Calcium pyrophosphate crystal deposition with rotator cuff tear-A case report.

Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) deposition disease is an inflammatory arthritis induced by calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) crystals and clinically it is called pseudogout. It usually deposits in articular cartilage and in periarticular soft tissues. But no cases of pseudogout in the rotator cuff without cartilage deposition or destruction have been reported so far. We present a case of a 57-year-old woman who was diagnosed as pseudogout with rotator cuff tear.

Pigmented Fungiform Papillae of the Tongue: A Single-center Experience and Review of Literature.

BACKGROUND: Pigmented fungiform papillae of the tongue (PFPT) is a rare benign pigmentary disorder of the tongue. In dark-skinned individuals, PFPT appears to be relatively common. However, limited data exist on PFPT in Korean patients. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of PFPT in Korean patients. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with PFPT between 1995 and 2021 at the Pusan National University Hospital were included. Clinical characteristics of PFPT, dermoscopic findings, and comorbidities were reviewed. RESULTS: A total of 19 patients diagnosed with PFPT were enrolled. The male to female ratio was approximately 1:5. The mean age at diagnosis was 41.1 years (range, 8~67 years). According to Holzwanger's classification, Type I was the most common (89.5%). PFPT was commonly concomitant with pigmentary disorders, including mucosal melanotic macules, Laugier-Hunziker syndrome, melasma, and melanonychia (6/19, 31.6%). Preceding oral infection or inflammatory lesions were found in four patients (21.1%), and systemic diseases and infectious diseases existed in two patients (10.5%). Dermoscopic examination was performed in seven patients; pigmented border with dichotomized vessels (rose petal pattern, 71.4%) and diffuse pigmentation (cobblestone pattern, 71.4%) were common findings. CONCLUSION: Our study shows PFPT can coexist with pigmentary disorders. Concomitant pigmentary disorder shows an association with sex hormone or susceptibility to abnormal pigmentation may be a possible cause of PFPT.

Chemical Constituents of the Leaves of Diospyros kaki (Persimmon).

Diospyros kaki (persimmon) leaves have long been utilized as traditional medicine for the treatment of ischemic stroke, angina, and hypertension and as a healthy beverage and cosmetic for anti-aging. This study aimed to isolate as many compounds as possible from an ethanol extract of the persimmon leaves to identify the biologically active compounds. The antioxidative effect of the ethyl acetate layer from the ethanol extract of the persimmon leaves was demonstrated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay and online high-performance liquid chromatography-2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (HPLC-ABTS) analysis. A new flavonoid, kaempferol-3-O-ß-d-2″-coumaroylgalactoside (1), and a new natural compound, kaempferol-3-O-ß-d-2″-feruloylglucoside (3) were isolated from the ethyl acetate layer, along with 25 previously known compounds, including fourteen flavonoids, one ionone, two coumarins, seven triterpenoids, and one acetophenone. Their structures were determined by the interpretation of spectrometric and spectroscopic data. All isolated compounds were rapidly evaluated using an online HPLC-ABTS assay, and of these, compounds 4-8, 11, 13, 15, and 16 clearly showed antioxidative effects. The amount of these compounds was 0.3-0.65% of the extract.

Aromatic and Aliphatic Apiuronides from the Bark of Cinnamomum cassia.

Cinnamomum cassia Presl (Cinnamon) has been widely cultivated in the tropical or subtropical areas, such as Yunnan, Fujian, Guandong, and Hainan in China, as well as India, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia. Four new glycosides bearing apiuronic acid (1, 4, 6, and 7) and their sodium or potassium salts (2, 3, and 5), together with 31 known compounds, were isolated from a hot water extract of the bark of C. cassia via repeated chromatography. The structures of the new compounds (1-7) were determined by NMR, IR, MS, and ICP-AES data and by acid hydrolysis and sugar analysis. This is the first report of the presence of apiuronic acid glycosides. Some of the isolates were evaluated for their analgesic effects on a neuropathic pain animal model induced by paclitaxel. Cinnzeylanol (8), cinnacaside (9), kelampayoside A (10), and syringaresinol (11) showed analgesic effects against paclitaxel-induced cold allodynia.

