The impact of intraarterial, intravenous, and combined tirofiban on endovascular treatment for acute intracranial atherosclerotic occlusion

Background and purposeAdjunctive tirofiban administration in patients undergoing endovascular treatment (EVT) for acute large vessel occlusion (LVO) has been investigated in several studies. However, the findings are conflict. This study aimed to compare the effect of different administration pathways of tirofiban on patients undergoing EVT for acute LVO with intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD).MethodsPatients were selected from the ANGEL-ACT Registry (Endovascular Treatment Key Technique and Emergency Workflow Improvement of Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Prospective Multicenter Registry Study) and divided into four groups: intra-arterial (IA), intravenous (IV), and intra-arterial plus intravenous (IA+IV) and non-tirofiban. The primary outcome was 90-day ordinal modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score, and the secondary outcomes included the rates of mRS 0–1, 0–2, and 0–3 at 90-day, successful recanalization. The safety outcomes were symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) and other safety endpoints. The multivariable logistic regression models adjusting for potential baseline confounders were performed to compare the outcomes. A propensity score matching (PSM) with a 1:1:1:1 ratio was conducted among four groups, and the outcomes were then compared in the post-matched population.ResultsA total of 502 patients were included, 80 of which were in the IA-tirofiban group, 73 in IV-tirofiban, 181 in (IA+IV)-tirofiban group, and 168 in the non-tirofiban group. The median (IQR) 90-day mRS score in the four groups of IA, IV, IA+IV, and non-tirofiban was, respectively 3(0–5) vs. 1(0–4) vs. 1(0–4) vs. 3(0–5). The adjusted common odds ratio (OR) for 90-day ordinal modified Rankin Scale distribution with IA-tirofiban vs. non-tirofiban was 0.77 (95% CI, 0.45–1.30, P = 0.330), with IV-tirofiban vs. non-tirofiban was 1.36 (95% CI, 0.78–2.36, P = 0.276), and with (IA+IV)-tirofiban vs. non-tirofiban was 1.03 (95% CI, 0.64–1.64, P = 0.912). The adjusted OR for mRS 0–1 and mRS 0–2 at 90-day with IA-tirofiban vs. non-tirofiban was, respectively 0.51 (95% CI, 0.27–0.98, P = 0.042) and 0.50 (95% CI, 0.26–0.94, P = 0.033). The other outcomes of each group were similar with non-tirofiban group, all P was >0.05. After PSM, the common odds ratio (OR) for 90-day ordinal modified Rankin Scale distribution with IA-tirofiban vs. non-tirofiban was 0.41 (95% CI, 0.18–0.94, P = 0.036), and the OR for mRS 0–1 and mRS 0–2 at 90-day with IA-tirofiban vs. non-tirofiban was, respectively 0.28 (95% CI, 0.11–0.74, P = 0.011) and 0.25 (95% CI, 0.09–0.67, P = 0.006).ConclusionsIntra-arterial administration of tirofiban was associated with worse outcome than non-tirofiban, which suggested that intra-arterial tirofiban had a harmful effect on patients undergoing EVT for ICAD-LVO.Clinical trial registrationhttp://www.clinicaltrials.gov, Unique identifier: NCT03370939

The Ccl1–Kin28 kinase complex regulates autophagy under nitrogen starvation

Starvation triggers global alterations in the synthesis and turnover of proteins. Under such conditions, the recycling of essential nutrients by using autophagy is indispensable for survival. By screening known kinases in the yeast genome, we newly identified a regulator of autophagy, the Ccl1–Kin28 kinase complex (the equivalent of the mammalian cyclin-H–Cdk7 complex), which is known to play key roles in RNA-polymerase-II-mediated transcription. We show that inactivation of Ccl1 caused complete block of autophagy. Interestingly, Ccl1 itself was subject to proteasomal degradation, limiting the level of autophagy during prolonged starvation. We present further evidence that the Ccl1–Kin28 complex regulates the expression of Atg29 and Atg31, which is crucial in the assembly of the Atg1 kinase complex. The identification of this previously unknown regulatory pathway sheds new light on the complex signaling network that governs autophagy activity.Published versio

