Surgical Management and Long-Term Seizure Outcome After Surgery for Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Associated with Cerebral Cavernous Malformations.

Objective: Operative strategies for cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM)-associated temporal lobe epilepsy and timing of surgical intervention continue to be debated. This study aimed to establish an algorithm to evaluate the efficacy of surgical intervention strategies, to maximize positive surgical outcomes and minimize postsurgical neurologic deficits.

Methods: 47 patients having undergone operation for CCM-associated temporal lobe epilepsy were retrospectively reviewed.

Dietary exposure to short- and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins in meat and meat products from 20 provinces of China.

Food intake is one of the main pathways of human exposure to chlorinated paraffins (CPs). This study assessed the dietary exposure for the general Chinese population to short-chain chlorinated paraffin (SCCPs) and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs) through meat and meat products. Twenty samples of meat and meat products from 20 Chinese provinces were collected in 2011.

Takayasu arteritis presented with acute heart failure: case report and review of literature.

Acute heart failure due to myocarditis is not common in Takayasu arteritis, let alone in combination with thrombosis affecting both ventricles and pulmonary arteries. The concomitant infection of non-tuberculosis mycobacterium further complicates the clinical scenario and poses challenges for implementation of tailored treatments. This case report describes a teenage girl with a history of intermittent claudication and Erythema Nodosum who developed acute heart failure.

Brominated flame retardant (BFRs) and Dechlorane Plus (DP) in paired human serum and segmented hair.

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and Dechlorane Plus (DP) were measured in both human hair and paired serum samples from a cohort of university students in South China. Segmental analysis was conducted to explore gender difference and the relationships between the hair and serum. The concentrations of total PBDEs in the hair and serum samples were in a range of 0.

Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of short and medium chain polychlorinated paraffins in different species of fish from Liaodong Bay, North China.

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are highly complex technical mixtures, and the short chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) are classed as persistent and have been included in the Stockholm Convention. However, there have been few studies of SCCPs and medium chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs) and their bioaccumulation and biomagnification in different species of fish. The present study investigated the levels, congener group profiles, bioaccumulation, and biomagnification of SCCPs and MCCPs in different species of fish from Liaodong Bay, North China.

Real-Time Monitoring of Insulin Using a Graphene Field-Effect Transistor Aptameric Nanosensor.

This paper presents an approach to the real-time, label-free, specific, and sensitive monitoring of insulin using a graphene aptameric nanosensor. The nanosensor is configured as a field-effect transistor, whose graphene-based conducting channel is functionalized with a guanine-rich IGA3 aptamer. The negatively charged aptamer folds into a compact and stable antiparallel or parallel G-quadruplex conformation upon binding with insulin, resulting in a change in the carrier density, and hence the electrical conductance, of the graphene.

Flame retardants on the surface of phones and personal computers.

Mobile phones and personal computers (PCs) are essential products that are frequently contacted in daily life. Thus, phones and computers containing flame retardants (FRs) may play vital roles in human exposure to FRs. We measured several FRs, including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy) ethane (BTBPE), decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE), tetrabromobisphenol (TBBPA), and phosphate flame retardants (PFRs), on the surfaces of phones and PCs (laptop keyboards and mice).

A retrospective study of joint infections in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical characteristics of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with joint infections. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 11,734 SLE patients admitted to Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) from January 1990 to December 2016. Twenty patients who developed joint infections were identified.

Suppression of SIRT6 by miR-33a facilitates tumor growth of glioma through apoptosis and oxidative stress resistance.

microRNA-33a (miR-33a) belongs to the miR-33 family that is implicated in the progression of various types of cancers. Aberrant expression of miR-33a has been detected in several human cancers, and has been shown to regulate the migration and invasion as well as proliferation and apoptosis of tumor cells. However, the clinical significance and precise mechanisms underlying the dysfunction of miR-33a in glioma have not been well investigated in previous studies.

Altered expression of PPAR‑γ and TRPC in neonatal rats with persistent pulmonary hypertension.

Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) is a life‑threatening disease that is commonly observed in the neonatal intensive care unit. PPHN is pathologically characterized by pulmonary vascular remodeling and, in particular, pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell (PASMC) proliferation. Decreased expression levels of peroxisome proliferator‑activated receptor γ (PPAR‑γ), which is a member of the nuclear receptor hormone superfamily, in combination with elevated expressions of transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily C, member 1 (TRPC1) and TRPC6 contributes to the PASMC proliferation and excessive pulmonary vascular remodeling in adult pulmonary hypertension (PH).

Brominated and phosphate flame retardants (FRs) in indoor dust from different microenvironments: Implications for human exposure via dust ingestion and dermal contact.

Indoor dust has been widely used to monitor flame retardants (FRs) in indoor environment, but most studies only focused on floor dust. In the present study, FRs were examined in indoor dust from different locations. Dust from air conditioner (AC) filters, beddings, floor, and windows in bedrooms, and dust from AC filters, printer table surface, computer table surface, floor, and windows in offices were collected, respectively.

