Structural Basis for Cell-Wall Recognition by Bacteriophage PBC5 Endolysin

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Prognosis of Cervical Cancer in the Era of Concurrent Chemoradiation from National Database in Korea: A Comparison between Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Adenocarcinoma

In 1999, the National Cancer Institute issued a clinical advisory strongly touting the advantage of cisplatin-based chemoradiation (CCRT) for cervical cancer patients requiring radiation for their treatment. This study aimed to compare survival outcomes of cervical squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma before and after the advent of CCRT. Data were obtained from the Korea National Cancer Incidence Database for patients who were diagnosed with cervical cancers between 1993 and 2012. We compared survival according to histologic subtypes in cervical cancer patients diagnosed before (1993–1997), during (1998–2002), and after (2003–2012) the introduction of CCRT. A total of 80,766 patients were identified, including 64,531 (79.9%) women with squamous cell carcinomas and 7,265 (9.0%) with adenocarcinoma. With the introduction of CCRT, survival trends gradually increased in patients of both histologic subtypes with regional tumors. However, survival was significantly higher in squamous cell carcinoma than in adenocarcinoma patients regardless of treatment modalities (surgery alone, P < 0.001; surgery followed by CCRT, P < 0.001; or primary CCRT, P = 0.003). Multivariate analysis showed that adenocarcinoma was an independent negative prognostic factor for survival regardless of the time period (before CCRT, hazard ratio (HR) = 1.49; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.37–1.62; after introduction of CCRT, HR = 1.40; 95% CI, 1.30–1.50). Although the survival of adenocarcinoma has improved after the introduction of CCRT, adenocarcinoma is still associated with worse overall survival compared to squamous cell carcinoma in the era of CCRT.     

The effects of the new guidance ‘take your sleeping pills 7 h before your wake-up time’: a pilot study

The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness and practicality of the newly proposed guidance to take hypnotics 7 h before one’s usual wake-up time, compared to the conventional guidance to do so 30 min before bedtime. Subjects with primary insomnia who were not satisfied with their hypnotics were included between November 2014 and October 2015. Participants were instructed to take their own sleeping pills 7 h before their usual wake-up times, and sleep-related time variables and symptom questionnaires were assessed at baseline and after 2 weeks. Among 32 subjects, 23 patients were successfully followed up. Adhering to the said 7-h instruction, 73.9 % (n = 17) were satisfied with their sleeping pills. Mean hypnotics administration time was significantly delayed from 9:32 p.m. ± 0:58 to 10:55 p.m. ± 0:46 (p < 0.001), duration from pills to wake-up time (PTW) was shortened from 9.0 ± 1.1 to 7.1 ± 0.8 h (p < 0.001), and sleep latency (p = 0.023) was significantly shortened. Scores of ISI and PSQI significantly improved (p < 0.001), and the improvements of ISI and PSQI were positively correlated with the shortened sleep latency (r = 0.49, p < 0.05) and PTW (r = 0.54, p < 0.05), respectively. Advising patients to take hypnotics about 7 h before their usual wake-up time could increase the level of satisfaction with their original medication as is. In incorporating concepts of cognitive-behavioral therapy, this recommendation may serve as a simple but considerably useful guidance on the proper timing for taking prescribed sleeping pills.

     

Modulation of social behavior and dominance status by chronic pain in mice

The potential influence of pain on social behavior in laboratory animals has rarely been evaluated. Using a new assay of social behavior, the tube co‐occupancy test (TCOT), we assess propinquity—the tendency to maintain close physical proximity—in mice exposed to pain using subcutaneous zymosan or spared nerve injury as noxious stimuli. Our previous experience with the TCOT showed that outbred mouse sibling dyads show higher levels of tube co‐occupancy than stranger dyads. We find here that long‐lasting pain from spared nerve injury given to both mice in the dyad abolishes this effect of familiarity, such that strangers also display high levels of propinquity. We performed a separate experiment to assess the effect on dominance behavior of nerve injury to one or both mice of a dyad in which relative dominance status had been previously established via the confrontation tube test. We find that neuropathic pain given only to the dominant mouse reverses the relationship in male but not female mice, such that the previously subordinate mouse becomes dominant. These observations bolster the scant but growing evidence that pain can robustly affect social behavior in animals.     

Long-Term Alternating Fasting Increases Interleukin-13 in the Gerbil Hippocampus,But Does Not Protect BBB and Pyramidal Neurons From Ischemia–Reperfusion Injury

Neurochemical Research - It is questionable whether intermittent fasting (IF) protects against brain ischemic injury. This study examined whether IF increased anti-inflammatory cytokines and...     

The effects of an isometric knee extension with hip adduction (KEWHA) exercise on selective VMO muscle strengthening

We investigated the effects of four weeks of training using a knee extension with hip adduction (KEWHA) exercise in asymptomatic participants. In addition, we compared different methods of electromyographic (EMG) onset-time detection. Eighteen participants who achieved earlier activation of the vastus lateralis (VL) muscle compared to that of the vastus medialis obliquus (VMO) muscle performed the isometric KEWHA exercise in the sitting position for four weeks. A 15° hip adduction was added to the existing knee extension in the KEWHA exercise. EMG onset times were detected using a computer-analyzed system and evaluated using two methods in which the thresholds for activity onset were set at two and three standard deviations (SDs) of the mean baseline activity. No significant difference in the EMG onset-time for the VMO muscle was observed compared to that of the VL muscle between the pre- and post-tests (p > 0.05) when data at 2 SDs of the mean baseline activity were analyzed. However, a significant difference in the onset times for the VMO muscle and VL muscle was found between the pre- and post-tests (p < 0.05) when data at 3 SDs of the mean baseline activity were analyzed. In addition, less variation was observed in data analyzed at 3 SDs compared to that of the data at 2 SDs. The normalized VMO:VL muscle ratio was not significantly different between the pre- and post-tests. These findings show that the KEWHA exercise may decrease the difference between the onset times of VMO and VL muscles. In addition, we suggest that task-specific EMG onset-time detection methods are required to minimize variations in the data obtained during the recording of muscle activation.