Activity

  • Wilson Banke posted an update 1 week ago

    Oral mucositis (OM) pain due to anticancer chemo- and radiotherapy has a very negative impact on patient quality of life. However, no high-quality studies have been performed regarding the analgesic efficacy of indomethacin (IM) oral spray for OM pain.

    This randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial aimed to evaluate the analgesic efficacy of IM oral spray for OM pain due to anticancer chemo- and radiotherapy.

    From July 2015 to December 2016, we enrolled adult cancer patients with OM pain that was due to anticancer chemo- or radiotherapy and was rated 4 or higher on Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) Item 5. Patients were randomly assigned in a 11 ratio to receive either IM oral spray or placebo. The primary endpoint was the change in the BPI Item 6 (“current pain”) score from before to 30 minutes after treatment. Secondary endpoints were the areas under the curves of BPI Item 6 at 15, 60, 120, 180, and 240 minutes after treatment; five items related to meals and conversation from the European Organizatadiotherapy, and may reduce the difficulty in eating meals.

    The relationship between quality of Goals of Care (GOC) conversations and moral distress among neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) providers is not known.

    We sought 1) to explore levels of moral distress in providers, 2) to evaluate how staff moral distress changes in relation to GOC discussions, and 3) to identify elements of GOC discussions associated with change in moral distress. We hypothesized that staff moral distress would change after GOC discussions and that change would vary with presence of key discussion elements.

    Prospective cohort study in a level IV NICU in an urban teaching hospital. We administered validated instruments at baseline and following GOC discussions including the Moral Distress Thermometer (MDT) and Williams Instrument (a measure of end-of-life care) to physicians, nurses, and social workers.

    We collected data on 79 GOC conversations over a 1-year period from 2018 to 2019. Most providers experienced an increase in moral distress following a GOC discussion. Providers experienced an average increase in moral distress, as measured by the MDT, of 0.84 (+/-3.15; P = 0.002). Physicians experienced an average change in moral distress of 1.1 (+/-3.52; P = 0.01) while nurses experienced an average change of 0.55 (+/-2.66; P = 0.07). Several elements of discussions were associated with the degree of increase in moral distress after the conversation.

    Change in moral distress among providers may be a useful metric of quality of GOC discussions. There are identifiable elements of GOC conversations that are associated with high-quality discussions. These elements warrant further study.

    Change in moral distress among providers may be a useful metric of quality of GOC discussions. There are identifiable elements of GOC conversations that are associated with high-quality discussions. These elements warrant further study.Tyrosinase (EC1.14.18.1, TYR) is also called phenol oxidase, is not only involved in pigmentation but also plays an important role in modulating innate immunity in invertebrates. GSK1325756 Tyrosinase is a copper containing metalloenzyme. The tyrosinase protein has two copper binding sites and three conserved histidines. In this study, 21 tyrosinase genes (RpTYR) were obtained from the whole genome of Ruditapes philippinarum. Their open reading frames were from 951 to 5424 aa, the range of predicted relative molecular weight from 36.72 to 203.81 kDa, and the range of isoelectric point from 4.72 to 9.88. Transcriptome analysis showed that RpTYR gene was expressed specifically in different developmental stages, adult tissues, four strains and two groups with different shell colors. Besides, the expression profiles of 21 RpTYRs were investigated against the immune response of R. philippinarum to a Vibrio challenge. The qPCR results showed that RpTYRs were involved in the immune response of R. philippinarum after Vibrio anguillarum challenge. This study provides preliminary evidence that the tyrosinases genes are involved in the immune defense and the potential immune function of R. philippinarum. Overall, these findings suggested that the expansion of TYR genes may play vital roles in larval development, the formation of shell color pattern, and immune response in R. philippinarum.Treating patients with obesity, particularly asthmatics, is a complex challenge that requires a unique and individually tailored approach. Obesity, defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a body mass index of 30.0 kg/m2 or greater. It affects approximately 43% of adults and 19% of youth in America. It is a multifactorial disease and should be managed with the same intensity as any other medical problem, for it represents a risk factor for the onset and severity of asthma. Furthermore, it is a comorbid condition that exacerbates rhinosinusitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, obstructive sleep apnea, hypertension, anxiety, and depression. Being obese also increases morbidity for cardio/cerebrovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, breast and bladder cancer, and migraines. Osteoarthritis, in particular, of the knees and hips, is also associated with obesity, and that too will complicate asthma by hindering a subject’s mobility and ability to exercise. This paper reviews the epidemiology and pathophysiology of obesity, its effect on asthma, and practical strategies to achieve weight loss.While toll-like receptors (TLRs), which mediate innate immunity, are known to play an important role in host defense, recent work suggest their involvement in some integrated behaviors, including anxiety, depressive and cognitive functions. Here, we investigated the potential involvement of the flagellin receptor, TLR5, in anxiety, depression and cognitive behaviors using male TLR5 knock-out (KO) mice. We aobserved a specific low level of basal anxiety in TLR5 KO mice with an alteration of the hypothalamo-pituitary axis (HPA) response to acute restraint stress, illustrated by a decrease of both plasma corticosterone level and c-fos expression in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus where TLR5 was expressed, compared to WT littermates. However, depression and cognitive-related behaviors were not different between TLR5 KO and WT mice. Nor there were significant changes in the expression of some cytokines (IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-α) and other TLRs (TLR2, TLR3 and TLR4) in the prefrontal cortex, amygdala and hippocampus of TLR5 KO mice compared to WT mice.