Case report: Rare floating gallbladder torsion in a child.

Gallbladder Torsion (GT) refers to serious biliary emergencies caused by the torsion of the gallbladder on its mesentery along the axis of the cystic duct and cystic artery. It is very rare, especially in children. The clinical data of a child with floating gallbladder torsion who was treated in our hospital on March 14, 2024, were analyzed. A 6-year-old girl presented with abdominal pain and vomiting. Physical examination showed a mass in the right middle abdomen. Laboratory tests showed normal liver biochemical function and white blood cells. The benign lesion was considered by color Doppler ultrasound and CT, and the floating torsion of the gallbladder was diagnosed by MRCP and laparoscopic exploration. The child was treated with laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) and recovered well after the operation.

The role of halogens in Au-S bond cleavage for energy-differentiated catalysis at the single-bond limit.

The transformation from one compound to another involves the breaking and formation of chemical bonds at the single-bond level, especially during catalytic reactions that are of great significance in broad fields such as energy conversion, environmental science, life science and chemical synthesis. The study of the reaction process at the single-bond limit is the key to understanding the catalytic reaction mechanism and further rationally designing catalysts. Here, we develop a method to monitor the catalytic process from the perspective of the single-bond energy using high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy single-molecule junctions. Experimental and theoretical studies consistently reveal that the attack of a halogen atom on an Au atom can reduce the breaking energy of Au-S bonds, thereby accelerating the bond cleavage reaction and shortening the plateau length during the single-molecule junction breaking. Furthermore, the distinction in catalytic activity between different halogen atoms can be compared as well. This study establishes the intrinsic relationship among the reaction activation energy, the chemical bond breaking energy and the single-molecule junction breaking process, strengthening our mastery of catalytic reactions towards precise chemistry.

Exploring Electronic Characteristics of Acceptor-Donor-Acceptor-Type Molecules by Single-Molecule Charge Transport.

The electronic characteristics of organic optoelectronic materials determine the performance of corresponding devices. Clarifying the relationship between molecular structure and electronic characteristics at the single-molecule level can help to achieve high performance for organic optoelectronic materials and devices, especially for organic photovoltaics. In this work, a typical acceptor-donor-acceptor (A-D-A)-type molecule is explored by combining theoretical and experimental studies to reveal the intrinsic electronic characteristics at the single-molecule level. Specifically, the A-D-A-type molecule with 1,1-dicyano methylene-3-indanone (INCN) acceptor units exhibits an enhanced conductance in single-molecule junctions when compared with the control donor molecule, because the acceptor units of the A-D-A-type molecule contribute additional transport channels. In addition, through opening the S∙∙∙O noncovalent conformational lock by protonation to expose the -S anchoring sites, the charge transport of the D central part is detected, proving that the conductive orbitals contributed by the INCN acceptor groups can penetrate the whole A-D-A molecule. These results provide important insights into the development of high-performance organic optoelectronic materials and devices toward practical applications.

Identification of risk and prognostic factors for intrahepatic vascular invasion in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: a population-based study.

Background: The aim of this study was to develop nomograms to predict the risk of intrahepatic vascular invasion (IVI) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients and estimate the overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of HCC patients with IVI. Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was used to identify patients with HCC from 2010 to 2015. Ultimately, 1,287 HCC patients with IVI were included in this study and randomly divided into training (n=901) and validation (n=386) cohorts. Multivariate logistic regression analysis and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis were performed to construct nomograms to visually quantify the risk of IVI in patients with HCC and predict the prognosis. The prediction effect of nomograms was evaluated using Harrell's concordance index (C-index), receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration plots, and decision curve analysis (DCA), respectively. Results: The C-index of the nomogram for risk prediction was 0.730. The C-indices based on the nomogram were 0.762 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.745-0.779] and 0.770 (95% CI: 0.753-0.787) for OS and CSS prediction in the training cohort, respectively. In the validation cohort, the C-indices were 0.779 (95% CI: 0.752-0.806) and 0.795 (95% CI: 0.768-0.822) for OS prediction and CSS prediction, respectively. Overall, the ROC curve, calibration plots, and DCA indicated the good performance of nomograms. Conclusions: We identified the relevant risk and prognostic factors for IVI in patients with HCC. The nomograms performed well on validation and may help to facilitate clinical decision-making.

Study of Spatio-Temporal Evolution, Integrated Prevention, and Control Measures of COVID-19 in the Yangtze River Delta.

