Undeflatable balloon guide catheter (BGC) during endovascular procedure: Rescue strategy.

The use of a balloon guide catheter (BGC) in the endovascular management of acute ischemic stroke is known to improve the efficacy and efficiency of the procedure by reducing the risk of distal embolization. During the procedure, the balloon of the catheter causes a temporary arrest of cerebral blood flow. However, failure of the balloon to deflate during the BGC procedure can result in catastrophic complications, including aggravated hypoxic damage.
This paper aims to share the resolution and methodological analysis of our experience with BGC balloon deflation failure, which was confirmed by a reproducible experiment under similar conditions.

A 6-week Sprint Interval Training Program Changes Anaerobic Power, Quadriceps Moment, and Subcutaneous Tissue Thickness.

We examined the effects of a 6-week 40-m one-way sprint interval training program (based on sprint time). 13 untrained healthy male collegiate students performed six 40-m sprints with a 60-s resting interval between sprints during the first week, and one sprint was added each week until the sixth week. If the 40-m sprint time exceeded 110% of the fastest baseline 40-m sprint time, the run was repeated. Repeated-sprint cycling test (every 3 weeks), quadriceps moment (every 2 weeks), and abdominal and thigh subcutaneous tissue thickness (every 2 weeks) were measured. Compared to baseline, mean power output improved at week 3 (16.27 vs. 17.73 Watt/kg, p=0.004). Regardless of side, quadriceps moment began to increase at week 4 (2.88 vs. 3.15 N·m/kg, p=0.03). Subcutaneous tissue thickness was reduced at week 2 (abdominal: 11.19 vs. 9.65 mm, p=0.01; thigh: 9.17 vs. 8.12 mm, p=0.009). Our results suggest that (1) sprint training with an intensity of 110% of the fastest baseline 40-m sprint time with the addition of one sprint per week produces similar effects to other training programs, and (2) untrained individuals need 4 weeks of training for strength development in the quadriceps and 2 weeks for reduction in fat tissue thickness.

Liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry for the simultaneous determination of dimethoxyaschantin, dimethylliroresinol, dimethylpinoresinol, epimagnolin A, fargesin and magnolin in rat plasma.

A rapid, selective, and sensitive liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for the simultaneous determination of dimethoxyaschantin, dimethylliroresinol, dimethylpinoresinol, epimagnolin A, fargesin and magnolin, the pharmacologically active ingredients of Magnolia fargesii in rat plasma. These tetrahydrofurofuranoid lignans were extracted from rat plasma using tert-butyl methyl ether at pH 7.4. The analytes were separated on a Pinnacle DB biphenyl column with 65% methanol in 10 mm ammonium formate (pH 3.0) and detected by APCI tandem mass spectrometry in the selective reaction monitoring mode. The calibration curves were linear (r(2) ≥ 0.996) over the concentration range of 20.0-1000 ng/mL for six tetrahydrofurofuranoid lignans. The lower limit of quantification for these lignans was 20.0 ng/mL with 50 µL of plasma sample. The intra- and inter-assay coefficient of variation and relative error for the six tetrahydrofurofuranoid lignans at four quality control concentrations were 0.2-9.9% and -8.5-8.2%, respectively. There was no matrix effect for the six tetrahydrofurofuranoid lignans and tolterodine (internal standard). The pharmacokinetics of dimethylliroresinol, dimethylpinoresinol, epimagnolin A, fargesin and magnolin were evaluated after oral administration of a purified extract isolated from dried flower buds of Magnolia fargesii at doses of 5.5, 11.0 and 22.0 mg/kg in male rats.

Differential role of peroxiredoxin II (PrxII) on the expression of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and B-cell activating factor (BAFF) in ovalbumin (OVA)-induced mouse asthma.

Peroxiredoxin II (PrxII) is one of reactive oxygen species (ROS)-degrading enzyme. Here, we investigated the role of PrxII on toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and B-cell activating factor (BAFF) expression in ovalbumin (OVA)-induced mouse asthma. We used ROS-producing PrxII-/- mice of which cells up-regulate BAFF expression. As significant changes were detected in TLR4 mRNA with real-time quantitative RT-PCR analysis, TLR4 protein was decreased in PrxII-/- mouse splenocytes and peritoneal macrophages, compared to wild type cells. Airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR) was more severe in PrxII-/- mice than wild type mice, which was measured by the level of various parameters, number of eosinophils, IgE level, airway thickness, and mucous secretion. BAFF was detected in cells surrounding airways of OVA-induced mouse and it was highly augmented in PrxII-/- mice. BAFF promoter activity was also higher in PrxII-/- mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) than in wild type MEF. Collectively, results show that PrxII may have benefits in asthma through reducing ROS. It suggests that BAFF and TLR4 expressions are differentially regulated by PrxII and TLR4 protein level may not be crucial in OVA-induced asthma.