Giant congenital diaphragmatic hernia in an adult

Bochdalek hernia is the most common type of congenital diaphragmatic hernia. It appears frequently in infants but rarely in adults. We present the case of a 50-year-old female han patient with tremendous left-sided congenital posterolateral diaphragmatic hernia (Bochdalek hernia) who also has a pair of supernumerary breasts and pulmonary hypoplasia of the lower-left lobe. The patient had an experience of misdiagnosis and she was treated for bronchitis for one year until being admitted to our hospital. This case study emphasizes the rare presentation of Bochdalek hernia in adults and the necessity of high clinical attention to similar cases

Fibroblast phenotypes in different lung diseases

BACKGROUND: The “seed and soil” hypothesis emphasizes the importance of interactions between tumor cells and their microenvironment. CAFs (Cancer associated fibroblasts) are important components of the tumor microenvironment. They were widely involved in cancer cells growth and metastasis. Fibroblasts may also play a role in inflammatory disease. The phenotype conversion of fibroblasts in lung diseases has not been investigated previously. We hypothesized that fibroblasts phenotypes may vary among different types of lung disease. METHODS: The study included six types of lung tissues, ranging from normal lung to lung adenocarcinoma with lymphatic metastasis. Para-carcinoma tissues which were 2-cm-away from the tumor focus were also included in the analysis. The expression of target proteins including alpha-SMA (smooth muscle actin), FAP (fibroblast activation protein), vimentin, E-cadherin, and CK-19 (cytokeratin-19) were examined by immunohistochemistry. TGF-beta(transforming growth factor) and Twist were detected simultaneously in all samples. RESULTS: A progressive increase in the levels of alpha-SMA, vimentin and CK-19 was observed in correlation to the degree of malignancy from normal lung tissue to lung adenocarcinoma with lymphatic metastasis, whereas E-cadherin expression showed the opposite trend. TGF-beta and Twist were detected in cancer tissues and inflammatory pseudotumors. None of the proteins were detected in para-carcinoma tissues. CONCLUSIONS: Fibroblast phenotypes varied according to the type and degree of lung malignancy and fibroblasts phenotypic conversion occurs as a gradual process with specific spatiotemporal characteristics. Similar fibroblast phenotypes in inflammatory diseases and cancer tissues suggested a correlation between inflammation and cancer and implied a common mechanism underlying the formation of fibroblasts in inflammatory diseases and lung cancer. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13019-014-0147-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Clinicopathological analysis of pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) of the lung is a rare malignant neoplasm. We aimed to investigate clinicopathological features, therapies, and prognoses of eight MEC cases. METHODS: Eight patients underwent surgical treatment for pulmonary MEC between 2005 and 2012 at the Thoracic Surgical Department of West China Hospital, Sichuan, China. The clinical data, radiological manifestation, treatment strategy, pathological findings, and prognoses of all patients were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: Among the eight cases (four males and four females), the age of patients ranged from 35 to 71 years (mean age 50.67 years). Two tumors were located in the upper lobes and three masses were located in the lower lobes. The other three lumps were located in the left main bronchus, middle segmental bronchus of the right lobe, and trachea, respectively. The characteristics of the tumors were consistent with low grade MEC (n = 6) and high grade MEC (n = 2). All of the patients were sent for oncological evaluations, and three patients with N1 or N2 disease received chemotherapy. One of the patients died from brain metastasis at 15 months. Seven of the eight patients were alive at the time of evaluation. The median survival time was 40 (range 8 to 88) months. CONCLUSION: Mucoepidermoid tumors have to be treated by radical surgery with lymph node sampling and dissection. Patients with low grade tumors can be expected to be cured following complete resection. Careful histological typing plays a key role in prediction of late results, and further studies are needed

Double suicide genes selectively kill human umbilical vein endothelial cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To construct a recombinant adenovirus containing CDglyTK double suicide genes and evaluate the killing effect of the double suicide genes driven by kinase domain insert containing receptor (KDR) promoter on human umbilical vein endothelial cells.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Human KDR promoter, <it>Escherichia coli </it>(<it>E. coli</it>) cytosine deaminase (CD) gene and the herpes simplex virus-thymidine kinase (TK) gene were cloned using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Plasmid pKDR-CDglyTK was constructed with the KDR promoter and CDglyTK genes. A recombinant adenoviral plasmid AdKDR-CDglyTK was then constructed and transfected into 293 packaging cells to grow and harvest adenoviruses. KDR-expressing human umbilical vein endothelial cells (ECV304) and KDR-negative liver cancer cell line (HepG2) were infected with the recombinant adenoviruses at different multiplicity of infection (MOI). The infection rate was measured by green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression. The infected cells were cultured in culture media containing different concentrations of prodrugs ganciclovir (GCV) and/or 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC). The killing effects were measured using two different methods, i.e. annexin V-FITC staining and terminal transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) staining.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Recombinant adenoviruses AdKDR-CDglyTK were successfully constructed and they infected ECV304 and HepG2 cells efficiently. The infection rate was dependent on MOI of recombinant adenoviruses. ECV304 cells infected with AdKDR-CDglyTK were highly sensitive to GCV and 5-FC. The cell survival rate was dependent on both the concentration of the prodrugs and the MOI of recombinant adenoviruses. In contrast, there were no killing effects in the HepG2 cells. The combination of two prodrugs was much more effective in killing ECV304 cells than GCV or 5-FC alone. The growth of transgenic ECV304 cells was suppressed in the presence of prodrugs.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>AdKDR-CDglyTK/double prodrog system may be a useful method for suppressing tumor angiogenesis.</p

Gamma-Glutamyl Transpeptidase to Platelet Ratio Is a Novel and Independent Prognostic Marker for Resectable Lung Cancer: A Propensity Score Matching Study.

