Modified Sistrunk Procedure in 391 Pediatric Thyroglossal Duct Cyst Cases: Clinical Analysis of Efficacy and Recurrence Risk.

Objectives: The study aims to retrospectively summarize the clinical features of pediatric thyroglossal duct cyst (TGDC), investigate the efficacy of the modified Sistrunk (mSis) procedure, and analyze the recurrence risks. Methods: The clinical data of 391 children with TGDC admitted to Beijing Children's Hospital affiliated Capital Medical University and Baoding Children's Hospital from March 2012 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent cervical ultrasound for preoperative evaluation. Twenty cases had magnetic resonance imaging and 8 cases had computed tomography for further evaluation. All patients underwent the standard mSis procedure, and clinical manifestations information, surgical information, complications, and prognosis were analyzed. Results: Among the 391 TGDC cases, 118 (30.2%) had a history of recurrent neck infection and 36 (9.2%) had undergone previous neck cyst and fistula resection surgeries, initially diagnosed as neck cyst (22 cases), TGDC (12 cases), or branchial fistula (2 cases), with only 6 cases having undergone partial hyoid bone resection in the previous operation. During the 15 to 156 months of follow-up, 10 children experienced local wound infection, but no other complications were reported. The recurrence rate was 2.30%, and the recurrence time ranged from 0.5 to 34 (average, 7.2) months post surgery. In the Poisson regression model examining factors related to recurrence, the P values of the 3 factors were <.05: clearness of the lesion boundary, surgical history, and maximum diameter and the relative risk (RR) values corresponding to the 3 risk factors, such as Exp (B), were 27.918, 10.054, and 6.606, respectively. Conclusions: The mSis procedure demonstrated safety and efficacy with fewer complications and a low recurrence rate of 2.30% in the study. Furthermore, the indistinct lesion boundary, surgical history, and large lesion diameter (>2 cm) were independent risk factors for recurrence in pediatric TGDC.Level of Evidence: IV.

Urodynamic Abnormalities in Children with Primary Bilateral Vesicoureteral Reflux.

BACKGROUND: Bilateral vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) has been associated with poor long-term prognosis, and research focusing exclusively on its effect on urinary bladder function is lacking. This study aims to assess the urodynamic characteristics of children with bilateral VUR and identify factors influencing renal function. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on children diagnosed with bilateral VUR who underwent urodynamic examination in the outpatient department of our institution from January 2019 to January 2023. All patients underwent comprehensive assessments, including voiding cystourethrography, urinary system ultrasound and urodynamic examination, to analyse the urodynamic features associated with different clinical characteristics. RESULTS: The study included 148 children with bilateral VUR, amongst whom 92 (62.2%) exhibited urodynamic abnormalities, including idiopathic detrusor overactivity (DO) in 30 cases (20.3%) and dysfunctional voiding (DV) in 58 cases (39.2%). DV was prevalent in children under 5 years of age, whereas idiopathic DO was predominantly observed in children older than 2 years of age. Children older than 5 years of age exhibited a trend towards reduced bladder volume, whereas those younger than 2 years of age often had increased bladder volume and residual urine. Multivariate analysis identified bilateral severe VUR as an independent risk factor for abnormal estimated glomerular filtration rate. CONCLUSIONS: DV tends to be more common in younger children with larger bladder volumes and increased residual urine than in older children. By contrast, older children are more susceptible to idiopathic DO associated with smaller bladder volumes than younger children. Bilateral severe reflux increases the likelihood of renal functional abnormalities, which appear to be a consequence of congenital scarring rather than abnormalities in bladder function.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of 5H-[1,2,4]triazino[5,6-b]indole derivatives bearing a pyridinocycloalkyl moiety as iron chelators.

The avidity of cancer cells for iron highlights the potential for iron chelators to be used in cancer therapy. Herein, we designed and synthesized a novel series of 5H-[1,2,4]triazino[5,6-b]indole derivatives bearing a pyridinocycloalkyl moiety using a ring-fusion strategy based on the structure of an iron chelator, VLX600. The antiproliferative activity evaluation against cancer cells and normal cells led to the identification of compound 3k, which displayed the strongest antiproliferative activity in vitro against A549, MCF-7, Hela and HepG-2 with IC50 values of 0.59, 0.86, 1.31 and 0.92 µM, respectively, and had lower cytotoxicity against HEK293 than VLX600. Further investigations revealed that unlike VLX600, compound 3k selectively bound to ferrous ions, but not to ferric ions, and addition of Fe2+ abolished the cytotoxicity of 3k. Flow cytometry assays demonstrated that 3k arrested the cell cycle at the G1 phase and induced significant apoptosis in A549 cells in dose and time-dependent manners, corresponding to JC-1 staining assay results. Western blot analysis of Bcl-2, Bax and cleaved caspase-3 proteins further provided evidences that induction of apoptosis by 3k in A549 cells might be at least via the mitochondria pathway. These above results highlight that 3k is a valuable lead compound that deserves further investigation as an iron chelator for the treatment of cancer.

