Gastrodin ameliorates depressive-like behaviors via modulating gut microbiota in CUMS-induced mice

PURPOSE

Depression is a psychiatric disorder and the treatment of depression is an urgent problem that need to be solved. Gastrodin (GAS) is a Traditional Chinese Medicine from an orchid and is used for neurological diseases, including depressive disorders.

METHODS

To assess the effect of GAS on gut microbiota of depressive mice, we established a chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)-induced mouse model, and GAS was administered to one group of the mice. Animal behavior experiments were used to detect depressive-like behaviors, and 16 S rRNA gene analysis was applied to detect the gut microbiota of each group. All raw sequences were deposited in the NCBI Sequence Read Archive under accession number SRP491061.

RESULTS

GAS treatment significantly improved depressive-like behaviors as well as the diversity and abundance of the gut microbiota. The depressive-like behaviors of the CUMS-GAS group were improved in different degrees compared with the CUMS group. The linear discriminant analysis (LDA) of the gut microbiota showed that the makeup of the gut microbiota in mice changed dramatically in the CUMS-GAS group, compared with the CUMS group, Bacteroides (LDA = 3.94, P < 0.05) were enriched in the CUMS-GAS group at the genus level. In comparison to the CUMS group, the CUMS-GAS group had a greater concentration numbers of Lactobacillus, Corynebacterium, Staphylococcus, Bacteroides, Psychrobacter, and Alistipes.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggested that GAS improved depressive-like behaviors in mice and impacted the microbial composition of the gut. Our research indicated that dysbiosis of the gut microbiota may be affected by GAS treatment, which improved depressive-like behaviors in the CUMS-induced mouse model of depression.

Measurements of Spatial Angles Using Diamond Nitrogen-Vacancy Center Optical Detection Magnetic Resonance

This article introduces a spatial angle measuring device based on ensemble diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center optical detection magnetic resonance (ODMR). This device realizes solid-state all-optical wide-field vector magnetic field measurements for solving the angles of magnetic components in space. The system uses diamond NV center magnetic microscope imaging to obtain magnetic vector distribution and calculates the spatial angles of magnetic components based on the magnetic vector distribution. Utilizing magnetism for angle measuring enables non-contact measuring, reduces the impact on the object being measured, and ensures measurement precision and accuracy. Finally, the accuracy of the system is verified by comparing the measurement results with the set values of the angle displacement platform. The results show that the measurement error of the yaw angle of the system is 1°, and the pitch angle and roll angle are 1.5°. The experimental results are in good agreement with the expected results.

MicroRNA-150-5P regulates Th1/Th2 cytokines expression levels by targeting EGR2 in allergic rhinitis

BACKGROUND

MiR-150-5p is one of the miRNAs in the expression profile of miRNAs, and in many previous studies, it has been shown that miR-150-5p may play an important role in peripheral blood dendritic cells (DCs) of allergic rhinitis (AR) patients. We sought to investigate the role and mechanism of miR-150-5p in regulating DC function by modulating EGR2 and influencing T cell derivation to promote AR development.

METHODS

The expression of miR-150-5p and EGR2 in AR patients was examined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), the expression of IL-4 cytokines in the supernatant of AR patients was tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the expression of eosinophils in the supernatant of AR patients was measured by HE staining. The expression of EGR2 was detected by immunohistochemistry and fluorescent m-immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS

MiR-150-5p expression was up-regulated and EGR2 expression was down-regulated in peripheral blood DCs from AR patients. miR-150-5p upregulated DCs, which promoted T-cell differentiation. miR-150-5p further regulated EGR2, which suppressed DCs and caused alteration of T-cell differentiation, in turn triggering the occurrence of AR.

CONCLUSION

MiR-150-5p and its target gene EGR2 are involved in the development of AR, and DCs foster T-cell differentiation in peripheral blood of AR patients.

Quality control of postoperative radiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer: A study of mediastinal shift

PURPOSE

This study aimed to assess the shifting patterns of the mediastinum, including the target volume and the isocenter point during the postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) process of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and to observe the occurrence of radiation injury. Additionally, we investigated the significance of mid-term assessment during the implementation of the PORT process.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We established coordinate axes based on bone anatomy and measured the mediastinum's three-dimensional direction and the shift of the isocenter point's shift in the PORT process. Statistical analysis was performed using Wilcoxon, Kruskal-Wallis, and the Chi-square test. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

In this study, the analysis of patients revealed that the shift of anterior and posterior mediastinum (X), left and right mediastinum (Y), upper and lower mediastinum (Z), anterior and posterior isocenter point (Xi), and the left and right isocenter points (Yi) in the PORT process were 0.04-0.53, 0.00-0.84, 0.00-1.27, 0.01-0.86, and 0.00-0.66cm, respectively. The shift distance of the mediastinum was Z>Y>X, and the shift distance of the isocenter point was Xi>Yi. According to the ROC curve, the cut-off values were 0.263, 0.352, 0.405, 0.238, and 0.258, respectively, which were more significant than the cut-off values in 25 cases (25%), 30 cases (30%), 30 cases (30%), 17 cases (17%), and 15 cases (15%). In addition, there was a significant difference in the shift of the mediastinum and the isocenter point (all P=0.00). Kruskal-Wallis test showed no statistically significant difference between mediastinal shift and resection site in X, Y, and Z directions (P=0.355, P=0.239, P=0.256), surgical method (P=0.241, P=0.110, P=0.064). There was no significant difference in the incidence of RE and RP in PORT patients (P>0.05). No III-IV RP occurred. However, the incidence of ≥ grade III RE in the modified plan cases after M-S was significantly lower than in the original PORT patients, 0% and 7%, respectively (P=0.000).

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, this study provides evidence that mediastinal shift is a potential complication during the PORT process for patients with N2 stage or R1-2 resection following radical resection of NSCLC. This shift affects about 20-30% of patients, manifesting as actual radiation damage to normal tissue and reducing the local control rate. Therefore, mid-term repositioning of the PORT and revision of the target volume and radiation therapy plan can aid in maintaining QA and QC during the treatment of NSCLC patients and may result in improved patient outcomes.

Imaging electromagnetic boundary of microdevice using a wide field quantum microscope

Imaging of electronic device surface or sub-surface electromagnetic fields under operating conditions is important for device design and diagnosis. In this study, we proposed a method to characterize specific magnetic field properties of electromagnetic devices at micron-scale using a solid-state quantum sensor, namely diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers. By employing a wide-field magnetic field measurement technique based on NV centers, we rapidly obtain the first-order magnetic field distribution of anomalous regions. Furthermore, we approximate the second-order magnetic field (magnetic gradient tensor) using the differential gradient method. To visualize the electromagnetic anomalous regions boundary, we utilize the tensor invariants of the magnetic gradient tensor components, along with their nonlinear combinations. The identification error rate of the anomalous regions is within 12.5%. Additionally, the electromagnetic field of anomalous regions is simulated showing the measurement accuracy. Our study shows that the experimental results are very similar to the theoretical simulation of the electromagnetic field (error: 7%). This work is essential for advancing electromagnetic field characterization of electronic devices and the advancement of quantum magnetic sensor applications.

