Diagnosis and treatment of post-cholecystectomy diarrhoea.

The incidence of cholecystitis is relatively high in developed countries and may usually be attributed to gallstones, the treatment for which involves complete surgical removal of the gallbladder (cholecystectomy). Bile acids produced following cholecystectomy continue to flow into the duodenum but are poorly absorbed by the colon. Excessive bile acids in the colon stimulate mucosal secretion of water and electrolytes leading, in severe cases, to diarrhoea. Bile acid diarrhoea (BAD) is difficult to diagnose, requiring a comprehensive medical history and physical examination in combination with laboratory evaluation. The current work reviews the diagnosis and treatment of BAD following cholecystectomy.

Sox10 Is a Specific Biomarker for Neural Crest Stem Cells in Immunohistochemical Staining in Wistar Rats.

OBJECTIVE: Neural crest stem cells (NCSCs) are prototypically migratory cells immigrating from the dorsal neural tube to specific embryonic sites where they generate a variety of cell types. A lot of biomarkers for NCSCs have been identified. However, which biomarkers are the most specific is still unclear. METHODS: The rat embryos harvested in embryonic day 9 (E9), E9.5, E10, E10.5, E11, E12, E13, and E14 were paraffin-embedded and sectioned in transverse. NCSCs were spatiotemporally demonstrated by immunohistochemical staining with RET, p75NTR, Pax7, and Sox10. NCSCs were isolated, cultured, and stained with RET, p75NTR, Pax7, and Sox10. RESULTS: In the paraffin sections of rat embryos, the immunohistochemical staining of RET, p75NTR, and Sox10 can all be used in demonstrating NCSCs. Sox10 was positive mainly in NCSCs while RET and p75NTR were positive not only in NCSCs but also in other tissue cells. In primary culture cells, Sox10 was mainly in the nucleus of NCSCs, RET was mainly in the membrane, and p75NTR was positive in cytoplasm and membrane. CONCLUSIONS: Sox10 is the specific marker for immunohistochemical staining of NCSCs in paraffin sections. In cultured cells, Sox10, p75NTR, and RET presented a similar staining effect.

Cross-talk between autophagy and apoptosis regulates testicular injury/recovery induced by cadmium via PI3K with mTOR-independent pathway.

Autophagy and apoptosis are two major modes of cell death. A balanced interplay between both is vital for phagocytic clearance of apoptotic testicular cells. Here, generating a SD rats model-treated with cadmium (Cd) to mimic environmental exposure on human, we show that autophagy and apoptosis present synchronous change trends in Cd-induced testicular injury/self-recovery. Further, the cross-talk of autophagy and apoptosis is investigated in four testicular cell lines (GC-1/GC-2/TM3/TM4 cells) respectively. Results reveal that Cd-exposure for five consecutive weeks induces reproductive toxicity in male rats. After one cycle of spermatogenesis within 8 weeks without Cd, toxic effects are ameliorated significantly. In vitro, we find that PI3K inhibitor 3-MA regulates apoptosis by inhibiting autophagy with mTOR-independent pathway in Cd-treated testicular cells. Conclusively, cross-talk between autophagy and apoptosis regulates testicular injury/recovery induced by Cd via PI3K with mTOR-independent pathway.

Mutations in Smad-interacting protein 1 gene are responsible for absence of its expression in Hirschsprung's disease.

Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR) is a common congenital malformation of the enteric nervous system. The pathophysiological basis remains unclear. Recently, the SIP1 gene has been recognized as being involved in the pathogenesis of symptomatic HSCR patients with 2q22 chromosomal rearrangement. In this study, mutations in SIP1 were analyzed to explore the relationship between SIP1 and HSCR. All exons of SIP1 were amplified and then analyzed by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and DNA sequencing. SIP1 expression was determined by immunohistochemistry, Western blot and real-time quantitative PCR. By PCR-RFLP, three different electrophoretic bands of 536, 428 and 257 bp representing different genotypes were demonstrated accordingly. DNA sequencing revealed a heterozygous absence of codon 157 GTG → GTA exchange at exon 7. Simultaneously, exchanges of GCC → ACC at codon 351 and ACC → GCC at codon 395 were also observed in exon 8. All the exchanges caused a missense mutation. By immunohistochemistry, SIP1 was ectopically expressed in the aganglionic segment of HSCR without mutation. For comparison, in HSCR with mutation either in exon 7 or exon 8, SIP1 immunoreactivity disappeared in all structures. The protein and mRNA levels determined by Western blot and real-time quantitative PCR were consistent with that of immunohistochemistry. In summary, mutations of the SIP1 gene were detected in HSCR. These mutations in SIP1 were responsible for the absence of its expression in HSCR and contributed to the pathogenesis of this disease.

Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Prognosis of Postoperative Complications after Surgery for Hirschsprung Disease.

BACKGROUND: Although most of patients do well after surgery for Hirschsprung disease (HSCR), there are complications in some instances that impact social aspects and quality of life. The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence, risk factors, and prognosis of these complications, providing guidance for surgeons and healthcare personnel. METHODS: A cohort of patients (N = 229) was retrospectively reviewed in the aftermath of surgery for HSCR. All medical data and operative notes were assessed. Early and late postoperative complications were solicited by questionnaire, using logistic regression and the Cox proportional hazards regression model for analysis. RESULTS: A total of 181 patients qualified for the study. Enterocolitis and soiling/incontinence constituted the most frequent complications, whether early or late in the postoperative period. Risk factors for developing enterocolitis included low weight, low-level IgA, preoperative enterocolitis, and lengthy aganglionic segment in the early term; whereas preoperative enterocolitis and diet control impacted complications emerging later. Risk factors in early soiling/incontinence were low weight, operative age of < 2 months, low IgA level, and lengthy aganglionic segment. Lengthy aganglionic segment, operative age of < 2 months, and toilet training were factors long-term. Prognostic factors included diet control and toilet training. CONCLUSION: Enterocolitis and soiling/incontinence remain the most frequent complications after surgery for HSCR. Risk factors in early and late postoperative periods differed, with diet control and toilet training contributing favorably to enterocolitis and soiling/incontinence, respectively.

Tailoring Kinetics on a Topological Insulator Surface by Defect-Induced Strain: Pb Mobility on Bi2Te3.

Heteroepitaxial structures based on Bi2Te3-type topological insulators (TIs) exhibit exotic quantum phenomena. For optimal characterization of these phenomena, it is desirable to control the interface structure during film growth on such TIs. In this process, adatom mobility is a key factor. We demonstrate that Pb mobility on the Bi2Te3(111) surface can be modified by the engineering local strain, ε, which is induced around the point-like defects intrinsically forming in the Bi2Te3(111) thin film grown on a Si(111)-7 × 7 substrate. Scanning tunneling microscopy observations of Pb adatom and cluster distributions and first-principles density functional theory (DFT) analyses of the adsorption energy and diffusion barrier Ed of Pb adatom on Bi2Te3(111) surface show a significant influence of ε. Surprisingly, Ed reveals a cusp-like dependence on ε due to a bifurcation in the position of the stable adsorption site at the critical tensile strain εc ≈ 0.8%. This constitutes a very different strain-dependence of diffusivity from all previous studies focusing on conventional metal or semiconductor surfaces. Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of Pb deposition, diffusion, and irreversible aggregation incorporating the DFT results reveal adatom and cluster distributions compatible with our experimental observations.

Experimental Observation of Topological Edge States at the Surface Step Edge of the Topological Insulator ZrTe_{5}.

We report an atomic-scale characterization of ZrTe_{5} by using scanning tunneling microscopy. We observe a bulk band gap of ∼80 meV with topological edge states at the step edge and, thus, demonstrate that ZrTe_{5} is a two-dimensional topological insulator. We also find that an applied magnetic field induces an energetic splitting of the topological edge states, which can be attributed to a strong link between the topological edge states and bulk topology. The relatively large band gap makes ZrTe_{5} a potential candidate for future fundamental studies and device applications.