Histogram compensation algorithm for an efficient phase-only hologram calculation.

A fast computer-generated phase-only hologram (POH) calculation is needed to realize a holographic display. Existing iterative methods require many iterations and thus require speed improvement, and noniterative methods add constraints to the image, resulting in restrictions on quality or range of expression. In this paper, we propose an efficient iteration algorithm without using a feedback process. For the several initial iterations among the entire iteration process, the image constraint was replaced by a histogram adjusted image. This pre-iteration can compensate for the loss of bright and dark pixels in the image reconstructed by the POH, resulting in a more accurate POH. The quality of image reconstructed by the proposed method was compared with that of existing algorithms by computer simulation and optical regeneration. Compared to the previous method, a 1.17dB increase in peak signal-to-noise ratio was obtained, and the number of iterations to achieve the same image quality has been reduced by 23%. The proposed method hardly increased the amount of computation and could be used simultaneously with the existing feedback methods.

Comparison of the Change in the Prevalence and Intensity of Schistosoma haematobium Infection Between High and Low Prevalence Areas of White Nile State, Sudan.

This study aimed to investigate whether mass drug administration (MDA) intervention has an equivalent effect on reducing the prevalence and intensity of Schistosoma haematobium infection regardless of the baseline values. A repeated cross-sectional survey was performed targeting students of 12 primary schools in Al Jabalain and El Salam districts of White Nile State, Sudan, at both 1 week before and 8 months after the MDA. Prior to the baseline survey, school-aged children in Al Jabalain had received MDA interventions twice in 4 years, while those in El Salam had not. The baseline prevalence was 9.1% in Al Jabalain and 35.2% in El Salam, which were reduced to 1.8% and 5.5% at 8 months after the MDA, respectively. The corresponding reduction rates were 80.3% and 84.4%, not significant difference between both districts. However, changes in the geometric mean intensity (GMI) of egg counts were significantly different between both districts. The baseline GMIs were 14.5 eggs per 10 ml of urine (EP10) in Al Jabalain and 18.5 EP10 in El Salam, which were reduced to 7.1 and 11.2 EP10 after treatment, respectively. The corresponding reduction rates were 51.0% and 39.5%. In conclusion, MDA interventions were found to bring about similar relative reduction in prevalence regardless of the baseline value; however, the relative reduction in infection intensity was more salient in the district with a low baseline value for both prevalence and intensity. This clearly points to the importance of repeated MDA interventions in endemic areas, which will eventually contribute to schistosomiasis elimination.

Bioactive Phytochemicals Isolated from Akebia quinata Enhances Glucose-Stimulated Insulin Secretion by Inducing PDX-1.

Chocolate vine (Akebia quinata) is consumed as a fruit and is also used in traditional medicine. In order to identify the bioactive components of A. quinata, a phytosterol glucoside stigmasterol-3-O-ß-d-glucoside (1), three triterpenoids maslinic acid (2), scutellaric acid (3), and hederagenin (4), and three triterpenoidal saponins akebia saponin PA (5), hederacoside C (6), and hederacolchiside F (7) were isolated from a 70% EtOH extract of the fruits of A. quinata (AKQU). The chemical structures of isolates 1-7 were determined by analyzing the 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic data. Here, we evaluated the effects of AKQU and compounds 1-7 on insulin secretion using the INS-1 rat pancreatic ß-cell line. Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) was evaluated in INS-1 cells using the GSIS assay. The expression levels of the proteins related to pancreatic ß-cell function were detected by Western blotting. Among the isolates, stigmasterol-3-O-ß-d-glucoside (1) exhibited strong GSIS activity and triggered the overexpression of pancreas/duodenum homeobox protein-1 (PDX-1), which is implicated in the regulation of pancreatic ß-cell survival and function. Moreover, isolate 1 markedly induced the expression of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), insulin receptor substrate-2 (IRS-2), phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), and Akt, which regulate the transcription of PDX-1. The results of our experimental studies indicated that stigmasterol-3-O-ß-d-glucoside (1) isolated from the fruits of A. quinata can potentially enhance insulin secretion, and might alleviate the reduction in GSIS during the development of T2DM.