OBJECTIVE: The study analyzes the spatial characteristics of the epidemic. It evaluates the effectiveness of its differentiated prevention and control policies implemented at different stages of the epidemic in the Yangtze River Delta. METHODS: The study divided the epidemic into 2 stages and analyzed the spatial evolution characteristics of the COVID-19 epidemic in the region by using Anselin Local Moran's I and standard deviation ellipse. RESULTS: In the first stage, the high value of confirmed cases was concentrated in the eastern and southern cities. The trajectory of the barycenter showed a V-shaped change characterized by a southward shift followed by a northward fluctuation. In contrast, the second stage was mainly concentrated in Jiangsu Province and Shanghai, and the Barycenter did not change over time. The diversified prevention and control measures enabled 'zero new cases' in the Yangtze River Delta within a month. CONCLUSION: The prevention and control policy implemented in the Yangtze River Delta has worked well. With the global pandemic of COVID-19, it is recommended that other countries follow the example of the Yangtze River Delta, tighten prevention policies, and speed up vaccination to avoid a rebound of the epidemic.

Compact Design of Annular-Microstrip-Fed mmW Antenna Arrays.

In this paper, a series of four novel microstrip antenna array designs based on different annular-microstrip feeding lines at 60-GHz millimeter wave (mmW) band are proposed, aiming at the potential usage of the mmW coverage antenna with multi-directional property. As the feeding network, the annular contour microstrip lines are employed to connect the patch units so as to form a more compact array. Our first design is to use an outer contour annular microstrip line to connect four-direction linear arrays composed of 1 × 3 rectangular patches, thus the gain of 8.4 dBi and bandwidth of over 300 MHz are obtained. Our second design is to apply the two-direction pitchfork-shaped array each made up of two same linear arrays as the above, therefore the gain of 9.65 dBi and bandwidth of around 250 MHz are achieved. Our third design is to employ dual (inner and outer contour) annular-microstrip feeding lines to interconnect the above four-direction linear arrays, while our fourth design is to bring bridged annular-microstrip feeding lines, both of which can realize the goal of multi-directional radiation characteristic and higher gain of over 10 dBi.

Silencing KIF14 reverses acquired resistance to sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma.

For nearly a decade, sorafenib has served as a first-line chemotherapeutic drug for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but it displays only limited efficacy against advanced drug-resistant HCC. Regorafenib, the first second-line drug approved for treatment after sorafenib failure, can reverse resistance to sorafenib. We used bioinformatics methods to identify genes whose expression was differentially induced by sorafenib and regorafenib in HCC. We identified KIF14 as an oncogene involved in the acquired resistance to sorafenib in HCC and investigated its potential as a target for reversing this resistance. Sustained exposure of resistant HCC cells to sorafenib activated the AKT pathway, which in turn upregulated KIF14 expression by increasing expression of the transcription factor ETS1. Silencing KIF14 reversed the acquired resistance to sorafenib by inhibiting AKT activation and downregulating ETS1 expression by blocking the AKT-ETS1-KIF14 positive feedback loop. Moreover, injection of siKIF14 with sorafenib suppressed growth of sorafenib-resistant HCC tumors in mice. These results demonstrate that targeting KIF14 could be an effective means of reversing sorafenib failure or strengthening sorafenib's antitumor effects.

LSPR optical fiber biosensor based on a 3D composite structure of gold nanoparticles and multilayer graphene films.

In this paper, a localized surface-plasmon resonance (LSPR) biosensor, which uses a U-shaped multi-mode fiber (U-MMF), is introduced and investigated. It is modified with a complex of three-dimensional (3D) gold nanoparticles and multilayer graphene as spacer: n*(Au/G)@U-MMF, where n denotes the layer number of gold nanoparticles. The gold nanoparticles were synthesized by reducing chloroauric acid. Graphene films were formed using a liquid/chemical method. The number of gold-nanoparticle layers was found to be critical for the performance of the sensor. Moreover, using the finite-difference time domain, 3D nanostructures, with a wide range of gold-nanoparticle layers, were explored. The sensor showed the sensitivity of 1251.44 nm/RIU, as well as high stability and repeatability; for the measurement-process of time- and concentration-dependent DNA hybridization kinetics with detection concentrations, ranging from 0.1nM to 100 nM, the sensor displayed excellent performance, which points towards a vast potential in the field of medical diagnostics.

