Right inferior phrenic artery to right pulmonary artery fistula causing hemothorax: A case report.

Inferior phrenic artery to pulmonary artery fistulae are a rare anomaly seen on CT thorax angiogram when evaluating for certain pulmonary pathological conditions. A 79-year-old man with hemothorax on chest X-ray was evaluated by interventional radiology for embolization of a bleeding vessel. During the procedure, a fistulous connection between the right inferior phrenic artery and right pulmonary artery with signs of extravasation was found and embolized, significantly reducing the size of the hemothorax.

Dirty Mass sign of abdominal imaging: A case of silent pneumoperitoneum.

Pneumoperitoneum is a common complication after penetrating abdominal trauma, gastric ulcer, or colitis in which free air is present in the peritoneal or retroperitoneal space. Sole pneumoretroperitoneum, which refers to gas in the retroperitoneal space, is a rare entity, and when significant, results in a characteristic radiographic sign known as "Dirty Mass." Common causes include penetrating trauma or perforation of the retroperitoneal portions of the gastrointestinal tract (duodenum, ascending colon, descending colon, and rectum).

Tunable degradation of low-fouling carboxybetaine-hyaluronic acid hydrogels for applications in cell encapsulation.

Low-fouling hydrogels with tunable degradation rates and biochemical environments have the potential to improve adoptive cell therapies for cancer immunotherapy and regenerative medicine. To this end, we developed in situ gelling hydrogels from low-fouling poly(carboxybetaine-co-maleimide) (pCBM) random copolymers and thiolated hyaluronic acid (HA-SH). pCBM-HA hydrogel enzymatic degradation rates were tuned 5 fold by altering pCBM composition (4, 11, and 16 maleimide mol%) and 2.

Improved Efficacy of Antibody Cancer Immunotherapeutics through Local and Sustained Delivery.

Antibodies are a growing class of cancer immunotherapeutics that facilitate immune-cell-mediated killing of tumors. However, the efficacy and safety of immunotherapeutics are limited by transport barriers and poor tumor uptake, which lead to high systemic concentrations and potentially fatal side effects. To increase tumor antibody immunotherapeutic concentrations while decreasing systemic concentrations, local delivery vehicles for sustained antibody release are being developed.

Symptoms of bowel dysfunction and their management after spinal cord injury in a New Zealand centre.

Aim: To document the symptoms of bowel dysfunction, and how the bowels are managed, in a cohort of patients following a spinal cord injury. To relate these to the level of the spinal injury and to examine the relationship between bowel symptoms and bladder dysfunction.

Method: Participants were identified from the discharge data from the Burwood Spinal Unit, one of two national Spinal Units in New Zealand, in two two-year sets from 1-3 years post-injury and from 20-21 years post-injury.

Enhanced Lithium Ion Transport in Poly(ethylene glycol) Diacrylate-Supported Solvate Ionogel Electrolytes via Chemically Cross-linked Ethylene Oxide Pathways.

Lithium-ion solvate ionic liquids (SILs), consisting of complexed Li cations and a weakly basic anion, represent an emergent class of nonvolatile liquid electrolytes suitable for lithium-based electrochemical energy storage. In this report, solid-state, flexible solvate ionogel electrolytes are synthesized via UV-initiated free radical polymerization/cross-linking of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) in situ within the [Li(G4)][TFSI] electrolyte, which is formed by an equimolar mixture of lithium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) and tetraglyme (G4). Ion diffusivity measurements reveal enhanced Li diffusion in PEGDA-supported solvate ionogels, as compared to poly(methyl methacrylate)-supported gels that lack ethylene oxide chains.

Deciphering Physical versus Chemical Contributions to the Ionic Conductivity of Functionalized Poly(methacrylate)-Based Ionogel Electrolytes.

Polymer-supported ionic liquids (ionogels) are emergent, nonvolatile electrolytes for electrochemical energy storage applications. Here, chemical and physical interactions between the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (EMI TFSI) and three different cross-linked polymer scaffolds with varying chemical functional groups have been investigated in ionogels fabricated via in situ UV-initiated radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA), 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate (TFEMA), or 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) and a small amount of the cross-linker pentaerythritol tetraacrylate. Experimental findings demonstrate that the chemical functionality of the polymer side groups can significantly affect the degree of ion dissociation within the ionic liquid component of the ionogel and that the fraction of dissociated ions is the dominant factor in determining relative ionic conductivity in these materials, rather than any large differences in ion diffusivity.

Spontaneous Escherichia coli cellulitis in a child with nephrotic syndrome.

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is the most common infectious complication of childhood nephrotic syndrome, and Streptococcus pneumoniae is the preponderant bacterial pathogen. Spontaneous bacterial cellulitis, especially of the lower extremities, is another common infection encountered in the same patient group given that chronic edema acts as a potential culture medium. Gram-positive bacteria, including streptococci and staphylococci, are the most common causes of bacterial cellulitis.

Internal laryngopyocele presenting as acute airway obstruction.

A laryngopyocele forms when a laryngocele becomes infected and fills with mucopus. We report a case of an internal larngopyocele that presented as airway obstruction in a 34-year-old man; such a presenting sign is exceedingly rare. We also review the anatomy, etiology, and clinical course of the different types of laryngoceles.