Effect of lower urinary tract conditions on surgical outcomes of different suburethral sling procedures for female stress urinary incontinence.

PURPOSE: The suburethral sling procedure has been widely used as the first-line treatment for female stress urinary incontinence (SUI). This study retrospectively compared the long-term surgical outcomes and complications between retropubic and transobturator suburethral sling procedures. METHODS: From 2010 to 2022, a total of 533 women with SUI underwent retropubic pubovaginal sling (PVS) or transobturator tape (TOT) procedures using a synthetic polypropylene mesh with or without concomitant anterior colporrhaphy. All patients underwent preoperative videourodynamic studies, Valsalva leak point pressure (VLPP), and voiding efficiency (VE). The success rate, postoperative complications, overactive bladder symptoms, transvaginal urethrolysis, and repeat procedures were compared among different surgical procedures. RESULTS: Among the patients, PVS was performed in 251 (47.1%) patients and with colporrhaphy in 58 (10.9%), TOT in 174 (32.6%) and with colporrhaphy in 50 (9.4%). The success rate was 87.4% in the PVS group and 75.4% in the TOT group, with or without colporrhaphy (p = 0.001). Urethrolysis was performed in 4.7% of the patients, and repeat suburethral sling procedures were performed in 8.3%. The overall success rate was significantly lower in TOT group, either with high or low VLPP, or with high or low VE. The rate of persistent OAB was significantly higher in TOT group regardless of VLPP or VE, whereas patients with VE < 90% at baseline had a significantly higher rate of postoperative dysuria. CONCLUSION: TOT procedures had an inferior long-term success rate than PVS procedures for female SUI. Additionally, no differences in the success rate were observed between patients with different bladder functions, high or low VLPP, and high or low VE.

Real-Life Treatment Outcome of Botulinum Toxin A Injection on Overactive Bladder and Voiding Dysfunction in Patients with Central Nervous System Lesions.

PURPOSE: Neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD) is common in patients with neurological lesions in the central nervous system (CNS). Medical treatment usually cannot adequately relieve NLUTD. This study reported the real-life treatment outcome of botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) for overactive bladders (OAB) and voiding dysfunction in patients with CNS lesions. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the first-time treatment outcome of 74 patients who received detrusor 100 U BoNT-A for OAB and 45 patients who received a urethral sphincter 100 U BoNT-A injection for voiding dysfunction. The treatment outcome, therapeutic duration, and adverse events (AE) after BoNT-A were compared among different CNS lesions and among patients with different urodynamic characteristics. RESULTS: The study included 74 patients receiving detrusor injections for OAB (36 with cerebrovascular accidents, 13 with Parkinson's disease, and 25 with dementia) and 45 patients receiving a urethral sphincter injection for voiding dysfunction (26 with cerebrovascular accidents, 7 with Parkinson's disease, and 12 with dementia). After detrusor BoNT-A treatment, urinary continence was achieved in 28.4% of patients with neurogenic OAB, postoperative difficult urination in 59.5%, acute urinary retention (AUR) in 9.5%, and urinary tract infection (UTI) in 14.9%, with a therapeutic duration of 6.43 months. There were no differences among subgroups or between patients with detrusor overactivity (DO) and DO with detrusor underactivity (DU) in terms of treatment outcomes and AEs. The improvement rate of urethral sphincter BoNT-A injections was 75.6% without any difference among subgroups. After treatment, 24.4% of the patients had exacerbated urinary incontinence, 33.3% had persistent difficult urination, and 15.6% had UTI. Patients with dementia had higher rates of difficult urination and UTI, higher postvoid residual volume, and a shorter therapeutic duration. Patients with DU and those without urethral sphincter dyssynergia had less favorable outcomes after their urethral sphincter BoNT-A injection. CONCLUSIONS: The therapeutic efficacy of detrusor BoNT-A injection for OAB due to CNS lesions is limited, with high rates of difficult urination, AUR, and UTI. Although urethral sphincter BoNT-A injection is effective in treating voiding dysfunction; however, exacerbated urinary incontinence and persistent difficult urination remain a problem, particularly in patients with dementia.

