Nanocluster Mediated Photothermia Improves Eradication Efficiency and Antibiotic Sensitivity of Helicobacter Pylori

Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication plays a crucial role in gastric cancer prevention, but the antimicrobial resistance of H. pylori is obstructing this elimination process. In this study, we developed nanoclusters (NCs) from Zn0.3Fe2.7O4 nanoparticles using a poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(ε-caprolactone)-based nanocarrier as an innovative antibiotic-independent H. pylori management.Results: The nanocluster showed minimal toxicity and maximal biocompatibility. With a low concentration (50 µg/mL) of NCs under a short time period (～2 min) of near-infrared (808nm) irradiation, we kept the culture medium temperature to 41 °C for 20 minutes with continuous irradiation. The heated NCs exhibited efficient photothermal effects and resulted in an excellent inhibition of H. pylori growth, adhesion ability and cell vacuolization ability in in vitro investigation. Transmission electron microscopy showed a dramatic morphologic change after NCs photothermia on H. pylori, including cell wall and membrane rupture, as well as ribosome damage. Besides, levofloxacin and clarithromycin resistance were improved after photothermal treatment in H. pylori NCTC 11637 and/or clinical strains, however metronidazole resistance was unchanged. We also discovered a significant decrease in the biofilm formation of H. pylori under the NCs-based photothermal application, while efflux pump function was unchanged.Conclusions: Based on this novel NCs-based photothermal approach, we were able to demonstrate in vitro a significant inhibition of both H. pylori growth and molecular toxicity, and its improvement in antibiotic resistance alone with the eradication of H. pylori biofilms previously believed to be resistant to conventional antibiotics.

Exacerbation of Psoriasis Following COVID-19 Vaccination: Report From a Single Center

The temporal association had been reported between vaccination and exacerbation of psoriasis, and episodes of psoriasis flare-up have recently been attributed to COVID-19 vaccines. We recruited 32 unimmunized controls and 51 vaccinated psoriasis patients, 49 of whom were under biological therapy, with regular clinic visits receiving a total of 63 shots of vaccines, including 30 doses of Moderna mRNA-1273 and 33 doses of AstraZeneca-Oxford AZD1222. Fifteen episodes of exacerbation attacked within 9.3 ± 4.3 days, which is higher than two episodes in the control group (p = 0.047). The mean post-vaccination severity of the worsening episodes increased from PASI 3.1 to 8.0 (p < 0.001). Three patients showed morphologic change from chronic plaque-type to guttate psoriasis. Deterioration of psoriasis following COVID-19 vaccination was not associated with age, sex, disease duration, psoriatic arthritis, family history of psoriasis, history of erythroderma, current biologics use, comorbidities, vaccine types, human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-C genotypes, baseline PASI nor pre-vaccination PASI. For those who received two doses of vaccination, all but one patient aggravated after the first shot but not the second. The mechanism of psoriasis exacerbation in immunized individuals is unclear, but Th17 cells induced by COVID-19 vaccines may play a role. In the pandemic era, psoriasis patients and physicians should acknowledge the possibility of fluctuation of disease activity when vaccinated against COVID-19. Nevertheless, compared to a treatable dermatologic disease with rapid resolution of exacerbation, psoriasis patients who do not have contraindications to vaccination should benefit from COVID-19 vaccines in the prevention of severe COVID-19 infection and fatality.

Nanocluster Mediated Photothermia Improves Eradication Efficiency and Antibiotic Sensitivity of Helicobacter Pylori

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication plays a crucial role in gastric cancer prevention, but the antimicrobial resistance of H. pylori is obstructing this elimination process. In this study, we developed nanoclusters (NCs) from Zn0.3Fe2.7O4 nanoparticles using a poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(ε-caprolactone)-based nanocarrier as an innovative antibiotic-independent H. pylori management. The nanocluster showed minimal toxicity and maximal biocompatibility. With a low concentration (50 µg/mL) of NCs under a short time period (～2 min) of near-infrared (808nm) irradiation, we kept the culture medium temperature to 41 °C for 20 minutes with continuous irradiation. The heated NCs exhibited efficient photothermal effects and resulted in an excellent inhibition of H. pylori growth, adhesion ability and cell vacuolization ability in in vitro investigation. Transmission electron microscopy showed a dramatic morphologic change after NCs photothermia on H. pylori, including cell wall and membrane rupture, as well as ribosome damage. Besides, levofloxacin and clarithromycin resistance were improved after photothermal treatment in H. pylori NCTC 11637 and/or clinical strains, however metronidazole resistance was unchanged. We also discovered a significant decrease in the biofilm formation of H. pylori under the NCs-based photothermal application, while efflux pump function was unchanged. In summary, using this novel NCs-based photothermal approach, we were able to demonstrate in vitro a significant inhibition of both H. pylori growth and molecular toxicity, and its improvement in antibiotic resistance alone with the eradication of H. pylori biofilms previously believed to be resistant to conventional antibiotics.

