N-Butyl Cyanoacrylate Glue Versus Nonspherical Polyvinyl Alcohol Particles For Prostatic Arterial Embolization To Treat Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: Safety and Efficacy.

PURPOSE: Our aim is to compare N-butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA) glue and non-spherical polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) particles for prostatic artery embolization (PAE) for patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) to treat lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and report their feasibility, safety, and short-term effectiveness. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 110 patients (mean age: 72.6 years) with BPH related to LUTS were divided into two groups, PAE was performed in one group with 250 - 355 µm non-spherical PVA particles. Whereas, the other group received a mixture of NBCA glue/ lipiodol for PAE. RESULTS: PAE was technically successful in all 110 patients (100 %). During 6 months follow up, we found that in patients who received NBCA glue, the mean of prostatic volume (PV) was significantly reduced compared to baseline (67.1 ± 8.5 to 40.2 ± 5.4), International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) (25.7 ± 4.3 to 7.2 ± 1.09), Quality of life (QoL) (4.43 ± 0.27 to 1.58 ± 2.27); whereas, the mean of Peak urinary flow (Qmax) increased significantly from baseline to 6 months (8.6 ± 2.3 to 15.4 ± 2.3), International Index of Erectile Function (IIEFS) (9.46 ± 1.51 to 19.3 ± 1.33). Meanwhile, non-spherical PVA particles used in the other group show that PV significantly reduced from baseline to 6 months (68.2 ± 8.32 to 38.8 ± 6.13), IPSS (25.0 ± 3.59 to7.24 ± 0.83), QoL (4.43 ± 0.24 to1.56 ± 0.55). The mean for Qmax increased from baseline to 6 months (7.19 ± 1.67 to15.1 ± 2.42), IIEFS (9.22 ± 1.30 to 19.5 ± 0.96). CONCLUSION: PAE with NBCA glue and non-spherical PVA particles is feasible, safe, and effective for patients with BPH related-LUTS. This gives the physicians options to choose between embolizing agents based on the architecture of the prostatic artery.

Smart On-Site Immobilizable Near-Infrared II Fluorescent Nanoprobes for Ultra-Long-Term Imaging-Guided Tumor Surgery and Photothermal Therapy.

Accurate diagnosis and efficient treatment of tumors are highly significant in battling cancer. Near-infrared II (NIR-II) fluorescence imaging shows big promise for deep tumor visualization in living systems due to high temporal and spatial resolution and deep tissue penetration capability, whereas the development of efficient NIR-II probes for tumor theranostics still faces a huge challenge. Herein, we have designed and constructed intelligent mPEG5000-PCL3000-encapsulated NIR-II nanoprobe ZM1068-NPs that showed great chemical stability and excellent biocompatibility. With the merits of the strong fluorescence in the NIR-II region and prominent optical-thermal conversion efficiency, this probe was successfully used for NIR-II imaging-guided surgery and photothermal therapy of breast carcinoma in living mice. More notably, it was for the first time found that ZM1068 dyes could be covalently on-site-immobilized within tumors through the thiol-chlor nucleophilic substitution reaction, resulting in improved tumor accumulation and retention time. We thus envision that this probe may provide an attractive means for precise cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Assembly Transformation Jointly Driven by the LAP Enzyme and GSH Boosting Theranostic Capability for Effective Tumor Therapy.

Developing intelligent and morphology-transformable nanomaterials that can spatiotemporally undergo stimulus-responsive size transformation holds great promise for improving the tumor delivery efficiency of drugs in vivo. Here, we report a smart size-transformable theranostic probe Ce6-Leu consisting of a leucine amino peptidase (LAP) and glutathione (GSH) dual-responsive moiety, an 1,2-aminothiol group, and a clinically used photosensitizer Ce6. This probe tends to self-assemble into uniform nanoparticles with an initial size of ∼80 nm in aqueous solution owing to the amphiphilic feature. Surprisingly, taking advantage of the biocompatible CBT-Cys condensation reaction, the large nanoprobes can be transformed into tiny nanoparticles (∼23 nm) under the joint action of LAP and GSH in a tumor microenvironment, endowing them with great tumor accumulation and deep tissue penetration. Concomitantly, this LAP/GSH-driven disassembly and size shrinkage of Ce6-Leu can also activate the fluorescence/magnetic resonance signals and the photodynamic effect for enhanced multimodal imaging-guided photodynamic therapy of human liver HepG2 tumors in vivo. More excitingly, the Mn2+-chelating probe (Ce6-Leu@Mn2+) was demonstrated to have the capability to catalyze endogenous H2O2 to persistently release O2 at the hypoxic tumor site, as a consequence improving the oxygen supply to boost the radiotherapy effect. We thus believe that this LAP/GSH-driven size-transformable nanosystem would offer a novel advanced technology to improve the drug delivery efficiency for achieving precise tumor diagnosis and treatment.

Effects of residual plastic-film mulch on field corn growth and productivity.

Plastic-film mulching has played an important role to promote agricultural production in arid areas; however, due to its inefficient recycling capacity, large amounts of residues have been accumulated in soils, causing negative impacts on crop growth and on the environment. To investigate these effects on water use efficiency, a two-years field experiment was carried out, applying different levels of plastic-film residues, from 0 to 600 kg ha-1. Results show that these residues have a negative impact on root and shoot growth at several growth stages of corn crop, particularly if above 300 kg ha-1. Root length and weight density decrease with the amount of residues throughout the majority of crop season. Plastic-film residues of about 600 kg ha-1 are responsible for the decrease of the biomass root to shoot ratio during the tasseling stage. Moreover, during physiological maturity, root and shoot revealed the highest sensitivity, and the least negative effects on the root system. Results also show that crop water consumption has a slight decrease with the plastic-film residues, though there was also a significant decrease of the yield and the water use efficiency reduction. This information allows to state that it is determinant to learn how to deal with the problem, adjusting the irrigation and crop management to avoid yield impacts. It would also be important to find an efficient procedure to mechanically collect the residues in the soil, and to apply new biodegradable film mulching.

