A rare complication of acute appendicitis – case presentation

Introduction. Considered by many authors a vestigial structure, the appendix is a small dimensions organ with mostly unknown functions. Acute appendicitis is the most common condition of the ileocecal appendix, having multifaceted clinical manifestations, often masquerading as various unrelated syndromes, but causing increased morbidity, especially when diagnosed late. Although the disease could manifest at any age, there is a progressive increase of its incidence from birth, with a maximum between 10 to 40 years. Case presentation. We report the case of an 84 years-old female patient, who presented with significant abdominal pain in the lower quadrants, mainly in the right iliac fossa and in whom the CT examination was suggestive of a utero-appendicular fistula, a very rare complication in daily practice and even more seldomly encountered in the elderly. Conclusions. Acute appendicitis remains a condition for which surgery is still the optimum treatment, especially in the case of an elderly patient having a radiologically suspected fistula with the uterus that could easily lead to septic gynecological complications and possibly progression to multiple organ failure

RNA sequencing suggests that non-coding RNAs play a role in the development of acquired haemophilia

Funding Information: Adrian Bogdan Tigu and Ionut Hotea contributed equally to the current manuscript and are both considered first author. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the support of Sergiu Pasca, M.D. – Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States, for his contribution on the statistical analysis. Funding Information: IH is funded by an internal grant of the Iuliu Hatieganu University – School of Doctoral Studies. BT is supported by a national grant of the Romanian Academy of Scientists (Academia Oamenilor de Stiinta din Romania) 2023–2024. ABT, DG, JTB and VG are supported by an international collaborative grant of the European Economic Space between Romania and Iceland 2021–2023: ‘Cooperation strategy for knowledge transfer, internationalization and curricula innovation in the field of research education at the 3rd level of study –AURORA.’. The experiments were funded by an international grant awarded by the Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Foundation to the Romanian Haematology Society—Romania 4. CT is supported by a grant by grants awarded by the Romanian National Ministry of 350 Research, Innovation, and Digitalisation: Project PN‐III‐P4‐ID‐PCE‐2020‐1118. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine published by Foundation for Cellular and Molecular Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine published by Foundation for Cellular and Molecular Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Acquired haemophilia (AH) is a rare disorder characterized by bleeding in patients with no personal or family history of coagulation/clotting-related diseases. This disease occurs when the immune system, by mistake, generates autoantibodies that target FVIII, causing bleeding. Small RNAs from plasma collected from AH patients (n = 2), mild classical haemophilia (n = 3), severe classical haemophilia (n = 3) and healthy donors (n = 2), for sequencing by Illumina, NextSeq500. Based on bioinformatic analysis, AH patients were compared to all experimental groups and a significant number of altered transcripts were identified with one transcript being modified compared to all groups at fold change level. The Venn diagram shows that haemoglobin subunit alpha 1 was highlighted to be the common upregulated transcript in AH compared to classical haemophilia and healthy patients. Non-coding RNAs might play a role in AH pathogenesis; however, due to the rarity of HA, the current study needs to be translated on a larger number of AH samples and classical haemophilia samples to generate more solid data that can confirm our findings.Peer reviewe

Implications of oral dysbiosis and HPV infection in head and neck cancer: from molecular and cellular mechanisms to early diagnosis and therapy

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is the sixth most common type of cancer, with more than half a million new cases annually. This review focuses on the role of oral dysbiosis and HPV infection in HNCs, presenting the involved taxons, molecular effectors and pathways, as well as the HPV-associated particularities of genetic and epigenetic changes and of the tumor microenvironment occurred in different stages of tumor development. Oral dysbiosis is associated with the evolution of HNCs, through multiple mechanisms such as inflammation, genotoxins release, modulation of the innate and acquired immune response, carcinogens and anticarcinogens production, generation of oxidative stress, induction of mutations. Thus, novel microbiome-derived biomarkers and interventions could significantly contribute to achieving the desideratum of personalized management of oncologic patients, regarding both early diagnosis and treatment. The results reported by different studies are not always congruent regarding the variations in the abundance of different taxons in HNCs. However, there is a consistent reporting of a higher abundance of Gram-negative species such as Fusobacterium, Leptotrichia, Treponema, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella, Bacteroidetes, Haemophilus, Veillonella, Pseudomonas, Enterobacterales, which are probably responsible of chronic inflammation and modulation of tumor microenvironment. Candida albicans is the dominant fungi found in oral carcinoma being also associated with shorter survival rate. Specific microbial signatures (e.g., F. nucleatum, Bacteroidetes and Peptostreptococcus) have been associated with later stages and larger tumor, suggesting their potential to be used as biomarkers for tumor stratification and prognosis. On the other hand, increased abundance of Corynebacterium, Kingella, Abiotrophia is associated with a reduced risk of HNC. Microbiome could also provide biomarkers for differentiating between oropharyngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers as well as between HPV-positive and HPV-negative tumors. Ongoing clinical trials aim to validate non-invasive tests for microbiome-derived biomarkers detection in oral and throat cancers, especially within high-risk populations. Oro-pharyngeal dysbiosis could also impact the HNCs therapy and associated side-effects of radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. HPV-positive tumors harbor fewer mutations, as well as different DNA methylation pattern and tumor microenvironment. Therefore, elucidation of the molecular mechanisms by which oral microbiota and HPV infection influence the HNC initiation and progression, screening for HPV infection and vaccination against HPV, adopting a good oral hygiene, and preventing oral dysbiosis are important tools for advancing in the battle with this public health global challenge

