Background The conventional thoracic endovascular aortic repair （TEVAR） involves groin incisions under general or epidural anesthesia. As technology moves towards less invasive procedures, a total ...percutaneous approach is desirable.In this study, we describe a Preclosing technique and investigate its safety and efficacy for femoral access sites management, and evaluate its advantages as compared to those of traditional surgical cutdown approaches.Methods The Preclosing technique involves two or multiple 6 F Perclose Proglide devices deployed in the femoral artery before upsizing to a 20-25 F sheath. The sutures were secured to close the arteriotomy at the end of the procedure. The medical records of patients who underwent thoracic endovascular aortic repairs using the Preclosing technique between December 2009 and November 2010 （group A） were compared with those using surgical femoral cutdown from January 2008 to November 2009 （group B）. Outcome measures included rates of technical success, early complications, anesthesia method, procedure time, cardiac care unit （CCU） stay, time from procedure to discharge,hospital stay, procedure expense, hospital cost.Results Between the two groups, there were no significant differences in baseline characteristics, in the endograft models or profiles. The technical success rate was 100.0% （85/85） in group A vs. 97.4% （147/151） in group B （P 〈0.05）.There was no access-related mortality in both groups. Compared with group B, the incidence of early complications were fewer in group A, 9.4% （8/85） vs. 22.5% （34/151） （P 〈0.01）. Local anesthesia with conscious sedation was used more often in group A, 68.2% （58/85） vs. 51.7% （78/151） in group B （P〈0.01）. The procedure duration was shorter, （96±33）minutes in group Avs. （127±41） minutes in group B （P〈0.01）. The length of the CCU stay, the duration from procedure to discharge, and the hospital stay were both reduced in group A, （117.3±88.3） hours, （7.5±5.3） days and （15.3±6.8） days vs. （132.7±115.5） hours, （10.5±5.0） days and （19.5±7.8） days in group B （P〈0.01）. The procedure cost was RMB （109 000±30 000） Yuan in group A vs. RMB （108 000±25 000） Yuan in group B （P=NS）. The hospital cost was RMB （130 000±35 000） Yuan in group A vs. RMB （128 000±33 000） Yuan in group B （P=NS）.Conclusions Total percutaneous TEAVR with the Preclosing technique is safe and effective with meticulous technique and appropriate patient selection. The Preclosing technique decreases access-related complications, depends less on general anesthesia and the surgeon＇s cooperation, saves procedure time and shortens the CCU/hospital stay. With these advantages, the use of two percutaneous closure devices increases the hospital cost only slightly.
AIM： To evaluate the growth inhibition efficacy of atofluding derivative N3-o-toluyl-fluorouracil （TFU） on human gastric carcinoma cell lines SGC-7901 and MKN-45. METHODS： Cell growth inhibition by ...TFU was measured by MTT and clonogenic assays without or with liver microsomal enzymes. Xenografts of cancer cells in nude mice were employed to study the anti-proliferative effects of TFU in vivo. RESULTS： TFU inhibited the growth of SGC-7901 and MKN-45 cells. However, the inhibitory effects of TFU on cell growth were not significant. The inhibition rates were enhanced in the presence of liver microsomal enzymes, ranging 4.73%-48.57% in SGC-7901 cells and 9.0%-62.02% in MKN-45 cells. In v/vo, TFU delayed the growth of SGC-7901 and MKN-45 cells in nude mice. The inhibition rates were 40.49%, 63.24%, and 75.98% in SGC-7901 cells and 40.76%, 61.41%, and 82.07% in MKN-45 cells when the oral doses were 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg, respectively. TFU treatment was generally well tolerated by mice with less than 20% reduction in body weight. CONCLUSION： TFU inhibits the growth of human gastric carcinoma cells. The inhibition rates are increased in the presence of liver microsomal enzymes. The efficacy of TFU may be associated with the sustaining release of 5-fluorouracil （5-FU） mediated by the enzymes.
