Application of Three-Dimensional Printing Technology in the Perioperative Management of Cardiac Tumours: A Review and Analysis.

Background: Multimodal imaging plays a crucial role in evaluating suspected cardiac tumours. In recent years, three-dimensional (3D) printing technology has continued to advance such that image-based 3D-printed models have been incorporated into the auxiliary diagnosis and treatment of cardiac tumour diseases. The purpose of this review is to analyze the existing literature on the application of 3D printing in cardiac tumour surgery to examine the current status of the application of this technology. Methods: By searching PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus and Google Scholar, as well as other resource databases, a completed review of the available literature was performed. Effect sizes from published studies were investigated, and results are presented concerning the use of 3D surgical planning in the management of cardiac tumours. Results: According to the reviewed literature, our study comes to the point that 3D printing is a valuable technique for planning surgery for cardiac tumours. As shown in the review report, Mucinous and sarcomatous tumours are the most commonly used tumours for 3D printing, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) are the most commonly used technologies for preparing 3D printing models, the main printing technology is stereolithography, and the most used 3D modeling software is Mimics. The printing time and cost required for 3D printing are affected by factors such as the size of the type, complexity, the printed material and the 3D printing technology used. The reported research shows that 3D printing can understand the anatomy of complex tumour cases, virtual surgical simulation, as well as facilitate doctor-patient communication and clinical teaching. Conclusions: These results show that the development of 3D printing technology has brought more accurate and safe perioperative treatment options for patients with cardiac tumours. Therefore, 3D printing technology is expected to become a routine clinical diagnosis and treatment tool for cardiac tumours.

Comparative proteomics reveals that fatty acid metabolism is involved in myocardial adaptation to chronic hypoxic injury.

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most serious form of heart disease, and chronic hypoxia is the basic physiological process underlying CHD. Some patients with CHD do not undergo surgery, and thus, they remain susceptible to chronic hypoxia, suggesting that some protective mechanism might exist in CHD patients. However, the mechanism underlying myocardial adaptation to chronic hypoxia remains unclear. Proteomics was used to identify the differentially expressed proteins in cardiomyocytes cultured under hypoxia for different durations. Western blotting assays were used to verify protein expression. A Real-Time Cell Analyzer (RTCA) was used to analyze cell growth. In this study, 3881 proteins were identified by proteomics. Subsequent bioinformatics analysis revealed that proteins were enriched in regulating oxidoreductase activity. Functional similarity cluster analyses showed that chronic hypoxia resulted in proteins enrichment in the mitochondrial metabolic pathway. Further KEGG analyses found that the proteins involved in fatty acid metabolism, the TCA cycle and oxidative phosphorylation were markedly upregulated. Moreover, knockdown of CPT1A or ECI1, which is critical for fatty acid degradation, suppressed the growth of cardiomyocytes under chronic hypoxia. The results of our study revealed that chronic hypoxia activates fatty acid metabolism to maintain the growth of cardiomyocytes.

Exploration of surface tension measurement methods for pharmaceutical excipients.

Surface tension is a crucial functional indicator for various classes of pharmaceutical excipients, as highlighted in both the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China (ChP) < 9601 Guidelines for Functionality-related Characteristics of Pharmaceutical Excipients > and the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) < 1059 Excipient Performance >. However, there are few systematic studies on surface tension measurement of pharmaceutical excipients, resulting in a lack of stable parameter support in practical applications. In this study, we aim to fill this gap by exploring three different methods for measuring surface tension. These methods were carefully developed taking into account the actual measurement process and statistical theory, thus ensuring their applicability and reliability. Through comparative analyses, we have identified the most suitable measurement methods for different classes of pharmaceutical excipients. In addition, this paper describes the surface adsorption behavior of various excipients. Therefore, this study provides valuable guidance for the determination of surface tension and the study of surface adsorption behavior, which lays the foundation for further comprehensive research in the field of surface tension of pharmaceutical excipients and the improvement of general pharmacopoeia specification.