Successful commercialization of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) in the near future will require the fabrication of cells with high efficiency and long-term stability. Despite their good processability ...at low temperatures, the majority of organic conductors employed in the fabrication of high-efficiency PSCs e.g. , 2,2′,7,7′-tetrakis( N , N -di- p -methoxyphenylamine)-9,9′-spirobifluorene (spiro-OMeTAD) and poly(triaryl amine) (PTAA) have low thermal stability. In order to fabricate PSCs with excellent thermal stability, both the constituent material itself and the interface between the constituents must be thermally stable. In this work, we focused on copper phthalocyanine (CuPC) as a model hole-transporting material (HTM) for thermally stable PSCs since CuPC is known to possess excellent thermal stability and interfacial bonding properties. The CuPC-based PSCs recorded a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of ∼18% and maintained 97% of their initial efficiency for more than 1000 h of thermal annealing at 85 °C. Moreover, the device was stable under thermal cycling tests (50 cycles, −45 to 85 °C). The high PCE and high thermal stability observed in the CuPC-PSCs were found to arise as a result of the strong interfacial and conformal coating present on the surface of the perovskite facets, located between CuPC and the perovskite layer. These results will provide an important future direction for the development of highly efficient and thermally stable PSCs.
In a randomized, double-blind, prospective study, we have evaluated the effect of i.v. infusion of magnesium sulphate during spinal anaesthesia on postoperative analgesia and postoperative analgesic ...requirements.
Forty patients undergoing total hip replacement arthroplasty under spinal anaesthesia were included. After the induction of spinal anaesthesia, the magnesium group (Group M) received magnesium sulphate 50 mg kg−1 for 15 min and then 15 mg kg−1 h−1 by continuous i.v. infusion until the end of surgery. The saline group (Group S) received the same volume of isotonic saline over the same period. After surgery, a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) device containing morphine and ketorolac was provided for the patients. Postoperative pain scores, PCA consumption, and the incidences of shivering, postoperative nausea, and vomiting were evaluated immediately after surgery, and at 30 min, 4, 24, and 48 h after surgery. Serum magnesium concentrations were checked before the induction of anaesthesia, immediately after surgery, and at 1 and 24 h after surgery.
Postoperative pain scores were significantly lower in Group M at 4, 24, and 48 h after surgery (P<0.05). Cumulative postoperative PCA consumptions were also significantly lower in Group M at 4, 24, and 48 h after surgery (P<0.05). Postoperative magnesium concentrations were higher in Group M (P<0.05 at 4, 24, and 48 h after surgery), but no side-effects associated with hypermagnesemia were observed. Haemodynamic variables and the incidences of shivering, nausea, and vomiting were similar in the two groups.
I.V. magnesium sulphate administration during spinal anaesthesia improves postoperative analgesia.
Background
Viral pathogen–associated molecular patterns, such as dsRNA, disrupt airway tolerance to inhaled allergens. Specifically, the Th2 and Th17 cell responses are induced by low‐dose dsRNA and ...the Th1‐dominant response by high‐dose dsRNA.
Objective
In this model, we evaluate the role of TNF‐α in the development of adaptive immune dysfunction to inhaled allergens induced by airway sensitization with dsRNA‐containing allergens.
Methods
A virus‐associated asthma mouse model was generated via simultaneous airway administration of ovalbumin (OVA) and low (0.1 μg) or high (10 μg) doses of polyinosine–polycytidylic acid (polyI:C). The effect of TNF‐α on Th2 airway inflammation was evaluated using TNF‐α‐deficient mice and recombinant TNF‐α.
Results
TNF‐α production was enhanced by airway exposure to low and high doses of polyI:C. After airway sensitization with OVA plus low‐dose polyI:C, TNF‐α‐deficient mice exhibited less OVA‐induced airway inflammation than did wild‐type (WT) mice. However, this did not occur upon sensitization with high‐dose polyI:C. In terms of T‐cell response, the production of IL‐4 from lung T cells after OVA challenge was enhanced by airway sensitization with OVA plus low‐dose polyI:C in WT mice, and this phenotype was inhibited by the absence of TNF‐α. Moreover, the Th2 cell response induced by sensitization with OVA plus low‐dose polyI:C, which was abolished in TNF‐α‐deficient mice, was restored in these mice upon addition of recombinant TNF‐α.
Conclusion
The results of this study suggest that TNF‐α produced by airway exposure to low‐dose dsRNA is a key mediator in the development of Th2 cell response to inhaled allergens.
Background
Post‐arrest variables associated with long‐term survival after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients remain unclear. This study was designed to identify ...pre‐ and intra‐arrest factors associated with survival 3 months after CPR in ICU patients and to identify post‐arrest factors associated with long‐term survival in those who survived 24 h after CPR.
