[Genetic testing and analysis of 2 cases of trisomy 11 mosaicism]

Trisomy 11 mosaicism is clinically rare, for which making diagnostic and treatment decisions can be challenging. In this study, we used noninvasive prenatal testing, chromosome karyotype analysis, chromosome microarray analysis, copy number variation sequencing and fluorescence in situ hybridization for detecting trisomy 11 mosaicism in two cases and provided them with genetic counseling. In one of the cases, the fetus with confined placental mosaicism trisomy 11 presented with severe growth restriction and a placental mosaic level of 44%, and pregnancy was terminated at 25+3 weeks of gestation. In the other case with true low-level fetal mosaicism of trisomy 11, the pregnancy continued after exclusion of the possibility of uniparental disomy and structural abnormalities and careful prenatal counseling. The newborn was followed up for more than one year, and no abnormality was found. Noninvasive prenatal testing is capable of detecting chromosomal mosaicism but may cause missed diagnosis of true fetal mosaicism. For cases with positive noninvasive prenatal testing but a normal karyotype of the fetus, care should be taken in prenatal counseling and pregnancy management.

[Clinical and molecular pathological features of bronchopulmonary large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma]

Objective: To investigate the clinical manifestations, imaging, pathological and molecular features of bronchopulmonary large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC). Methods: The clinical data of 216 LCNEC patients in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from 2011 to 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. The clinical manifestations, tumor location and size, characteristics of CT images, immunohistochemical and molecular pathological features were analyzed and compared with 115 cases of mixed small cell carcinoma (M-SCLC) diagnosed in the same period. Results: Among the 216 LCNEC patients, there were 190 males and 26 females, with a median age of 65 years. The first symptoms of the patients were mainly cough (106 cases, 49.1%) and bloody sputum (48 cases, 22.2%). The median tumor length were 4.7cm, including 55 cases of nodular type (25.5%) and 161 cases of mass-forming type (74.5%). CT imaging results showed that LCNEC lesions had soft tissue density, and the proportion of slight enhancement lesions was significantly lower than that in M-SCLC group (52.3% vs 74.8%, P<0.001). In contrast, the proportion of necrosis (87.0% vs 58.3%, P<0.001) and calcification (26.9% vs 2.6%, P<0.001) in LCNEC patients was significantly higher than that in M-SCLC group. Immunohistochemical results showed that the positive rate of CK in LCNEC was significantly higher than that in M-SCLC (99.0 % vs 90.5%, P<0.05), while the positive rate of TTF-1 was significantly lower than that in M-SCLC (51.6% vs 67.0%, P<0.05). In LCNEC group, the proportion of patients with Ki-67 positive index between 50% and 80% was significantly higher than that of M-SCLC (41.2% vs 25.2%), while the proportion between 80% and 100% was lower than that of M-SCLC (51.9% vs 72.2%). There was no significant difference in the positive rates of CD56 (91.7% vs 94.6%, P=0.336), Syn (83.8% vs 84.7%, P=0.838) and CgA (54.8% vs 50.0%, P=0.632) in both tumor types. Molecular pathology results showed that frequent mutatios were TP53 (54.5%), RB1 (36.4%), KEAP1 (18.2%), MYC(18.2%), and PTEN (14.3%), and the rate of tumor mutation burden which is more than 25 mutation/Mb was 27.3%. Conclusions: LCNEC lacks specific clinical manifestations. CT imaging is powerful in distinguishing LCNEC from M-SCLC. LCNEC contains a specific mutation spectrum. Pathology combined with immunohistochemical staining is still the gold standard for LCNEC diagnosis, and the differentiation from M-SCLC mainly depends on cell size and nuclear chromatin pattern with light microscopy.

Water-Accelerated Photooxidation of CH3NH3PbI3 Perovskite

Halide perovskites have the potential to disrupt the photovoltaics market based on their high performance and low cost. However, the decomposition of perovskites under moisture, oxygen, and light raises concerns about service lifetime, especially because degradation mechanisms and the corresponding rate laws that fit the observed data have thus far eluded researchers. Here, we report a water-accelerated photooxidation mechanism dominating the degradation kinetics of archetypal perovskite CH₃NH₃PbI₃ in air under >1% relative humidity at 25 °C. From this mechanism, we develop a kinetic model that quantitatively predicts the degradation rate as a function of temperature, ambient O₂ and H₂O levels, and illumination. Because water is a possible product of dry photooxidation, these results highlight the need for encapsulation schemes that rigorously block oxygen ingress, as product water may accumulate beneath the encapsulant and initiate the more rapid water-accelerated photooxidative decomposition.

