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•Dopamine was polymerized onto the surface of activated carbon (PDA@AC).•PDA@AC electrodes provide higher hydrophilicity and suspension stability.•CDI and FCDI desalination ...performances using PDA@AC are significantly enhanced due to redox-active PDA functionality.
Capacitive deionization (CDI) is an emerging desalination technology with several advantages, including a high energy efficiency and a simple process. In particular, flow electrode CDI (FCDI) shows greatly enhanced salt removal performance by supplying slurry electrodes into a cell, resulting in continuous desalination operation. Along with carbon-based electrodes, Faradaic materials have been widely introduced for FCDI desalination to realize a higher salt removal capacitance. Organic redox-active materials have received significant attention for replacing conventional inorganic electrodes due to their superior characteristics such as cost-effective and eco-friendly properties, light weight, and high theoretical capacity. In this study, dopamine was self-polymerized onto carbon surfaces to provide polydopamine (PDA) grown activated carbons (AC). Strong adhesion property of PDA prevented their dissolution in electrolytes during electrochemical reactions. In addition, it provided a much improved surface wettability and suspension stability. Results showed that the salt adsorption capacity of PDA@AC CDI electrode was significantly enhanced from 6.03 to 10.43 mg/g (a 73% increase). Salt removal rate of an FCDI was also greatly increased from 1.20 to 2.12 mmol/m2s (a 76% increase) for a PDA@AC slurry electrode. The demonstrated approach is expected to open a new door for realizing desalination of a highly saline solution including seawater.
To compare the imaging findings using ultrasonography, MR cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), and intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) between Alagille syndrome (AGS) and biliary atresia (BA) in young ...infants with cholestatic jaundice.
The institutional review board approved this retrospective study. Ultrasonography (n = 55), MRCP (n = 33), and IOC (n = 22) studies were performed in 55 infants (all younger than 3 months) with AGS (n = 7) and BA (n = 48). The ultrasound images were reviewed focusing on gallbladder (GB) abnormalities, triangular cord sign, hepatic artery enlargement and signs of portal hypertension. Visualization of the extrahepatic biliary tree was assessed by MRCP and IOC.
Six (86%) AGS patients showed a small GB on ultrasound; this was comparable to that in BA patients (81%, 35/43). The images were negative for triangular cord sign and hepatic artery enlargement in all AGS patients, whereas they were positive in 48% (23/48) (p = 0.034) and 77% (33/43) (p < 0.001) of the BA patients, respectively. Signs of portal hypertension were less common in AGS patients than in BA patients (p = 0.010). Although non-visualization of the extrahepatic biliary tree by MRCP did not differ significantly between patients with AGS and BA, AGS patients showed a higher proportion of visible common bile ducts with IOC, compared to BA patients. The diagnosis of AGS was made in four infants (57%) before ultrasonography, based on extrahepatic manifestations.
The small GB visualized on ultrasonography and non-visualization of extrahepatic biliary tree by MRCP commonly occurred in patients with either AGS or BA. However, triangular cord sign, hepatic artery enlargement and signs of portal hypertension onultrasonography and non-visualized common bile duct with IOC were less frequent in AGS patients than in BA patients. Advances in knowledge: Atypical imaging findings for BA should prompt a meticulous evaluation for the extrahepatic manifestations of AGS to avoid possibly harmful surgery.
Synthesis of 7-(4-bromobutoxy)-5-hydroxy-2-phenyl-4H-chromen-4-one intermediate treating chrysin with 1,4-dibromobutane facilitated combination of chrysin with a wide range of piperazine moieties ...which were equipped via reacting the corresponding amines with bis(2-chloroethyl)amine hydrochloride in diethylene glycol monomethyl ether solvent. Free radical scavenging potential of prepared products was analyzed in vitro adopting DPPH and ABTS bioassay in addition to the evaluation of in vitro anticancer efficacies against cervical cancer cell lines (HeLa and CaSki) and an ovarian cancer cell line SK-OV-3 using SRB assay. Bearable toxicity of 7a-w was examined employing Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cell line. In addition, cytotoxic nature of the presented compounds was inspected utilizing Human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs). Overall, 7a-w indicated remarkable antioxidant power in scavenging DPPH· and ABTS·+, particularly analogs 7f, 7j, 7k, 7l, 7n, 7q, 7v, 7w have shown promising free radical scavenging activity. Analogs 7j and 7o are identified to be highly active candidates against HeLa and CaSki cell lines, whereas 7h and 7l along with 7j proved to be very sensitive towards ovarian cancer cell line SKOV-3. None of the newly prepared scaffolds showed cytotoxic nature toward hBM-MSCs cells. From the structure–activity point of view, nature and position of the electron withdrawing and electron donating functional groups on the piperazine core may contribute to the anticipated antioxidant and anticancer action. Different spectroscopic techniques (FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, Mass) and elemental analysis (CHN) were utilized to confirm the desired structure of final compounds.
