Search

Objectives: To summarize the clinical characteristics and investigate the efficacy of ethanol embolotherapy in the treatment of chest well arteriovenous malformation (AVM). Treatment-associated complications were also explored. Materials and Methods: Between March 2017 and August 2021, 32 consecutive patients (mean age, 23.7 years; age range, 5–54 years) who underwent ethanol embolotherapy for chest well AVMs under general anesthesia were included in this study. Embolization was performed through a direct puncture, transarterial catheterization, or a combination of the 2 procedures. The mean follow-up duration after the last treatment was 18.0 months (range, 3–42 months). The degree of devascularization on follow-up (assessed using angiography or computed tomography), and the clinical signs and symptoms of AVMs were evaluated as the therapeutic outcomes. The major and minor complications associated with the procedures were recorded. Results: A total of 103 embolization procedures (mean, 3.2; range, 2–7) comprising 101 ethanol embolization and 2 coil embolizations were performed on 32 patients with chest wall AVMs. The AVM nidus was accessed through the transarterial approach alone in 4 patients, by direct puncture in 11, and a combined procedure in 17 patients. Overall, more than 80% of the procedures were performed using the combined approach. Complete AVM devascularization was achieved in 12 (37.5%) patients. Moreover, 76% to 99% AVM was achieved in 18 patients (56.3%), and 50% to 75% in 2 patients (6.3%). Bleeding, pain, heart failure, and cosmetic deformities were the indications for treatment. For 3 patients (3/32, 9.4%) who had bleeding, the treatment stopped the hemorrhage. Complete pain relief was reported in 8 patients (8/32, 25.0%), whereas complete relief from congestive heart failure post-embolization was observed in 5 of the 6 patients with congestive heart failure (5/6, 83.3%). Complete correction of cosmesis deformities after embolization was achieved in 10 patients (10/32, 31.3%). Two patients who underwent surgery to correct persistent deformity after embolization only showed insignificant improvement. In addition, 6 (18.8%) patients developed 13 complications including blister, necrosis, hemothorax, transient hemoglobinuria, and transient pulmonary artery hypertension. Conclusions: Ethanol embolotherapy is a safe and effective procedure for chest well AVMs. Surgery is required for some patients with residual cosmesis deformity. Clinical Impact: Currently, there is no standard treatment for chest well AVMs due to their rarity and high heterogeneity. The present study shows that thanol embolotherapy is a safe and clinically effective treatment procedure for the chest well AVMs. Transarterial embolization in combination with direct puncture embolization can reach the AVM nidus. Ethanol embolotherapy can achieve complete obliteration of the AVM nidus in the majority of patients. Surgery may still be needed to correct cosmetic deformity after embolization. The present study provides valuable evidence to inform clinical decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments of a steel sphere oblique impact with a rubber cushion have been proceeded to research the variation laws of the specific energy at interface. The contact surfaces above and under the rubber cushion can be recorded with a thin carbon paper. The parameters of deformation volume and specific energy are analyzed by the developed formulas in different cases of the impact angle, cushion thickness, drop height and sphere diameter. It is found that the deformation volume and related geometrical sizes decrease approximately exponentially with the impact angle, and the volume of the tangential moving part reaches a maximum at 50° or 60°. The variation laws of the specific energy absorption/dissipation in normal are similar to that of the axis length. The tangential specific energy can be divided into three main phases, the first two appear the states of slow increase and plateau, between of them a fluctuating peak exists at 30–40°. In final phase, the energy absorption shows sharp increase, but the energy dissipation first increases and then decreases. In addition, they increase linearly with the drop height and sphere diameter, and an optimum cushion thickness of 4 or 5 mm in the given cases.

