Vasculitic peripheral neuropathy (VPN) arises from an inflammatory obstruction in the blood vessels supplying peripheral nerves and subsequent ischaemic insults, which exhibits the clinical features ...of neuropathic pain and impaired peripheral nerve function. VPN induced by ischaemia–reperfusion (IR) has been reported to involve nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB)‐mediated neuroinflammation. Recent studies have suggested that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress has been implicated in the development of peripheral neuropathies. Resveratrol possesses a potent anti‐inflammatory capacity. We hypothesized that resveratrol may exert a protective effect against VPN through modulating the interrelated ER stress and NF‐κB pathways. Male Sprague‐Dawley rats were allocated into five groups: sham, sham + resveratrol 40 mg/kg (R40), IR, IR + R20 and IR + R40. VPN was induced by occluding the right femoral artery for 4 hours followed by reperfusion. Our data have shown that VPN induced by IR led to hind paw mechanical allodynia, heat hyperalgaesia, and impaired motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV). With resveratrol intervention, the behavioural parameters were improved in a dose‐dependent manner and the MNCV levels were increased as well. The molecular data revealed that VPN induced by IR significantly increased the expression of NF‐κB as well as the ER stress sensor proteins, protein kinase RNA‐like endoplasmic reticulum kinase, inositol‐requiring enzyme 1 and activating transcription factor 6 in the sciatic nerves. More importantly, resveratrol significantly attenuated the expression of NF‐κB and the ER stress sensor proteins after IR. In conclusion, resveratrol alleviates VPN induced by IR. The mechanisms may involve modulating NF‐κB‐mediated neuroinflammation via suppressing ER stress.
The sacroiliac (SI) joint is among the most common sources of chronic low back pain, accounting for 15%-30% of patients presenting chronic low back pain. The complex anatomic structures, nerve ...innervation, and functional biomechanisms of the SI region make it challenging to diagnose and treat the SI joint as a pain source. In addition to physical therapy and medication for treating SI joint pain, multiple interventional measures including steroid injection, radiofrequency ablation, prolotherapy, and SI joint fusion have been proposed with various efficacies. This article describes the etiology, risk factors, and diagnostic methods as well as the different treatment modalities, focusing on interventional pain management options for patients suffering from SI joint pain.
With the development of medical equipment and techniques in labor anesthesia, it is a major issue to investigate the risks and treatment effects among techniques such as continuous epidural infusion ...(CEI) and intermittent epidural bolus (IEB). However, there is a controversial result regarding two techniques. This study was conducted through meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for labor analgesia between the CEI and IEB techniques. The pooled results were presented as weighted mean differences (WMDs) together with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and odds ratios (ORs) together with 95% CIs, respectively. Eleven RCTs were included in this meta-analysis. Four hundred sixty-five parturients accepted CEI, whereas 473 parturients accepted IEB labor analgesia. Elven identified low- risk bias studies were recruited for meta-analysis. The results presented no statistical difference in cesarean delivery rate between IEB and CEI (OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.67-1.37) and duration of second stage of labor (WMD, -3.82 min; 95% CI, -8.28 to 0.64). IEB had statistically significant lessened risk of instrumental delivery (OR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.39-0.90) and for the use in local anesthetic (WMD, -1.71 mg bupivacaine equivalents per hour; 95% CI, -1.88 and -1.55). Accepted IEB had a higher score of maternal satisfaction (WMD, -6.95 mm; 95% CI, -7.77 to -6.13). Based on evidence, IEB showed a greater benefit for slightly reducing the use in local anesthetic, reduced risk of instrumental delivery, and improved maternal satisfaction for the requirement of labor epidural analgesia for healthy women. In the future, more studies need to be conducted to practice the IEB regimen and explore its influence on labor analgesia.
In the conventional bench-top approach, the DNA recombination process is time- and effort-consuming due to laborious procedures lasting from several hours to a day. A novel DNA selection and direct ...extraction process has been proposed, integrated and tested on chip. The integrative microfluidic chip can perform the whole procedure of DNA recombination, including DNA digestion, gel electrophoresis, DNA extraction and insert-vector ligation within 1 h. In this high-throughput design, the manual gel cutting was replaced by an automatic processing system that performed high-quality and high-recovery efficiency in DNA extraction process. With no need of gel-dissolving reagents and manipulation, the application of selection and direct extraction process could significantly eliminate the risks from UV and EtBr and also facilitate DNA recombination. Reliable output with high success rate of cloning has been achieved with a significant reduction in operational hazards, required materials, efforts and time.