Non-reciprocal devices, which allow non-reciprocal signal routing, serve as fundamental elements in photonic and microwave circuits and are crucial in both classical and quantum information ...processing. The radiation-pressure-induced coupling between light and mechanical motion in travelling-wave resonators has been exploited to break the Lorentz reciprocity, enabling non-reciprocal devices without magnetic materials. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a reconfigurable non-reciprocal device with alternative functions as either a circulator or a directional amplifier via optomechanically induced coherent photon-phonon conversion or gain. The demonstrated device exhibits considerable flexibility and offers exciting opportunities for combining reconfigurability, non-reciprocity and active properties in single photonic devices, which can also be generalized to microwave and acoustic circuits.
Autophagy is a genetically well-controlled cellular process that is tightly controlled by a set of core genes, including the family of autophagy-related genes (ATG). Autophagy is a "double-edged ...sword" in tumors. It can promote or suppress tumor development, which depends on the cell and tissue types and the stages of tumor. At present, tumor immunotherapy is a promising treatment strategy against tumors. Recent studies have shown that autophagy significantly controls immune responses by modulating the functions of immune cells and the production of cytokines. Conversely, some cytokines and immune cells have a great effect on the function of autophagy. Therapies aiming at autophagy to enhance the immune responses and anti-tumor effects of immunotherapy have become the prospective strategy, with enhanced antigen presentation and higher sensitivity to CTLs. However, the induction of autophagy may also benefit tumor cells escape from immune surveillance and result in intrinsic resistance against anti-tumor immunotherapy. Increasing studies have proven the optimal use of either ATG inducers or inhibitors can restrain tumor growth and progression by enhancing anti-tumor immune responses and overcoming the anti-tumor immune resistance in combination with several immunotherapeutic strategies, indicating that induction or inhibition of autophagy might show us a prospective therapeutic strategy when combined with immunotherapy. In this article, the possible mechanisms of autophagy regulating immune system, and the potential applications of autophagy in tumor immunotherapy will be discussed.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Population aging has become a major challenge for the healthcare in China. More than 23 million Chinese are cur- rently ≥ 80 years, with an annual increase of 5%. The Chi- nese population of 80 years ...or older is expected to reach 30.67 million by 2020 and 74 million by 2040.
To investigate the effects of non-neuronal muscarinic receptors (NNMR) stimulation on atherosclerosis and endothelial cells activation.
Atherosclerosis model was established in ApoE-/- mice by a high ...fat diet for 7 weeks. During the experimental periods, animals were received a low (7 mg/kg/d) or a high (21 mg/kg/d) dose of arecoline by gavage. At the termination of the treatments, serum total cholesterol and NO levels were measured, and the aorta morphology was analyzed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. The gene expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and adhesion molecules in the thoracic aortas was determined by RT-PCR, and the MCP-1 protein expression and NF-κB activity were detected by Western blot analysis. NO production, MCP-1 secretion in cultured rat aortic endothelial cells (RAECs), and monocyte-endothelium adhesion assay were also performed after arecoline treatments.
Arecoline efficiently decreased atherosclerotic plaque areas, increased serum nitric oxide (NO) content, suppressed the mRNA and protein expression of MCP-1, and modulated the IκB-α degradation and P65 phosphorylation in the aortae of ApoE-/- mice. Furthermore, arecoline promoted NO production and suppressed MCP-1 secretion in cultured RAECs after ox-LDL exposure, and either atropine or NG-nitro-L-arginine methylester could abrogate these effects. Arecoline also significantly inhibited the adherence of U937 monocytes to the ox-LDL injured human umbilical vein endothelial cells, which could be abolished by atropine.
Our results indicate that arecoline attenuates the progression of atherosclerosis and inhibits endothelial cells activation and adherence by stimulating endothelial NNMR. These effects, at least in part, are due to its modulation on NF-κB activity.