Integrated Computational Pipeline for the High-Throughput Discovery of Cell Adhesion Peptides.

Cell adhesion peptides (CAPs) often play a critical role in tissue engineering research. However, the discovery of novel CAPs for diverse applications remains a challenging and time-intensive process. This study presents an efficient computational pipeline integrating sequence embeddings, binding predictors, and molecular dynamics simulations to expedite the discovery of new CAPs. A Pro2vec model, trained on vast CAP data sets, was built to identify RGD-similar tripeptide candidates. These candidates were further evaluated for their binding affinity with integrin receptors using the Mutabind2 machine learning model. Additionally, molecular dynamics simulations were applied to model receptor-peptide interactions and calculate their binding free energies, providing a quantitative assessment of the binding strength for further screening. The resulting peptide demonstrated performance comparable to that of RGD in endothelial cell adhesion and spreading experimental assays, validating the efficacy of the integrated computational pipeline.

Geniposide from Gardeniae Fructus exerts antipyretic effect in febrile rats through modulating the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The desiccative ripe fruits of Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides Ellis) (called Zhizi in China) are known with cold character and the effects of reducing fire except vexed, clearing away heat evil, and cooling blood and eliminating stasis. Zhizi is often clinical formulated to treat various types of fever. Fever is a sign of inflammation and, geniposide from Zhizi has been proved with anti-inflammatory in various inflammatory models. AIM OF STUDY: The aim of this study was to investigate the antipyretic role of geniposide with three classical inflammatory fever models and explore the underlying mechanisms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Water extract (WE), high polar part (HP), iridoid glycoside part (IG), and gardenia yellow pigment part (GYP) from Gardeniae Fructus (GF) were obtained from Zhizi. The antipyretic activities of these composes were tested with dry yeast induced fever rats. Geniposide was further purified from IG and the antipyretic activity was evaluated by gavage, intraperitoneal injection, and caudal intravenous injection to rats of fever induced by dry yeast, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and 2, 4-dinitrophenol (DNP) in rats. Then, the mechanism of geniposide by intragastric administration was studied. The contents of thermoregulatory mediators and inflammatory factors relating to TLR4/NF-κB pathway in serum were determined by ELISA and Western blot, and the pathological changes of the hypothalamus were observed by HE staining. RESULTS: The temperature was decreased by geniposide in the three fever model rats. Geniposide can not only inhibit the increase of inflammatory factors in serum but also protect the hypothalamus from fever pathological damage in the three fever models. Western blot showed that geniposide could inhibit the TLR4/NF-κB pathway. CONCLUSION: Geniposide exerts antipyretic effect in febrile rats through modulating the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Poly(Glutamic Acid-Lysine) Hydrogels with Alternating Sequence Resist the Foreign Body Response in Rodents and Non-Human Primates.

The foreign body response (FBR) to implanted biomaterials and biomedical devices can severely impede their functionality and even lead to failure. The discovery of effective anti-FBR materials remains a formidable challenge. Inspire by the enrichment of glutamic acid (E) and lysine (K) residues on human protein surfaces, a class of zwitterionic polypeptide (ZIP) hydrogels with alternating E and K sequences to mitigate the FBR is prepared. When subcutaneously implanted, the ZIP hydrogels caused minimal inflammation after 2 weeks and no obvious collagen capsulation after 6 months in mice. Importantly, these hydrogels effectively resisted the FBR in non-human primate models for at least 2 months. In addition, the enzymatic degradability of the gel can be controlled by adjusting the crosslinking degree or the optical isomerism of amino acid monomers. The long-term FBR resistance and controlled degradability of ZIP hydrogels open up new possibilities for a broad range of biomedical applications.

Management of spinal cord injury patients with neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction using minimally invasive and surgical therapies in Taiwan.