BACKGROUND We report this propensity score matching (PSM) analysis to assess prognostic roles of preoperative gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase to platelet ratio (GPR) in video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) lobectomy for stage I-II non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS The PSM-based study conducted on our single-center prospectively collected database from January 2014 to August 2015 provided Kaplan-Meier survival analyses using the log-rank test to discriminate differences in overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) between patients stratified by preoperative GPR. RESULTS Our study includes 379 patients diagnosed with operable primary stage I-II NSCLC. A GPR value at 0.16 was recognized as the optimal cutoff point for prognostic prediction. Both OS and DFS of patients with GPR ≥0.16 were significantly shortened when compared to those of patients with GPR <0.16. Patients with GPR ≥0.16 had significantly lower 5-year rates of OS and DFS than those of patients with GPR <0.16 (P <0.001). Significant associations between GPR and unfavorable survival still are validated in the PSM analysis. Multivariable Cox regression models on both the entire cohort and the PSM cohort consistently demonstrated that an elevated preoperative GPR could be an independent prognostic marker for both OS and DFS of resectable NSCLC. CONCLUSIONS GPR may be an effective and noninvasive prognostic biomarker in VATS lobectomy for surgically resectable NSCLC

Prognostic role of lymph node regression in patients with esophageal cancer undergoing neoadjuvant therapy

PurposeTo clarify the prognostic value of lymph node regression (LNR) status including the lymph node regression grade (LNRG) and N downstaging in patients with esophageal cancer receiving neoadjuvant therapy based on available evidence.MethodsSeveral databases were searched up to 25 March 2024. The main outcomes included overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were combined. Subgroup analyses based on the neoadjuvant therapy and pathological type were also conducted.ResultsIn total, 14 retrospective studies with 3,212 participants were included. Nine and five studies explored the relationship between LNRG and N downstaging and survival, respectively. Pooled results indicated that complete LNR predicted significantly improved OS (HR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.41–0.55, P &lt; 0.001) and DFS (HR = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.32–0.55, P &lt; 0.001) and subgroup analysis based on neoadjuvant therapy and pathological type manifested similar results. Besides, N downstaging was also significantly related to improved OS (HR = 0.40, 95% CI: 0.21–0.77, P = 0.006) and CSS (HR = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.12–0.60, P &lt; 0.001).ConclusionLNR could serve as a novel and reliable prognostic factor in patients with esophageal cancer receiving neoadjuvant therapy and complete LNR and N downstaging predict better survival

GPR Surveying in the kernel area of Grove Mountains, Antarctica

The Grove Mountains, located between the Zhongshan Station and Dome A, are a very important area in inland Antarctic research. China has organized five investigations of the Grove Mountains, encompassing the geological structure, ancient climate, meteorites, ice-movement monitoring, basic mapping, meteorological observations, and other multi-disciplinary observational studies. During the 26th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition in 2010, the Grove Mountains investigation team applied specialized ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to survey subglacial topography in the eastern kernel area of the Grove Mountains. In this paper, we processed GPS and GPR data gathered in the field and drew, for the first time, two subglacial topographic maps of the Grove Mountains kernel area using professional graphics software. The preliminary results reveal the mystery of the nunatak landform of this area, give an exploratory sense of the real bedrock landforms, and indicate a possible sedimentary basin under the Pliocene epoch fossil ice in the Grove Mountains area. Additionally, it has been proven from cross-sectional analysis between Mount Harding and the Zakharoff ridge that the box-valley shape between two nunataks has already matured

DEVELOPMENT OF A KIND OF FLAVORING TABLETS FOR CHILDREN'S USE

Objective: In this study, based on children's medication preferences, Synsepalum dulcificum and Siraitia grosvenorii as raw material were used to develop a flavoring medicine for children. Methods:  Synsepalum dulcificum and Siraitia grosvenorii as the raw material were applied to extract the Synsepalum dulcificum powder and Siraitia grosvenorii powder respectively, according to the orthogonal test design; the optimal proportion of flavoring powder was obtained. Low-substituted hydroxypropyl cellulose(L-HPC), polyvinylpolypyrrolidone(PVPP), sodium carboxymethyl starch(CMS-Na）, microcrystalline cellulose(MCC) were taken, according to the orthogonal test design the optimum proportion of auxiliary materials, then the flavoring tablets was prepared according to the preparation process. Results: Through orthogonal test design, the optimum ratio of Synsepalum dulcificum: Siraitia grosvenorii was 1:3, and mixing them up in proportion; the optimum ratio of L-HPC: PVPP: CMS-Na: MCC was 10: 8: 3: 6, and mix them up in proportion. Equal amounts of sugar and salt were obtained by mass ratio of 1 to 1. Mixing 1/3 amount of flavoring powder with 3/4 amount of auxiliary materials, using 20% ethanol as a wetting agent, using the remaining sugar as a filler, and granulating. After the granules were dried and whole grain, add the remaining auxiliary materials and magnesium stearate were added, then the flavoring tablets were prepared. Conclusion: The effects of this formula were prominent, which could effectively intervene the taste of children's medicine; solve the practical problems concerning taking medications in children. Keywords: Synsepalum dulcificum; Siraitia grosvenorii; drug use in children; flavoring tabletsÂ