Preparation of convex edges in fused silica by single pass perforation with a 2D Airy-Gaussian beam.

Following ultrafast laser machining of fused silica, post-processing such as polishing and honing are typically required for edges. In this study, we employed a spatial light modulator (SLM) to generate the 2D Airy-Gaussian beam to prepare the convex edges in fused silica by using a single pass of a picosecond laser. It is found that, if the speed exceeds 5 mm/s, there would be plasma interference which is unfavorable for the separation process. A filament effect was observed when the internal laser peak power exceeds the damage threshold of fused silica. The shape of the convex edges was consistent with the propagation path of the 2D Airy-Gaussian beam inside the fused silica before separation. The inclination angle was 17° and 13°, respectively, on the upper and lower end of the edges. The results of this study provide a new, to our knowledge, method for the preparation of curved structures with different curvatures in transparent materials.

Effect of material temperatures on quality of fish vermicelli, a noodle-shaped surimi product.

The study investigated the effect of material temperatures (15°C, 20°C, 25°C, 30°C, 35°C, and 40°C) on the quality of fish vermicelli (FV) in terms of morphological, cooking, textural, microstructural, and water distribution properties. Results showed that as the material temperatures increased, the surface smoothness, cooking characteristics, and textural properties of FV significantly increased, followed by a decrease. Especially, when the material temperatures were 25°C and 30°C, the FV samples exhibited denser and more continuous gel networks with more embedded starch particles, resulting in decreased cooking loss and improved tensile strength. However, at material temperatures above 35°C, the continuity of the protein phase was disrupted by overswelling starch granules, leading to the worst cooking characteristics and textural properties. Especially at material temperatures of 40°C, the water holding capacity, hardness, and springiness of FV decreased by 25.59%, 73.48%, and 47.98%, respectively, compared to the samples at 25°C. Additionally, the cooking loss increased by 91.40%. In conclusion, the critical material temperature for the quality deterioration of FV was 35°C, and it was recommended to produce FV below this temperature.

Thrombus formation in the suprahepatic inferior vena cava after microwave ablation in patients with hepatic metastasis: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Microwave ablation (MWA) via ultrasound guidance is an important tool in the treatment of liver metastases. The most common postoperative complications are abdominal hemorrhage and bile leakage, whereas thrombosis in the suprahepatic inferior vena cava (IVC) is very rare, and clinical management is very difficult when the head end of the thrombus reaches the right atrium. CASE PRESENTATION: This is a case report of a 52-year-old man with hepatic metastasis 21 months after radical resection of rectal cancer. After chemotherapy combined with targeted therapy, metastasis in segment IV (S4) of the liver was treated with microwave ablation. Two months after treatment, the hepatic metastasis in S4 showed a microwave ablation zone on MRI.Enhanced MRI showed venous thrombosis located in the left hepatic vein and IVC, and the head of the thrombus reached the right atrium. After two weeks of anticoagulation and thrombolytic treatment, the follow-up MRI showed that the venous thrombus had nearly disappeared. CONCLUSION: When liver metastases are close to the hepatic vein, clinicians should pay attention to the occurrence of hepatic vein and IVC thrombosis following MWA; through early diagnosis and anticoagulation, pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) can be minimized.

Current Progress on Neuroinflammation-mediated Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction: An Update.

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a common complication of the central nervous system (CNS) in elderly patients after surgery, showing cognitive changes such as decreased learning and memory ability, impaired concentration, and even personality changes and decreased social behavior ability in severe cases. POCD may appear days or weeks after surgery and persist or even evolve into Alzheimer's disease (AD), exerting a significant impact on patients' health. There are many risk factors for the occurrence of POCD, including age, surgical trauma, anesthesia, neurological diseases, etc. The level of circulating inflammatory markers increases with age, and elderly patients often have more risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, resulting in an increase in POCD incidence in elderly patients after stress responses such as surgical trauma and anesthesia. The current diagnostic rate of POCD is relatively low, which affects the prognosis and increases postoperative complications and mortality. The pathophysiological mechanism of POCD is still unclear, however, central nervous inflammation is thought to play a critical role in it. The current review summarizes the related studies on neuroinflammation-mediated POCD, such as the involvement of key central nervous cells such as microglia and astrocytes, proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-1ß, inflammatory signaling pathways such as PI3K/Akt/mTOR and NF-κB. In addition, multiple predictive and diagnostic biomarkers for POCD, the risk factors, and the positive effects of anti-inflammatory therapy in the prevention and treatment of POCD have also been reviewed. The exploration of POCD pathogenesis is helpful for its early diagnosis and long-term treatment, and the intervention strategies targeting central nervous inflammation of POCD are of great significance for the prevention and treatment of POCD.

Electroacupuncture pretreatment prevents ischemic stroke and inhibits Wnt signaling-mediated autophagy through the regulation of GSK-3ß phosphorylation.

