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Background: Neonatal appendicitis (NA) is rarely diagnosed due to lack of specific symptoms and signs. The aim of this study is to share our experience with NA. Methods: We performed a retrospective data review from electronic medical records of patients admitted at Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University (CHCMU) with the clinical diagnosis of NA from October 2001 to July 2018. Results: Of 31 neonates, male neonates (n=20) accounted for 64.5%. Abdominal distension and anorexia were the most common clinical features (61.3%, n=19). Neonates with elevated C- reactive protein (CRP) accounted for 92.6% (n=25) where as 51.6% (n=16) had normal white blood cell count (WBC). Of 29 neonates who underwent surgery, 69% (n=20) had perforated appendicitis. Conclusion: Neonatal appendicitis lacks specific clinical features, and early diagnosis is difficult. Clinicians need to have high index of suspicion when attending neonates with features of abdominal sepsis.

Rates of adolescent mood disorders and adolescent smartphone use have risen in parallel, leading some to suggest that smartphone use might have detrimental effects on adolescents' moods. Alternatively, it is possible that adolescents turn to smartphone use when experiencing negative mood. Past experimental study suggests that certain smartphone activities can reduce adolescents' negative moods or induce more positive moods, but little is known about the effects of real-world smartphone use, which can involve many different activities. A sample of N = 253 adolescents participated in an Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) procedure, which assessed which smartphone activities they were engaged in at random moments throughout the day. This procedure also prompted adolescents to rate their moods before and during smartphone use. Adolescents reported mood improvements during almost all smartphone activities and did not report that moods became more negative during any smartphone activity. Mood improvements were the largest when adolescents said they were listening to music, podcasts, or audiobooks. This may suggest some adolescent smartphone use is driven by a desire to alleviate negative mood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition metal disulfides (TMDs) are considered as a potential anode material for lithium because of their unique layered structure and high theoretical specific capacity. However, due to their inherent defects, such as poor conductivity, easy agglomeration, slow reaction kinetics, and large volume change during charge and discharge, their practical application is greatly limited. Based on this, a feasible strategy is designed in this experiment. By solvothermal method, MoSe2 nanosheets are coated on the surface of sunflower shell nano-hollow carbon balls to prepare C/MoSe2 composite materials. As the frame material, C materials enhanced the electrical conductivity of MoSe2 and avoided volume collapse and agglomeration problems. At 0.2/5 C current density, the capacity of C/MoSe2 as a LIBs negative electrode finally stabilized at 1662.5/470.1 mAh·g−1 after 150/5500 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disorder, and numerous aberrations of T cell responses have been reported and were implicated in its pathophysiology. Recently, CD4-positive T cells with cytotoxic potential were shown to be involved in autoimmune disease progression and tissue damage. However, the effector functions of this cell type and their potential molecular mechanisms in SLE patients remain to be elucidated. In this study, we find that cytotoxic CD4+CD28− T cells are expanded in SLE patients with flow cytometry analysis, and the percentage of CD4+CD28− T cells positively correlates with the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/ACR Damage Index (SDI). Furthermore, our study suggests that interleukin-15 (IL-15) promotes the expansion, proliferation, and cytotoxic function of CD4+CD28− T cells in SLE patients through activation of the Janus kinase3-STAT5 pathway. Further study indicates that IL-15 not only mediates the upregulation of NKG2D, but also cooperates with the NKG2D pathway to regulate the activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) pathway. Together, our study demonstrated that proinflammatory and cytolytic CD4+CD28− T cells expand in SLE patients. The pathogenic potential of these CD4+CD28− T cells is driven by the coupling of the IL-15/IL-15R signaling pathway and the NKG2D/DAP10 signaling pathway, which may open new avenues for therapeutic intervention to prevent SLE progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]