A dielectric affinity glucose microsensor using hydrogel-functionalized coplanar electrodes.

This paper presents a dielectric affinity microsensor that consists of an in situ prepared hydrogel attached to a pair of coplanar electrodes for dielectrically based affinity detection of glucose in subcutaneous tissue in continuous glucose monitoring applications. The hydrogel, incorporating -3-acrylamidophenylboronic acid that recognizes glucose via affinity binding, is synthetically prepared on the electrodes via in situ gelation. When implanted in subcutaneous tissue, glucose molecules in interstitial fluid diffuse rapidly through the hydrogel and bind to the phenylboronic acid moieties.

Alteration of Diastereoisomeric and Enantiomeric Profiles of Hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) in Adult Chicken Tissues, Eggs, and Hatchling Chickens.

The concentrations and enantiomer fractions (EFs) of α-, β-, and γ-hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) were measured in chicken diet sources (soil and chicken feed), home-raised adult chicken (Gallus domesticus) tissues, eggs during incubation, and hatchling chicken tissues. HBCD concentrations were not detected-0.69 ng/g dry weight (dw) and 25.

Characterization of short- and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins in outdoor/indoor PM/PM/PM in Beijing, China.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were listed in the Stockholm Convention, because of their adverse health effects, persistence, bioaccumulation and ubiquitous presence in the environment. Short chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs), chlorinated derivatives of n-alkanes, have been listed as candidate POPs under Stockholm Convention. Inhalation uptake was an important exposure pathway for non-occupational adult human and the pollution of particle matter has caused great concern.

Agranulocytosis and mixed-type autoimmune hemolytic anemia in primary sjögren's syndrome: a case report and review of the literature.

Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is a systemic autoimmune disease that presents with sicca symptoms of the main mucosal surfaces. Patients with pSS have a broad spectrum of laboratory features, such as cytopenias and hypergammaglobulinemia. Although hematological abnormalities are usually seen in pSS patients, agranulocytosis and autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) are rare.

Health risks posed to infants in rural China by exposure to short- and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins in breast milk.

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are complex mixtures of synthetic chemicals found widely in environmental matrices. Short-chain CPs (SCCPs) are candidate persistent organic pollutants under the Stockholm Convention. There should be great concern about human exposure to SCCPs.

Theoretical and experimental examination of SFG polarization analysis at acetonitrile-water solution surfaces.

Sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy is widely used to observe molecular orientation at interfaces through a combination of various types of polarization. The present work thoroughly examines the relation between the polarization dependence of SFG signals and the molecular orientation, by comparing SFG measurements and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of acetonitrile/water solutions. The present SFG experiment and MD simulations yield quite consistent results on the ratios of χ elements, supporting the reliability of both means.

A Fast and Effective Microfluidic Spraying-Plunging Method for High-Resolution Single-Particle Cryo-EM.

We describe a spraying-plunging method for preparing cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) grids with vitreous ice of controllable, highly consistent thickness using a microfluidic device. The new polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based sprayer was tested with apoferritin. We demonstrate that the structure can be solved to high resolution with this method of sample preparation.

Superior Thermally Stable and Nonflammable Porous Polybenzimidazole Membrane with High Wettability for High-Power Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Separators with high security, reliability, and rate capacity are in urgent need for the advancement of high power lithium ion batteries. The currently used porous polyolefin membranes are critically hindered by their low thermal stability and poor electrolyte wettability, which further lead to low rate capacity. Here we present a novel promising porous polybenzimidazole (PBI) membrane with super high thermal stability and electrolyte wettability.

Adaptive Dynamic Programming for Discrete-Time Zero-Sum Games.

In this paper, a novel adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) algorithm, called "iterative zero-sum ADP algorithm," is developed to solve infinite-horizon discrete-time two-player zero-sum games of nonlinear systems. The present iterative zero-sum ADP algorithm permits arbitrary positive semidefinite functions to initialize the upper and lower iterations. A novel convergence analysis is developed to guarantee the upper and lower iterative value functions to converge to the upper and lower optimums, respectively.

Human Exposure to Short- and Medium-Chain Chlorinated Paraffins via Mothers' Milk in Chinese Urban Population.

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are high production volume synthetic chemicals, found ubiquitously in various environmental matrices. However, little information is available on CP contamination in mothers' milk. In this study, 1370 urban mothers' milk samples were collected from 12 Chinese provinces in 2007 and 16 provinces in 2011.

Three-dimensional intracranial EEG monitoring in presurgical assessment of MRI-negative frontal lobe epilepsy.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-negative epilepsy is associated with poor clinical outcomes prognosis. The present study was aimed to assess whether intracranial 3D interictal and ictal electroencephalography (EEG) findings, a combination of EEG at a different depth, in addition to clinical, scalp EEG, and positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PETCT) data help to predict outcome in a series of patients with MRI-negative frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) after surgery.Patients with MRI-negative FLE who were presurgically evaluated by 3D-intracranial EEG (3D-iEEG) recording were included.