Pharmacological prevention strategy for capecitabine-induced hand-foot syndrome: A network meta-analysis of randomized control trials.

Capecitabine-induced hand-foot syndrome (HFS) is common in clinical practice. There are many regimens used to prevent HFS. However, the most effective preventive regimen has not yet been identified. Thus, we conducted a network meta-analysis to investigate the best preventive regimen for HFS. The PRISMA-NMA guidelines were used in this study. The PubMed, Cochrane, and Embase databases were searched. The main endpoint was set as HFS of National Cancer Institute grade 2 or more. We included only randomized control trials. The P-score was used to rank the regimens. Among all the regimens, topical silymarin had the best preventive ability compared with the placebo (OR: 0.08; 95% CI: 0.01-0.71). The other identified effective regimen included pyridoxine (400 mg) and celecoxib; compared with the placebo, the odds ratio was 0.27 (95% CI: 0.08-0.91) and 0.41 (95% CI: 0.18-0.95), respectively. Topical silymarin is the most useful regimen for preventing capecitabine-induced HFS.

N-H-Type Excited-State Proton Transfer in Compounds Possessing a Seven-Membered-Ring Intramolecular Hydrogen Bond.

A series of compounds containing 5-(2-aminobenzylidene)-2,3-dimethyl-3,5-dihydro-4H-imidazol-4-one (o-ABDI) as the core chromophore with a seven-membered-ring N-H-type intramolecular hydrogen bond have been synthesized and characterized. The acidity of the N-H proton and thus the hydrogen-bond strength can be fine-tuned by replacing one of the amino hydrogen atoms by a substituent R, the acidity increasing with increasing electron-withdrawing strength of R, that is, in the order H

Insight into the Amino-Type Excited-State Intramolecular Proton Transfer Cycle Using N-Tosyl Derivatives of 2-(2'-Aminophenyl)benzothiazole.

Studies have been carried out to gain insight in to an overall excited-state proton transfer cycle for a series of N-tosyl derivatives of 2-(2'-aminophenyl)benzothiazole. The results indicate that followed by ultrafast (<150 fs) excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT), the titled compounds undergo rotational isomerization along the C1-C1' bond. For the model compound 2-(2'-tosylaminophenyl)benzothiazole (PBT-NHTs) the subsequent cis-trans isomerization process in both triplet and ground states are probed by nanosecond transient absorption (TA) and two-step laser-induced fluorescence (TSLIF) spectroscopy. Both TA and TSLIF results indicate the existence of a long-lived trans-tautomer species in the ground state with a lifetime of few microseconds. The experimental results correlate well with the theoretical approach, which suggests that PBT-NHTs proton transfer tautomer generated in the excited state undergoes intramolecular C1-C1' rotation to ∼100° between benzothiazole and phenyl moieties in which the energetics for the S1 and T1 states are nearly identical. As a result, the intersystem crossing between S1 and T1 states serves as a fast deactivation pathway for the excited-state cis-tautomer to channel into both cis- and trans-tautomer in their respective T1 states, followed by the dominant T1-S0 radiationless deactivation to populate the trans-tautomer in the ground state. The trans-tautomer species in the S0 state proceeds with intermolecular double proton transfer to regenerate the cis-normal form. An overall proton-transfer cycle describing the amino-type ESIPT and the subsequent isomerization processes is thus depicted in detail.

Gabapentinoids for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) affects patients' quality of life and treatment effectiveness. Gabapentinoids, like gabapentin and pregabalin, are often used for CIPN treatment, but their efficacy and safety remain uncertain. This study reviews and analyses randomised controlled trial data on this topic. MATERIALS/METHODS: We searched PubMed, Embase and Cochrane CENTRAL until 29 August 2022 for studies on gabapentinoid use in CIPN. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan V.5.4 and the Metafor package in R. Outcomes included pain scores, quality of life and adverse drug events. RESULTS: For the prevention setting, our meta-analysis shows that pregabalin did not significantly improve average pain (standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.14, 95% CI -0.51 to 0.23; I2=26% (95% CI 0% to >98%)) or quality of life (mean difference (MD) 2.5, 95% CI -4.67 to 9.67; p=0.49) in preventing CIPN compared with placebo. However, it showed a potential trend towards reducing the worst pain (SMD -0.28, 95% CI -0.57 to 0.01; I2=0% (95% CI 0% to 98%; p=0.06)). For the treatment setting, some studies have shown a potential therapeutic effect of gabapentinoids. However, the results are not consistent between studies. Given the studies' heterogeneity, a meta-analysis in treatment setting was not performed. CONCLUSION: There is limited evidence to support the use of gabapentinoids in CIPN. In prevention setting, gabapentinoids do not significantly prevent CIPN. In treatment setting, studies have been inconsistent in their conclusions, lacking definitive benefits over placebo. More comprehensive and higher quality research is needed in the future. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022361193.

