We reviewed records of all patients with an initial Fontan operation or revision from 1973 to 2012 at our institution (n = 1,138); 195 patients had postoperative liver data available. Cirrhosis was ...identified by histopathology or characteristic findings on imaging with an associated diagnosis of cirrhosis by a hepatologist. Of 195 patients with biopsy or imaging, 10-, 20-, and 30-year freedom from cirrhosis was 99%, 94%, and 57%, respectively. There were 40 of 195 patients (21%) diagnosed with cirrhosis (mean age at Fontan 10.7 ± 8 years). On multivariate analysis, hypoplastic left heart syndrome was associated with increased risk of cirrhosis (n = 2 of 16, p = 0.0133), whereas preoperative sinus rhythm was protective (p = 0.009). Survival after diagnosis of cirrhosis was 57% and 35%, at 1, and 5 years, respectively. The cause of death was known for 9 patients (5 multiorgan failure, 2 liver failure, and 2 heart failure). In conclusion, there is an incremental occurrence of cirrhosis after the Fontan, which should be considered when designing follow-up protocols for patients after Fontan operation.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Aims
Cytarabine (CYT), a prevalent anticancer drug for blood cancers, detrimentally affects male reproductive development and function. Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), a universal antioxidant, offers ...defense against chemical-induced reproductive dysfunction. Our study sought to explore ALA's protective role against prenatal CYT-induced reproductive impairment in F1 male adult rats.
Main methods
Pregnant rats were divided into 5 groups and administered normal saline, ALA 200 mg/kg, CYT 12.5 mg/kg, CYT 25 mg/kg, and CYT 25 mg/kg + ALA 200 mg/ kg from gestational day 8 to 21. On postnatal day 73, F1 male rats were sacrificed, and general, oxidative, steroidogenic, spermatogenic, histological, and morphometrical parameters were evaluated.
Key findings
Prenatal CYT caused dose-dependent reductions in body weight, testis, and accessory gland weights; elevated oxidative stress; delayed puberty onset; sperm anomalies (decreased count, motility, viability, seminal fructose; increased morphological anomalies); impeded steroidogenesis (lower testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, 3β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase(HSD), 17β-HSD, and elevated cholesterol); and testicular histopathological and morphometric disturbances. Maternal supplementation of ALA was found to alleviate all the CYT-induced reproductive disruptions.
Significance
The present work accentuates the beneficial actions of ALA against CYT-induced impairment in reproductive development and functions by combating disruptions in oxidative balance, steroidogenesis, spermatogenesis, and testicular histological aberrations. However, future experimental and clinical studies are warranted to explore the molecular mechanisms involved in the ALA’s protection against prenatal CYT-induced testicular injury.
Graphical Abstract
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Cytarabine, an anti-metabolite drug, remains the mainstay of treatment for hematological malignancies. It causes various toxic effects including teratogenicity. Alpha lipoic acid (ALA) is a natural ...antioxidant reported to offer protection against hepatotoxicity induced by various pathological conditions, drugs, or chemicals. We investigated the protective effect of ALA against prenatal cytarabine exposure-induced hepatotoxicity in rat female neonates. A total of 30 dams were randomly assigned to five groups and received normal saline, ALA 200 mg/kg, cytarabine 12.5 mg/kg, cytarabine 25 mg/kg, and cytarabine 25 mg/kg + ALA 200 mg/kg, respectively, from gestational day (GD)8 to GD21. Cytarabine and ALA were administered via intraperitoneal and oral (gavage) routes, respectively. On postnatal day (PND)1, all the live female neonates (pups) were collected and weighed. The blood and liver from pups were carefully collected and used for histopathological, and biochemical evaluations. A significant and dose-dependent decrease in maternal food intake and weight gain was observed in the pregnant rats (dams) of the cytarabine groups as compared to the dams of the control group. The pups exposed to cytarabine showed a significant and dose-dependent (a) decrease in body weight, liver weight, hepatosomatic index, catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, serum albumin levels and (b) increase in malondialdehyde, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase, AST/ALT ratio, and histopathological anomalies. Maternal co-administration of ALA ameliorated these biochemical changes and histopathological abnormalities by combating oxidative stress. Future studies are warranted to explore the molecular mechanisms involved in the ALA's protective effects against prenatal cytarabine-induced hepatotoxicity.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
There are limited long-term, single-cohort, follow-up studies available about patients after the Fontan operation.
