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Objectives: Synchronous adenomas of the major and minor duodenal papilla are seldom reported. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of synchronous major and minor papilla adenomas and to evaluate the safety and efficacy of endoscopic papillectomy (EP) for the management of the disease. Methods: Consecutive patients who underwent endoscopy for synchronous major and minor papilla adenomas from January 1, 2013 to August 31, 2023 were analyzed retrospectively. Patients' characteristics, clinical manifestations, laboratory, imaging and endoscopic findings were collected. Results: The nine patients with synchronous major and minor papilla adenomas had an average age of 50.78 ± 10.70 years. The diameter of major and minor papilla adenomas was 12.11 ± 3.41 mm and 6.11 ± 1.05 mm, respectively. Most major papilla adenomas had R0 horizontal margins (n = 8), while R0 vertical margins were achieved in all patients. While minor papilla adenomas were resected with both R0 horizontal and vertical margins in all patients. Post‐EP bleeding was observed in one patient, which was classified as mild. Post‐EP hyperamylasemia and pancreatitis was observed in two and four patients, respectively; the latter consisted of three with mild pancreatitis and one with severe pancreatitis. No perforation was observed. The mean follow‐up duration was 9.22 ± 5.99 months. Histologically confirmed recurrence at the resection site was detected in one patient at 3 months after the procedure. Conclusions: Synchronous major and minor papilla adenomas may not be as rare as previously speculated. EP may be an effective and safe alternative modality for their management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The repair and reconstruction of medial meniscus posterior root tears (MMPRTs) is an important issue in the field of orthopedic sports medicine. This study reports the first application of arthroscopic linear chain fixation for the treatment of MMPRTs. Case presentation: A 78‐year‐old female patient presented with a 1.5‐month history of right knee pain accompanied by a locked facet joint. The patient underwent surgery with the new linear chain fixation method. In this method, the suture and the loop part of the buckle‐strap titanium plate were combined into a linear chain mechanical complex, and the tension of the posterior root stump was gradually increased by pulling on the two attachment lines at the external mouth of the tibial tunnel. The postoperative Lysholm score was 89, and the visual analogue scale score was 0.9, indicating a significant improvement in knee joint function. At the 7‐month and 1‐year post‐surgery follow‐up, physical and MRI examinations confirmed satisfactory healing of the MMPRTs. Conclusion: This surgical approach offers several benefits, including a simplified instrumentation setup, preservation of natural anatomical structures, and reliable residual stump fixation. It has the potential for clinical implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the effect of PAX9 on the progression of cervical cancer (CC). PAX9 expression was quantified in CC tissues and adjacent normal tissues, as well as human CC cell lines and human cervical epithelial cells (HCerEpiC). PAX9‐overexpression lentiviral vectors were transfected into CC cell lines, followed by the measurement of proliferation and apoptosis and the quantification of apoptosis‐related proteins. In vivo, mice were subcutaneously injected with CaSki cells transfected with PAX9‐overexpression lentiviral vectors and control vectors. Then, the volume and weight of tumors were measured followed by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining, and immunohistochemistry. PAX9 expression in the CC tissues was lower than that in the adjacent normal tissues, which was correlated with the FIGO stage, tumor size, infiltration depth, parametrium invasion, lympho‐vascular space invasion tumor‐positive lymph nodes, and prognosis. Furthermore, PAX9 in CC cell lines was also lower than in HCerEpiC. PAX9 inhibits the CC cell proliferation and promotes the apoptosis, with the up‐regulations of caspase‐3, poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase (PARP), and Bax and the down‐regulation of Bcl‐2. In vivo experiments demonstrated that in the PAX9 group, the tumor weight and volume were lower than those in the vector group accompanying the decreased Ki‐67, cleaved‐caspase‐3, and Bax expressions and the increased TUNEL and Bcl‐2 expression. PAX9 was lowly expressed in the CC tissues and associated with the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis. PAX9 could inhibit proliferation of CC cell lines and promote the apoptosis, thus suppressing the tumor growth in vivo, indicating its potential therapeutic role for CC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a painful and distressing disorder of the exocrine pancreas with no specific treatment. Diosgenyl saponins extracted from from Dioscorea zingiberensis C. H. Wright have been reported to protect against experimental models of AP. Diosgenin, or its derivatives are anti-inflammatory in various conditions. However, the effects of diosgenin and its spiroacetal ring opened analogue, dihydrodiosgenin (Dydio), on AP have not been determined.Experimental Approach: Effects of diosgenin and Dydio on sodium taurocholate hydrate (Tauro)-induced necrosis were tested, using freshly isolated murine pancreatic acinar cells. Effects of Dydio on mitochondrial dysfunction in response to Tauro, cholecystokinin-8 and palmitoleic acid ethyl ester were also assessed. Dydio (5 or 10 mg·kg-1 ) was administered after the induction in vivo of Tauro-induced AP (Wistar rats), caerulein-induced AP and palmitoleic acid plus ethanol-induced AP (Balb/c mice). Pancreatitis was assessed biochemically and histologically. Activation of pancreatic PI3Kγ/Akt was measured by immunoblotting.Key Results: Dydio inhibited