Branched-Chain-Induced Host-Guest Assembly in Covalent-Organic Frameworks for Efficient Separation of No-Carrier-Added 177Lu.

No-carrier-added (NCA) 177Lu is one of the most interesting nuclides for endoradiotherapy. With the dramatically rapid development of radiopharmaceutical and nuclear medicine, there is a sharp increase in the radionuclide supply of NCA 177Lu, which has formed a great challenge to current radiochemical separation constituted on classical materials. Hence, it is of vital importance to design and prepare new functional materials able of recovering 177Lu from an irradiated target with excellent efficacy. In this work, we proposed to apply noncovalent interactions to regulate the porous properties of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) by tuning the branched chain, rendering related covalent hosts different encapsulation abilities toward a flexible guest, 2-ethylhexylphosphonic acid mono-2-ethylhexyl ester (P507). More interestingly, we found that the noncovalent interaction has a great effect on the host-guest complexes, which can achieve efficient NCA 177Lu separation with high recovery (95.97%). A systematic mechanism combined with experimental and theoretical investigations has confirmed that the noncovalent interactions between COFs and P507 play a preeminent role in adjusting the macroscopic properties of the host-guest complexes. This work not only uncovers that noncovalent interactions can affect the basic properties of covalent organic bonded materials but also provides a strategy for the design and preparation of other new moieties with specific functionalities.

An Automated Solid-Phase Extraction-UPLC-MS/MS Method for Simultaneous Determination of Sulfonamide Antimicrobials in Environmental Water.

The large-scale use of sulfonamide antimicrobials in human and veterinary medicine has seriously endangered the ecological environment and human health. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a simple and robust method for the simultaneous determination of seventeen sulfonamides in water using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry coupled with fully automated solid-phase extraction. Seventeen isotope-labeled internal standards for sulfonamides were used to correct matrix effects. Several parameters affecting extraction efficiency were systematically optimized, and the enrichment factors were up to 982-1033 and only requiring about 60 min per six samples. Under the optimized conditions, this method manifested good linearity (0.05-100 µg/L), high sensitivity (detection limits: 0.01-0.05 ng/L), and satisfactory recoveries (79-118%) with acceptable relative standard deviations (0.3-14.5%, n = 5). The developed method can be successfully utilized for the determination of 17 sulfonamides in pure water, tap water, river water, and seawater. In total, six and seven sulfonamides were detected in river water and seawater, respectively, with a total concentration of 8.157-29.676 ng/L and 1.683-36.955 ng/L, respectively, and sulfamethoxazole was the predominant congener.

High Efficiency Uranium(VI) Removal from Wastewater by Strong Alkaline Ion Exchange Fiber: Effect and Characteristic.

In this study, we analyzed the removal efficiency of uranium(U(VI)) in wastewater at relatively low concentrations using strong alkaline ion exchange fiber (SAIEF). Static tests showed that the strong alkali fibers can purify U(VI) containing wastewater in a concentration range of 20-100 mg L-1 with an optimal pH of 10.5 and contact time of 15-30 min. Adsorption and desorption cycling tests indicated that, adsorbed uranium is easily desorbed by 0.1 mol L-1 HCl, and the fiber still maintained the original adsorption efficiency after eight cycles. According to dynamic penetration test results, the SAIEF saturation adsorption capacity was 423.9 mg g-1, and the effluent concentration of uranium through two series columns was less than 0.05 mg L-1, reaching the national standard for non-receiving water (GB23727-2009) SEM-EDS and FTIR analysis revealed that the functional group of SAIEF is CH2N+(CH3)3Cl-. Addotionally, the major forms of fiber exchange adsorption are (UO2)2CO3(OH)3-, UO2(CO)34- and UO2(OH)3-. The results indicate that the SAIEF is an excellent material for uranium removal.

