An asymptomatic perforation of the gastrointestinal tract caused by ingestion of foreign body: A case report.

Ingestion of foreign bodies is very common in clinical practice. However, gastrointestinal perforation caused by a foreign body is rare, as most foreign bodies can pass the alimentary tract spontaneously or be removed endoscopically. Ingesting a foreign body causes gastrointestinal tract perforation in less than 1% of cases that require surgery. In the past, the literature about gastrointestinal tract perforation caused by foreign bodies had been widely reported worldwide. However, the case of foreign bodies causing gastrointestinal perforation without significant abdominal infection was rarely documented. A 47-year-old woman presented with intermittent left lower abdominal pain associated with a mass for 1 month and had no other symptoms. Laparotomy was performed after clinical assessment. During the operation, a local inflammatory mass that adhered to the abdominal wall, part of the small intestine, and sigmoid colon was found in the left lower quarter of the abdominal cavity. The surrounding intestinal wall was edematous. There were two bony foreign bodies in it. Postoperative pathology suggested an inflammatory mass. A foreign body rarely migrates into the abdominal cavity without symptoms that may be related to the omentum's slow perforation process and good function. The best treatment is surgery and using appropriate antibiotics.

A highly integrated nonvolatile bidirectional RFET with low leakage current.

A highly integrated nonvolatile bidirectional reconfigurable FET controlled by a single gate (SGCN-BRFET) is proposed. The nonvolatile function, the bidirectional function and the reconfigurable function can be achieved at the same time. Instead of the independently powered program gate (PG) of BRFET, the program operation of the proposed SGCN-BRFET can be independently completed by the control gate (CG) itself through storing positive or negative charges in a floating program gate (FPG) formed on both source/drain sides. Thereafter, the interconnection can be simplified. The conduction type of the SGCN-BRFET is reconfigured by programming the FPG with different type of charges into the FPG. By optimizing the quantities of the stored charges, the FPG effective voltage can be changed to achieve higher forward current and lower leakage current. The physical mechanism of the proposed SGCN-RFET has been systematically analyzed. The device performance has been compared with BRFET. The influence of the amount of charge to the device performance has also been discussed in detail.

Complementary Doped Source-Based Reconfigurable Schottky Diode as an Equivalence Logic Gate.

A complementary doped source-based reconfigurable Schottky diode (CDS-RSD) is proposed for the first time. Unlike other types of reconfigurable devices that have source and drain (S/D) regions with the same material, this has a complementary doped source region as well as a metal silicide drain region. Compared to three-terminal reconfigurable transistors, which have both the program gate and control gate, the proposed CDS-RSD does not have a control gate but only a program gate for reconfiguration operation. The drain electrode of the CDS-RSD is not only the output terminal of the current signal but also the input terminal of the voltage signal. Therefore, it is a reconfigurable diode based on high Schottky barriers for both the conduction band and valence band of silicon, which formed on the interface between the silicon and drain electrode. Therefore, the CDS-RSD can be regarded as the simplification of the reconfigurable field effect transistor structure on the premise of retaining the reconfigurable function. The simplified CDS-RSD is more suitable for the improvement of logic gate circuit integration. A brief manufacture process is also proposed. The device performance has been verified through device simulation. The performance of the CDS-RSD as a single-device two-input equivalence logic gate has also been investigated.

A complementary low-Schottky-barrier S/D-based nanoscale dopingless bidirectional reconfigurable field effect transistor with an improved forward current.

In this paper, a nanoscale dopingless bidirectional RFET (BRFET) is proposed. Unlike conventional BRFETs, the proposed BRFET uses two different metal materials to form two different types of Schottky barriers on the interface between the S/D and silicon. For one of the two metal forms, the Schottky barrier height between the conduction band of the semiconductor and one of the two metal materials is lower than half of the energy band gap. The Schottky barrier height between the valence band of the semiconductor and the other kind of the two metal materials is lower than half of the energy band gap of the semiconductor. Therefore, a complementary low Schottky barrier (CLSB) is formed. Therefore, more carriers from the source electrode can easily flow into the semiconductor region through thermionic emission in both n-mode and p-mode compared to conventional BRFET operation, which generates carriers through the band-to-band tunneling effect. Therefore, a larger forward current can be achieved by the proposed CLSB-BRFET. The performance of the CLSB-BRFET is investigated by device simulation and compared with that of the BRFET. The working principle is interpreted through an analysis based on energy band theory. The output characteristics and reconfigurable function are also investigated and verified.

A nonvolatile bidirectional reconfigurable FET based on S/D self programmable floating gates.

