Topical clobetasol for the treatment of toxic epidermal necrolysis: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BackgroundToxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is a rare systemic allergic drug eruption with high patient mortality. Currently, no established treatments have been shown to be effective for TEN beyond supportive care. Prior studies of systemic corticosteroids have yielded conflicting data, with some showing a possible benefit and others reporting in increased mortality. However, topical steroids have shown promise for treatment of ocular sequelae of TEN, such as scarring and vision loss. We have designed a randomized controlled trial to evaluate topical clobetasol for treatment of the epidermal manifestations of TEN. In addition, we propose genetic studies to characterize the TEN transcriptome and alterations in cutaneous gene expression that might occur following topical steroid treatment.Methods/designThis split-body randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase IIa proof-of-concept trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of once-daily topical clobetasol applied to the skin of patients with TEN. This multicenter trial will recruit a total of 15 patients between the ages of 12 and 85 from the University of California Davis Medical Center and Shriners Hospital for Children inpatient burn units. Designated treatment areas on opposite sides of the body will be treated with blinded clobetasol 0.05% ointment or control petrolatum ointment daily for 14 days. On day 3 of therapy, a biopsy will be taken from the treated area for genetic studies. The primary study aims will be to establish the safety of topical clobetasol treatment and determine the time to cessation of skin detachment for the control and clobetasol-treated areas. Secondary endpoints will evaluate efficacy using parameters such as time to 90% re-epithelialization and percentage of affected skin at 0, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 days. Genomic DNA and RNA will be obtained from biopsy samples, to characterize the TEN transcriptome and identify changes in gene expression after topical steroid treatment.DiscussionTopical steroids have shown promise for treating ocular complications of TEN, but to date have not been evaluated for cutaneous manifestations of the disease. This trial will investigate clinical and molecular outcomes of topical clobetasol application and hopefully provide insight into the disease pathophysiology.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02319616. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02351037

Length–weight relationship and condition factor of giant tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon (Fabricius, 1798) from four breeding families

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.Background: Length–weight relationships and condition factors of giant tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon (Fabricius, 1798) from four breeding families (family S: South China seas family, family A: African family, family SA: ♂ South China seas family × ♀ Africa family, family AS: ♂ Africa family × ♀ South China seas family) were evaluated in this study. Findings and conclusion: Length–weight relationships can be expressed as W = 0.0239BL2.789 (R2 = 0.8977) in family S, W = 0.0206BL2.9107 (R2 = 0.9107) in family A, W = 0.0211BL2.831 (R2 = 0.8869) in family SA, and W = 0.0249BL2.781 (R2 = 0.9159) in family AS. The growth of P. monodon from four breeding families follows a negative allometric trend. Fulton’s body condition factor (K) was not significantly different in males, while in females, the highest K (3.07) was observed in family AS, and the lowest K was found in family A (1.88). Results from the present study indicate that the cross group family AS (♂ Africa family × ♀ South China seas family) has obvious heterosis in females. This may suggest that the direction of further breeding of P. monodon, should be conducted by using Africa family as male parent, and South China seas family as female parent. Results from the present study will provide valuable information on selective breeding in P. monodon. Methodology used in the present study can also be applied in other similar species

Raman signature and phonon dispersion of atomically thin boron nitride

Raman spectroscopy has become an essential technique to characterize and investigate graphene and many other two-dimensional materials. However, there is still a lack of consensus on the Raman signature and phonon dispersion of atomically thin boron nitride (BN), which has many unique properties distinct from graphene. Such a knowledge gap greatly affects the understanding of the basic physical and chemical properties of atomically thin BN as well as the use of Raman spectroscopy to study these nanomaterials. Here, we use both experiment and simulation to reveal the intrinsic Raman signature of monolayer and few-layer BN. We find experimentally that atomically thin BN without interaction with a substrate has a G band frequency similar to that of bulk hexagonal BN (hBN), but strain induced by the substrate can cause a pronounced Raman shift. This is in excellent agreement with our first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations at two levels of theory, including van der Waals dispersion forces (opt-vdW) and a fraction of the exact exchange from Hartree–Fock (HF) theory through the hybrid HSE06 functional. Both calculations demonstrate that the intrinsic E2g mode of BN does not depend sensibly on the number of layers. Our simulations also suggest the importance of the exact exchange mixing parameter in calculating the vibrational modes in BN, as it determines the fraction of HF exchange included in the DFT calculations

Mechanical properties of atomically thin boron nitride and the role of interlayer interactions

Atomically thin boron nitride (BN) nanosheets are important two-dimensional nanomaterials with many unique properties distinct from those of graphene, but investigation into their mechanical properties remains incomplete. Here we report that high-quality single-crystalline mono-and few-layer BN nanosheets are one of the strongest electrically insulating materials. More intriguingly, few-layer BN shows mechanical behaviours quite different from those of few-layer graphene under indentation. In striking contrast to graphene, whose strength decreases by more than 30% when the number of layers increases from 1 to 8, the mechanical strength of BN nanosheets is not sensitive to increasing thickness. We attribute this difference to the distinct interlayer interactions and hence sliding tendencies in these two materials under indentation. The significantly better interlayer integrity of BN nanosheets makes them a more attractive candidate than graphene for several applications, for example, as mechanical reinforcements

