Laparoscopic repair of diaphragmatic hernia associating with radiofrequency ablation for hepatocellular carcinoma:A case report

BACKGROUND Radiofrequency ablation(RFA)is an effective treatment for early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Although RFA is a relatively safe technique compared with surgery,several complications have been reported to be following/accompanying this treatment.Delayed diaphragmatic hernia caused by RFA is rare;however,the best surgical approach for its treatment is uncertain.We present a case of laparoscopic repair of diaphragmatic hernia due to RFA.CASE SUMMARY An 80-year-old woman with segment VIII HCC was treated twice in 5 years with RFA;28 mo after the second RFA,the patient complained of right hypochondriac pain.Computed tomography revealed that the small intestine was incarcerated in the right thorax.The patient was diagnosed with diaphragmatic hernia and underwent laparoscopic repair by non-absorbable running sutures.The patient’s postoperative course was favorable,and the patient was discharged on postoperative day 12.The diaphragmatic hernia has not recurred 24 mo after surgery.CONCLUSION Laparoscopic treatment of iatrogenic diaphragmatic hernia is effective and minimally invasive.

Tetramethylammonium Iodide Additive for Enhancing the Charge Carrier Mobilities of Diketopyrrolopyrrole-Based Conju-gated Polymer in Ambipolar Organic Field-Effect Transistors

Diketopyrrolopyrrole(DPP)is one of the most promising building blocks for constructing polymer semiconductors with high charge-carrier mobilities in organic field-effect transistors(OFETs).In this study,a novel DPP-based conjugated polymer,PDPPy-BDD,was designed and synthesized.The ambipolar field-effect transistor characteristics were realized with the average hole and electron mobilities of 3.5×10^(-3)and 3.07×10^(-2)cm^(2)V^(-1)s^(-1),respectively.Both the hole and electron mobilities could be successfully en-hanced by using a tetramethylammonium iodide(NMe4l)additive.Such an enhancement was attributed to the formation of stronger interchainπ-πstackings,the weakening of the face-on packing orientation in the thin film state,and the higher channel conductivi-ties in the OFETs.

Large-area, transferable sub-lO nm polymer membranes at the air-water interface

Large-area, pinhole-free, and ultrathin polymer membranes with thicknesses of only a few nanometers have attracted increasing attention for their applications in molecular separation, flexible optoelectronics, and sensors. They can potentially be developed for surface protection as well. In this study, we report an effective way to obtain large-scale polymer coatings with a thickness down to 10 nm, which effectively protects metals from corrosion. We develop a facile and scalable method to fabricate freestanding polymer membranes with thickness below 10 nm by dropping the precursor polymer solution on a water surface. By optimizing the surface tension of the polymer solution, the solution could spontaneously spread on the water surface to form a continuous and uniform solid membrane, collected as a freestanding thin membrane. The obtained polymer membranes could then easily be transferred on a metal substrate as highly flexible and stable anti-corrosion coatings. Electrochemical measurements performed in a 0.1 M Na2SO4 solution demonstrated the excellent anti-corrosion properties of the sub-10 nrn polymer membranes whose corrosion rate was less than 1% of the corrosion rate of the bare metal. We also demonstrate that the polymer membrane exhibits high performance as a protection layer for flexible circuits.