A nanoscale nonvolatile bidirectional reconfigurable field effect transistor (NBRFET) based on source /drain (S/D) self programmable floating gates is proposed. Comparing to the conventional reconfigurable field effect transistor (RFET) which requires two independently powered gates, the proposed NBRFET requires only one control gate. Beside, S/D floating gates are introduced. Reconfigurable function is realized by programming different types of charges into the S/D floating gates through biasing the gate at a positive or negative high voltage. The effective voltages of the S/D floating gates are determined jointly by the quantity of the charge stored in the S/D floating gates and the gate voltage. In addition, the charge stored in the floating gate has an effect of reducing the energy band bending near the source/drain regions when the gate is reversely biased, thereafter, the band to band tunneling (BTBT) leakage current can be largely decreased. The scale of the proposed NBRFET can be reduced to nanometer level. The device performances such as the transfer and output characteristics are verified by device simulation, which proves that the proposed NBRFET has very good performance in the nanometer scale.

A highly sensitive vertical plug-in source drain high Schottky barrier bilateral gate controlled bidirectional tunnel field effect transistor.

In this article, we propose a highly sensitive vertically plug-in source drain contacts high Schottky barrier based bilateral gate and assistant gate controlled bidirectional tunnel field Effect transistor (VPISDC-HSB-BTFET). It can achieve much more sensitive forward current driving ability than the previously proposed High Schottky barrier source/drain contacts based bilateral gate and assistant Gate controlled bidirectional tunnel field Effect transistor (HSB-BTFET). Silicon body of the proposed VPISDC-HSB-BTFET is etched into a U-shaped structure. By etching both sides of the silicon body to form vertically plug-in source drain contacts, the source and drain electrodes are plugged into a certain height of the vertical parts of both sides of the U-shaped silicon body. Thereafter, the efficient area of the band-to-band tunneling generation region near the source drain contacts is significantly increased, so as to achieve sensitive ON-state current driving ability. Comparing to the mainstream FinFET technology, lower subthreshold swing, lower static power consumption and Higher Ion-Ioff ratio can be achieved.

A dual doping nonvolatile reconfigurable FET.

In this work, we propose a dual doping based nonvolatile reconfigurable field effect transistor with source/drain (S/D) charge storage layers (DDN R-FET). It introduces nonvolatile charge storage layers on both source and drain sides as a floating program gate (FPG) instead of a program gate (PG) that needs independent power supply. The stored charges in the FPG are programmed by the control gate (CG). Therefore, the proposed DDN R-FET essentially requires only one independently powered gate to complete the reconfigurable operation. Moreover, by adjusting the charge stored in the FPGs, the CG can regulate the equivalent voltage in the FPG, which can promote the on-state current and reduce the generation of reversely biased leakage current at the same time. The physical mechanism has also been analyzed in details.

A novel high-low-high Schottky barrier based bidirectional tunnel field effect transistor.

In this work, we proposed a novel High-Low-High Schottky barrier bidirectional tunnel field effect transistor (HLHSB-BTFET). Compared with previous technology which is named as High Schottky barrier BTFET (HSB-BTFET), the proposed HLHSB-BTFET requires only one gate electrode with independent power supply. More importantly, take an N type HLHSB-BTFET as an example, different from the previously proposed HSB-BTFET, due to that the effective potential of the central metal is increased with the increasing of drain to source voltage (Vds), built-in barrier heights maintain at the same value when the Vds is increased. Therefore, there is no strong dependence between built-in barrier heights formed in the semiconductor region on the drain side and the Vds. Besides that low Schottky barrier formed on the interface between the conduction band of silicon regions on its both sides and the central metal (while high Schottky barrier formed between the valence band of silicon regions on its both sides and the central metal) have been designed for preventing the carriers in valence band from flowing into the central metal induced by thermionic emission effect. Thereafter, the proposed N type HLHSB-BTFET has a natural blocking effect on the carriers flowing in valence band, and this blocking effect is not significantly degraded with the increasing of Vds, which is a huge promotion from the previous technology. The comparison between the two technologies is carried out, which exactly agrees with the design assumptions.

Characterization and Modeling of a Pt-In2O3 Resistive Sensor for Hydrogen Detection at Room Temperature.

