Easily scale 3D conductive gradient fiber membrane for contaminants removal and fouling mitigation under electrochemical assistance.

An electrochemical membrane filtration system provides an innovative approach to enhance contaminant removal and mitigate membrane fouling. There is an urgent need to develop portable, versatile, and efficient electrochemical membranes for affordable wastewater treatment. Here, a 3D conductive gradient fiber membrane (CC/PVDF) with a gradient porous structure was prepared using a two-step phase inversion method. Methyl orange (MO) was utilized as model organic substance to investigate the electrochemical performance of the CC/PVDF membrane. At applied potentials of +2 V, +3 V, -2 V and -3 V, the removal efficiency of MO was 5.1, 5.3, 4.8, and 5.1 times higher than at 0 V. A dramatic flux loss of 35.02% occurred on the membrane without electrochemistry, interestingly, whereas the flux losses were only 23.59%-10.24% in the applied potential after 30 min of filtration, which were approximately 1.18, 1.28, 1.29 and 1.38 times as high as that without electrochemistry, respectively. The enhanced removal and anti-fouling performances of the membranes were attributed to the functions of electrochemical degradation, electrostatic repulsion, and electrically enhanced wettability. Electrochemical generation of Hydrogen peroxide, along with HO• radicals, was detected and direct electron transfer and HO• were proved to be the dominant oxidants responsible for MO degradation. The intermediate oxidation products were identified by mass spectrometry, and an electrochemical degradation pathway of MO was proposed based on bond-breaking oxidation, ring-opening reactions, and complete oxidation. All the findings emphasize that the ECMF system possesses superior efficiency and creative potential for water purification applications.

Robust self-cleaning membrane with superhydrophilicity and underwater superoleophobicity for oil-in-water separation.

The discharge of oily wastewater has increased dramatically and will bring serious environmental problems. In this work, a self-cleaning and anti-fouling g-C3N4/TiO2/PVDF composite membrane was fabricated via the layer-by-layer approach. The surface of as-prepared composite membrane displayed a superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic behavior under irradiation with visible light. Also, upon irradiation with visible light, the fabricated g-C3N4/TiO2/PVDF composite membrane displayed enhanced permeation flux and improved oil removal efficiency as a result of the generation of hydroxyl free radicals during the photocatalytic filtration process. Significantly, irradiation with visible light remarkably improved reusability of the composite membrane by initiating photocatalytic decomposition of deposited oil foulants, which enabled removal of over 99.75% of oils, thus reaching a nearly 100% flux recovery ratio. Furthermore, the g-C3N4/TiO2/PVDF composite membrane exhibited great anti-fouling behavior in photocatalysis-assisted filtration. The mechanistic study revealed that underwater superhydrophobicity and the generation of free hydroxyl radicals jointly contributed to membrane anti-fouling. The greatest advantages of this g-C3N4/TiO2/PVDF composite membrane are that not only does it degrades the oil pollutants, but it also makes the membrane less vulnerable to fouling.

Establishing a high-performance anti-fouling PEI-ZIF-PAA membrane with improved Lewis acid-base interactions and hydrophilicity.

Membrane fouling and the trade-off between membrane permeability and selectivity restrict the potential applications of membrane filtration for water treatment. ZIF-8 was found having great permeability and antibiofouling performance, but with issue on particle aggregation makes it difficult to achieve high ZIFs loading and fabricate a defect-free molecular sieving membrane in previous research. In this study, we formed a scalable antibiofouling surface with improved permeability and fouling resistance on a PEI-ZIF-PAA membrane using a layer-by-layer assembly technique. The synergistic effects of being sandwiched between two different polyelectrolyte layers with opposite charges endowed the ZIF nanoparticles with improved stability and scalability for membrane modification. The PEI-ZIF-PAA membrane exhibited a satisfactory water flux of 120.78 LMH, which was 46.97% higher than that of the pristine PES membrane. The normalized water flux loss was serious in the absence of ZIF-8, and the flux increased with the ZIF-8 concentration. Antifouling tests suggested that the PEI-ZIF-PAA membrane possessed good antifouling performance due to the much higher surface hydrophilicity and positive Lewis acid-base interactions with foulants. The HA rejection increased with the ZIF-8 concentration and reached a maximum of 92.1% in the presence of 1.00% (w/v) ZIF-8. The membrane regeneration was tested under physical and chemical cleaning with flux recovery rates of about 85% and 95%. XDLVO analysis showed that the total interaction energy between HA and the PEI-ZIF-8-PAA membrane was 26.45 mJ/m2, and the superior antifouling performance was mainly attributed to Lewis acid-base interactions. This study indicates that ZIF-8 nanocrystals are promising materials for fabricating novel membranes for sewage treatment.

