Unusual coexistence: branchial cleft cyst harboring papillary thyroid carcinoma with lymph node metastasis - a rare case report and clinical insights.

Background: The simultaneous occurrence of Branchial Cleft Cyst (BCC) and Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma (PTC) represents an unusual malignant tumor, with cases featuring associated lymph node metastasis being particularly rare. This combination underscores an increased potential for metastasis, and the assessment of neck masses, particularly on the lateral aspect, may inadvertently overlook the scrutiny of the thyroid. Therefore, healthcare providers should exercise vigilance, especially in patients over the age of 40, regarding the potential for neck masses to signify metastasis from thyroid malignancies. Currently, surgical intervention stands as the primary effective curative method, while the postoperative administration of radioactive iodine therapy remains a topic of ongoing debate. Case report: In the presented case, a 48-year-old male patient with a right neck mass underwent surgical intervention. The procedure included the excision of the right neck mass, unilateral thyroidectomy with isthmus resection, and functional neck lymph node dissection under tracheal intubation and general anesthesia. Postoperative pathology findings revealed the coexistence of a BCC with metastatic PTC in the right neck mass, as well as papillary carcinoma in the right thyroid lobe. Lymph node metastasis was observed in the central and levels III of the right neck. Conclusion: The rare amalgamation of a BCC with PTC and concurrent lymph node metastasis underscores the invasive nature of this malignancy. Healthcare professionals should be well-acquainted with its clinical presentation, pathological characteristics, and diagnostic criteria. A multidisciplinary approach is strongly recommended to enhance patient outcomes.

The feasibility and clinical significance of lateral approach thyroidectomy.

BACKGROUND: By comparing the three lateral approaches to thyroidectomy, the feasibility and clinical effects were analyzed, and the advantages of the lateral approach were summarized. METHODS: From January 2022 to January 2023, 52 patients with thyroid cancer admitted to our department were selected and subjected to Lateral approach for thyroidectomy. Among them, 31 patients underwent thyroidectomy via the supraclavicular approach, 13 patients underwent endoscopic thyroidectomy via the subclavicular approach, and 8 patients underwent endoscopic thyroidectomy via the axillary approach. The basic conditions, surgical conditions, complications, postoperative pain scores and postoperative satisfaction of patients in the three approach surgery groups were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: There were no significant differences among the three approach groups in terms of patient characteristics, number of central lymph node dissections, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage volume, duration of drainage tube placement, length of hospital stay, postoperative pain, satisfaction, and complications. However, the operation time was longest in the subclavicular approach group, followed by the axillary approach group, and shortest in the supraclavicular approach group. The total hospitalization cost was highest in the axillary approach group, followed by the subclavicular approach group, and lowest in the supraclavicular approach group. CONCLUSION: The lateral approach for thyroidectomy is deemed a safe and effective method. The three different approach paths gradually increase in length, allowing for the accumulation of anatomical experience. This approach has a shorter learning curve for clinical doctors and is a favorable choice for patients seeking aesthetic benefits.

Angiosarcoma of the breast: A review.

Breast angiosarcoma is a rare and highly aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis. It can occur spontaneously or be associated with factors such as radiation therapy or chronic lymphedema. The etiology and pathogenesis of this disease are still unclear, the clinical symptoms and imaging findings lack specificity, and the pathological morphology is diverse, which is easy to be confused with other diseases. There is no clear guideline for surgical treatment. Although the optimal surgical approach remains unclear, the ultimate goal is surgical excision with optimal margins, which remains the primary method of treatment. In clinical practice, the choice of the surgical approach should be made by considering the tumor size, pathological type, and patient preferences. In clinical practice, the selection of surgical methods should be carried out with comprehensive consideration of tumor size, pathological types and patients' wishes. There is no clear consensus on whether radiotherapy and chemotherapy should be carried out after surgery, and its optimal program and efficacy are uncertain. This article reviews the etiology, clinical manifestations, pathological features, imaging findings, treatment, prognosis and other aspects of breast angiosarcoma, so as to strengthen clinicians' overall understanding of this disease and avoid missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis.

