The value of a novel percutaneous lung puncture clamp biopsy technique in the diagnosis of pulmonary nodules

Abstract Background: Computed tomography-guided percutaneous lung biopsy is a crucial method to determine pulmonary anomalies, and is highly accurate in detecting evidence of malignancies, allowing medical practitioners to identify the stage of malignancy and thus help to plan the treatment regimens of patients.Objective: To explore the clinical application of a new computed tomography-guided percutaneous lung puncture clamp biopsy technique in the diagnosis of pulmonary nodules, characterized by ground-glass opacity on chest computed tomography images.Methods: A unique instrument named ‘combined percutaneous lung biopsy forceps’, consisting of a biopsy forceps, a 15-gauge coaxial needle and needle core, was designed. The new tool was used to obtain specimens in nine patients with pulmonary ground-glass opacity. The specimen volumes and the safety of using the instrument were measured. The samples obtained were also assessed to see if they were sufficient for conducting histological tests.Result: Samples were obtained in all nine patients – a success rate of 100%. Consistently, the volume of each specimen was sufficient to make a histological diagnosis. No serious complications, such as pneumothorax – primary spontaneous pneumothorax or secondary spontaneous pneumothorax – occurred during the biopsy.Conclusions: The application of this new tool in obtaining tissue specimens in patients with pulmonary ground-glass opacity under the guidance of chest computed tomography was invaluable in terms of its high accuracy and safety. Moreover, its effect was better compared to using a fine-needle aspiration biopsy or a cutting-needle biopsy. Therefore, this instrument can be used for histological diagnosis. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2021; 35(2):85-90]Key words: Ground-glass opacity; percutaneous lung puncture clamp biopsy; fine-needle aspiration biopsy; cutting-needle biops

The Effect of Temozolomide/Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA)/Nano-Hydroxyapatite Microspheres on Glioma U87 Cells Behavior

In this study, we investigated the effects of temozolomide (TMZ)/Poly (lactide-co-glycolide)(PLGA)/nano-hydroxyapatite microspheres on the behavior of U87 glioma cells. The microspheres were fabricated by the “Solid/Water/Oil” method, and they were characterized by using X-Ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. The proliferation, apoptosis and invasion of glioma cells were evaluated by MTT, flow cytometry assay and Transwell assay. The presence of the key invasive gene, αVβ3 integrin, was detected by the RT-PCR and Western blot method. It was found that the temozolomide/PLGA/nano-hydroxyapatite microspheres have a significantly diminished initial burst of drug release, compared to the TMZ laden PLGA microspheres. Our results suggest they can significantly inhibit the proliferation and invasion of glioma cells, and induce their apoptosis. Additionally, αVβ3 integrin was also reduced by the microspheres. These data suggest that by inhibiting the biological behavior of glioma cells in vitro, the newly designed temozolomide/PLGA/nano-hydroxyapatite microspheres, as controlled drug release carriers, have promising potential in treating glioma

Feasibility of Biochar Preparation with Solar Pyrolysis Method

China is a large agricultural country with a large annual output of straw resources. Compared with other straw treatment technologies, pyrolysis technology has the advantages of simple operation and high utilization value of products, but the traditional pyrolysis technology takes the combustion of fossil fuels as heat source, which has the problem of high energy consumption. Solar pyrolysis has attracted much attention because of its cleanliness and sustainability. To explore the feasibility of solar pyrolysis of straw. In this paper, the corncob biochar prepared by solar pyrolysis device and traditional pyrolysis device (muffle furnace and tube furnace) were compared. The experimental results show that the solar pyrolysis device can reach the pyrolysis temperature range of biomass, and the yield and physicochemical properties of the biochar obtained by the solar pyrolysis device are similar to those obtained by the traditional pyrolysis device. Therefore, the preparation of biochar by solar pyrolysis is a feasible method

A Sustainable Route to Ruthenium Phosphide (RuP)/Ru Heterostructures with Electron‐Shuttling of Interfacial Ru for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution

Abstract Ruthenium (Ru) is a promising electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), despite suffering from low activity in non‐acidic conditions due to the high kinetic energy barrier of H2O dissociation. Herein, the synthesis of carbon nanosheet‐supported RuP/Ru heterostructures (RuP/Ru@CNS) from a natural polysaccharide is reported and demonstrates its behavior as an effective HER electrocatalyst in non‐acidic conditions. The RuP/Ru@CNS exhibits low overpotential (106 mV at 200 mA·cm−2) in alkaline electrolyte, exceeding most reported Ru‐based electrocatalysts. The electron shuttling between Ru atoms at the RuP/Ru interface results in a lowered energy barrier for H2O dissociation by electron‐deficient Ru atoms in the pure Ru phase, as well as optimized H* adsorption of electron‐gaining Ru atoms in the neighboring RuP. A low H* spillover energy barrier between Ru atoms at the RuP/Ru interface further boosts HER kinetics. This study demonstrates a sustainable method for the fabrication of efficient Ru‐based electrocatalysts and provides a more detailed understanding of interface effects in HER catalysis

Integration of conventional and advanced molecular tools to track footprints of heterosis in cotton

Abstract Background Heterosis, a multigenic complex trait extrapolated as sum total of many phenotypic features, is widely utilized phenomenon in agricultural crops for about a century. It is mainly focused on establishing vigorous cultivars with the fact that its deployment in crops necessitates the perspective of genomic impressions on prior selection for metric traits. In spite of extensive investigations, the actual mysterious genetic basis of heterosis is yet to unravel. Contemporary crop breeding is aimed at enhanced crop production overcoming former achievements. Leading cotton improvement programs remained handicapped to attain significant accomplishments. Results In mentioned context, a comprehensive project was designed involving a large collection of cotton accessions including 284 lines, 5 testers along with their respective F1 hybrids derived from Line × Tester mating design were evaluated under 10 diverse environments. Heterosis, GCA and SCA were estimated from morphological and fiber quality traits by L × T analysis. For the exploration of elite marker alleles related to heterosis and to provide the material carrying such multiple alleles the mentioned three dependent variables along with trait phenotype values were executed for association study aided by microsatellites in mixed linear model based on population structure and linkage disequilibrium analysis. Highly significant 46 microsatellites were discovered in association with the fiber and yield related traits under study. It was observed that two-thirds of the highly significant associated microsatellites related to fiber quality were distributed on D sub-genome, including some with pleiotropic effect. Newly discovered 32 hQTLs related to fiber quality traits are one of prominent findings from current study. A set of 96 exclusively favorable alleles were discovered and C tester (A971Bt) posited a major contributor of these alleles primarily associated with fiber quality. Conclusions Hence, to uncover hidden facts lying within heterosis phenomenon, discovery of additional hQTLs is required to improve fibre quality. To grab prominent improvement in influenced fiber quality and yield traits, we suggest the A971 Bt cotton cultivar as fundamental element in advance breeding programs as a parent of choice