The main problems of neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD) in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) consist of impaired urine storage, impaired bladder emptying, or both. The priorities in the management of SCI-NLUTD should be preservation of renal function, followed by freedom from urinary tract infections and improvement of quality of life. Management of NLUTD in patients with SCI must be based on urodynamic findings rather than clinical evaluations. In the hospital without urodynamic equipment, careful measurement of intravesical pressure and safety functional bladder capacity in conjunction with clinical assessment are also feasible. Identification of high-risk patients is important for preventing urological complications in patients with chronic SCI. The management of NLUTD should start with conservative bladder management and medical treatment. Patients with SCI should be regularly followed up, and any NLUTDs and urological complications should be adequately treated. When surgical intervention is necessary, less invasive and reversible procedures should be considered first, and any unnecessary surgery should be avoided. This article reports the current evidence and expert opinions on the patient-centered bladder management of NLUTD in chronic SCI patients in Taiwan. To avoid renal function deterioration and urological complications, annual active surveillance of bladder and renal function is mandatory, especially for high-risk SCI patients.

Zwitterionic dendrimer self-assembled nanodrugs with high drug loading for enhanced anti-tumor ability.

Zwitterionic dendrimers have been used to construct many nanomedicines due to their ability to achieve controlled drug release, but their low drug loading content limits their application in nanodrug delivery. To solve this problem, the surface of second generation polypropylimine (G2 PPI) was modified with mercapturized paclitaxel (PTX-SH) and zwitterionic groups to prepare zwitterionic prodrug molecule (PPIMPC), and then zwitterionic dendrimer self-assembled nanodrugs (PPIMPC-DOX micelles) were prepared by incorporating doxorubicin (DOX) into the micelles. The DOX loading and paclitaxel (PTX) loading in PPIMPC-DOX micelles was 6.7% and 26.2%, respectively, and the total drug loading of PPIMPC-DOX was high to 32.9%. In addition, PPIMPC-DOX micelles showed enhanced cytotoxicity due to improved cell uptake of DOX. More importantly, the inhibition rate of tumor was much higher than free DOX. The zwitterionic property and high drug loading of PPIMPC-DOX micelles enhanced anti-tumor ability of chemotherapeutic drugs. The method of preparation of zwitterionic and high drug loading of nanodrugs shows good application prospects in the future.

Independent insulin signaling modulators govern hot avoidance under different feeding states.

Thermosensation is critical for the survival of animals. However, mechanisms through which nutritional status modulates thermosensation remain unclear. Herein, we showed that hungry Drosophila exhibit a strong hot avoidance behavior (HAB) compared to food-sated flies. We identified that hot stimulus increases the activity of α'ß' mushroom body neurons (MBns), with weak activity in the sated state and strong activity in the hungry state. Furthermore, we showed that α'ß' MBn receives the same level of hot input from the mALT projection neurons via cholinergic transmission in sated and hungry states. Differences in α'ß' MBn activity between food-sated and hungry flies following heat stimuli are regulated by distinct Drosophila insulin-like peptides (Dilps). Dilp2 is secreted by insulin-producing cells (IPCs) and regulates HAB during satiety, whereas Dilp6 is secreted by the fat body and regulates HAB during the hungry state. We observed that Dilp2 induces PI3K/AKT signaling, whereas Dilp6 induces Ras/ERK signaling in α'ß' MBn to regulate HAB in different feeding conditions. Finally, we showed that the 2 α'ß'-related MB output neurons (MBONs), MBON-α'3 and MBON-ß'1, are necessary for the output of integrated hot avoidance information from α'ß' MBn. Our results demonstrate the presence of dual insulin modulation pathways in α'ß' MBn, which are important for suitable behavioral responses in Drosophila during thermoregulation under different feeding states.

Magnetofluid-integrated biosensors based on DNase-dead Cas12a for visual point-of-care testing of HIV-1 by an up and down chip.