CeCl3 solution was used as a precursor to prepare CeO2 microspheres by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP). This is a green process that allows the transformation from CeCl3 to CeO2 without consuming any precipitant. The prepared material was investigated through various analysis technologies, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution TEM (HRTEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), N2 adsorption-desorption and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The prepared sample was confirmed as high purity CeO2 microspheres, and two different microstructures were observed. The microsphere surface area was 86.5 m2/g according to the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method. The microsphere diameter ranged from 0.09 μm to 3.86 μm and the microsphere surface was covered by numerous nanoparticles. The observed nanoparticles ranged in size from 19 nm to 200 nm as determined from FESEM and HRTEM images. The concentrations of Ce4+, Ce3+, residual chloride and oxygen vacancy in CeO2 were studied by relative sensitivity factors based on the XPS results. Finally, the data suggested the possible formation mechanism of the CeO2 microsphere structure.

Due to the merits of a higher charge, an empty 4f electron layer, and a larger radius, Ln3+ ions in nanoporous LnOFs usually display a strong Lewis acidity, which endows the host frameworks with excellent catalytic performance on most of the CO2-involved reactions. Herein, a combination of [Ln2(COO)7(H2O)2] clusters (abbreviated as {Ln2}) and a multifunctional structure-oriented ligand of 4,4′,4′′-(pyridine-2,4,6-triyl)-triisophthalic acid (H6PTTA) under acidic solvothermal conditions offered a series of isomorphic nanoporous frameworks of {(Me2NH2)-[Ln2(PTTA)-(H2O)2]}n (NUC-110, Ln = Pr, Nd, Eu, Gd, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu). Activated NUC-110 series not only own ca. 64–65% void volume composed of rare hierarchical cylindrical (17 Å) and quasi-quadrilateral (8 Å) channels and rich Lewis acid–base sites such as LnIII sites and Npyridine atoms, but also have an abnormal stability resistant to boiling water, weak acid and base solutions, and most of the organic solvents. For theoretically screening the catalytic ability of NUC-110Ln, the adsorption energy between the propylene oxide (PO) molecule and the activated host frameworks was calculated by the Dmol3 module of Material Studio software, which exhibits a binding energy between PO and NUC-110Gd, which is the smallest (−100.301 kJ/mol), suggesting that NUC-110Gd should have the most ideal catalytic performance on the cycloaddition of CO2 and epoxides. Experiments proved that the cycloaddition of CO2 and epoxides could be highly catalyzed by 0.10 mol % of NUC-110Gd catalyst under relatively mild conditions of 65 °C and 1 atm with a turnover frequency of 162 h–1. Furthermore, the Knoevenagel condensation of aldehyde and malononitrile could be accelerated by NUC-110Gd, which should be due to the fact that pyridine and defectively coordinated Gd3+ can separately activate malononitrile and aldehyde molecules. Therefore, the work not only provides a type of robust high-porosity rare-earth cluster-based MOFs but also offers a comprehensive calculation of binding energies on Ln3+ ions for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A better understanding of the relationships between oceanic environments and fishing conditions could make the utilization of fish more efficient, profitable, and sustainable. The current lack of high‐precision subsurface seawater information has long been a constraint on fishery research. Using near‐real‐time Argo observations, this paper presents a new approach called gradient‐dependent optimal interpolation. This approach provides daily subsurface oceanic environmental information according to fishery dates and locations. An experiment was conducted in the western and central Pacific Ocean using yellowfin tuna (YFT) catch data in August 2017. The results of seawater temperature and salinity represented differences of less than ±0.5°C and ±0.05, respectively, according to verification of error analysis and truth‐finding comparisons. After applying the constructed temperature and salinity profiles, we described the relationship between subsurface information and yellowfin tuna catch distribution. Statistical analysis revealed that yellowfin tuna were more adapted to warmer and saltier seawater. At the near‐surface (<5 m), the most suitable temperature was 28–29°C, although yellowfin tuna can endure a temperature range from 11 to 12°C at a depth of 300 m. The corresponding upper boundary of the thermocline was approximately 75 m, with a mean strength of 0.074°C/m, and the most suitable salinity for yellowfin tuna was 34.5–36.0 at depths shallower than 300 m. These results indicated that the constructed subsurface information was very close to the true values and they had high spatial and temporal accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]