Construction and interpretation of high-order image information based on NV optical magnetic vector detection

Tensor imaging can provide more comprehensive information about spatial physical properties, but it is a high-dimensional physical quantity that is difficult to observe directly. This paper proposes a fast-transform magnetic tensor imaging method based on the NV magnetic detection technique. The Euler deconvolution interprets the magnetic tensor data to obtain the target three-dimensional (3D) boundary information. Fast magnetic vector imaging was performed using optical detection of magnetic resonance (ODMR) to verify the method's feasibility. The complete tensor data was obtained based on the transformation of the vector magnetic imaging data, which was subsequently solved, and the contour information of the objective was restored. In addition, a fast magnetic moment judgment model and an angular transformation model of the observation space are developed in this paper to reduce the influence of the magnetic moment direction on the results and to help interpret the magnetic tensor data. Finally, the experiment realizes the localization, judgment of magnetic moment direction, and 3D boundary identification of a micron-sized tiny magnet with a spatial resolution of 10 µm, a model accuracy of 90.1%, and a magnetic moment direction error of 4.2°.

High precision microwave measurement based on nitrogen-vacancy color center and application in velocity detection

Wide-range high-precision velocity detection with nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color center has been realized. By treating the NV color center as a mixer, the high-precision microwave measurement is realized. Through optimization of acquisition time, the microwave frequency resolution is improved to the mHz level. Combined with the frequency-velocity conversion model, velocity detection is realized in the range of 0-100 cm/s, and the velocity resolution is up to 0.012 cm/s. The maximum deviation in repeated measurements does not exceed 1/1000. Finally, combined with the multiplexed microwave reference technique, the range of velocity can be extended to 7.4 × 105 m/s. All of the results provide reference for high-precision velocity detection and play a significant role in various domains of quantum precision measurement. This study provides a crucial technical foundation for the development of high-dynamic-range velocity detectors and novel quantum precision velocity measurement technologies.

Simultaneous detection of multi-channel signals in MHz bandwidth using nitrogen-vacancy centers in a diamond

In this paper, we propose a method for simultaneously recovering multiple radio wave signals based on nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond combining optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) spectrum. A controlled magnetic field gradient applied to the laser excitation area on the surface of diamond widens the detectable ODMR bandwidth to 200 MHz. Three different frequency-modulated (FM) signals with distinct carrier frequencies falling within the resonance frequency range are received and demodulated in real-time. Subsequently, the FM signal reception capability of this system is further investigated by measuring baseband signal frequencies ranging from 0.1 Hz to 200 Hz and adjusting the carrier power within a dynamic range from -10 dBm to 30 dBm. This proposal, which accomplishes multi-channel demodulation using a compact and single device, has potential applications in fields such as wireless communication, radar and navigation.

ASH2L, Core Subunit of H3K4 Methylation Complex, Regulates Amelogenesis

Histone methylation assumes a crucial role in the intricate process of enamel development. Our study has illuminated the substantial prevalence of H3K4me3 distribution, spanning from the cap stage to the late bell stage of dental germs. In order to delve into the role of H3K4me3 modification in amelogenesis and unravel the underlying mechanisms, we performed a conditional knockout of Ash2l, a core subunit essential for the establishment of H3K4me3 within the dental epithelium of mice. The absence of Ash2l resulted in reduced H3K4me3 modification, subsequently leading to abnormal morphology of dental germ at the late bell stage. Notably, knockout of Ash2l resulted in a loss of polarity in ameloblasts and odontoblasts. The proliferation and apoptosis of the inner enamel epithelium cells underwent dysregulation. Moreover, there was a notable reduction in the expression of matrix-related genes, Amelx and Dspp, accompanied with impaired enamel and dentin formation. Cut&Tag-seq (cleavage under targets and tagmentation sequencing) analysis substantiated a reduction of H3K4me3 modification on Shh, Trp63, Sp6, and others in the dental epithelium of Ash2l knockout mice. Validation through real-time polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence consistently affirmed the observed downregulation of Shh and Sp6 in the dental epithelium following Ash2l knockout. Intriguingly, the expression of Trp63 isomers, DNp63 and TAp63, was perturbed in Ash2l defect dental epithelium. Furthermore, the downstream target of TAp63, P21, exhibited aberrant expression within the cervical loop of mandibular first molars and incisors. Collectively, our findings suggest that ASH2L orchestrates the regulation of crucial amelogenesis-associated genes, such as Shh, Trp63, and others, by modulating H3K4me3 modification. Loss of ASH2L and H3K4me3 can lead to aberrant differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis of the dental epithelium by affecting the expression of Shh, Trp63, and others genes, thereby contributing to the defects of amelogenesis.

Recent Developments in Fabrication Methods and Measurement Schemes for Optically Pumped Magnetic Gradiometers: A Comprehensive Review

Optically pumped gradiometers have long been utilized in measurement in the International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF). With advancements in technologies such as laser diodes and microfabrication, integrated gradiometers with compact sizes have become available, enabling improvements in magnetoencephalography and fetal magnetocardiography within shielded spaces. Moreover, there is a growing interest in the potential of achieving biomagnetic source detection without shielding. This review focuses on recent developments in optically pumped magnetic field gradiometers, including various fabrication methods and measurement schemes. The strengths and weaknesses of different types of optically pumped gradiometers are also analyzed.

Multitrait meta-analyses identify potential candidate genes for growth-related traits in Holstein heifers

Understanding the underlying pleiotropic relationships among growth and body size traits is important for refining breeding strategies in dairy cattle for optimal body size and growth rate. Therefore, we performed single-trait GWAS for monthly-recorded body weight (BW), hip height, body length, and chest girth from birth to 12 mo of age in Holstein animals, followed by stepwise multiple regression of independent or lowly-linked markers from GWAS loci using conditional and joint association analyses (COJO). Subsequently, we conducted a multitrait meta-analysis to detect pleiotropic markers. Based on the single-trait GWAS, we identified 170 significant SNPs, in which 59 of them remained significant after the COJO analyses. The most significant SNP, located at BTA7:3,676,741, explained 2.93% of the total phenotypic variance for BW6 (BW at 6 mo of age). We identified 17 SNPs with potential pleiotropic effects based on the multitrait meta-analyses, which resulted in 3 additional SNPs in comparison to those detected based on the single-trait GWAS. The identified quantitative trait loci regions overlap with genes known to influence human growth-related traits. According to positional and functional analyses, we proposed HMGA2, HNF4G, MED13L, BHLHE40, FRZB, DMP1, TRIB3, and GATAD2A as important candidate genes influencing the studied traits. The combination of single-trait GWAS and meta-analyses of GWAS results improved the efficiency of detecting associated SNPs, and provided new insights into the genetic mechanisms of growth and development in Holstein cattle.

