Cost-effectiveness of laparoscopic cholecystectomy during the index admission in mild acute gallstone pancreatitis

published_or_final_versionCommunity MedicineMasterMaster of Public Healt

A high temperature retarder HTR-300L applied in long cementing interval

With regard to slow development or super retarding happening at the top of cement slurry in deep and ultra-deep wells with long cementing intervals, a new type of retarder HTR-300L was developed and its properties were evaluated. Thickening property tests at different temperatures for slurries with HTR-300L and IR, DSC and TG analysis show that: HTR-300L has good temperature-resistance performance and stable molecular structure. It can be used at the bottom hole circulating temperature of 70 to 200 °C. The thickening time of the slurry can be regulated effectively by adjusting the additive amount of HTR-300L. Thickening property tests for slurries with different salt contents show that HTR-300L has good salt-resistance performance and can be used in salty cement slurry. Strength development, thickening time, fluidity and API filtration of slurries with HTR-300L were studied at different top-bottom temperature differences. The results show that: The slurry with HTR-300L develops well in strength at large temperature difference and can overcome super retarding of the top of the slurry in long cementing interval. HTR-300L is applicable for large temperature range and can be used for slurries with both high and low densities. The slurry with HTR-300L has good overall performance, easy to regulate and control, and can satisfy cementing requirements for long cementing interval. Key words: retarder, cementing, long cementing interval, slurry, thickening tim

Bi-Phase NiCo₂S₄-NiS₂/CFP Nanocomposites as a Highly Active Catalyst for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Pursuing oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts with high activity and stability is attracting many researchers. Here, we first designed and synthesized a biphasic three-dimensional structured catalyst of nickel–cobalt sulfide NiCo2S4-NiS2/CFP, which is a nickel–cobalt sulfide composite decorated on carbon fiber paper (CFP) by a one-step hydrothermal method. It exhibited an overpotential of about 165 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 and a small Tafel slope of 81.54 mV dec−1. Furthermore, the long-term stability of the NiCo2S4-NiS2/CFP nanocomposite was 90.0% of the initial current density even after 12 h. The excellent catalytic performance of the NiCo2S4-NiS2/CFP nanocomposite can be attributed to several aspects. Firstly, the petal-like morphology of the NiCo2S4-NiS2 nanocomposite exposes more active sites. Secondly, the stability of the composite catalyst is significantly enhanced by its firm anchoring on the CFP. Thirdly, the catalytic performance was significantly improved by the addition of mixed valence of Ni or Co on the {111} plane of spinel NiCo2S4. Finally, the three-dimensional CFP substrate provides an efficient pathway and a stable integrated structure for the transmission of electrons and ions. Our one-step hydrothermal synthesis method provides a simple and economical way to obtain high-performance and robust OER catalysts

Recruited Metastasis Suppressor NM23-H2 Attenuates Expression and Activity of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor δ (PPARδ) in Human Cholangiocarcinoma

Background: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ (PPARδ) is a versatile regulator of distinct biological processes and overexpression of PPARδ in cancer may be partially related to its suppression of its own co-regulators. Aims: To determine whether recruited suppressor proteins bind to and regulate PPARδ expression, activity and PPARδ-dependent cholangiocarcinoma proliferation. Methods: Yeast two-hybrid assays were done using murine PPARδ as bait. PPARδ mRNA expression was determined by qPCR. Protein expression was measured by western blot. Immunohistochemistry and fluorescence microscopy were used to determine PPARδ expression and co-localization with NDP Kinase alpha (NM23-H2). Cell proliferation assays were performed to determine cell numbers. Results: Yeast two-hybrid screening identified NM23-H2 as a PPARδ binding protein and their interaction was confirmed. Overexpressed PPARδ or treatment with the agonist GW501516 resulted in increased cell proliferation. NM23-H2 siRNA activated PPARδ luciferase promoter activity, upregulated PPARδ RNA and protein expression and increased GW501516-stimulated CCA growth. Overexpression of NM23-H2 inhibited PPARδ luciferase promoter activity, downregulated PPARδ expression and AKT phosphorylation and reduced GW501516-stimulated CCA growth. Conclusions: We report the novel association of NM23-H2 with PPARδ and the negative regulation of PPARδ expression by NM23-H2 binding to the C-terminal region of PPARδ. These findings provide evidence that the metastasis suppressor NM23-H2 is involved in the regulation of PPARδ-mediated proliferation

Multitargeting Peptide-Functionalized Star-Shaped Copolymers with Comblike Structure and a POSS-Core To Effectively Transfect Endothelial Cells

Gene therapy meets one serious bottleneck in clinical application, namely, lack of safe and efficient gene delivery systems. In order to solve this problem, we designed a lowly cytotoxic and highly efficient gene delivery system for the transfection of endothelial cells. Octa­(3-ammoniumpropyl)­octasilsesquioxane octachloride reacted with 2-bromoisobutyryl bromide under alkaline condition, and sequentially initiated 2-(dimethylamino)­ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) and poly­(ethylene glycol) monomethacrylate (PEGMA) via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) to prepare the eight-arm copolymer with a biocompatible polyhedral oligomericsilsesquioxane (POSS). The side chain ends of the comblike PPEGMA were double-bonded to facilitate the attachment of CAGW or CAG-TAT-NLS functional peptide, thereby enabling the star-shaped copolymers with multifunction. The peptide-functionalized star-shaped copolymers were self-assembled into nanoparticles (NPs) and used to condense pEGFP-ZNF580 (pDNA) to prepare the NPs/pDNA complexes. These complexes had low toxicity as confirmed by MTT. The results of fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry showed that these multitargeting functionalized gene complexes could effectively transfect endothelial cells. Their transfection efficiency is higher than the positive control PEI 25 kDa group. Moreover, the Western blot test, wound healing assay, and in vitro tube formation assay also demonstrated that the transfected cells showed high migration and enhanced angiogenesis. The pDNA was effective delivered and expressed in endothelial cells by these multitargeting functionalized gene complexes, and promoted cell migration and tube formation. These star-shaped copolymers with comblike structure and a POSS core are a potential gene carrier for gene therapy