Nisin and/or chitosan were coated, in 3% concentrations, onto paper with a binder medium of vinyl acetate–ethylene co‐polymer to provide antimicrobial activity for use in food packaging. The combined use of nisin and chitosan in the coating was an attempt to give a wide antimicrobial spectrum that could inhibit the growth of several food spoilage and poisonous microorganisms. The migration of the preservative from the coatings to water was evaluated at 10°C and related to the suppressed microbial growth in the water and microbial medium. After 8 days, 8.1–8.3% of nisin and 1.0–1.2% of chitosan had migrated, and the migration of each was not affected by the presence of the other. The paper coated with nisin was more effective than the chitosan‐coated paper in inhibiting the Gram‐positive bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes, whereas the latter was more effective against Escherichia coli O157:H7. Combined inclusion of nisin and chitosan in the coating gave antimicrobial activity against both bacterial strains, and could improve the microbial stability of milk and orange juice stored at 10°C. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Detection of AR-V7 in urinary EVs provides a simple and promising liquid biopsy tool for patients with prostate cancer.

BackgroundIron-catalyzed oxidative stress contributes to lung injury after exposure to various toxins, including cigarette smoke. An oxidant/antioxidant imbalance is considered to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of COPD. Ferritin is a key protein in iron homeostasis, and its capacity to oxidize and sequester the metal preventing iron prooxidant activity implicates its possible role in the alteration of antioxidant imbalance. We investigated the relationship among cigarette smoking, lung function, and serum ferritin concentration in a large cohort representative of the Korean adult population.Materials and methodsAmong 50,405 participants of the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2010 to 2014, 15,239 adult subjects older than 40 years with serum ferritin levels and spirometric data were selected for this study.ResultsThe mean age was 56.5 years for men (43%) and 56.9 years for women (57%). The prevalence of airway obstruction was 13.4%, which was significantly higher in men than in women, and increased in former or current smokers. The median levels of serum ferritin were highest in the airway obstruction group, followed by the restrictive pattern group, and lowest in the normal lung function group. The median ferritin levels were increased by smoking status and amounts in each spirometric subgroup. In multivariable regression analysis, serum ferritin was positively associated with forced expiratory volume in 1 second and forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity, whereas the smoking amount was negatively associated with the adjustment with age, sex, height, and weight.ConclusionSerum ferritin levels were increased in former or current smokers and were increased with smoking amount in all subgroups of participants categorized according to spirometric results. The result was also evident in the subgroups divided by obstructive severity. While smoking amount was inversely related to lung function, higher levels of serum ferritin were associated with enhanced spirometric results in a representative sample of the general Korean adult population. Future prospective studies will be needed to clarify the causality between serum ferritin and lung functions and their role in COPD morbidity.

Abbreviations & AcronymsObjectives: To evaluate the significance of intravesical prostatic protrusion as a predictor of early urinary continence recovery after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. Methods: A total of 242 patients who underwent laparoscopic radical prostatectomy were included in the study. Data on incontinence status and the number of pads required per day for urinary incontinence were collected. Urinary continence was defined as no pad use or occasional security pad use. Intravesical prostatic protrusion was measured by the vertical distance from the tip of the protruding prostate to the base of the urinary bladder in the sagittal plane of preoperative magnetic resonance imaging. Continence at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months postoperatively was assessed by dividing the patients into two groups based on the degree of intravesical prostatic protrusion. The correlation between preoperative factors and urinary continence after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy was examined. Results: The urinary continence rates at postoperative month 1, 3, 6 and 12 were 19%, 50%, 79.8% and 92.1%, respectively. In the multivariate logistic analysis, intravesical prostatic protrusion was a significant independent predictive factor of early urinary continence at 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Markedly improved urinary continence was observed in the non-significant intravesical prostatic protrusion group (intravesical prostatic protrusion <5 mm) at all periods compared with the significant intravesical prostatic protrusion group (intravesical prostatic protrusion ≥5 mm; P < 0.05). Conclusions: These findings suggest that the likelihood of postoperative urinary incontinence in patients undergoing laparoscopic radical prostatectomy is markedly higher in those with larger intravesical prostatic protrusion, and that intravesical prostatic protrusion is correlated with the duration of postoperative urinary incontinence.

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