Portal hypertension in a patient with biliary hamartomas: A case report

BACKGROUND Biliary hamartomas(BH)are a rare benign disease caused by malformation of the intrahepatic bile ducts.BH are occasionally diagnosed,but often lack obvious clinical symptoms.They are usually diagnosed by biopsy and imaging tests in clinical practice.Few studies have reported the association of BH with portal hypertension.CASE SUMMARY A 40-year-old man was repeatedly admitted to our hospital due to hematochezia.The source of bleeding was considered to be gastroesophageal varices and portal hypertensive gastropathy by endoscopy.He had no history of hepatitis virus infection,alcohol abuse,drug-induced liver injury,or autoimmune liver disease.He underwent magnetic resonance imaging,which showed rounded,irregular,low-signal-T1 and high-signal-T2 lesions diffusely distributed on the liver,that were not communicated with the biliary system on magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography.According to the imaging examination,the patient was considered to have a diagnosis of BH with portal hypertension.CONCLUSION Based on the present case report,BH may be a potential etiology of portal hypertension.

Crab lice infestation in unilateral eyelashes and adjacent eyelids: A case report

BACKGROUND Crab lice(Phthirus pubis)infestation can occur at any age,to either males or females,and across all regions of the world.However,cases involving the eyelashes and adjacent eyelids(phthiriasis palpebrarum)are rare.Usually occurring as a sexually transmitted disease,crab lice can be spread by poor hygiene or in a dirty environment through direct contact with contaminated skin(hands)or textiles(towels and clothing).CASE SUMMARY A 50-year-old woman presented to our hospital with a 2-wk history of chronic eyelid pain and itching in the right eye,which exacerbated in the evening hours and which had not resolved following a 1-wk course of antibiotics and corticosteroid ointments(for blepharitis diagnosis from another hospital).A careful ophthalmic slit-lamp and light microscope examination revealed multiple crab lice and nits on the right upper eyelashes;the right and left lower eyelashes were normal.Following the new diagnosis of phthiriasis palpebrarum,the patient was treated by removing the affected eyelashes,the crab lice,and their nits completely.Additionally,the eyelids were washed once with povidone-iodine.A follow-up examination at 2 wk later showed complete resolution of symptoms and no evidence of re-infection.CONCLUSION This case emphasizes the importance of correct diagnosis and complete removal of eyelashes,crab lice and nits to cure phthiriasis palpebrarum.

Updated Genetic Testing of Primary Hyperoxaluria Type 1 in a Chinese Population:Results from a Single Center Study and a Systematic Review

Primary hyperoxaluria type 1(PH1)is a rare but devastating autosomal recessive inherited disease caused by mutations in gene AGXT.Pathogenic mutations of AGXT were mostly reported in Caucasian but infrequently in Asian,especially in Chinese.To update the genotypes of PH1 in the Chinese population,we collected and identified 7 Chinese probands with PH1 from 2013 to 2017 in our center,five of whom had delayed diagnosis and failed in kidney transplantation.Samples of peripheral blood DNA from the 7 patients and their family members were collected and sequencing analysis was performed to test the mutations of gene AGXT.Western blotting and enzyme activity analysis were conducted to evaluate the function of the mutations.Furthermore,a systematic review from 1998 to 2017 was performed to observe the genetic characteristics between Chinese and Caucasian. The results showed that a total of 12 mutations were identified in the 7 pedigrees.To the best of ourknowledge,2 novel variants of A GXT,p.Gly41 Trp and p.Leu33Met,were first reported.Bioinformatics and functional analysis showed that only 7 mutations led to a reduced expression of alanine-glyoxylate amino transferase (AGT)at a protein level.The systematic review revealed significant population heterogeneity in PH1.In conclusion,new genetic subtypes and genetic characteristics of PH1 are updated in the Chinese population. Furthermore,a genotype-phenotype correlation is found in PH1.

Influence of Acupuncture on Autonomic Balance in Adult Tinnitus Patients:An Exploratory Study

Acupuncture is an alternative therapy for tinnitus in clinical practice.The mechanism by which acupuncture can alleviate tinnitus is still unknown.Autonomic nervous system was reported to be responsible for tinnitus.The aim of this study was to explore the effect of acupuncture on autonomic balance in adult tinnitus patients.Thirty patients were randomly assigned into either the deep acupuncture(DA)group or the shallow acupuncture(SA)group.Each patient received 6 acupuncture sessions(a-f phase)over three weeks.Measures of heart rate variability and Tinnitus Handicap Inventory(THI)were obtained at baseline and after the sixth acupuncture session in all patients.The results showed that the low frequency/high frequency(LF/HF)pattern was increased at b-f phase until the sixth acupuncture session when compared with that at the first acupuncture session in DA group.However,it continuously increased at b-f phase in SA group even at the sixth acupuncture session,which was not significantly different from that at the first acupuncture session.The decrease in THI in DA group was greater than that in SA group after 3-week treatment(P=0.043).Our preliminary study suggests three-week deep acupuncture can improve tinnitus symptoms in adult tinnitus patients,which may be related to the regulation of autonomic nervous system balance.

