Comparison of normalized cerebral blood flow between different post-processing methods of dynamic susceptibility contrast perfusion-weighted imaging and arterial spin labeling in gliomas with different grading.

Background: Two post-processing methods of dynamic susceptibility contrast perfusion-weighted imaging (DSC-PWI), arterial input function (AIF) and gamma-variate fitting (GVF), can both derive cerebral blood flow (CBF). Moreover, AIF can provide T2* and T1 leakage indicators. This study aimed to compare the consistency of normalized CBF between different post-processing methods of DSC-PWI and arterial spin labeling (ASL) in gliomas, and take the quantitative metrics percentage of signal recovery (PSR) as a reference to verify the value of T2* and T1 leakage indicators in characterizing leakage effect and evaluating the grading of gliomas.

Validation of Renal Function using Multiphasic Ratios between Renal Cortex and Medulla in Kidney Recipients.

Objective: To verify the multiphase ratio of Computer Tomography-value between the renal cortex and renal medulla, which can be used to concisely evaluate renal function in kidney recipients.

Methods: Fifty-eight kidney recipients were retrospectively enrolled and divided into the Normal group(eGFR≥90 mL/min/1.73m2) and Abnormal group(eGFR<90 mL/min/1.

Internal urethral sphincter reconstruction with anterior bladder neck tube for robotic and laparoscopic radical prostatectomy: improving early return of continence.

Background: In recent years, despite several surgical techniques having been applied, the early incontinence rate after radical prostatectomy (RP) remains high. In this study, we reconstructed an internal urethral sphincter (IUS) with anterior bladder neck tube (ABNT) to improve early return of continence and find a more effective technique for early urinary incontinence after RP.

Methods: In this study, 96 previous patients who did not receive an ABNT between October 2018 and May 2020 were compared as historical controls (the control group).

Evaluation of left ventricular blood flow kinetic energy in patients with acute myocardial infarction by 4D Flow MRI: a preliminary study.

Purpose: To evaluate the intracavity left ventricular (LV) blood flow kinetic energy (KE) parameters using four-dimensional (4D) flow cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Methods: Thirty AMI patients and twenty controls were examined via CMR, which included cine imaging, late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) and global heart 4D flow imaging. The KE parameters were indexed to LV end-diastolic volume (EDV) to obtain average, systolic and diastolic KE as well as the proportion of LV in-plane KE (%).

[Bladder wall neourethra technique improves early urinary continence after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy].

Objective: To study the effect of the bladder wall neourethra (BWN) technique on early urinary continence after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP).

Methods: We prospectively selected 40 cases of LRP performed in our hospital from August 2020 to August 2021 and randomly divided them into a BWN group (n = 20) and a control group (n = 20). We recorded the urinary continence rate of the two groups of patients at 7, 30, 90 and 180 days, and measured the maximum urethral pressure (MUP), functional urethral length (FUL) and functional urethral area (UFA) and observed the shape of the neourethra closure by MRI at 1 month after catheter removal.

Three-Dimensional Arterial Spin Labeling for the Evaluation of the Cerebral Hemodynamics in Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Moyamoya Disease.

Introduction: Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a vascular disease with significant risk of mortality due to ischemia or hemorrhage in the brain. The goal of the study was to explore three-dimensional arterial spin labeling (3D-ASL) to improve evaluation of cerebral hemodynamics in patients with MMD.

Methods: Our study included 54 cases of ischemic MMD and 42 cases of hemorrhagic MMD.

Microwave ablation of multifocal primary liver cancer guided by real-time 3.0T MRI.

Objective: To investigate the feasibility and efficacy of real-time 3.0 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guided percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) in the treatment of multifocal liver cancer.

Methods: A total of 76 lesions in 26 patients with multifocal liver cancer who underwent 3.

The value of CMR Left ventricular strain analysis in evaluating ICM.