This study sought to determine the long-term outcome of all patients who had a ...Fontan operation at the Mayo Clinic.
Records of all patients who had a modified Fontan operation between 1973 and 2012 were reviewed. A follow-up questionnaire was mailed to all patients alive at the time of the study.
Overall, 10-, 20-, and 30-year survival for 1,052 patients was 74%, 61%, and 43%, respectively. Factors associated with decreased overall or late survival in multivariate analysis included pre-operative diuretic use, longer cardiopulmonary bypass time, operation prior to 1991, atrioventricular valve (AVV) replacement at the time of Fontan operation, elevated post-bypass Fontan (>20 mm Hg) or left atrial (>13 mm Hg) pressures, prolonged chest tube drainage (>21 days), post-operative ventricular arrhythmias, renal insufficiency, and development of protein-losing enteropathy (PLE). Pre-operative and intraoperative sinus rhythm were associated with improved survival. Long-term survival was similar for patients regardless of ventricular morphology. The most common reoperations were pacemaker insertion/revision in 212 patients (20%), Fontan revision/conversion in 117 patients (11%), and AVV repair/replacement in 66 patients (5%). Clinically significant late atrial or ventricular arrhythmias occurred in 468 patients (44%). Ninety-five patients (9%) developed PLE, and 5-, 10-, and 20-year survival after diagnosis of PLE was 50%, 35%, and 19%, respectively.
As the surgical techniques for the Fontan operation have changed over the last 40 years, survival has improved. However, development of PLE and arrhythmias and the need for reoperation during long-term follow-up pose significant management challenges.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
In this study, permeation of copper ions through polymer inclusion membrane (PIM) containing di (2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) as carrier, cellulose triacetate (CTA) as polymer and di-octyl ...phthalate (DOP) as plasticizer has been investigated. The effects of Cu(II) in feed phase, H2SO4 in strip phase and D2EHPA (in membrane) concentrations on the transport were investigated. D2EHPA concentration varied from 0.6×10–2 to 6×10–2mol/L and it was found that the transport of Cu(II) increased with the carrier concentration up to 4.8×10–2mol/L. High Cu(II) concentration in the feed phase leads to an increase in flux from 0.53×10–6 to 4.48×10–6mol/(m2s) within the Cu(II) concentration range 0.79×10–4mol/L–31.47×10–4mol/L at pH of 4.5. Increase in H2SO4 concentration in strip solution leads to an increase in copper ions flux. Studies on the transport kinetics of Cu(II) ions and the stability of the membranes were also carried out. The developed methodology was applied for digested e-waste samples and found to be successful for the recovery of Cu(II).
► Permeation of Cu(II) ions through PIM was carried out using D2EHPA as carrier. ► The stability of the membrane was constant for ten cycles, each cycle for 12h. ► The valuable Cu(II) ions were recovered from digested e-waste samples.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Mast cells were discovered more than 100 years ago and until recently, have been considered renegades of the host with the sole purpose of perpetuating allergy. The discovery of mast cell-deficient ...mice that could be reconstituted with mast cells (the so called "mast cell knock-in" mice) has allowed the study of the in vivo functions of mast cells and revealed several new facets of these cells. It is now evident that mast cells have a much broader impact on many physiological and pathologic processes. Mast cells, particularly through their dynamic interaction with the nervous system, have been implicated in wound healing, tissue remodeling, and homeostasis. Perhaps the most progress has been made in our understanding of the role of mast cells in immunity outside the realm of allergy, and host defense. Mast cells play critical roles in both innate and adaptive immunity, including immune tolerance. Greater insight into mast cell biology has prompted studies probing the additional consequences of mast cell dysfunction, which reveal a central role for mast cells in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular disorders, and cancer. Here, we review recent developments in the study of mast cells, which present a complex picture of mast cell functions.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
An overview of bionanocomposites of polybenzoxazine, which is a highly promising material, is presented in this review paper along with an update on the current developments in this material. With an ...enormous range of applications, polybenzoxazines are emerging as a latest set of phenolic resins. Its favorable features make it an excellent replacement for many current polymers due to its simplicity in structure design, synthetic process, and polymerization reactions. Problematic aspects of petro‐based raw materials are their nonrenewable nature, toxicity, and rising expense. Hence, the advent of sustainable benzoxazines is promising since it enables the synthesis of monomers without the need for solvents and the processing of these monomers to create extremely thermally stable thermoset resins. This is particularly true when the monomer is derived from naturally occurring, agro‐waste cardanol. A platform for additional structural alterations to expand the uses of cardanol benzoxazine in adhesives, composites, and energy storage devices is provided by its intrinsic properties. There are numerous articles are available for biobased polybenzoxazine, and hence, the focus of the present review is dedicated to (1) nanomaterails loaded bio‐based polybenzoxazines, and (2) bio‐derived nanomaterials loaded polybenzoxazines.