Cells in the liver microenvironment regulate the process of liver metastasis.

The research of liver metastasis is a developing field. The ability of tumor cells to invade the liver depends on the complicated interactions between metastatic cells and local subpopulations in the liver (including Kupffer cells, hepatic stellate cells, liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, and immune-related cells). These interactions are mainly mediated by intercellular adhesion and the release of cytokines. Cell populations in the liver microenvironment can play a dual role in the progression of liver metastasis through different mechanisms. At the same time, we can see the participation of liver parenchymal cells and nonparenchymal cells in the process of liver metastasis of different tumors. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to summarize the relationship between cellular components of liver microenvironment and metastasis and emphasize the importance of different cells in the occurrence or potential regression of liver metastasis.

Appendicitis combined with Meckel's diverticulum obstruction, perforation, and inflammation in children: Three case reports.

BACKGROUND: Meckel's diverticulum is a common congenital malformation of the small intestine, with the three most common complications being obstruction, perforation, and inflammation. To date, only a few cases have been reported worldwide. In children, the clinical symptoms are similar to appendicitis. As most of the imaging features are nonspecific, the preoperative diagnosis is not precise. In addition, the clinical characteristics are highly similar to pediatric acute appendicitis, thus special attention is necessary to distinguish Meckel's diverticulum from pediatric appendicitis. Patients with poor disease control should undergo laparoscopic exploration to avoid serious complications, including intestinal necrosis, intestinal perforation and gastrointestinal bleeding. CASE SUMMARY: This report presents three cases of appendicitis in children combined with intestinal obstruction, which was caused by fibrous bands (ligaments) arising from the top part of Meckel's diverticulum, diverticular perforation, and diverticular inflammation. All three patients, aged 11-12 years, had acute appendicitis as their initial clinical presentation. All were treated by laparoscopic surgery with a favorable outcome. A complete dataset including clinical presentation, diagnostic imaging, surgical information, and histopathologic findings was also provided. CONCLUSION: Preoperative diagnosis of Meckel's diverticulum and its complications is challenging because its clinical signs and complications are similar to those of appendicitis in children. Laparoscopy combined with laparotomy is useful for diagnosis and treatment.

Pathophysiological consequences and treatment strategy of obstructive jaundice.

Obstructive jaundice (OJ) is a common problem in daily clinical practice. However, completely understanding the pathophysiological changes in OJ remains a challenge for planning current and future management. The effects of OJ are widespread, affecting the biliary tree, hepatic cells, liver function, and causing systemic complications. The lack of bile in the intestine, destruction of the intestinal mucosal barrier, and increased absorption of endotoxins can lead to endotoxemia, production of proinflammatory cytokines, and induce systemic inflammatory response syndrome, ultimately leading to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Proper management of OJ includes adequate water supply and electrolyte replacement, nutritional support, preventive antibiotics, pain relief, and itching relief. The surgical treatment of OJ depends on the cause, location, and severity of the obstruction. Biliary drainage, surgery, and endoscopic intervention are potential treatment options depending on the patient's condition. In addition to modern medical treatments, Traditional Chinese medicine may offer therapeutic benefits for OJ. A comprehensive search was conducted on PubMed for relevant articles published up to August 1970. This review discusses in detail the pathophysiological changes associated with OJ and presents effective strategies for managing the condition.

Predictive factors of epiretinal membrane in complicated rhegmatogenous retinal detachment tamponaded with silicone oil.

AIM: To determine the incidence and predictive factors for epiretinal membrane (ERM) formation in eyes with complicated primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) tamponaded with silicone oil (SO). METHODS: This retrospective case-control study included 141 consecutive patients with (51 eyes) and without (90 eyes) ERM formation after primary pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) and SO tamponade for complicated RRD. The risk factors for ERM were assessed using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of postoperative ERM was 36.2% (51/141). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the risk factors for ERM in SO-tamponaded eyes included preoperative proliferative vitreoretinopathy [PVR; odds ratio (OR), 2.578; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.580-4.205, P<0.001], preoperative choroidal detachment (OR, 4.454; 95%CI 1.369-14.498, P=0.013), and photocoagulation energy (OR, 2.700; 95%CI 1.047-6.962, P=0.040). The duration of the preoperative symptoms, intraocular SO tamponade time, giant retinal tear, preoperative vitreous hemorrhage, preoperative best-corrected visual acuity, number of breaks, quadrants of RRD, axial length, and photocoagulation points were not predictive factors for ERM formation. CONCLUSION: Preoperative PVR, choroidal detachment, and photocoagulation energy are risk factors of ERM formation after complicated RRD repair. Better ophthalmic care as well as patient education are necessary for such patients with risk factors.

Active Oxygen Functional Group Modification and the Combined Interface Engineering Strategy for Efficient Hydrogen Peroxide Electrosynthesis.

Cathodic catalytic activity and interfacial mass transfer are key factors for efficiently generating hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) via a two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). In this work, a carbonized carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)-reduced graphene oxide (rGO) synthetic fabric cathode was designed and constructed to improve two-electron ORR activity and interfacial mass transfer. Carbonized CMC exhibits abundant active carboxyl groups and excellent two-electron ORR activity with an H2O2 selectivity of approximately 87%, higher than that of rGO and other commonly used carbonaceous catalysts. Carbonizing CMC and the agglomerates formed from it restrain the restacking of rGO sheets and thus create abundant meso/macroporous channels for the interfacial mass transfer of oxygen and H2O2. Thus, the as-constructed carbonized CMC-rGO synthetic fabric cathode exhibits exceptional H2O2 electrosynthesis performance with 11.94 mg·h-1·cm-2 yield and 82.32% current efficiency. The sufficient active sites and mass-transfer channels of the cathode also ensure its practical application performance at high current densities, which is further illustrated by the rapid organic pollutant degradation via the H2O2-based electro-Fenton process.

