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Purpose: The totally implantable venous access port (TIVAP) provides patients with safe, effective and long-term convenient venous access for the administration of medications such as chemotherapy drugs. The implantation and long-term use of TIVAP are related to thrombosis, infection and other complications. In this study, the medical records of multicentre patients were collected, and the perioperative and postoperative complications were retrospectively analysed to objectively evaluate the safety of the implantation of supraclavicular, ultrasound-guided TIVAP via the brachiocephalic vein (BCV).Patients and Methods: We retrospectively analysed the clinical data of 433 adult patients who had undergone ultrasound-guided TIVAP implantation via the BCV at four hospitals in China from March 2018 to May 2019. The success rates of the first puncture, operation time, and perioperative and postoperative complications were analysed.Results: All the TIVAPs were implanted successfully (100%). The average TIVAP carrying time was 318.15 ±44.22 days (range: 38-502 days) for a total of 197,694 catheter days. The success rate of the first puncture was 94.92% (411/433), and the average operation time was 29.66 ±7.45 min (range: 18-60 min). The perioperative complications included arterial puncture in 4 patients and pneumothorax in 1 patient. The incidence of postoperative complications was 5.08% (22/433), including poor incision healing (n = 2), catheter-related infection (n = 3), port infection (n = 6), thrombosis (n = 2) and fibrin sheath formation (n = 8). Another patient had infusion disturbance 2 days after the operation, and chest X-ray showed bending at the connection between the catheter and port. No other serious complications occurred, such as catheter rupture and drug leakage. The total incidence of complications was 6.24% (27/433).Conclusion: This study showed excellent tolerance of supraclavicular, ultrasound-guided BCV puncture to implant TIVAP and a low incidence of complications. As a safe and effective method of TIVAP implantation, it can provide a new choice for clinicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Traumatic lymphatic leakage is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication. The purpose of this study was to introduce ultrasound-guided intranodal lymphangiography and embolisation techniques for postoperative lymphatic leakage in patients with cancer. Methods: From January 2018 through June 2020, seven cancer patients (three males, four females, aged 59–75 years [mean 67.57 ± 6.11 years]) developed lymphatic leakage after abdominal or pelvic surgery, with drainage volumes ranging from 550 to 1200 mL per day. The procedure and follow-up of ultrasound-guided intranodal lymphangiography and embolisation were recorded. This study retrospectively analysed the technical success rate, operative time, length of hospital stay, clinical efficacy, and complications. Results: The operation was technically successful in all patients. Angiography revealed leakage, and embolisation was performed in all seven patients (7/7, 100%). The operative time of angiography and embolisation was 41 to 68 min, with an average time of 53.29 ± 10.27 min. The mean length of stay was 3.51 ± 1.13 days. Lymph node embolisation was clinically successful in five patients (5/7, 71.43%), who had a significant reduction in or disappearance of chylous ascites. The other two patients received surgical treatment 2 weeks later due to poor results after embolisation. All patients were followed for 2 weeks. No serious complications or only minor complications were found in all the patients. Conclusions: Ultrasound-guided intranodal lymphangiography and embolisation were well tolerated by the patients, who experienced a low incidence of complications. Early intervention is recommended for cancer patients with postoperative lymphatic leakage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gamma-phase cesium lead tri-bromide perovskite nanocrystals (γ-CsPbBr3 NCs) possess potentially photo-catalytic degradation ability and long-term stability. However, their serious aggregation issue decreases their active surface area, and the recombination of photo-generated hole–electron pairs weakens their photo-catalytic property. Furthermore, these NCs can be easily absorbed on the surface of dyes [e.g., methylene blue (MB)] or dissolved in the dye solution during the photo-catalytic degradation process, thus reducing the amount of γ-CsPbBr3 NCs and their photo-catalytic degradation ability. Besides, the residual γ-CsPbBr3 NCs in the photo-catalytic degradation products also present the toxicity issue (containing Pb) and are hazardous to the ecological environment and human health. In the present study, we fabricated γ-CsPbBr3 NCs/polymethyl methacrylate electrospun nanofibrous membranes (γ-CsPbBr3 NCs/PMMA ENMs) by using electrospinning technology to solve the above problems. It is found that the synthesized γ-CsPbBr3 NCs/PMMA ENMs show a large surface area and the abundant functional groups on their surfaces, which are benefit for forming multiple kinds of chemical bonding effect between γ-CsPbBr3 NCs and PMMA ENMs. In addition, γ-CsPbBr3 NCs could disperse homogeneously in or on the surface of PMMA ENMs. These abundant chemical bonds and homogeneous distributions of γ-CsPbBr3 NCs