Light-triggered crosslinking of gold nanoparticles for remarkably improved radiation therapy and computed tomography imaging of tumors.

Aim: We aimed to characterize the tumor-targeting and radiosensitization properties of the photo-responsive gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) decorated photolabile diazirine group and folic acid for improved radiotherapy and computed tomography imaging of tumors. Methods: Folic acid and photolabile diazirine group were covalently conjugated on the surface of AuNPs to afford the desired photo-responsive dAuNP-FA (AuNPs capped with poly(ethylene) glycol ligands bearing photolabile diazirine group and folic acid). The probes were intravenously injected into tumor-bearing mice followed by photocrosslinking upon 405 nm laser irradiation for radiotherapy and computed tomography imaging of tumors in vivo. Results: Light-triggered crosslinking of AuNPs in vivo remarkably enhanced the accumulation and retention of AuNPs within tumors. Conclusion: We have successfully developed a novel photo-responsive Au particle-based tumor theranostic probe showing remarkably improved tumor targeting ability and radiosensitization effect.

Endovascular Treatment of 12 Cases of Renal Arteriovenous Malformations: The Experience of 1 Center and an Overview of the Literature.

OBJECTIVES: Congenital renal arteriovenous malformations (rAVMs) represent rare vascular diseases. The heterogeneous vascular architecture of each rAVM determines the endovascular treatment techniques employed. We reported our experience with the endovascular treatment of a series of rAVMs. MATERIALS: This retrospective study consisted of 12 patients with 12 rAVMs who underwent renal arterial embolization (RAE) in our hospital. Embolic materials, including particles, liquid embolic agents (n-butyl 2-cyanoacrylate, Onyx, and ethanol), and coils, were selectively used based on the decisions of interventional radiologists. Technical success was defined as the complete occlusion of the feeding arteries and nidus on postprocedure renal arteriography. Clinical success was defined as the resolution of hematuria or the disappearance of rAVM-relevant symptoms. RESULTS: The median follow-up period was 13.5 months (range: 4-72). The technical success based on 12 procedures in 12 patients was 83.3% (10 of 12). In the 2 procedures that technically failed, the existence of multiple fine feeding arteries arising from the proximal portion of different segmental renal arteries explains the incomplete embolization. One of the 2 patients achieved clinical success without additional RAE. The other patient had recurrent hematuria 25 months after initial treatment, which was successfully managed conservatively with hemostatic agents. Thus, the clinical success was 91.7% (11 of 12). CONCLUSIONS: Renal artery embolization with the selective use of various embolic materials is an effective treatment for patients with rAVMs. The existence of multiple fine feeding vessels arising from the proximal portion of different segmental renal arteries is likely to affect the technical success of treatment.

A general approach to prepare conjugated polymer dot embedded silica nanoparticles with a SiO2@CP@SiO2 structure for targeted HER2-positive cellular imaging.

We report on a one-step synthesis of conjugated polymer (CP) embedded silica nanoparticles (NPs) with a SiO2@CP@SiO2 structure by combination of a precipitation method and a modified Stöber approach. Four types of CPs are employed to demonstrate the versatility of the developed strategy, yielding fluorescent silica NPs with emission across the visible spectrum. Field emission transmission electron microscopy investigation reveals that the entanglement between hydrophobic CPs and the aminopropyl groups of 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane contributes to the successful encapsulation of CPs into a silica matrix. The synthesized NPs exhibit excellent physical stability and good photostability. In addition, they have amine groups on surfaces, which benefit further conjugation for biological applications. Through reaction with a peptide (GGHAHFG) that is specific to the HER2 receptor, the synthesized NPs have been successfully applied for targeted cellular imaging of HER2-overexpressed SKBR-3 breast cancer cells. Along with its high quantum yield and benign biocompatibility, the developed CP embedded silica NPs have great potential for applications in biological imaging.

Transarterial embolization with cyanoacrylate for severe arterioportal shunt complicated by hepatocellular carcinoma.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of cyanoacrylate glue embolization in the treatment of severe arterioportal shunt (APS) presenting with hepatofugal portal venous flow in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between July 2000 and January 2010, 27 HCC patients with severe APS presenting with hepatofugal portal venous flow underwent transarterial angiography and treatment. Among them, four patients were excluded from the study. Twelve patients underwent transarterial chemoperfusion and embolization of APS with cyanoacrylate glue between January 2006 and January 2010 (Emb group), and the other 11 patients undergoing only transarterial chemoperfusion without embolization of APS between July 2000 and December 2005 served as a control group (non-Emb group). The change of APS, survival rates, and procedure related complications were analyzed. RESULTS: In the Emb group, APS was improved in all of the 12 patients after initial glue embolization; long-term APS improvement with hepatopetal portal flow was achieved in 80 % (8 of 10) patients who underwent follow-up angiography. Survival rates in the Emb group were 67 % at 6 months, 33 % at 1 year, and 8 % at 2 years, whereas those in the non-Emb group were 0 % at 6 months (P < 0.05). Median survival time in the Emb group was 275 days, which was longer than that of 107 days in the non-Emb group (P = 0.001). There were no major complications in both groups. CONCLUSION: The preliminary experience suggests that glue embolization may be an effective and safe therapy in the management of severe APS accompanied by HCC and also improve patient survival.