[Plurihormonal PIT1-lineage pituitary neuroendocrine tumors: a clinicopathological study]

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics of plurihormonal PIT1-lineage pituitary neuroendocrine tumors. Methods: Forty-eight plurihormonal PIT1-lineage tumors were collected between January 2018 and April 2022 from the pathological database of Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University. The related clinical and imaging data were retrieved. H&E, immunohistochemical and special stains were performed. Results: Out of the 48 plurihormonal PIT1-lineage tumors included, 13 cases were mature PIT1-lineage tumors and 35 cases were immature PIT1-lineage tumors. There were some obvious clinicopathological differences between the two groups. Clinically, the mature plurihormonal PIT1-lineage tumor mostly had endocrine symptoms due to increased hormone production, while a small number of immature PIT1-lineage tumors had endocrine symptoms accompanied by low-level increased serum pituitary hormone; patients with the immature PIT1-lineage tumors were younger than the mature PIT1-lineage tumors; the immature PIT1-lineage tumors were larger in size and more likely invasive in imaging. Histopathologically, the mature PIT1-lineage tumors were composed of large eosinophilic cells with high proportion of growth hormone expression, while the immature PIT1-lineage tumors consisted of chromophobe cells with a relatively higher expression of prolactin; the mature PIT1-lineage tumors had consistently diffuse cytoplasmic positive staining for keratin, while the immature PIT1-lineage tumors had various expression for keratin; the immature PIT1-lineage tumors showed more mitotic figures and higher Ki-67 proliferation index; in addition, 25.0% (12/48) of PIT1-positive plurihormonal tumors showed abnormal positive staining for gonadotropin hormones. There was no significant difference in the progression-free survival between the two groups (P=0.648) by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Conclusions: Plurihormonal PIT1-lineage tumor belongs to a rare type of PIT1-lineage pituitary neuroendocrine tumors, most of which are of immature lineage. Clinically increased symptoms owing to pituitary hormone secretion, histopathologically increased number of eosinophilic tumor cells with high proportion of growth hormone expression, diffusely cytoplasmic keratin staining and low proliferative activity can help differentiate the mature plurihormonal PIT1-lineage tumors from the immature PIT1-lineage tumors. The immature PIT1-lineage tumors have more complicated clinicopathological characteristics.

Efficacy of Postoperative Radiotherapy for Patients with New N2 Descriptors of Subclassification in Completely Resected Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Real-World Study

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Patients with N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were heterogeneous groups and required further stratification. The International Society for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) added new descriptors of three sub-stages for stage N2 NSCLC: N2 at a single station without N1 involvement (N2a1), N2 at a single station with N1 involvement (N2a2), and N2 at multiple stations (N2b). This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) for patients with these N2 descriptors.

MATERIALS/METHODS

Patients with histologically confirmed NSCLC after complete resection and divided into PORT group and non-PORT group. The primary endpoint was DFS. The second endpoints were overall survival (OS) and locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS). Propensity-score matching (PSM) of baseline characteristics between the PORT and non-PORT groups was used for validation.

RESULTS

Totally 1832 patients were enrolled, including 308 N2a1 patients, 682 N2a2 patients, and 842 N2b patients. The median follow-up time was 50.1 months. The survival outcomes of the PORT and non-PORT groups before PSM were shown in Table 1. For patients with N2a1, PORT could not improve the DFS (median DFS of the PORT group and the non-PORT group: not reached vs. 46.8 months, P = 0.41), OS (P = 0.85), or LRFS (P = 0.32), which were consistent with the multivariate analysis and data after the PSM. For patients with N2a2, PORT significantly improved the DFS (median DFS 29.7 vs. 22.2 months, P = 0.02), OS (P = 0.03), and LRFS (P = 0.01). The multivariate analysis and data after the PSM confirmed the benefits in DFS and LRFS, but no benefit was observed in OS (multivariate analysis: HR 0.79, P = 0.18; median OS after PSM: 103.7 vs. 63.1 months, P = 0.34). For patients with N2b, PORT could not improve the DFS (median DFS 20.6 vs. 21.2 months, P = 0.39) but significantly improved the OS (P<0.001) and LRFS (P<0.001). However, the multivariate analysis showed that PORT significantly improved DFS (HR 0.81, P = 0.03), consistent with the data after the PSM (median DFS 20.6 and 17.6 months, P = 0.04).

CONCLUSION

PORT significantly improved the DFS and LRFS in patients with N2a2 and significantly improved the DFS, LRFS, and OS in patients with N2b. Patients with N2a1 could not benefit from PORT.

High Dose Hyperfractionated Thoracic Radiotherapy vs. Standard Dose for Limited Stage Small-Cell Lung Cancer: A Multicenter, Open-Label Randomized, Phase 3 Trial

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Limited stage small-cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC) is associated with poor prognosis. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of high-dose, hyperfractionated thoracic radiotherapy of 54 Gy in 30 fractions compared with standard dose (45 Gy in 30 fractions) as a first-line treatment for LS-SCLC.

MATERIALS/METHODS

The study was an open-label, randomized, phase 3 trial, done at 16 public hospitals in China. Key inclusion criteria were patients aged 18-70 years, with previously histologically or cytologically confirmed LS-SCLC, previously untreated or received 1-2 courses of intravenous cisplatin (75 mg/m²of body-surface area, on day 1 or divided into two days of each cycle) or carboplatin (area under the curve of 5 mg/mL per min, day 1 of each cycle)and intravenous etoposide (100 mg/m²of body-surface area, on days 1-3 of each cycle), and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0-1.Eligible patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive volumetric-modulated arc radiotherapy (VMAT) of 45 Gy in 30 fractions or the simultaneous integrated boost VMAT (SIB-VMAT) of 54 Gy in 30 fractions to the primary lung tumor and lymph node metastases starting 0-42 days after the first chemotherapy course. Both groups of patients received thoracic radiotherapy twice per day and 10 fractions per week. Prophylactic cranial radiation (PCI, 25 Gy in 10 fractions) was implemented to patients with responsive disease. The primary endpoint was overall survival. Safety was analyzed in the as-treated population.

RESULTS

Between June 30, 2017, and April 6, 2021, 224 eligible patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to 54 Gy (n = 108) or 45 Gy (n = 116). Median follow-up for the primary analysis was 45 months (IQR 41-48). Median overall survival was significantly improved in the 54 Gy group (62.4 months) compared with the 45 Gy group (43.1 months; p = 0.001). Median progression-free survival was significantly improved in the 54 Gy group (30.5 months) compared with the 45 Gy group (16.7 months; p = 0.044). The most common grade 3-4 adverse events were neutropenia (30 [28%] of 108 patients in the 54 Gy group vs 27 [23%] of 116 patients in the 45 Gy group), neutropenic infections (6 [6%] vs 2 [2%]), thrombocytopenia (13 [12%] vs 12 [10%]), anemia (6 [6%] vs 4 [3%]), and esophagitis (1 [1%] vs 3 [3%]). Treatment-related serious adverse events occurred in 9 [8%] patients in the 54 Gy group and 16 [14%] patients in the 45 Gy group. There were one treatment-related deaths in 54 Gy group (myocardial infarction).

