Plos One
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For psoriatic patients receiving biologics, the concern of tuberculosis (TB) infection exists. Although the TB risk of anti-interleukin (IL)-17A agents is generally considered very low, more real-world data are needed to support the safety. ⋯ In patients treated with anti-IL-17A monoclonal antibodies for psoriasis, routine serial repeat QFT-GIT testing was associated with lower seroconversion rate compared to real-world data of tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors and anti-IL-12/23 antibody in Taiwan and in pivotal studies. Because clinical TB symptoms and signs are often preceded by QFT-GIF seroconversion, this result further supports the safety of anti-IL-17A agents in patients with psoriasis for LTBI.
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Mild systemic hypothermia increases gastric mucosal oxygenation (μHbO2) during hemorrhagic shock in dogs. In the context of critical blood loss hypothermia might be fatal due to adverse side effects. Selective regional hypothermia might overcome these limitations. ⋯ Selective local hypothermia improves gastric μHbO2 during hemorrhagic shock without relevant side effects. In contrast to systemic hypothermia, regional mucosal hypothermia did not affect perfusion and oxygen supply during hemorrhage. Thus, the increased μHbO2 during local hypothermia rather indicates reduced mucosal oxygen demand.
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We investigated whether supplementation with the barley line BARLEYmax (Tantangara; BM), which contains three fermentable fibers (fructan, β-glucan, and resistant starch), modifies the microbiota in cecal and distal colonic digesta in addition to short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production more favorably than supplementation with a high-β-glucan barley line (BG012; BG). Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groups that were fed an AIN-93G-based diet that contained 5% fiber provided by cellulose (control), BM or BG. Four weeks after starting the respective diets, the animals were sacrificed and digesta from the cecum, proximal colon and distal colon were collected and the SCFA concentrations were quantified. ⋯ These results indicated that BM increased the concentration of total SCFAs in the distal colonic digesta. These changes might have been caused by fructan and resistant starch in addition to β-glucan. In conclusion, fermentable fibers in BM reached the distal colon and modified the microbiota, leading to an increase in the concentration of total SCFAs in the distal colonic digesta, more effectively compared with the high-β-glucan barley line (BG).
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Value and waste in preclinical and clinical research projects are intensively debated in biomedicine at present. Such different aspects as the need for setting objectives and priorities, improving study design, quality of reporting, and problematic incentives of the academic reward system are addressed. While this debate is also fueled by ethical considerations and thus informed by bioethical research, up to now, the field of bioethics lacks a similar extensive debate. Nonetheless, bioethical research should not go unquestioned regarding its scientific or social value. What exactly constitutes the value of bioethical research, however, remains widely unclear so far. ⋯ Even though limitations arise regarding the sample, the study revealed a plethora of value dimensions that can inform further debates about what makes bioethical research valuable for science and society. Besides theoretical reflections on the value of bioethics more meta-research in bioethics is needed.
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Postural stability is one of the determinants of proper body posture and a condition for developing motor abilities in every human being. The measurement of the centre of pressure (COP) location and displacement is the most common technique of postural stability assessment. ⋯ The present study characterised sex differences in postural stability of 5-year-old children. Sex-related differences were found during a natural stance for all COP parameters. Girls maintained a two-legged standing position with lower sway velocity and a smaller range of sway than their male counterparts. Normal- and tall-statured girls demonstrated better postural stability significantly more often than boys.