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Laparoscopic inguinal repair use is rapidly growing because it is a minimally invasive surgery (MIS) technique. However, there is insufficient evidence to support the use of one MIS over others. We compared laparoscopic intracorporeal suture (LIS) and laparoscopic percutaneous extraperitoneal closure (LPEC) to determine which technique is superior. Between February 2017 and December 2019, 260 children who underwent LPEC and 214 children who underwent LIS were enrolled. Operative time, recovery score, and patient cosmetic satisfaction were compared. A total of 108 propensity score-matched pairs were analyzed using paired t -test for continuous measurements and McNemar test for categorical variables. The mean surgery time was lower in the LPEC group for both unilateral (15.76 ± 5.35 vs. 19 ± 5.71 min; p = 0.04) and bilateral (21.56 ± 5.7 vs. 26.38 ± 6.94 min; p = 0.01) surgeries. The LPEC group required shorter time for complete recovery (p = 0.017). The mean rating for scar visibility was higher in the LIS group (p = 0.02); however, both groups had high levels of cosmetic satisfaction (p = 0.125). LPEC for hernia repair is safe and efficient in children and reduced operative time, hastened recovery, and provided excellent cosmetic results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute kidney injury (AKI) may contribute to high mortality rates after liver transplantation. Few studies have investigated AKI in pediatric liver transplantation. This retrospective study was conducted to investigate the risk factors for and associated outcomes of AKI in pediatric liver transplant recipients. Eighty pediatric liver transplant patients were included. The occurrence of AKI was defined by the KDIGO Clinical Practice Guidelines for Acute Kidney Injury. A multivariate regression analysis model was used to investigate risk factors for AKI in the pediatric liver recipients. The final multivariable regression model showed that biliary atresia (odds ratio [OR] = 0.097, p = 0.03), increased time of the anhepatic phase (OR = 0.871, p = 0.005) and lower postoperative jaundice clearance (OR = 13.936, p = 0.02) were independently associated with the development of AKI in pediatric patients. Additionally, cumulative 3-year patient (p = 0.15) and graft (p = 0.26) survival rates between the non-acute kidney injury (NAKI) and AKI groups were 95.2% vs 86.8% and 90.5% vs 84.2%, respectively. Pediatric liver transplant recipients with a presence of biliary atresia, increased time of anhepatic phase, and a lower postoperative jaundice clearance had an increased risk of AKI. The long-term outcomes of patients who developed AKI appears to be worse compared with those having NAKI. Prognosis study. Level III. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Terminal hindgut deformity is the leading digestive tract malformation, however, the etiology and pathogenesis remained unknown. To date, gene expression abnormalities were considered the primary cause of these diseases. miRNAs have been found to play an important role in regulating the expression of genes. Methods A total of 24 pregnant rats were randomly divided into two groups. The experimental group ( n = 12) received 1% ethylenethiourea (125 mg/kg) by gavage on gestational day 11, while the control group ( n = 12) received the same volume of distilled water. From each group, fetal rats were obtained by cesarean section on gestational day 16. For the extraction of total RNA, 1 cm rectum samples were obtained from four fetal rats that had similar weights. Chip hybridization was conducted after poly(A) and biotin were added to the RNA samples, and this was followed by washing, dyeing, and scanning of the chip. Differences identified in the miRNA expression profiles and the target gene analysis results were further analyzed to identify potential regulators of terminal hindgut development. Results Compared with the control group, 111 miRNAs expressed in the terminal hindgut of the experimental group were up-regulated on gestational day 16, while 117 miRNAs were down-regulated. The ten miRNAs with the greatest differential expression profiles between the experimental and control samples were selected for target gene prediction, pathway analysis, and gene ontology analysis. A subset of these miRNAs was found to be closely related to rat fetus terminal hindgut growth and development. In addition, target gene analysis showed that miR-193 may have an important role in regulating a key gene in anorectal development, Hoxd13 . This role was confirmed in a dual luciferase reporter assay when miR-193 was able to inhibit expression of a reporter gene under the control of the 3′ untranslated region of the Hoxd13 gene in the human embryonic