No abstract availble.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been used to treat several types of cancer, and comprises intravascular administration of photosensitizer, uptake by cancer cells, and followed by irradiation of light of appropriate wavelength. Although PDT takes advantage of relative retention of photosensitizer by cancer cells, effective delivery of photosensitizing drugs is of great concern. Several delivery strategies have been employed in PDT. Photosensitizers can be delivered either by passive carriers such as liposomes, micelles, and polymeric particles, or by active targeting using cancer cell-directed ligands or antibodies. Although well-studied colloidal carriers effectively deliver photosensitizer to tumor cells, they are taken up by mononuclear phagocytic system. Delivery system using polymers is an attractive alternative to colloidal carriers, in which hydrophobic drugs are chemically or physically loaded to polymers. Though there are several steps to be solved, targeted delivery system utilizing receptors or antigens abundantly expressed on cancer cell theoretically provides a great deal of advantages over passive system. Selective uptake of photosensitizers by cancer cells may greatly enhance therapeutic efficacy as well as minimizing adverse effects resulting from accumulation in normal tissue. This review discusses various strategies for photosensitizer delivery that have been investigated to date.
Drug Delivery Systems ; Humans ; Liposomes/chemistry ; Micelles ; Neoplasms/*drug therapy ; *Photochemotherapy ; Photosensitizing Agents/*administration & dosage ; Polymers/chemistry/therapeutic use

Purpose: To report a case of nutritional optic neuropathy due to folic acid deficiency and who recoverd from oral supplementation with folic acid.Case summary: A 45-year-old man was referred to our hospital because of visual disturbance and color vision on the both eye without pain. There were no abnormal findings in the anterior segment and retina. An afferent pupillary defect was found in the left eye. Visual field examination showed central scotoma in both eyes and total color blindness on Hahn color vision test. The patient had a history of chronic alcoholism and had not eaten often recently. The folic acid level was decreased in the blood and after oral folic acid supplementation, visual acuity and visual field recovered after 6 weeks. Conclusions We report a new case of nutritional optic neuropathy due to folic acid deficiency and who recovered from oral supplementation with folic acid.

Purpose: To report a case of nutritional optic neuropathy due to folic acid deficiency and who recoverd from oral supplementation with folic acid.Case summary: A 45-year-old man was referred to our hospital because of visual disturbance and color vision on the both eye without pain. There were no abnormal findings in the anterior segment and retina. An afferent pupillary defect was found in the left eye. Visual field examination showed central scotoma in both eyes and total color blindness on Hahn color vision test. The patient had a history of chronic alcoholism and had not eaten often recently. The folic acid level was decreased in the blood and after oral folic acid supplementation, visual acuity and visual field recovered after 6 weeks. Conclusions We report a new case of nutritional optic neuropathy due to folic acid deficiency and who recovered from oral supplementation with folic acid.

PURPOSE: We explored the mydriatic effects of injected intracameral epinephrine after phacoemulsification (PE) combined with phacovitrectomy to treat proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). METHODS: We enrolled 96 patients (96 eyes) who underwent phacovitrectomy to treat PDR; we used ImageJ software to measure pupil sizes and the ratios of pupil to cornea area (PCA) before and after PE and after pars plana vitrectomy (PPV). We compared pupil sizes between those who received intracameral epinephrine (0.001% w/v) after PE but before PPV (study group, 46 eyes) and patients not so treated (control group, 50 eyes). RESULTS: The PCA ratios of the study group were 0.52 ± 0.11 before PE, 0.43 ± 0.12 after PE, and 0.51 ± 0.11 after PPV, respectively. Changes in pupil size were significant (p < 0.001, p < 0.001 respectively). The PCA ratios of the control group were 0.52 ± 0.10 before PE, 0.39 ± 0.15 after PE, and 0.43 ± 0.15 after PPV, respectively. Changes in pupil size after PE were significant (p = 0.011) but the change after PPV was not (p = 0.056). CONCLUSIONS: Intracameral epinephrine given after PE but before PPV effectively dilates the pupils during phacovitrectomy to treat PDR.
Cornea ; Diabetic Retinopathy ; Epinephrine ; Humans ; Mydriatics ; Passive Cutaneous Anaphylaxis ; Phacoemulsification ; Pupil ; Vitrectomy