Joint Determination of Reactor Antineutrino Spectra from ^{235}U and ^{239}Pu Fission by Daya Bay and PROSPECT

A joint determination of the reactor antineutrino spectra resulting from the fission of ^{235}U and ^{239}Pu has been carried out by the Daya Bay and PROSPECT Collaborations. This Letter reports the level of consistency of ^{235}U spectrum measurements from the two experiments and presents new results from a joint analysis of both data sets. The measurements are found to be consistent. The combined analysis reduces the degeneracy between the dominant ^{235}U and ^{239}Pu isotopes and improves the uncertainty of the ^{235}U spectral shape to about 3%. The ^{235}U and ^{239}Pu antineutrino energy spectra are unfolded from the jointly deconvolved reactor spectra using the Wiener-SVD unfolding method, providing a data-based reference for other reactor antineutrino experiments and other applications. This is the first measurement of the ^{235}U and ^{239}Pu spectra based on the combination of experiments at low- and highly enriched uranium reactors.

Analyses of Long-Term Epidemic Trends and Evolution Characteristics of Haplotype Subtypes Reveal the Dynamic Selection on SARS-CoV-2

The scale of SARS-CoV-2 infection and death is so enormous that further study of the molecular and evolutionary characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 will help us better understand and respond to SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks. The present study analyzed the epidemic and evolutionary characteristics of haplotype subtypes or regions based on 1.8 million high-quality SARS-CoV-2 genomic data. The estimated ratio of the rates of non-synonymous to synonymous changes (Ka/Ks) in North America and the United States were always more than 1.0, while the Ka/Ks in other continents and countries showed a sharp decline, then a slow increase to 1.0, and a dramatic increase over time. H1 (B.1) with the highest substitution rate has become the most dominant haplotype subtype since March 2020 and has evolved into multiple haplotype subtypes with smaller substitution rates. Many evolutionary characteristics of early SARS-CoV-2, such as H3 being the only early haplotype subtype that existed for the shortest time, the global prevalence of H1 and H1-5 (B.1.1) within a month after being detected, and many high divergent genome sequences early in February 2020, indicate the missing of early SARS-CoV-2 genomic data. SARS-CoV-2 experienced dynamic selection from December 2019 to August 2021 and has been under strong positive selection since May 2021. Its transmissibility and the ability of immune escape may be greatly enhanced over time. This will bring greater challenges to the control of the pandemic.

Trapping Alkaline Earth Rydberg Atoms Optical Tweezer Arrays

Neutral atom qubits with Rydberg-mediated interactions are a leading platform for developing large-scale coherent quantum systems. In the majority of experiments to date, the Rydberg states are not trapped by the same potential that confines ground state atoms, resulting in atom loss and constraints on the achievable interaction time. In this Letter, we demonstrate that the Rydberg states of an alkaline earth atom, ytterbium, can be stably trapped by the same red-detuned optical tweezer that also confines the ground state, by leveraging the polarizability of the Yb^{+} ion core. Using the previously unobserved ^{3}S_{1} series, we demonstrate trapped Rydberg atom lifetimes exceeding 100  μs, and observe no evidence of auto- or photoionization from the trap light for these states. We measure a coherence time of T_{2}=59  μs between two Rydberg levels, exceeding the 28  μs lifetime of untrapped Rydberg atoms under the same conditions. These results are promising for extending the interaction time of Rydberg atom arrays for quantum simulation and computing, and are vital to capitalize on the extended Rydberg lifetimes in circular states or cryogenic environments.

Dilution effect for highly efficient multiple-component organic solar cells

Although the multiple-component (MC) blend strategy has been frequently used as a very effective way to improve the performance of organic solar cells (OSCs), there is a strong need to understand the fundamental working mechanism and material selection rule for achieving optimal MC-OSCs. Here we present the 'dilution effect' as the mechanism for MC-OSCs, where two highly miscible components are molecularly intermixed. Contrary to the aggregation-induced non-radiative decay, the dilution effect enables higher luminescence quantum efficiencies and open-circuit voltages (V_OC) in MC-OSCs via suppressed electron-vibration coupling. The continuously broadened bandgap together with reduced electron-vibration coupling also explains the composition-dependent V_OC in ternary blends well. Moreover, we show that electrons can transfer between different acceptors, depending on the energy offset between them, which contributes to the largely unperturbed charge transport and high fill factors in MC-OSCs. The discovery of the dilution effect enables the demonstration of a high power conversion efficiency of 18.31% in an MC-OSC.

