Background
Melasma is a common skin disorder. Nd:YAG laser toning is a popular treatment for melanin clearance. Treatment efficacy is limited by factors such as presence of reactive oxygen species, ...DNA damage, TEWL, and skin barrier disruption.
Aims
The purpose of this pilot study is to explore the efficacy of a non‐crosslinked hyaluronic acid with anti‐oxidant ingredients in mitigating the above‐stated factors in the treatment of melasma using Nd:YAG laser toning.
Method
In this pilot retrospective study of six cases with melasma, Nd:YAG laser toning was performed for each case until improvement of melasma has plateaued (after 4‐6 sessions) and at which point treatment was paused. After injecting non‐crosslinked hyaluronic acid (9‐12 mL) with anti‐oxidant ingredients into the face with focus on the lesional skin, further sessions (4‐6) of Nd:YAG laser toning was resumed. Before, interim (improvement has plateaued), and after (on completion of the remaining sessions of laser toning after hyaluronic acid injection) photos of the six cases were scored using modified MASI. ANOVA analysis was applied to the scores.
Results
All six melasma cases had further improvement in melasma clearance after hyaluronic acid injection beyond the point when improvement has plateaued. ANOVA analysis of before, interim, and after scores showed statistical significance in difference between the three groups.
Conclusion
This pilot study of six cases suggests that the use of a non‐crosslinked hyaluronic acid with anti‐oxidants may improve the efficacy of Nd:YAG laser toning in the treatment of melasma.
Although mutations in the parkin gene are frequently associated with familial Parkinsonism, emerging evidence suggests that parkin also plays a role in cancers as a putative tumor suppressor. ...Supporting this, we show here that parkin expression is dramatically reduced in several breast cancer-derived cell lines as well as in primary breast cancer tissues. Importantly, we found that ectopic parkin expression in parkin-deficient breast cancer cells mitigates their proliferation rate both in vitro and in vivo, as well as reduces the capacity of these cells to migrate. Cell cycle analysis revealed the arrestment of a significant percentage of parkin-expressing breast cancer cells at the G1-phase. However, we did not observe significant changes in the levels of the G1-associated cyclin D1 and E. On the other hand, the level of cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (CDK6) is dramatically and selectively elevated in parkin-expressing breast cancer cells, the extent of which correlates well with the expression of parkin. Interestingly, a recent study demonstrated that CDK6 restrains the proliferation of breast cancer cells. Taken together, our results support a negative role for parkin in tumorigenesis and provide a potential mechanism by which parkin exerts its suppressing effects on breast cancer cell proliferation.
• While recent reports demonstrate that the direct emission of methane from living tree trunks may be a significant terrestrial emission source, there has been debate whether tree emissions are due ...to transport from soils or produced in the wood environment itself. Reports of methanogens from wood of trees were prominent in the literature 40 years ago but have not been revisited with molecular ecology approaches.
• We examined communities associated with Populus deltoides using rRNA gene sequence analyses and how these vary with tree and wood properties.
• Our data indicate that wood environments are dominated by anaerobic microbiomes. Methanogens are prominent in heartwood (mean 34% relative abundance) compared to sapwood environments (13%), and dominant operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were classified as the Methanobacterium sp. Members of the Firmicutes phylum comprised 39% of total sequences and were in 42% greater abundance in sapwood over heartwood niches. Tree diameter was the strongest predictor of methanogen abundance, but wood moisture content and pH were also significant predictors of taxon abundance and overall community composition.
• Unlike microbiomes of the soil, rhizosphere and phyllosphere, wood associated communities are shaped by unique environmental conditions and may be prominent and overlooked sources of methane emissions in temperate forest systems.
Advanced stage papillary serous tumors of the ovary are responsible for the majority of ovarian cancer deaths, yet the molecular determinants modulating patient survival are poorly characterized. ...Here, we identify and validate a prognostic gene expression signature correlating with survival in a series of microdissected serous ovarian tumors. Independent evaluation confirmed the association of a prognostic gene microfibril-associated glycoprotein 2 (MAGP2) with poor prognosis, whereas in vitro mechanistic analyses demonstrated its ability to prolong tumor cell survival and stimulate endothelial cell motility and survival via the αVβ3 integrin receptor. Increased MAGP2 expression correlated with microvessel density suggesting a proangiogenic role in vivo. Thus, MAGP2 may serve as a survival-associated target.
