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TAVI specific sex consideration
No full textThe impact of sex on baseline characteristics and morphological and clinical presentation of degenerative aortic stenosis has been widely demonstrated but poorly understood. Moreover, differently from valve surgery, where patients were predominantly male, both sexes have been well represented in percutaneous treatment of aortic stenosis (AS), and women appeared to derive greater benefit with transfemoral aortic valve implantation (TAVI) compared to surgical treatment. This review focuses on sex-specific differences in epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnostic issues, treatment options, and clinical outcomes of degenerative AS. Moreover, we evaluate how sex-based TAVI management, from device selection to procedural tricks, may affect outcomes
Ovarian cancer recurrence: “is the definition of platinum resistance modified by PARP inhibitors and other intervening treatments?”
No full textPolyADP ribose polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) have transformed the treatment of ovarian cancer. Particularly in high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC), a disease characterized by homologous recombination deficiency (HRD), PARPi have had a rapid and profound impact on the disease course, as well as biologic and biomarker definitions of HGSOC, thereby creating a paradigm shift in the approach to treatment. In this review, we discuss the role of PARPi in the maintenance treatment of HGSOC, its effect on platinum sensitivity, and cross-resistance between platinum and PARP inhibitors
Boosting VOCs elimination by coupling different techniques
No full textVolatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are known to be hazardous and harmful to human health and the environment. In mixtures or during repeated exposures, significant toxicity of these compounds in trace amounts has been revealed. In vitro air-liquid interface approaches underlined the interest in evaluating the impact of repeated VOC exposure and the importance of carrying out a toxicological validation of the techniques in addition to the standard chemical analyses. The difficulties in sampling and measuring VOCs in stationary source emissions are due to both the complexity of the mixture present and the wide range of concentrations. The coupling of VOC treatment techniques results in efficient systems with lower operating energy consumption. Three main couplings are outlined in this review, highlighting their advantages and relevance. First, adsorption-catalysis coupling is particularly valuable by using adsorption and catalytic oxidation regeneration initiated, for example, by selective dielectric heating. Then, several key aspects of the plasma catalysis process, such as the choice of catalysts suitable for the non-thermal plasma (NTP) environment, the simultaneous removal of different VOCs, and the in situ regeneration of the catalyst by NTP exposure, are discussed. The adsorption-photocatalysis coupling technology is also one of the effective and promising methods for VOC removal. The VOC molecules strongly adsorbed on the surface of the photocatalyst can be directly oxidized by the photogenerated hole on the photocatalyst (e.g., TiO2)
Capacity building for wildlife health professionals: the Wildlife Health Bridge
No full textThe Wildlife Health Bridge was established in 2009 with the aim of improving the expertise and knowledge base of wildlife health professionals in biodiverse low- and middle-income countries. The Wildlife Health Bridge centres around partnerships among educational institutions: the Zoological Society of London, the Royal Veterinary College, the University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, the Wildlife Institute of India, and the University of Melbourne Veterinary School. The Wildlife Health Bridge provides quality education in wildlife health, ecosystem health, and wildlife biology, facilitates the interchange of students between collaborating countries for research studies and provides a global graduate network of wildlife health professionals. In addition to established Masters’ level wildlife health training programmes run by the partner organisations, the Wildlife Health Bridge has developed a collaborative field-based course, Interventions in Wild Animal Health, provided annually in India since 2016, which has trained 138 veterinarians to date, enhancing local and international capacity in managing emerging wildlife health issues and building global professional linkages. The Wildlife Health Bridge’s Wild Animal Alumni network facilitates networking and exchange between Wildlife Health Bridge institutions and graduates, with over 701 members from 67 countries, half of which are biodiverse low- and middle-income countries. Collaboration between educational institutions has enabled new ideas and ongoing developments in the delivery of materials and learning outcomes. The Wildlife Health Bridge is building global capacity in trained wildlife health professionals, through educational programmes and a synergised network, with the aim of impacting conservation practice to benefit human, domestic animal and wildlife health
One-year self-reported neurological sequelae in older COVID-19 survivors
