Response Prediction after Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Colon Cancer Using CT Tumor Regression Grade: A Preliminary Study.

Purpose: To investigate whether CT-based tumor regression grade (ctTRG) can be used to predict the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in colon cancer. Materials and Methods: A total of 53 patients were enrolled. Two radiologists independently assessed the ctTRG using the length, thickness, layer pattern, and luminal and extraluminal appearance of the tumor. Changes in tumor volume were also analyzed using the 3D Slicer software. We evaluated the association between pathologic TRG (pTRG) and ctTRG. Patients with Rödel's TRG of 2, 3, or 4 were classified as responders. In terms of predicting responder and pathologic complete remission (pCR), receiver operating characteristic was compared between ctTRG and tumor volume change. Results: There was a moderate correlation between ctTRG and pTRG (ρ = -0.540, p < 0.001), and the interobserver agreement was substantial (weighted κ = 0.672). In the prediction of responder, there was no significant difference between ctTRG and volumetry (Az = 0.749, criterion: ctTRG ≤ 3 for ctTRG, Az = 0.794, criterion: ≤ -27.1% for volume, p = 0.53). Moreover, there was no significant difference between the two methods in predicting pCR (p = 0.447). Conclusion: ctTRG might predict the response to NAC in colon cancer. The diagnostic performance of ctTRG was comparable to that of CT volumetry.

Linearly Sensitive Pressure Sensor Based on a Porous Multistacked Composite Structure with Controlled Mechanical and Electrical Properties.

Capacitive pressure sensors based on porous structures have been extensively explored for various applications because their sensing performance is superior to that of conventional polymer sensors. However, it is challenging to develop sufficiently sensitive pressure sensors with linearity over a wide pressure range owing to the trade-off between linearity and sensitivity. This study demonstrates a novel strategy for the fabrication of a pressure sensor consisting of stacked carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and polydimethylsiloxane. With the addition of carbon nanotubes, the structure is linearly compressed due to the reinforced mechanical properties, thereby resulting in high linearity. Additionally, the percolation effect is boosted by the CNTs having a high dielectric constant, thus improving the sensitivity. The pressure sensor exhibits linear sensitivity (R2 = 0.991) in the medium-pressure range (10-100 kPa). Furthermore, it delivers excellent performance with a fast response time (∼60 ms), in conjunction with high repeatability, reproducibility, and reliability (5 and 50 kPa/1000 cycles). The fabricated sensors are applied in wearable devices to monitor finger bending and detect finger motions in real time with high precision. The large-area sensor is integrated with a neural network to accurately recognize the sitting posture on a plane, thereby demonstrating the wide-range detection performance.

Eco-friendly deicer prepared from waste oyster shells and its deicing properties with metal corrosion.

Calcium acetate eco-friendly deicer was prepared using waste oyster shell as a raw reactant material and its physicochemical properties were investigated. The waste oyster shells were converted to a calcium acetate deicer by reaction with acetic acid at ambient temperature. The physicochemical properties of the prepared calcium acetate deicer were analysed using various analytical method. The ice melting and metal corrosion characteristics of the calcium acetate deicer synthesized from the waste oyster shell were evaluated by comparison with those of the calcium chloride and sodium chloride deicers. The chloride deicers severely corroded the metal, but the calcium acetate deicer prepared from the waste oyster shell did not cause metal corrosion. The ice melting performance of calcium acetate prepared from the waste oyster shell was lower than that of calcium chlorides, however, the addition of sodium hydroxide could significantly improve the ice melting capacity.

Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2-Doped Fe, Ag, and Ni with N under Visible Light Irradiation.

