Pharmacokinetics of Mitomycin C Following Hepatic Arterial Chemoembolization With Gelfoam

Twelve mongrel dogs were randomly allocated into two groups using matched paired-design. Catheters were inserted into the hepatic artery, hepatic vein and the femoral vein, respectively. In the first group, gelfoam supplemented with mitomycin C (MMC) was injected into the hepatic artery, whereas the second group received a hepatic arterial injection of MMC solution alone. Simultaneous blood sampling from the hepatic and femoral vein at regular intervals was performed. MMC concentrations in plasma was determined using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the pharmacokinetics of MMC were determined. MMC concentrations in hepatic and femoral veins did not differ and no significant difference in pharmacokinetics was found when comparing MMC administration into the hepatic artery with or without gelfoam supplementation. Thus, our results revealed that gelfoam could not delay the clearance of MMC from the liver

Cost Analysis of the IMS Presence Service

IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) is the technology that will merge the Internet (packet switching) with the cellular world (circuit switching). Presence is one of the basic services which is likely to become omnipresent in IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem). It is the service that allows a user to be informed about the reachability, availability, and willingness of communication of another user. The flow of messages will be massive for large amount of publishers and watchers joining an IMS system, because of the security architecture of the IMS. Although the IETF engineers have proposed several solutions to reduce the signalling overhead to facilitate the presence service, the heavy traffic flows have been compromised with several factors like real time view and information segregation etc. In this paper, we propose a mathematical model to analyse the system-performance of the IMS presence service during heavy traffic. The model derives the cost functions that are based on the real parameters of the Presence server. Simulation results have been shown that provide useful insight into the system behaviour

Enhanced efficiency and environmental stability of planar perovskite solar cells by suppressing photocatalytic decomposition

The environmental instability of perovskite solar cells caused by the ultraviolet photocatalytic effect of metal oxide layers is a critical issue that must be solved. In this paper, we report improved environmental stability of ZnO film-based planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells, by suppressing photocatalytic activities induced by the ZnO electron transfer layer. The photovoltaic performance and stability in an ambient environment under continuous illumination are effectively improved by applying an aluminum oxide interlayer on the ZnO film to suppress the photocatalytic degradation of perovskites. The highest efficiency of solar cells has increased from 14.62% to 17.17%, and after 250 h of continuous exposure under full spectrum simulated sunlight in air, the efficiency remains as high as 15.03%. The results suggest that effective suppression of photocatalytic degradation of perovskites with a modified electron transfer layer is a new solution to improve the long-term environmental stability of perovskite solar cells

Millennial atmospheric CO2 changes linked to ocean ventilation modes over past 150,000 years

Ice core measurements show diverse atmospheric CO2 variations—increasing, decreasing or remaining stable—during millennial-scale North Atlantic cold periods called stadials. The reasons for these contrasting trends remain elusive. Ventilation of carbon-rich deep oceans can profoundly affect atmospheric CO2, but its millennial-scale history is poorly constrained. Here we present a well-dated high-resolution deep Atlantic acidity record over the past 150,000 years, which reveals five hitherto undetected modes of stadial ocean ventilation with different consequences for deep-sea carbon storage and associated atmospheric CO2 changes. Our data provide observational evidence to show that strong and often volumetrically extensive Southern Ocean ventilation released substantial amounts of deep-sea carbon during stadials when atmospheric CO2 rose prominently. By contrast, other stadials were characterized by weak ventilation via both Southern Ocean and North Atlantic, which promoted respired carbon accumulation and thus curtailed or reversed deep-sea carbon losses, resulting in diminished rises or even declines in atmospheric CO2. Our findings demonstrate that millennial-scale changes in deep-sea carbon storage and atmospheric CO2 are modulated by multiple ocean ventilation modes through the interplay of the two polar regions, rather than by the Southern Ocean alone, which is critical for comprehensive understanding of past and future carbon cycle adjustments to climate change

Mesoporous PbI2 assisted growth of large perovskite grains for efficient perovskite solar cells based on ZnO nanorods

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted great attention due to their low cost and high power conversion efficiency (PCE). However, the defects and grain boundaries in perovskite films dramatically degrade their performance. Here, we show a two-step annealing method to produce mesoporous PbI2 films for growth of continuous, pinhole-free perovskite films with large grains, followed by additional ethanol vapor annealing of perovskite films to reduce the defects and grain boundaries. The large perovskite grains dramatically suppress the carrier recombination, and consequently we obtain ZnO-nanorod-based PSCs that exhibit the best efficiency of 17.3%, with high reproducibility