Sensitive H2 sensors at low concentrations and room temperature are desired for the early warning and control of hydrogen leakage. In this paper, a resistive sensor based on Pt-doped In2O3 nanoparticles was fabricated using inkjet printing process. The H2 sensing performance of the sensor was evaluated at low concentrations below 1% at room temperature. It exhibited a relative high response of 42.34% to 0.6% H2. As the relative humidity of 0.5% H2 decreased from 34% to 23%, the response decreased slightly from 34% to 23%. The sensing principle and the humidity effect were discussed. A dynamic current sensing model for dry H2 detection was proposed based on Wolkenstein theory and experimentally verified to be able to predict the sensing behavior of the sensor. The H2 concentration can be calculated within a short measurement time using the model without waiting for the saturation of the response, which significantly reduces the sensing and recovery time of the sensor. The sensor is expected to be a promising candidate for room-temperature H2 detection, and the proposed model could be very helpful in promoting the application of the sensor for real-time H2 leakage monitoring.

Mesh plug erosion into the small intestine after inguinal hernia repair: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Mesh plug (MP) erosion into the intra-abdominal organs is a rare but serious long-term complication after inguinal hernia repair (IHR), and may lead to aggravation of symptoms if not treated promptly. It is difficult to diagnose MP erosion as there are no obvious specific clinical manifestations, and surgery is often needed for confirmation. In recent years, with the increased understanding of postoperative complications, MP eroding into the intra-abdominal organs has been a cause for concern among surgeons. CASE SUMMARY: A 50-year-old man was referred to the Department of General Surgery with the complaint of abdominal pain in the right lower quadrant for 2 d. He had a surgical history of right open IHR and partial thyroidectomy performed 20 years and 15 years ago, respectively. Computed tomography revealed a circinate high-density image with short segmental thickening of the ileum stuck to the abdominal wall, and no evidence of recurrent inguinal hernia. Laparoscopic abdominal exploration confirmed adhesion of the middle segmental portion of the ileal loop to the right inguinal abdominal wall; the rest of the small intestine was normal. Further exploration revealed migration of the polypropylene MP into the intraperitoneal cavity and formation of granulation tissue around the plug, which eroded the ileum. Partial resection of the ileum, including the MP and end-to-side anastomosis with an anastomat, was performed. CONCLUSION: Surgeons should aim to improve their ability to predict patients at high risk for MP erosion after IHR.

Nivolumab-associated DRESS in a genetic susceptible individual.

The use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is rising exponentially in numerous cancers, but immune-related adverse events can occur. We report a rare case of high-grade drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome developed stepwise in a patient with gastric cancer after nivolumab treatment. Subclinical myocarditis was sensitively detected by cardiovascular magnetic resonance 3 weeks after initiating nivolumab. Eruption, eosinophilia, and interstitial pneumonitis occurred 1 week later. Corticosteroids were started and his condition improved. Four months later, when he was still on steroids tapering off, acute kidney injury and sequential herpes zoster virus activation developed. Severe acute tubulointerstitial nephritis (ATN) with an intense infiltration of lymphocytes was observed on renal biopsy. In blood, a substantial shift to Th2 response, an increase of Th17 cells, and strikingly enriched granzyme B+ and perforin+ CD8+ T cells were detected at ATN onset. Serum interleukin (IL)-5, IL-17, interferon gamma, and IL-6 levels were consistently elevated. Further molecular profiling identified a DRESS risk allele human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A*31:01 in this patient. His ATN responded favorably to a high dose of corticosteroids. In parallel, complete antitumor response was observed during the clinical course of DRESS. This is the first ever case report of nivolumab-associated DRESS syndrome with exploration of the mechanisms from the histopathological, cellular and molecular aspects. Nivolumab-induced DRESS may result from type IV hypersensitivity-related 'off-target effect' and PD-1 block-mediated 'on-target effect'. HLA risk alleles may constitute the genetic susceptible basis. HLA typing assay has the potential to screen susceptible individuals to avoid ICI-induced DRESS.

A Study on the Effect of the Structural Parameters and Internal Mechanism of a Bilateral Gate-Controlled S/D Symmetric and Interchangeable Bidirectional Tunnel Field Effect Transistor.

A bilateral gate-controlled S/D symmetric and interchangeable bidirectional tunnel field effect transistor (B-TFET) is proposed in this paper, which shows the advantage of bidirectional switching characteristics and compatibility with CMOS integrated circuits compared to the conventional asymmetrical TFET. The effects of the structural parameters, e.g., the doping concentrations of the N+ region and P+ region, length of the N+ region and length of the intrinsic region, on the device performances, e.g., the transfer characteristics, Ion-Ioff ratio and subthreshold swing, and the internal mechanism are discussed and explained in detail.

