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Objectives Endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) damaged the sphincter of Oddi (SO) function. This study aimed to explore the feasibility and efficacy of endoclip papillaplasty in restoring SO function. Methods This prospective pilot study included consecutive patients with choledocholithiasis (stone size ≥10 mm) who underwent large-EST for stone removal, followed by endoclip papillaplasty, between May 2018 and March 2019. Results Thirty patients were enrolled in this trail. Overall, 80% of the patients had a SO basal pressure of >10 mmHg after endoclip papillaplasty. Manometric parameters, including SO basal pressure, phasic wave contraction amplitude, phasic waves per minute, recovered after endoclip papillaplasty (P > 0.05). There were no significant differences in the manometric parameters of SO between healing grades A and B. Six patients developed mild post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis, including three that had pancreatic stenting. Bile duct stone recurrence developed in 3.3% of the patients (1/30) during an 18-month follow-up. Conclusions Endoclip papillaplasty might restore SO function and possibly prevented biliary stone and cholangitis recurrence.

Background Endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) can destroy sphincter of Oddi (SO) structure and function. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of endoscopic endoclip papilloplasty (EEPP) in restoring SO function after EST. Methods Seven 26-week-old domestic pigs were divided into control and EEPP groups. Necropsy and haematoxylin-eosin staining plus anti-α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) staining of papilla and sphincter of Oddi manometry (SOM) were conducted in animals at three independent time points. Results EST and EEPP were safely performed in all 7 pigs without serious adverse events. For primary outcome, compared to the controls, EEPP generated smaller dilation and less inflammation. Fibrous repair of the papilla was observed at 24 weeks after EEPP. For secondary outcome, in the control group, SO basal pressure (17.25 ± 18.14 to 5.50 ± 0.71 mmHg), SO contraction amplitude (46.00 ± 19.20 to 34.50 ± 48.79 mmHg), peak (4.50 ± 4.04 to 1.50 ± 2.12) and frequency (3.05 ± 3.29 to 1.41 ± 2.19/min) were reduced after EST. Further reductions to almost 0 of these SOM parameters were observed 3 weeks later, including common bile duct pressure and SO contraction period. In contrast, in the EEPP group, these manometric data were recovered to pre-EST levels, including CBD pressure (11.5 ± 7.31 vs 11 ± 2.16 mmHg), SO pressure (17.50 ± 17.75 vs 18.20 ± 21.39 mmHg) and SO contraction amplitude (53.67 ± 21.54 vs 60.00 ± 36.08 mmHg). However, no significant differences were observed between control and EEPP groups by Student t test. Conclusions In this porcine study, EEPP accelerated and improved papillary healing after EST, further preserved SO function.

The goal of this study was to investigate the tissue performance of bladder following stretched electrospun silk fibroin matrix (SESFM) implantation compared with bladder acellular matrix (BAM). We compared SESFM with BAM based on porosity and pore size. Scaffolds were separately transplanted into opposite walls of the bladder of 30 rabbits after stripping the bladder mucosa and smooth muscle (1.5 × 2.0 cm(2)). Gross anatomical observation, histological analysis and muscle contractility studies were performed at 2, 4, and 8 weeks post-op. SESFM has higher porosity and larger pore size compared with BAM (p 0.05). However, SESFM promoted a higher degree of smooth muscle and vessel regeneration compared to BAM (p

Synchrotron radiation wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) were performed to study the structures of four typical types of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) industrial yarns. Three-dimensional structural models of the yarns and comprehensive insights into the process–structure–property relationships were gained. High spinning speed, low draw ratio, and high heat-setting temperatures lead to HMLS yarns with high crystallinity, high amorphous orientation, densely packed lamellar stacks, and a small tilting angle of crystalline lamellae. High draw ratio tends to result in PET industrial yarns with large long period and a large tilting angle of lamellae. Heat-setting process has a significant influence on the amorphous orientation and crystalline structures, such as crystallinity, crystallite size, as well as crystal grain number. Compared with other structure characteristics, amorphous orientation plays a more important role in determining the tenacity, initial modulus, part load elongation, ultimate elongation, as well as shrinkage of PET industrial yarns. The crystal grain number seems to have an effect on the initial modulus, while the long period influences the elongation of the yarns to some extent. In addition, the small tilting angle of crystalline lamellae may relate to the dimensional stability of PET yarns. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 42512.

In this article, a rheological method that can predict the molecular weight distribution (MWD) of polymer was introduced. Using this method, the MWDs of four cellulose samples were compared from rheological data of the cellulose / N-methyl morpholine N-oxide (NMMO) / H2O solutions. The MWDs of cellulose also were determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) calibrated with narrow distribution polystyrene standards, using 0.5% lithium chloride (LiCl) in N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) as the eluent. Comparison of the results from rheology and GPC showed that the MW and MWD of cellulose could be roughly inferred from their rheological data. Although the differential MWD obtained from the rheological method was bell shaped and can not reflect the fine characteristics of cellulose as GPC, it may be feasible to compare the MWDs of cellulose by using the rheological method. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 94: 598–603, 2004

A two-step direct copolymerization process of L-lactic acid (L-LA)/glycolic acid (GA) was developed. The first step was to produce an oligomer of L-LA/GA and then the oligomer was polymerized with binary catalyst tin chloride dihydrate/p-toluenesulfonic acid. In this way, the copoly(L-LA/GA) (PLGA), without any organic solvent, was synthesized directly. The thermal properties and solubility in chloroform of PLGA were studied by DSC and NMR. The results showed that the melting point of PLGA decreases with increasing mole fraction of GA units in copolymer. In addition, the melting point of polymer also decreased with increasing degree of racemization of polymer. The solubility of PLGA in chloroform decreased with the increase of the average lengths of the glycolic acid units. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 2163–2168, 2004

Cellulose membranes were obtained by solutions of cellulose being cast into a mixture of N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) and water under different processing conditions. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to investigate the surface structures of the membranes. The AFM method provided information on both the size and shape of the pores on the surface, as well as the roughness of the skin, through a computerized analysis of AFM micrographs. The results obtained showed that the surface morphologies were intrinsically associated with the permeation properties. For the cellulose membranes, increasing the NMMO concentration and the temperature of the coagulation bath led to higher fluxes and lower bovine serum albumin rejection. These were always correlated with higher values of the roughness parameters and larger pore sizes of the membrane surfaces. When the cellulose concentration of the casting solution was 11 wt %, the membrane showed a nodular structure with interconnected cavity channels between the agglomerated nodules. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 3389–3395, 2002

Regenerated cellulose membranes have been raditionally manufactured using the viscose or the copper-ammonia process. Today, membranes made by this process are still used in many fields such as dialysis. However, there are some serious environmental problems inherent in the existing processing routes. The new N methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) process can over-come these disadvantages and provides membranes with improved mechanical properties. In the present work, cellulose membranes were successfully prepared from NMMO solution under various conditions. It was found that the cellulose concentration is a decisive factor in controlling the membrane permeation properties. For a given coagulation system, higher cellulose concentration leads to membranes with greater rejection of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and lower pure water flux. It was also found that both the degree of polymerization (DP) and the type of cellulose pulp have great effect on the morphology and permeation properties of the membrane support layer. With increasing NMMO concentration and temperature of the coagulation bath, the pure water flux increases while the rejection of BSA decreases; a result of the larger mean pore size formed during coagulation.