CONCLUSION

Compared with standard thoracic radiotherapy dose of 45 Gy, the high dose of 54 Gy improved overall survival and progression-free survival without increasing toxicities in patients with LS-SCLC, supporting twice-daily hyperfractionated thoracic radiotherapy of 54 Gy with concurrent chemotherapy is an alternative treatment option for LS-SCLC. This study is complete and registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03214003.

The Impact of a High Radiation Dose to the Immune Cells on Tumor Control and Survival in Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Undergoing Postoperative Radiotherapy

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Previous studies showed that the estimated dose of radiation to immune cells (EDRIC) was correlated with the overall survival (OS) of patients who received definitive thoracic radiotherapy. However, planning target volume (PTV) may be a confounding factor. The PTV is relatively uniform for patients undergoing postoperative radiotherapy (PORT). We further assessed the prognostic value of EDRIC on survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) undergoing PORT.

MATERIALS/METHODS

Patients with NSCLC who received PORT between 2004 and 2019 were analyzed. EDRIC was calculated as a function of the number of radiation fractions and mean doses to the lung, heart, and remaining body based on a model developed by Jin et al. The correlation between EDRIC and OS, PFS, local progression-free survival (LPFS), and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) were analyzed using univariable and multivariable Cox models. Kaplan-Meier method was used to show the survival difference between patients with high and low EDRIC.

RESULTS

A total of 345 patients were eligible. The mean EDRIC was 7.6 Gy. Multivariate analysis showed that EDRIC was associated with OS (HR 1.14, P = 0.002), PFS (HR 1.08, P = 0.016), LRFS (HR 1.111, P = 0.008), and DMFS (HR 1.10, P = 0.018). Patients were divided into low and high EDRIC groups according to median EDRIC. The 3-year OS was 82.7% and 72.2% (p = 0.03). The 3-year PFS was 40.3% and 17.8% (p < 0.01). The 3-year LRFS was 71.39% and 59.18% (p = 0.05). The 3-year DMFS was 74.4% and 63.4% (p = 0.06).

CONCLUSION

EDRIC was an independent prognostic factor for survival. Higher doses of radiation to the immune system were associated with tumor progression and death after the PORT of NSCLC. The organ at risk for the immune system should be considered during radiotherapy planning.

A Machine Learning Method to Predict Pathological Complete Response of Esophageal Cancer after Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy with Clinicohematological Markers and MR Radiomics: A Multi-Center Study

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Nearly 30% of patients with local advanced esophageal cancer achieved pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT), who may benefit from organ-preservation strategy under accurate prediction of pCR. We aimed to develop and validate machine learning models based on clinicohematological markers and MR radiomics to accurately predict pCR of esophageal cancer after nCRT.

MATERIALS/METHODS

In this multi-center study, eligible patients with esophageal cancer who received baseline MR scan (T2-weighted image) and nCRT plus surgery were enrolled between September 2014 and September 2022 at institution 1 (training set) and between December 2017 and August 2021 at institution 2 (testing set). Pre-nCRT and post-nCRT blood test results were collected to calculate hematological markers. Models were constructed by machine learning based on clinicohematological markers and MR radiomics to predict pCR. Area under the curve (AUC) and cut-off analysis were used to evaluate model performances.

RESULTS

Totally 154 patients (81 in the training set and 73 in the testing set) were enrolled. The combined model integrating pre-nCRT monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio and 6 radiomics features achieved AUC of 0.800 (95% CI 0.671-0.918) in the testing set, with sensitivity of 79.2% (95% CI 62.5%-95.8%), specificity of 83.7% (95% CI 73.5%-93.9%), positive predictive value of 76.0% (95% CI 62.5%-90.0%), and negative predictive value of 89.6% (95% CI 82.0%-95.8%).

CONCLUSION

A machine learning model based on clinicohematological markers and MR radiomics to predict pCR after nCRT for patients with esophageal cancer was developed and validated, providing a novel tool for personalized treatment. It is necessary to further validate in more large datasets.

Clinical Verification of a Nomogram Model for Prediction of Brain Metastases in Patients with pⅢA-N2 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Brain metastasis is one of the most common failure patterns of pⅢA-N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after complete resection. Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation (PCI) can improve intracranial control but not overall survival. Thus, it is particularly important to identify risk factors that are associated with brain metastasis and subsequently provide instructions for selecting patients who will optimally benefit from PCI. We have reported a nomogram model which was established based on the condition of histology, bronchial invasion, perineural invasion, and adjuvant chemotherapy, through which we can predict high risk brain metastases in patients with pⅢA-N2 NSCLC. The purpose of this study is to verify the accuracy of the nomogram model by using new cases information.

MATERIALS/METHODS

Between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2019, patients of pⅢA-N2 NSCLC were retrospectively analyzed, to verify the consistency between actual and predictive brain metastases. The verification group was divided into two groups according to the years when genetic testing has been widely used in clinic (group1:2015-2016, group2:2017-2019). ROC curves and calibration curves were chosen for validation.

RESULTS

A total of 770 patients were enrolled in our retrospective study (group1:294 patients, group2: 476patients). The 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates were 97.2%, 76.5%, 63.2% in group1, and 95.8%, 84.5%, 76.9% in group2, respectively. The 1-, 3- and 5-year brain metastasis rates were 7.9%, 19.7%, 25.8%, and 5.4%, 14.5%, 26.3% in group2, respectively. The AUC were 0.74 (95% CI:0.72 - 0.76) in group1, and 0.71(95% CI:0.70 - 0.73) in group 2.The 1.3.5-year calibration curves of the two groups show that the prediction is in good agreement with the actual observation.

CONCLUSION

The nomogram model can predict brain metastases high risk patients with pⅢA-N2 NSCLC. Whether gene test or not, it can be used as a basis to screening out patients of high-risk brain metastases in future clinical trials for PCI.

Overall Survival Following Salvage Thoracic Radiotherapy for Locoregional Recurrence in Patients with Completely Resected PIIIA-N2 NSCLC

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Locoregional recurrence is a common failure pattern for patients with completely resected pIIIA-N2 NSCLC. The salvage thoracic radiotherapy is administered in some pIIIA-N2 NSCLC patients despite postoperative radiotherapy (PORT). Salvage thoracic radiotherapy could be well tolerated and might improve survival from several small sample retrospective studies, while the high-level clinical evidence is presently lacking. We conducted this retrospective case control study to demonstrate the efficacy of salvage thoracic radiotherapy for completely resected pIIIA-N2 NSCLC patients with locoregional recurrence.

