A 24 years old man who was a dual user of tobacco smoke and e-cigarette presented with one month history of right sided pleuritic chest pain, associated with cough and shortness of breath a week prior to the admission. He was diagnosed with a right primary spontaneous pneumothorax. A right pleural catheter was inserted after a failed simple needle aspiration. He recovered uneventfully. Advice on quitting smoking and vaping was given prior to discharge. This case highlights the importance of obtaining a thorough history including vaping from every patient who experiences pneumothorax.

Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of electroporation on the growth characteristics and antimicrobial activity of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) including Bifidobacterium longum ATCC 15707, Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 314, Lactobacillus casei ATCC 393 and Lactobacillus fermentum ATCC 14931. Methodology and results: Electroporation with the strength of electric field at 1.0–3.0 kV/cm for 2-4 millisecond were applied on the bacterial cultures. All bacterial cultures showed significant (P<0.05) increased in cell viability (40%-325%) upon electroporation. Such treatment also increased the acidity of the cell where the pH of cells decreased upon treatment. In tandem with the increased viability, electroporated bacterial cultures also showed higher proteolytic activity compared to the control (P<0.05). The electroporation treatment also increased (P<0.05) the bacteriocin activity of treated cells compared to the control. However, the molecular weight of bacteriocins produced were not affected by electroporation. Treated cells also possessed better antimicrobial activity. According to the results collected, all treated LAB strains showed 11.5%-113.8% higher (P<0.05) inhibitory activity compared to untreated control against tested pathogenic bacteria, Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes that commonly associated with food contamination. Microarray data analysis showed that electroporation regulated the entities encoding for surface protein and transporter. Conclusion, significance and impact of study The results from this study suggested that electroporation could enhance the growth characteristics and antimicrobial activity of LAB by modifying the surface regions of the cells. This result may serve as the reference for food manufacturers to opt for effective biopreservation method and produce food with extended shelf life.
Electroporation ; Lactobacillales

INTRODUCTIONWe aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of canagliflozin as compared to sitagliptin in a real-world setting among multiethnic patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Singapore.

METHODSThis was a new-user, active-comparator, single-centre retrospective cohort study. Patients aged 18-69 years with T2DM and estimated glomerular filtration rate ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m were eligible for inclusion if they were initiated and maintained on a steady daily dose of canagliflozin 300 mg or sitagliptin 100 mg between 1 May and 31 December 2014, and followed up for 24 weeks.

RESULTSIn total, 57 patients (canagliflozin 300 mg, n = 22; sitagliptin 100 mg, n = 35) were included. The baseline patient characteristics in the two groups were similar, with overall mean glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) of 9.4% ± 1.4%. The use of canagliflozin 300 mg was associated with greater reductions in HbA1c (least squares [LS] mean change -1.6% vs. -0.4%; p < 0.001), body weight (LS mean change -3.0 kg vs. 0.2 kg; p < 0.001) and systolic blood pressure (LS mean change: -9.7 mmHg vs. 0.4 mmHg; p < 0.001), as compared with sitagliptin 100 mg. About half of the patients on canagliflozin 300 mg reported mild osmotic diuresis-related side effects that did not lead to drug discontinuation.

CONCLUSIONOur findings suggest that canagliflozin was more effective than sitagliptin in reducing HbA1c, body weight and systolic blood pressure in patients with T2DM, although its use was associated with an increased incidence of mild osmotic diuresis-related side effects.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Blood Glucose ; drug effects ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Canagliflozin ; administration & dosage ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; drug therapy ; Female ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Hemoglobins ; analysis ; Humans ; Hypoglycemic Agents ; administration & dosage ; Least-Squares Analysis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osmosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Singapore ; Sitagliptin Phosphate ; administration & dosage ; Systole ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult