Adhesive Sticker Research Articles

Use of a ticket punch and adhesive transparent dressings for injecting botulinum toxin in hyperhidrosis

This article describes a novel modification in marking the sites of botulinum toxin injection in patients with axillary hyperhidrosis using a ticket punch and an adhesive occlusive sticker.

Design and application of a multiple combination portable auxiliary device for infusion

Intravenous infusion is an important route of drug therapy, and infusion safety is an important issue for medical staff. Long-term and multiple infusion routes at the same time bring inconvenience to patients. Multiple three-way switches in parallel infusion may lead to interruption of the liquid route, which can seriously endanger the life of patients. To address these clinical issues, medical staff from the School of Basic Medical Sciences of Hebei Medical University and the Emergency Department of the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University designed a multiple combination portable infusion assistance device and obtained the National Utility Model Patent of China (ZL 2022 2 0226073.2). The device is mainly composed of adhesive tape sticker, fixed slots and pipelines, and also includes a three-way valve and a mixing chamber, and different modes of infusion assist devices can be selected according to clinical needs. The device is simple and convenient to operate, solves the problem of multiple liquid infusion blockages, improves the safety and comfort of infusion, and can meet the needs of liquid infusion in various clinical situations.

Comparative study of microbial colonization of catheters for prolonged regional anesthesia when using different fixation methods

BACKGROUND: Infectious complications related to prolonged epidural and peripheral regional anesthesia are quite rare. However, this does not exclude the necessity of strict adherence to measures aimed at preventing microbial colonization of catheters for regional anesthesia. Microbial colonization of the catheter is not always accompanied by the development of infectious complications but increases the likelihood of their occurrence.
 AIM: To determine the frequency of colonization, the qualitative and quantitative composition of the microflora depending on the various methods of fixing of the catheter and the duration of its use.
 MATERIALS AND METHODS: 76 patients from 2 to 18 years old with prolonged epidural or peripheral anesthesia were included in an comparative, prospective, randomized, single-center study. Patients were divided into the groups according to the method of catheter fixation - adhesive sticker (AS), adhesive sticker and antimicrobial coating Desitol B (AS+D) and tunneling (T). Determination of microbial contamination of catheters was carried out using classical bacteriological studies.
 RESULTS: None of the 76 patients had signs of a local or systemic infection. The difference in the frequency of colonization between the AS and T groups was statistically significant: 2 (1, n = 54) = 5.5381 (p = 0.018), between the AS and AS+D groups it was not significant. The relative risk of colonization of the skin of the catheter with adhesive fixation was 2.14 times higher than with catheter tunneling: RR = 2.14, p = 0.05 (95% CI 1.04.49). In the AS+D group, colonization of both the skin and the inner part of the catheter was observed significantly earlier than in the T group: skin part: U = 5.5; Ucr = 8 (p = 0.02); inner part: U = 5.5; Ucr = 6 (p = 0.04). The growth of Staphylococcus epidermidis (48.3%) and Staphylococcus aureus (20.7%) was fixed mainly when positive results of microbiological culture takes place.
 CONCLUSIONS: Tunneling is the preferred method of fixation of the catheter when the postoperative pain relief period is more than 3 days.

110 Non-invasive molecular analysis for CTCL detection and differentiation from other skin conditions with adhesive smart sticker skin sample collection

Cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a complex and heterogenous disease with a range of pathogenic, diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic courses. Broadly, CTCL is characterized by cutaneous infiltrates of aberrant monocolonal T-lymphocytes. Clinically and histopathologically, CTCL often mimics psoriasis, eczema and other benign dermatoses. Diagnosis of CTCL is often delayed by 4-6 years from the time lesions initially appear, and typically requires multiple skin biopsies and blood tests. In this study, we employed non-invasive adhesive patches to collect samples from lesional skin of CTCL (n=12) and psoriasis (n=10) patients as well as non-lesional skin from healthy (n=12) volunteers.

Untethered small-scale magnetic soft robot with programmable magnetization and integrated multifunctional modules.

Intelligent magnetic soft robots capable of programmable structural changes and multifunctionality modalities depend on material architectures and methods for controlling magnetization profiles. While some efforts have been made, there are still key challenges in achieving programmable magnetization profile and creating heterogeneous architectures. Here, we directly embed programmed magnetization patterns (magnetization modules) into the adhesive sticker layers to construct soft robots with programmable magnetization profiles and geometries and then integrate spatially distributed functional modules. Functional modules including temperature and ultraviolet light sensing particles, pH sensing sheets, oil sensing foams, positioning electronic component, circuit foils, and therapy patch films are integrated into soft robots. These test beds are used to explore multimodal robot locomotion and various applications related to environmental sensing and detection, circuit repairing, and gastric ulcer coating, respectively. This proposed approach to engineering modular soft material systems has the potential to expand the functionality, versatility, and adaptability of soft robots.

Spleen is not required for therapeutic effects of 4OH-GTS-21, a selective α7 nAChR agonist, in the sub-acute phase of ischemic stroke in rats

Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) causes both central and peripheral inflammation, while activation of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) provides both central and peripheral anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects. Here, we provide evidence that 4OH-GTS-21, a selective α7 agonist, produces its therapeutic effects via primarily central sites of action because 4OH-GTS-21 was found equally effective in splenectomized and non-spenectomized rats in the sub-acute phase of ischemic stroke (≤1 week). However, the spleen may boost the therapeutic efficacy of 4OH-GTS-21 in certain behavioral tasks as our data also indicated. In our tests, AIS was modeled by transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO). Splenectomy was done 2 weeks before tMCAO. We determined that: 1) Daily 4OH-GTS-21 treatments for 7 days after tMCAO significantly reduced neurological deficits and brain injury in both splenectomized and non-spelenectomized rats demonstrating that the spleen is not required for therapeutic benefits of 4OH-GTS-21; 2) The effects of 4OH-GTS-21 in the adhesive sticker removal test were significantly weaker in splenectomized animals suggesting that the spleen boosts the efficacy of 4OH-GTS-21 in the first week after tMCAO; and 3) Ischemic brain injury was not significantly affected by splenectomy in both vehicle-treated and 4OH-GTS-21-treated animals. These data support the hypothesis that the therapeutic efficacy of sub-chronic (≤1 week) 4OH-GTS-21 primarily originates from central sites of action. These results validate brain availability as a critical factor for developing novel α7 ligands for AIS.

Pre-stroke surgery is not beneficial to normotensive rats undergoing sixty minutes of transient focal cerebral ischemia.

Experimental stroke in rodents, via middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), can be associated with a negative impact on wellbeing and mortality. In hypertensive rodents, pre-stroke craniotomy increased survival and decreased body weight loss post-MCAO. Here we determined the effect, in normotensive Sprague-Dawley rats following 60 minutes MCAO, with or without pre-surgical craniotomy, on post-stroke outcomes in terms of weight loss, neurological deficit, lesion volume and functional outcomes. There was no effect of pre-stroke craniotomy on indicators of wellbeing including survival rate (P = 0.32), body weight loss (P = 0.42) and neurological deficit (P = 0.75). We also assessed common outcome measures following experimental stroke and found no effect of pre-stroke craniotomy on lesion volume as measured by T2-weighted MRI (P = 0.846), or functional performance up to 28 days post-MCAO (staircase test, P = 0.32; adhesive sticker test, P = 0.49; cylinder test, P = 0.38). Thus, pre-stroke craniotomy did not improve animal welfare in terms of body weight loss and neurological deficit. However, it is important, given that a number of drug delivery studies utilise the craniotomy procedure, to note that there was no effect on lesion volume or functional outcome following experimental stroke.

A diagnostic instrument to help field graders evaluate active trachoma

ABSTRACTThe SAFE strategy (Surgery for trichiasis, mass treatment with Antibiotics to clear ocular Chlamydia trachomatis infection, and Facial cleanliness and Environmental improvement to reduce transmission) is being used to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem. Decisions on whether or not to implement the A, F, and E components of SAFE are made on the basis of the prevalence of trachomatous inflammation—follicular (TF) in 1–9-year-olds. TF has a precise definition: at least five follicles, each of which is at least 0.5-mm diameter, in the central part of the upper tarsal conjunctiva. Determining whether a follicle has a diameter ≥0.5mm is difficult using magnifying loupes alone. We have developed an ultra-low-cost solution: a follicle size guide that takes the form of a durable printed adhesive sticker which can be fixed to graders’ thumb nails for direct size comparison. This tool will be made available to health ministries free of charge. It is anticipated to simplify grader training, increase grader trainee pass rates, and prevent in-service diagnostic drift after training is complete.

Sensorimotor tests unmask a phenotype in the DYT1 knock-in mouse model of dystonia

Hereditary generalized dystonia is often caused by a GAG deletion in TOR1A (DYT1) that encodes for the protein torsinA. Although mutation carriers show alterations in neuronal connectivity and sensorimotor deficits, only 30% develop dystonia. Uncovering the factors triggering the dystonic symptoms and underlying pathophysiology would greatly benefit the development of more effective therapies. In DYT1 knock-in (KI) mice, the expression of torsinA mutant alters the connectivity of neurons and the function of striatal cholinergic interneurons. We aimed to determine if heterozygous DYT1 KI mice exhibit deficits in behavioural tests that explore the connectivity of the sensory and motor system. DYT1 KI mice were tested in cognitive tests and challenging motor paradigms, followed by the adhesive removal test and the adaptive rotating beam test which both require sensorimotor integration. DYT1 KI mice did not exhibit cognitive deficits and were able to perform similarly to wild type mice even in challenging motor tests with relatively stable sensory input. Conversely, DYT1 KI mice spent more time on sensing and removing an adhesive sticker from the back of the nose; they exhibited difficulty to traverse rotating rods, especially if the surface was smooth and the diameter small. Our observations further support a role of sensorimotor integration in manifestation of this movement disorder. Future studies in DYT1 KI mice will explore the involved neurocircuitry and underlying molecular mechanisms.

ASSESSMENT OF THE RISK OF NEEDLESTICK INJURIES ASSOCIATED WITH INTRAVITREAL INJECTIONS

To assess the overall risk of needlestick injuries (NSIs) associated with intravitreal injection, and more specifically related to the practice of compounding pharmacies of applying informational adhesive stickers to repackaged bevacizumab injection syringes. This cross-sectional study involved an online survey of retina specialists in the United States. Of the 717 invited retina specialists, 158 (22%) responded to the online survey. The respondents reported using 1 pair of gloves (51%), no gloves (46%), or 2 pairs of gloves (3%) during intravitreal injection. Repackaged bevacizumab syringes distributed by compounding pharmacy were used by 89% of the respondents, and 63% reported that the adhesive sticker was applied directly to the syringe. Unintentional adhesion between the sticker and hand or glove was experienced by 9% of respondents. At least 1 NSI during intravitreal injection was experienced by 8% of respondents, and sticker-related injury was reported by 3%. The sticker was perceived to increase risk for NSI by 33% of respondents. This survey showed that 8% of the responding physicians surveyed have experienced at least one NSI during intravitreal injections, of which approximately one third was attributed to the adhesive sticker. Direct application of misfitting stickers to repackaged syringes by compounding pharmacies may be a practice that can aggravate the risk of NSI.

P290 Impact of a Combined Admission and Discharge COPD Care Bundle on Hospital Mortality and Readmission Rates

BackgroundA care bundle is a group of evidence based interventions which if consistently delivered should improve outcomes. Published work (Thorax 2012) has demonstrated the impact of a COPD discharge bundle...

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor increases the therapeutic efficacy of bone marrow mononuclear cell transplantation in cerebral ischemia in mice

BackgroundBone marrow mononuclear cell (BMMC) transplantation is a promising therapy for cerebral ischemia; however, little is known if its therapeutic efficacy may be improved by co-administration of potential modulatory factors in vivo. To explore this possibility, the present study examined the effect of BMMCs and G-CSF on cell proliferation, early neuronal development and neurological function recovery in experimental cerebral ischemia relative to controls that received neither treatment.ResultIschemia/infarct area was significantly reduced in BMMCs+G-CSF group relative to animal groups treated with BMMCs only, G-CSF only or saline. Transplanted BMMCs were found to colocalize with the proliferative cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and the immature neuronal marker doublecortin (DCX). The BMMCs+G-CSF group showed increased numerical density of cells expressing PCNA and DCX, improved performance in adhesive sticker removal test and reduced neurological function severity scores relative to other groups in a time-dependent manner.ConclusionBMMCs and G-CSF co-administration exhibits synergistic beneficial effect over time. This effect could be at least partially related to increased proliferation and differentiation of bone marrow stem cells and enhanced host brain regeneration and functional recovery. The results suggest that G-CSF can increase the therapeutic efficacy of BMMCs transplantation in an experimental mouse model of cerebral ischemia.

SMART TAGS AND USING SMART TAGS IN APPAREL INDUSTRY

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a method of remotely storing and retrieving data using devices called RFID tags. An RFID tag is a small object, such as an adhesive sticker, that can be attached to or incorporated into a product. RFID tags contain antennae to enable them to receive and respond to radio-frequency queries from an RFID transceiver. RFID, or Radio Frequency Identification, makes it possible to locate the right item at the right place at the right time.

Laser Etching: A Novel Technology to Label Florida Grapefruit

Laser labeling of fruit and vegetables is an alternative means of labeling produce in which a low-energy carbon dioxide laser beam etches the surface and reveals a contrasting underlying layer. These etched surfaces can promote water loss and may increase the number of entry sites for decay-promoting organisms. The long-term effects of laser labeling on produce quality during storage have not been examined. We conducted experiments to measure water loss, peel appearance, and potential decay in laser-labeled grapefruit (Citrus paradisi) during storage. Laser-labeled fruit stored at 10 °C and two relative humidities (i.e., 95% and 65%) for 5 weeks showed no increase in decay compared with nonetched control fruit, suggesting that laser labeling does not facilitate decay. This was confirmed by experiments where Penicillium digitatum spores were coated on fruit surfaces before and after etching. In either case, no decay was observed. In agar plates containing a lawn of P. digitatum spores, the laser etching reduced germination of spores in contact areas. Water loss from etched areas and label appearance were determined during storage. Water loss from waxed etched surfaces reached control levels after 24 h in storage. Label appearance slowly deteriorated during 4 weeks in storage and was proportional to laser energy levels and ambient relative humidity. Waxing the labeled surface reduced water loss by 35% to 94%, depending on the wax formulation used. We concluded that laser labeling provides the grapefruit industry a safe alternative to adhesive sticker labeling without enhancing decay susceptibility.

Laser Etching: A Novel Technology to Label Florida Grapefruit

Laser labeling of fruit and vegetables is an alternative means of labeling produce in which a low-energy carbon dioxide laser beam etches the surface and reveals a contrasting underlying layer. These etched surfaces can promote water loss and may increase the number of entry sites for decay-promoting organisms. The long-term effects of laser labeling on produce quality during storage have not been examined. We conducted experiments to measure water loss, peel appearance, and potential decay in laser-labeled grapefruit (Citrus paradisi) during storage. Laser-labeled fruit stored at 10 °C and two relative humidities (i.e., 95% and 65%) for 5 weeks showed no increase in decay compared with nonetched control fruit, suggesting that laser labeling does not facilitate decay. This was confirmed by experiments where Penicillium digitatum spores were coated on fruit surfaces before and after etching. In either case, no decay was observed. In agar plates containing a lawn of P. digitatum spores, the laser etching reduced germination of spores in contact areas. Water loss from etched areas and label appearance were determined during storage. Water loss from waxed etched surfaces reached control levels after 24 h in storage. Label appearance slowly deteriorated during 4 weeks in storage and was proportional to laser energy levels and ambient relative humidity. Waxing the labeled surface reduced water loss by 35% to 94%, depending on the wax formulation used. We concluded that laser labeling provides the grapefruit industry a safe alternative to adhesive sticker labeling without enhancing decay susceptibility.

Susceptibility testing of pathogenic fungi with itraconazole: a process analysis of test variables.

A 2(10-5) fractional factorial model was used to investigate the influence of 10 process variables in broth microdilution susceptibility tests with itraconazole against eight isolates of Candida species and six isolates of filamentous fungi in two growth media. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that glucose concentration and incubation time both significantly influenced control turbidity optical density (OD) values for most of the Candida spp. isolates, while incubation in >10% CO(2) versus ambient air, incubation temperature and inoculum size significantly influenced these OD values for about half of the yeast isolates. Control OD values for the mould isolates were most influenced by incubation time and temperature, and by occlusion of the wells with an adhesive sticker. Three statistical approaches, ANOVA, rank transformation and Mann-Whitney U-test, were used to assess the influence of the variable combinations on MIC, determined with a 50% growth reduction end-point. Incubation temperature and time, glucose concentration and inoculum size were the variables that most often affected susceptibility results to the level of statistical significance; however, the supplier of RPMI 1640 medium, the use of adhesive stickers and the atmosphere of incubation significantly influenced the MIC for some isolates. The medium used to prepare the test inoculum, the solvent used to prepare the stock solution and the shape of the microdilution plate wells significantly affected outcome, but only sporadically. A principal component analysis of the data matrix confirmed this order of relative influence of the test variables on the MIC. Since each fungal isolate responded differently to combinations of process variables in the test, we conclude that any unified method for antifungal susceptibility determination represents a compromise, rather than an idealized system.

A Standardized, Uniform and Universal Dental Chart for Documenting State of Dentition before Anaesthesia

It is vital to have adequate and precise documentation of the condition of a patient's dentition before commencing an anaesthetic. The incidence of dental damage during anaesthesia is not low. To the authors' knowledge, there is no standardized method used by anaesthetists to document the state of a patient's dentition. We propose the introduction of a standardized uniform dental chart to enable anaesthetists to accurately document the condition of their patients' teeth. This vital information can be easily obtained during the preanaesthetic assessment. With the increase in medical litigation and demands for adequate documentation, we believe this chart can become an invaluable part of every hospital's preanaesthetic assessment form. The dental chart is to be offered as a service to anaesthetists in the form of a copyright-free "Freeware" computer diskette or adhesive sticker and will be downloadable from the internet.

Forelimb motor performance following cervical spinal cord contusion injury in the rat

The purpose of this study was to examine the degree, persistence, and nature of forelimb behavioral deficits following cervical spinal cord contusion injury in the rat. Forelimb reaching and pellet retrieval, forehead adhesive sticker removal, and vibrissae-induced forelimb placing were examined for 16 weeks following a weight-drop injury (10.0 g-2.5 cm) at the C 4–C 5 spinal level. Nine of 13 rats studied were unable to perform the pellet retrieval task due to pronounced forelimb extension hypometria. However, these animals did carry out the forehead sticker removal and vibrissae-induced placing tasks. Therefore, the loss of reaching ability related to pellet retrieval was not due to generalized paralysis. This interpretation was further supported by evaluation of the rostrocaudal extent of relative motoneuron loss from 1-mm divisions through the lesion zone. The extent of motoneuron pathology ranged from 2 to 6 mm but was largely confined to the C 4–C 5 spinal segments. Morphometric assessments of axonal sparing revealed that pellet retrieval performance during the last month of observation was significantly correlated with fiber sparing in the dorsal columns and ventral white matter, whereas no significant correlation could be demonstrated with regard to dorsolateral white matter. While there were no conspicuous differences in qualitative assessments of damage to interneuron pools (i.e., laminae V to VII) between the nonreaching and retrieval-recovered rats, the possibility of combined white and gray matter pathology contributing to this deficit still exists. These initial findings thus demonstrate that the weight-drop contusion injury model can be adopted to studies of cervical spinal cord trauma in the rat. Such lesions yield permanent deficits in forelimb function lending to future studies of possible therapeutic interventions. Furthermore, performance deficits observed at 1 week postinjury in the placing and forehead sticker removal tasks can be predictive of any potential for long-range spontaneous recovery in pellet retrieval ability.