Evaluation of pulmonary sequestration with multidetector computed tomography angiography in a select cohort of patients: A retrospective study

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the role of multidetector computed tomography angiography in diagnosing patients with pulmonary sequestration. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the computed tomography studies and clinical materials of 43 patients who had undergone preoperative multidetector computed tomography angiography in our hospital and had pathologically proven pulmonary sequestration. Each examination of pulmonary sequestration was reviewed for type, location, parenchymal changes, arterial supply and venous drainage on two-dimensional and three-dimensional computed tomography images. RESULTS: Multidetector computed tomography successfully detected all pulmonary sequestrations in the 43 patients (100%). This included 40 patients (93.0%) with intralobar sequestration and 3 patients (7.0%) with extralobar sequestration. The locations of pulmonary sequestration were left lower lobe (28 cases, 70% of intralobar sequestrations), right lower lobe (12 cases, 30% of intralobar sequestrations) and costodiaphragmatic sulcus (3 cases). Cases of sequestered lung presented as mass lesions (37.2%), cystic lesions (32.6%), pneumonic lesions (16.3%), cavitary lesions (9.3%) and bronchiectasis (4.6%). The angioarchitecture of pulmonary sequestration, including feeding arteries from the thoracic aorta (86.1%), celiac truck (9.3%), abdominal aorta (2.3%) and left gastric artery (2.3%) and venous drainage into inferior pulmonary veins (86.0%) and the azygos vein system (14.0%), was visualized on multidetector computed tomography. Finally, the multidetector computed tomography angiography results of the sequestered lungs and angioarchitectures were surgically confirmed in all the patients. CONCLUSIONS: As a noninvasive modality, multidetector computed tomography angiography is helpful for making diagnostic decisions regarding pulmonary sequestration with high confidence and for visualizing the related parenchymal characteristics, arterial supply, and venous drainage features to help plan surgical strategies

The sol-gel method for preparation of polysiloxane xerogels containing carboxylic functionality

A procedure has been developed for synthesis of new polysiloxane xerogels with propionic and butyric acid-type groups. The procedure is based on the sol-gel method and involves the conversion of 2-cyanoethyltriethoxysilane (or 4-(triethoxysilyl)butyronitrile) to an ester with its subsequent hydrolytic polycondensation reaction.Розроблена методика синтезу нових полісилоксанових ксерогелів, що містять залишки пропіонової і масляної кислот.Разработана методика синтеза новых полисилоксановых ксерогелей, содержащих остатки пропионовой и масляной кислот

Surface Plasmon Resonance Enhanced Spontaneous Upconversion and Stimulated Emissions in Glass Ceramics Containing Ba 2

Glass ceramics containing Yb3+, Er3+ codoped Ba2LaF7 nanocrystals were fabricated via melt quenching method and the subsequent heating treatment. The formation of Ba2LaF7 nanocrystals in the glass ceramics was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The spontaneous upconversion (UC) emission and the stimulated counterpart as a random lasing action of Er3+, which were related to the characteristic transitions of Er3+ ions, were achieved in the Yb3+, Er3+-doped Ba2LaF7 nanocrystals embedded glass ceramic hybrid. Furthermore, the absorption spectra verified the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band of Ag, which precipitated from the matrix glasses as Ag nanoparticles (NPs). By incorporating Ag NPs in the glass ceramic hybrid, spontaneous UC emission intensity of Er3+ in visible region was significantly enhanced, while the threshold of the random lasing was decreased from 480 to 350 nJ/cm2

Comparative efficacy of olaparib in combination with or without novel antiandrogens for treating metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer

BackgroundStudies using novel antiandrogens (NAA) in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) have shown overall survival benefit. As patients develop resistance to NAA therapy, the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor (PARPi) olaparib in combination with NAA may become a promising therapy. However the overall benefit of olaparib monotherapy or combination therapy still needs to be evaluated. Therefore, we performed a network meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and toxicity between olaparib, olaparib combined with abiraterone and NAA.MethodsWe searched PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) University Meeting abstracts for randomized controlled trials reporting olaparib and NAA from 2010 up to March, 2023. Network meta-analysis using Stata 16.0 and R 4.4.2, hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to assess the results.ResultsFour trials reported olaparib, olaparib plus abiraterone and apalutamide plus abiraterone. radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) was significantly lower in patients on apalutamide plus abiraterone compared to olaparib (HR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.06-1.93). rPFS was similar for olaparib plus abiraterone and olaparib (HR, 1.35; 95% CI, 0.99-1.84); likewise, olaparib plus abiraterone and apalutamide plus abiraterone were similar (HR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.83-1.35). In addition, there was no significant difference between the three interventions for OS. But olaparib has the highest probability of being a preferred treatment for improving rPFS and OS.ConclusionrPFS was in favor of olaparib compared with apalutamide plus abiraterone. But there were no difference between olaparib plus abiraterone and either olaparib or apalutamide plus abiraterone. Apalutamide plus abiraterone might be the most preferred intervention in cases where AEs are involved.Systematic review registrationhttps://inplasy.com, identifier INPLASY2023100072

Sinomenine Suppresses Development of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells via Inhibiting MARCH1 and AMPK/STAT3 Signaling Pathway

Promotion of apoptosis and suppression of proliferation in tumor cells are popular strategies for developing anticancer drugs. Sinomenine (SIN), a plant-derived alkaloid, displays antitumor activity. However, the mechanism of action of SIN against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is unclear. Herein, several molecular technologies, such as Western Blotting, qRT-PCR, flow cytometry, and gene knockdown were applied to explore the role and mechanism of action of SIN in the treatment of HCC. It was found that SIN arrests HCC cell cycle at G0/G1 phase, induces apoptosis, and suppresses proliferation of HCC cells via down-regulating the expression of membrane-associated RING-CH finger protein 1 (MARCH1). Moreover, SIN induces cell death and growth inhibition through AMPK/STAT3 signaling pathway. MARCH1 expression was silenced by siRNA to explore its involvement in the regulation of AMPK/STAT3 signaling pathway. Silencing MARCH1 caused down-regulation of phosphorylation of AMPK, STAT3 and decreased cell viability and function. Our results suggested that SIN inhibits proliferation and promotes apoptosis of HCC cells by MARCH1-mediated AMPK/STAT3 signaling pathway. This study provides new support for SIN as a clinical anticancer drug and illustrates that targeting MARCH1 could be a novel treatment strategy in developing anticancer therapeutics