The CRISPR Cas system, as a novel nucleic acid detection tool, is often hindered by cumbersome experimental procedures, complicated reagent transfer processes, and associated aerosol pollution risks. In this study, an integrated nucleic acid detection platform named "up and down chip" was developed, which combined RT-RAA technology for nucleic acid amplification, DNase-dead Cas12a-modified magnetic beads for specific recognition of target nucleic acid, and HRP-TMB chromogenic reaction for signal output in different chambers of a single microfluidic chip. The magnetic beads were migrated in an up-and-down manner between different chambers through magnetic driving, achieving a "sample-in, result-out" detection mode. By introducing a homemade heating box for temperature control during the reaction and using the naked eye or a smartphone APP for color-based signal reading, no professional or precise instruments were required in this platform. Using this platform, highly sensitive detection of the HIV-1 genome as low as 250 copies (CPs) per mL was achieved within 100 min while maintaining good detection performance against common variants as well as excellent specificity and anti-interference ability. In addition, compared with qRT-PCR, it also exhibited good accuracy for 56 spiked plasma samples, indicating its promising potential for clinical application.

Highly defective graphene quantum dots-doped 1T/2H-MoS2 as an efficient composite catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction.

We present a new composite catalyst system of highly defective graphene quantum dots (HDGQDs)-doped 1T/2H-MoS2 for efficient hydrogen evolution reactions (HER). The high electrocatalytic activity, represented by an overpotential of 136.9 mV and a Tafel slope of 57.1 mV/decade, is due to improved conductivity, a larger number of active sites in 1T-MoS2 compared to that in 2H-MoS2, and additional defects introduced by HDGQDs. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Raman spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize both the 1T/2H-MoS2 and GQDs components while Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was employed to identify the functional groups on the edge and defect sites in the HDGQDs. The morphology of the composite catalyst was also examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). All experimental data demonstrated that each component contributes unique advantages that synergistically lead to the significantly improved electrocatalytic activity for HER in the composite catalyst system.

Integrating Liquification of the Gelated Tumor Interstitium around Nanomedicines with Biconditional GD2-Targeting for Precise and Safe Chemotherapy.

The quick diffusion of nanomedicines in the polysaccharide-gel-filling tumor interstitium and precise active targeting are two major obstacles that have not yet been overcome. Here, a poly(L-glutamyl-L-lysine(EK) (p(EK))-camouflaged, doxorubicin (Dox)-conjugated nanomedicine is developed to demonstrate the underlying mechanism of zwitterionic shell in synchronous barrier-penetration and biconditional active targeting. The zwitterionic p(EK) shell liquifies its surrounding water molecules in the polysaccharide gel of tumor interstitium, leading to five times faster diffusion than the pegylated Doxil with similar size in tumor tissue. Its doped sulfonate groups lead to more precise active tumor-targeting than disialoganglioside (GD2) antibody by meeting the dual requirements of tumor microenvironment (TME) pH and overexpression of GD2 on tumor. Consequently, the concentrations of the nanomedicine in tumor are always higher than in life-supported organs in whole accumulation process, reaching over ten times higher Dox in GD2-overexpressing MCF-7 tumors than in life-supporting organs. Furthermore, the nanomedicine also avoids anti-GD2-like accumulation in GD2-expressing kidney in a mouse model. Thus, the nanomedicine expands the therapeutic window of Doxil by more than three times and eliminates tumors with negligible myocardial and acute toxicity. This new insight paves an avenue to design nanodelivery systems for highly precise and safe chemotherapy.

Design and verification of a wearable wireless 64-channel high-resolution EEG acquisition system with wi-fi transmission.