Non-reciprocal devices, such as circulators and isolators, are indispensable components in classical and quantum information processing in integrated photonic circuits. Aside from these applications, ...the non-reciprocal phase shift is of fundamental interest for exploring exotic topological photonics, such as the realization of chiral edge states and topological protection. However, incorporating low-optical-loss magnetic materials into a photonic chip is technically challenging. In this study we experimentally demonstrate non-magnetic non-reciprocity using optomechanical interactions in a whispering gallery microresonator, as proposed in a previous work. Optomechanically induced non-reciprocal transparency and amplification are observed and a non-reciprocal phase shift of up to 40 degree is also demonstrated. The underlying mechanism of optomechanically induced non-reciprocity has great potential for all-optical controllable isolators and circulators, as well as non-reciprocal phase shifters in integrated photonic chips.
The classification of thematic mapper imagery in areas with strong topographic variations has proven problematic in the past using a single classifier, due to the changing sun illumination geometry. ...This often results in the phenomena of identical object with dissimilar spectrum and different objects with similar spectrum. In this paper, an integrated classification method that combines a decision tree with slope data, tasseled cap transformation indices and maximum likelihood classifier is introduced, to find an optimal classification method for thematic mapper imagery of plain and highland terrains. A Landsat 7 ETM＋ image acquired over Hangzhou Bay, in eastern China was used to test the method. The results indicate that the performance of the integrated classifier is acceptably good in comparison with that of the existing most widely used maximum likelihood classifier. The integrated classifier depends on hypsography （variation in topography） and the characteristics of ground truth objects （plant and soil）. It can greatly reduce the influence of the homogeneous spectrum caused by topographic variation. This integrated classifier might potentially be one of the most accurate classifiers and valuable tool for land cover and land use mapping of plain and highland terrains.
Summary
Interferon (IFN)‐α treatment predisposes patients to the occurrence of autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD).
Methods
We investigated associations of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of ...molecules participating in the IFN‐α signature, including rs2304204 and rs2304206 of IFN regulatory factor 3 (IRF3), rs1061501 of IRF7, and rs7708392 of TNFA1P3‐interacting protein 1 with serum IFN‐α levels and AITD in an ethnic Chinese (ie Taiwanese) population. Totally, 319 patients with Graves' disease (GD), 83 patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) and 351 healthy controls were recruited.
Results
There were increased percentages of the C allele, and CC and TC + CC genotypes of rs1061501 in GD patients compared to the controls. HT patients had higher serum IFN‐α levels compared to the controls, while there was no difference in serum IFN‐α levels between patients with GD and controls. However, patients with GD in a remission status had lower serum IFN‐α levels than those without remission. On the other hand, the C allele of rs1061501 was only associated with serum IFN‐α levels in patients with HT.
Conclusions
The SNP rs1061501 of IRF7 was associated with the development of GD. Serum IFN‐α levels were associated with HT, while they might modify the disease status of GD. Moreover, a genetic effect of rs1061501 on regulating serum IFN‐α production was observed in HT.
Autophagy dysfunctions are involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the involvement of G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) in the ...inhibitory effect of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) against excessive autophagy in PD animal and cellular models. 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) treatment significantly induced mouse movement disorder and decreased the protein level of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in the substantia nigra (SN) and dopamine (DA) content in striatum. Along with the dopamine neuron injury, we observed significant upregulations of microtubule-associated light chain-3 II (LC3-II) and α-synuclein as well as a downregulation of P62 in MPTP-treated mice. These changes could be restored by IGF-1 pretreatment. Cotreatment with IGF-1R antagonist JB-1 or GPER antagonist G15 could block the neuroprotective effects of IGF-1. 1-Methy-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP
) treatment could also excessively activate autophagy along with the reduction of cell viability in SH-SY5Y cells. IGF-1 could inhibit the neurotoxicity through promoting the phosphorylation of Akt and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), which could also be antagonized by JB-1 or G15. These data suggest that IGF-1 inhibits MPTP/MPP
-induced autophagy on dopaminergic neurons through the IGF-1R/PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway and GPER.
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