Background and Aims EUS-guided drainage using plastic stents may be inadequate for treatment of walled-off necrosis (WON). Recent studies report variable outcomes even when using covered metal ...stents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a dedicated covered biflanged metal stent (BFMS) when adopting an endoscopic “step-up approach” for drainage of symptomatic WON. Methods We retrospectively evaluated consecutive patients with symptomatic WON who underwent EUS-guided drainage using BFMSs over a 3-year period. Reassessment was done between 48 and 72 hours for resolution. Endoscopic reinterventions were tailored in nonresponders in a stepwise manner. Step 1 encompassed declogging the blocked lumen of the BFMS. In step 2, a nasocystic tube was placed via BFMSs with intermittent irrigation. Step 3 involved direct endoscopic necrosectomy (DEN). BFMSs were removed between 4 and 8 weeks of follow-up. The main outcome measures were technical success, clinical success, adverse events, and need for DEN. Results Two hundred five WON patients underwent EUS-guided drainage using BFMSs. Technical success was achieved in 203 patients (99%). Periprocedure adverse events occurred in 8 patients (bleeding in 6, perforation in 2). Clinical success with BFMSs alone was seen in 153 patients (74.6%). Reintervention adopting the step-up approach was required in 49 patients (23.9%). Incremental success was achieved in 10 patients with step 1, 16 patients with step 2, and 19 patients with step 3. Overall clinical success was achieved in 198 patients (96.5%), with DEN required in 9.2%. Four patients failed treatment and required surgery (2) or percutaneous drainage (2). Conclusions The endoscopic step-up approach using BFMSs was safe, effective, and yielded successful outcomes in most patients, reducing the need for DEN.
Objectives In this study, we have investigated the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on myocardial dysfunction, inflammation, oxidative/nitrative stress, cell death, and interrelated signaling pathways, ...using a mouse model of type I diabetic cardiomyopathy and primary human cardiomyocytes exposed to high glucose. Background Cannabidiol, the most abundant nonpsychoactive constituent of Cannabis sativa (marijuana) plant, exerts anti-inflammatory effects in various disease models and alleviates pain and spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis in humans. Methods Left ventricular function was measured by the pressure-volume system. Oxidative stress, cell death, and fibrosis markers were evaluated by molecular biology/biochemical techniques, electron spin resonance spectroscopy, and flow cytometry. Results Diabetic cardiomyopathy was characterized by declined diastolic and systolic myocardial performance associated with increased oxidative-nitrative stress, nuclear factor-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase (c-Jun N-terminal kinase, p-38, p38α) activation, enhanced expression of adhesion molecules (intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1), tumor necrosis factor-α, markers of fibrosis (transforming growth factor-β, connective tissue growth factor, fibronectin, collagen-1, matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9), enhanced cell death (caspase 3/7 and polyadenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase activity, chromatin fragmentation, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling), and diminished Akt phosphorylation. Remarkably, CBD attenuated myocardial dysfunction, cardiac fibrosis, oxidative/nitrative stress, inflammation, cell death, and interrelated signaling pathways. Furthermore, CBD also attenuated the high glucose-induced increased reactive oxygen species generation, nuclear factor-κB activation, and cell death in primary human cardiomyocytes. Conclusions Collectively, these results coupled with the excellent safety and tolerability profile of CBD in humans, strongly suggest that it may have great therapeutic potential in the treatment of diabetic complications, and perhaps other cardiovascular disorders, by attenuating oxidative/nitrative stress, inflammation, cell death and fibrosis.
The facile synthesis of the Al-doped CaCu3Ti4O12 quadruple perovskite, a well-known and vastly studied material for various technological applications, using the modified citrate combustion route ...along with structural, microstructural, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) characterization and magnetic, dielectric and electrical properties has been investigated and reported here. The possible applications of the material as a Schottky barrier diode (SBD) in optoelectronic devices and as a catalyst in methanol steam reforming (MSR) reaction for hydrogen generation, hitherto unreported in the open literature, have also been explored. The compound is crystallized in the cubic body centered Im3 space group and the particle size is found to be in nanodimension with rather narrow size distribution. The enhanced resistivity could be attributed to the grain boundary effect, and consequently, it exhibits better performance as a SBD compared to the undoped sample. Desired cationic composition with expected valence states within the probe range is confirmed by XPS analysis. A better catalytic activity towards MSR is noticed for the Al-doped CaCu3Ti4O12 compared to the undoped composition. These new findings, namely MSR activity and applicability in the Schottky device, have highlighted further the multifunctional nature of the material in energy related issues and would thus be of interest to the materials community searching for functional materials.