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This retrospective study investigated whether the volume or density of the thrombus is predictive of recanalization in stent retriever (SR) treatment. Consecutive patients treated with SR ...thrombectomy as the first endovascular modality were enrolled. The thrombus volume and density were measured on thin-section noncontrast computed tomography using 3-dimensional software. The patients were grouped by recanalization status and the number of SR passes. Among 165 patients, recanalization was achieved with the first pass in 68 (50.0%), 2-3 passes in 43 (31.6%), and ≥4 passes in 25 (18.4%) patients. The thrombus volume was smaller in patients with (107.5 mm
) than without (173.7 mm
, p = 0.025) recanalization, and tended to be larger with increasing number of passes (p for trend = 0.001). The thrombus volume was an independent predictor of first-pass recanalization (odds ratio 0.93 per 10 mm
, 95% confidence interval 0.89-0.97). However, the thrombus density was not associated with recanalization success. Recanalization within 3 passes was associated with a favorable outcome. In conclusion, the thrombus volume was significantly related to recanalization in SR thrombectomy. Measuring the thrombus volume was particularly predictive of first-pass recanalization, which was associated with a higher likelihood of a favorable outcome.
The Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) is a reliable prognostic tool for short-term outcome prediction in patients with end-stage liver disease. MELD 3.0 was introduced to enhance the ...predictive accuracy. This study assessed the performance of MELD 3.0, in comparison to MELD and MELD-Na, in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis.
This multicenter prospective cohort study comprised patients with alcoholic cirrhosis admitted for acute deterioration of liver function in the Republic of Korea between 2015 and 2019. This study compared the predictive abilities of MELD, MELD-Na, and MELD 3.0, for 30-day and 90-day outcomes, specifically death or liver transplantation, and explored the factors influencing these outcomes.
A total of 1096 patients were included in the study, with a mean age of 53.3 ± 10.4 years, and 82.0% were male. The mean scores for MELD, MELD-Na, and MELD 3.0 at the time of admission were 18.7 ± 7.2, 20.6 ± 7.7, and 21.0 ± 7.8, respectively. At 30 and 90 days, 7.2% and 14.1% of patients experienced mortality or liver transplantation. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for MELD, MELD-Na, and MELD 3.0 at 30 days were 0.823, 0.820, and 0.828; and at 90 days were 0.765, 0.772, and 0.776, respectively. Factors associated with the 90-day outcome included concomitant chronic viral hepatitis, prolonged prothrombin time, elevated levels of aspartate transaminase, bilirubin, and creatinine, and low albumin levels.
MELD 3.0 demonstrated improved performance compared to previous models, although the differences were not statistically significant.
Brucella spp. is the causative agent of brucellosis, one of the worldwide diseases. The pathogen infects humans and animals mainly through the digestive or respiratory tract. Therefore, induction of ...mucosal immunity is required as the first line of defense. In this study, three Brucella abortus recombinant proteins, malate dehydrogenase (rMdh), outer membrane proteins (rOmp) 10 and 19 were loaded in mucoadhesive chitosan nanoparticles (CNs) and induction of mucosal and systemic immunity were investigated after intranasal immunization of BALB/c mice. These antigens were also coimmunized as cocktail (rCocktail) to evaluate multiple antigen specific vaccine candidates. At 6-weeks post-immunization (wpi), antigen specific total IgG was increased in all of the immunized groups, predominantly IgG1. In addition, spleenocyte from rMdh-, rOmp19-, and rCocktail-immunized groups significantly produced IFN-γ and IL-4 suggesting the induction of a mixed Th1-Th2 response. For mucosal immunity, anti-Mdh IgA from nasal washes and fecal excretions, and anti-Omps IgA from sera, nasal washes, genital secretions and fecal excretions were significantly increased in single antigen immunized groups. In the rCocktail-immunized group, anti-Mdh IgA were significantly increased while anti-Omps IgA was not. Collectively, this study indicates that comprise of B. abortus antigen-loaded CNs elicited the antigen-specific IgA with a Th2-polarized immune responses and combination of the highly immunogenic antigens elicited IgG specific to each type of antigen.
