组织工程用纤维增强天然多糖水凝胶的进展

天然多糖水凝胶具有良好的生物相容性,然而其力学性能调节幅度小,无法满足组织工程应用巨大的需求。通过纤维增强法,不仅可显著提高天然多糖水凝胶的力学性能,还能调节复合水凝胶的降解性能、促进细胞粘附、增殖与分化行为及其组织沉积。常用的天然多糖组织工程水凝胶的纤维增强方法有物理共混法、化学作用法、静电驱动法与自组装法等。本文综述了纤维增强水凝胶的结构与功能特点,讨论了纤维增强对组织工程水凝胶的意义,以期对纤维增强组织工程水凝胶的发展起到促进作用。     

双歧杆菌四联活菌片联合肠内营养在机械通气患者中的应用

目的观察双歧杆菌四联活菌片联合肠内营养(EN)对机械通气患者营养状况及免疫调节的影响。方法选择我院98例行机械通气的患者为研究对象,随机分为治疗组和对照组,每组49例。对照组给予EN治疗,治疗组在EN治疗基础上加用双歧杆菌四联活菌片治疗,1.5 g/次,3次/d。比较两组患者治疗前后血红白蛋白(Hb)、白蛋白(Alb)、前白蛋白(PAB)、外周血T淋巴细胞数、免疫球蛋白水平及机械通气时间、ICU住院时间。结果治疗后,两组患者Hb、Alb、PAB、CD3~+、CD4~+、CD8~+、CD4~+/CD8~+、IgG、IgA、IgM水平均有所上升。与对照组相比,治疗组患者Hb、Alb、TP、CD3~+、CD4~+、CD4~+/CD8~+、IgG、IgA、IgM水平均显著升高,差异均有统计学意义(均P0.05)。治疗组患者机械通气时间[(4.6±1.2)d]、ICU住院时间[(11.3±4.8)d]均短于对照组,差异有统计学意义(均P0.05)。结论双歧杆菌四联活菌片能够改善机械通气患者的营养状况,同时改善患者免疫功能,缩短患者机械通气时间及ICU住院时间。     

谷红注射液和丁苯酞注射液联合Solitaire AB型支架取栓治疗急性缺血性脑卒中的临床研究

摘要 目的：探讨谷红注射液和丁苯酞注射液联合Solitaire AB型支架取栓治疗急性缺血性脑卒中（AIS）的临床疗效。方法：选择2018年1月到2020年12月期间攀枝花市中西医结合医院收治的AIS患者98例,依照随机数字表法分为观察组（50例）和对照组（48例）。对照组采用Solitaire AB型支架取栓治疗,观察组给予谷红注射液和丁苯酞注射液联合Solitaire AB型支架取栓治疗,两组均治疗14 d。治疗后进行临床疗效评价,比较两组治疗后的血管再通率和并发症发生率,比较两组治疗前后的美国国立卫生研究院卒中量表（NIHSS）评分、Barthel指数评分及全血高切黏度、全血低切黏度、血小板聚集率。结果：观察组的临床总有效率为84.00%（42/50）,对照组为60.42%（29/48）,两组比较差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。观察组的血管再通率明显高于对照组（P<0.05）。两组治疗后血小板聚集率、全血低切黏度及全血高切黏度均明显低于治疗前（P<0.05）,且观察组治疗后血小板聚集率、全血低切黏度及全血高切黏度均明显低于对照组（P<0.05）。治疗后观察组Barthel指数评分明显高于对照组（P<0.05）,NIHSS评分明显低于对照组（P<0.05）。观察组的并发症发生率为6.00%（3/50）,对照组为4.17%（2/48）,两组比较差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）。结论：谷红注射液和丁苯酞注射液联合Solitaire AB型支架取栓治疗AIS的临床疗效显著,能够提高血管再通率,减轻神经功能缺损,改善患者的日常生活能力和血液流变学指标,且并发症较轻。     

Tissue Aspiration and Inverse Finite Element Characterisation of Soft Tissues

In this work we examined the determination of soft tissue parameters via tissue aspiration experiments and inverse finite element characterisation. An aspiration tube was put against the target tissue. The deformation of the tissue inside the tube caused by weak suction was tracked with a video based system. A strain energy function was employed to model the elastic behaviour of soft tissue and viscoelasticity was accounted for by means of a quasi-linear viscoelastic formulation. Friction between the aspiration tube and the aspirated tissue was included in the model. Based on the assumed material model, an optimal set of material parameters was found, in order to best fit the experimental data obtained from ex-vivo experiments on pig kidney cortex. The inverse method resulted in robust determination of the unknown material parameters.     

Anti-inflammatory effects of clarithromycin in ventilator-induced lung injury

Background

Mechanical ventilation can promote lung injury by triggering a pro-inflammatory response. Macrolides may exert some immunomodulatory effects and have shown significant benefits over other antibiotics in ventilated patients. We hypothesized that macrolides could decrease ventilator-induced lung injury.

