Ionomic profiling of pericardial fluid in ischemic heart disease

Metals are essential cofactors that play a crucial role in heart function at the cell and tissue level. Information regarding the role of metals in the pericardial fluid and its ionome in ischemic heart disease (IHD) is limited. We aimed to determine the association of elements in pericardial fluid and serum samples of IHD patients and their correlation with systolic and diastolic function. IHD patients have been studied with systolic and diastolic dysfunction categorized on the basis of echocardiographic parameters. We measured concentrations of sixteen elements in the pericardial fluid and serum of 46 patients obtained during open heart surgery with IHD by ICP-MS. The levels of chromium and nickel in pericardial fluid were significantly higher as compared with serum samples of IHD patients (p < 0.05). The chromium, nickel and manganese levels in pericardial fluid were lower in patients with ejection fraction (EF) < 45% as compared to EF > 45% (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in pericardial concentrations of elements in diastolic dysfunction grade 0–1 with 2 in IHD patients. We also found that decreased concentration of these elements in pericardial fluid is associated with decreased systolic function. These results suggest that pericardial fluid concentrations of these metals may reflect the extent of ischemic heart disease. These findings are hypothesis generating with regards to a role in the pathogenesis of the disorder.

Metals are essential cofactors that play a crucial role in heart function at the cell and tissue level.     

Octreotide for the treatment of diarrhoea in patients with ileal pouch anal anastomosis: a placebo-controlled crossover study

Aim Diarrhoea with urgency is a debilitating long‐term complication of ileal pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA) after a proctocolectomy. Somatostatin analogues are used to control diarrhoea and high‐output ostomies. Hence, we designed a prospective, double‐blind, crossover trial to explore the efficacy and tolerability of octreotide to reduce diarrhoea in adult patients with IPAA. Method Patients were randomized to octreotide subcutaneously (SC), 500 μg three times daily (t.i.d.), or matching placebo SC for 7 days. Responders (a reduction in stool frequency of three or more stools per 24‐h period and with a reduction in stool frequency of at least 30% after 7 days of treatment compared with baseline; the primary end‐point) remained in the same group and nonresponders could cross over to the alternative treatment for 7 days. Open‐label octeotide LAR 30 mg was offered to all responders on day 14. Flexible pouchoscopy with biopsies was performed at baseline in all patients and was repeated on days 7 and 14 in patients with pouchitis. Results Fifteen patients (11 men, median age 52 years), all with ulcerative colitis, were randomized. Three patients were withdrawn for side effects during the blinded phase. Response was achieved by two of 12 and two of 11 patients treated with octreotide or placebo, respectively (including crossover, P = 0.9). The median stool frequency remained stable in both groups [Δoctreotide: 0 (IQR, ?4 to 0), Δplacebo: ?1 (IQR, ?1 to 1), P = 0.45]. Octreotide had no effect on the modified pouch disease activity index (mPDAI), and pouchitis persisted in five of six subjects with pouchitis at onset. One subject received open‐label octreotide LAR. Conclusion Octreotide has no clear beneficial effect on the stool pattern or on pouchitis severity in patients with high stool frequency after IPAA.     

Correction to: Extraction of Retinal Layers Through Convolution Neural Network (CNN) in an OCT Image for Glaucoma Diagnosis

Journal of Digital Imaging -     

Efficient broadband light absorption in thin-film a-Si solar cell based on double sided hybrid bi-metallic nanogratings

Thin film solar cells (TFSCs) suffer from poor light absorption due to their small thickness, which limits most of their practical applications. Surface plasmons generated by plasmonic nanoparticles offer an opportunity for a low-cost and scalable method to optically engineer TFSCs. Here, a systematic simulation study is conducted to improve the absorption efficiency of amorphous silicon (a-Si) by incorporating double sided plasmonic bi-metallic (Al–Cu) nanogratings. The upper pair of the gratings together with an antireflection coating are responsible for minimizing the reflection losses and enhancing the absorption of low wavelength visible light spectrum in the active layer. The bottom pairs are accountable for increasing the absorption of long wavelength photons in the active layer. In this way, a-Si, which is a poor absorber in the long wavelength region, is now able to absorb broadband light from 670–1060 nm with an average simulated absorption rate of more than 70%, and improved simulated photocurrent density of 22.30 mA cm⁻², respectively. Moreover, simulation results show that the proposed structure reveals many other excellent properties such as small incident angle insensitivity, tunability, and remarkable structural parameters tolerance. Such a design concept is quite versatile and can be extended to other TFSCs.

Thin film solar cells (TFSCs) suffer from poor light absorption due to their small thickness, which limits most of their practical applications.