Summary
Background
Tranexamic acid (TA) has been suggested as an effective treatment for melasma.
Aim
To investigate the effects and mechanism of action of topical TA in the treatment of melasma.
...Methods
In this study, 23 participants with melasma applied a 2% TA formulation to the whole face for 12 weeks. Clinical effects were evaluated using the modified Melasma Area and Severity Index (mMASI) and a chromameter. Skin biopsies were obtained from 10 participants to evaluate pigmentation, vascularity and the expression levels of possible paracrine factors contributing to the effect of TA.
Results
Most of the participants had mild melasma, with mMASI of < 5. The mMASI scores significantly improved in 22 of 23 participants after application. The L* values were increased and the a* values were decreased in both lesional and perilesional normal skin. Fontana–Masson staining showed a significant decrease in melanin content in the epidermis. The number of CD31‐positive vessels and the expression of the vascular endothelial growth factor both tended to decrease. Endothelin (ET)‐1 was found to be downregulated with TA.
Conclusions
Topical TA is effective for melasma. This immunohistochemical study found that suppression of ET‐1 could be one of the mechanisms of action of TA on melasma.
We report on optimization of growth conditions of GaAs/GaNAs/GaAs core/shell/shell nanowire (NW) structures emitting at ∼1 m, aiming to increase their light emitting efficiency. A slight change in ...growth temperature is found to critically affect optical quality of the active GaNAs shell and is shown to result from suppressed formation of non-radiative recombination (NRR) centers under the optimum growth temperature. By employing the optically detected magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we identify gallium vacancies and gallium interstitials as being among the dominant NRR defects. The radiative efficiency of the NWs can be further improved by post-growth annealing at 680 °C, which removes the gallium interstitials.
The stopping performance of ships is important to avoid collisions at sea during an emergency. To ensure sufficient stopping performance, stopping tests were performed in a full-scale trial. However, ...it has been pointed out that initial disturbances, such as slight ship motions represented by heading deviation, hull lateral velocity, and yaw rate, which occur immediately after the start of the stopping test, have a significant influence on the stopping performance by the propeller reverse rotation. In this study, we investigate the influence of a slight initial disturbance on the stopping performance by tank tests and stopping simulations, and discuss the standard for acceptable initial disturbances in the stopping test. The results show that the track reach (
R
T
) index is less susceptible to initial disturbances than the side reach and head reach indices. The influence of the initial disturbance on
R
T
is closely related to the course stability of the ship. In the ballast load condition with excellent course stability, the influence of the initial disturbance on
R
T
is small. In contrast, in the full load condition with poor course stability, the influence of the initial disturbance is large, resulting in more variations of
R
T
. Based on the simulation results, a standard for acceptable initial disturbances is presented for a bulk carrier.
Proteins containing repetitive amino acid domains are widespread in all life forms. In parasitic organisms, proteins containing repeats play important roles such as cell adhesion and invasion and ...immune evasion. Therefore, extracellular and intracellular parasites are expected to be under different selective pressures regarding the repetitive content in their genomes. Here, we investigated whether there is a bias in the repetitive content found in the predicted proteomes of 6 exclusively extracellular and 17 obligate intracellular protozoan parasites, as well as 4 free-living protists. We also attempted to correlate the results with the distinct ecological niches they occupy and with distinct protein functions. We found that intracellular parasites have higher repetitive content in their proteomes than do extracellular parasites and free-living protists. In intracellular parasites, these repetitive proteins are located mainly at the parasite surface or are secreted and are enriched in amino acids known to be part of N- and O-glycosylation sites. Furthermore, in intracellular parasites, the developmental stages that are able to invade host cells express a higher proportion of proteins with perfect repeats relative to other life cycle stages, and these proteins have molecular functions associated with cell invasion. In contrast, in extracellular parasites, degenerate repetitive motifs are enriched in proteins that are likely to play roles in evading host immune response. Altogether, our results support the hypothesis that both the ability to invade host cells and to escape the host immune response may have shaped the expansion and maintenance of perfect and degenerate repeats in the genomes of intra- and extracellular parasites.
