Construction of a Tumor-Targeting Nanobubble with Multiple Scattering Interfaces and its Enhancement of Ultrasound Imaging.

Introduction: Recently, nanobubbles (NBs) have gained significant traction in the field of tumor diagnosis and treatment owing to their distinctive advantages. However, the application of NBs is limited due to their restricted size and singular reflection section, resulting in low ultrasonic reflection.

Methods: We synthesized a nano-scale ultrasound contrast agent (IR783-SiONPs@NB) by encapsulating SiO nanoparticles in an IR783-labeled lipid shell using an improved film hydration method.

Preliminary study of carotid variables under ultrasound analysis as predictors for the risk of coronary arterial atherosclerosis.

Background: Carotid atherosclerosis by ultrasound scanning can be considered as an ideal window to reflect systemic artery atherosclerosis, which has aroused wide concern for predicting the severity of coronary artery atherosclerosis clinically. Ultrasound radio frequency (RF) data technology has enabled us to evaluate the carotid structure and elastic function precisely, for predicting the severity of coronary artery atherosclerosis.

Methods: Patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) underwent coronary angiography and were assigned to four groups according to whether atherosclerotic plaque was found or not and it caused stenosis.

The severity of portal hypertension by a non-invasive assessment: acoustic structure quantification analysis of liver parenchyma.

Background: Acoustic structure quantification (ASQ) has been applied to evaluate liver histologic changes by analyzing the speckle pattern seen on B-mode ultrasound. We aimed to assess the severity of portal hypertension (PHT) through hepatic ultrasonography.

Methods: Sixty patients diagnosed with PHT and underwent surgical treatment with portosystemic shunts were enrolled.

Ultrasonic assessment of liver stiffness and carotid artery elasticity in patients with chronic viral hepatitis.

Background: This study investigated the relationship between liver stiffness and carotid artery elasticity in patients with chronic viral hepatitis. We used an acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) technique to measure stiffness, and a radio frequency (RF) vascular quantitative ultrasound technique to measure changes in common carotid artery elasticity and vascular function.

Methods: Two-hundred seventeen patients with chronic viral hepatitis caused by either hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) were enrolled.

OXIDATIVE STRESS IN A RAT MODEL OF COTTON SMOKE INHALATION-INDUCED PULMONARY INJURY.

Background: Smoke inhalation injury refers to airway and lung parenchyma injury and general chemical damage caused by inhaling toxic gases and substances. The aim of this study was to explore the oxidative stress mechanism of cotton smoke inhalation-induced pulmonary injury in a rat model.

Materials And Methods: Eighteen male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control group, 6 h group, and 24 h group (six rats in each group), which duplicated previous rat cotton smoke-inhalation injury models.

Aortic stiffness evaluated by echocardiography in female patients with Takayasu's arteritis.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the aortic stiffness (AS) in young female patients with Takayasu's arteritis (TAK) and comparable controls by measuring carotid-femoral PWV (PWVcf) using echocardiography with pulse wave Doppler. The clinical feasibility and reproducibility of this echocardiographic method were also investigated.

Methods: Twenty-five TAK female patients (mean age 28.

Ultrasound-guided imaging of junctional adhesion molecule-A-targeted microbubbles identifies vulnerable plaque in rabbits.

Identification of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques by imaging the molecular characteristics is intensively studied recently, in which verification of specific markers is the critical step. JAM-A, a junctional membrane protein, is involved in the plaque formation, while it is unknown whether it can serve as a marker for vulnerable plaques. Vulnerable and stable plaques were created in rabbits with high cholesterol diet with or without partial ligation of carotid artery respectively.

Clinical Application of Superior Vena Cava Spectra in Evaluation of Pulmonary Hypertension: A Comparative Echocardiography and Catheterization Study.

This study was designed to assess whether superior vena cava (SVC) Doppler flow velocities are associated with invasive measures of pulmonary arterial pressure. Eighty patients with unrepaired congenital heart disease who underwent cardiac catheterization were included (31 men, 49 women; mean age: 37.3 ± 14.

