Cap-assisted endoscopic sclerotherapy for hemorrhoids: Methods, feasibility and efficacy

AIM: To evaluate the methodology, feasibility, safety and efficacy of a novel method called cap-assisted endoscopic sclerotherapy(CAES) for internal hemorrhoids.METHODS: A pilot study on CAES for grade Ⅰ to Ⅲ internal hemorrhoids was performed. Colon and terminal ileum examination by colonoscopy was performed for all patients before starting CAES. Polypectomy and excision of anal papilla fibroma were performed if polyps or anal papilla fibroma were found and assessed to be suitable for resection under endoscopy. CAES was performed based on the requirement of the cap, endoscope, disposable endoscopic long injection needle, enough insufflated air and sclerosing agent.RESULTS: A total of 30 patients with grade Ⅰ to Ⅲ internal hemorrhoids was included. The follow-up was more than four weeks. No bleeding was observed after CAES. One(3.33%) patient claimed mild tenesmus within four days after CAES in that an endoscopist performed this procedure for the first time. One hundred percent of patients were satisfied with this novel procedure, especially for those patients who underwent CAES in conjunction with polypectomy or excision of anal papilla fibroma.CONCLUSION: CAES as a novel endoscopic sclerotherapy should be a convenient, safe and effective flexible endoscopic therapy for internal hemorrhoids.

Clinical and microbiological characteristics of patients with biliary disease

BACKGROUND Biliary diseases are common digestive system disorders which may combine with biliary tract infection such as cholecystitis or cholangitis.Thus,rapid identification of the bacteria and their antibiotic susceptibility profiles are crucial for reducing the mortality of patients with biliary tract infection.AIM To identify bacterial species and antibiotic susceptibility for antibacterial therapy and analyze bile cultivation risk factors for increasing detection rates.METHODS This retrospective study was conducted from July 2008 to July 2017.In total,1339 bile samples which were collected during therapeutic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopan-creatography or percutaneous transhepatic cholangiodrainage or other biliary surgeries or biliary drainage were obtained to characterize pathogen spectra,antibiotic susceptibility,and clinical features.Clinical data including age,sex,comorbidities,clinical symptoms,protopathies,and history of biliary tract diseases and surgeries were collated from hospital medical records.Species identification and initial drug susceptibility were further identified by biochemical characterization using the VITEK 2 Compact test.RESULTS Positive microbiological findings were observed in 738 samples.The most frequently encountered strains were gram-negative bacteria(74.94%),including Escherichia coli(37.78%),Pseudomonas aeruginosa(8.96%),and Klebsiella pneumoniae(10.29%).Bile bacteria were largely sensitive to carbapenems,piperacillin/tazobactam,and gentamicin.Gram-negative strains had low susceptibility to ceftriaxone,quinolones and ampicillin.Almost the same microorganisms were present in patients with malignant and benign diseases.The number of samples with Klebsiella pneumoniae in the bile culture were significantly different between patients with malignant and benign diseases(55 vs 30;P=0.019).Age(P<0.001),fever(P<0.001),history of biliary tract diseases and surgeries(both P<0.001),benign disease(P=0.002),and the comorbidity chronic renal insufficiency(P=0.007)affected the positive rates of the bile samples.CONCLUSION Gram-negative bacteria were the most commonly isolated biliary bacteria.We determined the major factors associated with positive detection rates.Microbiological analysis of bile samples allowed accurate antibiotic treatments.

Design and tests of the prototype a beam monitor of the CSR external target experiment

A prototype beam monitor was designed to provide tracking information for heavy-ion projectiles for the cool storage ring(CSR)external target experiment(CEE)at the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou(HIRFL).High granularity and direct charge sensing are the main features of this device.It measures the beam position in a two-dimensional(2D)plane transverse to the beam direction on an event-by-event basis.The current design consists of two field cages inside a single vessel that operates independently and has electrical drift fields in orthogonal directions.Preliminary tests of the prototype were performed using a^(241)Am a source.The results show that a spatial resolution of less than 40μm and a time resolution of less than 600 ns can be achieved.

Gambogic acid induces apoptosis and inhibits colorectal tumor growth via mitochondrial pathways

AIM: To investigate the effect of gambogic acid(GA) on apoptosis in the HT-29 human colon cancer cell line. METHODS: H-29 cells were used for in vitro experiments in this study. Relative cell viability was assessed using MTT assays. Cell apoptosis was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase d UTP nick end labeling and Hoechst 33342 staining, and quantified by flow cytometry. Cellular ultrastructure was observed by transmission electron microscopy. Real-time PCR and Western blot analyses were used to evaluate gene and protein expression levels. For in vivo experiments, BALB/c nude mice received subcutaneous injections of HT-29 cells in the right armpit. When well-established xenografts were palpable with a tumor size of 75 mm3, mice were randomly assigned to a vehicle(negative) control, positive control or GA treatment group(n = 6 each). The animals in the treatment group received one of three dosages of GA(in saline; 5, 10 or 20 mg/kg) via the caudal vein twice weekly, whereas animals in the negative and positive control groups were given equal volumes of 0.9% saline or 10 mg/kg docetaxel, respectively, via the caudal vein once weekly. RESULTS: The cell viability assay showed that GA inhibited proliferation of HT-29 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner after treatment with GA(0.00, 0.31, 0.62, 1.25, 2.50, 5.00 or 10.00 μmol/L) for 24, 48 or 72 h. After 48 h, the percentage of apoptotic cells in cells treated with 0.00, 1.25, 2.50 and 5.00 μmol/L GA was 1.4% ± 0.3%, 9.8% ± 1.2%, 25.7% ± 3.3% and 49.3% ± 5.8%, respectively. Ultrastructural analysis of HT-29 cells treated for 48 h with 2.5μmol/L GA revealed apoptotic bodies and condensed and fragmented nuclei. Levels of caspase-8,-9 and-3 m RNAs were significantly increased after treatment with GA(1.25, 2.50 or 5.00 μmol/L) for 48 h(P < 0.05 for all). Protein levels of apoptosis-related factors Fas, Fas L, FADD, cytochrome c, and Apaf-1 were increased in GA-treated cells, whereas levels of pro-caspase-8,-9 and-3 were significantly decreased(P < 0.05 for all). Furthermore, GA significantly and dose-dependently inhibited the growth of HT-29 tumors in a mouse xenograft model(P < 0.05).CONCLUSION: GA inhibits HT-29 proliferation via induction of apoptosis. The anti-cancer effects are likely mediated by death receptor(extrinsic) and mitochondrial(intrinsic) pathways.

