We studied the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES), represented by household income, and the prevalence of anemia and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) among adolescent girls in Korea.
The ...samples were based on the data from a four-year (2008-2011) collection for the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1312 girls, age 10-18 years). The survey included demographic, anthropometric, biochemical and nutritional parameters. A multiple regression analysis after adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI), red blood cell count, white blood cell count and red meat intake was performed. Anemia was defined as hemoglobin level lower than 11.5 g/dl for ages 10-11 years and 12.0 g/dl for ages 12-14 years. Iron deficiency was defined as serum ferritin level below 15 μg/l.
The prevalences of anemia and IDA in Korean girls were 5.3 and 4.2%, respectively. Girls with anemia were older, taller, weighed more, had higher BMI, had higher portion of menarche experience and consumed less red meat than girls without anemia. Girls with higher income had lower anemia prevalence and consumed more iron and vitamins. Logistic regression analysis showed a decreasing trend in anemia prevalence as household income increased. Correlation analysis demonstrated that there is a relationship between household income and serum hemoglobin and ferritin levels (P=0.003 and P=0.026, respectively).
Higher SES leads to lower prevalence of anemia and IDA in Korean adolescent girls. This may be due to the fact that higher SES individuals consume more iron and vitamin C.
Abstract Objective To identify the risk factors for catheter migration and demonstrate possible mechanisms of this migration. Design Retrospective study. Setting Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, a ...tertiary medical centre in Taiwan. Patients Patients who underwent implantation of intravenous ports via the superior vena cava (SVC). Interventions Procedures involving catheter placement and re-intervention for catheter migration. Main outcome measures The anatomic location of the catheter tip was confirmed by plain chest X-rays (postero-anterior view). From these plain radiographs, the distance (in cm) between the carina and catheter tip and the angle (in degrees) between the locking nut and catheter were measured. Methods A total of 1542 procedures related to intravenous port implantation were retrospectively reviewed but only procedures involving implantation via the SVC were included in the analysis. The study group was composed of 31 interventions because of catheter migration, while the control group consisted of 1475 implantation and re-intervention procedures except those involving catheter migrations. Results Shallow catheter-tip location ( p < 0.0001) and the presence of lung cancer ( p = 0.006) were risk factors for catheter migration. Conclusions Shallow catheter-tip location and the presence of lung cancer are risk factors for catheter migration. Strategies that ensure low catheter-tip location and avoid increased thoracic pressure may be useful preventive measures.
Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) is superior to radiotherapy alone for treating locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Whether adding induction chemotherapy (IC) further improves ...the outcome warrants investigation.
This open-label multicenter phase III trial was conducted at 11 institutions in Taiwan. Patients with stage IVA or IVB NPC were randomized to receive IC followed by CCRT (I-CCRT) or CCRT alone. Patients in the I-CCRT arm received three cycles of mitomycin C, epirubicin, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin (MEPFL). All patients received 30mg/m2 cisplatin weekly during radiotherapy, which was delivered as 1.8–2.2Gy per fraction with five daily fractions per week, to a total dose of 70Gy or greater to the primary tumor and 66–70Gy to the involved neck. The primary end point was disease-free survival (DFS).
In this study, 240 and 239 patients were randomized to CCRT and I-CCRT arm, respectively. The most prominent toxicities of induction were leukopenia (grade 3 and 4: 47% and 12%) and thrombocytopenia (grade 3 and 4: 24% and 3%). During radiotherapy, severe mucositis was the major side-effect in both arms; an increased number of patients in the I-CCRT arm had myelosuppression; hence, discontinuation of weekly cisplatin was more common. After a median follow-up of 72.0months, the I-CCRT arm had significantly higher DFS than that of the CCRT arm 5-year rate 61% versus 50%; hazard ratio=0.739, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.565–0.965; P=0.0264, after stratified for N3b and LDH, and adjusted for T stage.
Induction with MEPFL before CCRT was tolerable and significantly improved the DFS of patients with stage IVA and IVB NPC though overall survival not improved.
NCT00201396.