Multiple well-differentiated retroperitoneal liposarcomas with different patterns of appearance on computed tomography: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Primary retroperitoneal liposarcoma (PRPLS) is a rare soft tissue tumor with nonspecific clinical symptoms; it has different computed tomography (CT) image features according to pathological types. Some patients with a single tumor have been previously reported in the literature. We present an exceptional case of a PRPLS patient with multiple large tumors exhibiting different patterns of appearance on CT and confirmed as atypical lipomatous tumor/well-differentiated liposarcoma by postoperative pathology. CASE SUMMARY: A 64-year-old man presented with abdominal distension for 1 year. The patient was diagnosed with PRPLS based on physical examination, laparotomy, ultrasonography, CT scan, and surgery. Both of the tumors were completely resected through surgery and confirmed as atypical lipomatous tumor/well-differentiated liposarcoma by postoperative pathology. The postoperative course was uneventful without recurrence or metastasis, as demonstrated by abdominal-pelvic CT during an 18 mo follow-up. CONCLUSION: Multiple large Well-differentiated liposarcomas with different patterns of appearance on CT image can occur simultaneously in the same patient, to which more attention should be paid to make an effective differential diagnosis.

A Highly Sensitive FET-Type Humidity Sensor with Inkjet-Printed Pt-In2O3 Nanoparticles at Room Temperature.

In this work, Pt-doped In2O3 nanoparticles (Pt-In2O3) were inkjet printed on a FET-type sensor platform that has a floating gate horizontally aligned with a control gate for humidity detection at room temperature. The relative humidity (RH)-sensing behavior of the FET-type sensor was investigated in a range from 3.3 (dry air in the work) to about 18%. A pulsed measurement method was applied to the transient RH-sensing tests of the FET-type sensor to suppress sensor baseline drift. An inkjet-printed Pt-In2O3 resistive-type sensor was also fabricated on the same wafer for comparison, and it showed no response to low RH levels (below 18%). In contrast, the FET-type sensor presented excellent low humidity sensitivity and fast response (32% of response and 58 s of response time for 18% RH) as it is able to detect the work-function changes of the sensing material induced by the physisorption of water molecules. The sensing mechanism of the FET-type sensor and the principle behind the difference in sensing performance between two types of sensors were explained through the analysis on the adsorption processes of water molecules and energy band diagrams. This research is very useful for the in-depth study of the humidity-sensing behaviors of Pt-In2O3, and the proposed FET-type humidity sensor could be a potential candidate in the field of real-time gas detection.

Influence of MoS2-metal interface on charge injection: a comparison between various metal contacts.

Achieving good contacts is vital for harnessing the fascinating properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials. However, unsatisfactory 2D material-metal interfaces remain a problem that hinders the successful application of 2D materials for fabricating nanodevices. In this study, Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) and other high-resolution microscopy techniques are utilized to characterize the surface morphology and contact interface between MoS2 and common metals including Au, Ti, Pd, and Ni. Surface potential information, including the contact potential difference ([Formula: see text]) and surface potential difference ([Formula: see text]) of each MoS2-metal contact, is obtained. By comparing the surface potential distribution mappings with and without illumination, non-zero surface photovoltage (SPV) values and evident shift with amplitudes of 32 mV and 44 mV are observed for MoS2-Au and Ti, but not for MoS2-Pd and Ni. The Schottky barrier heights of MoS2-Au, Ti, Pd, and Ni are roughly evaluated from their I-V curves. Raman spectroscopy is also carried out to ensure more convincing results. All the results suggest that a smoother MoS2-metal interface results in better charge transport behaviors. Our analysis of the underlying mechanism and experimental findings offer a new perspective to better understand MoS2-metal contacts and underscore the fundamental importance of interface morphology for MoS2-based devices.

Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolisation Combined with Radiofrequency Ablation on Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Levels of Relevant Markers.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the ablative effect and safety of trans-catheter arterial chemoembolisation (TACE) combined with radiofrequency ablation (RFA), and TACE alone for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma and compare the changes in the level of relevant serum inflammatory and tumor markers. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive comparative study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University, from January 2016 to June 2018. METHODOLOGY: Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were randomly chosen and classified into combination group and TACE group, according to the treatment method. The 106 patients in the combination group were given RFA combined with TACE for treatment. The 112 patients in TACE group were given only TACE treatment. The objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) of short-term ablative effect, and adverse effect, serum inflammatory, and tumor markers' levels were compared for both groups before and one month after treatment. RESULTS: ORR and DCR of combination group were significantly higher than those of TACE group: 84 vs. 58%, and 99 vs. 80%, respectively (p=0.013). The differences in the frequency of adverse effects were statistically significant (p<0.05). After treatment, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), alpha fetoprotein (AFP), and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) of both groups declined significantly (p<0.05), that of the combination group significantly lower than those of TACE group (p<0.05). After treatment, tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and hypersensitivity C reactive protein (hsCRP) of both groups declined significantly (p<0.05), that of combination group significantly lower than those of TACE group (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: TACE combined with RFA has better ablative effect than pure TACE in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. It can effectively reduce the level of tumor active factor and improve microinflammed state of the body.