Electroacupuncture (EA), a traditional Chinese replacement therapy, is widely accepted to treat ischemic stroke. Increasing evidence show that autophagy is involved in the process of cerebral ischemia injury and the Wnt/GSK3ß pathway, playing an important role in protecting central nervous system. In this study, rats were treated with EA prior to focal ischemia by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Deficit score, infarct volumes and levels of autophagy markers, such as LC3I, LC3II and p62, were assessed with either PI3K inhibitor wortmannin or a GSK-3ß inhibitor LiCl. Oxygen-glucose deprivation/re-oxygenation (OGD/R) was made in the primitive neuron in vitro, and was respectively treated with autophagy inhibitors 3-MA, LiCl, GSK3ß siRNA, or mTOR inhibitor rapamycin. The results indicated that EA pretreatment increased the levels of autophagy marker LC3-II and reduced the levels of p62. Meanwhile, deficit outcome was improved, and infarct volumes were reduced by EA pretreatment. Furthermore, the beneficial effects of EA pretreatment were reversed by wortmannin. LiCl and GSK3ß siRNA can mimic the neuroprotective effects of EA pretreatment by downregulating autophagy, and increasing protein levels of p-mTOR, p-GSK3ß and ß-catenin in OGD/R neurons. However, the protective effects of GSK3ß siRNA were blocked by rapamycin. These results suggest that EA pretreatment induces tolerance to cerebral ischemia by inhibiting autophagy via the Wnt pathway through the inhibition of GSK3ß.

Electroacupuncture Pretreatment Alleviates Cerebral Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury by Increasing GSK-3ß Phosphorylation Level via Adenosine A1 Receptor.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of adenosine A1 receptor in the hippocampus of mice on GSK-3ß phosphorylation level and elucidate the underlying mechanisms of electroacupuncture pretreatment by activating Α1 receptor mediating cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. METHOD: The model of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was established and grouped into electroacupuncture pretreatment group (EA group), MCAO group, and sham-operated group (Sham group). The neurobehavioral manifestation, the volume of cerebral infarction, and its related protein changes in mice in each group were observed. Then, adenosine Α1 receptor antagonist and agonist were injected intraperitoneally to observe the effects of A1 receptor on the phosphorylation level of GSK-3ß phosphorylation level and elucidate the underlying mechanisms of electroacupuncture pretreatment by activating Α1 receptor mediating cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. RESULTS: (1) Compared with the MCAO group (24 hours after reperfusion), the infarct size in the EA group decreased significantly, and the Garcia neurological score and phosphorylation level of GSK-3ß phosphorylation level and elucidate the underlying mechanisms of electroacupuncture pretreatment by activating Α1 receptor mediating cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. ß phosphorylation level and elucidate the underlying mechanisms of electroacupuncture pretreatment by activating Α1 receptor mediating cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. ß phosphorylation level and elucidate the underlying mechanisms of electroacupuncture pretreatment by activating Α1 receptor mediating cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. CONCLUSIONS: Electroacupuncture pretreatment can increase GSK-3ß phosphorylation level via activating A1 receptor, to protect neurons in ischemia-reperfusion injury.ß phosphorylation level and elucidate the underlying mechanisms of electroacupuncture pretreatment by activating Α1 receptor mediating cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury.

The polymorphism rs671 at ALDH2 associated with serum uric acid levels in Chinese Han males: A genome-wide association study.

Serum uric acid (SUA) levels are highly heritable and an increased SUA level is one of important risk factors for gout, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular diseases. The genetic variants underlying SUA remains largely unexplored. The aim was to explore new genetic variants underlying SUA in Chinese Han. We performed a genome-wide association study of SUA levels in Han Chinese. The discovery set contained 1634 samples and subsequent replication was comprised of 1649 females and 1169 males. 2620 subjects were recruited in the detailed analysis of rs671, alcohol drinking and SUA. We found a genome-wide significant association between SUA level and the SNP rs671 at ALDH2 (P = 1.2 × 10-10) in the merged data. In addition, we also replicated the signal from rs3733590 at SLC2A9 (P = 1.0 × 10-10). In males, about 0.21% to 1.95% of the total variance for SUA can be explained by rs671 using linear regression models in four independent cohorts. Of those, 56.75% to 93.51% might be explained by altering alcohol consumption due to rs671. No statistical association of rs671 and SUA was observed in females (P = 0.409). Furthermore, we observed a causal relationship between alcohol consumption and SUA in males using rs671 as an instrumental variable (P = 5.1 × 10-4). We replicated the previous findings in SLC2A9. Our evidence supported that rs671 was associated with SUA by affecting alcohol consumption in males. This finding strongly suggests a role for alcohol consumption in the development of hyperuricaemia and uric acid related traits.

Susceptibility loci for metabolic syndrome and metabolic components identified in Han Chinese: a multi-stage genome-wide association study.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS), a cluster of metabolic disturbances that increase the risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, was because of genetic susceptibility and environmental risk factors. To identify the genetic variants associated with MetS and metabolic components, we conducted a genome-wide association study followed by replications in totally 12,720 participants from the north, north-eastern and eastern China. In combined analyses, independent of the top known signal at rs651821 on APOA5, we newly identified a secondary triglyceride-associated signal at rs180326 on BUD13 (Pcombined = 2.4 × 10-8 ). Notably, by an integrated analysis of the genotypes and the serum levels of APOA5, BUD13 and triglyceride, we observed that BUD13 was another potential mediator, besides APOA5, of the association between rs651821 and serum triglyceride. rs671 (ALDH2), an east Asian-specific common variant, was found to be associated with MetS (Pcombined = 9.7 × 10-22 ) in Han Chinese. The effects of rs671 on metabolic components were more prominent in drinkers than in non-drinkers. The replicated loci provided information on the genetic basis and mechanisms of MetS and metabolic components in Han Chinese.