Abstract
This study introduces a novel test bed, named the
Maverick
, which aims to advance the field of autonomous inland waterborne freight transportation and facilitate its eventual ...implementation. More specifically, the
Maverick
focuses on operating in small waterways within urban areas, aligning its application scenario with the European project AVATAR. The hull form of the
Maverick
was selected to be a catamaran, as it offers several advantages, including a large open deck area, high transverse stability, and excellent maneuverability at low speeds. The
Maverick
is equipped with two 360-degrees-steerable azimuth thrusters, one at the bow and one at the stern. This configuration makes the
Maverick
over-actuated, and offers more advanced motion control possibilities compared to conventional rudder-propeller actuated vessels. The
Maverick
is composed out of modular building blocks combined with a flexible interface, which enables it to accommodate diverse control terminals for future developments. Furthermore, to illustrate the feasibility of the
Maverick
within an urban context, this study also includes results of several trail tests. The interactive communication framework that was successfully employed in the autonomous sailing experiment is introduced. The
Maverick
offers a versatile platform for testing and developing a wide range of technologies in situation awareness, autonomous sailing, smart waterway logistics, and other interconnected domains. Therefore, this innovative research vessel can pave the way for the development of a new freight transport mode within European urban areas, contributing valuable experiences to the field.
Intestinal ischemia‐reperfusion (IIR) often occurs during and following major cardiovascular or gut surgery and causes significant organ including kidney injuries. This study was to investigate the ...protective effect of intestinal ischemic postconditioning (IPo) on IIR‐induced acute kidney injury (AKI) and the underling cellular signaling mechanisms with focus on the Nrf2/HO‐1. Adult C57BL/6J mice were subjected to IIR with or without IPo. IIR was established by clamping the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) for 45 minutes followed by 120 minutes reperfusion. Outcome measures were: (i) Intestinal and renal histopathology; (ii) Renal function; (iii) Cellular signaling changes; (iv) Oxidative stress and inflammatory responses. IPo significantly attenuated IIR‐induced kidney injury. Furthermore, IPo significantly increased both nuclear Nrf2 and HO‐1 expression in the kidney, upregulated autophagic flux, inhibited IIR‐induced inflammation and reduced oxidative stress. The protective effect of IPo was abolished by the administration of Nrf2 inhibitor (Brusatol) or Nrf2 siRNA. Conversely, a Nrf2 activator t‐BHQ has a similar protective effect to that of IPo. Our data indicate that IPo protects the kidney injury induced by IIR, which was likely mediated through the Nrf2/HO‐1 cellular signaling activation.
Aims. Ischemic postconditioning (IPO) has a strong protective effect against intestinal ischemia-reperfusion (IIR) injury that is partly related to autophagy. However, the precise mechanisms involved ...are unknown. Methods. C57BL/6J mice were subjected to unilateral IIR with or without IPO. After 45 min ischemia and 120 min reperfusion, intestinal tissues and blood were collected for examination. HE staining and Chiu’s score were used to evaluate pathologic injury. We test markers of intestinal barrier function and oxidative stress. Finally, we used WB to detect the expression of key proteins of autophagy and the Akt/GSK-3β/Nrf2 pathway. Results. IPO significantly attenuated IIR injury. Expression levels of LC3 II/I, Beclin-1, and p62 were altered during IIR, indicating that IPO enhanced autophagy. IPO also activated Akt, inhibited GSK-3β, induced Nrf2 nuclear translocation, and upregulated HO-1 and NQO1 expression, thus providing protective effects against IIR injury by suppressing oxidative stress. Consistently, the beneficial effects of IPO were abolished by pretreatment with 3-methyladenine, SC66, and brusatol, potent inhibitors of autophagy, Akt, and Nrf2, respectively. Conclusion. Our study indicates that IPO can ameliorate IIR injury by evoking autophagy, activating Akt, inactivating GSK-3β, and activating Nrf2. These findings may provide novel insights for the alleviation of IIR injury.
Concurrent chemoradiotherapy is the common first-line treatment for patients with advanced cervical cancer. However, radioresistance remains a major clinical challenge, which results in recurrence ...and poor survival. Many studies have shown the potential of Delta-like Ligand 4 (DLL4) as a novel prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in many solid tumors. Previously, we have found that high DLL4 expression in tumor cells may predict the pelvic lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis in patients with cervical cancer. In our present study, we further studied the effects of DLL4 on the biological behavior and radiosensitivity of cervical cancer cells.
The expression of DLL4 and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype markers in cervical cancer cell lines or tissues were detected using Western blotting, and the expression of DLL4 mRNA in cervical cancer cell lines or tissues was detected using Quantitative real-time PCR. The effect of DLL4 on cell proliferation, migration, and radiosensitivity was evaluated using the CCK8 assay, flow cytometry, Transwell assays for cell invasion and migration, and Immunofluorescence staining in vitro.
