Novel device-based acne treatments: comparison of a 1450-nm diode laser and microneedling radiofrequency on mild-to-moderate acne vulgaris and seborrhoea in Korean patients through a 20-week prospective, randomized, split-face study.

BACKGROUND: While device-based acne treatments are widely applied for patients not tolerating conventional medications, related controlled studies have been still limited. Recently, non-ablative 1450-nm diode laser (DL) and fractional microneedling radiofrequency (FMR) have been effectively used for acne, in addition to well-recognized dermal remodelling effects. OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical course of acne treatment between DL and FMR. METHODS: Twenty-five Korean patients with mild-to-moderate facial acne completed treatments with DL and FMR through a 20-week, randomized split-face study. One randomly assigned half side of each patient's face received DL and the other side by FMR. Treatments were scheduled to receive three consecutive sessions at 4-week intervals. Objective assessments including revised Leeds grades, lesion counts, sebum output measurements, and patients' subjective satisfaction were investigated. RESULTS: Both DL and FMR demonstrated steady improvement of acne and seborrhoea during treatment sessions. While results between two devices were similar during treatment sessions, FMR was superior to DL in the 12-week follow-up. Patients' subjective assessments for seborrhoea improvement were similar between two devices, while those for acne, skin texture, and acne scars were more satisfactory for FMR. For safety profile, no significant difference was observed between two regimens, while mild postinflammatory hyperpigmentation was observed only in DL side. CONCLUSION: Both DL and FMR demonstrated efficacies for acne and seborrhoea, with reasonable safety profile. FMR was more effective than DL for the long-term maintenance, and subjective assessments for texture and scar improvements. Therefore, a few sessions of these devices would be a viable option for acne treatments.

An antimicrobial peptide-A3: effects on growth performance, nutrient retention, intestinal and faecal microflora and intestinal morphology of broilers.

1. The present study investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with an antimicrobial peptide-A3 (AMP-A3) on growth performance, nutrient retention, intestinal microflora and intestinal morphology of broilers. 2. A total of 320-d-old chicks (Ross 308, average BW 44.0 ± 3.4 g) were randomly allotted to 4 dietary treatments on the basis of initial body weight (BW). The dietary treatments were negative control (NC; basal diet), positive control (PC; basal diet + 15 mg avilamycin/kg diet) and AMP-A3 (basal diet supplemented with 60 or 90 mg/kg AMP-A3). The NC diet was considered as 0 mg/kg AMP-A3 treatment. Experimental diets were given in two phases: starter phase (d 0-21) and finisher phase (d 22-35). 3. The overall BW gain and retention of dry matter (DM), gross energy (GE; d 19-21) and crude protein (CP; d 19-21 and d 33-35) were greater in birds fed on the PC and 90 mg/kg AMP-A3 diets than in birds fed on the NC diet. Also, an increase in dietary AMP-A3 linearly improved BW gain and retention of DM, GE (d 19-21) and CP (d 19-21 and d 33-35). 4. Birds fed on the PC and 90 mg/kg AMP-A3 diets had fewer excreta coliforms (d 21 and d 35), total anaerobic bacteria (TAB) and Clostridium spp. (d 35) and ileum and caecum coliforms (d 35) than birds fed on the NC diet. In addition, birds fed on the diet supplemented with increasing levels of AMP-A3 had linearly reduced excreta TAB (d 35), Clostridium spp. and coliforms (d 21 and d 35) and ileum and caecum coliforms (d 35). 5. Birds fed on the PC and 90 mg/kg AMP-A3 diets had greater villus height of the duodenum, jejunum and ileum than birds fed on the NC diet. Moreover, birds fed on increasing levels of AMP-A3 diet had increased (linear) villus height of the duodenum, jejunum and ileum. 6. These results indicate that 90 mg/kg AMP-A3 has the potential to improve growth performance, nutrient retention and intestinal morphology and to reduce harmful microorganisms in broilers and can be used as a potential antimicrobial growth promoter.

Three-dimensional analysis of deciduous maxillary anterior teeth using cone-beam computed tomography.

