Search

ABSTACT: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) originate from the gastrointestinal tract. GISTs originate outside the gastrointestinal tract, referred to as extra GISTs, which is rare. Primary liver gastrointestinal stromal tumor (PLGIST) and liver metastasis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (LMGIST) may present isolated liver lesion, making it difficult to determine their origin. A 38‐year‐old man who presented with isolated multiple giant cystic‐solid liver lesions, ultimately diagnosed as liver GIST through CT‐guided fine‐needle aspiration. However, distinguishing between PLGIST and LMGIST in this case is challenging due to the absence of detailed medical records of emergency small intestine resection 5 years ago. Over 2‐year follow‐up period, the maximum lesion size increased from 16 to 21 cm, still, no extra liver lesions were observed. This study aims to provide a review to enhance understanding of this rare liver entity, aiding in tumor diagnosis and staging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sarcoid myositis is a rare and often debilitating extrapulmonary manifestation of sarcoidosis that can be difficult to recognize without a prior sarcoidosis diagnosis. Sarcoidosis with muscle nodules or masses as the first symptom is the least common form, occurring in approximately 0.5%–2.3% of cases. This article presents four middle‐aged female patients who initially sought medical attention for a lower limb mass. Ultrasound examinations revealed consistent characteristic changes indicative of myositis. All patients underwent ultrasound‐guided muscle biopsy and were diagnosed with sarcoidosis. Therefore, ultrasonography plays a pivotal role as the primary diagnostic tool for the early detection of sarcoid myositis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes to enhance entanglement and control quantum steering via dissipative coupling in an open cavity magnomechanical system connected to a common reservoir shared by photon and magnon modes. In such a system, dissipative coupling induced by the common reservoir plays a crucial role in producing entanglements and quantum steering. The photon‐magnon‐phonon tripartite entanglement is significantly enhanced, exhibiting periodic sudden death and resurgence with the relative phase between coherent and dissipative couplings. It is revealed that the collaboration between dissipative and coherent couplings can produce entanglement and steering even in the absence of nonlinearity within the system. Moreover, the steering directivity can be controlled by adjusting the dissipative coupling strength and the relative phase. These findings are counterintuitive in terms of dissipation, which provides a novel approach for preparing quantum entanglement and manipulating quantum steering in an open system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Topological semimetals represent one of the most interesting classes of materials that continue to attract worldwide interest. Here, we report magnetotransport properties of MPn2-type (M=Nb, Ta; Pn=P, As, Sb) NbSb2 single-crystal semimetals with a centrosymmetric C12/m1 space group, paramagnetic ground state, and non-saturation parabolic-like magnetoresistance. The NbSb2 crystals show metallic conductivity down to 2K and undergo a metal-to-insulator-like transition under a magnetic field B (B ≥ 4 T) and exhibit a resistivity plateau in the lowtemperature region (T ≤ 10K), where the value of resistivity strongly depends on the magnitude and direction of the magnetic field. Upon sweeping the magnetic field from 0 to 14.5 T in the transverse configuration at T=1.5K, the NbSb2 crystal shows a large positive magnetoresistance (4.2 x 10³% at B=14.5 T) with Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillation. Hall measurements reveal that both the carrier compensation between electrons and holes and the high mobility and large mean free path of carriers contribute to the large magnetoresistance. Fast Fourier transform analyses of angle-resolved SdH oscillation indicate that the Fermi surface of the NbSb2 crystal is quasi-two-dimensional with three-dimensional components. These findings, together with the theoretically calculated electronic band structure obtained within the framework of density functional theory, suggest that NbSb2 is a good candidate compensated semimetal for further theoretical and experimental investigation of this family of materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary hepatic angiosarcoma (PHA) is a rare, highly aggressive malignancy. There is no specificity in clinical manifestations, laboratory examinations and imaging examinations. The definitive diagnosis of PHA depends on pathological analysis. The gold standard method to obtain specimens is percutaneous transhepatic biopsy under the guidance of contrast‐enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). However, CEUS‐guided biopsy for PHA is controversial. If a biopsy is necessary, a comprehensive preoperative evaluation is essential. In addition, CEUS has an auxiliary value in diagnosing PHA. In this case, we present an elderly woman who underwent CEUS‐guided liver mass biopsy. The patient developed hemorrhagic shock after biopsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A theoretical scheme for a single‐magnon generator based on a hybrid cavity‐magnonic system, in which a microwave cavity is coupled to the magnetostatic mode through the magnetic dipole interaction and coupled to a superconducting qubit (transmon) through electric dipole interaction, and the virtual excitation of microwave photons mediates the interaction between the magnon mode and the transmon qubit, is proposed. The magnon blockade effect is studied based on the coexistence mechanism of anharmonicity of energy levels and multipath interference, and a global optimal condition of magnon blockade is obtained. The numerical results with accessible experimental parameters demonstrate that under this global optimal condition, a perfect single‐magnon generator with a second‐order correlation function tends to zero and a higher single‐magnon number can be achieved even at ambient temperature up to 25 mK. The current scheme is proposed based on the lithographically scalable and