kidney cell line, 293 T. Real-time PCR and Western blotting experiments further showed that the expression of Hoxd13 was significantly lower when miR-193 was highly expressed in rat intestinal epithelial cells. The differences in both sets of experiments were statistically significant compared with the negative control group ( P < 0.05). Conclusion These data support an important regulatory role for miRNAs in the expression of target genes during terminal hindgut development in fetal rats. In particular, miR-193-mediated inhibition of Hoxd13 was found to be significant in rat intestinal epithelial cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalpa sawdust, a promising biofuel production biomass, was pretreated by microwave-water, -NaOH, and -Ca(OH) 2 to enhance enzymatic digestibility. After 48 h enzymatic hydrolysis, microwave-Ca(OH) 2 pretreated sample showed the highest reducing sugar yield. The content of hemicellulose and lignin in catalpa sawdust decreased after microwave-alkali pretreatment. SEM observation showed that the catalpa sawdust surface with microwave-Ca(OH) 2 pretreatment suffered the most serious erosion. Crystallinity index of catalpa sawdust increased after all three kinds of pretreatment. The optimum conditions of microwave-Ca(OH) 2 pretreatment were particle size of 40 mesh, Ca(OH) 2 dosage of 2.25% (w/v), microwave power of 400 W, pretreatment time of 6 min, enzyme loading of 175 FPU/g, and hydrolysis time of 96 h, and the reducing sugar yield of microwave-Ca(OH) 2 pretreated catalpa sawdust reached 402.73 mg/g, which increased by 682.15% compared with that of raw catalpa sawdust. The catalpa sawdust with microwave-Ca(OH) 2 pretreatment is promising for biofuel production with great potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the adverse effect of dibutyl phthalate (DBP) on Leydig cells and its mechanism related to gap junction, Leydig cells isolated from adult rats were treated with 0.1% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), 50 mg/L DBP, 50 mg/L DBP + 10 μM prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and 40 μM flutamide respectively. Radioimmunoassay, semi-quantitative RT-PCR, immunofluorescence and Western blot were applied to determine the expression of testosterone and Connexin 43 (Cx43) in Leydig cells. The expression of testosterone and Cx43 were both decreased in DBP group ( P < 0.05). While Cx43 was up-regulated after administered to PGE2, there was no significant change in testosterone. However, testosterone was down-regulated with a significant decrease of Cx43 in flutamide group. The results indicated that the inhibitory effect of DBP on testosterone production was not through the down-regulation of Cx43. On the contrary, the change of testosterone can influence the expression of Cx43 in Leydig cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the reducing sugar production from catalpa sawdust, thermo-chemical pretreatments were examined and the chemicals used including NaOH, Ca(OH) 2 , H 2 SO 4 , and HCl. The hemicellulose solubilization and cellulose crystallinity index (CrI) were significantly increased after thermo-alkaline pretreatments, and the thermo-Ca(OH) 2 pretreatment showed the best improvement for reducing sugar production comparing to other three pretreatments. The conditions of thermo-Ca(OH) 2 pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis were systematically optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the reducing sugar yield increased by 1185.7% comparing to the control. This study indicates that the thermo-Ca(OH) 2 pretreatment is ideal for the saccharification of catalpa sawdust and that catalpa sawdust is a promising raw material for biofuel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-pressure homogenization (HPH) and alkaline-heat were both used to pretreat grass clipping in order to improve the efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis and biogas production. Results showed that both methods were very effective. HPH and alkaline-heat pretreated grass clipping yielded 230.39 and 415.93 mg g −1 reducing sugar with enzymatic hydrolysis, showing 37.82% and 148.81% increase respectively. HPH and alkaline-heat pretreated grass clipping produced 418 and 405 ml biogas in anaerobic digestion respectively, both around 2.5 times higher than that of the control. Furthermore, both pretreated samples produced biogas immediately while the control had a two-day delay. HPH could produce more biogas in a shorter time and it could be operated in room temperature and needs no chemical, implying that HPH could be an effective pretreatment of biomass for biogas production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grass clipping, corn straw, catalpa sawdust and pine sawdust