New insight into the intravenous immunoglobulin treatment in Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in children and adults.

Within 6 months of the coronavirus pandemic, a new disease entity associated with a multisystem hyperinflammation syndrome as a result of a previous infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus is increasingly being identified in children termed Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) and more recently in adults(MIS-A). Due to its clinical similarity with Kawasaki Disease, some institutions have used intravenous immunoglobulins and steroids as first line agents in the management of the disease. We seek to find how effective intravenous immunoglobulin therapy is across these two disease entities. A comprehensive English literature search was conducted across PubMed, MEDLINE, and EMBASE databases using the keywords multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children/adults and treatment. All major online libraries concerning the diagnosis and treatment of MIS-C and MIS-A were searched. Relevant papers were read, reviewed, and analyzed. The use of intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) and steroids for the treatment of multisystemic inflammatory syndrome in children(MIS-C) is well established and recommended by multiple pediatric governing institutions. However, there is still no optimal treatment guideline or consensus on the use of IVIG in adults. The use of IVIG in both the child and adult populations may lower the risk of treatment failure and the need for adjunctive immunomodulatory therapy. Despite the promising results of IVIG use for the management of MIS-C and MIS-A, considering the pathophysiological differences between MIS-C and MIS-A, healthcare professionals need to further assess the differences in disease risk and treatment. The optimal dose, frequency, and duration of treatment are still unknown, more research is needed to establish treatment guidelines.

Review on Recent Advances and Applications of Passive Harmonic RFID Systems.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) has gained significant attention because it provides a highly versatile platform for identifying, tracking, and monitoring objects. An emerging trend in this technology is the use of nonlinear RFID, such as passive harmonic tags, which have been demonstrated to be effective against clutters, echoes, crosstalk, and other electromagnetic interferences. This article presents a comprehensive review of recent advances and applications of passive harmonic RFIDs and integrated systems. A passive harmonic RFID exploits the frequency orthogonality of the transmitted (fundamental tone) and received (harmonics) radio-frequency (RF) signals to enable robust interrogation in noisy and cluttered environments, not possible with traditional passive linear RFIDs. This review article evaluates passive harmonic RFID systems in comparison to traditional systems and highlights their pros and cons. Several state-of-the-art chipless and chip-based harmonic RFIDs are presented, and their novel applications in identification, tracking, sensing, and biotelemetry are discussed. The review summarizes the key successes and challenges of passive harmonic RFID systems and provides insights into their future development, implementation, and optimization.

Topical Prevention of Radiation Dermatitis in Breast Cancer Patients: A Network Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Radiation dermatitis is a common complication of radiation therapy in breast cancer patients. Severe dermatitis may alter treatment schedules and clinical outcomes. The topical prevention strategy is the widely used option to prevent radiation dermatitis. However, the comparison between the current topical prevention strategies is insufficient. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the topical prevention efficacy of radiation dermatitis in patients with breast cancer through a network meta-analysis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study followed The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Network Meta-Analyses guidelines. A random effects model was used to compare different treatments. The treatment modality ranking was evaluated using the P-score. I2 and Cochran's Q test were used to evaluate the heterogeneity among studies. RESULTS: Forty-five studies were analyzed in this systematic review. A total of 19 studies were finally included in this meta-analysis for grade 3 or higher radiation dermatitis, which included 18 treatment arms and 2,288 patients. The forest plot showed that none of the identified regimens were superior to standard care. CONCLUSION: A more effective regimen than standard care for the prevention of grade 3 or higher radiation dermatitis in breast cancer patients was not identified. Our network meta-analysis showed that current topical prevention strategies are similarly efficacious. However, since preventing severe radiation dermatitis is an important clinical challenge, further trials should be conducted to address this issue.

