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Food Research International (Ottawa,... Aug 2023Many existing in vitro digestion systems do not accurately represent the peristaltic contractions of the gastrointestinal system; most of the systems that have...
Many existing in vitro digestion systems do not accurately represent the peristaltic contractions of the gastrointestinal system; most of the systems that have physiologically-relevant peristaltic contractions have low throughput and can only test one sample at a time. A device has been developed that provides simulated peristaltic contractions for up to 12 digestion modules simultaneously using rollers of varying width to modulate the dynamics of the peristaltic motion. The force applied to a simulated food bolus varied from 2.61 ± 0.03 N to 4.51 ± 0.16 N (p < 0.05) depending on roller width. Video analysis showed that the degree of occlusion of the digestion module varied from 72.1 ± 0.4% to 84.6 ± 1.2% (p < 0.05). A multiphysics, computational fluid dynamics model was created to understand the fluid flow. The fluid flow was also examined experimentally using video analysis of tracer particles. The model-predicted maximum fluid velocity in the peristaltic simulator incorporating the thin rollers was 0.016 m/s, and the corresponding value measured using tracer particles was 0.015 m/s. The occlusion, pressure, and fluid velocity in the new peristaltic simulator fell within physiologically representative ranges. Although no in vitro device perfectly recreates the conditions of the gastrointestinal system, this novel device is a flexible platform for future gastrointestinal research and could allow for high-throughput screening of food materials for health-promoting properties under conditions representative of human gastrointestinal motility.
Topics: Humans; Peristalsis; Gastrointestinal Tract; Gastrointestinal Motility; Food; High-Throughput Screening Assays
PubMed: 37316038
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2023.112877 -
Frontiers in Endocrinology 2023To obtain quantitative and comprehensive results of the changes in comprehensive ER indicators from ovulation day to transplantation day by ultrasonography during the...
OBJECTIVE
To obtain quantitative and comprehensive results of the changes in comprehensive ER indicators from ovulation day to transplantation day by ultrasonography during the natural frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycle (FET).
METHODS
This is a prospective analysis of 230 infertile women undergoing their first FET cycles from April 2019 to July 2021. To evaluate ER, ultrasound scans were performed on the days of ovulation and embryo transfer for all included patients. All included patients were divided into a pregnancy group and a nonpregnancy group according to whether clinical pregnancy was achieved. The ER changes from ovulation day to transplantation day in the overall study population (n=230), pregnancy group (n=158) and nonpregnancy group (n=72) were analyzed.
RESULTS
In the overall population, type C was predominant on ovulation day, but type B was the most common on transplantation day (P<0.001). From ovulation day to transplantation day, endometrial thickness was significantly increased (11.26 ± 2.14 vs. 11.89 ± 2.08 mm, P<0.001), but endometrial volume (4.26 ± 1.75 vs. 4.03 ± 1.62 ml, P<0.001), endometrial VI (1.34 ± 1.64 vs. 0.95 ± 1.99, P<0.001), VFI (0.47 ± 0.72 vs. 0.40 ± 1.03, P<0.001), subendometrial VI (5.04 ± 3.89 vs. 3.29 ± 2.92, P<0.001), FI (34.07 ± 4.61 vs. 33.41 ± 5.30, p=0.004), VFI (2.07 ± 2.65 vs. 1.19 ± 1.19, P<0.001) and frequency of endometrial peristalsis (2.90 ± 1.44 vs. 1.40 ± 1.41, P<0.001) were significantly decreased. In the pregnancy group, the changes in all ultrasound parameters were in the same direction as those in the overall population. In the nonpregnancy group, except for endometrial volume and VI, which showed no difference, other ultrasound parameters showed the same direction of change as those in the overall population. No significant difference was found in the pregnancy probability among the different absolute change groups.
CONCLUSION
During a natural cycle, the morphology of the endometrium changes mostly from type C to type B, the endometrial thickness increases, and the volume decreases. The blood supply of the endometrium, the subendometrial 5 mm and the frequency of peristalsis decrease from ovulation day to transplantation day. Compared with the nonpregnancy group, the pregnancy group tended to have more obvious decreases in endometrial volume and blood flow perfusion. However, these endometrial changes do not mean that pregnancy is bound to occur. endometrial receptivity, fertilization, frozen-thawed embryo transfer, natural cycle, ultrasound evaluation, ovulation day, transplantation day.
Topics: Pregnancy; Female; Humans; Infertility, Female; Embryo Transfer; Ultrasonography; Endometrium; Ovulation
PubMed: 37822604
DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1118044 -
Neural Regeneration Research Jun 2024The central nervous system, information integration center of the body, is mainly composed of neurons and glial cells. The neuron is one of the most basic and important...