Tauro-induced activation of the necrotic cell death pathway and prevented pancreatitis stimuli-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. Therapeutic administration of Dydio ameliorated biochemical and histopathological responses in all three models of AP through pancreatic mitochondrial protection and PI3Kγ/Akt inactivation. Moreover, Dydio improved pancreatitis-associated acute lung injury through preventing excessive inflammatory responses.Conclusion and Implications: These data provide in vitro and in vivo mechanistic evidence that the diosgenin analogue, Dydio could be potential treatment for AP. Further medicinal optimization of diosgenin and its analogue might be a useful strategy for identifying lead candidates for inflammatory diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concentration of trace and rare earth elements in 22 crude oil and five oilfield water samples, collected from Triassic Yanchang Formation and Jurassic Yanan Formation reservoirs in the Jiyuan Area of Ordos Basin, N China, was determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS) for the first time. The oil samples were analysed to classify the oils into family and to determine the origin and depositional environment of organic matter that yield the oils using trace elements. The REE chondrite‐normalized distribution patterns of the crude oils show light rare earth element (LREE) enrichment and right‐oblique curves. These patterns could be divided into two distinct types that were consistent with that of the upper continental crust (UCC) and lower continental crust (LCC) characterizing by negative Eu anomalies and positive Eu anomalies, respectively. The REE concentrations in coexisting water samples are less than those in crude oils by a factor of ten. Cluster analysis also classified the oil samples from the Ordos Basin into two main groups. Integrated analysis of Co/Ni, V/Ni and V/ (V + Ni) values suggests that the organic matter have more terrigenous source input and the palaeoenvironment was anoxic and slightly oxic conditions. This study differs from previous studies by using trace element analyses of crude oils to constrain oil‐source rock correlation. The results show that most of the crude oils in north Jiyuan area were derived from Chang 7 mudstones while those from Hongde area may be contributed by Chang 7 oil shales. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The waste perfluoro-ion-exchange membranes (PFIEMs) in chlor-alkali industry were regenerated and used to the separation of dimethyl carbonate (DMC)/methanol (MeOH) mixtures by pervaporation process. The energy-dispersive spectrum (EDS) demonstrates that the impurities on the surfaces of waste PFIEMs can be effectively cleared by the regeneration process. The degree of swelling, sorption, and pervaporation properties of the regenerated PFIEMs with different counter ions were investigated. The results indicate that the counter ions of PFIEMs conspicuously influence the degree of swelling, sorption, and pervaporation properties for DMC/MeOH mixtures. The degree of swelling and solubility selectivity both decreases with the alkali metal counter ions in the sequence: Li+ > Na+ > K+ > Cs+. The degree of swelling increases with MeOH concentration increasing in feed liquid. The pervaporation measurements illustrate that the permeation flux decreases and the separation factor increases with the rising in ion radius of counter ions. The increase of feed concentration (MeOH) and feed temperature is advantageous to improve permeation flux while at the cost of separation factor decreasing. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acral and mucosal melanomas, the two most common subtypes of melanoma in China, exhibit different genetic alterations and biologic behavior compared with other subtypes of melanomas. The purpose of this study was to identify the genetic alterations in patients with acral or mucosal melanomas in southern China. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase PCR ( qRT-PCR) were used to assess the anaplastic lymphoma kinase ( ALK) break points. Furthermore, a mass spectrometry-based genotyping platform was used to analyze 30 acral melanomas and 28 mucosal melanomas to profile 238 known somatic mutations in 19 oncogenes. ALK break points were identified in four acral cases (6.9%). Eight (13.8%) cases harbored BRAF mutations, six (10.3%) had NRAS mutations, four (6.9%) had KIT mutations, two (3.5%) had EGFR mutations, two (3.5%) had KRAS mutations, two (3.5%) had MET mutations, one (1.7%) had an HRAS mutation, and one (1.7%) had a PIK3CA mutation. Two cases exhibited co-occurring mutations, and one case with a BRAF mutation had a translocation in ALK. This study represents a comprehensive and concurrent analysis of the major recurrent oncogenic mutations involved in melanoma cases from southern China. These data have implications for both clinical trial designs and therapeutic strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Working memory ( WM) impairments are considered to be a main feature of mild cognitive impairment ( MCI). Functional brain imaging studies have revealed evidence of alterations in the frontal and temporal cortices associated with WM in MCI patients. However, some imaging methods are too expensive for routine clinical use and have a low temporal resolution. Methods Using a newly developed near-infrared spectroscopy ( NIRS) system, we studied the spatiotemporal dynamics of oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) during a WM task in eight patients with mild cognitive impairment ( MCI) and 16 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. Results We performed temporal and spatial correlation analyses on each group during their WM tasks. These results consistently demonstrated that, when compared with the healthy controls, the MCI patients exhibited significantly decreased activation in the left frontal, right superior frontal and left