We herein describe a case of tension hydrothorax that occurred on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), highlighting the problems of diagnosis and a novel management. A 38-year-old male with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) due to diabetes mellitus developed dyspnea and poor drainage after 13 months of CAPD. Chest X-ray revealed massive right-sided hydrothorax and mediastinal shift. He underwent emergency thoracentesis and pleural fluid showed a high level of glucose. Pleuroperitoneal communication was strongly suspected, although the methylene blue test was negative. We temporarily performed hemodialysis. Two weeks later, PD was resumed but failed with recurrent right-side hydrothorax in 4 months. The pleuroperitoneal leakage was definitively confirmed by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). Diaphragmatic repair and pleurodesis with hypertonic glucose were performed. There was no recurrence of hydrothorax after treatment.

The right internal jugular vein (IJV) is an important access site for hemodialysis catheterization. Venous cannulation failure is usually caused by central venous stenosis and is rarely related to vessel malformation. We herein present a case of failure to place a tunneled hemodialysis catheter into the right IJV. The patient had an arteriovenous fistula in the right arm with inadequate flow and a history of multiple central venous catheterizations. The guidewire was repeatedly misplaced into the right subclavian vein (SV) regardless of the technique used. Computed tomography venography revealed that the inferior segment of the right IJV drained into the ipsilateral SV. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of catheterization failure due to abnormal drainage of the right IJV into the ipsilateral SV.

The folding and unfolding of the carbon chain, which is the basic constitutional unit of polymers, are important to the performance of the material. However, it is difficult to regulate conformational transition of the carbon chain, especially in an aqueous environment. In this paper, we propose a strategy to regulate the conformational transition of the carbon chain in water based on the all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. It is shown that the unfolded carbon chain will spontaneously collapse into the folded state, while the folded carbon chain will unfold with an external electric field. The regulation ability of the electric field is attributed to the electric field-induced redistribution of interface water molecules near the carbon chain. The demonstrated method of regulating conformational transition of the carbon chain in water in this study provides an insight into regulating hydrophobic molecules in water, and has great potential in drug molecule design and new polymer material development.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated nephropathy is not a rare manifestation of HBV infection; this could result in diagnostic confusion and the possible misidentification of a diabetic patient with albuminuria. We present the first published case of a HBV-associated nephropathy occurring in a patient with diabetes. The patient was a 24-year-old man who was admitted to hospital with 4 days of generalized swelling and oliguria. He had a 3-year history of weight loss, and a 1-year history of polydipsia and polyuria before the symptoms of generalized swelling and oliguria appeared. Laboratory tests showed a fasting blood sugar of 15.1 mmol/L and glycated hemoglobin of 18.1%. The 24-h urine protein excretion was 2807.8 mg and serum albumin was 19.1 g/L. The diagnosis of HBV-associated nephropathy was confirmed by serological evaluations of HBV antigen and antibodies, immunohistochemical evidence of HBV-related antigens, and immune complexes in renal biopsies. The decreased proteinuria was observed after antiviral therapy.

Chemically synthetic nanomotors can consume fuel in the environment and utilize the self-generated concentration gradient to self-propel themselves in the system. We study the collective dynamics of an ensemble of sphere dimers built from linked catalytic and noncatalytic monomers. Because of the confinement from the fuel field and the interactions among motors, the ensemble of dimer motors can self-organize into various nanostructures, such as a radial pattern in the spherical fuel field and a staggered radial pattern in a cylindrical fuel field. The influence of the dimer volume fraction on the self-assembly is also investigated and the formed nanostructures are analyzed in detail. The results presented here may give insight into the application of the self-assembly of active materials.