Enhanced Tumour Targeting with Sequential Administration of Small and Large Degradable Starch Microspheres

2015 ◽  
pp. 40-48
Author(s):  
T. Davidson ◽  
J. Wallace ◽  
H. Starkhammar ◽  
L. Hakansson
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentin Holzwarth ◽  
Johannes Schneider ◽  
Joshua Handali ◽  
Joy Gisler ◽  
Christian Hirt ◽  
...  

AbstractInferring users’ perceptions of Virtual Environments (VEs) is essential for Virtual Reality (VR) research. Traditionally, this is achieved through assessing users’ affective states before and after being exposed to a VE, based on standardized, self-assessment questionnaires. The main disadvantage of questionnaires is their sequential administration, i.e., a user’s affective state is measured asynchronously to its generation within the VE. A synchronous measurement of users’ affective states would be highly favorable, e.g., in the context of adaptive systems. Drawing from nonverbal behavior research, we argue that behavioral measures could be a powerful approach to assess users’ affective states in VR. In this paper, we contribute by providing methods and measures evaluated in a user study involving 42 participants to assess a users’ affective states by measuring head movements during VR exposure. We show that head yaw significantly correlates with presence, mental and physical demand, perceived performance, and system usability. We also exploit the identified relationships for two practical tasks that are based on head yaw: (1) predicting a user’s affective state, and (2) detecting manipulated questionnaire answers, i.e., answers that are possibly non-truthful. We found that affective states can be predicted significantly better than a naive estimate for mental demand, physical demand, perceived performance, and usability. Further, manipulated or non-truthful answers can also be estimated significantly better than by a naive approach. These findings mark an initial step in the development of novel methods to assess user perception of VEs.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 2258
Author(s):  
Won-Gun Kwack ◽  
Yoon-Je Lee ◽  
Eun-Young Eo ◽  
Jin-Haeng Chung ◽  
Jae-Ho Lee ◽  
...  

Ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) is an important critical care complication. Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation, a critical signaling event in the inflammatory response, has been implicated in the tracking of the lung injury. The present study aimed to determine the effect of simultaneous pretreatment with enteral aspirin and omega-3 fatty acid on lung injury in a murine VILI model. We compared the lung inflammation after the sequential administration of lipopolysaccharides and mechanical ventilation between the pretreated simultaneous enteral aspirin and omega-3 fatty acid group and the non-pretreatment group, by quantifying NF-κB activation using an in vivo imaging system to detect bioluminescence signals. The pretreated group with enteral aspirin and omega-3 fatty acid exhibited a smaller elevation of bioluminescence signals than the non-pretreated group (p = 0.039). Compared to the non-pretreated group, the pretreatment group with simultaneous enteral aspirin and omega-3 fatty acid showed reduced expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor-α, in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (p = 0.038). Histopathological lung injury scores were also lower in the pretreatment groups compared to the only injury group. Simultaneous pretreatment with enteral administration of aspirin and omega-3 fatty acid could be a prevention method for VILI in patients with impending mechanical ventilation therapy.


Kanzo ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takahiro Yamasaki ◽  
Issei Saeki ◽  
Yohei Harima ◽  
Kohsuke Okita ◽  
Makoto Segawa ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Xiao Liang ◽  
Xue Tong ◽  
Hui-lan Du ◽  
Ming He ◽  
Yu Zhang ◽  
...  