In Situ Anodic Oxidation Tuning of NiFeV Diselenide to the Core-Shell Heterojunction for Boosting Oxygen Evolution.

Developing non-noble metal-based core-shell heterojunction electrocatalysts with high catalytic activity and long-lasting stability is crucial for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Here, we prepared novel core-shell Fe,V-NiSe2@NiFe(OH)x heterostructured nanoparticles on hydrophilic-treated carbon paper with high electronic transport and large surface area for accelerating the oxygen evolution rate via high-temperature selenization and electrochemical anodic oxidation procedures. Performance testing shows that Fe,V-NiSe2@NiFe(OH)x possesses the highest performance for OER compared to as-prepared diselenide core-derived heterojunctions, which only require an overpotential of 243 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and a low Tafel slope of 91.6 mV decade-1 under basic conditions. Furthermore, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirm the morphology and elementary stabilities of Fe,V-NiSe2@NiFe(OH)x after long-term chronopotentiometric testing. These advantages are largely because of the strong synergistic effect between the Fe,V-NiSe2 core with high conductivity and the amorphous NiFe(OH)x shell with enriched defects and vacancies. This study also presents a general approach to designing and synthesizing more active core-shell heterojunction electrocatalysts for OER.

[Potential targets of Euodiae Fructus in treatment of insomnia based on network pharmacology].

The acupoint application of Euodiae Fructus at Yongquan(KI1) can significantly improve the sleep quality of patients with insomnia with berberine as the main effective component for the efficacy. Nineteen active compounds and 203 drug targets were screened out from Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP). After comparison with GeneCards and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man(OMIM), 24 common genes of diseases and drugs were obtained. STRING 11.0 was used to construct a protein-protein interaction(PPI) network of the overlapping genes, and Matthews correlation coefficient(MCC) was employed to screen the core genes, which were then subjected to enrichment analysis with gene ontology(GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes(KEGG). The results revealed that the main compounds of Euodiae Fructus, such as berberine and rutaecarpine, participated in the biological processes(such as neurotransmitter receptor activity) by regulating C-reactive protein(CRP), estrogen receptor 1(ESR1), 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT) receptor, and interleukin-6(IL-6) to exert sedative, anxiolytic, and antidepressant effects. Sixty 4-week-old SPF mice were randomly divided into a control group, a model group, a positive drug(diazepam tablets) group, and low-, medium-, and high-dose berberine groups. Medication with corresponding drugs was performed for one week. The results demonstrated that berberine was potent in reducing the activities and standing times of mice, down-regulating the levels of CRP and IL-6 mRNA in the hypothalamus, and up-regulating the expression of 5-HT(P<0.01); however, no significant effect on ESR1 was observed. The network of Euodiae Fructus in treating insomnia was constructed by network pharmacology and verified by tests. The findings indicated that the therapeutic efficacy of Euodiae Fructus in treating insomnia was achieved by participating in multiple biological processes, such as neurotransmitter receptor activity, which provided a scientific basis for its clinical application.

Systematic analysis reveals the prevalence and principles of bypassable gene essentiality.

Gene essentiality is a variable phenotypic trait, but to what extent and how essential genes can become dispensable for viability remain unclear. Here, we investigate 'bypass of essentiality (BOE)' - an underexplored type of digenic genetic interaction that renders essential genes dispensable. Through analyzing essential genes on one of the six chromosome arms of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, we find that, remarkably, as many as 27% of them can be converted to non-essential genes by BOE interactions. Using this dataset we identify three principles of essentiality bypass: bypassable essential genes tend to have lower importance, tend to exhibit differential essentiality between species, and tend to act with other bypassable genes. In addition, we delineate mechanisms underlying bypassable essentiality, including the previously unappreciated mechanism of dormant redundancy between paralogs. The new insights gained on bypassable essentiality deepen our understanding of genotype-phenotype relationships and will facilitate drug development related to essential genes.

Purification of papain by metal affinity partitioning in aqueous two-phase polyethylene glycol/sodium sulfate systems.