The Optimized Fabrication of Nanobubbles as Ultrasound Contrast Agents for Tumor Imaging.

Nanobubbles, which have the potential for ultrasonic targeted imaging and treatment in tumors, have been a research focus in recent years. With the current methods, however, the prepared uniformly sized nanobubbles either undergo post-formulation manipulation, such as centrifugation, after the mixture of microbubbles and nanobubbles, or require the addition of amphiphilic surfactants. These processes influence the nanobubble stability, possibly create material waste, and complicate the preparation process.

N-Acetyl Cysteine improves the diabetic cardiac function: possible role of fibrosis inhibition.

Background: Diabetic cardiomyopathy is one of the leading causes of death in diabetes mellitus (DM) patients. This study aimed to explore the therapeutic implication of N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC, an antioxidant and glutathione precursor) and the possible underlying mechanism.

Methods: Thirty five 12-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were included.

Protective effects of hydrogen sulfide inhalation on oxidative stress in rats with cotton smoke inhalation-induced lung injury.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the mechanism by which hydrogen sulfide (HS) inhalation protects against oxidative stress in rats with cotton smoke inhalation-induced lung injury. A total of 24 male Sprague-Dawley rats were separated randomly into four groups, which included the control, HS, smoke and smoke + HS groups. A rat model of cotton smoke inhalation-induced lung injury was established following inhalation of 30% oxygen for 6 h.

Comparative sonographic study of cerebral hemodynamic differences and changes after oxygen therapy in healthy youths of different ethnicities in Tibet.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to sonographically assess the cerebral hemodynamic differences and changes after oxygen therapy in healthy youths of different ethnicities in Tibet.

Methods: Sixty-six healthy young Han visitors and 29 healthy young Tibetan residents were divided into 4 groups. Basic information was collected.

New method for noninvasive quantification of central venous pressure by ultrasound.

Background: The central venous pressure (CVP) is essential for assessing the cardiac preload and circulating blood volume in clinic. The invasive CVP measurement by central venous catheter has been reported with various complications. The aim of this study was to develop a new noninvasive method for quantification of CVP by ultrasound.

Hemodynamic changes of the middle hepatic vein in patients with pulmonary hypertension using echocardiography.

The aim of this study was to analyze the changes of the middle hepatic vein (MHV) spectra in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) caused by congenital heart disease (CHD) and determine the proper parameters of MHV to predict PH. Eighty patients with CHD were included, whose pulmonary artery pressure was measured via right heart catheterization, and the MHV spectra were detected via echocardiography. The peak value of velocity (V) and velocity time integral (VTI) of the waves, including S wave, D wave and A wave, were measured at the end of inspiration.

Noninvasive method for measuring local pulse wave velocity by dual pulse wave Doppler: in vitro and in vivo studies.

Objectives: To evaluate the validity and reproducibility of a noninvasive dual pulse wave Doppler (DPWD) method, which involves simultaneous recording of flow velocity of two independent sample volumes with a measurable distance, for measuring the local arterial pulse wave velocity (PWV) through in vitro and in vivo studies.

Methods: The DPWD mode of Hitachi HI Vision Preirus ultrasound system with a 5-13MHz transducer was used. An in vitro model was designed to compare the PWV of a homogeneous rubber tubing with the local PWV of its middle part measured by DPWD method.

Carotid Arterial Stiffness in Patients with Congenital Heart Disease-Related Pulmonary Hypertension Assessed with Radio Frequency Data Technique.

Background: It has been well known that pulmonary hypertension (PH) caused by congenital heart disease (CHD) leads to reduced flexibility of the small pulmonary arteries, due to hemodynamic changes in the pulmonary circulation and alterations of the vasoactive profile. However, whether CHD-related PH affects the elasticity of the systemic arteries, such as the common carotid artery (CCA), has not been fully investigated. The purpose of this study was to explore the CCA stiffness in patients with CHD-related PH using the radio frequency data technique.

