Modified Primary Anastomosis Using an Intestinal Internal Drainage Tube for Crohn’s Disease: A Pilot Study

Purpose: Surgical treatment is an important part of the management of Crohn’s disease (CD). However, the current recommended staged procedures require two operations, with long hospital stays and high costs, while traditional primary anastomosis has a high risk of complications. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the clinical efficacy and safety of modified primary anastomosis using intestinal internal drainage tubes for CD. Methods: In this study, emergency and nonemergency CD patients were included separately. Then, the patients were divided into three subgroups: patients with intestinal internal drainage tubes (modified primary anastomosis), staged procedures, and traditional primary anastomosis. The main outcomes were the number of hospitalizations, length and cost of the first hospital stay, length and cost of total hospital stays, and complications. Results: The outcomes of the three subgroups of emergency CD patients were not significantly different. For nonemergency CD patients, patients with intestinal internal drainage tubes had shorter total hospital stays and fewer hospitalizations compared with the staged procedures subgroup, while no significant differences in any outcomes were observed between the modified and traditional primary anastomosis subgroups. Conclusions: For emergency CD patients, no significant advantage in terms of the main outcomes was observed for modified primary anastomosis. For nonemergency CD patients, modified primary anastomosis reduced the length of total hospital stays and hospitalizations compared with staged procedures. The placement of intestinal internal drainage tubes allows some patients who cannot undergo primary anastomosis to undergo it, which is a modification of traditional primary anastomosis

In situ synthesis of TiO2(B) nanotube/nanoparticle composite anode materials for lithium ion batteries

Titania nanotubes were prepared by a simple hydrothermal route. Their electrochemical performance has been examined in detail and compared to TiO2(B) nanoparticles, TiO2 anatase and P25 titania nanoparticles. The cycling and rate performance of TiO2 nanotubes is superior to both types of nanoparticles, and it can be further improved by an in situ titanium precursor treatment, which results in the formation of TiO2 nanoparticles on/between the nanotubes. The obtained specific capacity after 200 cycles at 0.2 A g(-1) charge/discharge rate remained above 130 mAh g(-1). The enhanced lithium storage properties of these samples can be attributed to their unique morphology and crystal structure

Identification of Mitochondria-Targeting Anticancer Compounds by an in Vitro Strategy

National Key Basic Research Program of China [2013CB933703]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [91313302, 90913015, 21225523, 21027010, 20975087]; Key project of Fujian science and technology plan [201210010]; Research Funds for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China [20090121110009]; Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University [IRT13036]; NFFTBS [J1310024]Mitochondria play a pivotal role in determining the point-of-no-return of the apoptotic process. Therefore, anticancer drugs that directly target mitochondria hold great potential to evade resistance mechanisms that have developed toward conventional chemotherapeutics. In this study, we report the development of an in vitro strategy to quickly identify the therapeutic agents that induce apoptosis via directly affecting mitochondria. This result is achieved by treating isolated mitochondria with potential anticancer compounds, followed by simultaneously measuring the side scatter and mitochondrial membrane potential (Delta psi(m)) fluorescence of individual mitochondria using a laboratory-built high-sensitivity flow cytometer. The feasibility of this method was tested with eight widely used anticarcinogens. Dose-dependent Delta psi(m) losses were observed for paclitaxel, antimycin A, betulinic acid, curcumin, ABT-737, and triptolide, but not for cisplatin or actinomycin D, which agrees well with their mechanisms of apoptosis induction reported in the literature. The as-developed method offers an effective approach to identify mitochondria-targeting anticancer compounds

Chinese herbal medicine combined with cognitive–behavioural therapy for avoidant paruresis: a controlled trial

Background Avoidant paruresis is a common clinical condition in urology and psychosomatic medicine. However, it has limited treatment options that are safe and effective with few side effects.Aims Our study aimed to investigate the effectiveness and safety of the Chinese herbal Yangxin Tongquan decoction combined with cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) for avoidant paruresis.Methods Sixty-eight patients with avoidant paruresis were divided into a treatment group (33 patients) and a control group (35 patients). The control group was assigned 10 weeks of CBT and systematic desensitisation. In addition to CBT and systematic desensitisation, the treatment group was given the Chinese herbal Yangxin Tongquan decoction during the 10-week study. The Shy Bladder Syndrome Scale (SBS) and the Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) were administered before and after treatment to measure any change.Results The overall efficacy in the treatment group (n=30) was 80.0% vs 62.5% in the control group (n=33). Comparing pretreatment and post-treatment measures, both groups showed improvement in SBS scores and SAS scores (treatment group: t(SBS)=8.397, p(SBS)<0.001, t(SAS)=8.216, p(SAS)<0.001; control group: t(SBS)=6.802, p(SBS)<0.001, t(SAS)=5.171, p(SAS)<0.001). Moreover, both groups’ SBS and SAS scores changed significantly over time (SBS scores: Ftime=118.299, p<0.001; SAS scores: Ftime=92.114, p<0.001). However, the treatment group performed better than the control group (SBS scores: Ftime*group=5.709, p=0.020; SAS scores: Ftime*group=7.235, p=0.009).Conclusions The Chinese herbal Yangxin Tongquan decoction combined with cognitive–behavioural psychotherapy positively affects the treatment of avoidant paruresis without significant adverse effects