Objectives
The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy and safety of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS)–guided celiac plexus neurolysis (CPN) in patients with upper abdominal cancer ...pain.
Methods
Thirty-five patients with upper abdominal cancers tortured by intractable upper abdominal pain underwent CEUS-guided CPN with ethanol. The pain alleviation and opioid intake were observed and evaluated during a 3-month follow-up after CPN. The dispersion of alcohol around the aorta was evaluated on 3D-CEUS. Complications were assessed during CPN and at follow-up.
Results
All of the 35 patients’ CPN was successfully achieved. Pain relief was observed in 28 (80%), 20 (57.1%), 27 (77.1%), 20 (57.1%), and 10 (29.4%) patients immediately, 1 day, 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months after CPN, respectively. The agent dispersion around the aorta on CEUS images of 28 patients who showed pain relief was at least 90° of the circumference around the aorta. The median duration of pain alleviation was 2.7 months (95% confidence interval CI, 2.5–2.9). Less than half of the patients had minor complications including irritant pain at the puncture site (8 of 35; 22.9%), diarrhea (4 of 35; 11.4%), nausea and vomiting (3 of 35; 8.6%), and post-procedural hypotension (1 of 35; 2.9%).
Conclusions
CEUS-guided CPN is a safe and effective method to alleviate refractory upper abdominal pain in patients with upper abdominal cancers. CEUS image allows the visualization of puncture path and observation of drug dispersion. The pain relief is relevant to the dispersion of neurolytic agent around the aorta.
Key Points
• CEUS-guided celiac plexus neurolysis (CPN) is feasible and easy.
• It allows direct visualization of the diffusion of the neurolytic agent in the retroperitoneal anatomic space.
• CEUS-guided CPN improves safety of CPN by clearly delineating the needle path.
The current study was to evaluate the effects of canagliflozin and metformin on insulin resistance and visceral adipose tissue in people with newly-diagnosed type 2 diabetes.
This is an open-label, ...parallel and controlled study. Participants were divided into canagliflozin (100 mg/qd) or metformin (1000 mg/bid) groups. At baseline and after 12 weeks' therapy, insulin resistance Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue, fasting blood glucose (FBG), glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), C-reactive protein (CRP) and nitric oxide (NO) were evaluated and compared.
There was no significant between-group difference in baseline characteristics. After 12 weeks' therapy, in canagliflozin group (n = 67), compared to baseline, FBG, HbA1c and HOMA-IR were decreased, accompanying with reduction of visceral adipose tissue. Compared to metformin group (n = 73), FBG, HbA1c and HOMA-IR were lower in canagliflozin group, accompanying with less visceral adipose tissue and lower serum CRP level and higher NO level. After multivariable regression analysis, age, visceral adipose tissue and CRP remained associated with increased insulin resistance, while canagliflozin treatment and higher NO level were associated with reduced insulin resistance. Body mass index, waist/hip ratio, CRP and HOMA-IR remained associated with increased visceral adipose tissue, while canagliflozin treatment and higher NO level were associated with reduced visceral adipose tissue. There was no difference in adverse event between these two groups.
Canagliflozin reduces visceral adipose tissue and improves blood glucose, insulin resistance and systemic inflammation in people with newly-diagnosed type 2 diabetes.
Achieving metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with nonlinear optical (NLO) switching is profoundly important. Herein, the conductive MOFs Cu-TCNQ phase I (Ph-I) and phase II (Ph-II) films were prepared ...using the liquid-phase-epitaxial layer-by-layer spin-coating method and steam heating method, respectively. Electronic experiments showed that the Ph-II film could be changed into the Ph-I film under an applied electric field. The third-order NLO results revealed that the Ph-I film had a third-order nonlinear reverse saturation absorption (RSA) response and the Ph-II film displayed a third-order nonlinear saturation absorption (SA) response. With increases in the heating time and applied voltage, the third-order NLO response realized the reversible transition between SA and RSA. The theoretical calculations indicated that Ph-I possessed more interlayer charge transfer, resulting in a third-order nonlinear RSA response that was stronger than that of Ph-II. This work applies phase-transformed MOFs to third-order NLO switching and provides new insights into the nonlinear photoelectric applications of MOFs.