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) allow communication between the brain and the external world. This type of technology has been extensively studied. However, BCI instruments with high signal quality are typically heavy and large. Thus, recording electroencephalography (EEG) signals is an inconvenient task. In recent years, system-on-chip (SoC) approaches have been integrated into BCI research, and sensors for wireless portable devices have been developed; however, there is still considerable work to be done. As neuroscience research has advanced, EEG signal analyses have come to require more accurate data. Due to the limited bandwidth of Bluetooth wireless transmission technology, EEG measurement systems with more than 16 channels must be used to reduce the sampling rate and prevent data loss. Therefore, the goal of this study was to develop a multichannel, high-resolution (24-bit), high-sampling-rate EEG BCI device that transmits signals via Wi-Fi. We believe that this system can be used in neuroscience research. The EEG acquisition system proposed in this work is based on a Cortex-M4 microcontroller with a Wi-Fi subsystem, providing a multichannel design and improved signal quality. This system is compatible with wet sensors, Ag/AgCl electrodes, and dry sensors. A LabVIEW-based user interface receives EEG data via Wi-Fi transmission and saves the raw data for offline analysis. In previous cognitive experiments, event tags have been communicated using Recommended Standard 232 (RS-232). The developed system was validated through event-related potential (ERP) and steady-state visually evoked potential (SSVEP) experiments. Our experimental results demonstrate that this system is suitable for recording EEG measurements and has potential in practical applications. The advantages of the developed system include its high sampling rate and high amplification. Additionally, in the future, Internet of Things (IoT) technology can be integrated into the system for remote real-time analysis or edge computing.

A new species of the bark louse genus Paramanicapsocus (Insecta, Psocodea, Manicapsocidae) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber.

A new fossil psocodean species of the previously monospecific genus Paramanicapsocus is described from Burmese amber, namely Paramanicapsocus xingyuei sp. n.. This new species can be distinguished from the other species P. longiantennatus based on the hindwing vein M two-branched and the female gonapophyses with robust external valves.

Gauze packing may be a better hemostatic method to protect ovarian reserve during laparoscopic endometrioma cystectomy than conventional hemostatic methods.

PURPOSE: To compare the ovarian reserve of different hemostatic methods after laparoscopic endometrioma stripping (LES) and explore which factors may affect ovarian reserve. METHODS: Patients who underwent LES from January 2019 to December 2021 were retrospectively included. Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels were measured before, and 3 months after surgery to determine changes of serum AMH in each patient. A multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to identify significant factors that were associated with the rate of decline of serum AMH levels at month 3 after surgery. RESULTS: A total of 67 patients who underwent LES were included. Of these patients, 20 with gauze packing, 24 with bipolar dessication (BD), and 23 with suture to achieve hemostasis. The 3 groups were similar in terms of demographics, cyst diameter, and basal AMH levels, except basal hemoglobin levels. At 3 months after surgery, the decline rate of AMH levels was significantly greater in the suture and BD group compared with the gauze packing group [48.2% (interquartile range, IQR, 28.1-67.1) and 31.1% (IQR,14.6-49.1) vs. 15.1% (IQR,1.1-24.5), P = 0.001]. On multivariate regression models, significant predictors of the decline rate of serum AMH levels at 3 months after surgery were hemostatic methods (p < 0.001), basal AMH levels (p = 0.033), and lesion bilaterality (p = 0.017). CONCLUSION: Compared to BD or suturing hemostasis, gauze packing hemostasis led to less damage on ovarian reserve at 3 months after LES. Besides, hemostatic methods, bilateral endometriomas and basal ovarian reserve were independently correlated with the impairment of ovarian reserve after surgery.

Polymers in Engineering Extracellular Vesicle Mimetics: Current Status and Prospective.

The maintenance of a high delivery efficiency by traditional nanomedicines during cancer treatment is a challenging task. As a natural mediator for short-distance intercellular communication, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have garnered significant attention owing to their low immunogenicity and high targeting ability. They can load a variety of major drugs, thus offering immense potential. In order to overcome the limitations of EVs and establish them as an ideal drug delivery system, polymer-engineered extracellular vesicle mimics (EVMs) have been developed and applied in cancer therapy. In this review, we discuss the current status of polymer-based extracellular vesicle mimics in drug delivery, and analyze their structural and functional properties based on the design of an ideal drug carrier. We anticipate that this review will facilitate a deeper understanding of the extracellular vesicular mimetic drug delivery system, and stimulate the progress and advancement of this field.