Pharmacological Inhibition of Cannabinoid Receptor-1 Protects Against Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity Partha Mukhopadhyay, Sándor Bátkai, Mohanraj Rajesh, Nora Czifra, Judith Harvey-White, György ...Haskó, Zsuzsanna Zsengeller, Norma P. Gerard, Lucas Liaudet, George Kunos, Pál Pacher Treatment with cannabinoid-1 (CB1 ) receptor antagonists (rimonabant and AM281) improved doxorubicin (DOX)-induced cardiac dysfunction and decreased myocardial apoptosis in a well-established mouse model of DOX-induced cardiotoxicity in vivo. Likewise, pharmacologic inhibition of CB1 receptor also protected H9c2 cardiac cells against DOX-induced cell death in vitro. Thus, CB1 receptor antagonists may offer a new cardioprotective strategy against DOX-induced cardiotoxicity.
We report on the application of nanosized CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) and Mn-doped CCTO quadruple perovskite (QP) semiconductor based materials as Schottky barrier diode that is a technologically very ...challenging aspect. Our studies reveal that doping of Mn in CCTO resulted in improved device performance in comparison to the parent phase as reflected by the increased mobility and diffusion length in the higher Mn-doped material suggesting it as a good candidate for this type of application.
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•Nanosized CCTO and Mn-doped CCTO materials are used in optoelectronic devices.•Thermionic emission theory have applied to know the quality of the fabricated SBD.•Theory of space charge limited currents (SCLCs) have also applied.•The SCLC theory have discussed in the light of some important diode parameters.•Mn-doped CCTO exhibits improved SBD device performance compared to the CCTO.
We report the synthesis of nanosized (40–50 nm) CaCu3-xMnxTi4-xMnxO12 (x = 0, 0.5 and 1) quadruple perovskite (QP) semiconductor via a modified combustion method for use as Schottky barrier diode (SBD) at the Al/QP junction. The fabricated SBD is analysed on the basis of thermionic emission theory to observe its quality and some important diode parameters. For insight analysis of charge transport mechanism through metal-semiconductor junction, theory of space charge limited currents is applied and discussed in the light of parameters like carrier concentration, mobility-lifetime product and diffusion length. The Mn-doped exhibit better device performance compared to parent material.
A metal‐organic framework (MOF) with the formula {(H2pip)Zn1/3Co2/3(pydc‐2,5)2(H2O)·2H2O}{where H2pip = piperazinediium, pydc‐2,5 = pyridine‐2,5‐dicarboxylate}, 1, has been synthesized. To confirm ...the structure and phase purity of 1, the PXRD pattern of the synthesized compound has been compared with the simulated PXRD pattern generated from the single‐crystal X‐ray data of isomorphous pure Co compound synthesized by Niu and Co‐workers. Upon solid state annealing of the mixed‐metal precursor (MOF) at 400 °C for one hour, pure ZnCo2O4 was obtained. The phase purity of ZnCo2O4 was confirmed by powder X‐ray diffraction. The as obtained ZnCo2O4 was fully characterized using PXRD, SEM, TEM, and EDX elemental mapping analysis. The particle size is in the range of 22 nm‐40 nm with a dominant size of 30 nm. The emissive properties of nano‐sized ZnCo2O4 at 391 nm upon excitation at 310 nm have been probed for the luminescence‐based sensing of metal cations in aqueous medium. The metal ion sensing is based on the differential change in intensity, which in turn reflects the strength of the interaction between ZnCo2O4 and the metal ion. Such interactions can be rationalized within the framework of the ligand exchange rate as well as ionic radii of the aquated metal ions. Accordingly, Cu2+ and Hg2+ with highest ligand exchange rate exhibit maximum luminescence quenching, 71.7 % and 51 %, respectively. On the other hand, the nanostructured ZnCo2O4 also shows super capacitance behavior with a maximum energy density of 2.39 Wh kg–1 at a power density of 36.66 W kg–1.