The central nervous system, information integration center of the body, is mainly composed of neurons and glial cells. The neuron is one of the most basic and important structural and functional units of the central nervous system, with sensory stimulation and excitation conduction functions. Astrocytes and microglia belong to the glial cell family, which is the main source of cytokines and represents the main defense system of the central nervous system. Nerve cells undergo neurotransmission or gliotransmission, which regulates neuronal activity via the ion channels, receptors, or transporters expressed on nerve cell membranes. Ion channels, composed of large transmembrane proteins, play crucial roles in maintaining nerve cell homeostasis. These channels are also important for control of the membrane potential and in the secretion of neurotransmitters. A variety of cellular functions and life activities, including functional regulation of the central nervous system, the generation and conduction of nerve excitation, the occurrence of receptor potential, heart pulsation, smooth muscle peristalsis, skeletal muscle contraction, and hormone secretion, are closely related to ion channels associated with passive transmembrane transport. Two types of ion channels in the central nervous system, potassium channels and calcium channels, are closely related to various neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and epilepsy. Accordingly, various drugs that can affect these ion channels have been explored deeply to provide new directions for the treatment of these neurological disorders. In this review, we focus on the functions of potassium and calcium ion channels in different nerve cells and their involvement in neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, depression, epilepsy, autism, and rare disorders. We also describe several clinical drugs that target potassium or calcium channels in nerve cells and could be used to treat these disorders. We concluded that there are few clinical drugs that can improve the pathology these diseases by acting on potassium or calcium ions. Although a few novel ion-channel- specific modulators have been discovered, meaningful therapies have largely not yet been realized. The lack of target-specific drugs, their requirement to cross the blood-brain barrier, and their exact underlying mechanisms all need further attention. This review aims to explain the urgent problems that need research progress and provide comprehensive information aiming to arouse the research community's interest in the development of ion channel-targeting drugs and the identification of new therapeutic targets for that can increase the cure rate of nervous system diseases and reduce the occurrence of adverse reactions in other systems.
PubMed: 38845230
DOI: 10.4103/NRR.NRR-D-23-01766 -
Polymers Aug 2023In the local treatment of the esophageal mucosa, the retention time of the different dosage forms, such as tablets, films or liquids, is of high relevance for the...
In the local treatment of the esophageal mucosa, the retention time of the different dosage forms, such as tablets, films or liquids, is of high relevance for the effective treatment of diseases. Unfortunately, there are only few in vitro models describing the esophageal route of administration. To predict the behaviour of an esophageal-applied dosage form, it is necessary to simulate the site of application in a biorelevant way. The aim of this work was to develop two test setups for an esophageal peristalsis model which was described in a previous study. Different parameters such as flow rate, peristalsis, angle of inclination or mucous membrane were varied or introduced into the model. A stimulated and unstimulated modus were developed and tested with two different dosage forms. The time until the dosage form was cleared from the in vitro model was shorter with the stimulated than with the unstimulated modus. Also, esophageal-applied films had a prolonged transit time compared to a viscous syrup. The modification of the simulated esophageal surface made it possible to estimate the retention time of the dosage forms. It could be demonstrated that the residence time of a dosage form depends on different parameters affecting each other.
PubMed: 37631487
DOI: 10.3390/polym15163430 -
Journal of Digital Imaging Aug 2023Generative adversarial networks (GAN) in medicine are valuable techniques for augmenting unbalanced rare data, anomaly detection, and avoiding patient privacy issues....
Generative adversarial networks (GAN) in medicine are valuable techniques for augmenting unbalanced rare data, anomaly detection, and avoiding patient privacy issues. However, there were limits to generating high-quality endoscopic images with various characteristics, such as peristalsis, viewpoints, light sources, and mucous patterns. This study used the progressive growing of GAN (PGGAN) within the normal distribution dataset to confirm the ability to generate high-quality gastrointestinal images and investigated what barriers PGGAN has to generate endoscopic images. We trained the PGGAN with 107,060 gastroscopy images from 4165 normal patients to generate highly realistic 512 pixel-sized images. For the evaluation, visual Turing tests were conducted on 100 real and 100 synthetic images to distinguish the authenticity of images by 19 endoscopists. The endoscopists were divided into three groups based on their years of clinical experience for subgroup analysis. The overall accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the 19 endoscopist groups were 61.3%, 70.3%, and 52.4%, respectively. The mean accuracy of the three endoscopist groups was 62.4 [Group I], 59.8 [Group II], and 59.1% [Group III], which was not considered a significant difference. There were no statistically significant differences in the location of the stomach. However, the real images with the anatomical landmark pylorus had higher detection sensitivity. The images generated by PGGAN showed highly realistic depictions that were difficult to distinguish, regardless of their expertise as endoscopists. However, it was necessary to establish GANs that could better represent the rugal folds and mucous membrane texture.