Introduction to DOK2 and its potential role in cancer

Cancer is a complex, multifactorial disease that modern medicine ultimately aims to overcome. Downstream of tyrosine kinase 2 (DOK2) is a well-known tumor suppressor gene, and a member of the downstream protein DOK family of tyrosine kinases. Through a search of original literature indexed in PubMed and other databases, the present review aims to extricate the mechanisms by which DOK2 acts on cancer, thereby identifying more reliable and effective therapeutic targets to promote enhanced methods of cancer prevention and treatment. The review focuses on the role of DOK2 in multiple tumor types in the lungs, intestines, liver, and breast. Additionally, we discuss the potential mechanisms of action of DOK2 and the downstream consequences via the Ras/MPAK/ERK or PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathways.

[Clinical effects of negative pressure wound therapy in treating the poor healing of incisions after different abdominal operations]

Objective: To investigate the clinical effects of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) in treating the poor healing of incisions after different abdominal operations. Methods: The retrospective observational study was conducted. From June 2019 to December 2020, 42 patients with poor healing of incisions after abdominal surgery were admitted to Center of Burns and Trauma of the First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, including 29 males and 13 females, aged 23-81 years. The disease course of poor healing of abdominal incision was 3-60 d. The preoperative examination of patients was completed after admission, and NPWT was used after debridement. According to the dehiscence level of incision, the negative pressure value of -10.64 to -6.65 kPa was set. The incisions were sutured in the second stage when the incisions had good blood circulation. The cause of abdominal surgery, the dehiscence level and the cause of poor healing of abdominal incision were investigated, and the final healing of abdominal incision and the occurrence of complication were observed. Results: The causes of abdominal operations in this group of patients who ocurred poor healing of abdominal incisions were ranked according to the composition ratio, with the top 4 causes being colon cancer (9 cases, accounting for 21.4%), bile duct disease (8 cases, accounting for 19.0%), liver cancer (5 cases, accounting for 11.9%), and appendicitis (4 cases, accounting for 9.5%). There were 25 cases (59.5%) with dehiscence of abdominal incision in the deep fascia layer, and the other 17 cases (40.5%) with dehiscence of abdominal incision in the superficial fascia layer. The causes of poor healing of abdominal incision were ranked according to the composition ratio, with the top 3 causes being infection (24 cases, accounting for 57.1%), fat liquefaction (11 cases, accounting for 26.2%), and suture reaction (5 cases, accounting for 11.9%). The blood circulation in 40 patients was improved after being treated with NPWT, and the incisions were sutured in the second stage. The incisions healed well when the suture lines were removed in the second to third week. Intestinal fistula and bile leakage developed during the NPWT treatment, respectively in the other 2 patients, in which negative pressure equipment was removed subsequently, and the incisions healed after adequate drainage and conventional dressing changes. Conclusions: NPWT is effective in treating poor healing of abdominal incision after different abdominal surgeries. The clinicians need to comprehensively assess the patient's condition to determine when and how to use NPWT to avoid the occurrence of intestinal fistula, bile leakage, and other complications.

[Assessment of biological activities of exopolysaccharides with different relative molecular masses extracted from Rhizopus nigricans]

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the antioxidant, anti-tumor and immunomodulatory activities of exopolysaccharides with different molecular masses isolated from Rhizopus nigricans.

METHODS

Three polysaccharides with different molecular masses, namely RPS-1, RPS-2 and RPS-3, were separated from the fermentation broth of Rhizopus nigricans by fractional ethanol precipitation, and their capacity for scavenging DPPH, ABTS, and hydroxyl radicals was assessed. Cell counting kit-8 was used to analyze the changes in the viability of MFC, A549 and RAW 264.7 cells following treatments with the 3 polysaccharides; The level of nitric oxide in the supernatant of RAW 264.7 cells was detected using a nitric oxide detection kit, and the apoptosis rate of A549 cells was analyzed with flow cytometry.