Doping with noble metal ions or doping with nitrogen has been attempted to prepare TiO2 that reacts even in visible light. In this study, TiO2 was doped with nitrogen and various metal ions instead of noble metals. The TiO2 photocatalysts doped with metal ions (Fe, Ag, Ni) and nitrogen were prepared by a sol-gel method. Their physicochemical properties were characterized and their photocatalytic activities were investigated under visible light irradiation. In TiO2 doped with metal ions and nitrogen, the light absorption region was extended to visible light. The photoluminescence intensity was much greater in N/Ni/TiO2 than in N/Ag/TiO2 and N/Fe/TiO2. The photolysis activities of N/Ni/TiO2 were the highest in formaldehyde decomposition and methylene blue decomposition. The sterilization efficiency of N/Ni/TiO2 was the highest in the evaluation test for the inhibition of the proliferation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The bandgap of N/Ni/TiO2 was 2.4 eV, which was significantly lower than that of anatase TiO2 (3.2 eV). The N/Ni/TiO2 had a much higher optical intensity than other metal ion-doped TiO2, so it was highly active under visible light irradiation.

Over-the-wire deployment techniques of option elite inferior vena cava filter: 3D printing vena cava phantom study.

PURPOSE: To compare filter tilt and filter jumping during Option inferior vena cava (IVC) filter deployment with 3 different wires techniques using a 3-dimensional (3D) printing vena cava phantom. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An IVC 3D printed vena cava phantom was made from a healthy young male's computed tomographic data. Option IVC filters were deployed with 3 different wires: i) original push wire, ii) hydrophilic stiff wire, and iii) bent stiff wire. Right internal jugular and right femoral access were used 5 times with each wire. Filter tilt angle, tilt ratio, jumping, and tip abutment to the IVC wall were analyzed. RESULTS: The transfemoral approach with original push wire had significantly higher tilt angle than did the transjugular approach (6.1˚ ± 1.9 vs. 3.5˚ ± 1.3, p = 0.04). Mean tilt ratio was significantly lower with the bent wire with transfemoral access (0.49 ± 0.13 vs. 0.78 ± 0.18 [original push-wire] and 0.67 ± 0.08 [stiff wire], p = 0.019). The ratio was lower also with original push wire with transjugular access (0.34 ± 0.19 vs. 0.57 ±0.11 [stiff wire] and 0.58 ±0.17 [bent wire], p = 0.045). Filter jumping occurred more often with the transjugular approach with original push wire than with stiff or bent-wire delivery. Filter tip abutment to the IVC wall occurred only with the transfemoral approach. CONCLUSIONS: Bent wire with transfemoral access and original push wire with transjugular access had lower filter tilt ratio at Option IVC filter deployment. However, filter jumping was common using the original push wire with transjugular access.

Potential image-based criteria of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for colon cancer: multireaders' diagnostic performance.

PURPOSE: The objective was to assess which image-based criteria can be best accurately determined at MDCT and which results in least overtreatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 110 consecutive patients, who underwent curative surgery for colon cancer, were included in this retrospective study. Five radiologists independently assessed the longitudinal diameter of cancer as well as T- and N-categories. The five image-based criteria (T3cd/T4, T3/T4, T3/T4 or N+, T3cd/T4 or N2, and T3/T4 with ≥ 4 cm) were evaluated in terms of diagnostic accuracy, interreader agreement, and overtreatment risk using pooled receiver-operating curve and Fleiss kappa analyses. Pathologic high-risk stage II or III was used as a reference standard for assessment of overtreatment risk. RESULTS: The diagnostic accuracy of multireaders was in the acceptable range (pooled area under curve (AUC): 0.751-0.829). T3/T4 showed the highest AUC (0.829) in terms of diagnostic accuracy. T3/T4 with ≥ 4 cm showed the highest kappa value (κ = 0.695) followed by T3/T4 (κ = 0.623), indicating substantial agreement. The other three criteria revealed moderate agreement (κ = 0.558-0.577). In terms of overtreatment ratio, T3cd/T4 and T3cd/T4 or N2 showed relatively lower ratios (T3cd/T4, 2.2%; T3cd/T4 or N2, 2.9%), whereas T3/T4 and T3/T4 or N+ revealed higher ratios (T3/T4, 8.7%; T3/T4 or N+, 9.5%). CONCLUSIONS: T3/T4 was the best criterion in terms of diagnostic accuracy. However, in terms of interreader agreement and overtreatment risk, T3/T4 with ≥ 4 cm and T3cd/T4 were better as potential image-based criteria of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for colon cancer.