Background. Bushen Tiaojing Decoctions (BSTJ-II-D and BSTJ-III-D) are used to assist pregnancy in clinical practice. In this study, we explored the ability of sequential administration of BSTJ-II-D and BSTJ-III-D to promote cumulus cell (CC) expansion and its underlying mechanisms in controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) mice. Methods. Kunming mice were randomly divided into three groups. The normal group was injected intraperitoneally with saline, and distilled water was administered orally by gavage. As the COH model, mice were injected with GnRHa, eCG, and hCG. Subsequently, the BSTJD group received BSTJ-II-D and BSTJ-III-D orally by gavage, while the control group received distilled water. We evaluated CC expansion and oocyte first polar body (PB1) extrusion under a stereomicroscope. Serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) were detected by radioimmunoassay. The expression of the CC expansion-related factors PTX3 and PTGS2 was detected by immunofluorescence, western blot, and quantitative real-time-polymerase chain reaction analyses (qRT-PCR). Expression of p-MAPK14, p-MAPK3/1, MAPK14, and MAPK3/1 was detected by western blot analysis. Results. Sequential administration of BSTJ-II-D and BSTJ-III-D promoted cumulus expansion and oocyte PB1 extrusion and upregulated PTX3 and PTGS2 expression at the mRNA and protein levels. Furthermore, the levels of p-MAPK14/MAPK14, p-MAPK3/1/MAPK3/1 proteins, and serum FSH in the BSTJD group were higher than those in the normal and control groups. Conclusions. Sequential administration of BSTJ-II-D and BSTJ-III-D promotes cumulus expansion and oocyte maturation in COH mice by increasing FSH expression and activating the MAPK14 and MAPK3/1 signalling pathways, thereby increasing expression of PTX3 and PTGS2.


1982 ◽  
Vol 92 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. TERASAWA ◽  
J. NOONAN ◽  
W. E. BRIDSON

Although the anterior pituitary gland has been shown to be a site of oestrogen feedback in the non-human primate, the role of the hypothalamus as a site of ovarian steroid feedback in facilitating gonadotrophin release has not been ruled out. In the present study, LH release in response to 2·5 mg progesterone with oestradiol benzoate (OB; 10 μg or 30 μg) 30 h earlier was observed in the ovariectomized monkey. Then pentobarbitone sodium was administered to block the progesterone-induced LH response. Serum levels of LH, oestradiol (OE2) and progesterone were measured by radioimmunoassay. In the first series of experiments a group of nine rhesus monkeys received subcutaneous implants of a small silicone elastomer capsule containing OE2. Two weeks later, either OB and oil, or OB and progesterone were injected sequentially. Oestradiol benzoate (10 μg) followed by oil 30 h later failed to cause any clear LH release, while 30 μg OB followed by oil induced a single peak of LH release with a peak latency of 16·5 ± 1·9 (s.e.m.) h after oil, and a duration of 69·8 ± 10·2 h. Regardless of the dose of OB, however, progesterone induced an LH release with two peaks in all animals. The peak latency (7·3 ±0·9 h) and the duration (19·3 ±1·3 h) of the first response with 30 μg OB + progesterone were virtually identical to those with 10 μg OB + progesterone (7·0 ±0·7 h, 18·0 ± 1·4 h respectively), whilst both components of the first response with 30 μg OB + progesterone were significantly shorter than those with 30 μg OB + oil (P < 0·001 for both). The peak latency of the second response with 30 μg OB + progesterone (42·7+ 4·8 h) was similar to that with 10 μg OB + progesterone (38·3 ±3·2 h), but the duration of the second response with 30 μg OB + progesterone (46·0 ± 1·7 h) was longer than that (35·7 ±3·2 h) with 10 μg OB + progesterone (P <0·02). In the second series of experiments the same nine animals received an OE2-capsule implantation and 10 μg OB (subthreshold) injections before pentobarbitone and progesterone. Pentobarbitone was first given 6 h before progesterone and additional injections were made to maintain the anaesthetized state for 21·6 ± 1·3 h. This period was to cover the progesterone-induced first LH response. Pentobarbitone completely blocked the expected first response of the progesterone-induced LH release in six animals. In the remaining three animals an enhanced LH surge occurred, but it consisted of a single peak with long latency 16·0 ± 2·0 h) and duration (66·0 ± 10·5 h) and was essentially the same as that observed in animals treated with a suprathreshold dose (30 μg) of OB alone. Anaesthesia did not, on the other hand, alter the response of the pituitary gland to LH releasing hormone. Therefore it was concluded that (1) sequential administration of oestrogen and progesterone induces an LH release with two phases in the ovariectomized monkey and (2) the facilitatory action of progesterone on the first phase of LH release requires the involvement of the brain.


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