Biopharmaceutics classification and intestinal absorption of chikusetsusaponin IVa

The objective of this study was to investigate the absorption behavior of chikusetsusaponin IVa (CHS‐IVa) in the rat intestine using single‐pass intestinal perfusion (SPIP) and to classify CHS‐IVa into the biopharmaceutics classification system (BCS). The equilibrium solubility of CHS‐IVa was determined by the shaker method. The absorption mechanism of CHS‐IVa in the intestine was studied by comparing the P_eff of different concentrations of CHS‐IVa. The intestinal site dependence of CHS‐IVa absorption was studied by comparing the P_eff of the same concentration of CHS‐IVa in different intestinal segments. The relationship between CHS‐IVa and intestinal efflux protein was studied by perfusion with an efflux protein inhibitor. The permeability of CHS‐IVa was investigated by comparing the P_eff of CHS‐IVa and the reported value. The solubility of CHS‐IVa over the pH range 1.0–7.5 was 14.4 ± 0.29 to 16.9 ± 0.34 mg/ml. The P_eff of CHS‐IVa in the duodenum was 1.76 × 10^?3 to 2.00 × 10^?3 cm/min. The P_eff of CHS‐IVa in the jejunum was 1.26 × 10^?3 to 1.39 × 10^?3 cm/min. The P_eff of CHS‐IVa in the ileum was 1.25 × 10^?3 to 1.31 × 10^?3 cm/min. The P_eff of CHS‐IVa in the colon was 1.02 × 10^?3 to 1.08 × 10^?3 cm/min. There was no statistical difference of the P_eff in the four segments at different CHS‐IVa concentrations. The P_eff of CHS‐IVa (0.07, 0.7 and 7.0 mg/ml) were all notably smaller than the reported P_eff (3.00 × 10^?3 cm/min) in the jejunum. The P_eff of CHS‐IVa was not influenced by verapamil (P‐gp inhibitor), indomethacin (MRP inhibitor) and pantoprazole (BCRP inhibitor). CHS‐IVa was classified as high solubility, low permeability and BCS III. The main absorptive tracts were the upper intestinal tracts and the rank order of intestinal permeability was duodenum > jejunum ≈ ileum > colon. The transport mechanism of CHS‐IVa in all intestinal segments might be primarily passive transport. CHS‐IVa was not a substrate of P‐gp, MRP and BCRP.     

A new total generalized variation induced spatial difference prior model for variational pansharpening

This letter proposed a new and effective total generalized variation (TGV) induced spatial difference prior model for variational pansharpening problem, which aimed to estimate a high-resolution (HR) multispectral (MS) image from its low-resolution (LR) version and the corresponding HR panchromatic (Pan) image of the same earth scene. In addition to using the local spectral consistency constraint for spectral information preserving, this letter particularly exploited the spatial difference prior between the HR-MS and Pan images, and hence proposed a new TGV-induced spatial difference prior term for spatial information preserving. Then, an efficient optimization algorithm was designed for solving the proposed model under the fast iterative shrinkage-thresholding algorithm (FISTA) framework. Finally, the experimental results validated that the proposed method performed higher spatial and spectral qualities than various methods in both the subjective and objective aspects.     

Instrument-based Tests for Measuring Anterior Chamber Cells in Uveitis: A Systematic Review

ABSTRACT

Purpose

New instrument-based techniques for anterior chamber (AC) cell counting can offer automation and objectivity above clinician assessment. This review aims to identify such instruments and its correlation with clinician estimates.     

Congenital focal abnormalities of the retina and retinal pigment epithelium

This paper reviews the published literature on a group of developmental disorders of the retina and retinal pigment epithelium which result in focal abnormalities in one or both eyes. They are often asymptomatic, found on routine examination and are generally non-progressive. Some are associated with other systemic abnormalities.Subject terms: Retinal diseases, Eye abnormalities     

Subscapularis Transthoracic Versus Posterolateral Approaches in the Surgical Management of Upper Thoracic Tuberculosis: A Prospective,Randomized Controlled Study

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the clinical, radiological, and functional outcomes of a subscapularis transthoracic surgical approach and a posterolateral surgical approach with debridement, bone graft fusion, and internal fixation for the treatment of upper thoracic tuberculosis.There is currently debate over the best surgical approach for the treatment of upper thoracic tuberculosis. Traditionally, the subscapularis transthoracic approach has been preferred; however, the posterolateral approach has gained popularity in the past few years.A prospective, consecutive cohort of 43 upper thoracic tuberculosis patients with a mean age of 39 years (range: 20–52 years) was followed up for a minimum of 12 months (range: 12–60 months). Patients were randomly divided into 2 groups. Group A (n = 21) was treated by the subscapularis transthoracic approach and group B (n = 22) was treated by the posterolateral approach. All cases were evaluated for clinical, radiological, and functional outcomes. Intraoperative blood loss, operative duration, intraoperative and postoperative complications, hospital stay, the cure rate, fusion time, and the Frankel scale were used for clinical and functional evaluation, whereas the kyphosis angle was used for radiological evaluation.Grafted bones were fused by 10 months in all cases. There was no statistically significant difference between groups before surgery in terms of gender, age, segmental tuberculosis, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), Frankel scale, or Cobb''s angle (P > 0.05). The average operative duration for Group B was lower than that of Group A. There were no significant differences in intraoperative blood loss, intraoperative and postoperative complications, hospital stay, grafted bone fusion time, or cure rate between groups (P > 0.05). The Cobb''s angle correction rate for group B (68.5%) was significantly better than that of group A (30.9%). The neurological score showed significant postoperative improvement in both groups, with no significant difference between the groups.The subscapularis transthoracic approach and the posterolateral approach with debridement, bone graft fusion, and internal fixation are both sufficient and satisfactory for the surgical treatment of upper thoracic tuberculosis. However, the posterolateral approach is superior to the subscapularis transthoracic approach in terms of surgical trauma, operative time, and kyphosis correction.     

The influence of processed total non-forward and non-motile sperm count on the outcome of artificial insemination with the husband’s semen

BackgroundArtificial insemination with the husband’s semen (AIH) is an economical and noninvasive method of infertility treatment. However, AIH’s pregnancy rate is much lower than in vitro fertilization (IVF) as its multiple and complex uncertainty factors. Semen quality has been one of the main factors which affect the pregnancy outcome of AIH.MethodsThe relevant parameters of 1,142 AIH cycles were retrospectively studied, including the general parameters and the semen quality parameters among clinical pregnancy, biochemical pregnancy, non-pregnancy group, age, infertility duration, infertility type, body mass index (BMI), cycle count, morphology in previously semen examination, and semen quality parameters on the day of AIH.ResultsThe statistically significant difference was only found on processed total non-forward and non-motile sperm count (N-TFMSC). The mean processed N-TFMSC in the biochemical pregnancy group was 6.37±4.27 million, significantly higher than the other two groups (vs. 4.40±3.15 million or vs. 4.48±3.60 million, P<0.05). The study was then divided into two groups according to processed N-TFMSC, Group 1 ≤5.0 million, and Group 2 >5.0 million. A statistical increase in biochemical pregnancy rate was observed when the processed N-TFMSC was >5.0 million (2.72% vs. 0.90%).ConclusionsProcessed N-TFMSC may be one of the independent factors on AIH’s outcome; it should be given equal attention the same as processed total forward motile sperm count (TFMSC).