Efficacy and Safety of Repeated Percutaneous Radiofrequency Thermocoagulation for Recurrent Trigeminal Neuralgia

Background: Percutaneous radiofrequency thermocoagulation (PRT) is used to treat trigeminal neuralgia (TN) with a satisfactory pain relief but a high recurrence rate.Objective: To explore the efficacy and safety of repeated PRT for recurrent TN as compared to patients who received the first PRT.Methods: Between January 2013 to May 2013, 31 patients with recurrent TN who have been treated with PRT previously were recruited and underwent repeated PRT (group A), and compared with 41 TN patients received the first initial PRT (group B). Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score was assessed preoperatively and postoperatively after 2 years of follow-up, and compared in terms of initial pain relief, complications, and recurrence rate between the two groups.Results: In group A, 27 patients (87.0%) were pain free immediately, and 30 patients (96.8%) experienced pain relief at 48 h, whereas that was 37 patients (90.0%) and 40 patients (97.6%) in group B (p ≧ 0.05). Patients in group A who remained an “excellent” or “good” pain relief condition (VAS score ≦ 1) were 96.8% at 6 months, 83.9% at 1 year, 74.2% at 2 years, whereas the percentage in group B was 97.6, 85.4, and 73.2% (p ≧ 0.05).Conclusion: For patients with recurrent TN after PRT, repeated PRT might be considered as a useful treatment option when other treatments fail. In addition, the frequency and severity of adverse events for repeated PRT were similar as compared to initial PRT

ID-based Authenticated Two Round Multi-Party Key Agreement

This paper proposes an ID-based authenticated two round multi-party key agreement among n parties. Several ID-based two-party and tripartite key agreement schemes were proposed recently. Our two round multi-party key agreement scheme utilizes the idea of the two-round group key exchange protocol of Burmester and Desmedt. The authenticity of the protocol is assured by a special signature scheme, so the messages carrying the information of ephemeral key can be broadcasted authentically by an entity. Security attributes of our protocol are presented, and computational overhead and band width of the broadcast messages are analyzed as well

An Improved ID-based Authenticated Group Key Agreement Scheme

Authenticated group key agreement problem is important in many modern collaborative and distributed applications. There are two ID-based authenticated group key agreement schemes have been proposed by Choi et al. and us, which are based on bilinear pairings and BD scheme. Recently, Zhang and Chen propose an impersonation attack on the two schemes, which means the schemes are not fully authenticated. In this paper, we propose an improved ID-based authenticated group key agreement scheme which can resist this attack

Chameleon Signature from Bilinear Pairing

Chameleon signatures are non-interactive signatures based on a hash-and-sign paradigm, and similar in efficiency to regular signatures. The distinguishing characteristic of chameleon signatures is that there are non-transferable, with only the designated recipient capable of asserting its validity. In this paper, we introduce a new ID-based chameleon hash function based on bilinear pairing and build the ID-based chameleon signature scheme. Compared with the conventional chameleon hashing functions, the owner of a public hash key in the ID-based chameleon hashing scheme does not necessarily need to retrieve the associated secret key. The scheme enjoys all the attributes in the normal chameleon signature and the added characteristics of ID-based cryptography based on bilinear pairing

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel bi-gold mitocans in lung cancer cells

Mitochondria are promising drug target for cancer treatment. We previously demonstrated that a bi-gold compound BGC2a was more potent than the mono-gold drug auranofin in suppressing cancer cells due to increased gold atom number that led to higher drug accumulation in and thereby inhibition of mitochondria. To exploit the potential of this new strategy, we further designed and synthesized a series of bi-gold mitocans, the compounds targeting mitochondria. The results showed that most of the newly synthesized mitocans exhibited obviously lower IC50 than auranofin, an old drug that is repurposed in clinical trials for cancer treatment. The best mitocan C3P4 was nearly 2-fold more potent than BGC2a in human non-small cell lung cancer A549 cells and mantle cell lymphoma Jeko-1 cells, exhibiting substantial colony formation-suppressing and tumor-suppressing effects in A549 cells xenograft model. C3P4 induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner and arrested cell cycle at G0/G1 phase. The mechanistic study showed that C3P4 significantly increased the global reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial superoxide level, and reduced the mitochondrial membrane potential. C3P4 preferentially accumulated in mitochondria as measured by the gold content and substantially inhibited oxygen consumption rate and ATP production. These results further validated our hypothesis that targeting mitochondria would be promising to develop more potent anticancer agents. C3P4 may be further evaluated as a drug candidate for lung cancer treatment

