Delayed complications of intradural cement leakage after percutaneous vertebroplasty: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Intradural cement leakage following percutaneous vertebroplasty is a rare but acute and devastating complication that usually requires emergent treatment. Here, we report a delayed complication of intradural leakage after percutaneous vertebroplasty. CASE SUMMARY: A 71-year-old female patient with an L1 osteoporotic compression fracture underwent percutaneous vertebroplasty in 2014. She was referred to our hospital 5 years later due to complaints of progressive weakness and numbness in both legs combined with urinary incontinence and constipation. Initially, she was suspected to have a spinal meningioma at the level of L1 according to imaging examinations. Postoperative pathological tests confirmed that cement had leaked into the dura during the first percutaneous vertebroplasty. CONCLUSION: Guideline adherence is essential to prevent cement from leaking into the spinal canal or even the dura. Once leakage occurs, urgent evaluation and decompression surgery are necessary to prevent further neurological damage.

Imaging Findings in Neonates With Congenital Pyriform Sinus Fistula: A Retrospective Study of 45 Cases.

Background: Congenital pyriform sinus fistula (CPSF) is a rare branchial cleft deformity. The characteristics and management of CPSF in neonates are different from those in children or adults, and a comprehensive understanding of the imaging features of neonatal CPSF can facilitate its preoperative diagnosis. Thus, the aim of this study was to summarize the ultrasonography (US) and CT imaging findings of CPSF in neonates. Methods: Forty-five full-term neonates with CPSF, confirmed by pathology after surgical resection from January 2012 to October 2020, were included in this retrospective study. All patients underwent preoperative cervical US and contrast-enhanced CT examinations, and the imaging findings were analyzed. Results: Forty-six cervical cystic masses were found in 45 neonates, including one case with bilateral lesions, three cases with lesions on the right side, and 41 cases on the left side. Both US and CT detected neck abnormality among all cases, while the diagnostic accuracy of US (15/46, 32.6%) was lower than that of CT (42/46, 91.3%). Moreover, CT showed significantly higher detection rates of intralesional air bubbles, involvement of the ipsilateral thyroid, deviation of the airway, and expansion into the mediastinal and retropharyngeal space compared with the US. As the age increased, it was more likely to present some features including the absence of air-containing, thick cyst wall, and poorly defined border (ρ <0.05). Conclusion: CPSF in the neonates showed distinctive imaging findings on contrast-enhanced CT scan, which provides important supplementary information for the diagnosis of CPSF after the initial US examination.

[Chemical Components and Sources of PM2.5 and Their Evolutive Characteristics in Zhengzhou].

To explore the main sources of PM2.5 and the characteristics of seasonal differences in Zhengzhou, PM2.5 sampling was conducted in 2019 and the concentrations of inorganic water-soluble ions, carbon components, and various elements were analyzed. Results showed that the average mass concentration of PM2.5 in 2019 was (67.0±37.2) µg ·m-3 with the highest concentration in winter and the lowest in summer. The main components of PM2.5 were nitrate, ammonium, sulfate, organic matter, crustal matter, and elemental carbon. In spring and autumn, PM2.5 was greatly affected by crustal matter and elemental carbon, and In summer, concentrations were mainly affected by sulfate. In winter, the concentrations of organic matter and nitrate increased significantly, produced by photochemical reactions in summer and aqueous-phase reactions under high humidity in winter. Carbonaceous aerosols were greatly influenced by automobile exhaust emission, coal combustion, and biomass combustion. Source apportionment showed that secondary sources were the greatest contributors in all four seasons, particularly in in winter (56.5%). Among the primary sources, the proportion of dust in spring (15.2%) and autumn (11.4%) was slightly higher, and the contribution of motor vehicle pollution was the largest (12.3%) in summer. In winter, PM2.5was greatly affected by coal combustion (13.2%). From 2014 to 2019, PM2.5 in Zhengzhou increased annually under the influence of secondary sources. The contribution of industrial sources, biomass combustion sources, and coal combustion sources exhibited a downward trend over this period.

Axl glycosylation mediates tumor cell proliferation, invasion and lymphatic metastasis in murine hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM: To investigate the effects of Axl deglycosylation on tumor lymphatic metastases in mouse hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines. METHODS: Western blotting was used to analyze the expression profile of Axl glycoprotein in mouse hepatocellular carcinoma cell line Hca-F treated with tunicamycin and PNGase F 3-(4,5)-dimethylthiazol(-zyl)-3,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, extracellular matrix (ECM) invasion assay (in vitro) and tumor metastasis assay (in vivo) were utilized to evaluate the effect of Axl deglycosylation on the Hca-F cell proliferation, invasion and lymphatic metastasis. RESULTS: Tunicamycin and PNGase F treatment markedly inhibited Axl glycoprotein synthesis and expression, proliferation, invasion, and lymphatic metastasis both in vitro and in vivo. In the MTT assay, proliferation was apparent in untreated Hca-F cells compared with treated Hca-F cells. In the ECM invasion assay (in vitro), treated cells passed through the ECMatrix gel in significantly smaller numbers than untreated cells (tunicamycin 5 µg/mL: 68 ± 8 vs 80 ± 9, P = 0.0222; 10 µg/mL: 50 ± 6 vs 80 ± 9, P = 0.0003; 20 µg/mL: 41 ± 4 vs 80 ± 9, P = 0.0001); (PNGase F 8 h: 66 ± 7 vs 82 ± 8, P = 0.0098; 16 h: 49 ± 4 vs 82 ± 8, P = 0.0001; 24 h: 34 ± 3 vs 82 ± 8, P = 0.0001). In the tumor metastasis assay (in vivo), average lymph node weights of the untreated Hca-F group compared with treated Hca-F groups (tunicamycin 5 µg/mL: 0.84 ± 0.21 g vs 0.72 ± 0.19 g, P = 0.3237; 10 µg/mL: 0.84 ± 0.21 g vs 0.54 ± 0.11 g, P = 0.0113; 20 µg/mL: 0.84 ± 0.21 g vs 0.42 ± 0.06 g, P = 0.0008); (PNGase F 8 h: 0.79 ± 0.15 g vs 0.63 ± 0.13 g, P = 0.0766; 16 h: 0.79 ± 0.15 g vs 0.49 ± 0.10 g, P = 0.0022; 24 h: 0.79 ± 0.15 g vs 0.39 ± 0.05 g, P = 0.0001). Also, average lymph node volumes of the untreated Hca-F group compared with treated Hca-F groups (tunicamycin 5 µg/mL: 815 ± 61 mm³ vs 680 ± 59 mm³, P = 0.0613; 10 µg/mL: 815 ± 61 mm³ vs 580 ± 29 mm³, P = 0.0001; 20 µg/mL: 815 ± 61 mm³ vs 395 ± 12 mm³, P = 0.0001); (PNGase F 8 h: 670 ± 56 mm³ vs 581 ± 48 mm³, P = 0.0532; 16 h: 670 ± 56 mm³ vs 412 ± 22 mm³, P = 0.0001; 24 h: 670 ± 56 mm³ vs 323 ± 11 mm³, P = 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Alteration of Axl glycosylation can attenuate neoplastic lymphatic metastasis. Axl N-glycans may be a universal target for chemotherapy.