Role of preoperative biliary drainage of liver remnant prior to extended liver resection for hilar cholangiocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: In patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma, ipsilateral en bloc hepatic resection improves survival but is associated with increased morbidity. Preoperative biliary drainage of the future liver remnant (FLR) and contralateral portal vein embolization (PVE) may improve perioperative outcome, but their routine use is controversial. This study analyses the impact of FLR volume and preoperative biliary drainage on postoperative hepatic insufficiency and mortality rates. METHODS: Patients who underwent hepatic resection and for whom adequate imaging data for FLR calculation were available were identified retrospectively. Patient demographic, operative and perioperative data were recorded and analysed. The volume of the FLR was calculated based on the total liver volume and the volume of the resection that was actually performed using semi-automated contouring of the liver on preoperative helical acquired scans. In patients subjected to preoperative biliary drainage, the preoperative imaging was reviewed to determine if the FLR had been decompressed. Hepatic insufficiency was defined as a postoperative rise in bilirubin of 5 mg/dl above the preoperative level that persisted for >5 days postoperatively. Operative mortality was defined as death related to the operation, whenever it occurred. RESULTS: Sixty patients were identified who underwent hepatic resection between 1997 and 2007 and for whom imaging data were available for analysis. During this period, preoperative biliary drainage of the FLR was used selectively and PVE was used in only one patient. The mean age of the patients was 64 +/- 11.6 years and 68% were male. The median length of stay was 14 days and the overall morbidity and mortality were 53% and 10%, respectively. Preoperative FLR volume was a predictor of hepatic insufficiency and death (P= 0.03). A total of 65% of patients had an FLR volume > or = 30% (39/60) of the total volume. No patient in this group had hepatic insufficiency, but there were two operative deaths (5%), both occurring in patients who underwent preoperative biliary drainage. By contrast, in the group with FLR < 30% (21/60, 35%), hepatic insufficiency was seen in five patients and operative mortality in four patients, and were strongly associated with lack of preoperative biliary drainage of the FLR (P = 0.009). Patients with an FLR > or = 30% were more likely to have radiographic evidence of ipsilateral lobar atrophy and hypertrophy of the FLR (46.2% vs. 9.5% in patients with FLR < 30%; P = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: In patients undergoing liver resection for hilar cholangiocarcinoma, FLR volume of < 30% of total liver volume is associated with increased risk for hepatic insufficiency and death. Preoperative biliary drainage of the FLR appears to improve outcome if the predicted volume is < 30%. However, in patients with FLR > or = 30%, preoperative biliary drainage does not appear to improve perioperative outcome and, as many of these patients have hypertrophy of the FLR, PVE is likely to offer little benefit.

Evaluating variability in tumor measurements from same-day repeat CT scans of patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the variability of tumor unidimensional, bidimensional, and volumetric measurements on same-day repeat computed tomographic (CT) scans in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This HIPAA-compliant study was approved by the institutional review board, with informed patient consent. Thirty-two patients with non-small cell lung cancer, each of whom underwent two CT scans of the chest within 15 minutes by using the same imaging protocol, were included in this study. Three radiologists independently measured the two greatest diameters of each lesion on both scans and, during another session, measured the same tumors on the first scan. In a separate analysis, computer software was applied to assist in the calculation of the two greatest diameters and the volume of each lesion on both scans. Concordance correlation coefficients (CCCs) and Bland-Altman plots were used to assess the agreements between the measurements of the two repeat scans (reproducibility) and between the two repeat readings of the same scan (repeatability). RESULTS: The reproducibility and repeatability of the three radiologists' measurements were high (all CCCs, >or=0.96). The reproducibility of the computer-aided measurements was even higher (all CCCs, 1.00). The 95% limits of agreements for the computer-aided unidimensional, bidimensional, and volumetric measurements on two repeat scans were (-7.3%, 6.2%), (-17.6%, 19.8%), and (-12.1%, 13.4%), respectively. CONCLUSION: Chest CT scans are well reproducible. Changes in unidimensional lesion size of 8% or greater exceed the measurement variability of the computer method and can be considered significant when estimating the outcome of therapy in a patient.

[Three-D visualization study on the acupoint of Jianliao (TE 14) based on the operational platform of Voxel-man].

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the problem difficult to be presented for nerves and blood vessels in the 3D reconstruction of acupoints through studying 3D reconstruction of Jianliao (TE 14). METHODS: Muscles and other tissues were segmented by applying cointeractive segmentation method based on chromatic characteristic space; the nerve and blood vessels can be reconstructed by establishing mathematics model, and the needle-inserting animation of Jianliao (TE 14) could be obtained by running script file. RESULTS: During the course of 3D needle-inserting animation of Jianliao (TE 14), the spatial location between all kinds of tissues including the nerve and blood vessels and the needle body could be systematically observed. CONCLUSION: The difficulty of presenting the nerve and blood vessels in the study on 3D reconstruction of acupoints can be resolved by establishing mathematics model. The generation of 3D animation for acupoints with the nerve and blood vessels is benefit to acupuncture teaching and study on the essence of acupoints and channels.

[Study on the visible display of Meridian on the dummy human body].

OBJECTIVE: To study on visible display of Meridian on the dummy human body. METHODS: Tube model-building method and computer technique were used, and data came from Voxel-Man dummy human body development platform. RESULTS: The visual effect of re-building Meridian is very good and it can display the different layers of anatomic structures on the Meridian lines. CONCLUSION: The visible display of Meridian on the dummy human body is preliminary realized, which provides data carriers for establishing the platform of Meridian study.

Interactive Segmentation of Muscles and 3D Representation of Meridians Based on Visible Human.

Based on VOXEL-MAN software and our previous work on merging acupoint information with the dataset of the male Visible Human, we have refined the segmentation method for muscles and visualized the anatomical structure of meridians. In interactive segmentation, we obtain additional information on connectivity and texture. We also apply surface fitting to track muscle contours on data slices where the threshold segmentation method is hard or impossible to apply. With these processes, the original segmentation method, mainly via threshold, is improved to deal with more complex situations. We also constructed meridians, which are supposed to be composed by groups of acupoints. For that we used the location of these acupoints and interpolation methods.