Miniaturized droplet reactors hold great promise for the development of green and sustainable chemistry. However, handling liquids with small volumes, especially viscous ones, in a convenient and loss-free manner remains a challenge. Here, by electrically controlling the coalescence and mixing of particle-coated droplets, also known as liquid marbles, an effective micro reactor is demonstrated for miniaturized chemical reactions involving viscous reagents. By applying an electric voltage to marbles, the induced electromixing of marble microreactors promotes the reaction rate and the product yield. The advantages of electromixed marble reactors are manifested by a series of chemical reactions between aldehydes and 2-methylindole in viscous glycerol solution. The electrically-controlled coalescence and mixing establish liquid marbles as microreactors for rapid, efficient, and miniaturized chemical reactions.
Gastrointestinal neuroectodermal tumors (GNETs) are uncommon malignant tumors derived from ectodermal primitive neural cells. Patients and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 2 GNET cases at our hospital and the remaining 94 cases in the literature to determine clinicopathological prognostic factors. Results: The patients had a mean age of 36 years and a median tumor size of 4.5 cm. A total of 67.0% of the tumors were located in the small intestine, and 76.4% of the patients presented recurrence or metastasis. There was a significant difference in sex and presence of osteoclast-like cells (P<0.01). Microscopically, most cells were round or short spindle-like in shape, with weak eosinophilic or clear cytoplasm. Neoplastic cells were always arranged in solid sheets, nests, and pseudoalveoli. Immunohistochemistry showed strong, diffuse S100 and SOX10 expression, with a complete absence of HMB45 and Melan-A expression. A total of 72.9% of the cases revealed genetic EWSR1 recombination, including our 2 cases. The median time to death and first metastasis was 61 months and 12 months, respectively. K-M analysis showed a great difference in survival according to lymph node invasion or distant metastasis (M+N), independent lymph node metastasis (N), lower histological grades (G2), and aggressive chemoradiotherapy (P=0.026, P=0.027, P=0.039 and P=0.037). However, independent T, independent M, and postoperative routine adjuvant therapy showed no statistical influence on overall survival or disease-free survival. Conclusion: GNET is a new entity distinct in its clinical, morphological, immunochemical, and genetic features. Radical excision, close follow-up and adjuvant therapy may be effective for prolonged survival.
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