Molecular simulation studies on a zwitterionic peptide-dendrimer conjugate for integrin αvß3 binding.

Zwitterionic dendrimer is an effective carrier, which can restore the natural conformation of peptide segments for high bioaffinity by a hydrogen bond-induced conformational constraint approach. However, it is still unknown whether the approach is applicable for the dendrimers with different geometric sizes. Therefore, the characteristics of conjugates made from zwitterionic poly(amidoamine) (PAM) and the arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) peptide were examined to elucidate the effects of the geometric sizes of the PAM dendrimer on the conformational structure and stability of the peptide. The results show that the RGD fragments had almost the same structure and stability when conjugated with PAM(G3, G4, or G5) dendrimers. However, when conjugated with PAM(G1 or G2) dendrimers, the structural stability of these fragments was found to be much worse. Also, the structure and stability of RGD segments conjugated with PAM(G3, G4, or G5) were not affected when additional EK segments were inserted. Moreover, we observed that RGD fragments conjugated with PAM(G3, G4, or G5) dendrimers were structurally stable and similar when the concentration of NaCl was 0.15 and 0.5M. Furthermore, we show that PAM(G3, G4, or G5)-RGD conjugates bind strongly to integrin αvß3.

Urethral Sphincter Botulinum Toxin A Injection for Non-Spinal Cord Injured Patients with Voiding Dysfunction without Anatomical Obstructions: Which Patients Benefit Most?

OBJECTIVE: Treating voiding dysfunction without anatomical obstructions is challenging. Urethral onabotulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) is used in treating voiding dysfunction; however, the success rate varies widely, and patients may not be satisfied with the treatment outcome. This study compared the efficacy of the urethral BoNT-A injection between patients with different non-spinal cord injury (SCI) voiding dysfunctions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study retrospectively analyzed patients with refractory voiding dysfunction, including detrusor underactivity (DU), dysfunctional voiding (DV), and poor relaxation of the external sphincter (PRES) who received the urethral sphincter 100 U BoNT-A injection. The treatment outcomes were assessed via a global response assessment (GRA) one month after treatment. Baseline and follow-up videourodynamic study (VUDS) parameters were also compared. RESULTS: Totally, 161 patients (60 with DU, 77 with DV, and 24 with PRES) with a mean age of 58.8 ± 20.2 were enrolled, of which 62.1% had a good response (GRA ≥ 2) after urethral BoNT-A injection. DV patients had a higher success rate (76.6%) than DU (50%) and PRES (45.8%) patients (p = 0.002). A diagnosis of DV, higher voided volume and recurrent urinary tract infection were predictors of a good treatment response, while the cervical cancer status post-radical surgery predicted a poor response. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses identified PVR > 250 mL as a negative predictor (p = 0.008) in DU patients. CONCLUSIONS: The urethral BoNT-A injection provides a satisfactory success rate for non-SCI voiding dysfunction. Patients with DV benefit most from both subjective and objective parameters. Approximately 50% of patients with DU and PRES also had a fair response. PVR > 250 mL was a negative predictor in DU patients.

Long-Term Follow-Up of Lower Urinary Tract Outcome in Children with Dysfunctional Voiding.

