Successful surgical treatment of bronchopleural fistula caused by severe pulmonary tuberculosis: A case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: Bronchopleural fistula (BPF) is a relatively rare, but severe complication of pulmonary tuberculosis. It is associated with significant mortality; however, its management remains a major therapeutic challenge. CASE SUMMARY: We present a 24-year-old man with BPF resulting from severe pulmonary tuberculosis combined with mixed infections. The damaged right upper lobe and concomitant empyema were demonstrated via computed tomography. After undergoing open-window thoracostomy and tuberculosis treatment for 4 mo, decortication and right upper lobectomy were subsequently performed, leading to the resolution of tuberculosis and other concurrent pulmonary infections. Follow-up, 6 mo after surgery, failed to reveal any evidence of infection recurrence resulting in a good prognosis. CONCLUSION: The disease course of tuberculous BPF is particularly challenging. Surgical intervention serves as an effective and safe therapeutic strategy for BPF.

Controllable construction of multifunctional superhydrophobic coating with ultra-stable efficiency for oily water treatment.

Designing interfacial coating with tailored characteristics is a crucial step in regulating the wetting properties of oil/water separation materials; however, the controllable fabrication of multifunctional layer with long-term durability in harsh environments remains challenging. Fabrication of raised dots based on magnetic Fe3O4 particles on micro-nanometer units, inspired by mussel chemistry, under the adhesion behavior of dopamine (DA) self-polymerization covalent deposition of Fe3O4 particles and hydrophobic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) modification to synthesize magnetic superhydrophobic cotton composites (Cotton-P). Due to the unique magnetic and superhydrophobic surface composition, the synthetic Cotton-P possesses superhydrophobic (155.4°) and magnetic properties and still exhibits these excellent properties after 10 cycles. In addition, the hydrophobicity of magnetic monolithic cotton is virtually unaffected in harsh environments. The chemical/thermal stability of the Cotton-P composite is improved due to the rigid silane coating on the skeleton. Moreover, the Cotton-P revealed excellent oil/water separation efficiency of over 98 % after 10 cycles. Based on these outstanding properties, Cotton-P has the potential to develop in the treatment of oil-water mixtures.

Salsalate Activates Skeletal Muscle Thermogenesis and Protects Mice from High-Fat Diet Induced Metabolic Dysfunction.

Salsalate plays beneficial roles for ameliorating hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia in type 2 diabetes patients, but the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. In this study, by administering salsalate to mice fed with high fat diet and examining how salsalate rectifies metabolic dysfunction in these obese mice, we found that salsalate stimulated body temperature and attenuated body weight gain without affecting food intake. Our results showed that salsalate application decreased lipid accumulation in liver and epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT), inhibited hepatic gluconeogenesis and improved insulin signaling transduction in eWAT. In addition, salsalate increased the expression of genes related to glucose and fatty acid transport and oxidation in skeletal muscle. Our results also showed that expression of genes in mitochondrial uncoupling and mitochondrial electron transport are strengthened by salsalate. Moreover, sarcolipin (Sln) and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase 2 (Serca2) in skeletal muscle were enhanced in salsalate-treated mice. Together, our data suggest that the beneficial metabolic effects of salsalate may depend, at least in part, on skeletal muscle thermogenesis via activation of mitochondrial uncoupling and the axis of Sln/Serca2a.

Study on efficacy and visual sensitivity of long-term masking therapy for children with ametropic amblyopia / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

AIM:To investigate the efficacy and visual sensitivity of occlusion therapy combined training for children with ametropic amblyopia.METHODS:Totally 85 children (85 eyes) with anisometropic amblyopia treated in our hospital from January 2013 to January 2015 were selected.All patients were given occlusion therapy combined training.Statistical analysis of clinical efficacy and visual sensitivity changes were taken,and the changes of visual acuity,AULCSF,S Frmax were analyzed.RESULTS:The visual acuity after therapy was significantly better than that before treatment (1.12±0.29 vs0.45±0.25,P＜0.01);AULCSF,Smax and Frmax all increased,the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P＜ 0.05).The sensitivity of the same spatial frequency was significantly higher than that before treatment,the difference was statistically significant (P ＜ 0.05),and the contrast sensitivity decreased gradually with the increase of spatial frequency.There were statistical differences in the total effective rate of different refractive degrees after treatment (P=0.001).Mild group and moderate group had no significant difference on the total clinical efficiency difference (x2=3.091,P=0.079);between mild group and severe group total effective rate was significantly different (x2 =11.471,P =0.001);the moderate and severe groups total clinical efficiency were no significantly different (x2 =3.359,P=0.067).In addition,the total efficiency rate of wearing glasses under the age of 6 was significantly higher than that after 6 years old (95％ vs 77％),statistical difference between the two groups was significant (P＜0.05).CONCLUSION:Masking therapy combined with comprehensive training,in the treatment of children with ametropic amblyopia,and wearing a corrective spectacles,is desirable,especially for children under 7 years of age.

Repeated 100 Hz TENS for the Treatment of Chronic Inflammatory Hyperalgesia and Suppression of Spinal Release of Substance P in Monoarthritic Rats.

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) has been shown to be an effective measure for pain relief. The aim of the present study was to determine the optimal intensity and interval of repeated 100 Hz TENS for the treatment of chronic inflammatory hyperalgesia in a monoarthritic pain model of the rat, and to assess the changes of the spinal substance P (SP) release in response to TENS treatment. A reliable, reproducible chronic monoarthritic pain model was produced by intra-articular injection of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) at single ankle joint. The efficacy of 100 Hz TENS treatments with different frequencies and intensities was compared. In the acute period (within 3 weeks) of monoarthritis, twice-a-week schedule of TENS reduced the swelling of the inflamed ankle significantly. In the stable period (4-9 weeks), however, once-a-week schedule produced a significantly better therapeutic effect on both inflammation and arthritic hyperalgesia than that of twice- or five-times-a-week schedule. Using three levels of intensity of TENS, we found that the weaker (1-1-2 mA) stimulation produced significantly better therapeutic effects. Repeated TENS produced a reduction of SP content in spinal perfusate in parallel with the progressive reduction of the arthritic pain scores. Our results suggest that (i) consecutive TENS treatments produced cumulative effect for chronic hyperalgesia, (ii) for chronic inflammatory hyperalgesia, a weaker intensity and more sparsely arranged treatment schedule may produce better therapeutic effect and (iii) a decrease in SP release may serve as one of the possible neurochemical mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of multiple TENS treatments on chronic inflammatory hyperalgesia.

Influence of expressed TRAIL on biophysical properties of the human leukemic cell line Jurkat.

The cDNA fragment of human TRAIL (TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand) was cloned into RevTet-On, a Tet-regulated and high-level gene expression system. The gene expression system was constructed in a human leukemic cell line: Jurkat. By using RevTet-On TRAIL gene expression system in Jurkat as a cell model, we studied the influence of TRAIL gene on the changes of cellular apoptosis before and after the TRAIL gene expression, which was induced by adding tetracycline derivative doxycycline (Dox). The results indicated that the cellular apoptosis ratio was largely dependent on the trail gene expression level. Moreover, it was found that the apoptosis-inducing TRAIL could cause significant changes in the biophysical properties of Jurkat cells. The cell surface charge density decreased, the membrane fluidity declined, the elastic coefficients K1 increased, and the proportion of a-helix in membrane protein secondary structure decreased. Thus, the apoptosis-inducing TRAIL gene caused significant changes on the biomechanic properties of Jurkat cells.