MATERIALS/METHODS

Between January 2003 and June 2019, patients who had undergone lobectomy or pneumonectomy plus mediastinal lymph node dissection or systematic sampling in our single institution were retrospectively reviewed. Those with pⅢA-N2 NSCLC that did not receive PORT and suffered locoregional recurrence being the first treatment failure were enrolled. The log-rank test was used to analyze differences between the groups, and the Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis. Univariate and multivariate analyses using Cox proportional hazards regression models were performed to evaluate potential prognostic factors for survival. Statistically significant difference was set as p<0.05.

RESULTS

Of all the patients with pⅢA-N2 NSCLC reviewed, 105 suffered locoregional recurrence as the first treatment failure and didn't receive PORT. Among these patients, 51 (48.6%) received salvage thoracic radiotherapy and 54 (51.4%) did not. The median OS was 47.7 months of all patients. Survival analysis showed that the median OS in salvage thoracic radiotherapy group (69.0 months) was significantly longer than that in non-salvage thoracic radiotherapy group (37.7 months) (p = 0.029). For patients of EGFR wild type, salvage thoracic radiotherapy group had significantly longer median OS of 69.0 months compared with non-salvage thoracic radiotherapy group of 31.3 months (p = 0.004). When assessed by histological types, salvage thoracic radiotherapy significantly improved the survival of patients with lung squamous cell carcinoma with median OS not reached compared with non-salvage thoracic radiotherapy group of 31.3 months (p<0.001), while in patients with non-squamous cell carcinoma, this survival benefit was not observed (p = 0.829).

CONCLUSION

Salvage thoracic radiotherapy is an effective treatment for completely resected pIIIA-N2 NSCLC patients that have not received PORT and suffered post-operative locoregional recurrence.

Modelling enzyme inhibition toxicity of ionic liquid from molecular structure via convolutional neural network model

Deep learning (DL) methods further promote the development of quantitative structure-activity/property relationship (QSAR/QSPR) models by dealing with complex relationships between data. An acetylcholinesterase inhibitory toxicity model of ionic liquids (ILs) was established using a convolution neural network (CNN) combined with support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF) and multilayer perceptron (MLP). A CNN model was proposed for feature self-learning and extraction of ILs. By comparing with the model results through feature engineering (FE), the model regression results based on the CNN model for feature extraction have been substantially improved. The results showed that all six models (FE-SVM, FE-RF, FE-MLP, CNN-SVM, CNN-RF, and CNN-MLP) had good prediction accuracy, but the results based on the CNN model were better. The hyperparameters of six models were optimized by grid search and the 10-fold cross validation. Compared with the existing models in the literature, the model performance has been further improved. The model could be used as an intelligent tool to guide the design or screening of low-toxicity ILs.

Noise Suppression of Nitrogen-Vacancy Magnetometer in Lock-In Detection Method by Using Common Mode Rejection

Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamonds are promising solid-state magnetic sensors with potential applications in power systems, geomagnetic navigation, and diamond NV color center current transformers, in which both high bandwidth and high magnetic field resolution are required. The wide bandwidth requirement often necessitates high laser power, but this induces significant laser fluctuation noise that affects the detection magnetic field resolution severely. Therefore, enhancement of the magnetic field resolution of wide-bandwidth NV center magnetic sensors is highly important because of the reciprocal effects of the bandwidth and magnetic field resolution. In this article, we develop a common mode rejection (CMR) model to eliminate the laser noise effectively. The simulation results show that the noise level of the light-detected magnetic resonance signal is significantly reduced by a factor of 6.2 after applying the CMR technique. After optimization of the laser power and modulation frequency parameters, the optimal system bandwidth was found to be 75 Hz. Simultaneously, the system's detection magnetic field resolution was enhanced significantly, increasing from 4.49 nT/Hz1/2 to 790.8 pT/Hz1/2, which represents an improvement of nearly 5.7 times. This wide-bandwidth, high-magnetic field resolution NV color center magnetic sensor will have applications including power systems, geomagnetic navigation, and diamond NV color center current transformers.

Effect of Preparation Processes on Structural Thermal Stability and Collision Energy Dissipation of Common Antirelaxation Coatings on Quartz Substrates

Paraffin and octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) coatings can alleviate collisions between alkali-metal atoms and cell walls and then prolong the atomic spin-polarization lifetime. The surface structure and collision effects of these antirelaxation coatings, as well as the methods to avoid antirelaxation invalidity, have been the focus of researchers. This study investigated the thermolability of coating surface structure and the collision interactions between alkali metal atoms and coatings, considering the influence of various coating preparation factors, where this collision interaction is indirectly analyzed by measuring the collision energy dissipation between an atomic force microscopy (AFM) probe and the atoms on the coating surface. We found that appropriate evaporation time, carbochain length, and postannealing process can enhance the thermostability of the paraffin coating and eliminate its morphological defects. Furthermore, the OTS/water concentration, the soaking time, and the type of solvent have different levels of influence on the cluster formation and the thermostability of the OTS coatings. Moreover, the antirelaxation performance of coatings has been shown to be characterized by counting the energy dissipated when the AFM probe collides with the antirelaxation coating, replacing the conventional light-atom interaction- based method for measuring the relaxation characteristics, but requiring specific coating preparation factors to be maintained.

Microwave target location method based on the diamond NV color center

We propose a method for microwave target source localization based on the diamond nitrogen vacancy color center. We use coherent population oscillation effect and modulation and demodulation techniques to achieve the detection of microwave intensity of microwave target sources, with a minimum detection intensity of 0.59 µW. Positioning of the microwave source was achieved within 50×100c m 2 distance from the system 1 m away using the cubic spline interpolation algorithm and minimum mean squared error. The maximum positioning error was 3.5 cm. This method provides a new, to the best of our knowledge, idea for the passive localization of microwave targets.

Robustness improvement of a nitrogen-vacancy magnetometer by a double driving method

The nitrogen vacancy (NV) color center in diamonds is an electron spin that can measure magnetic fields with high sensitivity and resolution. Furthermore, the robustness of an NV-based quantum system should be improved for further application in other sensing methods and in the exploration of basic physics. In this work, the robustness of an NV magnetometer is improved by the double driving method. The sensitivity of the NV magnetometer was improved 2.1 times by strengthening the pumping power from 100 to 600 mW. In this process, thermal drift was introduced, which affects the measurement accuracy. The temperature drift of a diamond matrix was measured using an infrared camera, and the temperature change of a diamond host drifted to ∼80 K under high laser and microwave power. To address the drift of temperature owing to sensitivity improvement by pumping enhancement, the double driving method was introduced, to suppress the drift of the resonance frequency, to improve the robustness of a continuous-wave NV magnetometer. The magnetic noise density was improved from 10 to 1.2 nT/Hz1/2. This study checked the source of temperature noise in the process of measuring with the NV color centers and proposes a double driving measurement method to track the resonant frequency change due to environmental temperature drift and improve sensitivity. The findings of this study are useful in applying complex pulse protocols in high-level sensing applications based on solid-state spin.