Global Advances and Frontiers of Phytochemicals in Tumor Research: A Bibliometric Study (2010-2023)

Objectives: Analysis of advances, hotspots and frontiers of tumor-related phytochemicals by scientifc bibliometric methods during 2012-2023. Background: Natural phytochemicals are abundantly found in nature and have a wide range of biological activities. Phytochem-icals have been shown to provide both curative and preventive benefts on many chronic diseases such as cancers. Tumor research on phyto-chemicals is one of the felds with the greatest potential for expansion in the world. However, there is still much to explore about the action mechanism of phytochemicals, the efcacy and safety of application in vivo, and the value of clinical practice. Methods: Atotal of 6523 arti-cles on tumor-related phytochemicals were identifed from the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) database for research on tumor-re-lated phytochemicals. The bibliometric analysis was carried out using CiteSpace and the R package “Bibliometrix”. Results: The analysis includes 6523 publications from 144 nations or regions, with China leading the way. The number of annual publications increased rapidly from 2012 to 2022 and reached a maximum in 2022. China published the most articles, followed by India and the United States. There is a wide range of collaborations between countries, with Saudi Arabia and Egypt being the closest partners. LI Y has produced the most research outputs, yet Prof. Liu RH has received the most local citations. Although MOLECULES has the most articles, FOOD CHEMISTRY is the journal with the highest H-index. The main topics include phytochemical mechanisms and clinical applications in carcinogenesis and devel-opment. “Secondary metabolite”, “green synthesis”, “functional food”, and “degradation” all exhibit signifcant citation burstness between 2019-2023. Conclusions: This study is the frst to apply bibliometrics to examine the development of phytochemicals in oncology research over the period 2010-2023, which gives researchers a brief overview of advances, hotspots, and potential future trends in the feld

The Cost of Raising a Child: Equivalence Scales in the United States

As fertility rates drop to another historical low, understanding the economic burden of childrearing on household income, a main economic reason for falling birth rate, has become more crucial than ever. This study calculates a subjective equivalence scale explaining how much the income of a two-adult, one-child household should increase to maintain the same level of life satisfaction as a two-adult household, using a nationally representative U.S. sample. The results suggest that the equivalence scale for a two-adult, one-child household is 1.18, indicating that raising a child costs 18% of a two-adult household’s income. Our analysis indicates that programs like the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) may be overly generous for households with one child, while the tax deduction policy does not cover child-rearing costs sufficiently

Complete mitochondrial genome of Metapenaeus affinis (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) and Metapenaeus ensis (De Haan, 1844)

Penaeid shrimp is one of the marine germplasm resources in tropical and subtropical regions. To better understand shrimp germplasm resources and develop cultured shrimp species, the complete mitochondrial genome of Metapenaeus affinis and Metapenaeus ensis was assembled. The length of M. affinis and M. ensis mitochondrial sequences is 15,957 and 15,943, respectively. Both mitochondrial sequences contain 13 protein coding, 22 tRNA, and two rRNA genes. The GC content of the genome was 34.23% and 34.12% in M. affinis and M. ensis, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the M. affinis and M. ensis are closely related, and assigned to a branch of Metapenaeus. We assembled and published the mitochondrial genome sequences of these two species, which will provide important information for the research and utilization of shrimp germplasm resources

Association analysis of alpha-amylase (AMY) and cathepsin L (CTSL) SNPs with growth traits in giant tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon

Alpha-amylase (AMY) and cathepsin-L (CTSL) were selected as candidate genes for SNP discovery for growth traits of P. monodon. Six SNPs were found in AMY and three in CTSL in P. monodon. Association analyses for the candidate SNPs with important economic traits were performed in populations. That allele A at CTLS-213 SNP, AA, and GA, tended to be associated with increased body weight. Shrimps with genotype GG had significantly smaller CL, CW, and CH values than those with GT and TT genotypes (P < 0.05). While CTLS-820 SNP was found to be significantly associated with CH and FSL (P <0.05). These SNPs will be valid for marker-assisted selection breeding programs in P. monodon

Identification of microRNAs in black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) under acute low-salinity stress

Salinity is a common abiotic stress in the culture of penaeid shrimp. Through post-transcriptional regulation of gene transcripts, microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in the adaptation to a stressful environment. However, the involvement of miRNAs in the salinity stress response of shrimp remains unclear. In the present study, the sequence and expression profile of miRNAs in the hepatopancreas of low-salinity-treated Penaeus monodon were obtained by the high-throughput sequencing technique. A total of 679 miRNAs were identified, including 167 miRNAs that were significantly differentially expressed after low-salinity exposure (p &lt; 0.05). Remarkably, most of these miRNAs were downregulated, suggesting that a series of genes were activated to participate in stress response. In addition, 43 miRNAs differentially expressed at all treatment were selected as putative key modulators. Enrichment analysis of genes targeted by these miRNAs indicated that a network that consists of the nervous system, the immune system, and the endocrine system played a crucial role in maintaining the homeostasis of P. monodon under low-salinity stress. These findings may help contribute to a better understanding of the mechanism that regulates salinity tolerance in shrimp and provide valuable genetic information for subsequent studies