The recent introduction of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) into the medical field has allowed the nondestructive investigation of internal structures at relatively low cost and radiation exposure. The accuracy of CBCT in both two and three dimensions has been demonstrated, and CBCT has been used successfully for craniofacial anatomy. Knowing the anatomical structure of deciduous teeth is essential for clinical dentistry. However, the root structure of deciduous teeth is rarely reported because of the scarcity of intact deciduous teeth without root resorption. The aim of this study was to evaluate the intact root form of deciduous teeth using CBCT. Data from 38 young children was analyzed using an image-analyzing program. The degree of buccal dilacerations was 26.3° for deciduous maxillary central incisors (DMA), 16.5° for deciduous maxillary lateral incisors (DMB), and 17.5° for deciduous maxillary canines (DMC) in about half of the root length. The crown-to-root ratios were 0.52 for DMA, 0.48 for DMB, and 0.52 for DMC. These data will be helpful for understanding the development of dentition, and for clinical dentistry.

Correlations between skeletal maturity and dental calcification stages in Korean children.

AIM: To evaluate the relationship between dental calcification and skeletal maturity and to identify the tooth with the highest correlation with skeletal maturity index in Korean children. MATERIALS: For 447 children (205 boys and 242 girls) aged between 5 and 13 years, hand-wrist and lateral cephalometric radiographs were taken to assess skeletal maturity by Fishman's skeletal maturity indicators (SMI) and Baccetti's cervical vertebrae maturation (CVM) stages. Dental panoramic radiographs were taken to assess dental maturity of the permanent mandibular canine, first and second premolar, and second molar using the method devised by Dermirjian. CONCLUSION: Dental calcification stages determined by panoramic radiographs can be clinically used as useful indices to predict skeletal maturity in Korean children.

Replication study of SNP associations for colorectal cancer in Hong Kong Chinese.

BACKGROUND: Recent genome-wide association studies of colorectal cancer (CRC) have identified common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) mapping to 10 independent loci that confer modest increased risk. These studies have been conducted in European populations and it is unclear whether these observations generalise to populations with different ethnicities and rates of CRC. METHODS: An association study was performed on 892 CRC cases and 890 controls recruited from the Hong Kong Chinese population, genotyping 32 SNPs, which were either associated with CRC in previous studies or are in close proximity to previously reported risk SNPs. RESULTS: Twelve of the SNPs showed evidence of an association. The strongest associations were provided by rs10795668 on 10p14, rs4779584 on 15q14 and rs12953717 on 18q21.2. There was significant linear association between CRC risk and the number of independent risk variants possessed by an individual (P=2.29 × 10(-5)). CONCLUSION: These results indicate that some previously reported SNP associations also impact on CRC risk in the Chinese population. Possible reasons for failure of replication for some loci include inadequate study power, differences in allele frequency, linkage disequilibrium structure or effect size between populations. Our results suggest that many associations for CRC are likely to generalise across populations.

Customized surgical guide with a bite block and retraction arm for a deeply impacted odontoma; a technical note.

Odontomas can cause impaction of permanent teeth. During the removal of odontomas associated with an impacted tooth, minimally-invasive surgical approaches are necessary. We present a technical note highlighting easy extraction of a deeply impacted odontoma using a patient-specific computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) surgical guide. Its use and advantages are described.

Arginine deprivation inhibits pancreatic cancer cell migration, invasion and EMT via the down regulation of Snail, Slug, Twist, and MMP1/9.

Arginine deprivation is currently being evaluated for its efficacy and safety in clinical trials aimed at combating tumors. However, the cellular signaling and molecular changes in response to such deprivation have not been systematically deciphered. Here, we evaluate the effect of arginine deprivation on human pancreatic cancer cells, with respect to their migratory and invasive potentials and their ability to undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The transcription factors Snail, Slug, and Twist are regulators of EMT, as indicated by the suppression of E-cadherin and other epithelial markers and adhesion molecules. Our data indicated that arginine starvation inhibited the migration and impaired the adhesion and invasion of the pancreatic cancer cells, decreased Snail, Slug, and Twist expression, and increased E-cadherin expression without altering the expression of vimentin. It is well known that matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are important for the events that underlie tumor dissemination. Arginine starvation inhibited the expression of MMP-1 and MMP-9. Furthermore, the PI3K/Akt pathway was altered when the pancreatic cancer cells underwent arginine deprivation as exhibited by the decreased Akt phosphorylation. Thus, these data reveal that arginine deprivation has the potential to decrease the metastatic ability of pancreatic cancer cells.

