N7-methylguanosine modification of lncRNAs in a rat model of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension: a comprehensive analysis.

BACKGROUND: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a critical role in the pathogenesis of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (HPH). The role of N7-methylguanosine (m7G) modification in lncRNAs has received increased attentions in recent years. However, the m7G-methylation of lncRNA in HPH has yet to be determined. We have therefore performed a transcriptome-wide analysis of m7G lncRNAs in HPH. RESULTS: Differentially-expressed m7Gs were detected in HPH, and m7G lncRNAs were significantly upregulated compared with non-m7G lncRNAs in HPH. Importantly, this was the first time that the upregulated m7G lncXR_591973 and m7G lncXR_592398 were identified in HPH. CONCLUSION: This study provides the first m7G transcriptome-wide analysis of HPH. Importantly, two HPH-associated m7G lncRNAs were identified, although their clinical significance requires further validation.

Transcatheter arterial embolization for intercostal arterial bleeding in a patient after chest tube insertion.

Retrograde tube radiography is commonly used in cholangiography and pyelography. We present a case of massive chest tube bleeding 10 days after tube insertion with no noted contrast extravasation on contrast enhanced chest CT with active bleeding detected by retrograde radiography via the chest tube. Subsequent transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) was successfully performed as a definitive treatment to stop active bleeding. We consider that retrograde tube radiography may be an alternative diagnostic method for patients with active bleeding from a drainage tube, helping to localize bleeding points and presenting TAE an attractive, minimally invasive and effective treatment modality for intercostal artery rupture.

Primary hepatic angiosarcoma: A report of two cases and literature review.

Primary hepatic angiosarcoma (PHA) is a rare malignancy that carries a poor prognosis. Of 1500 patients who underwent hepatectomy for primary hepatic tumors between 1994 and 2013 at our center, two patients were pathologically diagnosed with PHA. Clinical characteristics, treatment modalities, and outcomes of the two patients were collected and analyzed. Both patients underwent hepatectomy and had a postoperative survival time of 8 and 16 mo, respectively. A search of PubMed yielded eight references reporting 35 cases of PHA published between 2004 and 2013. On the basis of the presented cases and review of the literature, we endorse complete surgical resection as the mainstay definitive treatment of PHA, with adjuvant postoperative chemotherapy potentially improving survival. Palliative chemotherapy is an option in advanced hepatic angiosarcoma.

Diffuse filiform polyposis of the small intestine without inflammatory bowel disease.

Filiform polyposis is a rare disease, which typically occurs in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. We report a case of filiform polyposis occurring in a 56-year-old man with no history or evidence of inflammatory bowel disease. The patient's main symptoms were melena and anemia. We performed an emergency exploratory laparotomy, in which we observed worm-like polyps spread almost along the entire small intestine, and a partial resection of the small intestine to treat bleeding in the bowel was carried out. Two days later, the patient was noted to have melena again, and we performed an abdominal angiographic embolization, successfully stopping the bleeding. Histologic evaluation of the excised specimen revealed chronic inflammatory cells within the lamina propria without hyperplastic or adenomatous epithelial changes. Although the surgery was very successful, careful management of the patient was required, owing to the great risk of re-bleeding.

Successful interventional radiological management of postoperative complications of laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy.

During the past decade, laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy (LDP) has gained increasing acceptance in the surgical community as a viable treatment option for distal pancreatic lesions. However, the possible complication of post-LDP pancreatic leakage remains a challenge, because it may lead to a series of events resulting in intraperitoneal abscess formation, sepsis, pseudoaneurysm formation, and occasional fatal hemorrhage. Dealing with these complications is extremely difficult and not much experience has been reported to date. We report a case involving the aforementioned post-LDP complications successfully managed by interventional radiological techniques while avoiding reoperation. We conclude that these management options are attractive, safe and minimally invasive alternatives to standard protocols.

Dermatoglyphics from all Chinese ethnic groups reveal geographic patterning.

Completion of a survey of dermatoglyphic variables for all ethnic groups in an ethnically diverse country like China is a huge research project, and an achievement that anthropological and dermatoglyphic scholars in the country could once only dream of. However, through the endeavors of scientists in China over the last 30 years, the dream has become reality. This paper reports the results of a comprehensive analysis of dermatoglyphics from all ethnic groups in China. Using cluster analysis and principal component analysis of dermatoglyphics, it has been found that Chinese populations can be generally divided into a southern group and a northern group. Furthermore, there has been considerable debate about the origins of many Chinese populations and about proper assignment of these peoples to larger ethnic groups. In this paper, we suggest that dermatoglyphic data can inform these debates by helping to classify a Chinese population as a northern or southern group, using selected reference populations and quantitative methods. This study is the first to assemble and investigate dermatoglyphics from all 56 Chinese ethnic groups. It is fortunate that data on population dermatoglyphics, a field of physical anthropology, have now been collected for all 56 Chinese ethnic groups, because intermarriage between individuals from different Chinese ethnic groups occurs more frequently in recent times, making population dermatoglyphic research an ever more challenging field of inquiry.