected and compared between cases and controls by the t-test. All patients were sub-categorized according to severity of cirrhosis (Child-Pugh classification) and comparisons between cases and controls were carried out by single factor analysis of variance. Logistic regression modeling was used to evaluate whether the presence of skin lesions is related to changes in markers of liver impairment, including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin (TBil), serum albumin (Alb), prothrombin time (PT-SEC), creatinine (CREA), platelet count (PLT), and alcoholism. RESULTS: In the cases with spider veins, LH level was significantly elevated (t = 2.01) and T level was significantly decreased (t = -2.20) (both, P less than 0.05 vs. controls). In the cases with telangiectasia, the LH level (t = 3.76, E2 (t = 2.08) and E2/T ratio (t = 2.98) were significantly elevated and T level was significantly decreased (t = -3.77) (all, P less than 0.05 vs. controls). In the cases with special type rash, FSH level was significantly elevated (t = 2.03) and T level was significantly decreased (t = -2.01) (both, P less than 0.05 vs. controls). In the case group, E2 levels decreased as severity of liver damage increased, while in the control group, E2 levels increased as severity of liver damage increased; however, the difference in average E2 values of the two groups did not reach statistical significance (P more than 0.05). In both cases and controls, the T levels were decreased as the severity of liver damage increased (F = 3.70, P less than 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that increased incidence of facial skin lesions is associated with alcoholism (odds ratio (OR) = 4.46, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.45-13.7, P less than 0.05) and elevated serum levels of AST (OR = 11.87, 95% CI = 1.24-113.1, P less than 0.05). CONCLUSION: Alcoholism, impaired liver function, and perturbed levels of circulating sex hormones are associated with cirrhosis-related facial lesions and may play important roles in the pathogenesis of cutaneous lesions in patients with cirrhosis.

Association between copy number variations of HLA-DQA1 and ankylosing spondylitis in the Chinese Han population.

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease with complex genetic traits. Multiple sequence variations have been associated with AS, but explained only a proportion of heritability. The studies herein aimed to explore potential associations between genomic copy number (CN) variation (CNV) and AS in Han Chinese. Five AS patients were examined with the high-density comparative genomic hybridization microarrays in the first screen test for AS-associated CNVs. A total of 533 AS patients and 792 unrelated controls were examined in confirmation studies with the AccuCopy assays. A significant association was observed between the CNV of HLA-DQA1 and that of AS. Compared with controls, AS patients showed an aberrant CN, and a significantly increased number of patients had more than two copies of HLA-DQA1. Therefore, the CNV of HLA-DQA1 may have an important role in susceptibility to AS in the Han Chinese population.

DTPA complexation of bismuth in human blood serum.

The in vivo(212)Pb/(212)Bi generator is promising for application in targeted alpha therapy (TAT) of cancer. One main limitation of its therapeutic application is due to potential release of (212)Bi from the radioconjugate upon radioactive decay of the mother nuclide (212)Pb, potentially leading to irradiation of healthy tissue. The objective of the present work is to assess whether the chelate CHX-A''-DTPA (N-(2-aminoethyl)-trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane-N,N',N''-pentaacetic acid) bound to a biological carrier molecule may be able to re-complex released (212)Bi under in vivo conditions to limit its translocation from the target site. CHX-A''-DTPA was bound to bovine gamma globulin (BGG) to mimic a model conjugate and the stability of the Bi-CHX-A''-DTPA-BGG conjugate was studied in blood serum by ultrafiltration. TRLFS experiments using Cm(III) as a fluorescent probe demonstrated that linking CHX-A''-DTPA to BGG does not affect the coordination properties of the ligand. Furthermore, comparable stability constants were observed between Bi(III) and free CHX-A''-DTPA, BGG-bound CHX-A''-DTPA and DTPA. The complexation constants determined between Bi(III) and the chelate molecules are sufficiently high to allow ultra trace amounts of the ligand to efficiently compete with serum transferrin controlling Bi(III) speciation in blood plasma conditions. Nevertheless, CHX-A''-DTPA is not able to complex Bi(III) generated in blood serum because of the strong competition between Bi(III) and Fe(II) for the ligand. In other words, CHX-A''-DTPA is not "selective" enough to limit Bi(iii) release in the body when applying the (212)Pb/(212)Bi in vivo generator.