Ileal adenocarcinoma in a young pregnant woman: A rare case report

Primary intestinal malignancies account for only 1%–3% of all malignant gastrointestinal tumors. Adenocarcinomas are uncommonly located in the ileum. Ileal adenocarcinoma (IA) is rare and difficult to diagnose because of its location. IA is common in older men and rare in young pregnant women. A 23-year-old pregnant woman was hospitalized several times for repeated vomiting and abdominal pain. Her symptoms were relieved after symptomatic treatment. She exhibited no typical manifestations of intestinal obstruction, such as abdominal distension, difficulty passing gas and defecation. Unfortunately, she was misdiagnosed with acute gastroenteritis. On the second day after delivery, the patient stopped passing gas and computed tomography (CT) revealed an intestinal obstruction. She was treated as paralytic ileus. However, in view of failed conservative management, she was decided for an exploratory laparotomy. A malignant ileal tumor 5cm from the ileocecal valve was found incidentally and was surgically excised accompanied with End-to-side anastomosis of ileal and transverse colon. The operation lasted 195 minutes. Pathological examination revealed an IA. Pregnant woman who experience symptoms of intestinal obstruction should be alert to the possibility of malignancy in the small intestine. IA is an insidious tumor in pregnant women. An “IA triad” can be defined as refractory vomiting, vague abdominal pain, and weight loss (or inadequate weight gain in pregnant women). Pregnant women with an IA triad should undergo investigation with endoscopy or, if necessary, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Analytical Approaches for the Determination of Buprenorphine, Methadone and Their Metabolites in Biological Matrices

The abuse of buprenorphine and methadone has grown into a rising worldwide issue. After their consumption, buprenorphine, methadone and their metabolites can be found in the human organism. Due to the difficulty in the assessment of these compounds by routine drug screening, the importance of developing highly sensitive analytical approaches is undeniable. Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry is the preferable technique for the determination of buprenorphine, methadone and their metabolites in biological matrices including urine, plasma, nails or oral fluids. This research aims to review a critical discussion of the latest trends for the monitoring of buprenorphine, methadone and their metabolites in various biological specimens

Dynamic Restoration Schemes in WDM Mesh Networks with Traffic Grooming Capacity

This paper addresses the dynamic recovery problem in the wavelength division multiplexing mesh networks with traffic grooming capacity. We propose two restoration schemes. They are connection dynamic restoration scheme and lightpath dynamic restoration scheme. We also propose two restoration protocols, connection restoration protocol for connection dynamic restoration scheme and lightpath restoration protocol for lightpath dynamic restoration scheme, and formulate a model of restoration switching times for the two restoration schemes. Numerical result shows that connection dynamic restoration scheme and lightpath dynamic restoration scheme can achieve a better tradeoff of resource utilization rate and restoration success rate than protection scheme. Traffic grooming technology helps to improve the restoration success rate as well as to reduce restoration switching time. Connection dynamic restoration scheme yields a better performance than that of lightpath dynamic restoration scheme in terms of restoration success rate and restoration switching time

Immunomodulation Activity of Lectin Isolated from Musca Domestica (Housefly) Pupae

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Identification of a two metastasis-related prognostic signature in the process of predicting the survival of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract Metastasis is a major cause of treatment failure and poor outcomes in cancer patients. The data used in the current study was downloaded from TCGA and GEO databases. Differentially expressed metastasis-related genes were identified and the biological functions were implemented. Kaplan–Meier analysis univariate, and, multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to identify robust prognostic biomarkers, followed by construction of the risk model and nomogram. Gene set enrichment analysis was performed to identify pathways enriched in low- and high-risk groups. POLR2J3 and MYH11 were treated as prognostic biomarkers in LSCC and the risk model was constructed. Receiver operating characteristic curves revealed the good performance of the risk model. A nomogram with high accuracy was constructed, as evidenced by calibration and decision curves. Moreover, we found that the expressions of POLR2J3 and MYH11 was significantly higher in metastasis tissues compared with those in non-metastasis tissues by RT-qPCR and IHC. Our study identified novel metastasis-related prognostic biomarkers in LSCC and constructed a unique nomogram for predicting the prognosis of LSCC patients. Moreover, we explored the related mechanisms of metastasis-related genes in regulating LSCC

Associations of genetic variation in CASP3 gene with noise-induced hearing loss in a Chinese population: a case–control study

Abstract Background Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a complex disease caused by environmental and genetic risk factors. This study explored the relationship between the genetic variations in the CASP gene and the risk of developing NIHL among Chinese workers exposed to occupational noise. Methods A case–control study of 272 NIHL workers and 272 normal-hearing workers matched for age, sex and years of noise exposure was conducted. Fifteen single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the CASP1, CASP3, CASP4, CASP5, CASP6, CASP8, CASP9, CASP10 and CASP14 genes were genotyped using the polymerase chain reaction–ligase detection reaction method. Using conditional logistic regression models, the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of genetic variations associated with NIHL risk were calculated. Results Two SNPs in the CASP3 gene were associated with NIHL risk. For rs1049216, TT genotype was associated with a decreased risk of NIHL (OR = 0.246, 95% CI = 0.069–0.886) when compared with the CC genotype. For rs6948, the AC and CC genotype were associated with a decreased NIHL risk (OR = 0.568, 95% CI = 0.352–0.916) compared with AA genotype. There were joint effects of working time and CASP3 polymorphisms on NIHL risk (P < 0.05). Conclusions Genetic variations in the CASP3 gene and the joint effects of working time and CASP3 polymorphisms may modify the risk of developing NIHL