were pretreated with high-pressure homogenization (HPH) to enhance the enzymatic digestibility. With a working pressure of 10 MPa, all the four lignocellulosic biomass were significantly changed, such as decrease in particle size, structure destruction, and crystallinity change. Results showed that lignocellulosic biomass pretreated with HPH yielded more reducing sugar, which was suitable for subsequent biofuel production. After 48-h enzymatic hydrolysis, the maximum reducing sugar yield of 229.42 mg/g was achieved for grass clipping. For corn straw, the enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency increased by 68.37% at most. However, reducing sugar yield of catalpa sawdust and pine sawdust was relatively lower. Low lignin content and crystallinity might make grass clipping the most suitable material for HPH pretreatment, thus leading to high hydrolysis efficiency. HPH pretreatment could increase biofuel output in a mild condition without adding any chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Intussusception may require bowel resection. Here, we aim to define factors that predict the need of bowel resection and the presence of pathological lead point. Methods A retrospective review was taken from three tertiary centers for all operated intussusception patients from January 2010 to December 2014. Patient demographics were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed, and risk factors were derived by binary logistic regression. Results Five thousand ninety-six patients were treated for intussusception with 73 (57 male, 16 female) operated. The median age was 23.2 months, and median duration of symptoms was 2 days. Twenty-eight patients (38.4%) required bowel resection. Logistic regression demonstrated that older age ( p = 0.018) and longer duration of symptoms ( p = 0.009) were associated with bowel resection. Furthermore, older age was a predictive factor for the presence of a pathological lead point ( p = 0.01). A palpable abdominal mass was also found to be associated with the need of bowel resection (risk ratio 2.3) and the presence of pathological lead point (risk ratio 2.3) independently. Conclusion Older age at presentation and a longer duration of symptoms are positive predictors for the need of bowel resection in intussusception. The presence of a pathological lead point is more likely in older children. Level of evidence Case series with no comparison group – Level IV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) has significant male reproductive toxicity, and the Sertoli cells are the target cells of DBP. This study was to investigate the injury effect induced by DBP on rat testicular Sertoli cells in vitro. MTT results showed that DBP can significantly reduce the survival rate of Sertoli cells; Hoechst staining results showed that the Sertoli cells treated with DBP emerged with typical morphological characteristics of apoptosis, nuclear condensation and chromatin condensation; flow cytometry results showed that DBP significantly increased the apoptotic rate of Sertoli cells, and dose-dependent; Western blotting showed that the expression of PTEN protein in Sertoli cells was significantly higher than that in the control group after treated with different concentrations of DBP for 24 h, while the expression of p-PI3K1, p-AKT, p70S6K and 4E-BP1 protein in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signal pathway were significantly decreased. It is speculated that PTEN/PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway plays an important role in DBP-induced apoptosis of testicular Sertoli cells in rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grass clipping, a cellulose-rich raw material, has great potential to produce biofuels, but must be firstly hydrolyzed to liberate fermentable sugars. In this study, grass clipping was pretreated with ultrasound (US), Ca(OH) 2 , NaOH, US-Ca(OH) 2 and US-NaOH at relatively low temperature to enhance its enzymatic hydrolysis. The solubilization of hemicellulose and lignin, and crystallinity index of cellulose increased after US-alkaline pretreatment, leading to a significant increase of enzyme accessibility to cellulose. Compared with another four pretreatments, US-Ca(OH) 2 pretreatment of grass clipping showed the best improvement for reducing sugar yield. X-ray diffraction (XRD) determination and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation showed that the crystallinity index of grass clipping increased and the grass clipping surface suffered from serious erosion after US-Ca(OH) 2 pretreatment. Then, the operating conditions of US-Ca(OH) 2 pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis were systematically optimized, and the suitable operating conditions were as follows: US