Skeletal muscle cystathionine γ-lyase deficiency promotes obesity and insulin resistance and results in hyperglycemia and skeletal muscle injury upon HFD in mice.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to investigate whether skeletal muscle cystathionine γ-lyase (CTH) contributes to high-fat diet (HFD)-induced metabolic disorders using skeletal muscle Cth knockout (CthΔskm) mice. METHODS: The CthΔskm mice and littermate Cth-floxed (Cthf/f) mice were fed with either HFD or chow diet for 13 weeks. Metabolomics and transcriptome analysis were used to assess the impact of CTH deficiency in skeletal muscle. RESULTS: Metabolomics coupled with transcriptome showed that CthΔskm mice displayed impaired energy metabolism and some signaling pathways linked to insulin resistance (IR) in skeletal muscle although the mice had normal insulin sensitivity. HFD led to reduced CTH expression and impaired energy metabolism in skeletal muscle in Cthf/f mice. CTH deficiency and HFD had some common pathways enriched in the aspects of amino acid metabolism, carbon metabolism, and fatty acid metabolism. CthΔskm+HFD mice exhibited increased body weight gain, fasting blood glucose, plasma insulin, and IR, and reduced glucose transporter 4 and CD36 expression in skeletal muscle compared to Cthf/f+HFD mice. Impaired mitochondria and irregular arrangement in myofilament occurred in CthΔskm+HFD mice. Omics analysis showed differential pathways enriched between CthΔskm mice and Cthf/f mice upon HFD. More severity in impaired energy metabolism, reduced AMPK signaling, and increased oxidative stress and ferroptosis occurred in CthΔskm+HFD mice compared to Cthf/f+HFD mice. DISCUSSION: Our results indicate that skeletal muscle CTH expression dysregulation contributes to metabolism disorders upon HFD.

Risk factors, impact and treatment of postoperative lymphatic leakage in children with abdominal neuroblastoma operated on by laparotomy.

BACKGROUND: Lymphatic leakage is one of the postoperative complications of neuroblastoma. The purpose of this study is to summarize the clinical characteristics and risk factors of lymphatic leakage and try to find effective prevention and treatment measures. METHODS: A retrospective study included 186 children with abdominal neuroblastoma, including 32 children of lymphatic leakage and 154 children of non-lymphatic leakage. The clinical information, surgical data, postoperative abdominal drainage, treatment of lymphatic leakage and prognosis of the two groups were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: The incidence of lymphatic leakage in this cohort was 14% (32 children). Through univariate analysis of lymphatic leakage group and non-lymphatic leakage group, we found that lymphatic leakage increased the complications, prolonged the time of abdominal drainage and hospitalization, and delayed postoperative chemotherapy (p < 0.05). In this cohort, the median follow-up time was 46 (95% CI: 44-48) months. The follow-up data of 7 children were partially missing. 147 children survived, of which 23 had tumor recurrence (5 children recurred in the surgical area). 37 children died, of which 32 had tumor recurrence (9 children recurred in the operation area). In univariate analysis, there was no statistical difference in overall survival (p = 0.21) and event-free survival (p = 0.057) between lymphatic leakage group and non-lymphatic leakage group, while 3-year cumulative incidence of local progression was higher in lymphatic leakage group (p = 0.015). However, through multivariate analysis, we found that lymphatic leakage did not affect event-free survival, overall survival and cumulative incidence of local progression in children with neuroblastoma. Resection of 5 or more lymphatic regions was an independent risk factor for lymphatic leakage after neuroblastoma surgery. All 32 children with lymphatic leakage were cured by conservative treatment without surgery. Of these, 75% (24/32) children were cured by fat-free diet or observation, 25% (8/32) children were cured by total parenteral nutrition. The median drain output at diagnosis in total parenteral nutrition group was higher than that in non-total parenteral nutrition group (p < 0.001). The cut-off value was 17.2 ml/kg/day. CONCLUSIONS: Lymphatic leakage does not affect the prognosis of children with neuroblastoma, but long-term drain output caused by lymphatic leakage will still adversely affect postoperative complications and follow-up treatment, which requires attention and active treatment measures. More attention should be paid to the children with 5 or more lymphatic regions resection, and the injured lymphatic vessels should be actively found and ligated after tumor resection to reduce the postoperative lymphatic leakage. Early application of total parenteral nutrition is recommended for those who have drain output at diagnosis of greater than 17.2 ml/kg/day. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, Treatment study (Retrospective comparative study).

