[Bronchoscopic intervention therapy for pulmonary mucormycosis with main bronchial occlusion: a case report].

Pulmonary mucormycosis is one of the most common types of mucormycosis. Tracheobronchial pulmonary mucormycosis primarily affects the tracheobronchial tree, causing lesions that can invade the airway mucosa and muscular layer, damaging the cartilage. It is characterised by acute onset, rapid progression, and high mortality rate, making clinical treatment challenging. This article reports the diagnosis and treatment of a patient with pulmonary mucormycosis complicated by left main bronchus occlusion. In addition to systemic treatment, which consisted mainly of an intravenous injection of amphotericin B combined with an oral suspension of posaconazole, the patient underwent multiple bronchoscopic interventions, including local infusion of amphotericin B under endoscopy, balloon dilation and silicone stent placement. After four months of comprehensive treatment, the therapeutic effect was satisfactory. This report demonstrates that bronchoscopic intervention therapy plays an important role in the comprehensive treatment of pulmonary mucormycosis, especially in preventing death from the progression to obstructive pneumonia.

[Time-dependent Protein Expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in Liver Contusion Rats after Impact].

OBJECTIVES: To observe the protein expression patterns of matrix metalloproteinase （MMP）-2 and MMP-9 in the liver tissue of liver contusion rats at different time after impact. METHODS: Fifty healthy adult male SD rats were randomly and evenly divided into control group and experimental groups （1 h, 3 h, 6 h, 12 h, 18 h, 24 h, 3 d, 5 d, 7 d after liver contusion）. A rat liver contusion model was established by a free-falling device. The rats were killed at corresponding time, and the contused hepatic lobes were extracted. The protein expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in contused liver tissue of the rats in each group were observed by immunohistochemical staining （SP method） and Western blotting. RESULTS: After the liver contusion, the expression of positive cell and the protein semiquantitative result showed that the protein expression of MMP-2 enhanced at 6 h and peaked at 24 h, then decreased gradually at 3-5 d, and returned to normal levels at 7 d. The difference of expression between group and its previous adjacent group after 6 h （except 18 h） had statistical significance （P<0.05）. The protein expression of MMP-9 rose obviously at 1 h after liver contusion and peaked at 18 h, then decreased gradually at 3-7 d which still higher than control group. The expression difference between group and its previous adjacent group （except 12 h and 24 h） had statistical significance （P<0.05）. CONCLUSIONS: The protein expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in contused liver tissue after impact show good time-dependent patterns, which may provide important reference indicators for the time estimation of liver contusion.

[Introduction and development of the Trans Woman Voice Questionnaire authorized simplified Chinese translation].

Objective: The purpose of this article is to translate and adapt the Trans Woman Voice Questionnaire (TWVQ) into the simplified Chinese version (TWVQ-SC), and to evaluate its reliability and validity. Methods: Authorized by the author of the TWVQ,the TWVQ-SC was developed through translation, back translation,and cross-cultural adaptation.The TWVQ-SC contained 30 items capturing personal perception of vocal function, psychosocial impact of voice, and degree of limitation in social participation. Subjects included 279 trans women in the experimental group, 128 cis women in the control group, and 89 trans women in the retest group. The Cronbach α and the item total correlation coefficient (ITC) were calculated to examine the internal consistency. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was chosen to examine the test-retest reliability. Regarding validity, the expert judgment method was utilized to examine the content validity. Factor analysis and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient were used to examine the construct validity, and the discriminant validity was examined by the rank sum test of the total scores of the cisgender and transgender subjects. Results: The Cronbach's α of TWVQ-SC is 0.97 and the ITC of 30 items range from 0.40 to 0.86. The ICC is 0.84. The four principal components' cumulative contribution is 65.12%. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient to VHI-10 is 0.85 (P<0.01). The total score of the TWVQ scale in the transgender female group is significantly higher than that in the cisgender female group (U=1 580,P<0.01). Conclusion: TWVQ-SC demonstrates good reliability and validity and therefore can be used clinically as a self-assessment tool for transgender women to evaluate their own voice.

Nested retrotransposons in the intergenic regions of the maize genome.

The relative organization of genes and repetitive DNAs in complex eukaryotic genomes is not well understood. Diagnostic sequencing indicated that a 280-kilobase region containing the maize Adh1-F and u22 genes is composed primarily of retrotransposons inserted within each other. Ten retroelement families were discovered, with reiteration frequencies ranging from 10 to 30,000 copies per haploid genome. These retrotransposons accounted for more than 60 percent of the Adh1-F region and at least 50 percent of the nuclear DNA of maize. These elements were largely intact and are dispersed throughout the gene-containing regions of the maize genome.