Morphologic change in deep venous thrombosis in the lower extremity after therapeutic anticoagulation

Background To evaluate the anticoagulant treatment response in venous thrombi with different morphologies (size, shape, and echogenicity) by measuring the change in thrombus thickness. Materials and methods This was a retrospective cohort study of 97 lower extremity DVT patients diagnosed by venous ultrasound between March 2014 and February 2018. The demographics, clinical risk factors, anticoagulant treatment, and ultrasound findings at the first diagnosis and 2–6 months after treatment were evaluated. Results The anticoagulant treatment with LMWH followed by VKAs showed a significant decrease in the mean maximum difference in lower extremity DVT thrombus thickness compared with VKAs alone (P-value < 0.001). After adjustment by treatment, the thrombi found in dilated veins showed a significant decrease in the thickness of such thrombi compared with those found in small veins: 4 mm vs. 0 mm (Coef. = 3, 95% CI: 1.9, 4.1 and P-value < 0.001). Anechoic and hypoechoic thrombi showed a significant decrease in the thickness compared with hyperechoic thrombi: 5 mm vs. 0 mm (Coef. = 4, 95% CI: 3.25, 4.74 and P-value < 0.001) and 3 mm vs. 0 mm (Coef. = 2, 95% CI: 1.34, 42.66 and P-value < 0.001), respectively. Concentric thrombi showed a significant decrease in thickness compared with eccentric thrombi: 4 mm vs. 0 mm (Coef. = 2, 95% CI: 1.45, 2.55 and P-value < 0.001). Conclusion The anticoagulant treatment with LMWH followed by VKAs shows a significant decrease in lower extremity DVT thrombus thickness compared with VKAs alone. After adjustment by treatment, the morphologic finding of acute thrombi shows a significantly decreased thickness compared with the morphologic finding of chronic thrombi.

Nuclear medicine imaging in oral diseases: A review

Nuclear medicine is the discipline of medicine that deals with the use of radionuclides in research, diagnosis, and treatment. It works on molecular & functional level and uses radiopharmaceuticals in its procedure helping in detection of lesions before morphologic change is evident. Radiopharmaceuticals also known as Radionuclides/ Radioisotopes are unstable atoms of a chemical element, actively emit radiation. These emitted radiations are absorbed by photomultiplier tube and reconstructed by a computer system followed by display of an image. The rationale of writing this article is to understand about Nuclear Medicine and its applications in oral diseases.

The relative influence of dune aspect ratio and beach width on dune erosion as a function of storm duration and surge level

Dune height is an important predictor of impact during a storm event given that taller dunes have a lower likelihood of being overtopped than shorter dunes. However, the temporal dominance of the wave collision regime, wherein volume loss (erosion) from the dune occurs through dune retreat without overtopping, suggests that dune width must also be considered when evaluating the vulnerability of dunes to erosion. We use XBeach, a numerical model that simulates hydrodynamic processes, sediment transport, and morphologic change, to analyze storm-induced dune erosion as a function of dune aspect ratio (i.e., dune height versus dune width) for storms of varying intensity and duration. We find that low aspect ratio (low and wide) dunes lose less volume than high aspect ratio (tall and narrow) dunes during longer and more intense storms when the beach width is controlled for. In managed dune scenarios, where sand fences are used to construct a “fenced” dune seaward of the existing “natural” dune, we find that fenced dunes effectively prevent the natural dune behind them from experiencing any volume loss until the fenced dune is sufficiently eroded, reducing the magnitude of erosion of the natural dune by up to 50 %. We then control for dune morphology to assess volume loss as a function of beach width and confirm that beach width exerts a significant influence on dune erosion; a wide beach offers the greatest protection from erosion in all circumstances while the width of the dune determines how long the dune will last under persistent scarping. These findings suggest that efforts to maintain a wide beach may be effective at protecting coastal communities from dune loss. However, a trade-off may exist in maintaining wide beaches and dunes in that the protection offered in the short-term must be considered in concert with potentially long-term detrimental effects of limiting overwash, a process which is critical to maintaining island elevation as sea level rises.

Morphodynamic styles: characterising the behaviour of gravel-bed rivers using a novel, quantitative index

The assessment of channels widely focusses on using channel form to identify channel character, but fail to capture the more nuanced variations of morphodynamics without the analysis of process. This paper presents a method using an index of channel behaviour, the throughput ratio (ζ), which is calculated from morphologic change and sediment transport, and explores the viability of inferring process from channel form to act as an indicator of channel behaviour. Two experiments using the same initial width, slope, discharge and grain size were used to demonstrate the effectiveness of this method in representing different morphodynamics. In one experiment the channel was allowed to laterally deform, whilst the other had unerodible elements placed at its boundaries. As a result the experiment with mobile banks widened and reduced sediment transport to zero, whereas the fixed bank experiment— unable to decrease its shear stress— continued to output material. In both, the rate of morphologic change tended to zero despite their marked differences in sediment transport over time. The differences in evolution are due to the differences in process available to each channel despite a starting similarity in bed mobility and their gross similarity in a meandering planform. The throughput ratio allows new representations of the temporal and spatial patterns of the morphodynamics, providing additional measures with which to analyse the processes acting in river channels.