Selection of right-circular-polarized harmonics from p orbital of neon atom by two-color bicircular laser fields

The polarization properties of high-order harmonic generation(HHG) in the two-color circularly polarized laser fields are investigated by numerically solving the two-dimensional time-dependent Schr?dinger equation. By adding a wavelength of 1600-nm right-circular-polarized field to an 800-nm left-circular-polarized field, HHG is simulated from a real model of neon atom with p orbital, but not from a hydrogen-like atom model with s orbital. The orders of 3n + 1 can be selected while the orders of 3n + 2 are suppressed by adjusting the intensities of the two pulses. The physical mechanism is analyzed by time-frequency analysis and semiclassical model.

A Sandwich-type Lateral Flow Strip Using a Split, Single Aptamer for Point-of-Care Detection of Cocaine

The sandwich-type lateral fl ow assays relying on dual aptamers with high sensitivity and specifi city have been broadly explored.However,it is unlikely to match a pair of specifi c aptamers that can bind a small molecular target(e.g.,cocaine)simultaneously due to the steric hindrance.In response,we herein introduced the strategy of“one divides into two”into the construction of sandwich-type lateral fl ow strip assay(LFSA).Specifi cally,we split a single cocaine-recognizing aptamer into two segments,either of which was conjugated with gold nanoparticles(AuNPs)or labeled with biotin,serving as signal probe and capture probe,respectively.Upon the presence of the target molecule,a ternary sandwich complex comprised of the two halves of the aptamer and the target formed.Such sandwich-type LFSA exhibited an excellent nonlinear logarithmic response in the range from 10μmol/L to 5 mmol/L with R^(2)=0.9994.The sensitive on-site detection of cocaine in artifi cial biological samples including urine and sweat was achieved within 15 min,with the visual limit of detection as low as 50μmol/L for urine and 200μmol/L for sweat,and the recovery rates of 83.6-107.4%.

Dendronized Polymers with High FTC-chromophore Loading Density:Large Second-order Nonlinear Optical Effects, Good Temporal and Thermal Stability

In this study,two new dendronized nonlinear optical(NLO)polymers were synthesized with high FTC chromophore loading density by introduction of high generation chromophore dendrons on the side chains.Due to their suitable molecular weights,both of them possessed good solubility in common solvents.They also inherited the advantages of dendrimers(large NLO coefficient),especially for PG2 whose NLO coefficient d33 value was as high as 282 pm·V^–1.Also,PG2 had a good temporal stability with 80%of its maximum value being retained at the temperature as high as 129℃.

Decreasing nitrogen assimilation under drought stress by suppressing DST-mediated activation of Nitrate Reductase 1.2 in rice

Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plant growth and development,and plays vital roles in crop yield.Assimilation of nitrogen is thus fine-tuned in response to heterogeneous environments.However,the regulatory mechanism underlying this essential process remains largely unknown.Here,we report that a zinc-finger transcription factor,drought and salt tolerance(DST),controls nitrate assimilation in rice by regulating the expression of OsNR1.2.We found that loss of function of DSTresults in a significant decrease of nitrogen use efficiency(NUE)in the presence of nitrate.Furtherstudy revealed that DST is required for full nitrate reductase activity in rice and directly regulates the expression of OsNR1.2,a gene showing sequence similarity to nitrate reductase.Reverse genetics and biochemistry studies revealed that OsNR1.2 encodes an NADH-dependent nitrate reductase that is required for high NUE of rice.Interestingly,the DST-OsNR1.2 regulatory module is involved in the suppression of nitrate assimilation under drought stress,which contributes to drought tolerance.Considering the negative role of DST in stomata closure,as revealed previously,the positive role of DST in nitrogen assimilation suggests a mechanism couplingni-trogen metabolism and stomata movement.The discovery of this coupling mechanism will aid the engi-neering of drought-tolerant crops with high NUE in the future.