PD-L1 monoclonal antibody-decorated nanoliposomes loaded with Paclitaxel and P-gp transport inhibitor for the synergistic chemotherapy against multidrug resistant gastric cancers.

Multidrug resistance (MDR) based on ATP-dependent efflux transporters (p-glycoprotein (p-gp)) remains a major obstacle in successful chemotherapy treatment. Herein, we have investigated the potential of PD-L1 mAb-conjugated nanoliposome to serve as a targeted delivery platform for the co-delivery of paclitaxel (PTX) and p-gp specific transport inhibitor (TQD, tariquidar) in drug-resistant gastric cancers. Two drugs, PTX and TQD, were co-loaded in a single vehicle in a precise ratio to enhance the prospect of combination chemotherapeutic effect. Cellular uptake study indicated that PD-PTLP had higher internalization efficiency in PD-L1 receptor overexpressing SGC7901/ADR cells than non-targeted PTLP. Highest synergy was observed at a weight fraction of 1/0.5 (PTX/TQD) and the combination of PTX and TQD resulted in obvious synergistic effect compared to that of individual drugs alone. Our in vitro results showed that TQD was effective in reversing the multidrug resistance in SGC7901/ADR cells. The IC50 value of PD-PTLP was 0.76 µg/ml compared to 6.58 µg/ml and 7.64 µg/ml for PTX and TQD, respectively. PD-TPLP triggered significantly higher levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cell apoptosis compared to that of free PTX or TQD. Furthermore, the in vivo antitumor study showed that the combination chemotherapy of PD-PTLP displayed a significant inhibition of tumor burden of drug-resistant xenograft tumors with significantly higher terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL)-positive cells. Furthermore, free PTX resulted in significant increase in the levels of AST and ALT while PD-PTLP insignificantly different compared to that of control indicating the safety index. Overall, we believe that combination of anticancer drug with a p-gp inhibitor could provide a potential direction toward the treatment of drug-resistant gastric tumors.

Castleman disease presenting with jaundice: A case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: Castleman disease (CD) is a rare lymphoproliferative disorder that presents with various symptoms. CD accompanied with jaundice is uncommon since there are only 11 cases reported in the literature. CASE SUMMARY: Here we report a 62-year-old woman who was admitted to the hospital with signs and symptoms of intermittent jaundice. Biochemical tests showed higher serum levels of total and direct bilirubin, and normal serum levels of tumor markers and interleukin-6. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography detected a 6 cm × 4 cm × 2.5 cm mass between the hepatoduodenal ligament and the inferior vena cava. The mass was successfully excised and the patient had a complete resolution of symptoms. A diagnosis of idiopathic unicentric CD was made based upon histological examination, which demonstrated the pathological features of CD of mixed type, including hyperplasia of follicular lymphoids with abundant plasma cells, degenerative germinal centers, interfollicular vascularity and hyaline degeneration. The diagnosis was corroborated by immunohistochemical analysis which detected multiple biomarkers. CONCLUSION: This is the first study that describes the clinicopathological features of CD presenting with jaundice, which may deepen and extend our understanding of this disease.

The exogenous delivery of microRNA-449b-5p using spermidine-PLGA nanoparticles efficiently decreases hepatic injury.

A notable liver ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is observed during liver transplantation, shock, trauma and other systemic diseases. The main aim of the present study was to evaluate the fact that HMGB1 acts as an early mediator of inflammation in hepatic injury and the potential of the miR-449b-5p mimic in the restoration of liver disorders. Herein, a miR-449b-5p-loaded spermidine/PLGA nanoparticle system was successfully formulated to improve the systemic delivery and performance of encapsulated miRNA. The major findings of the present study were as follows: (i) the HMGB1 levels were elevated upon the occurrence of I/R in vitro and in vivo; (ii) the inhibition of HMGB1 prevented the spread of inflammation; (iii) miR-449b-5p (PN-miR mimic) increased the cell viability of hepatic cells and decreased cell apoptosis; and (iv) the protective ability of the PN-miR mimic was attributed to the inhibition of the pNF-κB and p-p65 pathways. Compared to the case of the I/R group, the serum AST and ALT levels were significantly reduced in the group treated with miR-449b-5p (PN-miR mimic), indicating the extent of reduction in liver inflammation. The present study highlighted the importance of miR-449b-5p in the treatment of hepatic injury and could serve as a guide to effectively attenuate liver disorders. The application of the proposed nanoparticle system in the systemic delivery of miR-449b-5p further enhances the prospect of this treatment strategy.