Therapeutic targeting of TNIK in papillary thyroid carcinoma: a novel approach for tumor growth suppression.

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is a common endocrine malignancy. The pathology of PTC is far from clear. As a kinase that can be targeted, the role of TNIK in PTC has not been investigated. This study was focused on the effects and molecular mechanisms of TNIK in PTC. Both public datasets and clinical specimens were used to verify TNIK expression. The effects of TNIK were investigated in both cell lines and mice models. Transcriptome analysis was used to explore the underlying mechanism of TNIK. Immunofluorescence, wound healing, and qRT-PCR assays were used to validate the mechanism of TNIK in PTC. The therapeutic effects of TNIK inhibitor NCB-0846 were evaluated by flow cytometry, western blot, and subcutaneous xenografts mice. TNIK expression was upregulated in PTC tissues. TNIK knockdown could suppress cell proliferation and tumor growth in no matter cell models or nude mice. The transcriptome analysis, GO enrichment analysis, and GSEA analysis results indicated TNIK was highly correlated with cytoskeleton, cell motility, and Wnt pathways. The mechanistic studies demonstrated that TNIK regulated cytoskeleton remodeling and promoted cell migration. NCB-0846 significantly inhibited TNIK kinase activity, induced cell apoptosis, and activated apoptosis-related proteins in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, NCB-0846 inhibited tumor growth in tumor-bearing mice. In summary, we proposed a novel regulatory mechanism in which TNIK-mediated cytoskeleton remodeling and cell migration to regulate tumor progression in PTC. TNIK is a therapeutic target in PTC and NCB-0846 would act as a novel targeted drug for PTC therapy.

Clinical Analysis of 76 Cases of Second Branchial Cleft Fistula.

Objective: To provide the experience of diagnosis and treatment of second branchial cleft fistula in children. Methods: The clinical data of 76 children with second branchial cleft fistulas admitted to Beijing Children's Hospital affiliated with Capital Medical University from January 2016 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent cervical ultrasonography and resection of the second branchial cleft fistula, and their clinical manifestations, surgical methods, complications, recurrence condition, and lesion appearance of the patients were analyzed. Results: Among the 76 cases, the lesions of 43 cases were on the right side, 20 were on the left side, and 13 were bilateral, for a total of 89 lesions. There were 49 type I lesions, 28 type II lesions, 8 type III lesions, and 4 type IV lesions. Type I and type II cases underwent complete excision of the fistula through a small incision in the neck; 2 cases of type III branchial cleft fistulas were treated with trapezoidal incision; 2 cases of type III branchial cleft fistulas underwent single transverse incisions; single small incision-assisted endoscopic resection was adopted in 4 cases of type III and 4 cases of type IV branchial cleft fistulas. During the follow-up period of 6 to 60 months, only 3 cases developed postoperative infection, the others had no postoperative complications, and no cases had recurrence during postoperative follow-up. Conclusion: The incision of the second branchial fistula should be selected according to imaging examination to achieve removal of the fistula while maintaining esthetics.

Safety of Continuing Aspirin Use in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease Who Undergo Thyroid Surgery During the Perioperative Period.