The expression of DLL4 in radiotherapy-resistant SiHa cells was significantly higher than that in radiotherapy-sensitive Me-180 cells. Furthermore, downregulation of DLL4 enhanced the radiosensitivity of SiHa and Caski cells via the inhibition of cell proliferation, promotion of radiation-induced apoptosis, and inhibition of the DNA damage repair. Moreover, downregulation of DLL4 inhibited the EMT and reduced the proliferation, invasion, and migration ability in SiHa and Caski cells. Consistent with the DLL4 expression in the cell lines, the expression of DLL4 in the tissues of the radioresistant group was also higher than that of the radiosensitive group.
Downregulation of DLL4 inhibited the progression and increased the radiosensitivity in cervical cancer cells by reversing EMT. These results indicated the promising prospect of DLL4 against the radioresistance and metastasis of cervical cancer and its potential as a predictive biomarker for radiosensitivity and prognosis in patients with cervical cancer patients receiving concurrent chemoradiotherapy (cCRT).
Translocations using captive-reared and wild-caught animals are important and widely used conservation tools to boost dwindling endangered populations and for maintaining biodiversity, but still ...suffer high failure rates. Animal personality, defined as consistent inter-individual differences in behaviour, can have a critical influence on individual fitness and population dynamics. Many conservation translocations could benefit by selecting individuals with certain personality traits, but the importance of personality of the ‘founders’ is often not considered. The link between behavioural assessments and improving translocation success therefore needs further investigation to demonstrate that adopting behavioural assays for translocations is worthwhile and feasible. Too few studies have considered the effect of captive-rearing or novel release-site conditions on changes to pre-release behavioural structural characteristics, including such as between-trait (i.e., behavioural syndromes) or within-trait correlations (i.e., personality-plasticity correlations) among individuals. Considering that appropriate behavioural structures can usually serve as immediate adaptive responses to environmental uncertainty, we suggest that the loss of appropriate structures may give a partial explanation for why captive-reared or wild-caught animals unfamiliar with the release-site environment suffer high post-release mortality rates. We call for more comprehensive personality trait assessments to evaluate the potential negative effects on behavioural structure induced by captive rearing and an unfamiliarity to the release-site environment in future conservation studies. We suggest several specific measures that may help to reform appropriate behavioural structures during captive rearing to form part of future feasibility and pre-release stages of conservation translocations.
To evaluate the dosimetric parameters of different bone marrow sparing strategies and radiotherapy technologies and determine the optimal strategy to reduce hematologic toxicity associated with ...concurrent chemoradiation (cCRT) for cervical cancer.
A total of 15 patients with Federation International of Gynecology and Obsterics (FIGO) Stage IIB cervical cancer treated with cCRT were re-planned for bone marrow (BM)-sparing plans. First, we determined the optimal BM sparing strategy for intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), including a BMS-IMRT plan that used total BM sparing (IMRT-BM) as the dose-volume constraint, and another plan used os coxae (OC) and lumbosacral spine (LS) sparing (IMRT-LS+OC) to compare the plan without BM-sparing (IMRT-N). Then, we determined the optimal technology for the BMS-IMRT, including fixed-field IMRT (FF-IMRT), volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT), and helical tomotherapy (HT). The conformity and homogeneity of PTV, exposure volume of OARs, and efficiency of radiation delivery were analyzed.
Compared with the IMRT-N group, the average volume of BM that received ≥10, ≥20, ≥30, and ≥40 Gy decreased significantly in both two BM-sparing groups, especially in the IMRT-LS+OC group, meanwhile, two BMS-IMRT plans exhibited the similar effect on PTV coverage and other organs at risk (OARs) sparing. Among three common IMRT techniques in clinic, HT was significantly less effective than VMAT and FF-IMRT in the aspect of BM-Sparing. Additionally, VMAT exhibited more efficient radiation delivery.
We recommend the use of VMAT with OC and LS as separate dose-volume constraints in cervical cancer patients aiming at reducing hematologic toxicity associated with cCRT, especially in developing countries.
Fentanyl-induced cough (FIC) often occurs after intravenous bolus administration of fentanyl analogs during induction of general anesthesia and analgesia procedure. The cough is generally benign, but ...sometimes it causes undesirable side effects, including elevated intra-abdominal, intracranial or intraocular pressure. Therefore, understanding the related mechanisms and influencing factors are of great significance to prevent and treat the cough. This paper reviews the molecular mechanism, influencing factors and preventive administration of FIC, focusing on the efficacy and side effects of various drugs in inhibiting FIC to provide some medical reference for anesthesiologists.
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