Multimode imaging characteristics and treatment of uveal schwannoma.

AIM: To delineate the different imaging characteristics of uveal schwannoma from melanoma and discuss the optimal treatment strategy for intraocular schwannoma. METHODS: Case series of three patients diagnosed with intraocular schwannoma was collected at Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Guangzhou, China from July 2014 to December 2020. All the study patients underwent ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The clinical features, therapeutic strategies, and prognoses of all patients were reviewed. RESULTS: Ultrasonography of all three patients (all females, mean age, 39y, age range, 23-54y) showed low to medium reflectivity with a homogeneous internal structure. MRI of all three patients demonstrated isointensity on T1-weighted imaging spin-echo (T1WI SE) images and hypointense on fast spin-echo T2-weighted images (FSE T2WI) images with respect to the brain. Minimally invasive pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) and local resection of the tumor was performed for all patients, and the diagnosis of schwannoma was confirmed by histopathological examination. CONCLUSION: The present study indicates that ultrasonography and MRI features of uveal schwannoma may contribute to the differentiation of uveal schwannoma from melanoma, and the optimal therapy for intraocular schwannoma is minimally invasive PPV and local resection.

Macular Morphology in Patients With Diabetic Retinopathy Treated by ILM Peeling: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effects of vitrectomy combined with internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling in patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR) by propensity score-matched analysis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with proliferative DR that underwent pars plana vitrectomy were divided into two groups: without or with additional ILM peeling. Propensity score-matched analyses of variables were carried out. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was conducted at the 6-month follow-up. The primary outcome measures were epiretinal membrane (ERM), intraretinal cystic changes, recurrent macular edema, and blurring of the inner segment/outer segment (IS/OS) margin. RESULTS: There were 41 patients in Group 1 (non-ILM peeling) and 41 patients in Group 2 (ILM peeling). ERM was observed in 11 of 41 eyes (26.8%) in Group 1, and three of 41 eyes (7%) in Group 2 at the 6-month follow-up (P = .019). Intraretinal cystoid changes were observed in 13 eyes of Group 1 and four eyes of Group 2 (P = .014). The median central macular thickness was 250.00 ± 135.09 µm in Group 1 and 235.00 ± 101.55 µm in Group 2 (P = .738). Macular edema was observed in 24 eyes (58.5%) in Group 1 and 19 eyes (46.3%) in Group 2 (P = 0.269). There was no significant difference in foveal dip angle between the groups (P = .820). The IS/OS margin was disrupted in 48.8% and 56.1% of eyes in Groups 1 and 2, respectively, without significant difference. There was also no significant difference in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) between two groups before surgery, and there was no significant difference in BCVA between two groups at 6 months after surgery (P = .13). CONCLUSION: The authors' results indicate that vitrectomy combined with ILM peeling can minimize ERM formation and eliminate intraretinal cystoid changes, but the functional recovery is limited. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2021;52:420-425.].

In situ fabrication of a temperature- and ethanol-responsive smart membrane in a microchip.

Here we report a simple and versatile strategy for the in situ fabrication of nanogel-containing smart membranes in microchannels of microchips. The fabrication approach is demonstrated by the in situ formation of a chitosan membrane containing poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) nanogels in a microchannel of a microchip. The PNIPAM nanogels, that allow temperature- and ethanol-responsive swelling-shrinking volume transitions, serve as smart nanovalves for controlling the diffusional permeability of solutes across the membrane. Such self-regulation of the membrane permeability is investigated by using fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) as a tracer molecule. This approach provides a promising strategy for the in situ fabrication of versatile nanogel-containing smart membranes within microchips via simply changing the functional nanogels for developing micro-scale detectors, sensors, separators and controlled release systems.

Submerged macrophytes modify bacterial community composition in sediments in a large, shallow, freshwater lake.

Submerged aquatic macrophytes are an important part of the lacustrine ecosystem. In this study, the bacterial community compositions in the rhizosphere sediments from three kinds of submerged macrophytes (Ceratophyllum demersum, Potamogeton crispus, and Vallisneria natans) were investigated to determine whether submerged macrophytes could drive the variation of bacterial community in the eutrophic Taihu Lake, China. Molecular techniques, including terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) of PCR-amplified 16S rRNA gene and clone libraries, were employed to analyze the bacterial community compositions. Remarkable differences of the T-RFLP patterns were observed among the different samples, and the results of LIBSHUFF analysis also confirmed that the bacterial community compositions in the rhizosphere sediments of three kinds of submerged macrophytes were statistically different from that of the unvegetated sediment. Acidobacteria, Deltaproteobacteria, and Betaproteobacteria were the dominant bacterial groups in the rhizosphere sediments of Ceratophyllum demersum, Potamogeton crispus, and Vallisneria natans, respectively, accounting for 15.38%, 29.03%, and 18.00% of the total bacterial abundances. Our study demonstrated that submerged macrophytes could influence the bacterial community compositions in their rhizosphere sediments, suggesting that macrophytes have an effect on the cycling and transportation of nutrients in the freshwater lake ecosystem.