Objective: To investigate the safety of continuing aspirin use in patients with coronary heart disease undergoing thyroid surgery during the perioperative period. Methods: Forty-four patients with coronary heart disease who underwent thyroid surgery in our department from July 2019 to June 2023 were selected as the observation group, and the observation group continued to use aspirin during the perioperative period. Forty-four patients who underwent the same surgery during the same period without coronary heart disease and without anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy were selected as control group 1. Another 44 patients with coronary heart disease who underwent the same surgery from August 2015 to June 2019 and used low molecular weight heparin bridging during the perioperative period were selected as control group 2. Clinical data from the 3 groups of patients were collected for retrospective analysis. Results: The age and proportion of male patients in the observation group and control group 2 were higher than those in control group 1, and the total hospital stay in control group 2 was longer than in the observation group and control group 1, with statistically significant differences (all P < .05). There were no statistically significant differences in surgical time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage volume, duration of drainage tube retention, postoperative hospital stay, and perioperative hemoglobin, platelet, and international normalized ratio between the 3 groups of patients (all P > .05). All patients in the 3 groups successfully completed surgery without serious complications or death during the perioperative period. Conclusion: Continuing to use aspirin in patients with coronary heart disease who undergo thyroid surgery during the perioperative period can safely complete surgery without increasing the risk of intraoperative and postoperative bleeding.

Pediatric obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis: leveraging machine learning with linear discriminant analysis.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a machine learning algorithm in diagnosing OSA in children based on clinical features that can be obtained in nonnocturnal and nonmedical environments. Patients and methods: This study was conducted at Beijing Children's Hospital from April 2018 to October 2019. The participants in this study were 2464 children aged 3-18 suspected of having OSA who underwent clinical data collection and polysomnography(PSG). Participants' data were randomly divided into a training set and a testing set at a ratio of 8:2. The elastic net algorithm was used for feature selection to simplify the model. Stratified 10-fold cross-validation was repeated five times to ensure the robustness of the results. Results: Feature selection using Elastic Net resulted in 47 features for AHI ≥5 and 31 features for AHI ≥10 being retained. The machine learning model using these selected features achieved an average AUC of 0.73 for AHI ≥5 and 0.78 for AHI ≥10 when tested externally, outperforming models based on PSG questionnaire features. Linear Discriminant Analysis using the selected features identified OSA with a sensitivity of 44% and specificity of 90%, providing a feasible clinical alternative to PSG for stratifying OSA severity. Conclusions: This study shows that a machine learning model based on children's clinical features effectively identifies OSA in children. Establishing a machine learning screening model based on the clinical features of the target population may be a feasible clinical alternative to nocturnal OSA sleep diagnosis.

[Long-term auditory monitoring in children with Alport syndrome based on different degrees of renal injury].

Objective:To investigate long-term auditory changes and characteristics of Alport syndrome（AS） patients with different degrees of renal injury. Methods:Retrospectively analyzing clinical data of patients diagnosed AS from January 2007 to September 2022, including renal pathology, genetic detection and hearing examination. A long-term follow-up focusing on hearing and renal function was conducted. Results:This study included 70 AS patients, of which 33（25 males, 8 females, aged 3.4-27.8 years） were followed up, resulting in a loss rate of 52.9%.The follow-up period ranged from 1.1to 15.8 years, with 16 patients followed-up for over 10 years. During the follow-up, 10 patients presenting with hearing abnormalities at the time of diagnosis of AS had progressive hearing loss, and 3 patients with new hearing abnormalities were followed up, which appeared at 5-6 years of disease course. All of which were sensorineural deafness. While only 3 patients with hearing abnormalities among 13 patients received hearing aid intervention. Of these patients,7 developed end-stage renal disease（ESRD）, predominantly males （6/7）. The rate of long-term hearing loss was significantly different between ESRD group and non-ESRD group（P=0.013）. There was no correlation between the progression of renal disease and long-term hearing level（P>0.05）. kidney biopsies from 28 patients revealed varying degrees of podocyte lesion and uneven thickness of basement membrane. The severity of podocyte lesion was correlated with the rate of long-term hearing loss（P=0.048）, and there was no correlation with the severity of hearing loss（P>0.05）. Among 11 cases, theCOL4A5mutationwas most common （8 out of 11）, but there was no significant correlation between the mutation type and hearing phenotype（P>0.05）. Conclusion:AS patients exhibit progressive hearing loss with significant heterogeneity over the long-term.. THearing loss is more likely to occur 5-6 years into the disease course. Hearing abnormalities are closely related to renal disease status, kidney tissue pathology, and gene mutations, emphasizing the need for vigilant long-term hearing follow-up and early intervention.

Characteristics of ADHD Symptoms and EEG Theta/Beta Ratio in Children With Sleep Disordered Breathing.