Plants have developed defense strategies for phytopathogen and herbivore protection via coordinated metabolic mechanisms. Low-molecular weight metabolites produced within plant tissues, such as ...salicylic acid, represent one such mechanism which likely mediates plant - microbe interactions above and below ground. Salicylic acid is a ubiquitous phytohormone at low levels in most plants, yet are concentrated defense compounds in Populus, likely acting as a selective filter for rhizosphere microbiomes. We propagated twelve Populus trichocarpa genotypes which varied an order of magnitude in salicylic acid (SA)-related secondary metabolites, in contrasting soils from two different origins. After four months of growth, plant properties (leaf growth, chlorophyll content, and net photosynthetic rate) and plant root metabolomics specifically targeting SA metabolites were measured via GC-MS. In addition, rhizosphere microbiome composition was measured via Illumina MiSeq sequencing of 16S and ITS2 rRNA-genes.
Soil origin was the primary filter causing divergence in bacterial/archaeal and fungal communities with plant genotype secondarily influential. Both bacterial/archaeal and fungal evenness varied between soil origins and bacterial/archaeal diversity and evenness correlated with at least one SA metabolite (diversity: populin; evenness: total phenolics). The production of individual salicylic acid derivatives that varied by host genotype resulted in compositional differences for bacteria /archaea (tremuloidin) and fungi (salicylic acid) within one soil origin (Clatskanie) whereas soils from Corvallis did not illicit microbial compositional changes due to salicylic acid derivatives. Several dominant bacterial (e.g., Betaproteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Chloroflexi, Gemmatimonadete, Firmicutes) and one fungal phyla (Mortierellomycota) also correlated with specific SA secondary metabolites; bacterial phyla exhibited more negative interactions (declining abundance with increasing metabolite concentration) than positive interactions.
These results indicate microbial communities diverge most among soil origin. However, within a soil origin, bacterial/archaeal communities are responsive to plant SA production within greenhouse-based rhizosphere microbiomes. Fungal microbiomes are impacted by root SA-metabolites, but overall to a lesser degree within this experimental context. These results suggest plant defense strategies, such as SA and its secondary metabolites, may partially drive patterns of both bacterial/archaeal and fungal taxa-specific colonization and assembly.
Point counts are one of the most common ways of collecting data to determine the relative abundance of birds. Many studies and monitoring programs, including the North American Breeding Bird Survey, ...use relative differences in counts of birds to assess changes in abundance over time and space. Many factors influence whether relative differences in counts of birds between various environmental conditions are reflective of actual differences in bird density. A major assumption of relative abundance is that birds with different song frequencies and amplitudes are heard at the same distances in different environmental conditions. We compared sound transmission in forest habitats and along low-use forestry roads, and calculated detection radius for different species to test the assumption that differences in bird counts between forest interior and roadside locations reflect actual differences in bird abundance. A playback–recording experiment was used to broadcast sounds through forest interior, along a forest edge, and down forestry roads in conifer and deciduous forests to determine whether sound propagation differed across environments. Sound attenuated significantly faster in forests than along roads or forest edges. Similarly, the distance at which bird songs could be detected was significantly shorter in forest than along the road or forest edge for 20 of 25 species. We found the area surveyed to be up to twice as large on road compared to within forests, which suggests that roadside surveys might inflate avian density estimates in comparison to off-road counts. Local atmospheric conditions also influenced detection probability, but the magnitude of the effect was weaker than the land-cover effect. Major differences in detection between roads and interior forest suggest that comparisons of surveys conducted along roadsides and in forest areas should be done carefully if the goal is to make direct comparisons of abundance.
Objectives
Cases of injury on duty (IOD) are common in Hong Kong, but literature on this group of patients is limited. This study aims to describe local IOD cases’ epidemiological characteristics and ...identify factors affecting return to work (RTW) outcomes.
Methods
This is a retrospective epidemiological study of IOD patients in the orthopedic and traumatology center of Yan Chai Hospital in 2016, using the hospital’s electronic clinical record analysis and reporting system; 323 out of the 10 730 patients (M:F = 206:117; mean age 46.9 ± 11.3) were included. Data on demographics, the injury episode, administrative procedures, treatment and rehabilitation were collected. Outcomes were measured by “RTW” and “time to RTW from injury.”
Results
Around 80% of patients had a successful RTW and the mean time to RTW was 10.6 ± 9.0 months. Patients who were female, divorced or widowed and living alone in a public rental flat were less likely to RTW. Psychiatric consultations (OR 13.70, P < .001), legal disputes (OR 8.20, P < .001) and more than 5 months of waiting time for physiotherapy (OR 3.89, P = .002) were the strongest among the numerous risk factors for non‐RTW. An increase in one visit to the general outpatient clinic and the presence of legal disputes had lengthened the time to RTW by 4.8 days (P < .001) and 18.0 months (P < .001), respectively.
Conclusions
Several demographic, psychosocial and administrative factors were negatively associated with RTW in the local population. Recommendations were made for healthcare providers and policymakers accordingly.