Middle cerebral arterial flow changes on transcranial color and spectral Doppler sonography in patients with increased intracranial pressure.

Objectives: Intracranial pressure usually increases after severe brain injury. However, a method for noninvasive evaluation of intracranial pressure is still lacking. The purpose of this study was to explore the potential role of transcranial color Doppler sonography in assessing intracranial pressure by observing the middle cerebral artery blood flow parameters in patients with increased intracranial pressure of varying etiology.

A new method of measurement of cerebral circulation time: contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in healthy adults and patients with intracranial shunts.

Alterations in the cerebral circulation time (CCT) are observed in several cerebrovascular diseases. We designed a new method of global CCT measurement using gray-scale contrast-enhanced ultrasound and studied healthy Chinese adults and patients with intracranial shunts. Eighty-one healthy volunteers and eight patients with intracranial shunt disease were enrolled.

Ultrasound study of carotid and cardiac remodeling and cardiac-arterial coupling in normal pregnancy and preeclampsia: a case control study.

Background: Cardiovascular adaptions, such as cardiac and uterine spiral arterial remodeling, and aortic arterial stiffening during pregnancy have been extensively investigated, while the interactions between the elastic artery and the left ventricle are poorly understood. This study was to evaluate the cardiac-arterial coupling in both normal pregnancy and preeclampsia using ultrasound techniques.

Methods: Twenty-three preeclamptic women with no antihypertensive treatment prior to admission, and 40 age- (27.

Evaluation of carotid artery elasticity changes in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Background: Type 2 diabetes is one of the most common causes of cardiovascular disease as it causes arterial stiffness changes. The purpose of this study is to characterize, in vivo, carotid arterial structural and functional changes by applying radio frequency and X-strain ultrasound techniques.

Methods: Ninety-one subjects were assigned into two groups; a diabetes group and a control group.

[Establishment and identification of a C57B/6 mouse sarcoidosis granuloma model].

Objective: To establish a C57BL/6 mouse sarcoidosis granuloma model elicited by mycobacterial superoxide dismutase A peptide (SodA).

Methods: Thirty female C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided equally into 5 groups: a combination (SodA+Sepharose) group, a SodA group, a IFA (incomplete Freund's adjuvant) group, a sepharose group and a blank control group. On the first day, the combination group and the SodA group were sensitized by subcutaneous injection of 50 µg SodA incorporated into IFA 0.

Evaluation of the combined application of ultrasound imaging techniques for middle cerebral artery stent surveillance and follow-up study.

Objective: In recent years, cerebral artery stenting has become an effective method for the treatment of cerebral artery stenosis. However, methods for assessing efficacy and techniques for follow-up imaging still need to be developed. This study was designed to evaluate the application of transcranial color-coded sonography (TCCS) in assessing stenting of middle cerebral artery (MCA) stenosis.

Maternal carotid remodeling and increased carotid arterial stiffness in normal late-gestational pregnancy as assessed by radio-frequency ultrasound technique.

Background: The adaption of elastic arteries to transient increase in hemodynamic load in normal pregnancy (NP) remains controversial. The purpose of this study was to investigate the NP carotid remodeling and regional arterial stiffness before and after parturition.

Methods: Fifty-one NP women and 30 age-matched non-pregnant women were included.

Mechanism study of pulsus paradoxus using mechanical models.

Pulsus paradoxus is an exaggeration of the normal inspiratory decrease in systolic blood pressure. Despite a century of attempts to explain this sign consensus is still lacking. To solve the controversy and reveal the exact mechanism, we reexamined the characteristic anatomic arrangement of the circulation system in the chest and designed these mechanical models based on related hydromechanic principles.

Correlations between the time-intensity parameters of contrast-enhanced ultrasound and clinical prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to detect the correlation between the time-intensity parameters of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and the clinical prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: A total of 73 HCC patients were analyzed with the time-intensity curve of CEUS. The expression of vascular endothelial factor (VEGF) and CD34 in different differentiation-staged HCC specimens was observed using immunohistochemistry.