Removal of a Foley catheter misplaced into the ureter by percutaneous puncture: a rare case report.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of aberrant catheterization into a ureter is extremely low, and there is a 20% chance that the balloon cannot be deflated. Regrettably, the mechanism underlying this complication remains unknown. There has been no reported case of a Foley catheter successfully removed from the ureter via percutaneous puncture. CASE PRESENTATION: A 86-year-old man complained of increasing abdominal pain after an 18F Foley catheter was inserted into his urethra. His attending physician attempted but failed to deflate the balloon. A bedside ultrasound and CT scan revealed that the catheter tip was in the right lower ureter. Several measures, including cutting the catheter and inserting a rigid guidewire, were then attempted but failed to deflate the balloon. Finally, the inflated balloon was punctured with a PTC needle under ultrasound-guidance, and the misplaced Foley catheter was removed. Two days after the pelvic drainage tube was removed, the patient was discharged. CONCLUSION: This is the first reported case of a Foley catheter being removed from the ureter via percutaneous puncture. The mechanism by which the balloon is unable to deflate may be related to the passive twist of the catheter. In such a case, an overall assessment of the patient's condition should be performed, and non-invasive to invasive interventions should be phased in.

Computed Tomography Angiography and Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of Renal Arteries in Diagnosing the Bleedings After Mini-Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy: A Single-center Experience of 7 Years.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the role of computed tomography angiography (CTA) and three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of renal arteries in the evaluation of bleeding after mini- percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). METHODS: Thirty-one consecutive patients with continuous renal hemorrhage after mini-PCNL were enrolled from January 2015 to January 2022. Demographic and clinical data were retrospectively recorded and analyzed. All patients had received CTA evaluation and subsequently digital subtraction angiography (DSA) embolization to manage renal bleeding. CTA and 3D reconstruction of renal arteries were performed using the 320 multi-detector computed tomography technique and the images were evaluated by experienced radiologists. DSA embolization were performed by an interventional radiologist with more than 10 years of experiences. RESULTS: CTA and 3D construction of renal arteries showed 28 cases of vascular lesions (28/31, 90.3%), including 15 cases of pseudoaneurysm (15/28, 53.6%), 9 cases of arteriovenous fistula (9/28, 32.1%), and 4 cases of suspicious bleeding spot (4/28, 14.3%). While DSA revealed 31 cases of vascular lesions (100%), including 15 cases of pseudoaneurysm (15/31, 48.4%), 10 cases of arteriovenous fistula (10/31, 32.3%), 6 cases of bleeding spot and (6/31, 19.4%). The serum creatinine level was elevated slightly before mini-PCNL and after DSA embolization (73.1±18.1 vs 92.1±33.6, P <.01). 15 patients (15/31, 48.4%) required blood transfusion, with mean blood transfusion volume of 700 ml ±660 ml (range, 400 ml-1800 ml). The bleeding was controlled without any further severe complications. CONCLUSION: CTA and 3D reconstruction of renal arteries were safe and effective in diagnosing renal arterial bleedings after mini-PCNL, with a sensitivity of 90.3% and a specificity of 100%.

Acute pulmonary embolism and severe post thrombolysis renal bleeding, two deadly complications following mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy: a rare case report.

