Safety and efficacy of transcatheter arterial embolization for management of refractory hematuria of prostatic origin.

Objective: To estimate the safety and efficacy of transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) in the treatment of refractory hematuria of prostatic origin (RHPO). Methods: This retrospective study included 23 patients who underwent TAE for RHPO between May 2013 and August 2021. Technical and clinical success rates were calculated, and arteriogram findings and complications were detected. Results: Embolization was performed 24 times in 23 patients. Technical success was achieved in 24/24 (100%) embolization procedures. Contrast agent extravasation was detected during 2 of the 24 angiographic procedures. Bilateral embolization was performed in 23 (95.8%) of the 24 procedures. The clinical success rate was 21/23 (91.3%), and hematuria stopped 1-4 days after TAE. No serious complications were observed. Conclusion: TAE is a safe and effective minimally invasive technique for treating patients with RHPO.

In Vitro Gut Fermentation of Whey Protein Hydrolysate: An Evaluation of Its Potential Modulation on Infant Gut Microbiome.

Whey protein and its hydrolysate are ubiquitously consumed as nutritional supplements. This study aimed to evaluate the potential effect of whey protein hydrolysate (WPH) on the infant gut microbiome, which is more variable than that of adults. Colonic fermentation was simulated through a static digestion model and fecal culture fermentation, using feces from normal infants aged from 1−3 years old. During in vitro gut fermentation, measurements of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) concentrations and 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing were performed. Additionally, the growth curves of cultivated probiotics were analyzed to evaluate the prebiotic potential of WPH. Besides the decline of pH in fermentation, the addition of WPH induced a significant increase in the SCFA production and also the relative abundance of Proteobacteria, Bacteroides, and Streptococcus (p < 0.05). The lower ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes in WPH-supplemented samples indicated the positive modulation of WPH on the gut microbiota, which could benefit the energy balance and metabolism of infants. The stimulation effect of WPH on the probiotics (particularly Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM) during cultivation implied the prebiotic potential as well. Our findings shed light on WPH as a valuable dietary supplement with not only enriched resources of essential amino acids but also the potential to restore the infant gut microbiome.

Metformin prevents brain injury after cardiopulmonary resuscitation by inhibiting the endoplasmic reticulum stress response and activating AMPK-mediated autophagy.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The neurological damage caused by cardiac arrest (CA) can seriously affect quality of life. We investigated the effect of metformin pretreatment on brain injury and survival in a rat CA/cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) model. METHODS AND RESULTS: After 14 days of pretreatment with metformin, rats underwent 9 minutes of asphyxia CA/CPR. Survival was evaluated 7 days after restoration of spontaneous circulation; neurological deficit scale (NDS) score was evaluated at days 1, 3, and 7. Proteins related to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response and autophagy were measured using immunoblotting. Seven-day survival was significantly improved and NDS score was significantly improved in rats pretreated with metformin. Metformin enhanced AMPK-induced autophagy activation. AMPK and autophagy inhibitors removed the metformin neuroprotective effect. Although metformin inhibited the ER stress response, its inhibitory effect was weaker than 4-PBA. CONCLUSION: In a CA/CPR rat model, 14-day pretreatment with metformin has a neuroprotective effect. This effect is closely related to the activation of AMPK-induced autophagy and inhibition of the ER stress response. Long-term use of metformin can reduce brain damage following CA/CPR.

A first-principles investigation of the influence of polyanionic boron doping on the stability and electrochemical behavior of Na3V2(PO4)3.