A major goal of energy research is to use visible light to cleave water directly, without an applied voltage, into hydrogen and oxygen. Although SrTiO3 requires ultraviolet light, after four decades, ...it is still the “gold standard” for the photo-catalytic splitting of water. It is chemically robust and can carry out both hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions without an applied bias. While ultrahigh vacuum surface science techniques have provided useful insights, we still know relatively little about the structure of these electrodes in contact with electrolytes under operating conditions. Here, we report the surface structure evolution of a n-SrTiO3 electrode during water splitting, before and after “training” with an applied positive bias. Operando high-energy X-ray reflectivity measurements demonstrate that training the electrode irreversibly reorders the surface. Scanning electrochemical microscopy at open circuit correlates this training with a 3-fold increase of the activity toward the photo-induced water splitting. A novel first-principles joint density functional theory simulation, constrained to the X-ray data via a generalized penalty function, identifies an anatase-like structure as the more active, trained surface.
We report here measurement of the cross section of e+e- → π+π-ψ ( 2S ) between 4.0 and 5.5 GeV, based on an analysis of initial state radiation events in a 980fb-1 data sample recorded with the Belle ...detector. The properties of the Y ( 4360 ) and Y ( 4660 ) states are determined. Fitting the mass spectrum of π+π-ψ ( 2S ) with two coherent Breit-Wigner functions, we discover two solutions with identical mass and width but different couplings to electron-positron pairs: MY ( 4360 ) = ( 4347±6±3 ) MeV / c2 , Γ Y ( 4360 ) = ( 103±9±5 ) MeV , MY ( 4660 ) = ( 4652±10±8 ) MeV / c2 , Γ Y ( 4660 ) = ( 68±11±1 ) MeV ; and B Y ( 4360 ) → π+π-ψ ( 2S ) · Γ Y ( 4360 ) e+e-= ( 10.9±0.6±0.7 ) eV and B Y ( 4660 ) → π+π-ψ ( 2S ) · Γ Y ( 4660 ) e+e-= ( 8.1±1.1±0.5 ) eV for one solution; or B Y ( 4360 ) → π+π-ψ ( 2S ) · Γ Y ( 4360 ) e+e-= ( 9.2±0.6±0.6 ) eV and B Y ( 4660 ) → π+π=ψ ( 2S ) · Γ Y ( 4660 ) e+e-= ( 2.0±0.3±0.2 ) eV for the other. Here, the first errors are statistical and the second systematic. Evidence for a charged charmoniumlike structure at 4.05GeV / c2 is observed in the π±ψ ( 2S ) intermediate state in the Y ( 4360 ) decays. decays.
In compromised bone conditions such as osteoporosis, developments of the implant surface are necessary to secure the stability of implants. This study investigated the effect of the surface porous ...titanium structure (PS) on the osseointegration of implants in osteoporotic bone. Bilateral ovariectomy (OVX) was performed in 4 female beagle dogs to induce osteoporosis for 32 wk. Success of induction was based on the evaluation of bone mineral density by Hounsfield units (HU) in computed tomography images. Posterior teeth in both mandibles were extracted 1 wk after OVX, and a total of 30 implants (15 implants in each group) were placed after 32 wk of osteoporosis induction. The control group implant underwent resorbable blast media (RBM) surface treatment, whereas the test group underwent RBM surface treatment in the coronal two-thirds and a PS added to the apical 3-mm portion. HU values in the mandibular trabecular bone, lumbar, and femoral head significantly decreased 32 wk after OVX, confirming osteoporotic condition after induction. Resonance frequency analysis and removal torque test showed comparable values between the 2 groups at 4 wk after implant placement. The surface topography of the implant after removal showed hard tissue integration at the PS in the test group. Bone-to-implant contact length was greater in the apical portion of the test group, although statistical significance was not found between the groups. Interthread bone area in the apical portion of the test group showed a significant increase compared to the control group (control: 0.059 ± 0.041 mm2, test: 0.121 ± 0.060 mm2, P = 0.028) with the histological feature of bone ingrowth at the PS. The findings of the study demonstrated that the surface PS could improve osteoconductivity in the osteoporotic trabecular bone by bone ingrowth at the pore space, thereby enhancing the osseointegration and stability of the implants.
Background
Noninvasive skin‐tightening devices have become increasingly popular in response to increasing demand for improvements in skin laxity and tightening with minimal risk and recovery time.
