Outcomes of prophylactic lauromacrogol injection versus non-injection in patients with endogenous cesarean scar pregnancy treated by hysteroscopic surgery: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of hysteroscopic surgery for endogenous cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) and the value of prophylactic ultrasound-guided local injection of lauromacrogol. METHODS: This retrospective study included 131 patients diagnosed with endogenous CSP who underwent hysteroscopic surgery at the Hangzhou Fuyang Women and Children Hospital between January 2018 and May 2022. Lauromacrogol (10-20 mL) was administered within 24 h preoperatively using an ultrasound-guided vaginal injection to 78 patients (L group) versus not administered to 53 patients (non-L group). Their clinical data and outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS: Mean gestational age, gestational mass size, and uterine scar thickness and median preoperative blood ß-human chorionic gonadotropin levels of the non-L versus L groups were 46.26 versus 45.01 days, 2.05 versus 2.39 cm, 0.35 versus 0.32 cm, and 19850.0 versus 26790.0 U/L, respectively (P > 0.05 for each). The non-L and L groups had similar success rates (98.1% vs. 98.7%, P = 1.0). Complications related to lauromacrogol administration, including abdominal pain, massive bleeding, and bradycardia, were experienced by 46.2% (36/78; P < 0.001) of L group patients. The non-L had a significantly shorter mean hospital stay (4.85 ± 1.12 vs 5.44 ± 1.08 days) and lower total cost (6148.75 ± 1028.71 vs 9016.61 ± 1181.19) (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Hysteroscopic surgery is effective and safe for patients with endogenous CSP. Prophylactic lauromacrogol injection increases the incidence of complications and costs. Direct hysteroscopic surgery can reduce pain and financial burden in patients with endogenous CSP and save medical resources for other patients.

Balancing selection on an MYB transcription factor maintains the twig trichome color variation in Melastoma normale.

BACKGROUND: The factors that maintain phenotypic and genetic variation within a population have received long-term attention in evolutionary biology. Here the genetic basis and evolution of the geographically widespread variation in twig trichome color (from red to white) in a shrub Melastoma normale was investigated using Pool-seq and evolutionary analyses. RESULTS: The results show that the twig trichome coloration is under selection in different light environments and that a 6-kb region containing an R2R3 MYB transcription factor gene is the major region of divergence between the extreme red and white morphs. This gene has two highly divergent groups of alleles, one of which likely originated from introgression from another species in this genus and has risen to high frequency (> 0.6) within each of the three populations under investigation. In contrast, polymorphisms in other regions of the genome show no sign of differentiation between the two morphs, suggesting that genomic patterns of diversity have been shaped by homogenizing gene flow. Population genetics analysis reveals signals of balancing selection acting on this gene, and it is suggested that spatially varying selection is the most likely mechanism of balancing selection in this case. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrate that polymorphisms on a single transcription factor gene largely confer the twig trichome color variation in M. normale, while also explaining how adaptive divergence can occur and be maintained in the face of gene flow.

Value of Ferritin Heavy Chain (FTH1) Expression in Diagnosis and Prognosis of Renal Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND Serum ferritin is a useful tumor marker for renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, the expression of ferritin heavy chain (FTH1), the main subunit of ferritin, is unclear in primary RCC tissues. In this study, we investigated FTH1 mRNA expression and its diagnostic and prognostic value in RCC. MATERIAL AND METHODS The mRNA expression of FTH1 was analyzed using including Oncomine, Gene Expression Omnibus, and Cancer Genome Atlas datasets, while the protein level of FTH1 was analyzed using the Human Protein Atlas database. The associations between FTH1 and clinicopathologic characteristics and survival time and Cox multivariate survival analysis were analyzed using SPSS 22.0 software. A meta-analysis was performed to assess consistency of FTH1 expression. GO, KEGG, and PPI analyses were used to predict biological functions. RESULTS According to TCGA data, overexpression of FTH1 was detected in 890 RCC tissues (15.2904±0.63157) compared to 129 normal kidney tissues (14.4502±0.51523, p<0.001). Among the clinicopathological characteristics evaluated, patients with increased pathologic T staging, lymph node metastasis, and distant metastasis were significantly associated with higher expression of FTH1. Elevated FTH1 mRNA levels were correlated with worse prognosis of RCC patients. Cox multivariate survival analysis indicated that age, stage, and M stage were predictors of poor prognosis in patients with RCC. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that FTH1 expression is an effective prognostic and diagnosis biomarker for RCC.

The chloroplast genome of silk floss tree (Ceiba speciosa).

Ceiba speciosa (Malvaceae), also called silk floss tree, is a beautiful and deciduous tree native to tropical and subtropical forests of South America. Its phylogenetic position remains unclear. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome sequence of C. speciosa was reported. Its chloroplast genome size was 160,360 bp, which contains a small single copy (SSC) region of 19,947 bp and a large single copy region (LSC) of 89,393 bp, and two inverted repeats (IRs) of 25,510 bp each. In total, 129 genes were annotated for the chloroplast genome, including 86 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes and 8 rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that C. speciosa was sister to Bombax ceiba.

Development and characterization of 18 polymorphic SSR markers for Barthea barthei (Melastomataceae).

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: To examine population differentiation, simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were developed in Barthea barthei, a shrub with a disjunct distribution in the southern mainland of China and Taiwan. METHODS AND RESULTS: We used Illumina HiSeq technology to sequence a genomic library for SSR identification. Twenty-seven SSR loci were developed, of which 18 SSR loci were polymorphic in three populations composed of two varieties of B. barthei. At the population level, the number of alleles ranged from one to seven, and the observed and expected heterozygosity varied from 0 to 0.850 and from 0 to 0.809, respectively. Higher genetic differentiation between the two populations of B. barthei var. barthei (FST = 0.474) was observed relative to the two varieties (FST = 0.387 and 0.418, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: These polymorphic SSR markers may be useful for understanding phytogeographic history of B. barthei. Lower genetic differentiation between the two varieties than between the two populations of B. barthei var. barthei suggests that the taxonomic treatment may not hold.