on the surface of PMMA ENMs can significantly decrease the recombination of photo-generated hole–electron pairs and toxicity issue of γ-CsPbBr3 NCs during the photo-catalytic degradation process. Exhilaratingly, γ-CsPbBr3 NCs/PMMA ENMs could maintain a superior photo-catalytic degradation ability toward various dyes and reveal a high photo-catalytic degradation efficiency of 99.18% in 60 min for MB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• By measuring the dielectric properties of 2D confined water and analyzing the relaxation process, the permeation rate of water and the performance of alcohol-water separation can be predicted. • Cationic intercalation can modulate the viscosity of 2D confined water, further impacting water permeation. • Compared with other characterization, dielectric spectroscopy shows the potential for accurate prediction on water permeation without the need of subtracting the adsorbed water. • The prediction on separation performance by dielectric analysis shows universality for other 2D membranes. Attributed to the growing demands for biomass fuels, the alcohol-water separation membranes, particularly the two-dimensional (2D) lamellar structures with high permeability and selectivity have attracted increasing attention. However, owing to the limited tools available for investigating the mass transport in the 2D nanocapillaries, the development of separation membranes mainly relied on theoretical prediction and a summary of experimental performance. In this work, we present an in-operando dielectric study on the pristine and varied ion-crosslinked 2D membranes for alcohol-water separation to establish the relationship between the relaxation process and the separation performance of the membranes. We found that the dielectric relaxation process in the range of 10−2 to 102 Hz, which is related to the viscosity of water in 2D nanocapillaries, can act as an indicator of the separation performance of the membranes. Furthermore, the slowing down of the relaxation process due to the electric field around the cations indicates lower water permeance and separation factor. Compared to the previous characterizations on the surface hydrophilicity or the water absorption, monitoring the dielectric process directly offers insights into the interlayered molecular states and transport, and therefore opens a new avenue towards rational design of 2D selective membranes for alcohol-water separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We prepared peapod-like titanium dioxide@graphene@carbon (TiO2@GO@C) nanofiber membranes through electrospinning. Due to the porous structure, large surface area, abundant surface functional groups and excellent thermal conductivity, GO can capsulize TiO2 nanoparticles to form a pea-like TiO2@GO structure. Subsequently, TiO2@GO can be wrapped by the carbon nanofiber during an electrospinning process, forming peapod-like TiO2@GO@C nanofiber membranes. The existence of a peapod-like structure is beneficial for enhancing the crystallinity of TiO2, and preventing the phase transformation of TiO2 from anatase to rutile phase at the same time. Furthermore, on the basis of the excellent carrier transport property of GO, the peapod-like TiO2@GO@C structure could also improve the light absorption, reduce recombination of hole–electron pairs, and improve the carrier transport and finally photocatalytic degradation property of methylene blue. Besides, the pea-like TiO2@GO structure shows a dispersion strengthening effect in the carbon nanofibers, preventing the carbon nanofibers from fracture. In particular, by optimizing the heat treatment temperature and additional amount of GO, the peapod-like TiO2@GO@C nanofiber membranes with 0.3 wt% GO show an excellent photocatalytic degradation efficiency of 98.5% in 3 h, and a high strength of 356.07 cN per dtex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Ultrasound guidance has become the routine method for catheterization, dramatically reducing failure and complication rates for totally implantable venous access devices (TIVAD) placement. The aim of the present study was to report the safety and efficacy of ultrasound‐guided right innominate vein TIVAD placement in older patients. Methods: Between September 2015 and September 2017, 55 older patients underwent right innominate vein TIVAD placement under ultrasound guidance. Intraoperative fluoroscopy was always carried out. The technical success rate and complications were recorded and retrospectively analyzed. Results: The technical success rate was 100%. The success rate of the first puncture was 96.36% (53/55). The mean operation time was 28 ± 7 min (range 23–39 min), and the mean length of catheter introduction was 19.24 ± 2.65 cm (range 17–21 cm). The overall incidence of complications was 7.27% (4/55), including one arterial puncture with self‐limiting hematoma, two cases of catheter‐related infection and one case of fibrin sheath. No catheter malposition or catheter fracture was observed. At the time of this study, three TIVAD were pulled out unexpectedly, and 32 TIVAD are still in functional use. Conclusions: Ultrasound‐guided puncture of the right innominate vein is safe and reliable to implant TIVAD, which can provide new options for older patients. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 218–221. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]