Oleogels Of Olive Oil And Soybean Oil For Topical Drug Delivery: A Comparative Analysis

Objective: The objective of the present investigation was to develop olive and soybean oil-based oleogels with Span 40 and/or Tween 80 (as gelator and/or surfactant) and determine the critical gelator concentration (CGC), characterise and compare the rheological, thermal properties and drug release profile of the gels formed for topical delivery. Methods: Olive and soybean oil-based Span 40 and Span 40/Tween 80 oleogel formulations were prepared by solid fiber mechanism and subjected to organoleptic evaluation, FT-IR spectroscopy, thermal analysis, rheological study, kinetic modeling of gelation and drug release. Results: The critical gelator (Span 40) concentration was found to be lower for olive oil (12% w/v) and depend on the type of oil. Tween 80 reduced CGC of soybean oleogels only. Soybean oil-based oleogel containing 18% w/v Span 40 was found to form more flexible, less viscous and thermally less stable formulation with better release of paracetamol as evident from lower melt flow index, Tg value, lower β and higher α value compared to olive oil-based oleogel with 12% w/v Span 40 (CGC). Surfactant addition can be assumed to modify the microarchitecture of the oleogels to a great extent to produce more flexible and thermally stable gels with even better drug release profile. Span-Tween based soybean oleogel formed a gel-matrix whereas matrix in olive oil-based oleogels containing Span only became slightly flexible to release the drug in zero-order fashion on the addition of surfactant cogelator. Conclusion: Nature of oil exerts profound influence on the rheological, thermal and release profile of oleogels containing Span 40 as gelator and/or Tween 80 as surfactant cogelator.

Predictive value of three-dimensional energy ultrasound for endometrial cancer in women with postmenopausal bleeding / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

Objective: To explore the predictive value of three-dimensional energy Doppler ultrasound for endometrial cancer (EC) in women with postmenopausal hemorrhage (PMB) so as to analyze the relationship between ovarian cyst and the risk of endometrial lesions. Methods: We selected 386 women with PMB diagnosed at The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong university from October 2015 to October 2018. The predictive value of endometrial thickness (ET), endometrial volume (EV), vascularization index (VI), flow index (FI) and vascularization flow index (VFI) for EC were analyzed according to the results of endometrial pathology. And the risk of endometrial lesions was compared between patients with ovarian cyst and those without ovarian cyst. Results: The pathological examination results of the 386 PMB women showed that normal endometrium accounted for 48.96%, benign endometrial lesions accounted for 40.93%, and EC accounted for 10.10%. ET, EV, VI, FI and VFI significantly differed between normal endometrial group, benign endometrial lesion group and EC group (P0.05). ET, EV, VI, FI and VFI in women with PMB accompanied with ovarian cyst were significantly higher (P<0.05); the prevalence of endometrial hyperplasia without atypia (EH) or atypical endometrial hyperplasia (AEH) was significantly higher than that of women without ovarian cyst (P<0.05). Conclusion: The predictive value of three-dimensional energy Doppler ultrasound for EC in women with PMB is better than that of endometrial thickness; among them FI has the highest predictive value. Ovarian cyst may increase the risk of endometrial lesions in women with PMB, which is worthy of attention in clinic.

Influence of ovarian artery blood flow index on pregnancy outcomes of patients undergoing in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer / 实用医学杂志

Objective To investigate the influence of ovarian arterial blood flow index on pregnancy outcomes in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET).Methods Totally 136 infertile patients undergoing IVF-ET from February 2014 to April 2016 were divided into pregnant group and non-pregnant group.The monitoring through transvaginal B of two groups for chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) day and ovarian artery resistance index (RI),pulsatility index (PI) and umbilical artery diastolic flow velocity height ratio (S/D) on 2nd day of menstruation (M2) was conducted.The difference of blood flow indexes in two groups was analyzed.Results Compared with those in non-pregnant group,RI,PI and S/D in pregnant group were decreased on M2,and the difference was statistically significant (P ＜ 0.05).RI and PI were also decreased significantly on HCG day,and the difference was statistically significant (P ＜ 0.05),but S/D showed no significant changes (P ＞ 0.05).RI and PI decreased significantly on HCG day in two groups (P ＜ 0.05) when compared with those on M2,but in non-pregnant group,the comparison of S/D on HCG day showed no statistical significance (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions There is close relationship among RI and PI of ovarian artery and ovarian reserve function.RI and PI are effective indexes to predict outcomes in IVF-ET,and provide scientific basis for the preparation and treatment for IVF-ET.

Comparative Analysis of Logistic Regression, Support Vector Machine and Artificial Neural Network for the Differential Diagnosis of Benign and Malignant Solid Breast Tumors by the Use of Three-Dimensional Power Doppler Imaging

OBJECTIVE: Logistic regression analysis (LRA), Support Vector Machine (SVM) and a neural network (NN) are commonly used statistical models in computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) systems for breast ultrasonography (US). The aim of this study was to clarify the diagnostic ability of the use of these statistical models for future applications of CAD systems, such as three-dimensional (3D) power Doppler imaging, vascularity evaluation and the differentiation of a solid mass. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A database that contained 3D power Doppler imaging pairs of non-harmonic and tissue harmonic images for 97 benign and 86 malignant solid tumors was utilized. The virtual organ computer-aided analysis-imaging program was used to analyze the stored volumes of the 183 solid breast tumors. LRA, an SVM and NN were employed in comparative analyses for the characterization of benign and malignant solid breast masses from the database. RESULTS: The values of area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, referred to as Az values for the use of non-harmonic 3D power Doppler US with LRA, SVM and NN were 0.9341, 0.9185 and 0.9086, respectively. The Az values for the use of harmonic 3D power Doppler US with LRA, SVM and NN were 0.9286, 0.8979 and 0.9009, respectively. The Az values of six ROC curves for the use of LRA, SVM and NN for non-harmonic or harmonic 3D power Doppler imaging were similar. CONCLUSION: The diagnostic performances of these three models (LRA, SVM and NN) are not different as demonstrated by ROC curve analysis. Depending on user emphasis for the use of ROC curve findings, the use of LRA appears to provide better sensitivity as compared to the other statistical models.