BACKGROUND: Acute pulmonary embolism and severe renal bleeding are two lethal postoperative complications, but there has been no report that involves both of them after mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy. CASE PRESENTATION: A 62-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with extremely severe hydronephrosis and multiple right renal calculi. After thorough examination, she received prone-position mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy under spinal anaesthesia. Three days postoperatively, the patient complained of chest pain and dyspnea. Computed tomography pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) showed multiple embolisms in the left pulmonary artery and its branches. Symptoms were relieved after anticoagulant and thrombolysis therapy. On the 6th postoperative day, the patient developed shortness of breath, computed tomography angiography (CTA) showed massive hemorrhage in the right kidney, diffused contrast medium in the middle and lower part of the right kidney was seen during digital substraction angiography (DSA). Superselective right renal artery embolization (SRAE) was then applied using coil to occlude the responsible artery. The patient generally recovered under conscientious care and was approved to be discharged 26 days postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first case that involved both acute pulmonary embolism and severe post thrombolysis renal bleeding. The importance of D-dimer in the prediction and early detection of pulmonary embolism should be noted. For post thrombolysis renal bleeding, SRAE is considered as a reliable treatment.

Medium-term Clinical Efficacy and Complications of Plasmakinetic Enucleation of the Prostate Versus Transurethral Resection of the Prostate for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia.

OBJECTIVE: To compare surgical characteristics, clinical efficacy, and complications of plasmakinetic enucleation of the prostate (PKEP) and transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 2015 to May 2018, 370 patients underwent TURP were included into the TURP group. Meanwhile, another 370 patients underwent PKEP (matched by age, prostate volume, and duration of BPH) were included into the PKEP group. Then, the differences of surgical characteristics, clinical efficacy, and complications were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The operative time, intraoperative irrigation volume, postoperative irrigation time and irrigation volume, drop in hemoglobin, blood transfusion, postoperative catheterization time, and hospital stay of the PKEP group were significantly less than those of the TURP group (P <.05). No significant differences were observed in the resected tissue weight, visual analogue scale score, and total cost of hospitalization (P >.05); The quality of life score of the PKEP group was significantly lower than that of the TURP group (P <.05). No significant differences of maximum flow rate, postvoid residual urine, Serum prostate-specific antigen, international prostate symptom score and International Index of Erectile Function score were observed (P >.05); The incidences of urinary tract irritation, massive hemorrhage, secondary hemorrhage, bladder spasm, clot retention, and retrograde ejaculation of the PKEP group were significantly lower than those of the TURP group (P <.05). CONCLUSION: PKEP and TURP are comparable regarding cost burden and clinical efficacy in medium-term follow-up. However, PKEP should be given a priority for BPH treatment because of less complication rate and better safety profile.

Forward osmosis membranes for high-efficiency desalination with Nano-MoS2 composite substrates.

Attractive membranes are critical for improving efficiencies of forward osmosis (FO) desalination process. In this study, a novel FO-PES-MoS2 thin film composite (TFC) membrane was assembled using the phase transfer method through merging MoS2 nanosheets into substrate casting solution. A sequence of characterization techniques was applied to test microstructures and physicochemical properties of the membranes and modification mechanisms based on MoS2 concentrations. Desalination efficiencies of the fabricated membranes were assessed by three NaCl draw solutions. Compared to the blank membrane, the MoS2-contained membranes had a thinner active layer, more upright and open pore structure, higher porosity, and lower surface roughness. 1 wt% MoS2 content was the optimal modification condition, and water flux increased by 35.01% under this condition. Simultaneously, reverse salt flux of the FO-PES-1-MoS2 membrane declined by 29.15% under 1 M NaCl draw solution, indicating increased salt ion rejection performance of the modified membranes. Moreover, Js/Jv ratio indicated that MoS2 nanosheets helped stabilize the desalination performance of the membranes. This study demonstrated that the novel FO-PES-MoS2 TFC membranes possessed improved performances and showed promising properties for saline water desalination.