An easy way to secure catheter in position during marsupialization procedure.

Marsupialization is the conservative treatment for cystic lesion in children. This technique requires maintaining the patency between the cyst and oral cavity to allow spontaneous healing of cystic lesion. There have been various fixation methods for securing the patency. However, the previous fixation methods have limitation of being invasive and inability to retain catheter firmly during the treatment. In this technical note, we adopted a novel and easy fixation method to obtain firm stability of catheter without damage to intraoral tissues during marsupialization technique.

Bond length and the electron density at the bond critical point: X--X, Z--Z, and C--Z bonds (X = Li-F, Z = Na-Cl).

The aim was to investigate the relationship between the bond length and the electron density at the bond critical point in homonuclear X--X and Z--Z and heteronuclear C--Z bonds (X = Li-F, Z = Na-Cl). The d,rho(c) pairs were obtained from 472 target bonds in DFT-optimized (B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p)) small molecular species. These species were selected arbitrarily but with a view to maximize the range widths WR for each atom combination. It was found that (i) with one clear exception, the d(A - A) means (A = X or Z) correlate linearly with the bond lengths d(A(2)) of the respective diatomic molecules; (ii) the d(A - A) means correlate parabolically with n, the formal number of valence electrons in the atoms of the bond; and (iii) with increasing sample size N the ratio WR(rho(c))/WR(d) appears to converge toward a representation f [WR(rho(c))/WR(d)](N-->infinity) characteristic of A. Detailed analysis of the d,rho(c) relationship has shown that by and large simple power regression accounts best for the DFT data. The regression coefficients of d = arho(c) (-b) and rho(c) = alphad(-beta) (b, beta > 0) vary with n in a seemingly irregular manner but one that is consistent with simple chemical notions. The d(A(2)) can be approximated in terms of multilinear MO electron occupancies.

The rate of iron corrosion for different organic carbon sources during biofilm formation.

The effects of total organic carbon and biofilm on microbial corrosion were quantified using serum bottles in a 2 x 2 factorial design. Both organic carbon and biofilm bacteria had a significant effect on the iron corrosion rate, irrespective of the levels of the other variable (p = 0.05). There was no evidence of interaction between organic carbon and biofilm bacteria. Within the tested levels, the addition of exogenous organic carbon increased the corrosion rate by an average of 3.838 mg dm(-2) day(-1) (mdd), but the presence of biofilm bacteria decreased the rate by an average of 2.305 mdd. More iron was released from the coupon in response to organic carbon. Powder x-ray diffractometry indicated that the scales deposited on the corroded iron surface consisted primarily of lepidocrocite (gamma-FeOOH), magnetite (Fe3O4) and hematite (alpha-Fe203). Corrosion rates by different organic carbon sources, i.e. acetate, glucose and humic substances, were compared using an annular biofilm reactor. One-way ANOVA suggested that the effect of each carbon source on corrosion was not the same, with the iron corrosion rate highest for glucose, followed by acetate, humic substances and the control. Magnetite was a major constituent of the corrosion products scraped from iron slides. Examination of community-level physiological profile patterns on the biofilms indicated that acetate was a carbon source that could promote the metabolic and functional potentials of biofilm communities.

Characteristics of biofilm community formed in the chlorinated biodegradable organic matter-limited tap water.