Methods

Adult mice were treated with vehicle, clarithromycin or levofloxacin, and randomized to receive mechanical ventilation with low (12 cmH₂O, PEEP 2 cmH₂O) or high (20 cmH₂O, ZEEP) inspiratory pressures for 150 minutes. Histological lung injury, neutrophil infiltration, inflammatory mediators (NFκB activation, Cxcl2, IL-10) and levels of adhesion molecules (E-selectin, ICAM) and proteases (MMP-9 and MMP-2) were analyzed.

Results

There were no differences among groups after low-pressure ventilation. Clarithromycin significantly decreased lung injury score and neutrophil count, compared to vehicle or levofloxacin, after high-pressure ventilation. Cxcl2 expression and MMP-2 and MMP-9 levels increased and IL-10 decreased after injurious ventilation, with no significant differences among treatment groups. Both clarithromycin and levofloxacin dampened the increase in NFκB activation observed in non-treated animals submitted to injurious ventilation. E-selectin levels increased after high pressure ventilation in vehicle- and levofloxacin-treated mice, but not in those receiving clarithromycin.

Conclusions

Clarithromycin ameliorates ventilator-induced lung injury and decreases neutrophil recruitment into the alveolar spaces. This could explain the advantages of macrolides in patients with acute lung injury and mechanical ventilation.     

A Murine Model of Stent Implantation in the Carotid Artery for the Study of Restenosis

Despite the considerable progress made in the stent development in the last decades, cardiovascular diseases remain the main cause of death in western countries. Beside the benefits offered by the development of different drug-eluting stents, the coronary revascularization bears also the life-threatening risks of in-stent thrombosis and restenosis. Research on new therapeutic strategies is impaired by the lack of appropriate methods to study stent implantation and restenosis processes. Here, we describe a rapid and accessible procedure of stent implantation in mouse carotid artery, which offers the possibility to study in a convenient way the molecular mechanisms of vessel remodeling and the effects of different drug coatings.     

Manufacturing Devices and Instruments for Easier Rat Liver Transplantation

Orthotopic rat liver transplantation is a popular model, which has been shown in a recent JoVE paper with the use of the "quick-linker" device. This technique allows for easier venous cuff-anatomoses after a reasonable learning curve. The device is composed of two handles, which are carved out from scalpel blades, one approximator, which is obtained by modifying Kocher''s forceps, and cuffs designed from fine-bore polyethylene tubing. The whole process can be performed at a low-cost using common laboratory material. The present report provides a step-by-step protocol for the design of the required pieces and includes stencils.     

Nanomoulding of Functional Materials,a Versatile Complementary Pattern Replication Method to Nanoimprinting

We describe a nanomoulding technique which allows low-cost nanoscale patterning of functional materials, materials stacks and full devices. Nanomoulding combined with layer transfer enables the replication of arbitrary surface patterns from a master structure onto the functional material. Nanomoulding can be performed on any nanoimprinting setup and can be applied to a wide range of materials and deposition processes. In particular we demonstrate the fabrication of patterned transparent zinc oxide electrodes for light trapping applications in solar cells.     

Non-identifiability of the Rayleigh damping material model in Magnetic Resonance Elastography

Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE) is an emerging imaging modality for quantifying soft tissue elasticity deduced from displacement measurements within the tissue obtained by phase sensitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques. MRE has potential to detect a range of pathologies, diseases and cancer formations, especially tumors. The mechanical model commonly used in MRE is linear viscoelasticity (VE). An alternative Rayleigh damping (RD) model for soft tissue attenuation is used with a subspace-based nonlinear inversion (SNLI) algorithm to reconstruct viscoelastic properties, energy attenuation mechanisms and concomitant damping behavior of the tissue-simulating phantoms. This research performs a thorough evaluation of the RD model in MRE focusing on unique identification of RD parameters, _μI${\mu }_I$ and _ρI${\rho }_I$.     

Performance of oak,beech and spruce beams after more than 100 years in service

The aim of this study was to investigate differences in the mechanical and fungicidal properties of three different wood species (English oak (Quercus sp.), common beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Norway spruce (Picea abies)) that had been in indoor use for several decades, compared to control specimens of freshly cut timber. The collected material was cut into smaller samples prior to further analysis. Extractive content, mechanical, fungicidal and sorption properties were determined according to standard procedures. The obtained results showed that the mechanical properties of oak wood do not deteriorate over the investigated time frame. On the other hand, the resistance of oak wood against fungi decreases over time. The reason for this is yet to be confirmed; it may be due to degradation of secondary metabolites. Similar results have been reported for spruce wood. There were no statistically significant differences in the mechanical properties of old and new spruce wood. In contrast to oak wood, there were also no significant differences in fungicidal properties, bearing in mind that spruce wood has lower durability than oak wood. Aging of beech wood resulted in a considerable decrease in the tested mechanical properties but showed no significant differences in fungicidal properties. Old beech wood specimens were moderately deteriorated by insects and fungi, which was the reason for the loss of bending and compressive strength. Our results confirm that most of the relevant properties do not deteriorate with time and that wood can be reused for a variety of other applications even after decades in service.