Lingual nerve injury caused by laryngeal mask airway during percutaneous nephrolithotomy: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Lingual nerve injury (LNI) is a rare complication following the use of laryngeal mask airway (LMA). The occurrence of this unexpected complication causes uncomfortable symptoms in patients and worsens their quality of life. We present an unusual case of LNI caused by the use of an LMA in percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). CASE SUMMARY: A 49-year-old man presented to our hospital with a 3-year history of intermittent left lower back pain. Abdominal computed tomography showed a 25 mm × 20 mm stone in the left renal pelvis. PCNL surgery using LMA was performed to remove the renal stone. The patient reported numbness on the tip of his tongue after the operation, but there were no signs of swelling or trauma. The patient was diagnosed with LNI after other possible causes were ruled out. The symptom of numbness eventually improved after conservative medical therapy for 1 wk. The patient completely recovered 3 wk after surgery. CONCLUSION: This is the first case report describing LNI with the use of LMA in PCNL. In our case, an inappropriate LMA size, intraoperative movement, and a specific surgical position might be potential causes of this rare complication.

Renal arteriovenous fistula after retrograde ureteroscopic lithotripsy for the lower ureteral stones: a rare case report.

BACKGROUND: Renal arteriovenous fistula was rarely reported in retrograde endoscopic procedure. Up to now, there is still an absence of report on the formation of renal arteriovenous fistula after semi-rigid ureteroscopic lithotripsy for lower ureteral stones. CASE PRESENTATION: An 83-year-old man was admitted to our hospital complaining about intermittent left flank pain that had persisted for 1 week. He suffered medium hypertension and nephrolithiasis treated with left open ureterolithotomy and two ureteroscopic lithotripsies. Non-contrast abdominal CT scan revealed two left lower ureteral stones diametered 8 mm and 7 mm respectively with mild hydronephrosis. A retrograde semi-rigid ureteroscopic lithotripsy was performed to remove the stones, after which two Double-J stents were placed for the ureteral stricture. Due to the continuous gross hematuria and hemoglobin droppings 2 days after operation, a variety of conservative therapies, including blood transfusion and bed rest, were adopted. Then, the patient was discharged with a stable hemoglobin. However, he presented himself to our emergency department with aggravating left flank pain and severe gross hematuria as little as 2 days later. Emergent digital subtraction angiography was conducted to reveal an arteriovenous fistula in the left kidney, which was embolized with two platinum coils to stop the bleeding. His hematuria was resolved in 3 days, and two Double-J stents were removed in 4 weeks. The patient was followed up for 1 year, during which no hematuria or flank pain recurred. CONCLUSION: This is the first case report on the formation of renal arteriovenous fistula after semi-rigid ureteroscopic lithotripsy. In this case, elevated intrapelvic pressure, historical surgery and hydronephrosis might be associated with the primary risk of the complication.

Fixing tacks induced bladder erosion and recurrent stones following laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Hernia mesh erosion into the urinary bladder is a rare complication of hernioplasty, and mesh immigration is the most probable pathophysiology. There is no report describing mesh erosion induced by fixing tacks in inguinal hernia repair. CASE PRESENTATION: A 37-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with frequency, urgency and odynuria for 3 months. He received open right inguinal hernia repair in September 2014, and right laparoscopic hernioplasty for recurrence of the inguinal hernia in May 2015. In February 2019, he underwent a day-case transurethral cystoscopic operation for urethral and bladder stones. Cystoscopy revealed the existence of bladder stones and part of the eroded mesh on the right anterior wall, for which an open partial cystectomy was performed. The patient was followed up for 3 months postoperatively, during which no further mesh erosion or stone recurrence was detected by cystoscopy. CONCLUSION: This is the first case report describing mesh erosion into the urinary bladder by fixing tacks following laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair. In such a case, the eroded mesh and tacks need to be removed completely, but the effectiveness of a single transurethral procedure needs to be verified in more cases.

Dietary yeast ß-glucan supplementation improves eggshell color and fertile eggs hatchability as well as enhances immune functions in breeder laying hens.