Fluorotellurite glasses heavily doped with Er3+ are prepared in less demanding conditions as compared with fluoride glasses. Specifically, the effects of PbF2 added in the system of ...AlF3–MgF2–CaF2–SrF2–BaF2–TeO2 (AMCSBYT) are systematically studied on the correlation between glass structure and mid-infrared (MIR) luminescent properties of Er3+. These PbF2-modified glasses with an improved thermal stability and a noticeably reduced phonon energy as compared with telluride glasses exhibit an intense MIR emission at 2.72 μm and a long radiative decay lifetime. Calculation and analysis based on the Judd-Ofelt theory provide deeper insights into the interdependence of luminescent properties and glass structure. Numerical simulation is conducted for a MIR fiber laser based on the experimental data derived from the proposed glass. The 2.72 μm lasing output of 0.68 W is predicted with a slope efficiency of 3.38 %. It is expected that the performance of the fiber laser can be further optimized such that the output power can be increased over 1.0 W. The results emphasize the potential of the PbF2-modified fluorotellurite glass as a promising gain material for 2.72 μm fiber lasers.
Our coherent perception of external events is enabled by the integration of inputs from different senses occurring within a range of temporal offsets known as the temporal binding window (TBW), which ...varies from person to person. A relatively wide TBW may increase the likelihood that stimuli originating from different environmental events are erroneously integrated and abnormally large TBW has been found in psychiatric disorders characterized by unusual perceptual experiences. Despite strong evidence of inter-individual differences in TBW, both within clinical and nonclinical populations, the neurobiological underpinnings of this variability remain unclear. We adopted an integrated strategy linking TBW to temporal dynamics in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-resting-state activity and cortical excitation/inhibition (E/I) balance. E/I balance was indexed by glutamate/Gamma-AminoButyric Acid (GABA) concentrations and common variation in glutamate and GABA genes in a healthy sample. Stronger resting-state long-range temporal correlations, indicated by larger power law exponent (PLE), in the auditory cortex, robustly predicted narrower audio-tactile TBW, which was in turn associated with lower cognitive-perceptual schizotypy. Furthermore, PLE was highest and TBW narrowest for individuals with intermediate levels of E/I balance, with shifts towards either extreme resulting in reduced multisensory temporal precision and increased schizotypy, effectively forming a neural "tuning curve" for multisensory experience and schizophrenia risk. Our findings shed light on the neurobiological underpinnings of multisensory integration and its potentially clinically relevant inter-individual variability.
BACKGROUND The current study aimed to compare the effects of dapagliflozin and sitagliptin on insulin resistant and body fat distribution in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients. MATERIAL AND ...METHODS This study was an open-label, parallel controlled study. Patients were included if they were newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (<6 months) and had been receiving dapagliflozin or sitagliptin for 12 weeks in combination with a stable dose of metformin in the last month. At baseline and 12 weeks, insulin resistant (homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance HOMA-IR), body fat distribution (waist/hip ratio), fasting blood glucose (FBG), glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), lipid profiles, and C-reactive protein (CRP) level were compared. RESULTS There were 59 patients receiving dapagliflozin and 67 patients receiving sitagliptin. There was no significant between-group difference in baseline characteristics. After 12 weeks of treatment, compared to the sitagliptin group, the FBG (6.4±0.5 versus 6.7±0.7 mmol/L), HbA1c (7.0±0.4 versus 7.2±0.5%), HOMA-IR (1.6±0.5 versus 1.8±0.6), triglyceride (1.6±0.4 versus 1.8±0.3 mmol/L), and CRP (3.1±0.7 versus 3.3±0.5 mg/L) were slightly lower in the dapagliflozin group. Within each group, compared to baseline, FBG (dapagliflozin 6.4±0.5 versus 7.8±0.7 mmol/L; sitagliptin 6.7±0.7 versus 7.7±0.6 mmol/L), HbA1c (dapagliflozin 7.0±0.4 versus 8.0±0.5%; sitagliptin 7.2±0.5 versus 8.1%±0.6%), HOMA-IR (dapagliflozin 1.6±0.5 versus 2.4±0.4; sitagliptin 1.8±0.6 versus 2.5±0.4), triglyceride (dapagliflozin 1.6±0.4 versus 2.2±0.5 mmol/L; sitagliptin 1.8±0.3 versus 2.1±0.5 mmol/L), and CRP (dapagliflozin 3.1±0.7 versus 6.2±1.1 mg/L; sitagliptin 3.3±0.5 versus 6.1±1.0 mg/L) were significantly decreased. CONCLUSIONS Dapagliflozin and sitagliptin had comparable effects on improving insulin resistant and blood glucose control, and these benefits may be associated with improvement of systemic inflammation.