Canine extrahepatic congenital portosystemic shunts (EH-cPSS) are classified into several anatomical types, depending on the origin and termination of the shunt vessel. The aim of this retrospective ...study was to determine the proportion and clinical features of each anatomical shunt type in a population of dogs presented to a veterinary teaching hospital in Japan. Dogs diagnosed with EH-cPSS using computed tomographic (CT) portography were included (n=172) and shunts were classified based on previous reports. Clinical data were collected from case records and analysed statistically. The most common anatomical type was the spleno-phrenic shunt (n=64), followed by the spleno-azygos (n=38), right gastric-caval (n=29), spleno-caval (n=21), right gastric-caval with caudal loop (n=9), right gastric-phrenic (n=6), colono-caval (n=3), spleno-phrenic and azygos (n=1), and porto-caval (n=1) shunts. Spleno-phrenic and spleno-azygos shunts were diagnosed more frequently in older dogs than right gastric-caval and spleno-caval shunts (P<0.05). The portal vein/aortic (PV/Ao) ratio was significantly larger in dogs with spleno-phrenic shunts than in dogs with spleno-azygos, right gastric-caval or spleno-caval shunts (P<0.05). The PV/Ao ratio was significantly larger in dogs with spleno-azygos shunts than in dogs with right gastric-caval shunts. Dogs with spleno-phrenic shunts had significantly lower serum alkaline phosphatase activities than those with right gastric-caval or spleno-caval shunts. Dogs with spleno-phrenic shunts had significantly lower fasting ammonia concentrations than those with spleno-caval shunts.
A novel transmitter for ultra-wideband (UWB) impulse radio has been developed. The proposed architecture enables low-power operation, simple design, and accurate pulse-shape generation. The phase and ...amplitude of the pulse are controlled separately and digitally to generate a desired pulse shape. This digital control method also contributes to the low-power transmission and eliminates the need for a filter. The transmitter is fabricated using a 0.18-mum CMOS process. The core chip size is only 0.40 mm 2 . From experimental measurements, it was found that the generated signal satisfied the FCC spectrum mask, and the average power dissipation was only 29.7 mW at A 2.2-V supply voltage. Therefore, the developed UWB transmitter generates accurate pulses with low power consumption and simple design architecture
Pr-Fe-B thick-film magnets were deposited on glass substrates without a buffer layer using a pulsed laser deposition method to apply the films to micro-electro-mechanical systems. Large particles ...with the average diameter of approximately 50 μm were emitted from a target and enabled us to obtain the relatively high deposition rate of 30 μm/h. An approximately 100 μm-thick Pr-Fe-B film with the (BH) max value of 70 kJ/m 3 could be obtained. After polishing a Pr-Fe-B thick film deposited on a glass substrate with groove, the magnetic properties of the film did not deteriorate.
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•Strongyloides infection is associated with accelerated gastric emptying in rats.•Small intestinal transit is progressively slowed in experimental strongyloidiasis.•Different loads ...are associated with lower transit in intestine during strongyloidiasis.
The aim was to correlate the gastrointestinal transit profile in rats, evaluated by a biomagnetic technique, in response to infection with different loads of Strongyloides venezuelensis. Eggs per gram, intestinal number of worms and fecundity, and also gastric emptying time, cecum arrival time, small intestinal transit time and stool weight were determined. Assessments occurred at 0 (control), 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 and 21 days post infection (dpi) with three infective loads (400, 2000, and 10,000L). Gastric emptying was faster (p=0.0001) and the intestinal transit was significantly slower (p=0.001) during the infection time course. Also, linear mixed-effects models showed significantly changes in small intestinal transit after three parasite load over time. Cecum arrival was not influenced by infection time course or parasite load. As indirect effect, stool weight decreased accompanied a strong oviposition peak at 9dpi in 400L and 2000L. In several motor function instances, neuromuscular dysfunction persists after mucosal inflammation has decreased. Our approach could be very helpful to evaluate gastrointestinal motor abnormalities in vivo after parasite infection. Despite parasitological data progressively decreased after 15 dpi, small intestinal transit worse over time and according to burden.
Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) improves the clinical status of patients with congestive heart failure, although left ventricular epicardial pacing may increase transmural dispersion of ...repolarization (TDR). The aim of this study was to investigate the time-dependent effect of CRT on ventricular repolarization and ventricular arrhythmia at mid-term follow-up.
The study group consisted of 84 patients treated with CRT. Twelve-lead electrocardiogram was digitally recorded and Tpeak-to-Tend interval (Tp-e) was measured at baseline, 1 week, 1 month, and 3, 6, and 12 months after device implantation. We determined the time-dependent changes in Tp-e, ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation (VT/VF) during 12 months of follow-up, in both CRT responders and non-responders. Seventeen of 84 patients (20%) had VT/VF during first year. Six of those 17 patients (35%) experienced VT/VF within 1 month of implantation and diminished over time. Tp-e decreased significantly at 6 and 12 months after implantation compared with 1 week 108 ± 14 ms at 1 week vs. 97 ± 21 ms at 6 months (P = 0.03) and 95 ± 19 ms at 12 months (P = 0.01). Responders demonstrated a greater time-dependent reduction of Tp-e at 6 and 12 months of CRT and had a lower rate of VT/VF compared with non-responders (log-rank test, P = 0.004).
Transmural dispersion of repolarization and the number of patients with VT/VF decreased over time after CRT. Patients with reverse remodelling demonstrated a lower rate of VT/VF and a greater time-dependent reduction of TDR.
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