Magnetic properties and special morphology of barium ferrite via electrospinning

Barium ferrite micro-/nanofibers with special morphology,nanowires with diameters of 100 nm,nanoribbons with diameters of 1μm,and nanotubes with outer diameter of about 300 nm while inner diameter of 100 nm were successfully prepared via electrospinning using different solvents（dimethyl formamide（DMF）,solutions of deionized water and ethyl alcohol,and solutions of deionized water and acetic acid,respectively）.The barium ferrite micro-/nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscope（SEM）,X-ray diffraction analysis（XRD）,and vibration sample magnetometer（VSM）.The results demonstrate that the pure BaFe12O19 ferrite phase is successfully formed.And the SEM results show excellent morphologies.The magnetic hysteresis loops demonstrate that their magnetic properties are quite different with different morphologies.The specific saturation magnetization is approximately the same（46.12-49.17 A·m^2·kg^-1）,but the coercivity of the BaFe12O19 increases from wires（190.08 kA·m^-1）,ribbons（224.16 kA·m^-1） to tubes（258.88 kA·m^-1）.

Graphitic carbon nitride loaded with bismuth nanoparticles displays antibacterial photocatalytic activity

Metal-free graphitic carbon nitride nanomaterials have been widely applied in the medical antibacterial field owing to their high anisotropy, excellent stability,satisfactory biocompatibility, and non-toxicity. Herein, Bi/C_(3)N_(4) nanocomposites were successfully constructed by hydrothermal method followed by loading bismuth on the surface of graphite carbon nitride. Bi nanospheres were tightly combined with the layered g-C_(3)N_(4) surface to promote effective separation of photo-induced charges, which results in the Bi/C_(3)N_(4) composite material that exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity under visible light. In addition, the surface plasmon resonance characteristics of semi-metal Bi further enhanced the visible-light absorption of the Bi/C_(3)N_(4). However, excessive Bi may inhibit the light-trapping ability of Bi/C_(3)N_(4).1.0% Bi/C_(3)N_(4) demonstrates excellent bactericidal efficiency as high as 96.4% against Escherichia coli(E. coli), which is attributed to the promotion of the production of reactive oxidative species.The enhanced mechanism of Bi/C_(3)N_(4) synergistically achieving enhanced photocatalytic antibacterial activity under the coupling of multiple advantages was clarified,providing theoretical guidance for its application in the field of water disinfection and antibacterial treatment.

食管静脉曲张侧支循环可预测内镜治疗后复发和再出血:系统综述和meta分析

背景:内镜治疗被推荐应用于食管静脉曲张,但内镜根治后常出现静脉曲张复发或再出血。本研究旨在系统评估食管静脉曲张侧支静脉循环(ECV)的出现率以及ECV与内镜治疗后复发或再出血的关系。方法:我们通过PubMed、EMBASE和Cochrane等数据库检索相关文献。统计食管旁静脉(para-EV)、食管周围静脉(peri-EV)和穿静脉(PV)的出现率。分别采用风险比(RR)和比值比(OR)对队列研究和病例对照研究的复发/再出血风险进行评估。采用随机效应模型进行合并分析,并评估研究间的异质性。结果:提取的532篇文献最终纳入28篇进行分析。合并分析显示,食管静脉曲张患者para-EV、peri-EV和PV的出现率分别为73%、88%和54%。静脉曲张复发患者para-EV和PV的出现率分别为87%和62%。PV患者食管静脉曲张复发率显著升高(8项病例对照研究合并分析:OR=9.79,95%CI:1.95-49.22,P=0.006),但para-EV患者复发率未见显著升高(4项病例对照研究合并分析:OR=4.26,95%CI:0.38-38.35,P=0.24;3项队列研究合并分析:RR=1.81,95%CI:0.83-3.97,P=0.14)。para-EV患者再出血风险显著升高(两项队列研究合并分析:RR=13.00,95%CI:2.43-69.56,P=0.003)。本次meta分析中各研究间存在显著异质性。结论:ECV常出现于食管静脉曲张患者,ECV的出现有助于对内镜治疗后食管静脉曲张复发或再出血进行预测。

Tau Protein Associated Inhibitors in Alzheimer Disease

Neurofibrillary tangles composed of tau protein and senile plaque accumulated by amyloid-β(Aβ)are two hallmarks in Alzheimer disease(AD).In the patients with AD,tau is abnormally hyperphosphorylated,mutated or misfolding,which endows tau with stronger tendency to aggregate.Tau protein has the potency to mediate neuron toxicity of Aβ.The reduction of tau level ameliorates degeneration of neuron axon.Therefore,many researches are exploring new methods to regulate tau level.This review will mainly focus on small molecules that can directly inhibit tau fibrillation or control tau accumulation by regulating tau phosphorylation process.