Flexible and Micropatternable Triplet-Triplet Annihilation Upconversion Thin Films for Photonic Device Integration and Anticounterfeiting Applications.

Triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion (TTA-UC) has recently drawn widespread interest for its capacity to harvest low-energy photons and to broaden the absorption spectra of photonic devices, such as solar cells. Although conceptually promising, effective integration of TTA-UC materials into practical devices has been difficult due to the diffusive and anoxic conditions required in TTA-UC host media. Of the solid-state host materials investigated, rubbery polymers facilitate the highest TTA-UC efficiency. To date, however, their need for long-term oxygen protection has limited rubbery polymers to rigid film architectures that forfeit their intrinsic flexibility. This study introduces a new multilayer thin-film architecture, in which scalable solution processing techniques are employed to fabricate flexible, photostable, and efficient TTA-UC thin films containing layers of oxygen barrier and host polymers. This breakthrough material design marks a crucial advance toward TTA-UC integration within rigid and flexible devices alike. Moreover, it introduces new opportunities in unexplored applications such as anticounterfeiting. Soft lithography is incorporated into the film fabrication process to pattern TTA-UC host layers with a broad range of high-resolution microscale designs, and superimposing host layers with customized absorption, emission, and patterning ultimately produces proof-of-concept anticounterfeiting labels with advanced excitation-dependent photoluminescent security features.

Effect of Vestibulosympathetic Reflex and Baroreflex on Expression of pERK in the Nucleus Tractus Solitarius following Acute Hypotension in Conscious Rats.

Control of blood pressure is maintained by the interaction between the arterial baroreflex and vestibulosympathetic reflex during postural changes. In this study, the contributions of vestibular receptors and baroreceptors to the maintenance of blood pressure following acute hypotension were compared in terms of phosphorylated extracellular regulated protein kinase (pERK) expression in the nucleus tractus solitaries (NTS). Expression of pERK in the NTS was measured in conscious rats that had undergone bilateral labyrinthectomy (BL) and/or sinoaortic denervation (SAD) 5, 10, 20, and 40 min following acute hypotension induced by sodium nitroprusside (SNP) infusion. Expression of pERK increased significantly in the NTS in the control group following SNP infusion, and the expression peaked at 10 min after SNP infusion. The number of pERK positive neurons increased following SNP infusion in BL, SAD, and BL+SAD groups, although the increase was smaller than in control group. The BL group showed a relatively higher reduction in pERK expression than the SAD group, and the pERK expression in the NTS was localized to the caudal portion of the nuclei in the BL and SAD groups. These results suggest that the vestibular receptors may play a key role in maintaining blood pressure following acute hypotension; thus, the vestibular system may contribute to compensate for orthostatic hypotension.

Removal of free fatty acid in waste frying oil by esterification with methanol on zeolite catalysts.

The removal of free fatty acid (FFA) in waste frying oil by esterification with methanol was conducted using various zeolite catalysts. The ZSM-5 (MFI), mordenite (MOR), faujasite (FAU), beta (BEA) zeolites, and silicalite were employed with different Si/Al molar ratio in the reaction. The effects of acidic properties and pore structure of the zeolite catalysts were discussed relating to the conversion of the FFA. The MFI zeolite induced an improvement of the removal efficiency of FFA by cracking to the FFA in its pore structure due to its narrow pore mouth. The catalytic activity for FFA removal was lowered with decreasing of acid strength of the zeolites. The strong acid sites of zeolites induced the high conversion of FFA comparatively. The acid strength and pore structure of acidic zeolites affected the catalytic activity in FFA removal.