Vasculitic peripheral neuropathy (VPN) is characterized by acute-to-subacute onset of painful sensory and motor disturbances that result from inflammatory obliteration of nerve blood vessels and ...subsequent ischaemic injury. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various peripheral neuropathies, and 4-phenylbutyric acid (4-PBA) is a chemical chaperone that inhibits ER stress signaling. We investigated the effects of 4-PBA on neuropathic pain associated with VPN induced by ischaemia–reperfusion (IR) and its underlying mechanisms. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were allocated to one of the following groups: sham, sham + 4-PBA, IR, and IR + 4-PBA. IR was achieved by occluding the femoral artery for 4 h followed by reperfusion. The behavioral parameters were assessed, and the expression of ER stress markers and nuclear factor (NF)-κB in sciatic nerves was measured. The behavioral data confirmed that VPN induced by IR leads to hindpaw mechano-allodynia and heat hyperalgesia as well as impaired hindpaw grip strength, indicating the development of neuropathic pain and debilitating symptoms of VPN. The molecular data revealed that VPN induced by IR activated ER stress sensors and effector molecules as well as NF-κB in the sciatic nerves, indicating the involvement of ER stress and NF-κB-mediated neuroinflammation. Notably, 4-PBA significantly reduced the expression of all these markers and improved all behavioral changes induced by IR. This study demonstrated that ER stress and NF-κB-mediated neuroinflammation contribute to VPN induced by IR and that 4-PBA has protective potential against neuropathic pain associated with VPN.
We conducted this meta-analysis to elucidate whether additional neuraxial magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) can improve postoperative analgesia in women undergoing Cesarean section (CS) delivery.
We searched ...Pubmed, Embase and ClinicalTrial.gov. We included only randomized controlled trials that have compared the quality of postoperative analgesia with and without additional neuraxial MgSO4 in women undergoing CS delivery with neuraxial anesthesia regimens. The primary outcomes included analgesic duration of neuraxial anesthesia, postoperative pain scores and postoperative consumption of analgesics. The secondary outcomes included patients' satisfaction and adverse effects related to postoperative analgesia.
Nine relevant studies comprising a total of 827 women undergoing CS delivery were included. Analyses revealed that CS women receiving additional neuraxial MgSO4 (the MgSO4 group) had longer duration of neuraxial anesthesia (effect size ES = 1.920, 95% confidence interval CI = 0.999 to 2.842, P < 0.001), longer duration of sensory block (ES = 1.020, 95% CI = 0.463 to 1.577, P < 0.001), lower postoperative pain scores at rest (ES = −1.206, 95% CI = −2.084 to −0.329, P = 0.007), pain scores with motion (ES = −1.435, 95% CI = −2.631 to −0.240, P = 0.019) and consumption of analgesics (ES = −1.620, 95% CI = −2.434 to −0.806, P < 0.001) than CS women without receiving additional neuraxial MgSO4 (the control group). Of note, the MgSO4 group tended to have higher rate on rating satisfaction as “excellent” than the control group did (odds ratio = 3.748, 95% CI = 2.218 to 6.332, P < 0.001). However, the incidences of adverse effects (i.e., nausea and vomiting, pruritus and hypotension) were not significantly different between these two groups.
Neuraxial MgSO4 improves postoperative analgesia in CS women.
A novel maskless pattern‐coating technology, “Air‐Bubble Coating”, has been developed and tested for its feasibility in the manufacture process of OLED devices for the first time. The results of ...direct capillary coating and on‐site size control of ***micro‐bubbles and micro‐droplets are successfully demonstrated and show its good potential for use.
A precision direct patterning system based on capillary coating was developed to meet the requirements of a range of different applications. Silver ink with a viscosity of about 220 cP was initially ...used as a working fluid to study the effect of control parameters including the coater tip diameter, the coating velocity, the coating gap, and the back pressure. Quantitative analyses of the liquid bridge shape and wet film morphology, such as line thickness and width, were conducted to study the coating mechanism. A compact direct precision patterning desktop system with exchangeable coater modules was also developed for use in the laboratory, or even the home, to replace the tedious processes and cumbersome machines normally used. The application of a Hole Injection Layer on an OLED display panel was achieved and even the preparation of layers for costly biomedical processes involving antibodies were successfully demonstrated which shows the feasibility of this coating technique for different applications. The proposed coating system shows a very high material utility rate and has the potential to produce very complex patterns for research and industrial applications using material with a wide range of viscosity.
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