6 research outputs found
Value of cold laser combined with choledochoscopy in treatment of residual stones after biliary surgery
ObjectiveTo investigate the value of cold laser combined with choledochoscopy in the treatment of residual stones after biliary surgery. MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 79 patients with residual stones after biliary surgery who were admitted to Fuzhou General Hospital of Nanjing Military Area Command from January 2015 to June 2016. All the patients underwent cold laser combined with choledochoscopy at 6 weeks after surgery. The cure rate and complications were observed. ResultsAll the patients underwent successful lithotripsy, and the cure rate was 100%. Of all the patients, 68 did not experience any postoperative complication, 7 experienced abdominal distension, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, which achieved spontaneous remission after observation, and 4 experienced fear of cold and chill, which were improved after symptomatic treatment. No patients experienced serious complications, such as bile duct injury, biliary tract perforation, bile leakage, and hematobilia. ConclusionCold laser combined with choledochoscopy has a good effect, a high level of safety, and good repeatability in the treatment of residual stones after biliary surgery; therefore, it holds promise for clinical application
Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Genes Involved in Growth and Metabolism in Muscovy Ducks
Muscovy ducks are among the best meat ducks in the world. The objective of this study was to identify genes related to growth metabolism through transcriptome analysis of the ileal tissue of Muscovy ducks. Duck ileum samples with the highest (H group, n=5) and lowest (L group, n=5) body weight were selected from two hundred 70-day-old Muscovy ducks for transcriptome analysis by RNA sequencing. In the screening of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the H and L groups, a total of 602 DEGs with a fold change no less than 2 were identified, among which 285 were upregulated and 317 were downregulated. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis revealed that glutathione metabolism, pyrimidine metabolism, and protein digestion and absorption processes played a vital role in regulating growth and metabolism. The results showed that 7 genes related to growth and metabolism, namely, ANPEP, ENPEP, UPP1, SLC2A2, SLC6A19, NME4, and LOC106034733, were significantly expressed in group H, which was consistent with the phenotype results. The validation of these 7 genes using real-time quantitative PCR results indicated that the expression level of ENPEP was significantly different between the H and L groups (P<0.05). This study provides a theoretical basis for exploring the influence of the ileum on growth and metabolism in ducks
Oral intake of titanium dioxide nanoparticles affect the course and prognosis of ulcerative colitis in mice: involvement of the ROS-TXNIP-NLRP3 inflammasome pathway
Abstract Background Titanium dioxide (TiO2), no matter in nanoscale or micron sizes, has been widely used in food industry as additives for decades. Given the potential impact of TiO2 on the gastrointestinal epithelial and parenchymal cells, including goblet cells, the public consumers may suffer the risk of diseases caused by its widespread dissemination in food products. We therefore set out to investigate the impact of TiO2 NPs on the course and prognosis of ulcerative colitis by oral gavaging TiO2 NPs at the doses levels of 0, 30, 100, and 300Â mg/kg during the induction (7Â days, from day 1 to day 7) and recovery (10Â days, from day 8 to day 17) phases of colitis in mice. Results The ulcerative colitis (UC) disease model was established by administrating of 2.5% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) solution. Our results show that TiO2 NPs significantly enhanced the severity of DSS-induced colitis, decreased the body weight, increased the disease activity index (DAI) and colonic mucosa damage index (CMDI) scores, shortened the colonic length, increased the inflammatory infiltration in the colon. The most significant changes occurred in the low dose (30Â mg/kg) group of TiO2 NPs exposure during the development phase of UC and the high dose (300Â mg/kg) group of TiO2 NPs during UC self-healing phase. Increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and upregulation of anti-oxidant enzymes including total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) and catalase (CAT), demonstrate that the TiO2 NP exposure has triggered oxidative stress in mice. Moreover, the upregulation of caspase-1 mRNA and increased expression of thioredoxin interacting protein (TXNIP) further demonstrate the involvement of the ROS-TXNIP-NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome pathway in aggravating the development of UC. Conclusion Oral intake of TiO2 NPs could affect the course of acute colitis in exacerbating the development of UC, prolonging the UC course and inhibiting UC recovery. Graphical Abstrac
Kirigami Nanocomposites as Wide-Angle Diffraction Gratings
Beam
steering devices represent an essential part of an advanced
optics toolbox and are needed in a spectrum of technologies ranging
from astronomy and agriculture to biosensing and networked vehicles.
Diffraction gratings with strain-tunable periodicity simplify beam
steering and can serve as a foundation for light/laser radar (LIDAR/LADAR)
components of robotic systems. However, the mechanical properties
of traditional materials severely limit the beam steering angle and
cycle life. The large strain applied to gratings can severely impair
the device performance both in respect of longevity and diffraction
pattern fidelity. Here, we show that this problem can be resolved
using micromanufactured kirigami patterns from thin film nanocomposites
based on high-performance stiff plastics, metals, and carbon nanotubes, <i>etc</i>. The kirigami pattern of microscale slits reduces the
stochastic concentration of strain in stiff nanocomposites including
those made by layer-by-layer assembly (LBL). The slit patterning affords
reduction of strain by 2 orders of magnitude for stretching deformation
and consequently enables reconfigurable optical gratings with over
a 100% range of period tunability. Elasticity of the stiff nanocomposites
and plastics makes possible cyclic reconfigurability of the grating
with variable time constant that can also be referred to as 4D kirigami.
High-contrast, sophisticated diffraction patterns with as high as
fifth diffraction order can be obtained. The angular range of beam
steering can be as large as 6.5° for a 635 nm laser beam compared
to ∼1° in surface-grooved elastomer gratings and ∼0.02°
in MEMS gratings. The versatility of the kirigami patterns, the diversity
of the available nanocomposite materials, and their advantageous mechanical
properties of the foundational materials open the path for engineering
of reconfigurable optical elements in LIDARs essential for autonomous
vehicles and other optical devices with spectral range determined
by the kirigami periodicity