Objectives. This study aimed to explore parent-reported symptoms of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) theta/beta ratio (TBR) characteristics in children with sleep disordered breathing (SDB). Methods. The parents of children (aged 6-11 years) with SDB (n = 103) and healthy controls (n = 28) completed the SNAP-IV questionnaire, and children underwent overnight polysomnography. Children with SDB were grouped according to obstructive apnea/hypopnea index: primary snoring, mild, and moderate-severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) groups. The TBR in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) periods in three sleep cycles was analyzed. Results. Children with SDB showed worse ADHD symptoms compared with the healthy control. There was no intergroup difference in TBR. The time-related decline in TBR observed in the control, primary snoring and mild OSA groups, which was not observed in the moderate-severe OSA group. Overnight transcutaneous oxygen saturation was negatively associated with the hyperactivity/impulsivity score of ADHD symptom. The global TBR during the NREM period in the first sleep cycle was positively correlated with inattention score. Conclusion. Children with SDB showed more ADHD inattention symptoms than the healthy control. Although we found no difference in TBR among groups, we found significant main effect for NREM period. There existed a relationship between hypoxia, TBR, and scores of ADHD symptoms. Hence, it was speculated that TBR can reflect the nocturnal electrophysiological manifestations in children with SDB, which may be related to daytime ADHD symptoms.

Pediatric spindle cell/sclerosing rhabdomyosarcoma with FUS-TFCP2 fusion: a case report and literature review.

Background: FUS-TFCP2 gene fusion is a recently identified and highly distinct molecular subtype of spindle cell/sclerosing rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), with fewer than 40 cases being reported to date. Due to its low incidence, clinical studies on this subtype are limited. Here, we report a new case of this rare entity to describe and summarize its unique clinical characteristics and treatment process, aiming to emphasize the importance of molecular testing for spindle cell/sclerosing RMS and increase the understanding of this subtype. By summarizing and comparing with previous reports on RMS with the EWSR1/FUS-TFCP2 fusion mutation, we hope to make some new hints for its management. Case Description: In this report, we describe a rare case of spindle cell/sclerosing RMS in a 13-year-old boy, who had a massive destructive lesion involving the mandible. Next-generation sequencing of tumor tissue revealing a FUS-TFCP2 fusion. The tumor was extremely aggressive and showed resistance to polychemotherapy, after 4 cycles of multi drug combined chemotherapy, the primary tumor still continued to grow, and suspicious chest metastasis occurred. Even after aggressive total resection of the primary tumor and postoperative chemotherapy, systemic metastasis to the vertebra and chest could not be prevented yet, ultimately with a fatal outcome within 6 months. We additionally summarize 37 cases of RMS with the EWSR1/FUS-TFCP2 fusion mutation reported in the literature. This subtype was found to be almost exclusively primary in bone and histologically showed a common origin of epithelium and muscle. The high aggressiveness made the conventional standard chemoradiotherapy ineffective. Because most tumors of this subtype express ALK protein, ALK inhibitors seem to be a new target for its therapy. Conclusions: Spindle cell/sclerosing RMS with FUS-TFCP2 fusion has its unique clinical characteristics and progression. It shows a marked skeletal predilection and an aggressive clinical course, typically resistant to traditional standard treatments for RMS. Therefore, molecular detection is crucial in managing this subtype. Once the diagnosis is clear, a more aggressive treatment plan is needed. In addition, almost all cases were found to have a positive expression of ALK. So ALK inhibitors can be a choice of targeted therapy.

Research progress of Paris polyphylla in the treatment of digestive tract cancers.

Cancer has become one of the most important causes of human death. In particular, the 5 year survival rate of patients with digestive tract cancer is low. Although chemotherapy drugs have a certain efficacy, they are highly toxic and prone to chemotherapy resistance. With the advancement of antitumor research, many natural drugs have gradually entered basic clinical research. They have low toxicity, few adverse reactions, and play an important synergistic role in the combined targeted therapy of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. A large number of studies have shown that the active components of Paris polyphylla (PPA), a common natural medicinal plant, can play an antitumor role in a variety of digestive tract cancers. In this paper, the main components of PPA such as polyphyllin, C21 steroids, sterols, and flavonoids, amongst others, are introduced, and the mechanisms of action and research progress of PPA and its active components in the treatment of various digestive tract cancers are reviewed and summarized. The main components of PPA have been thoroughly explored to provide more detailed references and innovative ideas for the further development and utilization of similar natural antitumor drugs.

NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation During Acute Negative Pressure Injury in the Middle Ear of Mice.