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Construction waste plays a major role in today’s world and it has a huge environmental impact. This can be eliminated by incorporating the waste material as recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) in ...construction and other projects which has behest for RAC. Compared to natural aggregates, recycled aggregates have a significantly different composition, making it difficult to predict their performance. This study shows how artificial neural network (ANN) and cuckoo search method (CSM) have been used to predict the compressive strength of RAC. The CSM and the ANN have been subjected to training and testing using 121 available data collected from published literature. The ANN and CSM models are developed with the help of six input parameters, such as water-cement ratio, replacement percentage of recycled aggregate concrete, natural coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, recycled coarse aggregate, water absorption. MATLAB software is used to model the artificial neural network and cuckoo search method to predict 28 days compressive strength of RAC. The results of mean squared error (MSE) and coefficient of regression (r2) show that both methods are a useful tool to predict the compressive strength. However, the ANN model reveals better accuracy.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
A new series of Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) metal complexes of a novel ligand 3-(2-(1-(2,4-DihydroxyPhenyl)ethylidene)hydrazinyl)-2H-benzob1,4oxazin-2-one, (DPE-HBO) were prepared and ...characterized. Microwave synthesis of the ligand was also carried out which gave a high increase in its yield within very short time. 3D molecular modeling structure of the ligand is obtained by using ArgusLab software. The nature of bonding and the stereochemistry of the complexes have been deduced from elemental analysis, thermal, infrared, electronic spectra, magnetic moments and conductivity measurements. ESR spectrum of Cu(II) complex is studied. All the complexes show subnormal magnetic moments. ONNO donor atoms participate in coordination with Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes exhibiting octahedral geometry. Co(II) and Ni(II) complexes behave differently with ONNO donor atoms showing two types of geometries i.e., octahedral and square planar within the same complex.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Summary
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are widely employed in various sectors, which include health care, military, automotive, and manufacturing sectors. Most of these applications use WSN with ...certain limitations in terms of its computational power, storage capability, and energy supply. Among this, energy supply is considered to be a major limitation for these sectors. Therefore, prolonging the lifetime of the network by improving the energy efficiency in WSN is a common objective in many types of research. In this research, the WSN energy efficiency is improved using the data aggregation clustering technique by balancing the energy consumption among the sensor nodes. To balance the energy consumption, an efficient selection of cluster heads is required with faster convergence and an improved search pattern. In accomplishing this, a hybrid architecture that combines Bees Swarm Optimization (BSO) with Harmony Search Algorithm (HSA) is used. The combination of both BSO and HSA tends to achieve premature convergence that leads to poor selection of cluster head. Hence, to increase the optimal and faster convergence, the proposed system uses the Hill Climbing algorithm to reach the optimal solution with faster convergence in a shorter computational time. The experiments are conducted with various node densities between the proposed and existing methods. The result shows that the proposed method is active in improving the search capability in effectively finding the cluster heads for improved routing paths.
Hybrid architecture is proposed using BSO and HSA algorithm that tends to reduce the problem of premature convergence of both BSO and HSA for the selection of a cluster head. The faster and matured convergence in the proposed system is carried out using the Hill Climbing algorithm that tends to reduce the probability of attaining premature convergence. The proposed method inhibits the capability of the high searching mechanism of BSO, and it also adopts the HSAs dynamic capability to improve the sensor node lifetime. The performance of the BSO‐HSA algorithm is evaluated in terms of residual energy of the network, network throughput, and packet delivery ratio, and end‐to‐end delay. The results of the proposed algorithm show in increased throughput and residual energy than the existing methods.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
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