A mixed metal MOF Precursor has been synthesized and on solid state annealing of the precursor pure nano‐sized ZnCo2O4 was obtained. The emissive property of the nano‐sized ZnCo2O4 has been probed for the luminescence‐based sensing of metal cations in the aqueous medium. The nanostructured ZnCo2O4 also shows super capacitance behavior.
Application of nanosized Fe-doped CCTO quadruple perovskite semiconductor based materials as Schottky barrier diode (SBD), a technologically very challenging aspect, is reported here. Our studies ...reveal that doping of Fe in CCTO resulted in promising device performance as reflected in the SBD parameters suggesting it as a good candidate for this type of application.
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•Nanosized Fe-doped CCTO materials are used in optoelectronic devices.•Thermionic emission theory has shown the quality of fabricated SBDs.•Device performances have been analyzed by the space charge limited current (SCLC) theory.•Fe-doped CCTO synthesized at higher temperature exhibits improved SBD performance.
We report here the synthesis of nanosized (50–55 nm) Fe-doped calcium copper titanate CaCu2.5Ti3.5FeO12 quadruple perovskite semiconductor by a two-step synthetic protocol involving citrate combustion for precursor synthesis followed by its calcination at different temperatures for the synthesis of the target materials. Materials were applied in thin film metal-semiconductor (MS) junction based Schottky Barrier Diodes (SBDs). The non-linear current-voltage characteristics indicate successful application of the materials in optoelectronic device. The device performance of the fabricated SBDs are analyzed by employing the thermionic emission (TE) theory and the space charge limited current (SCLC) theory followed by a schematic band structure.
Breast cancer (BC) is the second-leading cause of cancer after lung cancer. The disease has affected millions of people and resulted in many deaths. In the metastasis of breast cancer cells, ...Topoisomerase IIα plays a vital role. Therefore, this investigation aims to identify potential flavonoid compounds against BC by inhibiting this enzyme at an early stage. Based on previous studies, we selected and screened several plant-derived flavonoid compounds with potential anti-breast cancer activity using PyRx 0.8 and Schrodinger applications for preliminary molecular docking: the highest docking scores of Myricetin (-11.6 kcal/mol) and Quercetin (-10.0 kcal/mol). Next, we evaluated the top four compounds on the Way2Drug server to complete the cytotoxicity evaluation, which demonstrated anti-cancer and anti-breast cancer activity in various cell lines. According to pharmacokinetics studies, four compounds exhibited outstanding values and functioned similar to drug-like molecules. Moreover, Myricetin, Quercetin, and Morin displayed the highest number of hydrogen bonds, with the corresponding receptor forming residues asn120, thr147, and lys168. The protein-ligand complexes were validated using the Desmond simulator, and their data were compared to the anti-breast cancer drug Doxorubicin. In the simulation analysis, various parameters were evaluated, including RMSD, RMSF, Rg, SASA, MolSA, PSA, and hydrogen bond interaction. Finally, validated our dynamic simulation result with MM-GBSA operation, and Myricetin and Quercetin had the greatest score of -72.74344651, -66.66771823 kcal/mol, which is outstanding than the control drug. Hence, the computational research approach determined that Myricetin, Quercetin, and Morin could be industrially developed for the alternative treatment of breast cancer following additional confirmation from animal and cell line studies.
The facile synthesis of the Al-doped CaCu
Ti
O
quadruple perovskite, a well-known and vastly studied material for various technological applications, using the modified citrate combustion route along ...with structural, microstructural, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) characterization and magnetic, dielectric and electrical properties has been investigated and reported here. The possible applications of the material as a Schottky barrier diode (SBD) in optoelectronic devices and as a catalyst in methanol steam reforming (MSR) reaction for hydrogen generation, hitherto unreported in the open literature, have also been explored. The compound is crystallized in the cubic body centered Im3combining macron space group and the particle size is found to be in nanodimension with rather narrow size distribution. The enhanced resistivity could be attributed to the grain boundary effect, and consequently, it exhibits better performance as a SBD compared to the undoped sample. Desired cationic composition with expected valence states within the probe range is confirmed by XPS analysis. A better catalytic activity towards MSR is noticed for the Al-doped CaCu
Ti
O
compared to the undoped composition. These new findings, namely MSR activity and applicability in the Schottky device, have highlighted further the multifunctional nature of the material in energy related issues and would thus be of interest to the materials community searching for functional materials.
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