Topical Prevention of Radiation Dermatitis in Head and Neck Cancer Patients: A Network Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Head and neck cancer is a major malignancy worldwide. The treatment strategy for head and neck cancer usually involves radiotherapy. The main side effect of radiotherapy is radiation dermatitis. Thus, determining the most effective topical regimen for the prevention of radiation dermatitis in head and neck cancer patients is a critical issue. PATIENTS AND METHODS: PRISMA-NMA guidelines were used in this network meta-analysis. We included only randomized control trials. A random effects model was used. Heterogeneity was evaluated by I2 and Cochran's Q tests. RESULTS: We included a total of 1,304 patients in the network meta-analysis. Among them, olive oil was the only effective regimen when compared with usual care (OR=0.18, 95%CI=0.03-0.95). The I2 value was 56%. The test of heterogeneity yielded a p-value of 0.10. CONCLUSION: Olive oil was the most effective regimen for the prevention of radiation dermatitis.

A zero power harmonic transponder sensor for ubiquitous wireless µL liquid-volume monitoring.

Autonomous liquid-volume monitoring is crucial in ubiquitous healthcare. However, conventional approach is based on either human visual observation or expensive detectors, which are costly for future pervasive monitoring. Here we introduce a novel approach based on passive harmonic transponder antenna sensor and frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) pattern analysis, to provide a very low cost wireless µL-resolution liquid-volume monitoring without battery or digital circuits. In our conceptual demonstration, the harmonic transponder comprises of a passive nonlinear frequency multiplier connected to a metamaterial-inspired 3-D antenna designed to be highly sensitive to the liquid-volume within a confined region. The transponder first receives some FHSS signal from an interrogator, then converts such signal to its harmonic band and re-radiates through the antenna sensor. The harmonic signal is picked up by a sniffer receiver and decoded through pattern analysis of the high dimensional FHSS signal strength data. A robust, zero power, absolute accuracy wireless liquid-volume monitoring is realized in the presence of strong direct coupling, background scatters, distance variance as well as near-field human-body interference. The concepts of passive harmonic transponder sensor, metamaterial-inspired antenna sensor, and FHSS pattern analysis based sensor decoding may help establishing cost-effective, energy-efficient and intelligent wireless pervasive healthcare monitoring platforms.

A new class of N-H proton transfer molecules: wide tautomer emission tuning from 590 nm to 770 nm via a facile, single site amino derivatization in 10-aminobenzo[h]quinoline.

Facile derivation of 10-aminobenzo[h]quinoline via replacing one of the N-H hydrogen atoms by various substituents generates a new series of excited-state intramolecular N-H proton-transfer molecules, for which the proton-transfer emission can be widely tuned from 590 nm to 770 nm simply by harnessing the electron-donating/withdrawing strength of the substituents.

Harnessing Excited-State Intramolecular Proton-Transfer Reaction via a Series of Amino-Type Hydrogen-Bonding Molecules.

A series of new amino (NH)-type hydrogen-bonding (H-bonding) compounds comprising 2-(2'-aminophenyl)benzothiazole and its extensive derivatives were designed and synthesized. Unlike in the hydroxyl (OH)-type H-bonding systems, one of the amino hydrogens can be replaced with electron-donating/withdrawing groups. This, together with a versatile capability for modifying the parent moiety, makes feasible the comprehensive spectroscopy and dynamics studies of amino-type excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT), which was previously inaccessible in the hydroxyl-type ESIPT systems. Empirical correlations were observed among the hydrogen-bonding strength (the N-H bond distances and proton acidity), ESIPT kinetics, and thermodynamics, demonstrating a trend that the stronger N-H···N hydrogen bond leads to a faster ESIPT, as experimentally observed, and a more exergonic reaction thermodynamics. Accordingly, ESIPT reaction can be harnessed for the first time from a highly endergonic type (i.e., prohibition) toward equilibrium with a measurable ESIPT rate and then to the highly exergonic, ultrafast ESIPT reaction within the same series of amino-type intramolecular H-bond system.