Na3V2(PO4)3 (NVP) is one of the most promising candidates for use as cathodes in room-temperature sodium ion batteries owing to its high structural stability and rapid Na+ transportation kinetics. The cationic doping of foreign ions at Na or V sites in the NVP lattice has proven to be an effective approach for enhancing the electrochemical performance of NVP. In this work, we present a first-principles density functional theory investigation of the impact of polyanionic boron doping at P sites on the structural and electrochemical behavior of NVP. Our simulation results suggest that B doping considerably increases the structural stability of NVP while shrinking its lattice size to some extent. Since B donates far fewer electrons to connected O atoms, the surrounding V atoms become more positive, causing the operating voltage to increase with B content. However, the reduction in lattice size is not beneficial for the Na+ transportation kinetics. As demonstrated by a search for the transition state, a concerted ion-exchange mechanism is preferred for Na+ transportation, and increased B doping leads to a higher Na+ diffusion barrier. Improvements in electrochemical performance due to B doping see (Hu et al. Adv Sci 3(12):1600112, 2016) appear to originate mainly from the resulting increased electrical conductivity.

Density functional theory study of the mechanism for the formation of glycidyl esters from triglyceride.

Glycidyl fatty acid esters (GEs) are by-products of edible oil refinement that have attracted attention globally due to concerns over their possible harmful effects on human health when consumed. It is thus important to improve our understanding of GE formation if we are to suppress GE production during edible oil refinement. In this paper, a first-principles density functional theory study of the formation mechanism of GEs was performed. Triglycerides undergo a self-condensation reaction between two adjacent ester groups to yield GEs and an anhydride as a by-product. This process is energetically unfavorable, having a relatively high activation energy of around 80 kcal/mol, which indicates that GE formation is intrinsically a high-temperature process. Both the thermodynamic and the kinetic energies of the reaction are insensitive to the size of the fatty chain substituents present. If water participates in the self-condensation, the activation barrier is notably decreased by 23.9 kcal/mol, indicating that GE production in the presence of high-temperature water vapor should be more kinetically favorable. Our results suggest that reducing the reaction temperature and avoiding the use of water should suppress GE production during edible oil refinement.

Accelerated hypofractionated three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3 Gy/fraction) combined with concurrent chemotherapy for patients with unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer: preliminary results of an early terminated phase II trial.

BACKGROUND: Increasing the biological effective dose (BED) of radiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) can increase local control rates and improve overall survival. Compared with conventional fractionated radiotherapy, accelerated hypofractionated radiotherapy can yield higher BED, shorten the total treatment time, and theoretically obtain better efficacy. However, currently, there is no optimal hypofractionated radiotherapy regimen. Based on phase I trial results, we performed this phase II trial to further evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of accelerated hypofractionated three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy(3-DCRT) combined with concurrent chemotherapy for patients with unresectable stage III NSCLC. METHODS: Patients with previously untreated unresectable stage III NSCLC received 3-DCRT with a total dose of 69 Gy, delivered at 3 Gy per fraction, once daily, five fractions per week, completed within 4.6 weeks. At the same time, platinum doublet chemotherapy was applied. RESULTS: After 12 patients were enrolled in the group, the trial was terminated early. There were five cases of grade III radiation esophagitis, of which four cases completed the radiation doses of 51 Gy, 51 Gy, 54 Gy, and 66 Gy, and one case had 16 days of radiation interruption. The incidence of grade III acute esophagitis in patients receiving an irradiation dose per fraction ≥2.7 Gy on the esophagus was 83.3% (5/6). The incidence of symptomatic grade III radiation pneumonitis among the seven patients who completed 69 Gy according to the plan was 28.6% (2/7). The median local control (LC) and overall survival (OS) were not achieved; the 1-year LC rate was 59.3%, and the 1-year OS rate was 78.6%. CONCLUSION: For unresectable stage III NSCLC, the accelerated hypofractionated radiotherapy with a total dose of 69 Gy (3 Gy/f) combined with concurrent chemotherapy might result in severe radiation esophagitis and pneumonitis to severely affect the completion of the radiotherapy. Therefore, we considered that this regimen was infeasible. During the hypofractionated radiotherapy with concurrent chemotherapy, the irradiation dose per fraction to esophagus should be lower than 2.7 Gy. Further studies should be performed using esophageal tolerance as a metric in dose escalation protocols. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02720614, the date of registration: March 23, 2016.