Endoscopic incisional balloon dilation combined with anti-scarring agents for postoperative esophageal anastomotic strictures.

The management of locally advanced esophageal cancer typically involves esophagectomy; however, postoperative complications, particularly anastomotic stricture, remain prevalent. Anastomotic stricture can severely compromise patients' quality of life by leading to difficulties in food intake. Although endoscopic balloon dilation has become a standard treatment for gastrointestinal strictures, its efficacy is often limited due to the risk of perforation and the potential for recurrent stricture, necessitating multiple interventions.

Search for Soft Unclustered Energy Patterns in Proton-Proton Collisions at 13 TeV.

The first search for soft unclustered energy patterns (SUEPs) is performed using an integrated luminosity of 138  fb^{-1} of proton-proton collision data at sqrt[s]=13  TeV, collected in 2016-2018 by the CMS detector at the LHC. Such SUEPs are predicted by hidden valley models with a new, confining force with a large 't Hooft coupling. In events with boosted topologies, selected by high-threshold hadronic triggers, the multiplicity and sphericity of clustered tracks are used to reject the background from standard model quantum chromodynamics.

Challenge of validation in whole-cell spike-in amplicon sequencing to comprehensively quantify food lactic acid bacteriota.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) shape diverse communities in fermented foods. Developing comprehensive quantification methods for community structure will revolutionize our understanding of food LAB microbiome. For this purpose, 16S rRNA gene amplicon-based quantification, using spiked exogenous bacterial cells as an internal standard, shows potential for comprehensiveness and accuracy.

From Coronavirus Disease 2019 to Herpes Simplex Virus Hepatitis: A Case Report of Complications Linked to Immunosuppressive Therapy.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been linked to severe pneumonia and systemic deterioration in humans. When antiviral drugs and antibodies are not available, it is preferable to choose early treatment methods to suppress cytokine storms. While an interleukin-6 receptor antagonist has proven effective in controlling cytokine storms in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia, it can also increase susceptibility to secondary infections, such as herpes simplex virus (HSV).