RESULTS

All the 3 polysaccharides had good antioxidant activities, and among them RPS-1 with a medium molecular mass exhibited the strongest scavenging capacity for DPPH and ABTS radicals (P < 0.05) while RPS-3 with the lowest molecular mass had the best scavenging activity for hydroxyl radicals (P < 0.01). All the 3 polysaccharides were capable of inhibiting the proliferation of MFC cells and A549 cells, activating the macrophages RAW 264.7 cells, and inducing apoptosis of A549 cells. RPS-2 with the highest molecular mass showed the strongest inhibitory effects against MFC and A549 cells (P > 0.05), and RPS-2 had the strongest activity for inducing apoptosis in A549 cells (P < 0.05). Compared with the other two polysaccharides, RPS-2 more strongly promoted the proliferation of RAW 264.7 cells and enhanced NO release from the cells (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The 3 polysaccharides all have antioxidant, anti-tumor and immunomodulatory activities, and among them RPS-1 and RPS-3 have better antioxidant activities, and RPS-2 has stronger anti-tumor and immunomodulatory activities.

Circular RNA circ-PRKCI promotes lung cancer progression by binding to microRNA-1324 to regulate MECP2 expression

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to investigate the expression and specific molecular mechanism of circ-PRKCI in lung cancer (LCa).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The relationship between the expression level of circ-PRKCI and the prognosis of patients was analyzed. The impacts of circ-PRKCI on the invasiveness of LCa cells were examined by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) experiments, clone formation experiments, and transwell invasion experiments. Subcellular localization of circ-PRKCI was determined through nuclear separation experiments. Downstream target genes that can bind to circ-PRKCI was predicted through bioinformatics analysis, and was then verified by Dual-Luciferase experiments, quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) experiments, and Western blot experiments.

RESULTS

Circ-PRKCI level was remarkably elevated in LCa tumor tissues and cell lines. At the same time, highly expressed circ-PRKCI was correlated with the poor prognosis of LCa patients. In vitro cell experiments revealed that inhibition of circ-PRKCI in LCa cell lines remarkably inhibited cell invasiveness and proliferation. In addition, circ-PRKCI can compete with MECP2 to bind microRNA-1324 and thus affect the progression of LCa.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study shows for the first time that circ-PRKCI modulates the progression of LCa through microRNA-150-5p/MECP2 axis.

[The development history of oral contraceptives]

The creation of oral contraceptives goes back 60 years. It has gone through a long and complex process from the discovery of sex hormones to their development into drugs to market. A correct understanding of the developmental history of oral contraceptives is of great importance for human reproduction. Gregory G Pincus successfully synthesized the first oral contraceptive Enovid based on research by Carl Djerassi, this was approved for marketing by the US Federal Drug Administration (FDA) in May 1960. However, due to the severe side effects of Enovid, the safer and more effective second generation oral contraceptives - Levonorgestrel and the third generation oral contraceptives - Pregnene are widely used and continue to be used to this day. The introduction of oral contraceptives not only dampened the explosive growth of the world's population, but also improved the social status of women, and catalyzed the sexual liberation movement.

AutoVEM: An automated tool to real-time monitor epidemic trends and key mutations in SARS-CoV-2 evolution

With the global epidemic of SARS-CoV-2, it is important to effectively monitor the variation, haplotype subgroup epidemic trends and key mutations of SARS-CoV-2 over time. This is of great significance to the development of new vaccines, the update of therapeutic drugs, and the improvement of detection methods. The AutoVEM tool developed in the present study could complete all mutations detections, haplotypes classification, haplotype subgroup epidemic trends and candidate key mutations analysis for 131,576 SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences in 18 h on a 1 core CPU and 2 GB RAM computer. Through haplotype subgroup epidemic trends analysis of 131,576 genome sequences, the great significance of the previous 4 specific sites (C241T, C3037T, C14408T and A23403G) was further revealed, and 6 new mutation sites of highly linked (T445C, C6286T, C22227T, G25563T, C26801G and G29645T) were discovered for the first time that might be related to the infectivity, pathogenicity or host adaptability of SARS-CoV-2. In brief, we proposed an integrative method and developed an efficient automated tool to monitor haplotype subgroup epidemic trends and screen for the candidate key mutations in the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 over time for the first time, and all data could be updated quickly to track the prevalence of previous key mutations and new candidate key mutations because of high efficiency of the tool. In addition, the idea of combinatorial analysis in the present study can also provide a reference for the mutation monitoring of other viruses.

TCF19 aggravates the malignant progression of colorectal cancer by negatively regulating WWC1

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to clarify the role of TCF19 in influencing the malignant progression of colorectal cancer (CRC) by negatively regulating WWC1.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Relative expression levels of TCF19 and WWC1 in CRC tissues and cells were detected by quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). The prognosis of CRC patients was assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method. Meanwhile, the correlation between TCF19 and pathological indexes of CRC patients was evaluated. Regulatory effects of TCF19/WWC1 on viability, colony formation ability, and migration in HT29 and HCT-8 cells were evaluated. Finally, rescue experiments were conducted to elucidate a negative feedback loop of TCF19/WWC1 in influencing the progression of CRC.

