A New Differential Diagnosis: Synthetic Cannabinoid-Associated Gross Hematuria.

Recreational use of synthetic cannabinoids (SCs), also known as "K2" or "Spice," is becoming a major public-health concern due to their potential for abuse and harmful consequences. New substances are constantly being added to the content of SCs. The dearth of information on these newly added contents as they are introduced into the black market hinders risk assessments of these compounds. We report a highly unusual case of gross hematuria in a 28-year-old male patient after SC use. He was found to have a supratherapeutic INR with no history of prior anticoagulation. His hematuria resolved after four units of fresh-frozen plasma were administered. We include a literature review of the clinical effects of SCs and their possible mechanism of gross hematuria and management.

Targeting both tumour-associated CXCR2+ neutrophils and CCR2+ macrophages disrupts myeloid recruitment and improves chemotherapeutic responses in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: Chemokine pathways are co-opted by pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) to facilitate myeloid cell recruitment from the bone marrow to establish an immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment (TME). Targeting tumour-associated CXCR2+neutrophils (TAN) or tumour-associated CCR2+ macrophages (TAM) alone improves antitumour immunity in preclinical models. However, a compensatory influx of an alternative myeloid subset may result in a persistent immunosuppressive TME and promote therapeutic resistance. Here, we show CCR2 and CXCR2 combined blockade reduces total tumour-infiltrating myeloids, promoting a more robust antitumour immune response in PDAC compared with either strategy alone. METHODS: Blood, bone marrow and tumours were analysed from PDAC patients and controls. Treatment response and correlative studies were performed in mice with established orthotopic PDAC tumours treated with a small molecule CCR2 inhibitor (CCR2i) and CXCR2 inhibitor (CXCR2i), alone and in combination with chemotherapy. RESULTS: A systemic increase in CXCR2+ TAN correlates with poor prognosis in PDAC, and patients receiving CCR2i showed increased tumour-infiltrating CXCR2+ TAN following treatment. In an orthotopic PDAC model, CXCR2 blockade prevented neutrophil mobilisation from the circulation and augmented chemotherapeutic efficacy. However, depletion of either CXCR2+ TAN or CCR2+ TAM resulted in a compensatory response of the alternative myeloid subset, recapitulating human disease. This was overcome by combined CCR2i and CXCR2i, which augmented antitumour immunity and improved response to FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: Dual targeting of CCR2+ TAM and CXCR2+ TAN improves antitumour immunity and chemotherapeutic response in PDAC compared with either strategy alone.

Superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate)-grafted glass fiber filters for oil-water separation.

Oil-water separation is a major problem in industries such as oil production and wastewater treatment, where millions of gallons of oil-contaminated water are produced. Zwitterionic poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (pSBMA) is a superhydrophilic polymer due to its strong interaction with water via electrostatic interactions. By coating surfaces of filter media with such a superhydrophilic polymer, it is expected that one can effectively separate oil and water. In this work, pSBMA was grafted onto glass fiber surfaces using surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). The in-air water contact angle of the pSBMA-treated glass was 8-15°, as compared to 31° for the control untreated glass, whereas the underwater-oil contact angle of the pSBMA-grafted glass was 162-169°, as compared to 142° for the control pristine glass, suggesting that the pSBMA-grafted glass slides are superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic. Such superhydrophilicity and underwater superoleophobicity were realized by modifying surface chemistry only, with no need to create rough surfaces. The pSBMA-grafted glass fiber filters demonstrated exceptional results at separating oil from water without even allowing miniscule amounts of visible oil to permeate through.

Optimal use of platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor antagonists in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions.

Discovery of the central role of platelets in the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and ischaemic complications of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) has led to the widespread use of oral and parenteral platelet inhibitors to treat these conditions. Glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa (also known as α(IIb)ß(3)) receptors on the surface of platelets play an essential role in platelet aggregation and serve as a key mediator in the formation of arterial thrombus. When activated, GP IIb/IIIa receptors bind to fibrinogen, which serves as the 'final common pathway' in platelet aggregation. Of the numerous agents developed for modulating platelet activity, intravenous platelet GP IIb/IIIa receptor antagonists are the most potent. There are four agents in clinical use, including abciximab, eptifibatide, tirofiban and lamifiban, although lamifiban is not approved for use in the US. While all agents block fibrinogen binding to GP IIb/IIIa, they do so by different mechanisms. Abciximab is a humanized form of a murine monoclonal antibody directed against GP IIb/IIIa, eptifibatide is a synthetic, cyclic heptapeptide that contains a lysine-glycine-aspartic acid (KGD) sequence that mimics the arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) sequence found on GP IIb/IIIa, tirofiban is a non-peptide antagonist derived by optimization of the tyrosine analogue that structurally mimicks the RGD-containing loop of the disintegrin echistatin, and lamifiban is a synthetic, non-cyclic, non-peptide, low-molecular-weight compound. In clinical trials, use of these agents reduces ischaemic adverse cardiovascular events in patients with ACS undergoing PCI, but at a cost of increased bleeding.

Gerbode ventricular septal defect diagnosed at cardiac MR imaging: case report.

This report describes the ability of cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to depict an unusual cardiac defect. A type of ventricular septal defect called the Gerbode defect, which results in a communication between the left ventricle and the right atrium, is presented. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first time cardiac MR imaging has been utilized to characterize this defect.