The aim of this study was to characterize the influence of free chlorine residual on biofilm formation in a chlorinated system in which the biodegradable organic matter (BOM) was limited. The biofilm community was characterized through a community-level physiological profile (CLPP) that was generated using the Biolog GN microplate-based community-level assay. The chlorinated system was run at chlorine residual concentrations of 0.3, 0.5, and 1.0 mg l(-1) with the provision of BOM-limited tap water (0.01 mg l(-1) as assimilable organic carbon and 0.06 mg l(-1) as biodegradable dissolved organic carbon). For comparison, an unchlorinated system was operated in parallel under the same condition. The number of viable heterotrophic bacteria in the biofilm that formed in the chlorinated system over the 3 months of operation averaged 7.2 x 10(3), 4.8 x 10, and 1.6 x 10 CFU cm(-2) for the chlorine residual concentrations of 0.3, 0.5, and 1.0 mg l(-1), respectively. In the unchlorinated system, the average bacterial content was 1.1 x 10(6) CFU cm(-2). Using measures of substrate utilization rate, substrate utilization diversity, and metabolic potential index (MPI), the CLPP patterns demonstrated that the metabolic potentials of the biofilm communities decreased markedly as the chlorine residual levels increased. In particular, the community level of the biofilm that formed in the system with chlorine residual concentration of 1.0 mg l(-1) was the lowest of any biofilm under the tested conditions. The results implied that chlorine residual had a positive biocidal effect on the metabolic potential and/or functional potential of the biofilm community, especially when the BOM level was low. In addition, BOM limitation by itself was not sufficient to control biofilm formation.

Enhanced efferocytosis by dendritic cells underlies memory T-cell expansion and susceptibility to autoimmune disease in CD300f-deficient mice.

Homeostasis requires the immunologically silent clearance of apoptotic cells before they become pro-inflammatory necrotic cells. CD300f (CLM-1) is a phosphatidylserine receptor known to positively regulate efferocytosis by macrophages, and CD300f gene-deficient mice are predisposed to develop a lupus-like disease. Here we show that, in contrast to CD300f function in macrophages, its expression inhibits efferocytosis by DC, and its deficiency leads to enhanced antigen processing and T-cell priming by these DC. The consequences are the expansion of memory T cells and increased ANA levels in aged CD300f-deficient mice, which predispose CD300f-deficient mice to develop an overt autoimmune disease when exposed to an overload of apoptotic cells, or an exacerbated autoimmunity when combined with FcγRIIB deficiency. Thus, our data demonstrates that CD300f helps to maintain immune homeostasis by promoting macrophage clearance of self-antigens, while conversely inhibiting DC uptake and presentation of self-antigens.

Identification and developmental expression of par-6 gene in Xenopus laevis.

The par genes (partitioning defective) are required to establish polarity in the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo. We have identified the Xenopus homologue of C. elegans PAR-6 (XPAR-6). XPAR-6 is a protein of 377 amino acids with one PDZ domain which is involved in mediating protein-protein interactions. It shares 59% and 58% amino acid identity with the mouse and Drosophila PAR-6, respectively, and 54% overall identity with C. elegans PAR-6. Xpar-6 is expressed both maternally and zygotically. Xpar-6 is first detected in the animal half of the egg, and this pattern of expression persists into the cleavage and blastula stages. At the gastrula stage, the message is detected in animal pole area and in a broad domain of ventral region, but is excluded from dorsal region. With the onset of neurulation, the localized expression of Xpar-6 becomes more obvious, leading to it being enriched in the dorsolateral region along the lateral edges of neural plate and anterior presumptive head region surrounding the anterior border of neural plate. At late tailbud stage, Xpar-6 transcripts show localized expression throughout the head, labeling the branchial arches, eyes, otic vesicles and brain, while more posteriorly Xpar-6 labels the somites, pronephros, tail tip and proctodeum. Therefore, this analysis suggests that Xpar-6 has a regionalized pattern of expression during Xenopus early embryogenesis.

Poly(A) binding protein II in Xenopus laevis is expressed in developing brain and pancreas.

We have isolated Xenopus homolog of poly(A) binding protein II (XPABPII) and examined its expression during early embryogenesis and embryonic gut development. XpabpII encodes a nuclear protein of 296 amino acids that contains an alpha-helical coiled-coil domain and a ribonucleoprotein-type RNA binding domain. XpabpII is expressed both maternally and zygotically. In gastrula and neurula embryos, XpabpII is expressed mainly in ectoderm, neural and epidermal. From tailbud through to tadpole stages, the neural tissue specific expression of XpabpII gradually becomes confined to the specific vesicle regions of developing brain, being detected in the eye, olfactory pit, telencephalon and mesencephalon, but being excluded from the diencephalon region. Intriguingly, XpabpII transcripts are observed in differentiating gut endoderm. XpabpII first becomes visible in the anterior part of a stage 35 embryonic gut in which prospective liver, stomach and pancreas are located. During further development, uniform expression in anterior gut gradually becomes restricted to the pancreas rudiment. At the seventh day of development, when the gut has formed a complex coiled structure in which each organ contains clearly differentiated cell type, XpabpII is detectable exclusively in the pancreas. Taken together, we suggest that XpabpII plays a specific role in the polyadenylation process of genes involved in brain and pancreas development.