HYPOTHESIS: The present study was conducted to explore the role of the NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome in mouse otic barotrauma models. BACKGROUND: Previous studies suggest that the NLRP3 inflammasome plays an important role in the pathogenesis of middle ear disease. However, whether middle ear negative pressure injury underlies NLRP3 inflammasome activation remains unclear. METHODS: Wild-type and Nlrp3 -/- mice were randomly assigned to control and pressure injury groups, respectively. Pressure loading was performed using a pressure cabin with the pressure level set to 20 kPa higher than that of the ambient atmosphere. This was achieved in approximately 15 seconds and maintained for 10 minutes. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed to detect morphological changes of the middle ear mucosa, tissue IL-1ß was measured via an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and cleaved caspase-1 was detected by Western blot. RESULTS: We found that the maturation of caspase-1 and IL-1ß production in the middle ear significantly increased after otic barotrauma. In Nlrp3 -/- mice, inflammasome activation is downregulated and mucosal hyperplasia is reduced compared with those of wild-type mice during recovery. CONCLUSION: The NLRP3 inflammasome likely plays an important role in the pathogenesis of otic barotrauma. Controlling activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome may promote middle ear recovery after negative pressure injury.

Animal study: Basic mechanism of vocal cord paralysis caused by button battery ingestion in children.

PURPOSE: Vocal cord paralysis has been reported as a common complication of button battery (BB) ingestion, and there is a need to confirm the mechanism of vocal cord paralysis for the development of a standardized treatment. METHODS: A new CR2032 BB and artificial saliva were placed in a fresh pig esophagus with the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN); the negative electrode faced the nerve in the experimental group, while the positive electrode faced the nerve in the control group. The pH values of the intra- and extraesophageal walls were measured simultaneously. Pathological examination was performed after the esophagus and nerves were damaged. RESULTS: After BB ingestion, the pH near the intraesophageal negative electrode increased rapidly, reaching 11.5 at 30 min and over 14 at 6 h, while the extraesophageal pH did not change at 1 h and began to accelerate after 2 h, reaching 10 at 6 h. After 6 h of exposure, the pathological section showed that the structure of the mucosa, submucosa, and muscle layer were destroyed; chromatin in the nucleus faded, and part of the nerve bundle in the adventitia had liquefaction necrosis. CONCLUSION: The basic mechanism of vocal cord paralysis caused by BB ingestion is that the OH- generated by the electrolytic reaction of the negative electrode penetrates the esophageal wall and corrodes the RLN, which may be the cause of vocal cord paralysis caused by BB ingestion without esophageal perforation.

ZnO-Au@ZIF-8 core-shell nanorod arrays for ppb-level NO2 detection.

ZnO-Au@ZIF-8 core-shell heterostructures were prepared by ZIF-8 encapsulation of sacrificial ZnO-Au nanorods. Because of the catalytic activity of the Au nanoparticles and the sieving effects of the ZIF-8, the ZnO-Au@ZIF-8 heterostructures showed an outstanding response of 1.8 to 5 ppb NO2, and exhibited higher selectivity, stability, anti-humidity and fast response and recovery properties. The combination of the gas-selective catalytic activity of noble metals with the MOF filter used in this work can be easily extended to synthesize other types of MOS@MOF sensors, opening a new avenue for the detection of hazardous gases.

LncRNA ZNF674-AS1 drives cell growth and inhibits cisplatin-induced pyroptosis via up-regulating CA9 in neuroblastoma.

Neuroblastoma (NB) is a challenging pediatric extracranial solid tumor characterized by a poor prognosis and resistance to chemotherapy. Identifying targets to enhance chemotherapy sensitivity in NB is of utmost importance. Increasing evidence implicates long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in cancer, but their functional roles remain largely unexplored. Here, we analyzed our RNA sequencing data and identified the upregulated lncRNA ZNF674-AS1 in chemotherapy non-responsive NB patients. Elevated ZNF674-AS1 expression is associated with poor prognosis and high-risk NB. Importantly, targeting ZNF674-AS1 expression in NB cells suppressed tumor growth in vivo. Further functional studies have revealed that ZNF674-AS1 constrains cisplatin sensitivity by suppressing pyroptosis and promoting cell proliferation. Moreover, ZNF674-AS1 primarily relies on CA9 to fulfill its functions on cisplatin resistance. High CA9 levels were associated with high-risk NB and predicted poor patient outcomes. Mechanistically, ZNF674-AS1 directly interacted with the RNA binding protein IGF2BP3 to enhance the stability of CA9 mRNA by binding with CA9 transcript, leading to elevated CA9 expression. As a novel regulator of CA9, IGF2BP3 positively upregulated CA9 expression. Together, these results expand our understanding of the cancer-associated function of lncRNAs, highlighting the ZNF674-AS1/IGF2BP3/CA9 axis as a constituting regulatory mode in NB tumor growth and cisplatin resistance. These insights reveal the pivotal role of ZNF674-AS1 inhibition in recovering cisplatin sensitivity, thus providing potential therapeutic targets for NB treatment.

