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Starch straws are developed by focusing on improving the critical weakness of all starch‐based materials: moisture sensitivity. Various technologies including blending (with hydrogel carrageen), chemical crosslinking (using citric and boric acids, and furfural), physical barrier (using talc), and surface modifications (by adding stearic acid, or hot oxalic acids) are evaluated, and then synergized in this study. The materials and products are characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, contact angle, mechanical properties, water solubility and water absorption. All the trends of individual modification are similar to previous work but it was found that the influence of some modifications on the extruded straws was significantly different from that of the casting films reported previously since extrusion with high shear stress can destroy chemical and physical crosslinking or network formed. It was found that there was a maximum acid content to improve the water sensitivity since the excessive amount of acid could degrade starch and have more damage to the crosslinking during extrusion, resulting in decreasing mechanical properties and increasing solubility. On the other hand, some synergic functions, like crosslinked by additional citric acid and surface treatment by hot oxalic acid, were observed. The promising starch straws are developed based on synergic methodologies, in which typical samples were prepared by crosslinking using citric (1 w%), boric (2 w%), talc (3 w%), and stearic acids (1 w%) and treated with hot oxalic acids for 2 s. The optimized straw can be smoothly processed, reduced water absorption significantly (55.3%), and mechanical properties (modulus) increased about 54% compared with neat starch one after being immersed in water at room temperature (25°C) for 20 min. This synergic strategy provides a useful guideline for developing starch‐based materials with low moisture sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: The aim of this study was to explore whether cystatin C (CysC) could be used as a potential predictor of clinical outcomes in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients treated with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV‐tPA). Methods: We performed an observational study including a retrospective analysis of data from 125 AIS patients with intravenous thrombolysis. General linear models were applied to compare CysC levels between groups with different outcomes; logistic regression analysis and receiver‐operating characteristic curves were adopted to identify the association between CysC and the therapeutic effects. Results: Compared with the "good and sustained benefit" (GSB) outcome group (defined as ≥4‐point reduction in National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale or a score of 0–1 at 24 h and 7 days) and the "good functional outcome" (GFO) group (modified Rankin Scale score 0–2 at 90 days), serum CysC baseline levels were increased in the non‐GSB and non‐GFO groups. Logistic regression analysis found that CysC was an independent negative prognostic factor for GSB (odds ratio [OR] 0.010; p = 0.005) and GFO (OR 0.011; p = 0.021) after adjustment for potential influencing factors. Receiver‐operating characteristic curves showed the CysC‐involved combined models provided credible efficacy for predicting post‐90‐day favorable clinical outcome (area under the curve 0.86; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Elevated serum CysC is independently associated with unfavorable clinical outcomes after IV‐tPA therapy in AIS. Our findings provide new insights into discovering potential mediators for neuropathological process or treatment in stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]