No full textAim: With the increasing number of patients recovered from COVID-19, the long-term health consequences of this disease have attracted much attention. Neurological complications are commonly seen in the acute phase of COVID-19, especially in older adults. This study aimed to investigate the long-term neurological sequelae in older COVID-19 survivors.Methods: A total of 1438 COVID-19 survivors were recruited in this study. One year after hospital discharge, information about self-reported symptoms of the central and peripheral nervous system was collected. Comparisons of these neurological symptoms between COVID-19 survivors with severe and nonsevere cases were performed.Results: A total of 139 (53.46%) COVID-19 survivors with severe cases and 328 (27.84%) survivors with nonsevere cases reported at least one neurological symptom one year after discharge. Most of these neurological symptoms were symptoms of the central nervous system. Specifically, 126 (48.46%) survivors with severe cases and 306 (25.98%) survivors with nonsevere cases reported at least one CNS symptom. The most frequently reported symptoms were memory deficit [234 (16.27%)] and attention deficit [80 (5.56%)]. Disease severity was associated with increased risks of long-term neurological sequelae of COVID-19.Conclusion: This study demonstrated that neurological sequelae of COVID-19 are common one year after patient discharge, suggesting that the effects of COVID-19 on the neurological system are prolonged
Electroneurography abnormality in Parkinson’s disease: a potential biomarker to help diagnosis
No full textParkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease, pathologically characterized by the progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Although various biomarkers and imaging criteria for PD have been established, objective and reliable evaluation methods are still lacking. Electroneurography, as an objective measurement of evoked compound muscle action potentials, is used to assess the integrity of the peripheral nerve and is important in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of PD with neuromuscular injury. Moreover, it provides references for the evaluation and quantification of the motor function in PD. Here, we summarize recent advances in clinical research of electroneurography in PD, including the peripheral nerve conduction velocity, needle electromyography, surface electromyography, and motion unit number estimation. The potential values of electroneurography in PD diagnosis are also involved
A brief review of miniature flexible and soft tactile sensors for interventional catheter applications
No full textInterventional surgery has the advantages of small skin incisions, minimal blood loss, low postoperative infection and short recovery times, and thus has gradually become the preferred surgical approach over traditional open surgeries. Even though significant achievements have been made towards clinical applications, limitations still exist, among which the loss of the natural tactile perception of surgeons due to their indirect touch along the long catheter to the intervening human tissue is the crucial one. In recent years, researchers have dedicated great efforts to the development of advanced medical catheters with smart tactile perception ability, with considerable progress having been made. In this regard, we review the most recent developments of state-of-the-art miniature flexible and soft tactile sensors that are able to be integrated in the tip or on the side wall of medical catheters. We particularly focus on the sensing mechanisms, design requirements, device configuration and sensing performance of different types of sensors, as well as their application demonstration in synthetic anatomical models and in vivo animal experiments. After reviewing the representative research work, the challenges that still exist are summarized and the prospects toward future development are proposed
A systematic review of fused deposition modeling process parameters
No full textFused deposition modeling (FDM) is an additive manufacturing technique with significant advantages, including cost effectiveness, applicability for a wide range of materials, user-friendliness and small equipment features. However, its poor resolution represents a hindrance for functional parts for commercial production. In this review, the key process parameters are presented with their factors and effects on the characteristics of FDM-printed polymeric products. Hence, better insights into the relationship between key parameters and three main printing characteristics, namely, surface roughness, mechanical strength and dimensional accuracy, in existing FDM research are provided. A conclusion that addresses the challenges and future research directions in this area is also presented
Design and manufacture of high-performance microbatteries: lithium and beyond
No full textThe accelerated development of miniaturized and customized electronics has stimulated the demand for high-energy microbatteries (MBs) as on-chip power sources for autonomous state operations. However, commercial MBs with thin-film configurations exhibit insufficient energy and power density due to their limited active materials and sluggish ion diffusion kinetics. In order to simultaneously enhance electrochemical performance and maintain low-cost production, efforts have been devoted to constructing three-dimensional battery architectures. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art progress in designing and fabricating microelectrodes for microbattery assembly, including the top-down etching and bottom-up printing techniques, with a particular focus on elucidating the correlations between electrode structures, battery performance, and cost-effectiveness. More importantly, advancements in post-lithium batteries based on sodium, zinc and aluminum are also surveyed to offer alternative options with potentially higher energy densities and/or lower battery manufacturing costs. The applications of advanced MBs in on-chip microsystems and wearable electronics are also highlighted. Finally, conclusions and perspectives for the future development of MBs are proposed
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