Expert consensus of management of adverse drug reactions with anaplastic lymphoma kinase tyrosine kinase inhibitors

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangements occur in ∼3%-6% of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Small molecular drugs that effectively inhibit ALK gene have revolutionized the therapeutic paradigm for patients with ALK rearrangements, resulting in significant improvements in objective response rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival compared with classical platinum-based chemotherapy. Several ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitors (ALK-TKIs), including crizotinib, alectinib, ceritinib, brigatinib, ensartinib, and lorlatinib, have been recommended as standard first-line treatment for advanced NSCLC patients with ALK rearrangements. Patients with ALK rearrangements typically exhibit long-term durable responses to ALK-TKIs; therefore, the management of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) with ALK-TKIs is crucial in clinical practice to maximize clinical benefits, prevent an adverse impact on quality of life, and improve patient compliance. In general, ALK-TKIs are well tolerated. There are, however, a number of serious toxicities that may necessitate dose modification or even discontinuation of treatment and the management of ADRs with ALK-TKIs has grown in importance. The therapeutic use of this class of medications still carries some risk because there are currently no pertinent guidelines or consensus recommendations for managing ADRs caused by ALK-TKIs in China. In order to improve the clinical management of ADRs with ALK-TKIs, the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO) Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Professional Committee led the discussion and summary of the incidence, diagnosis and grading standards, and prevention and treatment of ADRs caused by ALK-TKIs.

Pico-tesla magnetic field detection with integrated flux concentrators using a multi-frequency modulation technique on the solid nuclear spin in diamonds

In this paper, we implement integrated magnetic flux concentrators (MFCs) combined with a multi-frequency modulation method to achieve high-magnetic-detection sensitivity using a nuclear spin on the solid nuclear spin in diamonds. First, we excited the nuclear spin in diamonds using a continuous-wave technique, and a linewidth of 1.37 MHz and frequency resolution of 79 Hz were successfully obtained, which is reduced by one order of the linewidth, and increased by 56 times in frequency resolution compared to that excited by an electron spin. The integrated high-permeability MFC was designed to magnify the magnetic field near the diamond, with a magnification of 9.63 times. Then, the multi-frequency modulation technique was used to fully excite the hyperfine energy level of Nitrogen Vacancy (NV) centers along the four axes on the diamond with MFC, and magnetic detection sensitivity of 250p T/H z 1/2 was realized. These techniques should allow designing an integrated NV magnetometer with high sensitivity in a small volume.

CSRR Structure Design for NV Spin Manipulation with Microwave Strength and Fluorescence Collection Synchronous Enhancement

In this work, we designed, simulated, and tested a complementary split ring resonator (CSRR) for the purpose of applying a strong and uniform microwave field for the manipulation of nitrogen vacancy (NV) ensembles. This structure was fabricated by etching two concentric rings on a flat metal film that was deposited on a printed circuit board. A metal transmission on the back plane was used as the feed line. The fluorescence collection efficiency was improved by about 2.5 times with the CSRR structure compared to that without CSRR. Furthermore, the maximum Rabi frequency could reach 11.3 MHz, and the Rabi frequency variation was smaller than 2.8% in an area of 250 × 75 μm. This could pave the way to achieving high-efficiency control of the quantum state for spin-based sensor applications.

Research on Micro-Displacement Measurement Accuracy Enhancement Method Based on Ensemble NV Color Center

This paper builds a corresponding micro-displacement test system based on an ensemble nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color center magnetometer by combining the correlation between a magnetic flux concentrator, a permanent magnet, and micro-displacement. By comparing the measurement results obtained with and without the magnetic flux concentrator, it can be seen that the resolution of the system under the magnetic flux concentrator can reach 25 nm, which is 24 times higher than without the magnetic flux concentrator. The effectiveness of the method is proven. The above results provide a practical reference for high-precision micro-displacement detection based on the diamond ensemble.

[High-fat intake alleviates lung injury induced by Paragonimus proliferus infection in rats through up-regulating CYP 4A1 expression in lung tissues]

OBJECTIVE

To explore the improvements of high-fat intake on lung injury induced by Paragonimus proliferus infection in rats, and to preliminarily explore the mechanisms underlying the role of cytochrome P450 4A1 (CYP 4A1) in the improve ments.

METHODS

SD rats were randomly assigned into three groups, including the normal control group (n = 10), the infection and normal diet group (n = 12) and the infection and high-fat diet group (n = 12). Rats in the normal control group were fed with normal diet and without any other treatments, and animals in the infection and normal diet group were subcutaneously injected with 8 excysted metacercariae of P. proliferus via the abdominal wall, followed by feeding with normal diet, while rats in the infection and high-fat diet group were subcutaneously injected with 8 excysted metacercariae of P. proliferus via the abdominal wall, followed by feeding with high-fat diet. All rats were sacrificed 28 weeks post-infection, and serum samples and lung specimens were collected. Following hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining of rat lung specimens, the rat lung injury was observed under an optical microscope, and alveolitis was evaluated using semi-quantitative scoring. Serum interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the cytochrome P450 4A1 (CYP 4A1) expression was quantified in rat lung specimens at transcriptional and translational levels using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and Western blotting assays.

RESULTS

Alveolar wall thickening, edema and inflammatory cell infiltration were alleviated 28 weeks post-infection with P. proliferus in rats in the infection and high-fat diet group relative to the infection and normal diet group, and no alveolar consolidation was seen in the infection and high-fat diet group. The semi-quantitative score of alveolitis was significantly higher in the infection and normal diet group [(2.200 ± 0.289) points] than in the normal control group [(0.300 ± 0.083) points] and the infection and high-fat diet group [(1.300 ± 0.475) points] (both P values < 0.05), and higher serum IL-1β [(151.586 ± 20.492)] pg/mL and TNF-α levels [(180.207 ± 23.379) pg/mL] were detected in the infection and normal diet group than in the normal control group [IL-1β: (103.226 ± 3.366) pg/mL; TNF-α: (144.807 ± 1.348) pg/mL] and the infection and high-fat diet group [IL-1β: (110.131 ± 12.946) pg/mL; TNF-α: (131.764 ± 27.831) pg/mL] (all P values < 0.05). In addition, lower CYP 4A1 mRNA (3.00 ± 0.81) and protein expression (0.40 ± 0.02) was quantified in lung specimens in the infection and normal diet group than in the normal control group [(5.03 ± 2.05) and (0.84 ± 0.14)] and the infection and high-fat diet group [(11.19 ± 3.51) and (0.68 ± 0.18)] (all P values < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

High-fat intake may alleviate lung injuries caused by P. proliferus infection in rats through up-regulating CYP 4A1 expression in lung tissues at both translational and transcriptional levels.

