Drug-coated balloon for treatment of non-atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis-a multi-center study.

INTRODUCTION: Renal artery stenosis (RAS) is a significant reason for secondary hypertension. Impaired renal function and subsequent cardiopulmonary dysfunction could also occur. Patients of non-atherosclerotic RAS has a relatively young age and long life expectancy. Revascularization with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) is a viable treatment option. However, restenosis is unavoidable which limits its use. Drug-coated balloon (DCB) has been proven to be effective in restenosis prevention in femoropopliteal arterial diseases and in patients with renal artery stenosis. And PTA for Renal artery fibromuscular dysplasia is safe and clinically successful. Therefore, we could speculate that DCB might have potential efficacy in non-atherosclerotic RAS treatment. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This will be a randomized multi-center-controlled trial. Eighty-four eligible participants will be assigned randomly in a 1:1 ratio to the control group (plain old balloon, POB) and the experimental group (DCB). Subjects in the former group will receive balloon dilatation alone, and in the latter group will undergo the DCB angioplasty. The DCB used in this study will be a paclitaxel-coated balloon (Orchid, Acotec Scientific Holdings Limited, Beijing, China). Follow-up visits will be scheduled 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after the intervention. Primary outcomes will include controlled blood pressure and primary patency in the 9-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes will include technical success rate, complication rate, and bail-out stenting rate. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov (number NCT05858190). Protocol version V.4 (3 May 2023).

Establishment of an indirect competitive immunoassay for the detection of dicamba based on a highly specific nanobody.

Dicamba, a traditional highly effective and low toxicity herbicide, has gained new life with the development of dicamba-tolerant transgenic crops in recent years. However, dicamba is highly volatile and therefore easy to cause drift damage to sensitive crops. The development of efficient and sensitive detection methods is essential for monitoring of trace dicamba in the environment. Nanobody-based immunoassay plays an important role in on-site detection of pesticides. However, now rapid and sensitive immunoassay methods based on nanobody for dicamba detection were lacking. In this study, the nanobodies specifically recognizing dicamba were successfully obtained by immunising camels and phage display library construction, and then an indirect competitive immunoassay based on Nb-242 was constructed with IC50 of 0.93 µg/mL and a linear range of 0.11-8.01 µg/mL. Nb-242 had good specificity with no cross-reactivities against the dicamba analogs other than 2,3,6-trichlorobenzoic acid and the developed immnoassay had a good correlation with the standard HPLC in the spike-recovery studies. Finally, the key amino acid Ala 123, Tyr 55, Tyr 59 and Arg 72 of Nb-242 that specifically recognizing and binding with dicamba were identified by homologous modeling and molecular docking, laying an important foundation for further structural modification of Nb-242. This study has important guiding significance for constructing immunoassay method of dicamba based on nanobody and provides a sensitive, specific, and reliable detection method that is suitable for the detection of dicamba in the environment.

Operative experience on descending aorta with Takayasu Arteritis: a review.

Patients with Takayasu arteritis (TA) and descending aorta involvement often experience insidious onset and slow progression, leading to irreversible vascular lesions despite medication therapy. Surgical management plays a crucial role in resolving hemodynamic disturbances and has shown promise in improving the outcomes of this patient population, owing to significant advancements in surgical expertise. However, studies focusing on this rare disease are lacking. This review summarizes the characteristics of patients with stenosis in descending aorta, emphasizing surgical approaches, perioperative management, and disease outcomes. The operative approach depends on lesion location and extent. Existing studies have confirmed that the choice of surgical modality significantly influences postoperative complications and long-term prognosis in patients, highlighting the effectiveness of bypass surgery as a favorable option in clinical practice with a satisfactory long-term patency rate. To mitigate postoperative complications, it is advisable to conduct regular imaging follow-ups to prevent the deterioration of the condition. Notably, the occurrence of restenosis and pseudoaneurysm formation deserves particular attention due to their impact on patient survival. The use of perioperative medication remains a topic of debate, as previous studies have presented divergent perspectives. The primary objective of this review is to provide a comprehensive perspective on surgical treatment and offer customized surgical approaches for patients in this population.

Cascading of teachers training at higher education in Pakistan: An evaluation of a faculty professional development program.

Evaluation refers to a systematic collection of data and utilization of that data to improve the program or project. It provides data to judge whether the program attained its goals and to help plan future training. This study aimed to implement an exploratory sequential research framework to evaluate the Master Trainer-Faculty Professional Development Program (MT-FPFP). MT-FPDP was a teachers training program designed for higher education faculty to develop their teaching skills. The current study was divided into two phases. In phase I, qualitative data was collected through document analysis and semi-structured interviews with coordinators of MT-FPDP. A self-developed questionnaire was used for data collection from Master Trainers (MTs) in phase II. Thematic analysis, percentages, and mean scores were used to analyze the data. The findings indicated that exploratory sequential framework was a best fit for evaluating MT-FPD. MT-FPDP was discovered to be a successful university-level teachers' training program. MTs encountered several challenges during the cascade training process at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). This work contributes to the literature from both an academic and a practical standpoint. First, this study contributes to the literature by implementing exploratory sequential framework as an evaluation design and by providing detailed information regarding the training program's objectives, design, process, implementation, and challenges. Secondly, policy-makers and decision-makers will benefit from the results of the current study. In addition, exploratory sequential framework can aid future evaluators and researchers in systematic evaluations of teachers' training and other programs both inside and outside the education profession.

