Search

Introduction: Platelet transfusion is a standard treatment to prevent bleeding in patients with hematological malignancies. Although transfusions can improve platelet count, their impact on platelet function remains controversial. Methods: We conducted flow cytometry to assess platelet function before and after transfusion and performed subgroup analyses to examine differences based on blood type, corrected count increment (CCI), and platelet microparticles. Results: Overall, 50 patients who received prophylactic platelet transfusion were enrolled. CD42b expression increased, whereas CD41 expression decreased after transfusion. Apheresis platelets exhibited the lowest expression of PAC‐1 and P‐selectin when exposed to agonist stimulations. PAC‐1 expression increased under high adenosine diphosphate (ADP) stimulation, while P‐selectin expression increased under both high ADP and thrombin receptor‐activating peptide stimulation. In the subgroup analysis, patients with a CCI >4500 and those with the same blood types exhibited a more significant increase in PAC‐1 and P‐selectin expression under agonist stimulation. When comparing apheresis platelets collected on different days, only the percentage of platelet‐derived microparticles showed a significant increase. Conclusion: Prophylactic transfusion improved platelet function. Platelet function significantly improved in patients with a CCI >4500, those with the same blood types as that of apheresis platelets, or those with platelet‐derived microparticle levels <4.7%. No significant improvement in platelet function was noted after the transfusion of different blood types with acceptable compatibility or the transfusion of incompatible blood types. Our results suggest that transfusing platelets with the same blood type remains the optimal choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of clinical factors on the treatment outcomes of lung cancer patients with active epidermal growth factor receptor ( EGFR) mutations treated by first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Methods Patients of stage IIIb or IV lung adenocarcinoma harboring mutated EGFR were enrolled between March 2010 and June 2014 and followed up until December 2015. The effects of various clinical features, such as age, sex, smoking history, EGFR mutation types, TKIs used, presence of pleural effusion, metastatic sites on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), were analyzed retrospectively. Results A total of 104 patients were included in this study. Patients with pleural effusion at initial diagnosis had significantly shorter PFS and OS than those without pleural effusion (median PFS: 8.2 months vs 15.3 months, P = 0.0004; median OS: 16.3 months vs 28.2 months, P = 0.0003). Univariate analysis revealed that being male or a smoker was associated with short PFS, whereas smoking history, bony metastasis and malignant pleural effusion were associated with poor OS. Stepwise multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the presence of pleural effusion and different TKI use were independent prognostic factors for PFS [hazard ratio [HR] = 2.50 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.53-4.10), P = 0.0003 and HR = 0.55 (95% CI, 0.31-0.97), P = 0.0396, respectively], whereas the presence of pleural effusion and liver metastasis were associated with poor OS [HR = 2.79 (95% CI: 1.46-5.30), P = 0.0018 and HR = 2.12 (95% CI, 1.02-4.40), P = 0.0440, respectively]. Conclusion The presence of pleural effusion predicts poor PFS and OS in lung adenocarcinoma patients receiving TKIs as the first-line treatment. Additional studies are warranted to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and determine novel strategies for improving the outcome of these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The degradation mechanisms and phenomena of membrane electrode assembly (MEA) for proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC under low humidity operation were investigated by means of several on-line electrochemical methods and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Electrochemical active surface area (ECSA) of catalyst and hydrogen crossover of MEA were evaluated by cyclic voltagram (CV) and linear sweep voltagram (LSV), respectively. The decrease of catalytic active site and degradation of membrane were evident by ECSA loss and hydrogen crossover rate increase after long-term discharging test. Membrane degradation played the major role for MEAs failure under low humidity operation in this study. The Pt clusters were also observed in the membrane, formed by Pt ions migration and reduction in the membrane, which can react with the crossover gases to produce free radicals that attack membrane and ionomers in the catalyst layer.Those phenomena will drive membrane to rupture and cause a short circuit in MEA. By AST experiments and fluoride release rate results, the MEA with Pt-alloy/C catalyst can show better performance and durability due to its high selectivity on ORR to depress the free radicals formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stability analysis and controller synthesis methodology for a continuous perturbed time-delay affine (CPTDA) Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy model is proposed in this paper. The CPTDA T-S fuzzy models include both linear nominal parts and uncertain parameters in each fuzzy rule. The proposed fuzzy control approach is developed based on an iterative linear matrix inequality (ILMI) algorithm to cope with the stability criteria and H∞ performance constraints for the CPTDA T-S fuzzy models. Finally, a numerical simulation for the nonlinear inverted pendulum system is given to show the application and availability of the present design approach. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd and Chinese Automatic Control Society [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]