[DTX2 overexpression promotes migration and invasion of colorectal cancer cells through the Notch2/Akt axis]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effect of changes in DTX2 expression level on migration and invasion of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells and explore the mechanism.

METHODS

Two CRC cell lines SW620 and LoVo were transfected with a specific shRNA targeting DTX2 (DTX2-shRNA) or a DTX2-overexpressing plasmid (pcDNA-DTX2), and the transfection efficiency was evaluated with RT-qPCR and Western blotting. Scratch and Transwell assays were used to assess the changes in migration and invasion ability of the transfected cells, and the cellular expression levels of Notch2, NICD, AKT, p-Akt and MMP-2/9 proteins were detected with Western blotting. The CRC cells were co-transfected with pcDNA-DTX2 and Notch2 siRNA to assess the effect of Notch2 knockdown on DTX2 overexpression-induced enhancement of cell migration and invasion.

RESULTS

The expression levels of DTX2 at both the mRNA and protein levels were significantly decreased in CRC cells transfected with DTX2- shRNA (P < 0.01) and increased in cells transfected with pcDNA-DTX2 (P < 0.01). Scratch and Transwell assays showed that the migration and invasion abilities of CRC cells were significantly lowered following DTX2 knockdown (P < 0.01) and were enhanced in cells with DTX2 overexpression (P < 0.01). The expression levels of Notch2, NICD, p-Akt and MMP-2 proteins decreased significantly in CRC cells with DTX2 knockdown (P < 0.05) and increased obviously in DTX2-overexpressing cells (P < 0.05). In both of the two CRC cell lines, transfection with Notch2 siRNA obviously reversed the effect of DTX2 overexpression in promoting cell migration and invasion (P < 0.01) and expressions of the related proteins.

CONCLUSION

DTX2 overexpression promotes migration and invasion of CRC cells through the Notch2/Akt axis, suggesting the potential of DTX2 as a new biological indicator of CRC.

Hashing-based semantic relevance attributed knowledge graph embedding enhancement for deep probabilistic recommendation

Knowledge graph embedding (KGE) is effectively exploited in providing precise and accurate recommendations from many perspectives in different application scenarios. However, such methods that utilize entire embedded Knowledge Graph (KG) without applying information-relevance regulatory constraints fail to stop the noise penetration into the underlying information. Moreover, higher computational time complexity is a CPU overhead in KG-enhanced systems and applications. The occurrence of these limitations significantly degrade the recommendation performance. Therefore, to cope with these challenges we proposed novel KGEE (Knowledge Graph Embedding Enhancement) approach of Hashing-based Semantic-relevance Attributed Graph-embedding Enhancement (H-SAGE) to model semantically-relevant higher-order entities and relations into the unique Meta-paths. For this purpose, we introduced Node Relevance-based Guided-walk (NRG) modeling technique. Further, to deal with the computational time-complexity, we converted the relevant information to the Hash-codes and proposed Deep-Probabilistic (dProb) technique to place hash-codes in the relevant hash-buckets. Again, we used dProb to generate guided function-calls to maximize the possibility of Hash-Hits in the hash-buckets. In case of Hash-Miss, we applied Locality Sensitive (LS) hashing to retrieve the required information. We performed experiments on three benchmark datasets and compared the empirical as well as the computational performance of H-SAGE with the baseline approaches. The achieved results and comparisons demonstrate that the proposed approach has outperformed the-state-of-the-art methods in the mentioned facets of evaluation.

Association of body mass index and intestinal (faecal) Streptococcus in adults in Xining city, China P.R

Body mass index (BMI) and gut microbiota show significant interaction, but most studies on the relationship between BMI and gut microbiota have been done in Western countries. Relationships that are also identified in other cultural backgrounds are likely to have functional importance. Hence here we explore gut microbiota in adults living in Xining city (China P.R.) and relate results to subject BMI. Analysis of bacterial 16s rRNA gene was performed on faecal samples from participants with normal-weight (n=24), overweight (n=24), obesity (n=11) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) (n=8). The results show that unweighted but not weighted Unifrac distance was significantly different when gut microbiota composition was compared between the groups. Importantly, the genus Streptococcus was remarkably decreased in both obese subjects and subjects suffering from T2D, as compared to normal-weight subjects. Accordingly, strong association was identified between the genus Streptococcus and BMI and especially Streptococcus salivarius subsp. thermophiles was a major contributor in this respect. As previous studies have shown that Streptococcus salivarius subsp. thermophiles is also negatively associated with obesity in Western cohorts, our results suggest that this species is a potential probiotic for the prevention of obesity and related disorders.

[Clinicopathological characteristics of H3K27-altered diffuse midline glioma and evaluation of NTRK as its therapeutic target]

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics of H3K27-altered diffuse midline glioma (DMG), and to analyze DMG's prognostic factors, and subsequently, to study the possibility of using NTRK as a therapeutic target for DMG. Methods: A total of 232 DMG diagnosed at the Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China from July 2016 to March 2021 were collected. Their clinical, radiological and pathological features, the ratio of MGMT promoter methylation, expression of NTRK, and characteristics of NTRK gene fusion were analyzed. The prognostic values of different factors were also studied, including age, tumor location, histological grade, gene and protein expression of NTRK, and postoperative adjuvant therapy. Results: Among the 232 DMG cases, there were 8 patients with both primary and relapse tumors on the record. Thus, a total of 224 patients were analyzed, including 118 males and 106 females. There were 126 adults (>18 years of age) and 98 children (≤18 years of age). Notably, the most frequent location was thalamus (41/126, 32.5%) in adults, but brainstem (59/96, 60.2%) in children. The lesions showed T1 hypointensity or isointensity, and T2 hyperintensity. However, contrast enhancement patterns of the tumors varied, with many tumors lacking contrast-enhancing. The histological grades included grade 2 (9/224, 4.0%), grade 3 (41/224, 18.3%) and grade 4 (174/224, 77.7%). Two hundred and twenty-four DMGs were diffusely positive for H3K27M and negative for H3K27me3. The ratio of MGMT promoter methylation was low (1/45, 2.2%). One hundred and seventy-seven of the 224 cases (177/224, 79.0%) were positive for NTRK. Fifty cases were analyzed using fluorescence in situ hybridization. Among them, five DMGs (positive rate, 10.0%) were NTRK fusion positive. This study showed that there were no differences between adult and pediatric DMGs in histological grading, expression of NTRK, and NTRK gene fusion. One hundred and fifty-nine patients were included in the follow-up analysis (P>0.05). During the follow-up period, 109/159 patients (69.6%) died of the disease, with a median survival time of 12 months (range 1 to 55 months). Univariate log-rank analysis showed that age, location, surgical procedure and postoperative adjuvant therapy were associated with overall survivals of the DMG patients (P<0.05). Conclusions: The prognosis of DMG is poor overall. There are differences between adult and pediatric DMGs in anatomic location and prognosis, but not in other features. NTRK1 gene fusion is detected in 10.0% of the tumors. It suggests that TRK inhibitor might be a choice for treating DMG.

