Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) has been shown to improve symptoms in patients with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS); however, there is a lack of objective evidence. We ...measured change of urinary biomarker levels in 25 patients with IC/BPS received ESWT or placebo once a week for 4 weeks. Urines were collected from participants at baseline, 4 and 12 weeks post treatment. A representative 41 inflammatory growth factors, cytokines, and chemokines in urine were measured using a MILLIPLEX immunoassay kit. Symptom bother was assessed by O'Leary-Sant symptom scores (OSS), and visual analog scale (VAS) for pain. The ESWT group exhibited a significant reduction in the OSS and VAS compared to the placebo group 4 weeks post-treatment (P < 0.05), and the effects were persistent at 12 weeks. The difference in urinary markers change in ESWT versus placebo was P = 0.054 for IL4, P = 0.013 for VEGF, and P = 0.039 for IL9 at 4 weeks. The change of urine biomarker was not significant in other biomarkers or all the measured proteins at 12 weeks. The current data suggest that IL4, IL9, and VEGF mediation may be involved in its pathophysiologic mechanisms and response to LESW treatment.
New quaternary selenides M2Sb5Bi5Se17 (M = Sn, Pb) were synthesized using solid‐state sintering reactions that crystallize in the monoclinic system with C2/m (No. 12) space group with lattice ...parameters a = 27.914(7) Å, b = 4.0804(11) Å, c = 15.512(4) Å, and β = 114.881(9)° for M = Sn, and a = 27.987(3) Å, b = 4.1062(5) Å, c = 15.6372(19) Å, and β = 115.318(3)° for M = Pb, respectively. The crystal structure is related to a homologous series A+22x−4B+34 Se−22x−2B+32y−2Se−23y−3 with (x, y) = (3, 4) that contains building units of two‐dimensional slabs of NaCl111‐type Sb2Bi4Se11 separated by 1D ribbons NaCl100‐type Pb2Sb3BiSe6. The NaCl111 unit contains edge‐shared octahedra filled with Sb3+ and Bi3+ cations, which are parallel and overlapped to form a step‐layer 2D network stacking alone 001. The NaCl100 type ribbons containing Pb2+ and Sb3+ in square or trigonal pyramidal environments with the general formula M6Se6 filled in the space between 2D layers of NaCl111 units. The conductivity measurement revealed semiconducting property with band gaps of ~0.1 eV. Pb2Sb5Bi5Se17 exhibits low thermal conductivity 3,000 μW cm−1 K−1 in a temperature range of 300–480 K.
New quaternary selenides M2Sb5Bi5Se17 (M = Pb/Sn) were synthesized and characterized. These are new members of a homologous series with the general formula M2xSe2x+2M2y−2Se3y−3 with a fixed ratio of metal cations. Pb2Bi5Sb5Se17 exhibits semiconducting behaviors and low thermal conductivity.
This paper proposes an ensemble of invariant features (EIFs), which can properly handle the variations of color difference and human poses/viewpoints for matching pedestrian images observed in ...different cameras with nonoverlapping field of views. Our proposed method is a direct reidentification (re-id) method, which requires no prior domain learning based on prelabeled corresponding training data. The novel features consist of the holistic and region-based features. The holistic features are extracted by using a publicly available pretrained deep convolutional neural network used in generic object classification. In contrast, the region-based features are extracted based on our proposed two-way Gaussian mixture model fitting, which overcomes the self-occlusion and pose variations. To make a better generalization during recognizing identities without additional learning, the ensemble scheme aggregates all the feature distances using the similarity normalization. The proposed framework achieves robustness against partial occlusion, pose, and viewpoint changes. Moreover, the evaluation results show that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art direct re-id methods on the challenging benchmark viewpoint invariant pedestrian recognition and 3D people surveillance data sets.