Methods
A total of 131 ICU patients undergoing CPR from January 2009 to June 2010 were included. Data were retrospectively analysed and categorized based on the Utstein template.
Results
The overall survival rate 3 months after CPR was 20.6%. Logistic regression analysis revealed that acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II score (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval, 0.87 0.83–0.93; P < 0.001), ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation (VT/VF, 5.55 1.55–19.83; P = 0.032), and normoxia during CPR (4.45 1.34–14.71; P = 0.045) were significant independent pre‐ and intra‐arrest predictors of 3‐month survival after CPR in ICU patients. Fifty‐seven patients survived 24 h after CPR, and their 3‐month survival rate was 47.4%. Early enteral nutrition (9.94 1.96–50.43; P = 0.030) and normoxia after return of spontaneous circulation (10.75 2.03–55.56; P = 0.030) were predictive of 3‐month survival in patients who survived 24 h after CPR.
Conclusions
Normoxia during CPR and VT/VF were predictors of long‐term survival after CPR in ICU patients. In patients surviving 24 h after CPR, initiation of enteral nutrition within 48 h and maintenance of normoxia were associated with a positive outcome.
The antioxidant mechanism of sevoflurane post-conditioning-induced neuroprotection remains unclear. We determined whether sevoflurane post-conditioning induces nuclear factor erythroid 2-related ...factor (Nrf2, a master transcription factor regulating antioxidant defence genes) and haemoxygenase-1 (HO-1, an antioxidant enzyme) expression, and whether protein kinase C (PKC) is involved in Nrf2 activation, in a rat model of transient global cerebral ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury.
Eighty-six rats were assigned to five groups: sham (n=6), control (n=20), sevoflurane post-conditioning (two cycles with 2 vol% sevoflurane inhalation for 10 min, n=20), chelerythrine (a PKC inhibitor; 5 mg kg−1 i.v. administration, n=20), and sevoflurane post-conditioning plus chelerythrine (n=20). The levels of nuclear Nrf2 and cytoplasmic HO-1 were assessed 1 or 7 days after ischaemia (n=10 each, apart from the sham group, n=3).
On day 1 but not day 7 post-ischaemia, Nrf2 and HO-1 expression were significantly higher in the sevoflurane post-conditioning group than in the control group. Chelerythrine administration reduced the elevated Nrf2 and HO-1 expression induced by sevoflurane post-conditioning.
Sevoflurane post-conditioning increased Nrf2/HO-1 expression via PKC signalling in the early phase after transient global cerebral I/R injury, suggesting that activation of antioxidant enzymes may be responsible for sevoflurane post-conditioning-induced neuroprotection in the early phase after cerebral I/R injury.
A convoluted cerebriform pattern (CCP) has been reported as a valuable MR imaging feature of inverted papilloma (IP). The purpose of this study was to validate the usefulness of CCP for ...distinguishing IP from various malignant sinonasal tumors in a relatively large number of patients.
We retrospectively reviewed MR images of 30 patients with IP and 128 patients with various malignant sinonasal tumors proved on histologic examination and compared the prevalence of a CCP between the 2 groups. In 8 patients with IP concomitant with squamous cell carcinoma, we also tried to find the MR features to help suggest coexistent malignancy.
A CCP was demonstrated in all 30 (100%) of the IPs and 17 (13%) of the 128 malignant sinonasal tumors on MR imaging. There was a significant statistical difference in the prevalence of a CCP between IP and malignant sinonasal tumors with the overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy 100%, 87%, 64%, 100%, and 89%, respectively. Of 8 IPs concomitant with squamous cell carcinoma, a focal loss of a CCP was demonstrated in 4 tumors, 3 of which also showed aggressive bone destruction with extrasinonasal extension on MR images.
Although a CCP is a reliable MR imaging feature of sinonasal IPs, it can also be seen in various malignant sinonasal tumors. A focal loss of a CCP might be a clue to the diagnosis of IPs concomitant with malignancy.
Stathmin1 is a microtubule-regulating protein that has an important role in the assembly and disassembly of the mitotic spindle. The roles of stathmin1 in carcinogenesis of various cancers, including ...prostate and breast cancer, have been explored. However, its expression and roles in gastric cancer have not yet been described.
Stathmin1 expression in paraffin-embedded tissue sections from 226 patients was analysed by immunohistochemistry. Roles of stathmin1 were studied using a specific small interfering RNA (siRNA).