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Ternary Oxidized Carbon Nanohorns/TiO2/PVP Nanohybrid as Sensitive Layer for Chemoresistive Humidity Sensor

The relative humidity (RH) sensing response of a chemoresistive sensor using a novel ternary hybrid nanocomposite film as a sensing element is presented. The sensitive layer was obtained by employing the drop-casting technique for depositing a thin film of nanocomposite between the electrodes of an interdigitated (IDT) structure. The sensing support structure consists of an IDT dual-comb structure fabricated on a oSi-SiO2 substrate. The IDT comprises chromium, as an adhesion layer (10 nm thickness), and a gold layer (100 nm thickness). The sensing capability of a novel thin film based on a ternary hybrid made of oxidated carbon nanohorns–titanium dioxide–polyvinylpyrrolidone (CNHox/TiO2/PVP) nanocomposite was investigated by applying a direct current with known intensity between the two electrodes of the sensing structure, and measuring the resulting voltage difference, while varying the RH from 0% to 100% in a humid nitrogen atmosphere. The ternary hybrid-based thin film’s resistance increased when the sensors were exposed to relative humidity ranging from 0 to 100%. It was found that the performance of the new chemoresistive sensor is consistent with that of the capacitive commercial sensor used as a benchmark. Raman spectroscopy was used to provide information on the composition of the sensing layer and on potential interactions between constituents. Several sensing mechanisms were considered and discussed, based on the interaction of water molecules with each component of the ternary nanohybrid. The sensing results obtained lead to the conclusion that the synergic effect of the p-type semiconductor behavior of the CNHox and the PVP swelling process plays a pivotal role in the overall resistance decrease of the sensitive film

Factors influencing recurrent reflux acute pyelonephritis in patients with JJ ureteral stent after discharge

The vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) after the insertion of a JJ stent is a pathological entity characterized by the impossibility of the vesicoureteric junction (VUJ) to exhibit its sphincterian functioning that allows the unidirectional flow of urine from the ureter to the bladder. This happens as long as the catheter is in place, and after its suppression due to traumatization of the ureterovesical junction, which loses its tonicity and ability to ensure urinary unidirectional flow. Reflux acute pyelonephritis is the acute inflammation of the renal tract and parenchyma resulting from stagnation of infected urine for long periods of time due to vesicoureteral reflux. We have noted multiple cases which, after the insertion of a JJ stent, presented reflux acute pyelonephritis due VUR, we considered the causes favoring these aspects. We focused on the frequency of reflux acute pyelonephritis and identified factors that could be used to advise patients with JJ stents

Management of Lung Cancer Presenting with Solitary Bone Metastasis

Lung neoplasm is the main cause of cancer-related mortality, and bone metastasis is among the most common secondary tumors. The vast majority of patients also present with multiple bone metastases, which makes systemic and adjuvant pain therapy preferable to surgery. The optimal approach for a resectable non-small-cell lung tumor that also presents a unique, resectable bone metastasis is not fully established. The number of papers addressing this subject is small, and most are case reports; nevertheless, survival rates seem to increase with radical surgery. The sequencing of local versus systemic treatment should always be discussed within the multidisciplinary team that will choose the best approach for each patient. As targeted systemic therapies become more accessible, radical surgery, together with existing reconstructive methods, will lead to an increase in life expectancy and a better quality of life