New multinary selenides with general formula A10B18Se37 (A=Sn/Pb; B=In/Sb or Sb/Bi) were synthesized with a new structure type in the monoclinic space group C2/m (No. 12), including Sn10In7Sb11Se37, ...Sn10Bi18Se37, Sn8.21Pb1.79Bi18Se37, and Sn3.84Pb6.16Sb5.68Bi12.32Se37. The crystal structure is related to Proudite‐Felbertalite homologous series and is made up of layered units ∞2M16Se23
derived from the octahedrally coordinated MSe6 with stepped layers of 16 octahedra overlapped by 8 octahedra units, and 1D ribbons ∞1M12Se14
with metal centers coordinated by 3 or 5 Se2− anions. Structural anisotropy leads to their layered shape and strong preferred orientation. The quinary selenide Sn3.84Pb6.16Sb5.68Bi12.32Se37 exhibits n‐type semiconducting behavior and thermoelectric properties with an optimized thermoelectric figure of merit (zT) reaching ∼0.09 at 440 K. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation on a charge‐balanced model with a triple supercell indicates its indirect band gap.
New multinary selenides with a general formula of A10B18Se37 (A2+=Sn, Pb; B3+=In, Sb, Bi) have been synthesized by solid‐state reaction and characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. The quinary selenide Sn3.84Pb6.16Sb5.68Bi12.32Se37 exhibits complex structural features and n‐type semiconducting properties.
Multinary selenides, Sn4In5Sb9Se25 (1) and Sn6.13Pb1.87In5.00Sb10.12Bi2.88Se35 (2) were synthesized by solid-state sintering reactions. These compounds were initially observed resulting from the ...exploratory synthesis of multinary selenides in In–Sn–Sb–Se systems. Sn4In5Sb9Se25 crystallizes in a monoclinic lattice with a = 31.820(2) Å, b = 4.0241(3) Å, c = 19.703(2) Å, β = 114.246(5)°, and V = 2300.4(3) Å3; space group C2/m (No. 12); Z = 2. Sn6.13Pb1.87In5.00Sb10.12Bi2.88Se35 crystallizes in a monoclinic lattice with a = 31.6883(5) Å, b = 4.0709(1) Å, c = 26.5406(4) Å, β = 105.710(1)°, and V = 3295.8(2) Å3; C2/m (No. 12); Z = 2. The structures of both compounds are constructed with two building units of NaCl100-type M2x−42+M43+Se2x+2∞1 and NaCl111-type M2y−23+Se3y−3∞2. The structural anisotropy leads to a columnar or layered shape and strongly preferred orientation along 010 direction upon two compounds. These materials exhibit black color comprising a semiconducting property. Band gaps observed in electrical conductivity measurements are 0.66 eV and 0.62 eV for compound 1 and 2, respectively. UV–vis–NIR spectroscopy and the electronic band structure calculations at the density functional theory (DFT) level indicate the results of the semiconducting behaviors. Measurements of Seebeck coefficient indicates p-type semiconductors for both compounds.
New multinary chalcogenides: Sn4In5Sb9Se25 and Sn6.13Pb1.87In5.00Sb10.12Bi2.88Se35, with complex crystal structures have been successfully synthesized via a combination of single-crystal X-ray diffraction and tuning chemical composition. Their physical properties are reported herein. Both materials consist of similar units and imply a new homologous series. Display omitted
•New multinary chalcogenides: Sn4In5Sb9Se25 and Sn6.13Pb1.87In5.00Sb10.12Bi2.88Se35 have been successfully synthesized.•Both materials contain similar building units with different sizes.•Electronic band structure calculations are studied and indicate semiconducting behaviors for both compounds.
Multinary selenides A4B10Se19 (A=Sn/Pb; B=Sb/Bi), including Sn4Bi10Se19, Pb4Sb6.71Bi3.29Se19, and Pb4Sb3.43Bi6.57Se19, were prepared by solid‐state reactions. These compounds adopt the Felbertalite ...structure type that crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/m (No. 12). Single‐crystal and powder X‐ray diffraction measurements studied the crystal structure and site preference of metal sites. They exhibit stacking of stepped layers
∞2M8Se13
${{}_{\infty }{}^{2}\left{M}_{8}{Se}_{13}\right}$
(NaCl111‐type) and ribbon‐shape
∞1M6Se6
${{}_{\infty }{}^{1}\left{M}_{6}{Se}_{6}\right}$
(NaCl100‐type) units that are connected via shared Se2− ions. Electronic structure calculations indicated semiconducting properties and were verified by temperature‐dependent conductivity and Seebeck coefficient measurements. The thermoelectric properties show a maximum power factor of 1.06 μW ⋅ m−1 ⋅ K−2 at 550 K for Pb4Sb6Bi4Se19.