Chemical Constituents of the Leaves of Butterbur (Petasites japonicus) and Their Anti-Inflammatory Effects.

Two new aryltetralin lactone lignans, petasitesins A and B were isolated from the hot water extract of the leaves of butterbur (Petasites japonicus) along with six known compounds. The chemical structures of lignans 1 and 2 were elucidated on the basis of 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic data, electronic circular dichroism (ECD) and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra. Petasitesin A and cimicifugic acid D showed significant inhibitory effects on the production of both prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and NO in RAW264.7 macrophages. The expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were inhibited by compound 1 in RAW264.7 cells. Furthermore, compounds 1 and 3 exhibited strong affinities with both iNOS and COX-2 enzymes in molecular docking studies.

Identification and Isolation of Active Compounds from Astragalus membranaceus that Improve Insulin Secretion by Regulating Pancreatic ß-Cell Metabolism.

In type 2 diabetes (T2D), insufficient secretion of insulin from the pancreatic ß-cells contributes to high blood glucose levels, associated with metabolic dysregulation. Interest in natural products to complement or replace existing antidiabetic medications has increased. In this study, we examined the effect of Astragalus membranaceus extract (ASME) and its compounds 1-9 on glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) from pancreatic ß-cells. ASME and compounds 1-9 isolated from A. membranaceus stimulated insulin secretion in INS-1 cells without inducing cytotoxicity. A further experiment showed that compounds 2, 3, and 5 enhanced the phosphorylation of total insulin receptor substrate-2 (IRS-2), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), and Akt, and activated pancreatic and duodenal homeobox-1 (PDX-1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ), which are associated with ß-cell function and insulin secretion. The data suggest that two isoflavonoids (2 and 3) and a nucleoside (compound 5), isolated from the roots of A. membranaceus, have the potential to improve insulin secretion in ß-cells, representing the first step towards the development of potent antidiabetic drugs.

Low-noise high-efficiency double-phase hologram by multiplying a weight factor.

This Letter describes a method of generating a phase-only hologram, which improves the lack of diffraction efficiency and peripheral noise phenomenon, which is a problem of the existing double-phase hologram (DPH) method. The proposed weight factor DPH method can be obtained by a simple matrix operation, so there is no need for additional computing power. The optimal weight factor value depends on the image size, so we have found the optimal value for each image size. The numerical simulation and optical experiments were conducted to compare the images generated using the proposed weigh factor DPH method, the existing DPH method, and the random phase method. The peak signal-to-noise ratio of the images obtained through the proposed weight factor is improved by 14.6% compared to the existing DPH.

New Depsides and Neuroactive Phenolic Glucosides from the Flower Buds of Rugosa Rose ( Rosa rugosa).

The flower buds of Rosa rugosa Thunb. have been commonly used as a source of rose oil and as an ingredient in tea in eastern Asia, including China, Japan, and Korea. Repeated chromatography of a hot water extract from the flower buds of R. rugosa led to the isolation and characterization of three new depside glucosides, rosarugosides A-C (1-3), along with three phenolic compounds, one ionone glucoside, four flavonoids, and two tannins having known chemical structures. Linarionoside A and 2-phenylethyl-(6- O-galloyl)-ß-d-glucopyranoside were isolated from R. rugosa for the first time in this study. The structures of the new compounds 1-3 were elucidated by interpreting one- and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic and mass spectrometric data. Among the isolates, a new depside glucoside (1) and two major phenolic glucosides (4 and 5) improved MK-801-induced sensorimotor gating deficits, which were measured via an acoustic startle response test in mice.

Epidemiological Survey on Schistosomiasis and Intestinal Helminthiasis among Village Residents of the Rural River Basin Area in White Nile State, Sudan.

