Scar-centered dilation in the treatment of large keloids.

Background: Hypertrophic scars and keloid treatment is a major problem in plastic surgery. While small keloids can be treated with resection followed by radiotherapy, large keloids require treatment with a tissue expander. Conventional methods increase the need for auxiliary incisions, causing new scar hyperplasia.

Clinical performance of automated chemiluminescent methods for anticardiolipin and anti-β2-glycoprotein I antibodies detection in a large cohort of Chinese patients with antiphospholipid syndrome.

Introduction: To assess the clinical performance and correlations of automated chemiluminescence assay (CIA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detecting antiphospholipid (aPL) antibodies in the diagnosis of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS).

Methods: The study recruited 505 subjects, including 192 with APS, 193 with connective tissue diseases other than APS, and 120 healthy donors. We measured anticardiolipin (aCL) and anti-β2-glycoprotein I (anti-β2GPI) antibodies IgG, IgM, and IgA in all the samples using both CIA and ELISA.

Palladium-Catalyzed Direct Annulation of Benzoic Acids with Phenols to Synthesize Dibenzopyranones.

Direct annulation of benzoic acids with phenols via palladium-catalyzed oxidative coupling is reported. Readily available and inexpensive starting materials were used in this novel method to synthesize highly valuable and useful dibenzopyranone scaffolds. Broad substrate scope and simple operation make this method potentially practical.