Rapid Increase in the Height and Width of the Upper Chest in Adolescents with Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax

BackgroundWe determined the chest height in a cohort of patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) who had received chest radiographic examinations prior to the attack. The aim of this study was to determine when their chest height began to change and how this was related to the PSP.MethodsFrom June 2009 to February 2012, the chest posteroanterior radiographs of 156 patients with PSP (Group 1) were reviewed. Among another 3134 patients with PSP, we identified 52 patients who had a chest posteroanterior radiograph prior to the attack (Group 2). We also recruited 196 controls for comparison (Group 3). The chest height and chest width at different levels were measured and analyzed.ResultsBefore 14 years of age, the chest height of patients in Group 2 was no different from that of patients in Group 3. By the age of 14 years, however, the chest height and upper chest width of patients with PSP was significantly higher than that of the normal controls. The difference from normal chest height did not increase at adulthood.ConclusionThe rapid increase in chest height and upper chest width is a unique finding in patients with PSP. It might be attributable to the occurrence of PSP. This finding may also help to identify patients who are at risk of PSP

Fluorescence of functionalized graphene quantum dots prepared from infrared-assisted pyrolysis of citric acid and urea

Abstract(#br)This paper reports an efficient fabrication of N-doped graphene quantum dots (GQDs) showing controllable chemical and fluorescence (FL) properties through infrared carbonization (IRC) of citric acid and urea. The GQDs prefer to form an equilibrium shapes of circle with an average particle size ranged from 5 to 10 nm. The N/C atomic ratio in GQDs can be precisely tailored in a range from 21.6 to 49.6 at.% by simply controlling the weight ratio of citric acid to urea. With increasing the urea content, the GQDs not only contain N-doped graphene but also incorporate with crystalline cyanuric acid, forming a binary crystallinity. The quantum yield of 22.2% is achieved by N-doped GQDs, prepared from the IRC synthesis of chemical precursor at the citric acid/urea at 3:1. Excessive N and cyanuric acid can lead to FL quenching, red shift and wide spectral distribution. The design of GQDs possesses a multiple chromophoric band-gap structure, originated from the presence of cyanuric acid, defect-related emissive traps, and functional group distributions. This work offers an effective and inspiring approach to engineering both chemical compositions and unique crystalline structures of GQDs, and will therefore facilitate their fundamental research and applications to optical, sensing, energy and biological fields

Women with endometriosis have higher comorbidities: Analysis of domestic data in Taiwan

AbstractEndometriosis, defined by the presence of viable extrauterine endometrial glands and stroma, can grow or bleed cyclically, and possesses characteristics including a destructive, invasive, and metastatic nature. Since endometriosis may result in pelvic inflammation, adhesion, chronic pain, and infertility, and can progress to biologically malignant tumors, it is a long-term major health issue in women of reproductive age. In this review, we analyze the Taiwan domestic research addressing associations between endometriosis and other diseases. Concerning malignant tumors, we identified four studies on the links between endometriosis and ovarian cancer, one on breast cancer, two on endometrial cancer, one on colorectal cancer, and one on other malignancies, as well as one on associations between endometriosis and irritable bowel syndrome, one on links with migraine headache, three on links with pelvic inflammatory diseases, four on links with infertility, four on links with obesity, four on links with chronic liver disease, four on links with rheumatoid arthritis, four on links with chronic renal disease, five on links with diabetes mellitus, and five on links with cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, etc.). The data available to date support that women with endometriosis might be at risk of some chronic illnesses and certain malignancies, although we consider the evidence for some comorbidities to be of low quality, for example, the association between colon cancer and adenomyosis/endometriosis. We still believe that the risk of comorbidity might be higher in women with endometriosis than that we supposed before. More research is needed to determine whether women with endometriosis are really at risk of these comorbidities

Nuclear Export and Import of Human Hepatitis B Virus Capsid Protein and Particles

