Changes in Whole-Blood microRNA Profiles during the Onset and Treatment Process of Cerebral Infarction: A Human Study

Circulating miRNA species are promising symptom markers for various diseases, including cardiovascular disease. However, studies regarding their role in the treatment process are limited, especially concerning cerebral infarction. This study aimed to extract miRNA markers to investigate whether they reflect both onset and treatment process of cerebral infarction. A total of 22 patients (P-group) and 22 control subjects (C-group) were examined for their whole-blood miRNA profiles using DNA GeneChip™ miRNA 4.0 Array, with six patients examined after treatment (T-group). A total of 64 miRNAs were found to be differentially expressed between the C- and P-groups. Out of 64 miRNAs, the expression levels of two miRNAs correlated with hypertension. A total of 155 miRNAs were differentially expressed between the P- and T-groups. Five common miRNAs were found among the 64 and 155 miRNAs identified. Importantly, these common miRNAs were inversely regulated in each comparison (e.g., C < P > T), including miR-505-5p, which was previously reported to be upregulated in aortic stenosis patients. Our previous study using rat cerebral infarction models detected the downregulation of an apoptosis repressor, WDR26, which was repressed by one of the five miRNAs. Our results provide novel information regarding the miRNA-based diagnosis of cerebral infarction in humans. In particular, the five common miRNAs could be useful makers for the onset and the treatment process. Trial registration: This study was registered in the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN000038321).

Measurement of drug concentration and bacterial contamination after diluting morphine for intrathecal administration: an experimental study

Background: We did this study to analyse the risks posed by manual diluted morphine solutions intended for intrathecal use. Dilution of morphine is needed to achieve low concentrations for intrathecal injection. Dilution poses the risk of dilution errors and bacterial contamination. The primary goal was to compare the concentrations of morphine and bupivacaine between four groups of syringes. The secondary goal was to investigate the difference in contamination rate between these groups. Methods: 25 experienced anaesthesia providers were asked to prepare a mixture of bupivacaine 2.0 mg/ml and morphine 60 µg/ml using 3 different methods as clean and precise as possible. The fourth method used was the aspiration of ampoules prepared by the pharmacy. The concentrations of morphine and bupivacaine were measured by High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The medication was cultured for bacterial contamination. Results: Group 1 (60 µg/ml; 95% CI: 59-110 µg/ml) yielded 3 outliers above 180 µg/ml morphine concentration. Group 2 (76 µg/ml; 95% CI: 72-80 µg/ml) and 3 (69 µg/ml; 95% CI: 66-71 µg/ml) were consistently higher than the target concentration of 60 µg. The group “pharmacy” was precise and accurate (59 µg/ml; 95% CI: 59-59 µg/ml). Two groups had one contaminated sample with a spore-forming aerobic gram-positive rod. Conclusion: Manually diluted morphine is at risk for deviating concentrations, which could lead to increased side-effects. Medication produced by the hospital pharmacy was highly accurate. Furthermore, even when precautions are undertaken, contamination of the medication is a serious risk and appeared to be unrelated to the dilution process. Trial registration: Not applicable

Accelerating High-Throughput Screening for Structural Materials with Production Management Methods

High-throughput screenings are widely accepted for pharmaceutical developments for new substances and the development of new drugs with required characteristics by evolutionary studies. Current research projects transfer this principle of high-throughput testing to the development of metallic materials. In addition to new generating and testing methods, these types of high-throughput systems need a logistical control and handling method to reduce throughput time to get test results faster. Instead of the direct material flow found in classical high-throughput screenings, these systems have a very complex structure of material flow. The result is a highly dynamic system that includes short-term changes such as rerun stations, partial tests, and temporarily paced sequences between working systems. This paper presents a framework that divides the actions for system acceleration into three main sections. First, methods for special applications in high-throughput systems are designed or adapted to speed up the generation, treatment, and testing processes. Second, methods are needed to process trial plans and to control test orders, which can efficiently reduce waiting times. The third part of the framework describes procedures for handling samples. This reduces non-productive times and reduces order processing in individual lots.

Prediction of Properties of Microwave- Hardened Sandmixes Containing Water- Glass with Use of Neural Networks

Presented are results of a research on the possibility of using artificial neural networks for forecasting mechanical and technological parameters of moulding sands containing water-glass, hardened in the innovative microwave heating process. Trial predictions were confronted with experimental results of examining sandmixes prepared on the base of high-silica sand, containing various grades of sodium water-glass and additions of a wetting agent. It was found on the grounds of obtained values of tensile strength and permeability that, with use of artificial neural networks, it is possible complex forecasting mechanical and technological properties of these materials after microwave heating and the obtained data will be used in further research works on application of modern analytic methods for designing production technology of high-quality casting cores and moulds.