The purpose of this article is to investigate the value of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) derived left ventricular strain parameters in evaluation of ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM). Thirty-one ICM patients and nineteen non-cardiomyopathy (non-CM) patients who performed CMR examinations during the same period were selected for this retrospective study. The basic clinical data, CMR left ventricular function parameters, left ventricular strain parameters were compared among the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) preserved ICM group, the LVEF impaired ICM group and the non-CM group.

Facile Synthesis of NiCoS Microspheres for High-Performance Supercapacitors and Alkaline Aqueous Rechargeable NiCo-Zn Batteries.

Electrochemical energy storage devices (EESDs) have caused widespread concern, ascribed to the increasing depletion of traditional fossil energy and environmental pollution. In recent years, nickel cobalt bimetallic sulfides have been regarded as the most attractive electrode materials for super-performance EESDs due to their relatively low cost and multiple electrochemical reaction sites. In this work, NiCo-bimetallic sulfide NiCoS particles were synthesized in a mixed solvent system with different proportion of Ni and Co salts added.

High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Enhanced Anti-Tumor Activities of Paclitaxel in Breast Cancer in vitro and in vivo.

Background: Paclitaxel (PTX) is an important oncologic chemotherapeutic agent against breast cancer, but breast cancer patients develop significant resistance to PTX during chemotherapy. Alterations in tubulin and associated proteins have been implicated in resistance to PTX. High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) induces deep tumor penetration of anti-tumor agents in solid tumors.

Fabrication of a Chalcogenide Glass Microlens Array for Infrared Laser Beam Homogenization.

Infrared (IR) microlens arrays (MLA) have attracted increasing interest for use in infrared micro-optical devices and systems. However, the beam homogenization of IR laser light is relatively difficult to achieve because most materials absorb strongly in the IR wavelength band. In this paper, we present a new method for the application of double-sided quasi-periodic chalcogenide glass (ChG) MLAs to infrared laser homogenization systems.

Rapid Fabrication of Large-Area Concave Microlens Array on ZnSe.

A rapid and single-step method for the fabrication of a zinc selenide (ZnSe) concave microlens array through the high-speed line-scanning of a femtosecond laser pulse is presented. Approximately 1.1 million microlenses, with minimized volume and high transparency at wavelengths between approximately 0.

Application of Three-dimensional Visualization Fused with Ultrasound for Percutaneous Renal Puncture.

We present here the three-dimensional (3D) visualization fused with ultrasound and to evaluate its clinical application effect preliminarily. One hundred and eighteen patients with renal calculi in our hospital from September 2017 to December 2019 were prospectively randomized into two groups. The experimental group was treated with percutaneous renal puncture guided by the 3D visualization fused with ultrasound.

Immobilization of Ni (Ⅱ) at three levels of contaminated soil by rhamnolipids modified nano zero valent iron (RL@nZVI): Effects and mechanisms.

A kind of biosurfactant rhamnolipid modified zero-valent iron nanoparticles have been synthesized and applied to evaluate the immobilization efficiency of Ni (Ⅱ) contaminated soil at three concentration levels (200Ni, 600Ni and 1800Ni). The results of SEM and XRD were clearly indicative of the well-attached phenomenon of rhamnolipid on the nZVI, featuring better stability and dispersity, and FTIR analysis proposed the interactions between rhamnolipid and nZVI through monodentate chelating between carboxylate groups and nZVI or hydrogen bonding with Fe-O groups on the surface. Sequential extraction procedures (SEP) analysis illustrated that the majority of labile fractions had been transformed into less accessible fractions (Fe-Mn oxide-bound fractions and residual fractions) after 28 days of incubation.

Computational study and optimization experiment of nZVI modified by anionic and cationic polymer for Cr(VI) stabilization in soil: Kinetics and response surface methodology (RSM).

Nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) modified by cationic polyquaternium-7 (M550-nZVI) or anionic carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-nZVI) were freshly synthesized, and followed by the successful applicability for the stabilization of Cr(VI) in soil. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that the sizes of M550-nZVI and CMC-nZVI were 42-170 nm and 66-200 nm, respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the presence of Fe and FeC in the as-synthesized composites.

Fabrication of Three-Dimensional Microvalves of Internal Nested Structures Inside Fused Silica.

Nested structures inside the hard material play a pivotal role in the microfluidics systems, such as the microvalve and the micropump. In this article, we demonstrate a novel and facile method of fabricating nested structures inside the fused silica with a two-step process femtosecond laser wet etching (FLWE) process. Inside fused silica, a spherical structure was made with a diameter of nearly 80 µm in a square chamber.

Mini-Review on Bioinspired Superwetting Microlens Array and Compound Eye.

Microlens arrays (MLAs) and MLA-based artificial compound eyes (ACEs) are the important miniaturized optical components in modern micro-optical systems. However, their optical performance will seriously decline once they are wetted by water droplets (such as fog, dew, and rain droplets) or are polluted by contaminations in a humid environment. In this mini-review, we summarize the research works related to the fabrication of superwetting MLAs and ACEs and show how to integrate superhydrophobic and superoleophobic microstructures with an MLA.

Femtosecond laser hybrid fabrication of a 3D microfluidic chip for PCR application.

Microfluidic chips have gradually become a focus of scientific research. However, the fabrication of key functional components in microfluidic chips is always limited by the existing processing methods. The microfluidic chip is difficult to be three-dimensional (3D) and integrated.

Bioinspired Underwater Superoleophobic Microlens Array With Remarkable Oil-Repellent and Self-Cleaning Ability.

Underwater superoleophobic microlens array (MLA) has been emerging as a crucial device for its wide applications in ocean optical imaging and sensing, endoscopic surgery, microfluidics and optofluidics, and other biomedical applications. Fabrication of microlens arrays integrated with excellent optical performance as well as underwater superoleophobicity remains a great challenge. In this paper, we report an underwater super oil-repellent MLA on a transparent optical glass substrate via femtosecond laser-induced phase and structural modification and chemical isotropic etching.

Fabrication of Chalcogenide Glass Based Hexagonal Gapless Microlens Arrays via Combining Femtosecond Laser Assist Chemical Etching and Precision Glass Molding Processes.

Chalcogenide glasses (ChGs) are emerging as critical infrared (IR)-enabled materials in advanced IR optical systems by the wealth of their transparency in the key wide infrared (IR) transmission window. However, fabrication of ChG-based integrated micro-optical components in an efficient and economical way remains a huge challenge. In this paper, a 3D close-packed hexagonal microlens array (MLA) possessing over 6000 convex hexagonal micro-lenslets with the size of tens of micrometers within a footprint of 10 mm × 10 mm on a GeSbSe ChG surface was successfully fabricated via a precise thermal-mechanical molding process.

Simple and Low-Cost Oil/Water Separation Based on the Underwater Superoleophobicity of the Existing Materials in Our Life or Nature.

The achievement of high-efficiency oil/water separation has huge implications for protecting environment and reducing economic losses, but there is still a great challenge. Currently, most artificial oil/water separating materials are fabricated through complex preparation process, resulting in the very high cost of separation. In this paper, we present a simple and low-cost method to achieve oil/water separation by using the underwater superoleophobic materials that already exist in our life or nature.

Artificial compound eye-tipped optical fiber for wide field illumination.

In this Letter, we present a novel, to the best of our knowledge, component with beam delivering and wide field beam homogenizing functions by grafting an artificial compound eye (ACE) micro-structure onto the polymer optical fiber (POF) end face. The 3D ACE mold is fabricated by femtosecond laser-assisted micro machining, and the ACE micro-structure is transferred onto the end face through high accuracy nano-imprinting. The resultant POF end face integrates over 400 spherical micro-lenses, enabling a 40% enhancement in both the acceptance angle and the effective numerical aperture.