The expression of stathmin1 was positively correlated with lymph node metastasis, TNM stages and vascular invasion, and negatively with recurrence-free survival, in the diffuse type of gastric cancer. The median recurrence-free survival in patients with a negative and positive expression of stathmin1 was 17.0 and 7.0 months, respectively (P=0.009). When the expression of stathmin1 was knocked down using siRNA, the proliferation, migration and invasion of poorly differentiated gastric cancer cells in vitro were significantly inhibited. Moreover, stathmin1 siRNA transfection significantly slowed the growth of xenografts in nude mice.
These results suggest that stathmin1 can be a good prognostic factor for recurrence-free survival rate and is a therapeutic target in diffuse-type gastric cancer.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of tumour-associated macrophages with a focus on micro-anatomical localisation and determine whether molecular changes of the ...epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) are related to macrophage infiltration in resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). One hundred and forty-four patients were included in this study. Immunohistochemistry was used to identify CD68+ macrophages in the tumour islet and surrounding stroma. Epidermal growth factor receptor mutations were studied by direct sequencing. The EGFR gene copy number and protein expression were analysed by fluorescence in situ hybridisation and immunohistochemistry. Patients with a high tumour islet macrophage density survived longer than did the patient with a low tumour islet macrophage density (5-year overall survival rate was 63.9 vs 38.9%, P=0.0002). A multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis revealed that the tumour islet macrophage count was an independent prognostic factor for survival (hazard ratio 0.471, 95% confidence interval 0.300-0.740). However, EGFR mutations, gene copy number, and protein expression were not related to the macrophage infiltration. In conclusion, tumour islet macrophage infiltration was identified as a strong favourable independent prognostic marker for survival but not correlated with the molecular changes of the EGFR in patients with resected NSCLC.
In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of the discharge Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score in predicting post-intensive care unit (ICU) mortality and ICU readmission ...during the same hospitalisation in a surgical ICU. Of 1190 patients who were admitted to the ICU and stayed >48 hours between October 2007 and March 2010, 23 (1.9%) died and 86 (7.2%) were readmitted after initial ICU discharge, with 26 (3.0%) admitted within 48 hours. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of the discharge and admission APACHE II scores in predicting in-hospital mortality was 0.631 (95% confidence interval CI 0.603 to 0.658) and 0.669 (95% CI 0.642 to 0.696), respectively (P=0.510). The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of discharge and admission APACHE II scores for predicting all forms of readmission was 0.606 (95% CI 0.578 to 0.634) and 0.574 (95% CI 0.545 to 0.602), respectively (P=0.316). The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of discharge APACHE II score in predicting early ICU readmissions was, however, higher than that of admission APACHE II score (0.688 95% CI 0.660 to 0.714 versus 0.505 95% CI 0.476 to 0.534, P=0.001). The discharge APACHE II score (odds ratio OR 1.1, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.22, P=0.024), unplanned ICU readmission (OR 20.0, 95% CI 7.6 to 53.1, P=0.001), eosinopenia at ICU discharge (OR 6.0, 95% CI 1.34 to 26.9, P=0.019), and hospital length-of-stay before ICU admission (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.03, P=0.021) were significant independent factors in predicting post-ICU mortality. This study suggests that the discharge APACHE II score may be useful in predicting post-ICU mortality and is superior to the admission APACHE II score in predicting early ICU readmission in surgical ICU patients.
In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, we evaluated the effects of magnesium sulphate on neuromuscular blocking agent requirements and analgesia in children with cerebral palsy ...(CP).
We randomly divided 61 children with CP undergoing orthopaedic surgery into two groups. The magnesium group (Group M) received magnesium sulphate 50 mg kg−1 i.v. as a bolus and 15 mg kg−1 h−1 by continuous infusion during the operation. The control group (Group S) received the same amount of isotonic saline. Rocuronium was administered 0.6 mg kg−1 before intubation and 0.1 mg kg−1 additionally when train-of-four counts were 2 or more. I.V. fentanyl and ketorolac were used to control postoperative pain. Total infused analgesic volumes and pain scores were evaluated at postoperative 30 min, and at 6, 24, and 48 h.
The rocuronium requirement of Group M was significantly less than that of Group S 0.29 (0.12) vs 0.42 (0.16) mg kg−1 h−1, P<0.05. Cumulative analgesic consumption in Group M was significantly less after operation at 24 and 48 h (P<0.05), and pain scores in Group M were lower than in Group S during the entire postoperative period (P<0.05). Serum magnesium concentrations in Group M were higher until 24 h after operation (P<0.05). The incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting and rescue drug injections was similar in the two groups. No shivering or adverse effects related to hypermagnesaemia were encountered.
I.V. magnesium sulphate reduces rocuronium requirements and postoperative analgesic consumption in children with CP.
PDF