RESULTS

TCF19 was significantly up-regulated in CRC, while WWC1 was down-regulated. High-level TCF19 or low-level WWC1 indicated worse survival of CRC patients. Besides, TCF19 expression level was positively correlated with the occurrence of distant metastasis in CRC. Silence of TCF19 significantly attenuated proliferative and migratory capacities of HT29 cells. However, overexpression of TCF19 yielded the opposite trends in HCT-8 cells. WWC1 expression was negatively regulated by TCF19 in CRC tissues. In addition, knockdown of WWC1 abolished the regulatory effect of TCF19 on CRC cells.

CONCLUSIONS

TCF19 is closely correlated with the occurrence of distant metastasis and poor prognosis of CRC. Furthermore, it aggravates the malignant progression of CRC via negatively regulating WWC1.

Assessing Farm Stress and Community Supports in a U.S.-Mexico Border County

Imperial County, California, is a high-need, medically underserved area that has some of the worst overall health outcomes of all California counties. Given this and the high depression and anxiety rates in agricultural occupations, Imperial County farmers and ranchers may be at an increased risk of stress and poor mental health outcomes. An exploratory mixed methods assessment was used to collect information from 24 farmers and ranchers in Imperial County. Survey topics included questions about farm or ranch operations, farm-related stress, mental health, community support, and health behaviors. The results indicate that most respondents perceive unpredictable factors, such as government regulations, as the most impactful stressors related to their farm or ranch operations. Additionally, depression symptomatology scores were positively correlated with respondents' ability to obtain credit. Efforts to understand farm-related stress and how community support can help Imperial County farmers and ranchers mediate adverse physical and mental health effects through formal and informal networks are considered.

[Effects of preoperative segmental mobility on the clinical and radiographic outcomes following one-level artificial cervical disc replacement]

Objective: To investigate the effects of preoperative segmental range of motion (ROM) on clinical and radiographical outcomes after artificial cervical disc replacement (ACDR) and explore whether ACDR could be indicated for patients with preoperative limited or excessive segmental ROM. Methods: From January 2008 to December 2017, patients who underwent Prestige-LP ACDR in West China Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. The preoperative and postoperative X-rays of the cervical spine were collected to measure the radiographic parameters, including cervical lordosis (CL), C(2-7) ROM, disc height (DH), disc angle (DA) and ROM at the arthroplasty level. Clinical outcomes were evaluated using the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) and the Neck Disability Index (NDI) scores. The correlation between preoperative segmental ROM and postoperative clinical and radiographical outcomes were also analyzed. Results: A total of 161 patients were analyzed, with 73 males and 88 females. The mean age was (44±8) years, and the follow-up period was 34 months (12-120 months). JOA and NDI scores improved after ACDR (P<0.05). However, postoperative C(2-7) ROM and ROM at the arthroplasty level were comparable with preoperative counterparts (both P>0.05). Preoperative segmental ROM positively correlated with C(2-7) ROM and ROM at the arthroplasty segment (r=0.213、0.271, both P<0.05), but was negatively correlated with the change of ROM (r=-0.534, P<0.05). The segmental ROM was 4.0°±1.0° in the limited-ROM group (A) and 14.6°±1.3° in the excessive-ROM group (B), respectively. There were significantly more patients diagnosed with cervical spondylosis in group A than in group B (35.5% vs 10.7%, P<0.05). The level-distribution was statistically different between the two groups. C(5/6) and C(6/7) were prone to limited motion in group A, while C(4/5) and C(5/6) were predisposed to excessive motion in group B (all P<0.05). After surgery, C(2-7) ROM increased for 14.2°±16.8° in group A, while paradoxically decreased for 2.2°±14.4° in group B. However, C(2-7) ROM in group B was still larger than that in group A (P<0.05). Similarly, the ROM at the arthroplasty level increased by 3.1°±3.7° in group A, whereas the values decreased by 4.4°±4.2° in group B postoperatively. In addition, group A still had less segmental ROM than group B (P<0.05). The preoperative DH in group A was less than that in group B (P<0.05). The rates of ASD, HO, and high-grade HO in group A were all higher than those in group B but without significant differences (all P>0.05). Conclusion: Preoperative segmental ROM has no significant effects on clinical outcomes after ACDR; it has a positive correlation with postoperative global and segmental ROM while is negatively correlated with ROM change.