Wolfiporia cocos is a wood-decay brown rot fungus belonging to the family Polyporaceae. While the fungus grows, the sclerotium body of the strain, dubbed Bokryeong in Korean, is formed around the roots of conifer trees. The dried sclerotium has been widely used as a key component of many medicinal recipes in East Asia. Wolfiporia cocos strain KMCC03342 is the reference strain registered and maintained by the Korea Seed and Variety Service for commercial uses. Here, we present the first draft genome sequence of W. cocos KMCC03342 using a hybrid assembly technique combining both short- and long-read sequences. The genome has a total length of 55.5 Mb comprised of 343 contigs with N50 of 332 kb and 95.8% BUSCO completeness. The GC ratio was 52.2%. We predicted 14,296 protein-coding gene models based on ab initio gene prediction and evidence-based annotation procedure using RNAseq data. The annotated genome was predicted to have 19 terpene biosynthesis gene clusters, which was the same number as the previously sequenced W. cocos strain MD-104 genome but higher than Chinese W. cocos strains. The genome sequence and the predicted gene clusters allow us to study biosynthetic pathways for the active ingredients of W. cocos . is a wood-decay brown rot fungus belonging to the family Polyporaceae. While the fungus grows, the sclerotium body of the strain, dubbed Bokryeong in Korean, is formed around the roots of conifer trees. The dried sclerotium has been widely used as a key component of many medicinal recipes in East Asia. Wolfiporia cocos strain KMCC03342 is the reference strain registered and maintained by the Korea Seed and Variety Service for commercial uses. Here, we present the first draft genome sequence of W. cocos KMCC03342 using a hybrid assembly technique combining both short- and long-read sequences. The genome has a total length of 55.5 Mb comprised of 343 contigs with N50 of 332 kb and 95.8% BUSCO completeness. The GC ratio was 52.2%. We predicted 14,296 protein-coding gene models based on ab initio gene prediction and evidence-based annotation procedure using RNAseq data. The annotated genome was predicted to have 19 terpene biosynthesis gene clusters, which was the same number as the previously sequenced W. cocos strain MD-104 genome but higher than Chinese v strains. The genome sequence and the predicted gene clusters allow us to study biosynthetic pathways for the active ingredients of W. cocos

Objectives: Intraoperative navigation reduces the risk of major complications and increases the likelihood of optimal surgical outcomes. This paper presents an augmented reality (AR)-based simulation technique for ventriculostomy that visualizes brain deformations caused by the movements of a surgical instrument in a three-dimensional brain model. This is achieved by utilizing a position-based dynamics (PBD) physical deformation method on a preoperative brain image. Methods: An infrared camera-based AR surgical environment aligns the real-world space with a virtual space and tracks the surgical instruments. For a realistic representation and reduced simulation computation load, a hybrid geometric model is employed, which combines a high-resolution mesh model and a multiresolution tetrahedron model. Collision handling is executed when a collision between the brain and surgical instrument is detected. Constraints are used to preserve the properties of the soft body and ensure stable deformation. Results: The experiment was conducted once in a phantom environment and once in an actual surgical environment. The tasks of inserting the surgical instrument into the ventricle using only the navigation information presented through the smart glasses and verifying the drainage of cerebrospinal fluid were evaluated. These tasks were successfully completed, as indicated by the drainage, and the deformation simulation speed averaged 18.78 fps. Conclusions This experiment confirmed that the AR-based method for external ventricular drain surgery was beneficial to clinicians.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate feasibility of Vertical Multileaf Collimator for determination of irradiation size using Vertical Multileaf Collimator and lead block to determine 4 different irradiation shape in case of Co-60 gamma-ray and 6 MV X-ray. We chose ion chamber, glass dosimeter and EBT chromic film to compare with Vertical Multileaf Collimator results and lead block results. In case of Co-60 gamma-ray and 6 MV X-ray, the central axis point dose normalized at reference field of lead block with ion chamber results for Vertical Multileaf Collimator were estimated higher than lead block about 5.1%, 4.2%. In case of Co-60 gamma-ray, the central axis point dose normalized at reference field of lead block with glass dosimeter results for Vertical Multileaf Collimator were estimated higher than lead block about 2.2%, 7.8%, 7.2%, 4.0% for reference, circle, triangle, cross field, respectively. In case of 6 MV X-ray, the central axis point dose normalized at reference field of lead block with glass dosimeter results for Vertical Multileaf Collimator were estimated higher than lead block about 6.7%, 6.2%, 3.8%, 6.2% for reference, circle, triangle, cross field, respectively. The results of EBT chromic film, Vertical Multileaf Collimator of penumbra size for all irradiation shape was smaller than lead block of those size that 2.0~3.5 mm for Co-60 gamma-ray, 0.5~1.0 mm for 6 MV X-ray. The results from this study, radiation treatment volume that results in shielding block can be minimized. In addition, during radiation treatment for 2, 3-dimensional radiation therapy using a Vertical Multileaf Collimator of this survey can be used to determine variety of irradiation fields.
Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Feasibility Studies ; Glass

