Background: In Malaysia, occupational allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is often under-reported. This case report describes a chemical engineer who developed possible ACD, likely due to workplace allergen exposure.Case presentation: He presented with a 4-month history of intensely itchy rashes on both hands, which improved during work breaks. A dermatological examination revealed lichenified, pruritic papules with well-defined borders on the palmar surfaces of both hands. A skin patch test identified reactions to five allergens, including ‘fragrance mix,’ ‘methyldibromo glutaronitrile,’ ‘clioquinol,’ ‘epoxy resin,’ and ‘textile dye mix.’ However, among these, only ‘bisphenol A diglycidyl ether,’ a component of ‘epoxy resin,’ was listed in the safety data sheet as a confirmed occupational exposure. In accordance with local regulations, this case was reported as ‘occupational dermatitis’ to the Department of Occupational Safety and Health. The patient was prescribed symptomatic topical treatments, including emollients and topical corticosteroids. Additionally, he was advised to switch to hypoallergenic products. On follow-up, his chronic inflammatory skin lesions showed improvement. Conclusions Thorough occupational history-taking and patch testing are essential for diagnosing ACD. Personalized health education and regular follow-ups, is crucial in monitoring lesion resolution and evaluating the effectiveness of preventive measures in workplace settings.

Background: In Malaysia, occupational allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is often under-reported. This case report describes a chemical engineer who developed possible ACD, likely due to workplace allergen exposure.Case presentation: He presented with a 4-month history of intensely itchy rashes on both hands, which improved during work breaks. A dermatological examination revealed lichenified, pruritic papules with well-defined borders on the palmar surfaces of both hands. A skin patch test identified reactions to five allergens, including ‘fragrance mix,’ ‘methyldibromo glutaronitrile,’ ‘clioquinol,’ ‘epoxy resin,’ and ‘textile dye mix.’ However, among these, only ‘bisphenol A diglycidyl ether,’ a component of ‘epoxy resin,’ was listed in the safety data sheet as a confirmed occupational exposure. In accordance with local regulations, this case was reported as ‘occupational dermatitis’ to the Department of Occupational Safety and Health. The patient was prescribed symptomatic topical treatments, including emollients and topical corticosteroids. Additionally, he was advised to switch to hypoallergenic products. On follow-up, his chronic inflammatory skin lesions showed improvement. Conclusions Thorough occupational history-taking and patch testing are essential for diagnosing ACD. Personalized health education and regular follow-ups, is crucial in monitoring lesion resolution and evaluating the effectiveness of preventive measures in workplace settings.

Background: In Malaysia, occupational allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is often under-reported. This case report describes a chemical engineer who developed possible ACD, likely due to workplace allergen exposure.Case presentation: He presented with a 4-month history of intensely itchy rashes on both hands, which improved during work breaks. A dermatological examination revealed lichenified, pruritic papules with well-defined borders on the palmar surfaces of both hands. A skin patch test identified reactions to five allergens, including ‘fragrance mix,’ ‘methyldibromo glutaronitrile,’ ‘clioquinol,’ ‘epoxy resin,’ and ‘textile dye mix.’ However, among these, only ‘bisphenol A diglycidyl ether,’ a component of ‘epoxy resin,’ was listed in the safety data sheet as a confirmed occupational exposure. In accordance with local regulations, this case was reported as ‘occupational dermatitis’ to the Department of Occupational Safety and Health. The patient was prescribed symptomatic topical treatments, including emollients and topical corticosteroids. Additionally, he was advised to switch to hypoallergenic products. On follow-up, his chronic inflammatory skin lesions showed improvement. Conclusions Thorough occupational history-taking and patch testing are essential for diagnosing ACD. Personalized health education and regular follow-ups, is crucial in monitoring lesion resolution and evaluating the effectiveness of preventive measures in workplace settings.