There have been some reports on schistosomiasis of school children in Sudan's Nile River basin area; however, information about the infection status of Schistosoma species and intestinal helminths among village residents of this area is very limited. Urine and stool samples were collected from the 1,138 residents of the Al Hidaib and Khour Ajwal villages of White Nile State, Sudan in 2014. The prevalence of overall schistosomiasis and intestinal helminthiasis was 36.3% and 7.7%, respectively. Egg positive rates were 35.6% for Schistosoma haematobium, 2.6% for S. mansoni, and 1.4% were mixed. The prevalence of schistosomiasis was significantly higher in men (45.6%) than in women (32.0%), in Khou Ajwal villagers (39.4%) than in Al Hidaib villagers (19.2%), and for age groups ≤15 years old (51.5%) than for age groups >15 years old (13.2%). The average number of eggs per 10 ml urine (EP10) of S. haematobium infections was 18.9, with 22.2 eggs in men vs 17.0 in women and 20.4 in Khou Ajwal villagers vs 8.1 in Al Hidaib villagers. In addition to S. mansoni eggs, 4 different species of intestinal helminths were found in the stool, including Hymenolepis nana (6.6%) and H. diminuta (1.0%). Collectively, urinary schistosomiasis is still prevalent among village residents in Sudan's White Nile River basin and was especially high in men, children ≤15 years, and in the village without a clean water system. H. nana was the most frequently detected intestinal helminths in the 2 villages.

Non-glycosidic iridoids from the roots of Patrinia scabra and their nitric oxide production inhibitory effects.

Phytochemical investigation on the 70% aqueous EtOH extract from the roots of Patrinia scabra led to the isolation and characterization of five new non-glycosidic iridoids, patriscabrins F-J (1-5), along with a known iridoid 11-ethoxyviburtinal (6). The structures of the new compounds 1-5 were determined by interpretation of spectroscopic data, particularly by 1D- and 2D-NMR and ECD studies. Thereafter, the isolates 1-6 were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide production in RAW 264.7 cells. Of these, patriscabrin F (1) exhibited the most potent inhibitory effect with observed IC50 value of 14.1 µM. In addition, patriscabrin G (2) and 11-ethoxyviburtinal (6) showed IC50 values 24.6 and 35.5 µM, respectively.

Enhanced see-through near-eye display using time-division multiplexing of a Maxwellian-view and holographic display.

In this paper, we suggest the improved integration of a holographic display and a Maxwellian-view display using time-division multiplexing and describe an image rendering process for the proposed system. In general, the holographic displays have a resolution limit when used to represent a virtual 3D scene. In the proposed system, the holographic display processed relatively few layers of the virtual 3D scene, while the remaining objects were processed with a Maxwellian-view display to which was applied a Gaussian smoothing filter. Hence, we obtained the retaining holographic image quality, expanding the field of view, and reducing the computation time of the proposed system. The holographic display of the proposed system had an image size of 28 mm × 28 mm with a field of view of 1.02° and a 10.8 mm eye box. The Maxwellian-view display had an image size of 230 mm × 230 mm with a field of view of 22.6 ° and a 0.9 mm eye box diameter. Each display was integrated in time-division multiplexing of 40 Hz, and the proposed system was successfully verified.

Optical Sensing Properties of ZnO Nanoparticles Prepared by Spray Pyrolysis.

We studied the optical sensing properties of ZnO nanoparticles prepared by spray pyrolysis. To investigate their optical sensing performance, we incubated peptides on ZnO nanoparticles. The photoluminescence (PL) peak intensity of peptides on the ZnO nanoparticles was higher than that of peptides on the ZnO film or on the glass plate. This observed PL enhancement is attributed to the optical confinement of ZnO nanoparticles. The low-temperature spectra displayed a strong exciton emission peak with multiple sidebands, attributed to the bound exciton and its longitudinal optical phonon sidebands. The strong exciton emission is thought to be the combined effect of optical confinement due to the nanoparticle geometry, reduction of defect emission by thermal annealing, and reduction of non-radiative relaxation at low temperatures.