temporal lobes. We found evidence of altered frontal and temporal processing during WM tasks in the MCI patients. Conclusions These results confirm the functional deficits in the frontal and temporal cortices and the impairment of WM and cognitive abilities in MCI patients and suggest that fNIRS may be a useful tool for evaluating brain activation in cognitive disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions respond to changes in climate and CO2 concentration as well as anthropogenic nitrogen ( N) enhancements. Here, we aimed to quantify the responses of natural ecosystem N2O emissions to multiple environmental drivers using a process-based global vegetation model (DyN- LPJ)., We checked that modelled annual N2O emissions from nonagricultural ecosystems could reproduce field measurements worldwide, and experimentally observed responses to step changes in environmental factors. We then simulated global N2O emissions throughout the 20th century and analysed the effects of environmental changes., The model reproduced well the global pattern of N2O emissions and the observed responses of N cycle components to changes in environmental factors. Simulated 20th century global decadal-average soil emissions were c. 8.2-9.5 Tg N yr−1 (or 8.3-10.3 Tg N yr−1 with N deposition). Warming and N deposition contributed 0.85 ± 0.41 and 0.80 ± 0.14 Tg N yr−1, respectively, to an overall upward trend. Rising CO2 also contributed, in part, through a positive interaction with warming., The modelled temperature dependence of N2O emission ( c. 1 Tg N yr−1 K−1) implies a positive climate feedback which, over the lifetime of N2O (114 yr), could become as important as the climate-carbon cycle feedback caused by soil CO2 release. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning and memory play an important role in morphine addiction. Status epilepticus (SE) can impair the spatial and emotional learning and memory. However, little is known about the effects of SE on morphine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP). The present study was designed to investigate the effects of SE on morphine CPP, with food CPP being used as a control. The effects of SE on spatial memory in the Morris water maze (MWM) and Y-maze were investigated. SE was induced in adult mice using intraperitoneal injection of pentylenetetrazole; control mice received saline. The data indicated that SE had no effects on the formation of morphine CPP; however, the formation of food CPP was blocked by SE. Meanwhile, spatial memory assayed in the MWM and Y-maze was impaired by SE. In addition, the data demonstrated that SE did not cause a lasting disturbance of motor activity nor a change in the mice's appetite. These results suggested that although SE had no effects on morphine CPP, there was impaired food CPP and spatial memory in both the MWM and the Y-maze. The mechanisms underlying memory process of morphine CPP may be different from other types of memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liquid chromatography–ion trap mass spectrometry (LC/ITMS) was employed for a metabolic kinetics study of tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) and its metabolites in rat serum after oral administration. The mean serum concentration–time data of TBHQ and its four metabolites (M1–M4) in both male and female rats after oral administration of TBHQ at dosages of 7, 350 and 700 mg/kg were all best-fitted by a two-compartment model with first-order absorption. TBHQ was rapidly absorbed, distributed and metabolized. The metabolites were also distributed rapidly except M2, but eliminated more slowly than TBHQ. At the doses of 350 and 700 mg/kg, the total concentrations of TBHQ and its metabolites in serum were much higher for male than female rats during the metabolic process ( P < 0.01). In addition, the serum concentrations of M1, M3 and M4 were all much higher for males than for females ( P < 0.01) during the metabolic process, while no significant differences between male and female rats were found ( P > 0.05) for TBHQ and M2, at the doses of 350 and 700 mg/kg. The exploratory assessment of dose proportionality for TBHQ and its metabolites by the power model indicated that the TBHQ exposure increased in a more-than-dose-proportional manner, but the exposures of the metabolites M1–M4 increased in a less-than-dose-proportional manner, across the dose of 7–700 mg/kg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method applying sensitive and selective liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) for analyzing tertiary-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) and its metabolites in rat serum was validated. Using an extracted ion chromatogram (EIC) of m/z 149, free TBHQ was observed in rat serum after dosing TBHQ at 350 mg/kg to male and female Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats. Four major metabolites of TBHQ were identified—a TBHQ-sulfate, two TBHQ-sulfate-derived substances and a TBHQ-glucuronide through MSn spectra. Besides its simplicity, the sample treatment allows one to obtain a very good recovery of analysts, namely around 95%. This result suggests that the method described here is useful for the analysis of TBHQ and its metabolites in rat serum. Moreover, the metabolism of TBHQ was investigated using the method. After oral administration, TBHQ appear to be more completely absorbed and bio-transformed by males than females, which may result in higher acute oral toxicity of TBHQ for males than females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a new ADS pixel design base on BPS (Black Post Spacer) on array technology to improve transmittance and save to cost. By putting BPS above data line, light leakage caused by data electric field was prevented, leading to higher transmittance in 8k application. In this paper, we studied key parameter and the optical performance of the new pixel design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]