...Objective
We evaluated the efficacy and safety of HIFU for skin tightening in the face and body.
Methods
A total of 32 Korean subjects enrolled in this prospective clinical trial. The subjects were treated with HIFU to both cheeks, lower abdomen, and thigh. Skin elasticity was measured before and after treatment using a Cutometer (CT575, Courage and Khazaka®, Cologne, Germany). Three blinded, experienced dermatologists evaluated paired pre‐ and post‐treatment (week 4 and 12) photographs according to the Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale (GAIS). Participants also completed self‐assessments using GAIS. Subjects rated their pain on a numeric rating scale (NRS) immediately, 7 days, 4 weeks, and 12 weeks after treatment.
Results
Skin elasticity measured via a Cutometer was significantly improved 12 weeks after treatment at all treated sites (P<.05). Both IGAIS and SGAIS showed significant improvements 12 weeks after treatment. Immediately after treatment the mean NRS score was 3.00±1.586, but no pain was reported at 4 and 12 weeks post‐treatment. No serious adverse effects were observed during the follow‐up period.
Conclusion
HIFU safely and effectively improves skin elasticity and clinical contouring of the face and body.
High thymidylate synthase (TS) level in cancer tissue is considered to result in resistance to pemetrexed therapy for advanced stages of nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancers. To further ...investigate the mechanism of pemetrexed resistance and potential prognostic outcomes in lung cancer, we established pemetrexed-resistant lung adenocarcinoma cell sublines from CL1 harboring a mutated TP53 gene (R248W) and A549 harboring wild-type TP53. We found the TS expression is upregulated in both pemetrexed-resistant sublines and the reduced TS level achieved through shRNA inhibition resulted in higher pemetrexed sensitivity. We also demonstrated that the acquisitions of pemetrexed resistance enhances epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in vivo with a mice animal model and in vitro with CL1 and A549 sublines, which was associated with upregulation of ZEB1 which, in turn, downregulates E-cadherin and upregulates fibronectin. When ERK1/2 phosphorylation was reduced by an inhibitor (U0126) or siRNA inhibition, both pemetrexed-resistant sublines reduced their migration and invasion abilities. Therefore, the ERK-mediated pathways induce apoptosis with pemetrexed treatment, and may in turn mediate EMT when cancer cells are resistant to pemetrexed. We further demonstrated that the growth of pemetrexed-resistant tumors could be inhibited by vinblastine in vivo and vincristine in vitro. Our data indicate that pemetrexed resistance could be relieved by non-cross-resistant chemotherapeutic drugs such as vinca alkaloids and might be independent to TP53 status. Furthermore, the phosphorylation of ERK was reduced by vincristine. This finding provides a new insight for overcoming pemetrexed resistance and metastasis by application of vinca alkaloids.
Summary
Background
During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic, various adverse skin reactions to long‐term mask wearing have been reported.
Aim
To assess the clinical features of ...mask‐induced dermatoses and to recommend prevention and treatment options.
Methods
From April to August 2020, questionnaires including topics such as demographic information, pre‐existing skin disorders, reported mask‐related symptoms, daily mask‐wearing duration and frequency, types of masks used and whether the participant was a healthcare worker, were distributed to patients in 12 hospitals. Dermatologists assessed skin lesions, confirmed diagnosis and recorded treatments.
Results
Itchiness was the most frequent symptom, mostly affecting the cheeks. The most common skin disease was new‐onset contact dermatitis (33.94%), followed by new‐onset acne (16.97%) and worsening of pre‐existing acne (16.97%). Daily wearing of masks was significantly (P = 0.02) associated with new‐onset contact dermatitis. More than half of patients with pre‐existing skin problems experienced disease worsening while wearing masks. Longer duration of wearing (> 6 h/day, P = 0.04) and use of cotton masks (P < 0.001) significantly increased acne flare‐up. Healthcare workers had a higher incidence of skin disease. Skin lesions were generally mild and well tolerated with topical treatment. The study had some limitations: the effect of seasonal characteristics and other risk factors were not assessed, and the patients were visiting dermatological clinics and had interest in their skin status, thus, there may have been selection bias.
Conclusion
Mask‐induced/‐triggered dermatoses contribute to increase the dermatological burden during the pandemic.
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