Efficacy of combination therapy with probiotics and mosapride in patients with IBS without diarrhea: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter, phase II trial.

BACKGROUND: Probiotics can be beneficial in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Mosapride citrate, a selective 5-HT4 receptor agonist, stimulates gastrointestinal motility. We investigated the efficacy of combination therapy with probiotics and mosapride for non-diarrheal-type IBS. METHODS: Two hundred and eighty-five IBS patients were randomly assigned to either a combination of probiotics (Bacillus subtilis and Streptococcus faecium) and mosapride at one of four different doses or a placebo for 4 weeks. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients experiencing adequate relief (AR) of global IBS symptoms at week 4. The secondary outcomes included subject's global assessment (SGA) of IBS symptom relief, individual symptoms, stool parameters, and IBS-quality of life. KEY RESULTS: The proportion of AR at week 4 was significantly higher in all treatment groups compared to the placebo group (53.7% in group 1, 55.0% in group 2, 55.2% in group 3, 53.6% in group 4 [the highest dose], and 35.1% in placebo group, respectively, p < 0.05). The proportion of patients reporting 'completely or considerably relieved' in the SGA was higher in the treatment groups than in the placebo group. The abdominal pain/discomfort score in the treatment group 4 was more prominently improved compared with that of the placebo group. In patients with constipation-predominant IBS, the improvements in stool frequency and consistency were significantly higher in the treatment groups 4 and 1, respectively, than those in the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES: Combination therapy with probiotics and mosapride is effective for relief of symptoms in patients with non-diarrheal-type IBS. The study has been registered in the US National Library of Medicine (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01505777).

An efficient method for the rapid establishment of Epstein-Barr virus immortalization of human B lymphocytes.

Several methods have been developed for the immortalization of B lymphocytes by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). We developed an efficient method which reduces the time from culture initiation to immortalization and cryopreservation. Two infections of EBV to lymphocytes, and the use of phorbol ester-induced EBV stock significantly improved immortalization efficiency and reduced the time between initiation and immortalization and cryopreservation. The resulting cell bank was used to produce DNA for genetic studies focusing on the genes involved in immune and autistic disorders.

Arrhythmias on ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring in women without apparent heart disease.

Cardiac arrhythmias were evaluated in apparently normal women by randomly selecting within the age decades of 20 to 60, 200 of the 788 women employees of a company. After exclusions for cardiac and medical reasons and refusals to participate, 101 subjects underwent 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring. The mean heart rate was 82 beats/min, but was higher in smokers (p less than 0.05). Premature supraventricular contractions were present in 28 of 101 subjects (28%); the prevalence increased with age (p less than 0.001), but the frequency was less than 1 per hour in 24 of 28. PVCs occurred in 34 of 101 subjects (34%); the frequency was less than 1 per hour in 25 of 34. The PVCs were complex (Lown grade 3 or higher) in 10 (10%) and multifocal in 9 of 10; there was 1 couplet each in 3 and 1 run of 4 PVCs in 1 subject. PVCs were present in 20 of 42 subjects (48%) taking any medication (primarily oral contraceptives, estrogenic hormones and maintenance thyroid), compared with 14 of 59 subjects (24%) not taking medication (p less than 0.01). In women younger than 40 years, PVCs were present in 8 of 15 women (53%) taking contraceptives, compared with 4 of 33 (12%) not taking contraceptives (p less than 0.001). PVCs occurred in 7 of 12 subjects (58%) taking thyroid medication, compared with 27 of 89 (30%) not taking thyroid medication (p less than 0.03). In the 59 subjects not taking medication only 1 subject averaged more than 1 PVC/hour and 1 had 1 couplet.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)