Diagnosis of chylous abdominal effusions: what is the triglyceride threshold value?

IntroductionChylous abdominal effusions are serious complications that can be triggered by various aetiologies. The biochemical diagnosis of chyle leakage in ascites or in peritoneal fluid capsules relies on the detection of chylomicrons. Assaying the fluid’s concentration of triglycerides is still the first-line tool. Given that only one comparative study has sought to quantify the value of the triglyceride assay for diagnosing chylous ascites in humans, our objective was to provide practical triglyceride thresholds. Materials and methodsWe conducted a 9-year, retrospective, single-centre study of adult patients and compared a triglyceride assay with lipoprotein gel electrophoresis for the analysis of 90 non-recurring abdominal effusions (ascites and abdominal collections) of which 65 were chylous. ResultsA triglyceride threshold of 0.4 mmol/L was associated with a sensitivity > 95%, and a threshold of 2.4 mmol/L was associated with a specificity > 95%. According to Youden index, the best threshold was 0.65 mmol/L with a sensitivity of 88 (77-95)%, a specificity of 72 (51-88)%, and, in our series, a positive predictive value of 89 (79-95)% and a negative predictive value of 69 (48-86)%. ConclusionsIn our series, cut-off of 0.4 mmol/L could be used for ruling-out diagnosis of chylous effusions, while cut-off of 2.4 mmol/L could be used for reasonably confirming diagnosis

Hybrid hydrogels containing vertically aligned carbon nanotubes with anisotropic electrical conductivity for muscle myofiber fabrication

Biological scaffolds with tunable electrical and mechanical properties are of great interest in many different fields, such as regenerative medicine, biorobotics, and biosensing. In this study, dielectrophoresis (DEP) was used to vertically align carbon nanotubes (CNTs) within methacrylated gelatin (GelMA) hydrogels in a robust, simple, and rapid manner. GelMA-aligned CNT hydrogels showed anisotropic electrical conductivity and superior mechanical properties compared with pristine GelMA hydrogels and GelMA hydrogels containing randomly distributed CNTs. Skeletal muscle cells grown on vertically aligned CNTs in GelMA hydrogels yielded a higher number of functional myofibers than cells that were cultured on hydrogels with randomly distributed CNTs and horizontally aligned CNTs, as confirmed by the expression of myogenic genes and proteins. In addition, the myogenic gene and protein expression increased more profoundly after applying electrical stimulation along the direction of the aligned CNTs due to the anisotropic conductivity of the hybrid GelMA-vertically aligned CNT hydrogels. We believe that platform could attract great attention in other biomedical applications, such as biosensing, bioelectronics, and creating functional biomedical devices

Heterocoagulation and SPS sintering of sulfonitric-treated CNT and 8YZ nanopowders

Reinforcement of ceramic composites using carbon nanotubes (CNT) has been extensively studied for materials such as Al2O3, Si3N4 and tetragonal ZrO2. Knowledge concerning CNT composites based on a matrix of cubic zirconia (8YZ) is in short supply, however. This paper presents a study on the addition of 1 wt% CNT to an 8YZ matrix. CNT was functionalized by sulfonitric treatment at three different temperatures: 50, 90 and 130°C. To obtain strong bond between the CNT and the 8YZ particles, the composites were produced by electrostatic heterocoagulation followed by consolidation by spark plasma sintering (SPS). Dense 8YZCNT composites were successfully processed by the proposed route. A study of the influence of the surface treatment temperature of CNT on the final properties of ceramics is also presented. CNTs are dispersed uniformly and individually within the 8YZ matrix in 8YZ-CNT 90 and 8YZ-CNT130 composites. 8YZ-CNT50 displayed a less uniform CNT distribution and the largest grain size, suggesting that the lowest temperature acid pretreatment is less effective for the subsequent heterocoagulation mixture. The reinforcement of ceramic materials by the addition of 1 wt% CNT was confirmed by an evaluation of fracture toughness.Centro de Tecnología de Recursos Minerales y Cerámic

Microstructure and high-temperature strength of textured and non-textured ZrB2 ceramics

Zirconium diboride (ZrB2) ceramic possesses a unique combination of nice mechanical performance, high melting point (> 3000 °C) and great high-temperature oxidation resistance (up to 1600 °C), which makes it a promising material system for ever-increasing ultra-high temperature (UHT) applications. However, ZrB2 suffers from poor mechanical performance at UHTs, which could strongly limit its applications at UHT. Here, we successfully demonstrate that texturing is an effective strategy to greatly enhance the flexural strength of monolithic ZrB2, reaching a high value of 810 ± 60 MPa at 1600 °C when loaded in c-axis direction. We thoroughly discuss the strengthening mechanism by in-depth microstructural observations and analysis. Our discovery has technological and scientific implications for other UHT ceramic systems, especially those using ZrB2 as a matrix

Mechanically reliable thermoelectric (TE) nanocomposites by dispersing and embedding TE-nanostructures inside a tetragonal ZrO2 matrix: the concept and experimental demonstration in graphene oxide–3YSZ system