Tunable distributed feedback lasing from leaky waveguides based on gel-glass dispersed liquid crystal thin films

National Natural Science Foundation of China [50802080]; Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province, China [2010J01349]; Open Foundation Project of the State Key Lab of Silicon Materials [SKL2010-12]Different amount of nematic liquid crystal (LC) 4-Cyano-4'-pentylbiphenyl(5CB) was encapsulated in sol-gel derived organically modified silica(ORMOSIL) matrices to fabricate dye doped gel-glass dispersed liquid crystal (GDLC) thin films by co-hydrolyzation/condensation of ethyl triethoxisilane (ETES) and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) precursors. Distributed feedback (DFB) leaky waveguide lasers from GDLC thin films using a dynamic grating were demonstrated. Tunable laser action from 558 to 570 nm was obtained in the sample with lowest LC concentration of 0.375 mol%. The DFB laser performance of GDLC thin films with various LC concentrations was investigated using the same pumping geometry, and it was shown that the encapsulation of 5CB also led to the red shift of lasing peak. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Distributed feedback leaky laser emission from dye doped gel-glass dispersed liquid crystal thin film patterned by soft lithography

National Natural Science Foundation of China [50802080]; State Key Lab of Silicon Materials [SKL2010-12]; Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province, China [2010J01349]Gel-glass dispersed liquid crystal (GDLC) thin films doped with organic laser dye Rhodamine 6G (R6G) were prepared via a sol-gel procedure of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and ethyl triethoxisilane (ETES). As characterized by scanning electronic microscope (SEM), surface-relief structures were successfully patterned on lower refractive index GDLC thin films by soft lithographic technology, which support distributed feedback (DFB) laser emission based on leaky mode propagation. The performance of the DFB laser emission was investigated and the spectral narrowing of the emitted radiation and the fine structure pattern were found to be controlled by the doping concentration of liquid crystal (LC) 4-cyano-4'-pentylbiphenyl (5CB). We also showed the synchronous excitation of a DFB lasing with random lasing mediated by light scattering inside the same GDLC leaky waveguide. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Thermo-switchable multi-wavelength laser emission from a dye-doped nematic liquid-crystal device

National Natural Science Foundation of China [50802080]; Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province, China [2010J01349]; Open Foundation Project of the State Key Lab of Silicon Materials [SKL2010-12]A sandwich-type laser device with a surface-relief grating inside was infiltrated with dye-doped nematic liquid-crystals which functioned as gain media. The surface-relief grating was fabricated by soft lithographic technique on a sol-gel derived zirconium-doped hybrid film using a polydimethyl-siloxane replica. The optical properties of the distributed feedback (DFB) resonator were modified by introducing a high refractive index layer consisting of niobium pentoxide subsequently. Thermal induced shift of amplified spontaneous emission spectrum, switching of multi-wavelength DFB laser emission and occurrence of random lasing were demonstrated. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Diode-pumped Pr3+:LiYF4 continuous-wave deep red laser at 698 nm

We report continuous-wave laser operation at 698 nm in Pr3+-doped LiYF4 crystal using an InGaN laser diode emitting at 444 nm with a maximum output power of 760 mW. By suppressing the oscillation at 640 and 721 nm, a maximum output power of 156 mW at 698 nm was obtained in a single transverse mode with a slope efficiency as high as 48.7%. The beam quality factors M-2 in the x and y directions were measured to be 1.4 and 1.2, respectively. (C) 2013 Optical Society of Americ

InGaN-LD-pumped Pr3+: LiYF4 continuous-wave laser at 915 nm

We demonstrate the first InGaN-LD-pumped room temperature and continuous-wave laser operation of a Pr3+: LiYF4 crystal at 915 nm. A maximum output power up to 78 mW with a laser slope efficiency of about 17% is obtained. The round-trip optical losses are estimated to be about 0.45%, and the M2 beam quality factors measured in x and y dimensions are about 1.07 and 1.04, respectively