superconducting circuit compatible design, which provides convenience for precisely and flexibly engineering in experiments. It is expected to be used as an integrated single‐quanta generator in quantum network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aging is associated with hepatic growth hormone resistance resulting in a fall in serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) level. However, whether loss of IGF-1 contributes to cardiac aging is unclear. This study was designed to examine the effect of cardiac overexpression of IGF-1 on cardiomyocyte contractile function in young (3 mo) and old (26-28 mo) mice. Cardiomyocyte contractile function was evaluated, including peak shortening (PS), time to 90% PS, time to 90% relengthening (T[R.sub.90]), and maximal velocity of shortening/relengthening ([+ or -] dL/dt). Levels of advanced glycation end product, protein carbonyl, sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum [Ca.sup.2+]-ATPase (SERCA2a), phospholamban, and [Na.sup.+]/[Ca.sup.2+] exchanger were assessed by Western blot analysis. SERCA activity was measured by [sup.45][Ca.sup.2+] uptake. Aging induced a decline in plasma IGF-1 levels. Aged cells exhibited depressed [+ or -] dL/dt, prolonged T[R.sub.90], and a steeper PS decline in response to increasing stimulus frequency compared with those in young myocytes. IGF-1 transgene alleviated aging-induced loss in plasma IGF-1 and aging-induced mechanical defects with little effect in young mice. The beneficial effect of IGF-1 transgene on aging-associated cardiomyocyte contractile dysfunction was somewhat mimicked by short-term in vitro treatment of recombinant IGF-1 (500 nM). Advanced glycation end product and protein carbonyl levels were higher in aged mice, which were not affected by IGF-1. Expression of SERCA2a (but not [Na.sup.+]/[Ca.sup.2+] exchanger and phospholamban) and SERCA activity were reduced with aging, which was ablated by the IGF-1 transgene. Collectively, our data suggest a beneficial role of IGF-1 in aging-induced cardiac contractile dysfunction, possibly related to improved [Ca.sup.2+] uptake. cardiomyocytes; contractile function; calcium regulatory protein; senescence

Objectives: To explore the inter‐ and intra‐observer reliability of Sonography‐based Volume Computer Aided Diagnosis (SonoVCAD) in the display of 8 diagnostic planes of fetal echocardiography and to evaluate its efficiency. Methods: Three‐dimensional volume data sets of the 56 normal singleton fetuses were acquired from a 4‐chamber view by using a volume probe. After processing the data sets by using SonoVCAD, 8 cardiac diagnostic planes were displayed automatically. Three doctors with different experiences of performing fetal echocardiography evaluated each diagnostic plane and the success rates of 8 diagnostic planes were calculated. Inter‐observer and intra‐observer reliabilities were estimated by Cohen's kappa statistics. Results: A total of 276 volume data sets acquired from the 56 normal fetuses were used for SonoVCAD analysis and display. The success rate of each diagnostic section was more than 90%, ranging from 90.6% to 99.6%. Among 276 volumes, 81.5% (225/276) of volumes were able to generate all 8 diagnostic views successfully. Moderate to substantial agreement (kappa, 0.509–0.794) was found between 2 less experienced operators. Moderate to near‐perfect agreement (kappa, 0.439–0.933) was found between an expert and 2 less experienced sonographers. Intra‐observer reliability was substantial to near‐perfect (kappa, 0.602–0.903). The efficiency of SonoVCAD was assessed. The expert spent less time than 2 less experienced examiners (P < 0.001) but no significant difference was found between 2 less experienced examiners (P = 0.176). Besides, SonoVCAD consumed significantly less time than 2‐dimensional ultrasound (P < 0.001). Conclusions: SonoVCAD can significantly improve the success rates of 8 diagnostic planes in fetal echocardiography with low operator dependency, good reproducibility and high efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An 8-week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of three dietary methionine (Met) sources [ dl-Met, coated-Met, and a methionine hydroxy analogue calcium salt (MHA-Ca)] for Chinese soft-shelled turtle ( Pelodiscus sinensis). Triplicate groups of juvenile turtles (initial weight 3.48 ± 0.03 g) were fed twice per day at 3% of body weight with positive control diet (T1, 46% protein and 46% fish meal, FM), negative control diet (T2, 43% protein and 23% FM), or three other test diets supplemented with either 0.2% coated-Met (T3), 0.125% MHA-Ca (T4), or 0.1% dl-Met (T5) to the T2 basal formulation, respectively. The feeding trial was conducted in 15 350-L plastic containers with three replicates per dietary treatment. The results showed that the highest and lowest percentage weight gain (1023.5 ± 18.2 versus 882.1 ± 14.5%) and feed efficiency (87.2 ± 0.94 versus 81.4 ± 0.4%) were observed in turtles fed the T1 and T2 diet ( P < 0.05), respectively. Significant improvement in weight gain was observed in turtles fed diets with Met supplementation, irrespective of source, compared with turtles fed the T2 diet. It was observed that dietary MHA-Ca had similar efficacy compared with dl-Met in terms of growth performance and feed utilization efficiency of the turtles ( P > 0.05). Protein utilization efficiency was significantly higher in turtles fed T4 or T5 diet compared to the T2 diet. Whole body protein content (17.0 to 17.4% on a wet weight basis) in turtles fed with Met-added diets was comparable to those of turtles fed the T1 diet which were significantly higher compared to T2-fed turtles. Antioxidant defense system enzymes, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase showed the highest activity, 658.8 ± 17.9 U/mL and 642.8 ± 17.5 μmol/L, respectively, in the serum of turtle fed the MHA-Ca supplemented diet and was significantly higher compared to turtles fed the T2 or T3 diet. The present results showed that P. sinensis are able to effectively use added MHA-Ca and dl-Met in low protein and low FM diets to enhance growth, feed utilization efficiency, nitrogen retention, and antioxidant defense system enzyme activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]