Chemical constituents of the roots of Codonopsis lanceolata.

A new phenylpropanoid (1), a new alkaloid (11), and a new natural polyacetylene (17), together with nine phenolic compounds (2-10), five alkaloids (12-16), three polyacetylenes (18-20), three triterpenoidal saponins (21-23), one phenylethanoid glycoside (24), and three hexyl glycosides (25-27) with previous known structures, were isolated from the roots of Codonopsis lanceolata. All of the isolates 1-27 were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW 264.7 macrophages and cell viability in A2780 human ovarian cancer cells. Among the isolates, lancemasides A and B have a significant inhibitory effect on the production of NO in RAW264.7 cells (IC50 values < 50 µM). In A2780 cells, lancemaside A exhibited the most potent inhibitory effect on cell viability. This is the first report on the pharmacological activities of lancemaside B (22).

See-through display combined with holographic display and Maxwellian display using switchable holographic optical element based on liquid lens.

We report a switchable holographic optical element based on a liquid lens for a see-through display. For the switchable holographic optical element, we recorded two optical components in the holographic film in two steps. A numerical simulation was also done to define the recording and reconstruction conditions. After the recording process, the entire system was changed from 4f optics to Maxwellian optics by changing wavefront of the reference wave using a liquid lens. The diffraction efficiency was 0.46 for a single element recording and around 0.14 for a double element recording. The holographic display and the Maxwellian display were successfully switched without any crosstalk. The field of view and eye box of the holographic display were 1° and 4.36 mm, respectively, and the field of view and the eye box of the Maxwellian display were 3.8° and 23.2 um, respectively. In the proposed system, spatial frequency filtering by the liquid lens and image shape distortion seriously affected the hologram image. However, we successfully verified the feasibility of our proposed switchable holographic optical element using a liquid lens.

(-)-Asarinin from the Roots of Asarum sieboldii Induces Apoptotic Cell Death via Caspase Activation in Human Ovarian Cancer Cells.

Two tetrahydrofurofurano lignans (1 and 2), four phenylpropanoids (3⁻6), and two alkamides (7 and 8) were isolated from the EtOAc-soluble fraction of the roots of Asarum sieboldii. The chemical structures of the isolates were identified by analysis of spectroscopic data measurements, and by a comparison of their data with published values. The isolates (1, 2, 4⁻8) were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against human ovarian cancer cells (A2780 and SKOV3) and immortalized ovarian surface epithelial cells (IOSE80PC) using a MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide) assay. Of the isolates, (-)-asarinin (1) exhibited the most potent cytotoxicity to both A2780 and SKOV3 cells. A propidium iodide/annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (V-FITC) double staining assay showed that (-)-asarinin (1) induces apoptotic cell death in ovarian cancer cells. In addition, (-)-asarinin (1) increased the activation of caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9 in ovarian cancer cells. Pretreatment with caspase inhibitors attenuated the cell death induced by (-)-asarinin (1). In conclusion, our findings show that (-)-asarinin (1) from the roots of A. sieboldii may induce caspase-dependent apoptotic cell death in human cancer cells.

Two new ß-carboline alkaloids from the stems of Picrasma quassioides.

Two new ß-carboline alkaloids, 1-acetyl-4-methoxy-8-hydroxy-ß-carboline (1) and 1-acetyl-4,8-dimethoxy-ß-carboline (2), together with 10 known compounds; seven ß-carboline alkaloids (3-9), two canthin-6-one alkaloids (10 and 11), and one quassinoid (12) were isolated from the stems of Picrasma quassioides. The structure of the new compounds 1 and 2 were determined by spectroscopic analyses including 1D- and 2D-NMR and HRMS interpretation. All the isolates (1-12) were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against human ovarian carcinoma A2780 and SKOV3 cell lines using MTT assays. Of the isolates, compounds 5-7 exhibited the most potent cytotoxicity on both A2780 and SKOV3 cell lines in vitro.