Treatment of nasolabial fold rhabdomyosarcoma in children: A single-institution experience.

OBJECTIVES: To summarize the clinical characteristics and prognosis of children with nasolabial fold rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). METHODS: Retrospective review of children treated for nasolabial fold RMS from January 2014 to September 2019. RESULTS: Of 21 patients with nasolabial fold RMS, 90.48% were alveolar subtype, in which PAX3/7-FOXO1 fusion positive accounted for 87.5%. Ten patients (47.62%) had nodals invasion. Almost all patients received comprehensive treatment (chemotherapy [100%], radiation therapy [100%], and surgery [95.24%]). The median follow-up time was 34.3 months. The 3-year overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) was 67.7% ± 14.1% and 42.1% ± 13.5%, respectively. Four patients had regional lymph node relapse (NR), all in the ipsilateral submandibular lymph node region. CONCLUSION: Majority of the patients with RMS in the nasolabial fold area were alveolar subtype and had positive PAX3/7-FOXO1 gene fusion. In addition, the nasolabial fold RMS had a high probability of regional lymph node metastasis in the submandibular area. To maintain the facial aesthetics and functions, the surgical area for nasolabial fold RMS is often very conservative and restricted. This could be one of the contributors for the poor prognosis of nasolabial fold RMS beside its worse pathological subtype and gene fusion.

Impaired declarative memory consolidation in children with REM sleep-related obstructive sleep apnea.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: We explored whether declarative memory consolidation is impaired in children with rapid eye movement sleep-related obstructive sleep apnea (REM-OSA) and investigated the correlation between memory consolidation and sleep-related respiratory parameters. METHODS: Participants were children with habitual snoring aged 6-14 years and control children. Participants underwent polysomnography and declarative memory testing. Participants with snoring were categorized as primary snoring (PS), non-rapid eye movement sleep-related obstructive sleep apnea (NREM-OSA), stage-independent (SI)-OSA, and REM-OSA according to obstructive apnea-hypopnea index (OAHI), OAHI in REM sleep (OAHIREM), and OAHI in NREM sleep (OAHINREM). Declarative memory consolidation level was assessed by recall and recognition rates. RESULTS: There were 34 controls and 228 children with sleep-disordered breathing: 73 PS, 48 NREM-OSA, 59 SI-OSA, and 48 REM-OSA. Total arousal index was lower in the REM-OSA group than in the NREM-OSA group. In all groups, retest scores were higher than immediate test scores. Recall consolidation in PS, SI-OSA, and REM-OSA groups was lower than for controls and lower in REM-OSA than in NREM-OSA. There were no correlations between recall consolidation or recognition consolidation and OAHI, OAHINREM, oxygen desaturation index in REM sleep, total arousal index, or REM sleep percent. Recognition consolidation was negatively correlated with OAHIREM. CONCLUSIONS: Memory consolidation is impaired in children with REM-OSA compared with NREM-OSA and controls. There was no significant correlation between memory consolidation and OAHI, and recognition consolidation was negatively correlated with OAHIREM. It is important to pay attention to the OSA subtype in children. CITATION: Tang Y, Yang C, Wang C, Wu Y, Xu Z, Ni X. Impaired declarative memory consolidation in children with REM sleep-related obstructive sleep apnea. J Clin Sleep Med. 2024;20(3):417-425.

A Case of Nasopharyngeal Pleomorphic Lipoma.

We describe the presentation and treatment of the first reported case of a nasopharyngeal pleomorphic lipoma. The mass was successfully treated with a combined endoscopic trans-oral surgical excision approach by using low temperature-controlled plasma technology, resulting in optimal patient outcomes. Laryngoscope, 134:2710-2712, 2024.