Controlling oxygen coordination and valence of network forming cations.

Understanding the structure-property relationship of glass material is still challenging due to a lack of periodicity in disordered materials. Here, we report the properties and atomic structure of vanadium phosphate glasses characterized by reverse Monte Carlo modelling based on neutron/synchrotron X-ray diffraction and EXAFS data, supplemented by Raman and NMR spectroscopy. In vanadium-rich glass, the water durability, thermal stability and hardness improve as the amount of P2O5 increases, and the network former of the glass changes from VOx polyhedra to the interplay between VOx polyhedra and PO4 tetrahedra. We find for the first time that the coordination number of oxygen atoms around a V4+ is four, which is an unusually small coordination number, and plays an important role for water durability, thermal stability and hardness. Furthermore, we show that the similarity between glass and crystal beyond the nearest neighbour distance is important for glass properties. These results demonstrate that controlling the oxygen coordination and valence of the network-forming cation is necessary for designing the properties of glass.

Obstetric outcomes and acceptance of alternative therapies to blood transfusion by Jehovah's Witnesses in Japan: a single-center study.

We sought to investigate obstetric outcomes and acceptance rates for blood products or types of autotransfusion by Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs) at a single institution in Japan. We retrospectively reviewed cases of 84 pregnant JW patients and 95 deliveries from April 2001 to August 2017. We examined the acceptance rates of blood transfusions, blood products, and autotransfusion types in patients who experienced postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), and investigated estimated hemorrhage volume at delivery and PPH treatments. Of the 84 JW patients, none accepted blood transfusion; however, 75 patients (89.3%) accepted blood products, 57 (67.9%) accepted autotransfusion using intraoperative cell salvage, and four (4.8%) refused all alternatives to blood transfusion. Furthermore, PPH > 1000 mL occurred in 18 of the 95 (18.9%) deliveries. Of these 18 patients, four (22.2%) required blood products and three (16.7%) required supracervical hysterectomy to control PPH. No maternal deaths occurred. Approximately 95% of the patients observed accepted all or some alternatives to blood transfusion. To treat JW patients in a safer manner, understanding their individual acceptance of alternatives to blood transfusion is important for the strategic use of such alternatives.

Retinol supplements antiviral action of interferon in patients with chronic hepatitis C: a prospective pilot study.

Sustained virologic response with peg-interferon and ribavirin combination therapy for 48 weeks is still inadequate. Our study examined whether short-term administration of retinol clinically influences the anti-viral activity of interferon early during interferon and ribavirin combination therapy. The control group received 6 MIU of interferon alpha-2b every day for two weeks and then 3 times a week for 22 weeks intramuscularly plus 600 mg or 800 mg per day of ribavirin orally for 24 weeks. The retinol group, in addition to above treatment, received retinol 30,000 units per day orally for 3 weeks from one week before the start of interferon alpha-2b plus ribavirin combination therapy. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA negativity rate at 1 week after the end of interferon alpha-2b and ribavirin combination therapy was 46.7% (28/60) for the retinol group and 31.7% (19/60) for the control group, which was significantly higher for the retinol group. The level of serum HCV RNA in the retinol group was significantly lower at 1 week after beginning treatment as compared to the control group (p<0.01). Furthermore, serum 2,5'AS protein at 1 week after beginning treatment was significantly higher in the retinol group (p = 0.0002). The results suggest that retinol supplement increases the antiviral effect of interferon alpha-2b plus ribavirin only during the administration of IFN alpha-2b, ribavirin and retinol in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Ferucarbotran expands area treated by radiofrequency ablation in rabbit livers.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Several studies have examined the factors involved with expansion of the coagulation volume following radiofrequency ablation (RFA). Ferucarbotran contains superparamagnetic iron oxide that generates heat in a radiofrequency electric field and may have an effect on the area affected by RFA. We attempted to determine whether ferucarbotran administration expands radiofrequency-ablated volume using a rabbit model. METHODS: A total of 15 male Japanese white rabbits (16 weeks old) were used and divided into three groups of five each. A 1-mL saline solution was given intravenously into a dorsal ear vein in the control group, whereas 1 mL ferucarbotran solution (0.016 mL/kg bodyweight) was given to the common-dose group and 1 mL of a twofold concentrated ferucarbotran solution (0.032 mL/kg bodyweight) was given to the high-dose group. RFA was performed with a cool-tip electrode 4 h after the administration and immediately thereafter the rabbits were killed, and the volume of the ablated area measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Following the MRI analysis, the rabbit's livers were resected, and the maximum short axis diameter of the ablated area in each was measured. RESULTS: None of the rabbits died during the RFA procedure. The volume of the ablated area estimated on MR images in the ferucarbotran-administered groups was larger than that in the control group. Further, our macroscopic assessment showed that the maximum short axis diameter had a tendency to increase with ferucarbotran administration. CONCLUSION: Ferucarbotran may expand the area treated by RFA.