Nitric oxide activates ATP-sensitive potassium channels in mammalian sensory neurons: action by direct S-nitrosylation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>ATP-sensitive potassium (K_ATP) channels in neurons regulate excitability, neurotransmitter release and mediate protection from cell-death. Furthermore, activation of K_ATPchannels is suppressed in DRG neurons after painful-like nerve injury. NO-dependent mechanisms modulate both K_ATPchannels and participate in the pathophysiology and pharmacology of neuropathic pain. Therefore, we investigated NO modulation of K_ATPchannels in control and axotomized DRG neurons.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Cell-attached and cell-free recordings of K_ATPcurrents in large DRG neurons from control rats (sham surgery, SS) revealed activation of K_ATPchannels by NO exogenously released by the NO donor SNAP, through decreased sensitivity to [ATP]i.</p> <p>This NO-induced K_ATPchannel activation was not altered in ganglia from animals that demonstrated sustained hyperalgesia-type response to nociceptive stimulation following spinal nerve ligation. However, baseline opening of K_ATPchannels and their activation induced by metabolic inhibition was suppressed by axotomy. Failure to block the NO-mediated amplification of K_ATPcurrents with specific inhibitors of sGC and PKG indicated that the classical sGC/cGMP/PKG signaling pathway was not involved in the activation by SNAP. NO-induced activation of K_ATPchannels remained intact in cell-free patches, was reversed by DTT, a thiol-reducing agent, and prevented by NEM, a thiol-alkylating agent. Other findings indicated that the mechanisms by which NO activates K_ATPchannels involve direct S-nitrosylation of cysteine residues in the SUR1 subunit. Specifically, current through recombinant wild-type SUR1/Kir6.2 channels expressed in COS7 cells was activated by NO, but channels formed only from truncated isoform Kir6.2 subunits without SUR1 subunits were insensitive to NO. Further, mutagenesis of SUR1 indicated that NO-induced K_ATPchannel activation involves interaction of NO with residues in the NBD1 of the SUR1 subunit.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>NO activates K_ATPchannels in large DRG neurons via direct S-nitrosylation of cysteine residues in the SUR1 subunit. The capacity of NO to activate K_ATPchannels via this mechanism remains intact even after spinal nerve ligation, thus providing opportunities for selective pharmacological enhancement of K_ATPcurrent even after decrease of this current by painful-like nerve injury.</p

An integrated proteomic and metabolomic study on the gender-specific responses of mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis to tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA)

Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), accounting for the largest production of brominated flame-retardants (BFRs) along the Laizhou Bay in China, is of great concern due to its diverse toxicities. In this study, we focused on the gender-specific responses of TBBPA in mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis using an integrated proteomic and metabolomic approach. After exposure of TBBPA (10 mu g L-1) for one month, a total of 9 metabolites and 67 proteins were altered in mussel gills from exposed group. The significant changes of metabolites in female mussel gills from exposed group exhibited the disturbances in energy metabolism and osmotic regulation, while in male samples only be found the variation of metabolites related to osmotic regulation. iTRAQ-based proteomic analysis showed biological differences between male and female mussel gills from solvent control group. The higher levels of proteins related to primary and energy metabolism and defense mechanisms in male mussel gills meant a greater anti-stress capability of male mussels. Further analysis revealed that TBBPA exposure affected multiple biological processes consisting of production and development, material and energy metabolism, signal transduction, gene expression, defense mechanisms and apoptosis in both male and female mussels with different mechanisms. Specially, the responsive proteins of TBBPA in male mussels signified higher tolerance limits than those in female individuals, which was consistent with the biological differences between male and female mussel gills from solvent control group. This work suggested that the gender differences should be considered in ecotoxicology. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Interface engineering of high efficiency perovskite solar cells based on ZnO nanorods using atomic layer deposition

Despite the considerably improved efficiency of inorganic–organic metal hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs), electron transport is still a challenging issue. In this paper, we report the use of ZnO nanorods prepared by hydrothermal self-assembly as the electron transport layer in perovskite solar cells. The efficiency of the perovskite solar cells is significantly enhanced by passivating the interfacial defects via atomic layer deposition of Al2O3 monolayers on the ZnO nanorods. By employing the Al2O3 monolayers, the average power conversion efficiency of methylammonium lead iodide PSCs was increased from 10.33% to 15.06%, and the highest efficiency obtained was 16.08%. We suggest that the passivation of defects using the atomic layer deposition of monolayers might provide a new pathway for the improvement of all types of PSCs.

Enhanced electronic transport in Fe3+-doped TiO2 for high efficiency perovskite solar cells

Oxygen vacancies in non-stoichiometric TiO2 electron transport layers can capture injected electrons and act as recombination centers. In this study, the compact TiO2 electron transport layers of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are doped with different molar ratios of Fe3+ in order to passivate such defects and improve their electron transport properties. The electrical conductivity, absorption, crystal structure, and the performance of the PSCs are systematically studied. It shows that Fe3+-doping improves the conductivity of TiO2 compact layers compared with the pristine TiO2, boosting the photovoltaic performance of PSCs. The reduced trap-filled limit voltage (VTFL) of the Fe3+-doped TiO2 compact layers suggests that trap density in the Fe3+-TiO2 films is much lower than that of a pristine TiO2 film. With the optimized doping concentration (1 mol%) of Fe3+, the best power conversion efficiency of PSCs is improved from 16.02% to 18.60%