Objective: To investigate the long-term clinical and urodynamic outcomes of a small cohort of children who received short-term urotherapy for confirmed dysfunctional voiding (DV) and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Materials and Methods: This study included 26 children with confirmed LUTS and DV via video urodynamic study (VUDS) and received standard urological therapy, pelvic floor muscle training, or surgical intervention in childhood. Their current lower urinary tract conditions were assessed by chart review and direct and telephone interviews. Charts of 14 patients who underwent follow-up VUDS were reviewed to investigate their bladder and voiding dysfunction or follow-up on previous treatment results. The satisfaction of lower urinary tract status was assessed using the global response assessment (GRA) scale. Results: At initial enrolment, the mean age was 9.54 ± 3.88 years, and urological treatment was performed during the first 1−5 years thereafter. Most patients were not regularly followed in the urology clinic. Among the 14 children available for follow-up, a GRA score of 3 was reported by 10 (71.4%) after a mean follow-up period of 10.3 ± 6.74 (range, 2−20) years, indicating satisfactory bladder and voiding conditions. Four children with less favorable outcomes (GRA score of <3) had significantly more post-void residual urine volume at baseline, and 75% of these patients had central nervous system diseases. Daytime incontinence and enuresis rates were significantly decreased at follow-up compared with the baseline. Significantly increased bladder capacity and sensation and significantly decreased voiding detrusor pressure were found on follow-up VUDS. Conclusions: Children with DV who received standard urotherapy upon diagnosis exhibited improved LUTS at a 10-year follow-up. Of the 14 children available for follow-up, 10 (71.4%) reported satisfactory bladder and voiding status without further medication or urotherapy, with significantly decreased voiding detrusor pressure.

Zwitterionic Sulfhydryl Sulfobetaine Stabilized Platinum Nanoparticles for Enhanced Dopamine Detection and Antitumor Ability.

Herein, three kinds of molecules were used to modify the surface of platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs) to tune their surface charge. Zwitterionic thiol-functionalized sulfobetaine (SH-SB) stabilized Pt NPs (SH-SB/Pt NPs) had the highest oxidase activity and peroxidase activity in the prepared platinum nanozymes due to the generation of reactive oxygen species. In addition, a colorimetric dopamine detection method was established based on the peroxidase activity of SH-SB/Pt NPs. This method had a wide range (0-120 µM), a low detection limit (0.244 µM), and high specificity. More importantly, SH-SB/Pt NPs displayed little hemolysis and good stability in the presence of proteins. SH-SB/Pt NPs demonstrated high cytotoxicity in vitro and good antitumor ability in vivo, which was attributed to the photothermal conversion ability of SH-SB/Pt NPs and the generation of reactive oxygen species in the acidic environment. The surface modification of nanozymes using zwitterionic molecules opens a new method to improve the catalytic activity and antitumor ability of nanozymes.

Comparison of laparoscopic and open approach in the treatment of heterotopic pregnancy following embryo transfer.

Purpose: Heterotopic pregnancy (HP) is a rare disease with the coexistence of an intrauterine and ectopic embryos. There is no consensus on the optimal treatment of HP at present. This research aimed to compare the perioperative and pregnancy outcomes of laparoscopic (LA) and open approach (OA) in patients with HP after embryo transfer. Methods: Women with HP receiving surgical treatment (LA or OA) were retrospectively recruited in this study between October 2006 and December 2020. The demographic, perioperative and obstetric data were collected and compared between LA and OA group. Results: Totally, 86 patients were included in this study. Among these patients, 62 underwent LA and 24 underwent OA. There was an increase in the adoption of LA between the 2006-2012 period and the 2013-2020 period [25% (6/24) vs. 90% (56/62), p < 0.001]. Compared with OA, patients treated by LA had much less blood loss [20 (10-50) vs. 30 (20-50) ml, p = 0.036] and fewer days of hospital stay [5.0 (4.0-7.3) vs. 9.5 (7-15.3) days, p < 0.001], but a relatively higher cost (15,580 ± 3196¥ vs. 11,717 ± 3820¥, p < 0.001). During the laparoscopic procedure, no one needed to be converted to open surgery. However, the rates of first trimester miscarriage, preterm, cesarean section, birth weight, 1- and 5-min Apgar were similar between LA and OA group (all p > 0.05). Conclusions: Compared with open approach, laparoscopy was shown to provide a comparable pregnancy outcomes and a better performance on perioperative outcomes in the treatment of HP patients with embryo transfer.