power density of 0.65 W/ml, US pretreatment time of 30 min, Ca(OH) 2 concentration of 0.75%, pretreatment temperature of 75 °C, enzyme loading of 125 FPU/g, and hydrolysis time of 72 h. The reducing sugar yield of grass clipping pretreated by US-Ca(OH) 2 reached 414 mg/g, increasing by 3.5 times compared with that of raw grass clipping. The US-Ca(OH) 2 pretreatment of grass clipping at low temperature significantly enhanced the potential of grass clipping as a promising raw material to produce biofuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, physical method reinforced chemical pretreatments of Triarrhena lutarioriparia (TL) were compared to explore the higher reducing sugar yield in subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis. Four different pretreatments, namely hydrothermal pretreatment (HTP), dilute acid pretreatment (HCl-P), ultrasound assisted acid pretreatment (HCl + U) and microwave assisted acid pretreatment (HCl + M) were conducted on TL. The structural features of TL after different pretreatments were investigated by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transformed infrared (FT-IR) techniques. The fractal-like theory was introduced to study the enzymatic hydrolysis kinetics of TL. Results showed that the reducing sugar yield of HCl-P reached 100.14 mg/g, showing 1.34 times higher than that of the raw. Due to the hemicellulose and lignin removal and lignocellulosic structure destruction, ultrasound and microwave irradiation strengthened the HCl-P, leading to a great enhancement of enzymatic hydrolysis of TL, especially the microwave irradiation. Moreover, the fractal-like theory was confirmed to be satisfactory for studying the enzymatic hydrolysis kinetics of lignocellulosic biomass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different solid contents of corn stover were pretreated with rumen fluid to enhance its hydrolysis and acidification, with whole pretreatment time of 72 h. Results showed that rumen fluid pretreatment effectively enhanced the hydrolysis of corn stover. The concentration of soluble COD for 10% ( w/v ) corn stover was about 2–6.4 times and 1.5–2.5 times of that for 3% and 5% ( w/v ), respectively. The highest reducing sugar concentration for 10% ( w/v ) corn stover was about 20 folds and 5.7 folds of that for 3% and 5% ( w/v ) at 2 h, respectively. Higher solid content of corn stover produced more VFAs, however, VFAs accumulation happened during the 10% ( w/v ) corn stover pretreatment, leading to the higher VFAs concentration for 5% ( w/v ) corn stover than that for 10% ( w/v ) during the 16–36 h. After the pretreatment, the structure of corn stover changed, such as the increase of specific surface area and decrease of crystallinity. Due to the removal of hemicellulose, the relative amount of lignin increased in the treated solids illustrated by the FTIR spectra. The changes of enzymatic activities showed that the enzymes secreted by the rumen microorganisms were quickly adsorbed by the corn stover, participating in the hydrolysis, which resulted in the sharp decrease of enzymatic activities in the fluid at the first 4 h. Though the enzymatic activities increased a little during the pretreatment, they could not restore the original level. This might be caused by the pH decrease and VFAs accumulation. The practical application prospect of this study was also conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this study is to develop novel types of polyion complex micelles for the drug delivery to brain tumor. Methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (mPEG)-grafted chitosan (CP) was synthesized in order to make polymeric micelles encapsulating all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) based on polyion complex formation. Polyion complex micelles were found to have spherical shapes with sizes of about 50 ∼ 200 nm. The loading efficiency of micelle was higher than 80% (w/w) for all formulations. 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra confirmed the formation of polymeric micelles. The CP graft copolymer and ATRA have distinguishing peaks in their 1H NMR spectra. The specific peaks of ATRA disappeared in D2O or DMSO while it appeared at mixtures of D2O/DMSO, indicating that ATRA and chitosan formed ion complex inner-core. In the cell cytotoxicity study using U87MG cells in vitro, polyion complex micelles showed similar cytotoxicity to that of free ATRA. A migration test was performed to investigate the inhibition of tumor cell invasion in vitro. The results suggested that the polyion complex micelles was more effective at inhibiting tumor cell migration than free ATRA. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 95:2348–2360, 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]