It remains unclear what determines the subcellular localization of hepatitis B virus (HBV) core protein (HBc) and particles. To address this fundamental issue, we have identified four distinct HBc localization signals in the arginine rich domain (ARD) of HBc, using immunofluorescence confocal microscopy and fractionation/Western blot analysis. ARD consists of four tight clustering arginine-rich subdomains. ARD-I and ARD-III are associated with two co-dependent nuclear localization signals (NLS), while ARD-II and ARD-IV behave like two independent nuclear export signals (NES). This conclusion is based on five independent lines of experimental evidence: i) Using an HBV replication system in hepatoma cells, we demonstrated in a double-blind manner that only the HBc of mutant ARD-II+IV, among a total of 15 ARD mutants, can predominantly localize to the nucleus. ii) These results were confirmed using a chimera reporter system by placing mutant or wild type HBc trafficking signals in the heterologous context of SV40 large T antigen (LT). iii) By a heterokaryon or homokaryon analysis, the fusion protein of SV40 LT-HBc ARD appeared to transport from nuclei of transfected donor cells to nuclei of recipient cells, suggesting the existence of an NES in HBc ARD. This putative NES is leptomycin B resistant. iv) We demonstrated by co-immunoprecipitation that HBc ARD can physically interact with a cellular factor TAP/NXF1 (Tip-associated protein/nuclear export factor-1), which is known to be important for nuclear export of mRNA and proteins. Treatment with a TAP-specific siRNA strikingly shifted cytoplasmic HBc to nucleus, and led to a near 7-fold reduction of viral replication, and a near 10-fold reduction in HBsAg secretion. v) HBc of mutant ARD-II+IV was accumulated predominantly in the nucleus in a mouse model by hydrodynamic delivery. In addition to the revised map of NLS, our results suggest that HBc could shuttle rapidly between nucleus and cytoplasm via a novel TAP-dependent NES

Efficient Hydrogen Production from Methanol Using a Single-Site Pt1/CeO2 Catalyst.

Hydrogen is regarded as an attractive alternative energy carrier due to its high gravimetric energy density and only water production upon combustion. However, due to its low volumetric energy density, there are still some challenges in practical hydrogen storage and transportation. In the past decade, using chemical bonds of liquid organic molecules as hydrogen carriers to generate hydrogen in situ provided a feasible method to potentially solve this problem. Research efforts on liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) seek practical carrier systems and advanced catalytic materials that have the potential to reduce costs, increase reaction rate, and provide a more efficient catalytic hydrogen generation/storage process. In this work, we used methanol as a hydrogen carrier to release hydrogen in situ with the single-site Pt1/CeO2 catalyst. Moreover, in this reaction, compared with traditional nanoparticle catalysts, the single site catalyst displays excellent hydrogen generation efficiency, 40 times higher than 2.5 nm Pt/CeO2 sample, and 800 times higher compared to 7.0 nm Pt/CeO2 sample. This in-depth study highlights the benefits of single-site catalysts and paves the way for further rational design of highly efficient catalysts for sustainable energy storage applications

Elucidating the Origins of Subgap Tail States and Open-Circuit Voltage in Methylammonium Lead Triiodide Perovskite Solar Cells

Recombination via subgap trap states is considered a limiting factor in the development of organometal halide perovskite solar cells. Here, the impact of active layer crystallinity on the accumulated charge and open‐circuit voltage (Voc) in solar cells based on methylammonium lead triiodide (CH3NH3PbI3, MAPI) is demonstrated. It is shown that MAPI crystallinity can be systematically tailored by modulating the stoichiometry of the precursor mix, where small quantities of excess methylammonium iodide (MAI) improve crystallinity, increasing device Voc by ≈200 mV. Using in situ differential charging and transient photovoltage measurements, charge density and charge carrier recombination lifetime are determined under operational conditions. Increased Voc is correlated to improved active layer crystallinity and a reduction in the density of trap states in MAPI. Photoluminescence spectroscopy shows that an increase in trap state density correlates with faster carrier trapping and more nonradiative recombination pathways. Fundamental insights into the origin of Voc in perovskite photovoltaics are provided and it is demonstrated why highly crystalline perovskite films are paramount for high‐performance devices

ICAR: endoscopic skull‐base surgery

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MUSiC : a model-unspecific search for new physics in proton-proton collisions at root s=13TeV

Results of the Model Unspecific Search in CMS (MUSiC), using proton-proton collision data recorded at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1), are presented. The MUSiC analysis searches for anomalies that could be signatures of physics beyond the standard model. The analysis is based on the comparison of observed data with the standard model prediction, as determined from simulation, in several hundred final states and multiple kinematic distributions. Events containing at least one electron or muon are classified based on their final state topology, and an automated search algorithm surveys the observed data for deviations from the prediction. The sensitivity of the search is validated using multiple methods. No significant deviations from the predictions have been observed. For a wide range of final state topologies, agreement is found between the data and the standard model simulation. This analysis complements dedicated search analyses by significantly expanding the range of final states covered using a model independent approach with the largest data set to date to probe phase space regions beyond the reach of previous general searches.Peer reviewe

Measurement of prompt open-charm production cross sections in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

The production cross sections for prompt open-charm mesons in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13TeV are reported. The measurement is performed using a data sample collected by the CMS experiment corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 29 nb(-1). The differential production cross sections of the D*(+/-), D-+/-, and D-0 ((D) over bar (0)) mesons are presented in ranges of transverse momentum and pseudorapidity 4 < p(T) < 100 GeV and vertical bar eta vertical bar < 2.1, respectively. The results are compared to several theoretical calculations and to previous measurements.Peer reviewe