Effect of kallikrein on microcirculation of rats with pancreatic ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI).

The common pathway for pancreatitis onset is pancreatic ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI), which plays an especially significant role in the evolution process from acute edematous pancreatitis (AP) towards severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). This study explored the effect of Kallikrein (PK) on pancreatic ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI). Male Wistar rats were taken as study objects, and a SAP -IRI combined model was established through retrograde infusion of 5% sodium taurocholate in biliopancreatic duct combining 30 min splenic artery clipping; drug intervention was carried out by pumping PK into rat caudal vein. Pancreatic microcirculation blood flow, pancreatic micro vascular permeability, hemorheological change and levels of adherence factors CD18 and CD54 were determined respectively. PK can obviously improve pancreatic microcirculation blood flow volume and velocity of IRI rats and expand arteriole; expand diameter of pancreatic blood capillary so that perfusion state tends to be stable; decrease pancreatic micro vascular permeability, reduce rat whole blood viscosity, erythrocyte deformation index and rigidity index; SAP-IRI combination reduces expression levels of white cell adhesion factor CD18 and vascular endothelial cell adhesion cell CD54 in rats. In conclusion, PK is an effective method of improving SAP pancreatic IRI microcirculation.

Effect of Simultaneous Mechanical and Electrical Stress on the Electrical Performance of Flexible In-Ga-Zn-O Thin-Film Transistors.

We investigated the effect of simultaneous mechanical and electrical stress on the electrical characteristics of flexible indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs). The IGZO TFTs exhibited a threshold voltage shift (∆VTH) under an application of positive-bias-stress (PBS), with a turnaround behavior from the positive ∆VTH to the negative ∆VTH with an increase in the PBS application time, whether a mechanical stress is applied or not. However, the magnitudes of PBS-induced ∆VTH in both the positive and negative directions exhibited significantly larger values when a flexible IGZO TFT was under mechanical-bending stress than when it was at the flat state. The observed phenomena were possibly attributed to the mechanical stress-induced interface trap generation and the enhanced hydrogen diffusion from atomic layer deposition-grown Al2O3 to IGZO under mechanical-bending stress during PBS. The subgap density of states was extracted before and after an application of PBS under both mechanical stress conditions. The obtained results in this study provided potent evidence supporting the mechanism suggested to explain the PBS-induced larger ∆VTHs in both directions under mechanical-bending stress.

A High-Performance Rectangular Gate U Channel FETs with Only 2-nm Distance between Source and Drain Contacts.

A novel high-performance rectangular gate U channel FET (RGUC FET) for extreme integrated distance between source and drain contacts is proposed in this paper. The RGUC FET represents nearly ideal subthreshold characteristics till the distance between source/drain (S/D) contacts reduced to 2 nm. Different from the other recessed or U-shaped channel-based FETs, the gate contacts do not need to be formed in the recessed region but only in a layer of spacer for the insulation between the two vertical parts on both sides of the U channel. Its structural advantages make it possible to be applied to manufacture integrated circuits with higher integration for extreme integrated distance between source and drain contacts. The electrical properties of the RGUC FET were scrupulously investigated by studying the influence of design parameters including the horizontal distance between S/D contacts, the extension height of S/D region, and the thickness and material of the gate oxide layer. The electrical properties of the RGUC FET are verified by quantum simulation. Compared to the other non-planner channel multi-gate FETs, the novel RGUC FET is suitable for higher integration.

p53-induced microRNA-1246 inhibits the cell growth of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells by targeting NFIB.

In recent years, miR-1246 has been identified as a transcriptional target of p53 in Down syndrome and may provide a new p53-miR-1246-DYRK1A-NFAT pathway in cancer. The present study aimed to explore the role of miR-1246 in the tumorigenesis of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We found that wild-type p53 regulated the expression of miR-1246 in HCC cell lines, and alteration of miR-1246 modulated cell proliferation, colony formation ability and apoptosis. The nuclear factor I/B (NFIB), an oncogene, was identified as a direct target gene of miR-1246 using a fluorescent reporter assay. Overexpression of NFIB abolished the regulation of cell apoptosis caused by miR-1246 in HepG2 cells. This finding suggests that miR-1246 is regulated by p53 and suppresses the growth of human HCC by targeting NFIB. Here, we propose a new p53-miR-1246-NFIB pathway in HCC.