Wide-field tomography imaging of a double circuit using NV center ensembles in a diamond

The wide-field (2.42 mm × 1.36 mm, resolution: 5.04 µm) tomography imaging of double circuits is performed using nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center ensembles in a diamond. The magnetic-field distribution on the surface of the circuit produced by the lower layer is obtained. Vector magnetic superposition is used to separate the magnetic-field distribution produced by the lower layer from the magnetic-field distribution produced by two layers. An inversion model is used to perform the tomography imaging of the magnetic-field distribution on the lower layer surface. Compared with the measurements of the upper layer, the difference in the maximum magnetic-field intensity of inversion is approximately 0.4%, and the difference in the magnetic-field distribution of inversion is approximately 8%, where the depth of the lower layer is 0.32 mm. Simulations are conducted to prove the reliability of the imaging. These results provide a simple and highly accurate reference for the detection and fault diagnosis of multilayer and integrated circuits.

Comparative analysis of R2R3-MYB transcription factors in the flower of Iris laevigata identifies a novel gene regulating tobacco cold tolerance

Breeding for flower cold resistance is a priority for flower breeding research in northern China. The identification of cold resistance genes will not only provide genetic resources for cold resistance breeding, but also form a basis for the study of plant cold resistance mechanisms. Based on the flower transcriptome of Iris laevigata, 20 R2R3-MYBs were identified and comprehensive analysis, including conservative domain, phylogenetic analyses and functional distribution, were performed for R2R3-MYBs. Expression patterns of the abiotic stress genes under cold stress were detected, the upregulated gene was genetically transformed into tobacco, and the related physiological indicators of the transgenic tobacco were measured. A novel cold resistance gene, IlMYB306, was obtained. qRT-PCR indicated that IlMYB306 was dramatically induced by cold stress and was significantly upregulated in roots. The free proline content, MDA, SOD and POD activity of the transgenic tobacco improved after cold stress, and the chlorophyll content decreased slowly. In addition, overexpression of IlMYB306 improved cold resistance of the seeds. SEM results showed leaves of transgenic tobacco had obvious folds, more grooves and bulges on the lower leaf surface. Overall, we report a novel cold resistance R2R3-MYB gene, IlMYB306, in the flower of I. laevigata, which could improve tobacco cold stress tolerance by thickening the waxy layer, increasing antioxidant activity and the content of proline.

Atomic microwave electric field detection enhanced by a loading resonator

Accurate detection technology of the microwave electric field is an important foundation to explore new materials, devices, and electromagnetic effects. In this paper, the design of a microwave electric field detection enhanced by a resonant cavity was proposed and experimentally verified. The simulation results show that the enhancement factor is 3.45 at the position of 3 mm from the square SRR). By combining the experimental system, the actual enhancement factor is 3.31(6), and the corresponding electric field detection sensitivity is increased from 1.02 V/m to 0.30 V/m. The proposed scheme provides certain technical support for the weak microwave electric field detection and the development of the integrated atomic microwave detection unit.

[A case report of acute methyl acetate poisoning in cloth processing workshop]

This article analyzed the clinical data of a patient with occupational chemical poisoning in a fabric processing workshop in August 2020, and carried out occupational hygiene investigation and testing. The patient went to the doctor because of painless progressive vision loss in both eyes, and was clinically diagnosed with methanol poisoning optic neuropathy in both eyes. The glue, solvent, washing machine water, and curing agent used in the workshop were used for qualitative analysis of volatile organic components, and methyl acetate was all detected. Esters, the relative percentages were 42.56%, 66.67%, 46.43%, and 41.63%, respectively. Therefore, it was judged that the patient was occupational acute methyl acetate poisoning, the enterprise should strengthen the awareness of safe production and enhance the occupational hygiene knowledge and self-protection awareness of workers.

[Clinical value of routine contrast esophagram in the diagnosis of anastomotic leakage for three-incision esophagectomy with cervical anastomosis]

Objective: To examine the clinical value of routine contrast esophagram (RCE) for the diagnosis of anastomotic leakage (AL) after three-incision esophagectomy with cervical anastomosis. Methods: Clinical data of 1 022 patients with esophageal cancer who underwent McKeown three-incision esophagectomy with cervical anastomosis from January 2015 to December 2019 at Department of Minimally Invasive Esophageal Surgery, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital and Institute were analyzed retrospectively. There were 876 males and 146 females, aging(M(IQR)) 48(16) years (range: 36 to 84 years). There were 253 patients (24.8%) with neoadjuvant therapy, and 817 patients (79.9%) with minimally invasive esophagectomy. According to the diagnosis and treatment habits of the attending surgeons, 333 patients were included in the RCE group, and RCE was performed on the 7^th day postoperative, while 689 patients were included in the non-RCE group, and RCE was performed when the patients had suspicious symptoms. Taking clinical symptoms, RCE, CT, endoscopy and other methods as reference to the diagnosis of AL, the sensitivity and specificity were used to analyze and evaluate the efficacy of RCE for the diagnosis of AL. The data were compared by U test or χ² test between groups. Results: The incidence rate of AL after three-incision esophagectomy was 7.34% (75/1 022), including 30 cases in the RCE group and 45 cases in the non-RCE group (9.0%(30/333) vs. 6.5%(45/689), χ²=2.027, P=0.155). The diagnostic time of AL was 9(5) days postoperative (range: 4 to 30 days). Among them, 23 cases showed cervical leakages, 50 cases showed intro-thoracic leakages, and 2 cases both cervical and intro-thoracic leakages. The diagnostic time of patients with intro-thoracic leakages was longer than that of cervical leakages (10(4) days vs. 6(3) days, Z=-2.517, P=0.012). Among the 333 patients in the RCE group, 16 cases of RCE indicated leakages including 11 cases of true positive and 5 cases determined to be false positive, while 317 cases indicated no abnormalities including 19 cases developed leakages. The sensitivity and specificity of RCE to detect AL were 36.7%(11/30) and 98.3%(298/333), respectively. The Youden-index was 0.35, and the diagnostic accuracy was 92.8%(309/333). The positive and negative predictive value were 11/16 and 94.0%(298/317), respectively. Conclusions: Routine contrast esophagram after three-incision esophagectomy with cervical anastomosis has low sensitivity and high specificity in the diagnosis of AL. The diagnostic time of AL is the 9^th day after surgery. It is necessary to prolong the observation time clinically, and combine RCE with CT, endoscopy and other inspection methods for diagnosis.