Prototype of single-event effect localization system with CMOS pixel sensor

The single-event effect(SEE) is a serious threat to electronics in radiation environments. The most important issue in radiation-hardening studies is the localization of the sensitive region in electronics to the SEE. To solve this problem, a prototype based on a complementary metal oxide semiconductor(CMOS) pixel sensor, i.e., TopmetalM, was designed for SEE localization. A beam test was performed on the prototype at the radiation terminal of the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou(HIRFL). The results indicated that the inherent deflection angle of the prototype to the beam was 1.7°, and the angular resolution was 0.6°. The prototype localized heavy ions with a position resolution of 3.4 μm.

Study of the retina algorithm on FPGA for fast tracking

Real-time track reconstruction in high-energy physics experiments at colliders running at high luminosity is very challenging for trigger systems. To perform pattern recognition and track fitting, artificial retina or Hough transformation algorithms have been introduced to the field typically implemented on state-of-the-art field programmable gate array(FPGA) devices. In this paper, we report on two FPGA implementations of the retina algorithm: one using a mixed Floating-Point core and the other using Fixed-Point and Look-Up Table, and detailed measurements of the retina performance are investigated and compared. So far, the retina has mainly been used in a detector configuration comprising parallel planes, and the goal of our work is to study the hardware implementation of the retina algorithm and estimate the possibility of using such a method in a real experiment.

Design of detector to monitor the Bragg peak location of carbon ions by means of prompt γ-ray measurements with Geant4

Real-time monitoring of the Bragg peak location of carbon ions is urgently required for the quality control of hadron therapy. In this study, we design an annular detector to monitor the Bragg peak location of carbon ions with Geant4 simulation. This 360° surrounding structure has a high detection efficiency for the small-dose situation. The detector consists of a multilayered collimator system and an Na I scintillator for prompt gamma counting. The multilayered collimator includes a lead layer to prevent unwanted gammas and the paraffin and boron carbide layers to moderate and capture fast neutrons. An inclination of the detector further diminishes the background signal caused by neutrons. The detector, with optimized parameters, is applicable to carbon ions of different energies. In addition, the scintillator is replaced by an improved EJ301 organic liquid scintillator to discriminate gammas and neutrons. Inserting thin Fe slices into the liquid scintillator improves the energy deposition efficiency. The Bragg peak location of 200 Me V/u carbon ions can be monitored by prompt gamma detection with the improved liquid scintillator.

Cyclic Pulsating Pressure Enhanced Segregating Structuration of Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene/Graphene Composites as High-performance Light-Weight EMI Shields

Currently,the enhancement in electromagnetic interference(EMI)performance of polymeric composite generally relies on either improving electrical conductivity(σ)for stronger electromagnetic(EM)reflections or tailoring structure for higher EM resonances.Herein,we proposed a novel technique called cyclic pulsating pressure enhanced segregating structuration(CPP-SS),which can reinforce these two factors simultaneously.The structural information was supplied by optical microscopy(OM)and scanning electron microscopy(SEM),both of which confirmed the formation and evolution of segregate structured ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene(UHMWPE)/graphene composites.Then,the result showed that CPP-SS can significantly improve theσof samples.Ultimately,advanced specific EMI shielding efficiency of 31.1 d B/mm was achieved for UHMWPE/graphene composite at 1-mm thickness and a low graphene loading of 5 wt%.Meanwhile,it also confirmed that the intrinsic disadvantage of poor mechanical properties of conventional segregated structure composites can be surpassed.This work is believed to provide a fundamental understanding of the structural and performance evolutions of segregated structured composites prepared under CPPSS,and to bring us a simple and efficient approach for fabricating high-performance,strong and light-weight polymeric EMI shields.

Spectral observation of symmetry-protected selection rules for dynamical high-dimensional parity in alignment magnetic resonance

Multidimensional Floquet-driven alignment systems with dynamical symmetry present various exotic phenomena and applications.However,there are challenges in directly characterizing large-spin dynamical symmetry from spectra.Here,we first observe the symmetry-protected selection rules of dynamical high-dimensional parity in a large-spin(F=4)system.We theoretically construct a Floquet-driven alignment system that can be used to reveal high-dimensional spatiotemporal symmetry.In the experiment,the system is implemented in Cs atomic gas subjected to two-dimensional Floquet-modulated magnetic resonance driving.By developing Floquet detection protocols of alignment double-sided spectra,we directly verify symmetry-protected selection rules of dynamical high-dimensional parity for large-spin systems.This work advances the exploration of dynamical symmetry to large spins,and unravels a universal Floquet scheme for the investigation of symmetry-protected selection rules.