Novel low-dimensional thermoelectric (TE) materials suffer from poor mechanical reliability, which limits their applications, especially in mechanically harsh environments. Here, we propose a new concept, in which the novel, abundant, thermally stable TE-nanostructures are dispersed and then intimately embedded inside a protective, mechanically reliable tetragonal ZrO2 (TZP) ceramic matrix with a low thermal conductivity. We also demonstrate an experimental proof-of-principle verification of our concept in reduced-graphene oxide (GO)–3 mol% Y2O3–ZrO2 (3YSZ or 3Y-TZP) nanocomposite system. TE characterizations suggest that our protective TZP matrix does not degrade the intrinsic TE property of the reduced GO network. These preliminary results are promising and encouraging to start research on similar TZP-matrix TE-nanocomposites, which contain more effective TE-nanostructures with larger intrinsic power factors. In this regard, we propose a scalable approach for fabrication of similar dense TE-nanocomposites composed of other one-dimensional and/or two-dimensional TE-nanostructures, which involves an aqueous colloidal approach and a subsequent spark plasma sintering. These new TZP-matrix TE-nanocomposites could be used for sustainable clean power generation, especially in mechanically harsh environments with thermal/mechanical shocks and vibrations, where energy availability, reliability and durability are more important than the energy efficiency. Considering the excellent biocompatibility of TZP matrix, they could even be used inside the body to power implanted medical devices

Heterocoagulation and SPS sintering of sulfonitric-treated CNT and 8YZ nanopowders

Reinforcement of ceramic composites using carbon nanotubes (CNT) has been extensively studied for materials such as Al2O3, Si3N4 and tetragonal ZrO2. Knowledge concerning CNT composites based on a matrix of cubic zirconia (8YZ) is in short supply, however. This paper presents a study on the addition of 1 wt% CNT to an 8YZ matrix. CNT was functionalized by sulfonitric treatment at three different temperatures: 50, 90 and 130°C. To obtain strong bond between the CNT and the 8YZ particles, the composites were produced by electrostatic heterocoagulation followed by consolidation by spark plasma sintering (SPS). Dense 8YZ-CNT composites were successfully processed by the proposed route. A study of the influence of the surface treatment temperature of CNT on the final properties of ceramics is also presented. CNTs are dispersed uniformly and individually within the 8YZ matrix in 8YZ-CNT90 and 8YZ-CNT130 composites. 8YZ-CNT50 displayed a less uniform CNT distribution and the largest grain size, suggesting that the lowest temperature acid pretreatment is less effective for the subsequent heterocoagulation mixture. The reinforcement of ceramic materials by the addition of 1 wt% CNT was confirmed by an evaluation of fracture toughness

Ex-Vivo Pharmacological Defatting of the Liver: A Review

International audienceThe ongoing organ shortage has forced transplant teams to develop alternate sources of liver grafts. In this setting, ex-situ machine perfusion has rapidly developed as a promising tool to assess viability and improve the function of organs from extended criteria donors, including fatty liver grafts. In particular, normothermic machine perfusion represents a powerful tool to test a liver in full 37 °C metabolism and add pharmacological corrections whenever needed. In this context, many pharmacological agents and therapeutics have been tested to induce liver defatting on normothermic machine perfusion with promising results even on human organs. This systematic review makes a comprehensive synthesis on existing pharmacological therapies for liver defatting, with special focus on normothermic liver machine perfusion as an experimental ex-vivo translational model. View Full-Tex

Microstructure and adsorption property of nanocarbide-derived carbon (CDC) synthesized at ambient temperature

Nanocarbide-derived carbon (CDC) was synthesized at room temperature by etching Nb4AlC3 and Ti3SiC2 powders in alkali and acid solutions, respectively. The obtained CDC showed similar morphologies as the one obtained by high temperature chlorination. The CDC synthesis mechanisms included removal of Nb, Al, Ti, Si and formation of amorphous carbon phase which reordered in various structures including carbon barrel, onion, ribbon, tube, and rod. The CDC obtained from Ti3SiC2 showed high nitrogen adsorption capability of 86.8 cm(3)/g (STP) (P/P-0 approximate to 1)

Creatinine clearance after cimetidine administration in a new short procedure: comparison with plasma and renal clearances of iohexol

Abstract Background Creatinine clearance after cimetidine administration (Cim-CreatClr) was once proposed as a method of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) measurement, but has been largely abandoned. We investigated whether a new short procedure for Cim-CreatClr determination could be considered an appropriate method for GFR measurement. Methods A 150-min protocol involving oral cimetidine administration was developed to determine Cim-CreatClr. In total, 168 patients underwent simultaneous assessments of creatinine clearance before and after cimetidine administration [basal creatinine clearance (Basal-CreatClr) and Cim-CreatClr, respectively], renal iohexol clearance and plasma iohexol clearance (R-iohexClr and P-iohexClr, respectively). We compared the agreement between the various methods of GFR measurement, using Bland–Altman plots to determine biases, precisions (standard deviation of the biases) and accuracy (proportions of GFR values falling within 10, 15 and 30% of the mean: P10, P15 and P30, respectively). Results After cimetidine administration, Basal-CreatClr decreased by 19.8% [95% reference limits of agreement (95% LoA): −2.2 to 41.7%]. The bias between Cim-CreatClr and P-iohexClr was −0.6% (95% LoA −26.8 to 28%); the precision was 14.0%; P10, P15 and P30 were 57.1% [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 49.3 to 64.7%], 73.2% (95% CI 65.8 to 79.7%) and 97.0% (95% CI 93.2 to 99.0%), respectively. Due to the positive bias (16.7%; 95% LoA −3.6 to 36.9%) of Cim-CreatClr relative to R-iohexClr, accuracy of Cim-CreatClr relative to R-iohexClr was poor despite a good precision (10.3%). Conclusions Our study shows a high level of agreement between Cim-CreatClr and P-iohexClr. These results suggest that this short Cim-CreatClr procedure is a valid method for GFR measurement, which might be useful, in particular, in situations in which P-iohexClr is not suitable or not available