Topics: Humans; Gastroscopy; Medicine; Privacy; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
PubMed: 36914855
DOI: 10.1007/s10278-023-00803-2 -
Scientific Reports Jan 2024The main objective of this study was to investigate the potential probiotic properties of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus VHProbi®M15 (M15). This study examined the...
The main objective of this study was to investigate the potential probiotic properties of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus VHProbi®M15 (M15). This study examined the effects of M15 on sucralfate-induced constipation in a mouse model. The BALB/c mice were randomly divided into four groups: the normal group (NOR) was without any treatment, while the constipation (CON), phenolphthalein (PHE), and probiotic (PRO) treatment groups were fed with sucralfate until the appearance of constipation symptoms. Afterward, the NOR and CON groups were given 1 ml saline orally every day until the end of the experiment; the PHE and PRO groups were given phenolphthalein or M15 suspension in 1 ml orally, respectively. Compared with the CON group, the fecal water content and intestinal peristalsis improved in the PRO group. Here, intake of M15 effectively attenuated sucralfate-induced constipation, recuperated colonic epithelial integrity, and increased serum levels of gastrointestinal excitatory neurotransmitters (motilin, gastrin, substance P). Analysis of the intestinal microbiota of mice by 16S rRNA metagenomic revealed an increase in the relative abundance of Bacteroides and a decrease in Sclerotinia, Verrucosa and Proteus in the PRO group. Compared with the CON group, the constipation-induced intestinal microecological changes were partially recovered in the PHE and PRO groups. These results demonstrate that M15 enhanced gastrointestinal transit and alleviated in mice with sucralfate-induced constipation.
Topics: Mice; Animals; Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus; Sucralfate; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Constipation; Probiotics; Phenolphthaleins; Substance P; Galanin
PubMed: 38212429
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-51497-7 -
Materials Today. Bio Dec 2023Engineered scaffolds are used for repairing damaged esophagus to allow the precise alignment and movement of smooth muscle for peristalsis. However, most of these...
Engineered scaffolds are used for repairing damaged esophagus to allow the precise alignment and movement of smooth muscle for peristalsis. However, most of these scaffolds focus solely on inducing cell alignment through directional apparatus, often overlooking the promotion of muscle tissue formation and causing reduced esophageal muscle repair effectiveness. To address this issue, we first introduced aligned nano-ferroferric oxide (FeO) assemblies on a micropatterned poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogel to form micro-/nano-stripes. Further modification using a gold coating was found to enhance cellular adhesion, orientation and organization within these micro-/nano-stripes, which consequently prevented excessive adhesion of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) to the thin PEG ridges, thereby effectively confining the cells to the FeO-laid channels. This architectural design promotes the alignment of the cytoskeleton and elongation of actin filaments, leading to the organized formation of muscle bundles and a tendency for SMCs to adopt synthetic phenotypes. Muscle patches are harvested from the micro-/nano-stripes and transplanted into a rat esophageal defect model. experiments demonstrate the exceptional viability of these muscle patches and their ability to accelerate the regeneration of esophageal tissue. Overall, this study presents an efficient strategy for constructing muscle patches with directional alignment and muscle bundle formation of SMCs, holding significant promise for muscle tissue regeneration.
PubMed: 38024845
DOI: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2023.100853 -
Journal of Clinical Medicine Jul 2023Preoperative fasting and surgery cause metabolic stress, insulin resistance with ketosis, and postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). Oral carbohydrate loading...
Preoperative Oral Carbohydrate (CHO) Supplementation Is Beneficial for Clinical and Biochemical Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Elective Cesarean Delivery under Spinal Anaesthesia-A Randomized Controlled Trial.
BACKGROUND
Preoperative fasting and surgery cause metabolic stress, insulin resistance with ketosis, and postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). Oral carbohydrate loading strategy (CHO) improves outcomes in labor and general surgery. We aimed to compare the effectiveness of CHO with standard fasting in patients undergoing elective cesarean delivery (CD) under spinal anesthesia.
METHODS
A single-center, parallel, prospective randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted in a tertiary university obstetrics department at Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Poland. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1 ratio) to the CHO group (oral carbohydrate 2 h before elective CD, = 75) or the SF group (control-standard fasting, = 73). The main outcome measures were incidence and severity of PONV at 6 and 24 h after CD, time to the first peristalsis, time to first bowel movement, and biochemical parameters indicating ketosis in mothers and their children.