Prevalence of mental health problems among stranded international students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread fast throughout China and the rest of the world, prompting the World Health Organization to declare a worldwide pandemic on March 11, 2020. Many countries have implemented travel bans, lockdowns, and stay-at-home policies to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to investigate the risk factors of mental health problems among international students stranded outside of China during the pandemic. METHODS: A qualitative study was conducted among non-Chinese international students enrolled at Chinese universities who were stranded in their home countries. The participants were recruited using a purposive sampling technique. Following informed consent, in-depth interviews were conducted with the help of a semi-structured guide. Two independent investigators transcribed and coded the interview data. The investigators established themes after going through a detailed discussion. RESULTS: Participants reported several mental health risk factors, such as a rise in hopelessness and level of uncertainty, worry, lost interest and focus, lack of support, unemployment and financial hardships, social pressure, behavioral and mood changes, sleep disorder, and increased smoking. These mental health problems will affect the concentration and deep learning, thereby increasing academic stress. In addition, we found that the outbreak of the delta-variant led to a further increase in these mental health risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: The pandemic scenario, along with international travel restrictions, increased the likelihood of mental health problems among stranded international students. Thus, preventing further rises in mental health disorders and reducing the effects of pandemic-related measures on stranded international students, such as researchers and policymakers can mitigate the pandemic's effects and achieve national or international health and educational goals. Adequate intervention for this group is strongly recommended.

Discovery of Novel Pyrazole Amides as Potent Fungicide Candidates and Evaluation of Their Mode of Action.

A rational molecule design strategy based on scaffold hopping was applied to discover novel leads, and then a series of novel pyrazole amide derivatives were designed, synthesized, characterized, and evaluated for their antifungal activities. Bioassay results indicated that some target compounds such as S3, S12, and S26 showed good in vivo antifungal activities; among them, S26 exhibited commendable in vivo protective activity with an 89% inhibition rate against Botrytis cinerea on cucumber at 100 µg/mL that is comparable to positive controls boscalid, isopyrazam, and fluxapyroxad. Microscopy observations suggested that S26 affects the normal fungal growth. Fluorescence quenching analysis and SDH (succinate dehydrogenase) enzymatic inhibition studies validated that S26 may not be an SDH inhibitor. Based on induction of plant defense responses testing, S26 enhanced the accumulation of RBOH, WRKY6, WRKY30, PR1, and PAL defense-related genes expression and the defense-associated enzyme phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) expression on cucumber. These findings support that S26 not only displayed direct fungicidal activity but also exhibited plant innate immunity stimulation activity, and it could be used as a promising plant defense-related fungicide candidate.

Cetuximab combined with cisplatin improves the prognosis of gastric cancer patients and its effect on P38 MAPK expression.

PURPOSE: To observe the clinical efficacy of cetuximab combined with cisplatin in gastric cancer patients, and to explore its potential mechanism so as to provide references for clinical chemotherapeutic drugs for gastric cancer. METHODS: A total of 122 gastric cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in our hospital from August 2014 to June 2017 were enrolled and divided into cetuximab group (n=64) and cetuximab + cisplatin group (n=58) according to the chemotherapy regimen. The clinical efficacy, prognosis, adverse reactions and immune status were compared between the two groups of patients. At the same time, the expressions of serum gastric cancer markers, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in both groups of patients were detected before and after treatment. In addition, the P38 protein expression level in cancer tissues in both groups of patients was detected via Western blotting before and after treatment. RESULTS: The total effective rate of clinical efficacy was 66.41 and 82.55%, respectively, in cetuximab group and the cetuximab + cisplatin group (p<0.05). The mortality and tumor metastasis rates were 16.5% vs. 3.4% and 12.3% vs. 4.5%, respectively, in the cetuximab group and the cetuximab + cisplatin group (p<0.05). The percentages of cluster of differentiation 3 (CD3), CD4, CD8, CD4/CD8 and T cell metastasis rate after treatment were significantly increased in the cetuximab + cisplatin group (p<0.05), but significantly declined in the cetuximab group (p<0.05). In addition, the levels of serum CEA and VEGF in both groups were significantly decreased (p<0.05), but they declined more significantly in the cetuximab + cisplatin group. Furthermore, it was found that cetuximab + cisplatin group had a stronger phosphorylation ability of P38 in gastric cancer tissues than the cetuximab group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with cetuximab alone, cetuximab combined with cisplatin can significantly improve the clinical efficacy, reduce the tumor metastasis rate, enhance the immune function and improve the prognosis of gastric cancer patients, whose mechanism may be related to the activation of P38 in gastric cancer tissues.