Six new (1-6) and seven known depsidones (7-13) were isolated from the culture of an ant (Monomorium chinensis)-derived fungus Spiromastix sp. MY-1. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis including high resolution MS, 1D and 2D NMR data. The new bromide depsidones were obtained through supplementing potassium bromide in the fermentation medium of Spiromastix sp. MY-1. All isolated compounds showed various bioactivities against the tested phytopathogenic bacteria. Particularly, new bromide compound 4, named spiromastixone S, exhibited the strongest activity against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae with a MIC value of 5.2 μmol·^-1.
Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Ants ; Bromides ; Depsides ; Fungi ; Lactones ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Molecular Structure

Cardiovascular Diseases/epidemiology* ; Humans ; Risk Assessment ; Risk Factors

Rapid reduction of postprandial blood glucose is very beneficial to diabetics. In order to shorten the onset time of recombinant insulin, the cone snail insulin G1 (cI G1) of Conus geographus was studied. First, the nucleotide sequence of recombinant cone snail proinsulin G1 (cPI G1) was designed and synthesized according to the genes of human proinsulin (hPI) and cPI G1. The codon was optimized according to Escherichia coli (E. coli) codon usage frequency. Then, the plasmid pET22b(+)-cPI G1 was constructed and the recombinant cPI G1 was expressed in E. coli BL21(DE3) host strain. The recombinant cPI G1 was then purified and cleaved specially by trypsin to generate the recombinant cI G1, and its potency is 25.9 IU/mg. Fasting blood glucose test (FBGT) and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) suggested that the recombinant cI G1 could rapidly reduce blood glucose in normal and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice, but only for a short duration. This study provides a technical reference for the development of recombinant fast-acting insulin.
Animals ; Conus Snail ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; Escherichia coli ; Humans ; Hypoglycemic Agents ; Insulin ; Mice

Objective·To study the effects of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery on hepatic glycolipid metabolism in the rat models with obesity combined with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and investigate the molecular mechanisms involved. Methods·The rats were randomly divided into control group, high-fat diet+DM group, sham-operated group and operated group, ten each. The changes of body weights and food intakes, as well as the results of intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) and insulin tolerance test (ITT) were monitored. The mRNA and protein expressions of farnesoid X receptor (FXR), fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) were respectively detected. Results·The body weights and food intakes were significantly reduced in operated group, as compared to the high-fat diet+DM group and sham-operated group.The areas under the curve of IPGTT and ITT in operated group were reduced. Meanwhile, red lipid droplets of the operated group were obviously less than those of high-fat diet+DM group and sham-operated group by oil red-O staining. Furthermore, the mRNA expressions of FXR and FGF21 in operated group were significantly higher than those of high-fat diet+DM group and sham-operated group, while G6Pase mRNA expression was reduced. The protein levels of FXR and FGF21 were also higher in operated group than in high-fat diet+DM group and sham-operated group, but G6Pase level was decreased. Conclusion·RYGB could improve the glycolipid metabolism of rats with obesity combined with T2DM by activating FXR-G6Pase pathway.

OBJECTIVETo explore the clinical efficacy and toxicity of CLAT protocol (cladribine, cytarabine and topotecan) for treating patients with refractory acute myeloid leukemia (R-AML).

METHODSA total of 18 patients with R-AML (median age 37 years, range 18 to 58 years; male n = 16, female n = 2) were treated with CLAT protocol, which consisted of cladribine 5 mg/m(2)/d, i.v. on days 1-5, cytarabine 1.5 g/m(2)/d, i.v. on days 1-5, topotecan 1.25 mg/m(2)/d, i.v. on days 1-5 and G-CSF 300 µg/d subcutaneous injection on day 6 until neutrophile granulocyte recovery.

RESULTSOut of 18 patients 2 died of severe infection before the assessment. Among 16 evaluated patients, 10 (55.6%) achieved complete remission (CR), and 2 (11.1%) achieved partial remission (PR), the overall response rate was 66.7%, the rest 4 patients did not respond (NR). The median overall survival time and DFS for the CR patients was 9.5 months (95%CI: 6.7-16.64) and 9.5 months (95%CI: 6.1-16.7) respectively. The 1 year OS and DFS rates were 45% and 46.9%, respectively. All patients developed grade 4 of granulocytopenia and thrombocytopenia, the median duration was 13 (range 2 to 21) days and 12 days (range 2 to 21), respectively, all patients developed infection, 2 patients died of severe infection. The most common non-hematological side effects included nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, aminotransferase or bilirubin elevation and were grade 1 to 2.