Mitochondrial respiration defects in cancer cells cause activation of Akt survival pathway through a redox-mediated mechanism

Cancer cells exhibit increased glycolysis for ATP production due, in part, to respiration injury (the Warburg effect). Because ATP generation through glycolysis is less efficient than through mitochondrial respiration, how cancer cells with this metabolic disadvantage can survive the competition with other cells and eventually develop drug resistance is a long-standing paradox. We report that mitochondrial respiration defects lead to activation of the Akt survival pathway through a novel mechanism mediated by NADH. Respiration-deficient cells (ρ-) harboring mitochondrial DNA deletion exhibit dependency on glycolysis, increased NADH, and activation of Akt, leading to drug resistance and survival advantage in hypoxia. Similarly, chemical inhibition of mitochondrial respiration and hypoxia also activates Akt. The increase in NADH caused by respiratory deficiency inactivates PTEN through a redox modification mechanism, leading to Akt activation. These findings provide a novel mechanistic insight into the Warburg effect and explain how metabolic alteration in cancer cells may gain a survival advantage and withstand therapeutic agents

Feasibility of Using Gangue and Fly Ash as Filling Slurry Materials

When used as filling aggregates, the physical and mechanical properties of gangue and fly ash are crucial for the design of filling and transportation systems. The mineral composition of gangue and fly ash affects the filling body’s strength, and the fluidity of the slurry affects the mining engineering process. In this study, gangue and fly ash samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction to ensure their suitability as filling materials. Tests were carried out with an Intelligent Torque Rheometer, and the optimal ratio of the slurry’s components was determined. After fitting the data using ORIGIN software, the following curves were obtained: (1) rheological parameters versus slurry mass fraction; (2) rheological parameters versus component ratio. On the basis of the curves, the recommended ratio of the components in the paste-like slurry was determined. We found that the mass concentration of the slurry must be kept strictly below 78%, and the optimal slurry composition includes coal gangue, fly ash, and a gelling agent at a weight ratio of 8:3:1. In order to illustrate the effectiveness of the filling technology, surface sink curves from different filling techniques in two closely situated positions of the Xinyang Coal Mine were compared. The results showed that the use of a paste-like slurry can effectively reduce surface subsidence. Furthermore, it will lead to cost-effective engineering designs for the sustainable development of coal mines

Optimal Design and Analysis of Cavitating Law for Well-Cellar Cavitating Mechanism Based on MBD-DEM Bidirectional Coupling Model

A variable velocity parallel four-bar cavitating mechanism for well-cellar can form the well-cellar cavitation which suits for well-cellar transplanting under a continuous operation. In order to improve the cavitating quality, this paper analyzed the structural composition and working principle of the cavitating mechanism and established the bidirectional coupling model of multi-body dynamics and the discrete element between the cavitating mechanism and soil through Recurdyn and EDEM software. Based on the model, a three-factor, five-level quadratic orthogonal rotational combination design test was conducted with the parameters of the cavitating mechanism as the experimental factors and the parameters of the cavitation as the response index to obtain the optimal parameter combination, and a virtual simulation test was conducted for the optimal parameter combination in order to study the cavitating law of the cavitating mechanism and soil. The test results showed that the depth of the cavitation was 188.6 mm, the vertical angle of the cavitation was 90.4°, the maximum diameter of the cavitation was 76.1 mm, the minimum diameter of the cavitation was 68.5 mm, and the variance in the diameters for the cavitation was 5.42 mm2. The cavitating mechanism with optimal parameters based on the Recurdyn–EDEM bidirectional coupling mode could further improve the cavitating quality