A simple and inexpensive aqueous two-phase affinity partitioning system using metal ligands was introduced to improve the selectivity of commercial papain extraction. Polyethylene glycol 4000 was first activated using epichlorohydrin, then it was covalently linked to iminodiacetic acid. Finally, the specific metal ligand Cu(2+) was attached to the polyethylene glycol-iminodiacetic acid. The chelated Cu(2+) content was measured by atomic absorption spectrometry as 0.88 mol/mol (polyethylene glycol). The effects on the purification at different conditions, including polyethylene glycol molecular weight (2000, 4000, and 6000), concentration of phase-forming components (polyethylene glycol 12-20% w/w and sodium sulfate 12-20%, w/w), metal ligand type, and concentration, system pH and the commercial papain loading on papain extraction, were systematically studied. Under optimum conditions of the system, i.e. 18% w/w sodium sulfate, 18% w/w polyethylene glycol 4000, 1% w/w polyethylene glycol-iminodiacetic acid-Cu(2+) and pH 7, a maximum yield of 90.3% and a degree of purification of 3.6-fold were obtained. Compared to aqueous two phase extraction without ligands, affinity partitioning was found to be an effective technique for the purification of commercial papain with higher extraction efficiency and degree of purification.

[Effect of JNK signal transduction pathway in intense noise-induced apoptosis of vestibular hair cells in guinea pigs].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the mechanism of intense noise-induced apoptosis of vestibular hair cells in guinea pigs and the effect of phosphorylated c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signal transduction pathway in intense noise-induced apoptosis of vestibular hair cells. METHODS: Thirty-two guinea pigs were randomly and equally divided into 1, 5, and 15 d experimental groups and control group. The guinea pigs in the experimental groups were exposed to 4 kHz narrow-band noise at 120 dB SPL for 4 h and then subjected to measurement of auditory brainstem response at 1, 5, or 15 d after noise exposure. In each group, four guinea pigs were used to prepare paraffin sections of vestibular hair cells, and the rest for extraction of total protein from vestibular hair cells. The apoptosis of vestibular hair cells was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated d-UTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL). The expression levels of p-JNK and pc-Jun were measured by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. RESULTS: TUNEL-positive cells were found in the vestibular hair cells in the experimental groups, most in the 1 d experimental group and least in the 15 d experimental group, but no positive cells were found in the control group. The immunohistochemical results showed that p-JNK and pc-Jun were detected in the cell nuclei in the experimental groups, but no p-JNK- and pc-Jun-positive cells were found in the control group. The Western blot showed that p-JNK and pc-Jun were increased and activated quickly at 1d after noise exposure, reached the peak levels at 5 d after noise exposure, and were then decreased gradually, but they were still at relatively high levels at 15 d after noise exposure. CONCLUSION: Intense noise can cause injury to vestibular hair cells by inducing cell apoptosis, and p-JNK marks the activation of JNK signal transduction pathway, suggesting that JNK signal transduction pathway plays an important role in intense noise-induced apoptosis of vestibular hair cells in guinea pigs.

Nanoporous lanthanide-carboxylate frameworks based on 5-nitroisophthalic acid.

The reactions of lanthanide nitrates with 5-nitroisophthalic acid (ab. 5-H(2)nip) in DMF and ethanol (1 : 1) mixed solution gave rise to three nanoporous lanthanide polymers, {[Ln(2)(5-nip)(3)(DMF)(4)](DMF)(2)}(n) (Ln = Nd (), Dy (), Ho (), 5-nip = 5-nitroisophthalate). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses reveal that they are isomorphous and feature three-dimensional metal-organic frameworks with two-dimensional intersecting channels occupied by guest DMF molecules constructed from the linkage of dimer Ln(2)C(6)O(12) SBUs and 5-nip ligands. The guest DMF molecules can be reversibly removed from as identified using TGA-DSC and PXRD. The heat of adsorption of the guest-free sample of with DMF was measured with a value of 10.3 kJ mol(-1) by an RD496-III type microcalorimeter. In addition, the photoluminescent property of was investigated.