CONCLUSIONThe CLAT protocol seems to have promising for the treatment of refractory AML patients, and patients well tolerated. This CLAT protocol offers an alternative treatment for R-AML patients who received severe intensive treatment, especially with anthracycline-containing chemotherapy.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Agranulocytosis ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Cladribine ; therapeutic use ; Cytarabine ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Remission Induction ; Thrombocytopenia ; Topotecan ; therapeutic use ; Young Adult

Objective To evaluate the clinical value of total hemihepatic vascular exclusion (THHVE) for liver resection in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients and its effect on tumor recurrence, metastasis and patient survival. Methods Consecutive patients who were scheduled for elective hepatic resection were screened and allocated randomly to THHVE and Pringle maneuver groups. The total intraoperative blood loss, blood loss during transection, blood transfusion rate, operation time, vascular clamping time, complication, mortality, postoperative hospital stay, postoperative liver function index, overall survival time and diseasefree survival time were analyzed and compared between the two groups. Results From Aug. 2011 to Aug. 2013, 143 patients were eligible and were analyzed, with 71 in THHVE group and 72 in Pringle group. Baseline data were similar between the two groups. Total blood loss (250. 0 [150. 0-400. 0] mL vs 350. 0 [200. 0-637. 5] mL,P<0. 001) and blood loss during hepatic transection (100. 0 [50. 0-200. 0] mL vs 215. 0 [100. 0-380. 0] mL, P<0. 001) in the THHVE group were significantly less than those in the Pringle group. The vascular clamping time in THHVE group was significantly longer than that in Pringle group (27. 0 [20. 0-31. 0] min vs 20. 0 [16. 0-24. 0] min, P<0. 001); the serum ALT levels (P<0. 05) on postoperative day 1, 3, 7 and the serum total bilirubin levels (P = 0. 013) on postoperative day 7 in the THHVE group were significantly lower than those in the Pringle group, and the serum pre-albumin level was significantly higher in the THHVE group than that in the Pringle group on postoperative day 7 (P = 0. 038). The incidence rate of postoperative complication in THHVE group was significantly lower than that in Pringle group (21. 1% vs 37. 5%,P = 0. 032). The overall survival time in THHVE group was significantly longer than that in Pringle group (P = 0. 036). Multivariate analysis by the Cox proportional hazard regressionmodel showed that THHVE was one of the independent factors affecting overall survival, and the death risk of the patients in THHVE group was 47. 6% that of the patients in Pringle group. Conclusion THHVE is a safe and effective method in liver resection for patients with HCC, and the method is associated with less intraoperative bleeding, better postoperative liver function recovery, lower incidence rate of complication and better overall survival compared with Pringle maneuver.

OBJECTIVETo compare the advantages and disadvantages of the Foley catheter draining method versus the urethral stent plus gastric tube draining method for urine drainage following urethroplasty for hypospadias.

METHODSWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 361 cases of hypospadias treated by urethroplasty. After operation, 91 of the cases received urine drainage with the Foley catheter (group A) and 270 with a urethral stent plus a gastric tube (group B). We compared the incidence rates of bladder irritation, fistula, urethral stricture, and urethral diverticulum between the two groups of patients.

RESULTSNo statistically significant differences were found between groups A and B in the incidences of bladder irritation (9.89% vs 10.70%, P > 0.05) and urethral diverticulum (1.09% vs 2.22%, P > 0.05). The incidence rate of fistula was markedly higher in group A than in B (20.80% vs 13.30%, P < 0.05), and so was that of urethral stricture (10.90% vs 5.55%, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe urethral stent plus gastric tube draining method is more effective than the Foley catheter draining method for urine drainage following urethroplasty.

Aged ; Child ; Diverticulum ; etiology ; Drainage ; methods ; Humans ; Hypospadias ; surgery ; Incidence ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Stents ; Urethra ; surgery ; Urethral Stricture ; etiology ; Urinary Catheterization ; instrumentation ; methods