Pre-orthotopic heart (OHT) serum creatinine correlates with post-OHT outcomes, but there is limited information on the relationship between pre-OHT estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and ...adjusted short- and long-term survival and renal outcomes post-OHT.
Using the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) database we estimated pre-OHT eGFR using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) and the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equations in patients aged ≥18 years who underwent OHT between 1988 and 2013. Patients were stratified into 5 eGFR categories (≥90, 60 to 89, 45 to 59, 30 to 44 and <30 ml/min/1.73 m
) using each equation. The primary outcome was to determine whether pre-OHT eGFR independently predicted post-OHT mortality.
A total of 30,090 patients were included in the study; of these, 46.1% and 39.9% had an eGFR <60 ml/min/1.73 m
by MDRD and CKD-EPI, respectively. Compared with eGFR ≥90 ml/min/1.73 m
, the adjusted hazard ratio of mortality was 1.09 (95% confidence interval CI 1.02 to 1.26) for eGFR 45 to 59 ml/min/1.73 m
, 1.22 (95% CI -1.23 to 1.31) for eGFR 30 to 44 ml/min/1.73 m
and 1.55 (95% CI 1.41 to 1.70) for eGFR <30 ml/min/1.73 m
by MDRD. There was no advantage for CKD-EPI over MDRD in determining post-OHT mortality. Pre-OHT eGFR by either equation was predictive of post-OHT end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and the need for kidney transplantation, with the highest risk in those with pre-OHT eGFR <30 ml/min/1.73 m
by either equation.
Pre-OHT eGFR was independently associated with mortality, ESRD and kidney transplantation after OHT. There was no advantage of CKD-EPI over MDRD in determining post-OHT mortality or renal outcomes.
Point counts are one of the most commonly used methods for assessing bird abundance. Autonomous recording units (ARUs) are increasingly being used as a replacement for human-based point counts. ...Previous studies have compared the relative benefits of human versus ARU-based point count methods, primarily with the goal of understanding differences in species richness and the abundance of individuals over an unlimited distance. What has not been done is an evaluation of how to standardize these two types of data so that they can be compared in the same analysis, especially when there are differences in the area sampled. We compared detection distances between human observers in the field and four commercially available recording devices (Wildlife Acoustics SM2, SM3, RiverForks, and Zoom H1) by simulating vocalizations of various avian species at different distances and amplitudes. We also investigated the relationship between sound amplitude and detection to simplify ARU calibration. We used these data to calculate correction factors that can be used to standardize detection distances of ARUs relative to each other and human observers. In general, humans in the field could detect sounds at greater distances than an ARU although detectability varied depending on species song characteristics. We provide correction factors for four commonly used ARUs and propose methods for calibrating ARUs relative to each other and human observers.
Abstract
Impaired kidney function is often associated with acute decompensation of chronic heart failure and portends a poor prognosis. Unfortunately, current data have demonstrated worse survival in ...patients with acute kidney injury than in patients with chronic kidney disease during durable LVAD placement as bridge therapy. Furthermore, end-stage heart failure patients undergoing combined heart-kidney transplantation have poorer short- and long-term survival than heart transplants alone. We evaluated the kidney function recovery in our heart failure population awaiting heart transplantation at our institution, supported by temporary Mechanical Circulatory Support (tMCS) with Impella 5.5. The protocol (#22004000) was approved by the Mayo Clinic institutional review board, after which we performed a retrospective review of all patients with acute on chronic heart failure and kidney disease in patients considered for only heart and kidney combined organ transplant and supported by tMCS between January 2020 and February 2021. Hemodynamic and kidney function trends were recorded and analyzed before and after tMCS placement and transplantation. After placement of tMCS, we observed a trend towards improvement in creatinine, Fick cardiac index, mixed venous saturation, and glomerular filtration rate (GFR), which persisted through transplantation and discharge. The average duration of support with tMCS was 16.5 days before organ transplantation. The median pre-tMCS creatinine was 2.1 mg/dL (IQR 1.75–2.3). Median hematocrit at the time of tMCS placement was 32% (IQR 32–34), and the median estimated glomerular filtration rate was 34 mL/min/BSA (34–40). The median GFR improved to 44 mL/min/BSA (IQR 45–51), and serum creatinine improved to 1.5 mg/dL (1.5–1.8) after tMCS. Median discharge creatinine was 1.1 mg/dL (1.19–1.25) with a GFR of 72 (65–74). None of these six patients supported with tMCS required renal replacement therapy after heart transplantation. Early adoption of Impella 5.5 in this patient population resulted in renal recovery without needing renal replacement therapies or dual organ transplantation and should be further evaluated.
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