The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary yeast ß-glucan (YG) on performance and immune functions in breeder hens in a non-challenged setting. A total of 512 43-week-old Hy-Line Brown breeder hens were assigned into four treatments, and fed a basal diet with YG at 0, 50, 100 and 200 mg /kg for 8 weeks, respectively. Results showed that supplementation of YG did not affect production performance, but linearly increased hatchability (P < 0.05). Compared with the control, hens fed with 200 mg/kg YG had improved eggshell color and reduced mortality. Moreover, feeding 200 mg/kg YG significantly (P < 0.05) enhanced lymphocyte proliferation response to LPS, increased the percentage of peripheral blood CD3+ T cells and phytohemagglutinin (PHA) skin response; remarkably down-regulated splenic TLR4, IL-6 and TGF-ß mRNA levels while upregulated TLR6 and IFN-γ mRNA levels (P < 0.05). In addition, inclusion of YG at 200 mg/kg considerably promoted the production of serum cytokines, total IgA, and specific antibody titers against BSA, AIV and NDV vaccine (P < 0.05). These results suggested that dietary inclusion of 200 mg/kg YG could improve eggshell color and fertile eggs hatchability and enhance cellular and humoral immune function of breeder hens in a nonchallenged setting without disturbing immune homeostasis.

Electroacupuncture Stimulation of Language-Implicated Acupoint Tongli (HT 5) in Healthy Subjects: An fMRI Evaluation Study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore brain activations associated with electroacupuncture simulation at Tongli (HT 5) and its comparison with brain activations during picture-naming task. METHODS: Twenty healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. Half of them received electroacupuncture stimulation at HT 5 (ACUP group) and the other half of them received stimulation at a nonmeridian sham acupoint (SHAM group). All subjects performed picture-naming task. Each subject finished two runs of functional magnetic resonance imaging examinations in one session and picture-naming task was performed before electroacupuncture stimulation. Subjective brain activations were obtained using generalized linear model and inter-group analyses were performed after that. RESULTS: The electroacupuncture stimulation at HT 5 induced significant brain activations in both the anterior and posterior language regions, including the left inferior frontal gyrus, which was in consistent with activations induced during picture-naming task. Group analysis showed a tendency of increased activation of ACUP group in left inferior frontal gyrus compared with SHAM group (P<0.05 FDR corrected). CONCLUSIONS: Electroacupuncture treatment at the acupoint HT 5 has modulation effect on typical language-implicated brain regions in healthy subjects, which provides supporting evidence for beneficial effects of needling at HT 5 for recovery of language function in aphasia.

Ultrasonic Measurement of Dynamic Muscle Behavior for Poststroke Hemiparetic Gait.

Quantitative evaluation of the hemiparesis status for a poststroke patient is still challenging. This study aims to measure and investigate the dynamic muscle behavior in poststroke hemiparetic gait using ultrasonography. Twelve hemiparetic patients walked on a treadmill, and EMG, joint angle, and ultrasonography were simultaneously recorded for the gastrocnemius medialis muscle. Pennation angle was automatically extracted from ultrasonography using a tracking algorithm reported previously. The characteristics of EMG, joint angle, and pennation angle in gait cycle were calculated for both (affected and unaffected) sides of lower limbs. The results suggest that pennation angle could work as an important morphological index to continuous muscle contraction. The change pattern of pennation angle between the affected and unaffected sides is different from that of EMG. These findings indicate that morphological parameter extracted from ultrasonography can provide different information from that provided by EMG for hemiparetic gait.

Neuroprotective effect of rapamycin on spinal cord injury via activation of the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

The Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway plays a crucial role in neural development, axonal guidance, neuropathic pain remission and neuronal survival. In this study, we initially examined the effect of rapamycin on the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway after spinal cord injury, by intraperitoneally injecting spinal cord injured rats with rapamycin over 2 days. Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence staining were used to detect the expression levels of ß-catenin protein, caspase-3 protein and brain-derived neurotrophic factor protein, components of the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway. Rapamycin increased the levels of ß-catenin and brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the injured spinal cord, improved the pathological morphology at the injury site, reduced the loss of motor neurons, and promoted motor functional recovery in rats after spinal cord injury. Our experimental findings suggest that the neuroprotective effect of rapamycin intervention is mediated through activation of the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway after spinal cord injury.