Abstract
BACKGROUND
It remains controversial whether carotid artery stenting (CAS) is needed in cases of tandem cervical internal carotid artery occlusion (cICAO) and intracranial large vessel ...occlusion (LVO).
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the efficacy and safety of CAS in combination with endovascular thrombectomy (CAS-EVT) in cICAO-LVO patients and to compare its outcomes with those of EVT without CAS (EVT-alone).
METHODS
We identified all patients who underwent EVT for tandem cICAO-LVO from the prospectively maintained registries of 17 stroke centers. Patients were classified into 2 groups: CAS-EVT and EVT-alone. Clinical characteristics and procedural and clinical outcomes were compared between 2 groups. We tested whether CAS-EVT strategy was independently associated with recanalization success.
RESULTS
Of the 955 patients who underwent EVT, 75 patients (7.9%) had cICAO-LVO. Fifty-six patients underwent CAS-EVT (74.6%), and the remaining 19 patients underwent EVT-alone (25.4%). The recanalization (94.6% vs 63.2%, P = .002) and good outcome rates (64.3% vs 26.3%, P = .007) were significantly higher in the CAS-EVT than in the EVT-alone. Mortality was significantly lower in the CAS-EVT (7.1% vs 21.6%, P = .014). There was no significant difference in the rate of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage between 2 groups (10.7 vs 15.8%; P = .684) and according to the use of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor (10.0% vs 12.3%; P = .999) or antiplatelet medications (10.2% vs 18.8%; P = .392). CAS-EVT strategy remained independently associated with recanalization success (odds ratio: 24.844; 95% confidence interval: 1.445-427.187).
CONCLUSION
CAS-EVT strategy seemed to be effective and safe in cases of tandem cICAO-LVO. CAS-EVT strategy was associated with recanalization success, resulting in better clinical outcome.
Lipid metabolism is associated with colon cancer prognosis and incidence. Stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1), which converts fully saturated fatty acids (SFAs) to monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), ...has been suggested as a vulnerable target for selective elimination of cancer stem cells (CSCs). However, the clinical significance and physiological role of SCD1 in CSCs has not been well demonstrated. Here, we showed the clinical and biochemical relevance of blocking SCD1 to target CSCs by analyzing human colon cancer data from TCGA and through lipidomic profiling of CSCs with or without SCD1 inhibition using mass spectrometry. Positive associations between SCD1 expression and colorectal cancer patient clinical status and the expression of CSC-related genes (WNT and NOTCH signaling) were found based on TCGA data analysis. Lipidomic profiling of CSCs and bulk cancer cells (BCCs) using mass spectrometry revealed that colon CSCs contained a distinctive lipid profile, with higher free MUFA and lower free SFA levels than in BCCs, suggesting that enhanced SCD1 activity generates MUFAs that may support WNT signaling in CSCs. In addition, all identified phosphatidyl-ethanolamine-containing MUFAs were found at higher levels in CSCs. Interestingly, we observed lower phosphatidyl-serine (18:1/18:0), phosphatidyl-choline (PC; p-18:0/18:1)), and sphingomyelin (SM; d18:1/20:0 or d16:1/22:0) levels in CSCs than in BCCs. Of those, SCD1 inhibition, which efficiently diminished free MUFA levels, increased those specific PC and SM and MUFAs in CSCs promptly. These results suggest that these specific lipid composition is critical for CSC stem cell maintenance. In addition, not only free MUFAs, which are known to be required for WNT signaling, but also other phospholipids, such as SM, which are important for lipid raft formation, may mediate other cell signaling pathways that support CSC maintenance. Comparison of the lipidomic profiles of colon cancer cells with those of previously reported for glioma cells further demonstrated the tissue specific characteristics of lipid metabolism in CSCs.
•Expression of the fatty acid desaturase SCD1 is associated with colon cancer progression and stemness.•Colon CSCs have a unique lipidomic profile that contains more MUFAs and fewer SFAs than that of bulk culture cells.•Nine phospholipid components with levels that differed between CSCs and bulk cancer cells were identified.•A sphingomyelin may be a possible lipid component that mediates different signaling pathways in CSCs and bulk cancer cells.
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