RESULTS
A total of 148 adult females with singleton pregnancies undergoing elective CD under spinal anesthesia (ASA I and II) were included in the final analysis. At 24 h after CD, 8.0% from the CHO group vs. 20.55% reported three or more episodes of vomiting or dry retching as compared to patients in the SF group ( = 0.041). Preoperative CHO supplementation decreased preoperative feelings of hunger ( < 0.001) and thirst ( < 0.001). Laboratory results in the CHO group showed higher plasma pH ( = 0.001) and glucose ( < 0.001), lower F2-isoprostane in plasma ( = 0.049) and urine ( = 0.018), lower urine F2-isoprostane/creatinine ratio ( = 0.045) than in the SF group. HOMA-IR ( < 0.001) and lactate ( < 0.001) were higher in the CHO group than in the control group.
CONCLUSIONS
There was no significant difference in the incidence or severity of early PONV at 6 h. The incidence of vomiting or dry retching at 24 h after cesarean delivery was lower in the CHO group as compared to standard starvation, but the combined results of PONV frequency and severity on the Wengritzky scale did not differ between the two study groups. Preoperative CHO supplementation decreased preoperative feelings of hunger and thirst, enhancing the comfort of pregnant women.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04069806.
PubMed: 37568381
DOI: 10.3390/jcm12154978 -
PloS One 2023Achalasia is a rare neurodegenerative esophageal motility disorder characterized by incomplete lower esophageal sphincter (LES) relaxation, increased LES tone and...
Protocol for an international multicenter randomized controlled trial assessing treatment success and safety of peroral endoscopic myotomy vs endoscopic balloon dilation for the treatment of achalasia in children.
INTRODUCTION
Achalasia is a rare neurodegenerative esophageal motility disorder characterized by incomplete lower esophageal sphincter (LES) relaxation, increased LES tone and absence of esophageal peristalsis. Achalasia requires invasive treatment in all patients. Conventional treatment options include endoscopic balloon dilation (EBD) and laparoscopic Heller's myotomy (LHM). Recently, a less invasive endoscopic therapy has been developed; Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM). POEM integrates the theoretical advantages of both EBD and LHM (no skin incisions, less pain, short hospital stay, less blood loss and a durable myotomy). Our aim is to compare efficacy and safety of POEM vs. EBD as primary treatment for achalasia in children.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS
This multi-center, and center-stratified block-randomized controlled trial will assess safety and efficacy of POEM vs EBD. Primary outcome measure is the need for retreatment due to treatment failure (i.e. persisting symptoms (Eckardt score > 3) with evidence of recurrence on barium swallow and/or HRM within 12 months follow-up) as assed by a blinded end-point committee (PROBE design).
DISCUSSION
This RCT will be the first one to evaluate which endoscopic therapy is most effective and safe for treatment of naïve pediatric patients with achalasia.
Topics: Humans; Child; Esophageal Achalasia; Dilatation; Natural Orifice Endoscopic Surgery; Esophageal Sphincter, Lower; Treatment Outcome; Myotomy; Esophagoscopy; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Multicenter Studies as Topic
PubMed: 37796851
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0286880 -
Frontiers in Pediatrics 2023To explore the expression and clinical implications of protease activated receptors (PARs) in the pathogenesis of children with ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO).
OBJECTIVE
To explore the expression and clinical implications of protease activated receptors (PARs) in the pathogenesis of children with ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO).
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Immunohistochemistry was employed to investigate the distribution of PARs in both normal human ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) and cases of UPJO. Furthermore, PAR gene expression levels were assessed using real-time PCR (RT-PCR), and the patients in the UPJO group were stratified according to the Onen grading system. Subsequently, the clinical implications of PARs in UPJO were explored through RT-PCR analysis.
RESULTS
Immunofluorescence showed robust PAR2 expression in the control group compared with the UPJO group. The results of RT-PCR analysis revealed a significant decrease in the relative mRNA expression of PAR2 in the UPJO group compared to the control group. Notably, the relative RNA expression of PAR1 was significantly lower in the Onen-4 group compared to the control group. Furthermore, the relative mRNA expression of PAR2 exhibited a statistically significant difference among the Onen-3 group, Onen-4 group, and control group.
CONCLUSIONS
PARs are widely distributed throughout the SIP syncytium of the UPJ and play a role in maintaining smooth muscle cells (SMCs) membrane potential by interacting with interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs), as well as platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha-positive cells (PDGFR α+ cells). The decreased expression of PAR1 suggests a higher preoperative Onen grade in UPJO patients. Furthermore, the downregulation of PAR2 effects at the UPJ may be involved in the loss of inhibitory neuromuscular transmission, disrupting the rhythmic peristalsis of the UPJ.
PubMed: 38161438
DOI: 10.3389/fped.2023.1286786