Fitchmcintyre2415

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01701635.Doubts surrounding the potential adverse effects of antimicrobial preservatives have modified the demand of consumers, who increasingly insist on the production of low-level and even preservative-free cosmetics. Protection of the product against microbial contamination is therefore focused on the packaging. This has prompted the emergence of a highly diverse array of so-called "protective", "overprotective", and "barrier" packaging. However, these designations are not normalized and the choice of the right packaging adapted to each cosmetic product is still essentially empirical, hazardous, and time consuming. The Cosmetic Valleys cluster has launched a commission to define a complete and experimentally-validated method to classify the level of protection of cosmetic packaging against microbial contamination. As reported herein, this required the development a specific bacteriostatic medium that can be used for 7 days and an in vitro procedure that reproduces in-use contamination and consumer practices. Based on tests performed on over 800 packages of different origin and performance characteristics, we propose a classification, divided into six grades, to differentiate the protective efficiency of cosmetic packaging. This work can be considered as a first step towards a regulatory text.BACKGROUND We investigated prognostic factors for biochemical recurrence (BCR) after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) with extended pelvic lymph node (LN) dissection. METHODS We included 173 patients who underwent RARP with extended pelvic LN dissection without neoadjuvant therapy at our hospital between October 2010 and April 2018. BCR was defined as prostate serum antigen (PSA) levels ≥ 0.2 ng/mL; BCR-free survival rates were determined using Kaplan-Meier analysis. We used Cox regression analysis to evaluate effects of PSA and pathologic variables on BCR. RESULTS Median follow-up was 27.9 (range 6.1-86.9) months. Five-year BCR-free survival was 89.5%. In multivariate analysis, positive LNs (HR 7.117; 95% CI 2.826-17.925; P  less then  0.001) and Gleason score (GS) ≥ 8 (HR 2.612; 95% CI 1.051-6.489; P = 0.039) were significant predictors of BCR. Patients with 1 or 2 positive LNs (n = 10) had significantly higher BCR-free survival rates than patients with ≥ 3 positive LNs (n = 5). We, therefore, stratified the patients as low-risk (GS  less then  8 and no positive LNs), intermediate-risk (either GS ≥ 8 or positive LNs) and high-risk (both GS ≥ 8 and positive LNs). Their 1-year BCR-free survival rates were low-risk 94.6%, intermediate-risk 88.5%, and high-risk 33.3% (P  less then  0.05). CONCLUSIONS Patients with 1-2 positive LNs and GS  less then  8 have low risk for BCR; close observation without immediate adjuvant hormonal therapy can be considered for these patients.BACKGROUND In previous years numerous acute pain models to investigate the pathophysiological mechanisms of pain and to validate treatment procedures have been described. Due to the specific questions addressed by different trials standardized protocols are often missing. Therefore, the research results obtained are only comparable or reproducible to a limited extent. The transferability of acquired knowledge to clinical pain is limited by the mostly short test duration of already established models. METHOD The aim of this study was to establish a standardized protocol for an acute pain model that induces nociceptive thermal stimuli of defined intensity and variable duration using a device for quantitative sensory testing (QST). Selitrectinib The greatest possible exclusion of factors influencing pain perception was achieved. In order to reduce the risk of thermal tissue damage a capsaicin cream was applied to the test area, which led to a significant increase in the perceived pain intensity of heat stimuli. RESULTS From previously performed experiments on thermal pain thresholds and temporal aspects of pain adaptation, the parameters for stimulus lengths and thermode temperatures for a cold and heat pain model could be derived. The acute pain model established here was able to induce significant heat and cold pain stimuli over variable periods of time. An average pain intensity of NRS ≥ 6 was reported by the test participants. Among the 30 subjects no tests were terminated due to intolerance. CONCLUSION The established acute pain model in this study is characterized by the induction of thermal pain stimuli of defined intensity and variable duration. There is no danger of significant thermal tissue damage and the pain was tolerated by all study participants. The pain model can easily be established using a device for quantitative sensory testing.Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are an important cause of death and disease worldwide. Because injured cardiac tissue cannot be repaired itself, it is urgent to develop other alternate therapies. Stem cells can be differentiated into cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, and vascular smooth muscle cells for the treatment of CVDs. Therefore, cell therapy has recently been considered a viable treatment option that can significantly improve cardiac function. Nonetheless, implanted stem cells rarely survive in the recipient heart, suggesting that the benefits of stem cell therapy may involve other mechanisms. Exosomes derived from stem cells have a myocardial protection function after myocardial injury, and may be a promising and effective therapy for CVDs. Here, we discuss the application and mechanism of exosomes derived from stem cells in the diagnosis and treatment of CVDs and provide evidence for the application of exosomes in CVDs. Graphical Abstract.BACKGROUND Grassland ecosystems play an important role in the terrestrial carbon cycles through carbon emission by ecosystem respiration (Re) and carbon uptake by plant photosynthesis (GPP). Surprisingly, given Re occupies a large component of annual carbon balance, rather less attention has been paid to developing the estimates of Re compared to GPP. RESULTS Based on 11 flux sites over the diverse grassland ecosystems in northern China, this study examined the amounts of carbon released by Re as well as the dominant environmental controls across temperate meadow steppe, typical steppe, desert steppe and alpine meadow, respectively. Multi-year mean Re revealed relatively less CO2 emitted by the desert steppe in comparison with other grassland ecosystems. Meanwhile, C emissions of all grasslands were mainly controlled by the growing period. Correlation analysis revealed that apart from air and soil temperature, soil water content exerted a strong effect on the variability in Re, which implied the great potential to derive Re using relevant remote sensing data.