An efficient framework for estimation of muscle fiber orientation using ultrasonography.

BACKGROUND: Muscle fiber orientation (MFO) is an important parameter related to musculoskeletal functions. The traditional manual method for MFO estimation in sonograms was labor-intensive. The automatic methods proposed in recent years also involved voting procedures which were computationally expensive. METHODS: In this paper, we proposed a new framework to efficiently estimate MFO in sonograms. We firstly employed Multi-scale Vessel Enhancement Filtering (MVEF) to enhance fascicles in the sonograms and then the enhanced images were binarized. Finally, line-shaped patterns in the binary map were detected one by one, according to their shape properties. Specifically speaking, for the long-and-thinner regions, the orientation of the targeted muscle fibre was directly computed, without voting procedures, as the orientation of the ellipse that had the same normalized second central moments as the region. For other cases, the Hough voting procedure might be employed for orientation estimation. The performance of the algorithm was evaluated using four various group of sonograms, which are a dataset used in previous reports, 33 sonograms of gastrocnemius from 11 young healthy subjects, one sonogram sequence including 200 frames from a subject and 256 frames from an aged subject with cerebral infarction respectively. RESULTS: It was demonstrated in the experiments that measurements of the proposed method agreed well with those of the manual method and achieved much more efficiency than the previous Re-voting Hough Transform (RVHT) algorithm. CONCLUSIONS: Results of the experiments suggested that, without compromising the accuracy, in the proposed framework the previous orientation estimation algorithm was accelerated by reduction of its dependence on voting procedures.

Human cord blood-derived mononuclear cell transplantation for viral encephalitis-associated cognitive impairment: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: Herpes simplex virus is the most common cause of sporadic viral encephalitis. Cognitive impairments persist in most patients who survive herpes simplex virus-caused encephalitis after undergoing currently available treatments. This is the first report on the development of human cord blood-derived mononuclear cell transplantation as a new treatment intervention to improve the prognosis of sequelae of viral encephalitis. CASE PRESENTATION: An 11-year-old Han Chinese boy developed sequelae of viral encephalitis with cognitive, mental and motor impairments in the 8 months following routine treatments. Since receiving allogeneic cord blood-derived mononuclear cell transplantation combined with comprehensive rehabilitation therapies 7 years ago, the patient's health has significantly improved and remained stable. CONCLUSIONS: Human cord blood-derived mononuclear cell transplantation may be a potential therapeutic strategy for treating the neuropsychiatric and neurobehavioral sequelae of viral encephalitis.

Human umbilical cord blood-derived mononuclear cell transplantation: case series of 30 subjects with hereditary ataxia.

BACKGROUND: The differential diagnosis for hereditary ataxia encompasses a variety of diseases characterized by both autosomal dominant and recessive inheritance. There are no curative treatments available for these neurodegenerative conditions. This open label treatment study used human umbilical cord blood-derived mononuclear cells (CBMC) combined with rehabilitation training as potential disease modulators. METHODS: 30 patients suffering from hereditary ataxia were treated with CBMCs administered systemically by intravenous infusion and intrathecally by either cervical or lumbar puncture. Primary endpoint measures were the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), serum markers of immunoglobulin and T-cell subsets, measured at baseline and pre-determined times post-treatment. RESULTS: A reduction of pathological symptoms and signs was shown following treatment. The BBS scores, IgG, IgA, total T cells and CD3+CD4 T cells all improved significantly compared to pre-treatment values (P < 0.01~0.001). There were no adverse events. CONCLUSION: The combination of CBMC infusion and rehabilitation training may be a safe and effective treatment for ataxia, which dramatically improves patients' functional symptoms. These data support expanded double blind, placebo-controlled studies for these treatment modalities.