A newly designed big cup nitinol stent for gastric outlet obstruction

AIM:To find out whether a newly designed big cup nitinol stent is suitable for treatment of patients with gastric outlet obstruction resulting from gastric cancer.METHODS:The new stent is composed of a proximal big cup segment(20 mm in length and 48-55 mm in diameter),a middle part(60 mm in length and 20 mm in diameter)covered by a polyethylene membrane and a distal sphericity(20 mm in length and 28 mm in diameter).Half of the proximal big cup segment is also covered by a polyethlene membrane,which is adjacent to the middle part of the stent.The stent is preloaded in a 6.0-mm-diameter introducer system.Thirteen patients with gastric outlet obstruction resulting from gastric cancer received the new stents under endoscopic and fluoroscopic guidance.RESULTS:Technical success was achieved in 12 of 13(92.3%)patients.Among the 12 patients in whom endoscopic stent was placed successfully,the clinical success rate was 91.7%during a follow-up of average 6.5 mo.During the first month follow-up,the migration rate was 0%,recurrent obstruction 0%and gastric bleeding 8.3%.During the follow-up between 2-12 mo,no migration,recurrent obstruction and gastric bleeding occurred.CONCLUSION:The proximal big cup segment seems to be effective and promising for technical efficacy,clinical outcome,and preventing migration and tumor ingrowth and increasing the emptying rate of sinus ventriculi.

Biomechanics of the sclera and effects on intraocular pressure

Accumulating evidence indicates that glaucoma is a multifactorial neurodegenerative disease characterized by the loss of retinal ganglion cells （RGC）, resulting in gradual and progressive permanent loss of vision. Reducing intraocular pressure （IOP） remains the only proven method for preventing and delaying the progression of glaucomatous visual impairment. However, the specific role of IOP in optic nerve injury remains controversial, and little is known about the biomechanical mechanism by which elevated IOP leads to the loss of RGC. Published studies suggest that the biomechanical properties of the sclera and scleral lamina cribrosa determine the biomechanical changes of optic nerve head, and play an important role in the pathologic process of loss of RGC and optic nerve damage. This review focuses on the current understanding of biomechanics of sclera in glaucoma and provides an overview of the possible interactions between the sclera and IOP. Treatments and interventions aimed at the sclera are also discussed.

SuPoolVisor:a visual analytics system for mining pool surveillance

Cryptocurrencies represented by Bitcoin have fully demonstrated their advantages and great potential in payment and monetary systems during the last decade.The mining pool,which is considered the source of Bitcoin,is the cornerstone of market stability.The surveillance of the mining pool can help regulators effectively assess the overall health of Bitcoin and issues.However,the anonymity of mining-pool miners and the difficulty of analyzing large numbers of transactions limit in-depth analysis.It is also a challenge to achieve intuitive and comprehensive monitoring of multi-source heterogeneous data.In this study,we present SuPoolVisor,an interactive visual analytics system that supports surveillance of the mining pool and de-anonymization by visual reasoning.SuPoolVisor is divided into pool level and address level.At the pool level,we use a sorted stream graph to illustrate the evolution of computing power of pools over time,and glyphs are designed in two other views to demonstrate the influence scope of the mining pool and the migration of pool members.At the address level,we use a force-directed graph and a massive sequence view to present the dynamic address network in the mining pool.Particularly,these two views,together with the Radviz view,support an iterative visual reasoning process for de-anonymization of pool members and provide interactions for cross-view analysis and identity marking.Effectiveness and usability of SuPoolVisor are demonstrated using three cases,in which we cooperate closely with experts in this field.

Synchrotron Radiation-Based Three-Dimensional Visualization of Angioarchitectural Remodeling in Hippocampus of Epileptic Rats

Characterizing the three-dimensional (3D) morphological alterations of microvessels under both normal and seizure conditions is crucial for a better understanding of epilepsy. However, conventional imaging techniques cannot detect microvessels on micron/sub-micron scales without angiography. In this study, synchrotron radiation(SR)-based X-ray in-line phase-contrast imaging (ILPCI)and quantitative 3D characterization were used to acquire high-resolution, high-contrast images of rat brain tissue under both normal and seizure conditions. The number of blood microvessels was markedly increased on days 1 and 14, but decreased on day 60 after seizures. The surface area, diameter distribution, mean tortuosity, and number of bifurcations and network segments also showed similar trends. These pathological changes were confirmed by histological tests. Thus, SR-based ILPCI provides systematic and detailed views of cerebrovascular anatomy at the micron level without using contrast-enhancing agents. This holds considerable promise for better diagnosis and understanding of the pathogenesis and development of epilepsy.