Study Type – Therapy (case series)
Level of Evidence 4
OBJECTIVE
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To determine the effectiveness of the Resonance ureteral stent and clarify the risk factors that lead to stent failure. In the ...present study, we review our clinical experiences using Resonance stent in treating malignant and benign ureteral obstruction.
PATIENTS AND METHODS
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Nineteen patients with extrinsic malignant ureteral obstruction (n= 15) and benign stricture (n= 4) were retrospectively evaluated.
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All patients had received Resonance stent insertion through antegrade or cystoscopic retrograde approaches. The pre‐insertion and follow‐up interventions included image studies and biochemical tests. The insertion success rate, obstruction patency rate and complications were reviewed.
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For categorical variables, the chi‐square test and Fisher’s exact test were carried out to determine associations between variables.
RESULTS
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The technical success rate of stent insertion was 84.6%. The mean follow‐up was 5 months (range 1–10.5 months).
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Five stents failed to alleviate the obstruction, and the patency rate was 77.3% (17/22).
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Patients who had had previous radiation therapy had a lower ureter patency rate in comparison with non‐radiation patients (50% vs 92.3% respectively, P= 0.039).
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The 6‐ and 9‐month patency rates were 81.0% with 11 stents and 27.0% with 3 stents, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
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The results of the present study demonstrated that malignant or benign ureteral obstruction could be treated safely and sufficiently with the Resonance metallic stent.
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Careful patient selection is critical to achieve successful results.
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For malignant ureteral obstruction, previous radiation therapy is a risk factor for stent failure.
A series of Ni-substituted pyrochlore oxides of La2Ce2−xNixO7−δ (x = 0.0–0.45) is prepared and their catalytic performance is studied. All compounds are characterized by X-ray powder diffraction ...(PXRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and temperature-programmed reduction (TPR). Based on the XRD and XPS analyses, Ni is incorporated into the pyrochlore structure and induces the formation of Ce3+ ions. The reduction behavior and catalytic performance are directly related to the Ni content. The H2 consumption in the TPR and H2 production increases with the increased Ni content. The catalytic properties of these catalysts in the oxidative steam reforming of ethanol (OSRE) are investigated. The highest catalytic activity is obtained for the x = 0.45 sample, with a hydrogen selectivity of 82.60(5)% and the most stable catalyst is x = 0.2 with an average hydrogen selectivity of 79.0(4)%. The improved catalytic behavior can be attributed to the synergetic effect of cerium and nickel ions in the pyrochlore framework, which induces oxygen vacancies and reduces carbon formation.
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•Solid solution phases of La2Ce2−xNixO7−δ are investigated by XRD, XAS and XPS.•Carbon deposition from La2Ce2−xNixO7−δ is less than 5 and 20 wt% Ni/CeO2.•La2Ce2−xNixO7−δ catalyst contains highly active Ni atoms for the OSRE reaction.
Bladder cancer has been increasing globally. Urinary cytology is considered a major screening method for bladder cancer, but it has poor sensitivity. This study aimed to utilize clinical laboratory ...data and machine learning methods to build predictive models of bladder cancer. A total of 1336 patients with cystitis, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, uterus cancer, and prostate cancer were enrolled in this study. Two-step feature selection combined with WEKA and forward selection was performed. Furthermore, five machine learning models, including decision tree, random forest, support vector machine, extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), and light gradient boosting machine (GBM) were applied. Features, including calcium, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), albumin, urine ketone, urine occult blood, creatinine, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and diabetes were selected. The lightGBM model obtained an accuracy of 84.8% to 86.9%, a sensitivity 84% to 87.8%, a specificity of 82.9% to 86.7%, and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.88 to 0.92 in discriminating bladder cancer from cystitis and other cancers. Our study provides a demonstration of utilizing clinical laboratory data to predict bladder cancer.
Highlights • Gefitinib has been a first-line therapy for advanced NSCLC with EGFR mutation. • Treatment response to gefitinib varies in patients with susceptible EGFR mutations. • Liver metastasis ...predicts poorer PFS and OS in stage IV lung adenocarcinoma.
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