Integration and nonrandom mutation of a plasma membrane proton ATPase gene fragment within the Bs1 retroelement of maize.

Retrotransposons are a class of mobile DNA sequences in eukaryotes that transpose through a reverse-transcribed RNA intermediate. Retrotransposons containing long terminal repeats have many of the attributes of retroviruses in animals but have not been previously observed to acquire a portion of a cellular gene as RNA tumor viruses do with oncogenes. We have found homology to plasma membrane proton ATPase genes within the Bs1 retrotransposon of maize, and this homology led us to clone the maize plasma membrane proton ATPase gene, which we have named Mha1. The sequence of Mha1 confirmed that 654 bp of this ATPase gene are present in Bs1; this segment represents the last amino acid of exon 4, all of exons 5 to 9, and part of exon 10. All introns have been removed from this acquired DNA, whereas 81 single base pair substitutions and a deletion of 183 bp in Bs1 differentiate these contiguous segments. The secondary mutations led to fewer changes in the derived Bs1 protein sequence than predicted for neutral events, suggesting that the acquired Mha1 DNA performs a selected function within Bs1. These data indicate that a retrotransposon can incorporate and transmit a portion of a standard nuclear gene transcript within its genetic material. Alternatively, these results suggest that Bs1 may represent a defective version of a plant retrovirus.

Structure and coding properties of Bs1, a maize retrovirus-like transposon.

We have sequenced Bs1, an insertion element isolated from a null allele of the Adh1 locus encoding alcohol dehydrogenase in maize. The Bs1 element is 3203 base pairs (bp) in length, has 302-bp identical long terminal direct repeats (LTRs), and created a 5-bp flanking direct duplication of target Adh1 DNA upon insertion. The 5' LTR is followed by a canonical primer binding site with homology to the plant initiator methionyl-tRNA, and the 3' LTR is directly preceded by a polypurine stretch like that observed in retroviruses and retrotransposons. Bs1 encodes two overlapping open reading frames specifying peptides of 740 and 168 amino acids. The longer open reading frame specifies a peptide with amino acid homology to the protease and nucleic acid binding moiety of retroviruses and retrotransposons. The deduced amino acid sequence encoded by Bs1 lacks convincing homology to the polymerase (reverse transcriptase) encoded by retroposons, despite the fact that this polymerase-encoding domain is routinely the most conserved region of any such element. The sequence and relatively small size of Bs1 suggest that this element is a deleted retrotransposon that inserted into Adh1 with the aid of a reverse transcriptase function provided in trans. In vitro transcribed Bs1 complementary RNA was translated in vitro to produce both a protein of 81 kDa representing open reading frame 1 (ORF1) and one of the 95-kDa size predicted for the frame-shifted fusion of ORF1 and ORF2. As with many other retroposons, the efficiency of translational initiation at the AUG beginning ORF1 was not noticeably affected by the presence of one or more upstream, unproductive AUGs in the complementary RNA transcript.

Gene identification in a complex chromosomal continuum by local genomic cross-referencing.

Most higher plants have complex genomes containing large quantities of repetitive DNA interspersed with low-copy-number sequences. Many of these repetitive DNAs are mobile and have homology to RNAs in various cell types. This can make it difficult to identify the genes in a long chromosomal continuum. It was decided to use genic sequence conservation and grass genome co-linearity as tools for gene identification. A bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clone containing sorghum genomic DNA was selected using a maize Adh1 probe. The 165 kb sorghum BAC was tested for hybridization to a set of clones representing the contiguous 280 kb of DNA flanking maize Adh1. None of the repetitive maize DNAs hybridized, but most of the low-copy-number sequences did. A low-copy-number sequence that did cross-hybridize was found to be a gene, while one that did not was found to be a low-copy-number retrotransposon that was named Reina. Regions of cross-hybridization were co-linear between the two genomes, but closer together in the smaller sorghum genome. These results indicate that local genomic cross-referencing by hybridization of orthologous clones can be an efficient and rapid technique for gene identification and studies of genome organization.

The Hybaid Lecture. Microcollinearity and segmental duplication in the evolution of grass nuclear genomes.

Recent studies have shown that grass genomes have very similar gene compositions and regions of conserved gene order, as exemplified by collinear genetic maps of DNA markers. We have begun the detailed study of sequence organization in large (100-500 kb) segments of the nuclear genomes of maize, sorghum and rice. Our results indicate collinearity of genes in the regions homoeologous to the maize adh1 and sh2-a1 genes. Comparable genes were found to be physically closer to each other in grasses with small genomes (rice and sorghum) than they are in maize. In several instances, we have found evidence of tandem and 'distantly tandem' duplications of segments containing maize and sorghum genes. These duplications complicate characterizations of microcollinearity and could also interfere with some map-based approaches to gene isolation.