Phthalates widely used in the manufacture of plastics have deeply penetrated into our everyday lives. Recently, a concern over the toxicity of phthalates on thyroid, has been raised but in most of cases, the doses employed were unrealistically high. To investigate the effects of phthalates on thyroid, we investigated the effects of the repeated oral exposure to low to high doses (0.3, 3, 30 and 150 mg/kg) di-2-ethylhexylphthalate (DEHP) from weaning to maturity for 90 days in juvenile rats on the thyroid. The histological examination revealed that DEHP significantly induced hyperplasia in the thyroid from the doses of 30 mg/kg, which was confirmed with Ki67 staining. In line with this finding, increased mRNA expression of thyrotropin releasing hormone (Trh) was observed in the thyroid of female at 0.3 mg/kg and 150 mg/kg as determined by RNAseq analysis. Moreover, significantly increased expression of parathyroid hormone (Pth) in the female at 0.3 mg/kg, and thyroglobulin (Tg) and thyroid hormone responsive (Thrsp) in the male at 0.3 mg/kg were noted in the blood, of which changes were substantially attenuated at 150 m/kg, alluding the meaningful effects of low dose DEHP on the thyroid hormone regulation. Urinary excretion of mono-2-ethylhexyl-phthalate (MEHP), a major metabolite of DEHP was determined to be 4.10 and 12.26 ppb in male, 6.65 and 324 ppb in female at 0.3 and 30 mg/kg DEHP, respectively, which fell within reported human urine levels. Collectively, these results suggest a potential adverse effects of low dose phthalates on the thyroid.
Animals ; Diethylhexyl Phthalate* ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Male ; Parathyroid Hormone ; Plastics ; Rats* ; RNA, Messenger ; Thyroglobulin ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone ; Weaning

Although growth associated protein-43 (GAP-43) is known to play a significant role in the regulation of axonal growth and the formation of new neuronal connections in the hippocampus, there is only a few studies on the effects of acute stress on GAP-43 mRNA expression in the hippocampus. Moreover, the effects of repeated citalopram treatment on chronic mild stress (CMS)-induced changes in GAP-43 mRNA expression in the hippocampus have not been explored before. To explore this question, male rats were exposed to acute immobilization stress or CMS. Also, citalopram was given prior to stress everyday during CMS procedures. Acute immobilization stress significantly increased GAP-43 mRNA expression in all subfields of the hippocampus, while CMS significantly decreased GAP-43 mRNA expression in the dentate granule cell layer (GCL). Repeated citalopram treatment decreased GAP-43 mRNA expression in the GCL compared with unstressed controls, but this decrease was not further potentiated by CMS exposure. Similar decreases in GAP-43 mRNA expression were observed in CA1, CA3 and CA4 areas of the hippocampus only after repeated citalopram treatment in CMS-exposed rats. This result indicates that GAP-43 mRNA expression in the hippocampus may differently respond to acute and chronic stress, and that repeated citalopram treatment does not change CMS-induced decreases in GAP-43 mRNA expression in the GCL.
Animals ; Axons ; Citalopram ; GAP-43 Protein ; Hippocampus ; Humans ; Immobilization ; Male ; Neurons ; Rats ; RNA, Messenger