Triggered optical coherence tomography for capturing rapid periodic motion

Quantitative cross-sectional imaging of vocal folds during phonation is potentially useful for diagnosis and treatments of laryngeal disorders. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a powerful technique, but its relatively low frame rates makes it challenging to visualize rapidly vibrating tissues. Here, we demonstrate a novel method based on triggered laser scanning to capture 4-dimensional (4D) images of samples in motu at audio frequencies over 100 Hz. As proof-of-concept experiments, we applied this technique to imaging the oscillations of biopolymer gels on acoustic vibrators and aerodynamically driven vibrations of the vocal fold in an ex vivo calf larynx model. Our results suggest that triggered 4D OCT may be useful in understanding and assessing the function of vocal folds and developing novel treatments in research and clinical settings

A Highly Sensitive Dispersive Microextraction Method with Magnetic Carbon Nanocomposites Coupled with Dispersive Liquid�Liquid Microextraction and Two Miscible Stripping Solvents Followed by GC�MS for Quantification of 16 PAHs in Environmental Samples

Abstract: In this work, a highly sensitive solid-phase-dispersive microextraction method was designed based on magnetic carbon nanocomposites as a magnetic solid-phase extraction sorbent coupled with dispersive liquid�liquid microextraction and two miscible stripping solvents (MSPE�DLLME) followed by gas chromatography�mass spectrometry (GC�MS) for determination of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). By adopting this research methodology, a mixture of two miscible organic solvents is used not only as stripping solvent for MSPE, but also as extraction and disperser solvents for DLLME procedure. Several parameters such as amount of extraction adsorbent, type of stripping, extraction solvents and their volumes, salt effect, and pH and volume of sample solution were optimized to obtain high extraction recoveries. Finally, 2 µL of extraction phase was injected into GC�MS. Under optimal conditions, the method attained satisfactory precisions (RSD � 8.66), excellent limits of detection in the range of 0.1�0.5 ng kg�1 at S/N = 3, and very high enrichment factors in the range of 28,187�33,149 for 500 mL sample solution of different PAHs. The calibration curves of 16 extracted PAHs were linear in the range of 0.4�10,000 ng kg�1, with coefficients of determination (r2) between 0.9989 and 0.9999. The optimized method to determine 16 PAHs has been successfully applied in the real environment including waters, waste water, sewage, and soil. © 2018, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature

A Highly Sensitive Dispersive Microextraction Method with Magnetic Carbon Nanocomposites Coupled with Dispersive Liquid�Liquid Microextraction and Two Miscible Stripping Solvents Followed by GC�MS for Quantification of 16 PAHs in Environmental Samples

Abstract: In this work, a highly sensitive solid-phase-dispersive microextraction method was designed based on magnetic carbon nanocomposites as a magnetic solid-phase extraction sorbent coupled with dispersive liquid�liquid microextraction and two miscible stripping solvents (MSPE�DLLME) followed by gas chromatography�mass spectrometry (GC�MS) for determination of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). By adopting this research methodology, a mixture of two miscible organic solvents is used not only as stripping solvent for MSPE, but also as extraction and disperser solvents for DLLME procedure. Several parameters such as amount of extraction adsorbent, type of stripping, extraction solvents and their volumes, salt effect, and pH and volume of sample solution were optimized to obtain high extraction recoveries. Finally, 2 µL of extraction phase was injected into GC�MS. Under optimal conditions, the method attained satisfactory precisions (RSD � 8.66), excellent limits of detection in the range of 0.1�0.5 ng kg�1 at S/N = 3, and very high enrichment factors in the range of 28,187�33,149 for 500 mL sample solution of different PAHs. The calibration curves of 16 extracted PAHs were linear in the range of 0.4�10,000 ng kg�1, with coefficients of determination (r2) between 0.9989 and 0.9999. The optimized method to determine 16 PAHs has been successfully applied in the real environment including waters, waste water, sewage, and soil. © 2018, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature

Hypoxia due to patent foramen ovale in the absence of pulmonary hypertension.

In most patients with a patent foramen ovale, blood flows from the left atrium to the right atrium in the absence of pulmonary hypertension. Our report describes a patient with a patent foramen ovale in whom flow occurred from the right atrium to the left atrium in the absence of pulmonary hypertension. We discuss hemodynamic findings and present a brief review of the pertinent medical literature regarding this phenomenon. We also discuss the role of transesophageal echocardiography in the diagnosis of this condition and in the elucidation of the underlying mechanisms, and we suggest several mechanisms that may explain the occurrence of this phenomenon in our patient

Intravascular ultrasound for angiographically indeterminant left main coronary artery disease.

The precise diagnosis of the presence of significant left main coronary artery disease has profound prognostic and therapeutic implications. Coronary cineangiography has shown to be imprecise and inaccurate to determine the percent stenosis of the left main coronary artery. We report a case with significant left main coronary artery disease in whom coronary cineangiography was in discordance with the clinical data and intravascular ultrasonography. Based on the intravascular ultrasound findings, the patient underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Therefore, the intravascular ultrasonography may be the procedure of choice for assessing indeterminant left main coronary artery lesions by coronary angiography

Incidence of bleeding complications associated with abciximab use in conjunction with thrombolytic therapy in patients requiring percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty.

The use of abciximab after full-dose failed thrombolytics within 15 hours of acute myocardial infarction significantly increases the risk of major bleeding complications