The increasing release of oily wastewater from both household and industrial activities has led to a significant environmental challenge. Among the various methods for treating oil-water mixtures, ...membranes with specialized wettability characteristics have emerged as one of the most effective and cost-efficient approaches. In this field, reducing the thickness of membranes is a key strategy to lessen resistance to mass transfer. This paper describes the creation of a super-hydrophobic, submicron-thin (945 nm) and even transparent (79.99% relative transparency at 600 nm wavelength) composite membrane for oil/water separation. This was achieved by depositing polydivinylbenzene (PDVB) onto ∼170 nm ultrathin freestanding polyethylene (PE) membranes to form hierarchical rough textures. Based on the super-hydrophobicity and high roughness, PE/PDVB composite membrane is enabled to separate oil from water in both mixtures and emulsions of immiscible oil/water. Moreover, PE/PDVB demonstrated a separation efficiency exceeding 99.91% for various water-in-oil emulsions. Impressively, this efficiency could be sustained above 99.87% even after 30 cycles of separation involving surfactant-stabilized isooctane/water emulsions. This performance robustness persisted against various chemical environments such as acidic, alkaline, and saline conditions over prolonged periods. To our knowledge, PE/PDVB is currently the thinnest oil/water purification membrane available, combining both an active layer and support. This work also highlights the practicality of using an ultra-thin support layer for efficient oil/water separation. This work may be at use for membrane scientists who are developing ultra-thin membrane materials and processes for future applications.
TOC graphic: The first submicron ultrathin oil/water purification membrane. Display omitted
•The whole oil/water purification membrane has been thinned down less than 1 micron-thin, for the first time.•High efficiencies of separating immiscible mixtures and emulsions were both reported.•The cyclic stability, chemical resistance and mechanical integrity have been verified.
A non-integrated induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line was generated derived from a healthy 20-day-old male using peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The established induced pluripotent stem cell ...line possesses a normal karyotype, expresses pluripotency markers and able to differentiate into all three germ layers in vitro. This cell line could serve as a health control or a basis for disease modeling, to explore molecular pathogenesis.
Abstract Background The calcification of blood vessels correlates with increased morbidity and mortality in patients with atherosclerosis, diabetes, and end-stage kidney disease. Increased ...inflammasome activation has been shown to play an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. However, the contribution of inflammasome activation on the development of vascular calcification has not been investigated. Methods β-Glycerophosphate (β-GP) was used as a procedure to induce extensive artery calcification in primary vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Analysis of the levels of Nalp3 inflammasome complex was performed by quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting. The effect of Nalp3 deficiency on VSMC calcification was examined after transfecting Nalp3 siRNA into cultured VSMCs. Results We demonstrated for the first time that the mRNA levels of Nalp3 inflammasome complex including Nalp3, ASC and caspase1 were upregulated in calcifying VSMCs, resulting in increased IL-1β secretion. Inhibition of inflammasome activation by Nalp3 RNA interference reduced IL-1β secretion and inhibited VSMC calcification. Further analysis of clinical popliteal artery specimens showed an upregulation of inflammasome complex mRNA levels (4/5) and caspase1 activity (5/5) compared with their non-calcified adjacent tissues, indicating that Nalp3 inflammasome was tightly correlated with arterial calcification disease. Conclusion Our findings indicate that activation of the Nalp3-mediated inflammatory response pathway is an important venue associated with host response and pathogenesis of VSMC calcification.
Glyphosate, one of the most widely used herbicides, plays an important role in controlling weeds and ensuring crop production. While using glyphosate, adjuvants are commonly added to improve its ...deposition on weeds and control efficacy. However, changes in weed leaf surface characteristics may reduce glyphosate penetration and contribute to evolved glyphosate resistance. Therefore, it is significant to introduce an improved method for regularizing leaf surface characterization and guide adjuvant selection to improve glyphosate efficacy. In this work, surface characteristics of typical weed leaves have been systematically investigated by 3D surface analysis and scanning electron microscopy, finally quantified by apparent surface free energy (ASFE) due to its comprehensive and quantitative evaluation of leaf surfaces. Moreover, the relationship between the weed leaf surface characteristics and the retention of glyphosate on weeds was established, further related to the control efficacy against weeds. To maximize the utilization rate of glyphosate, the types and concentrations of adjuvants should be regulated according to the ASFE of weeds. Our findings not only regularize the surface properties of weed leaves but also reveal their influencing mechanism on the deposition and biological activity of glyphosate, which provide effective guidance for the use of glyphosate.
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