Immune checkpoint inhibitors and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor antibody/tyrosine kinase inhibitors with or without transarterial chemoembolization as first-line treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (CHANCE2201): a target trial emulation study.

Background: The role of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is unconfirmed. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) plus anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) antibody/tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) with or without TACE as first-line treatment for advanced HCC. Methods: This nationwide, multicenter, retrospective cohort study included advanced HCC patients receiving either TACE with ICIs plus anti-VEGF antibody/TKIs (TACE-ICI-VEGF) or only ICIs plus anti-VEGF antibody/TKIs (ICI-VEGF) from January 2018 to December 2022. The study design followed the target trial emulation framework with stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting (sIPTW) to minimize biases. The primary outcome was overall survival (OS). Secondary outcomes included progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), and safety. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05332821. Findings: Among 1244 patients included in the analysis, 802 (64.5%) patients received TACE-ICI-VEGF treatment, and 442 (35.5%) patients received ICI-VEGF treatment. The median follow-up time was 21.1 months and 20.6 months, respectively. Post-application of sIPTW, baseline characteristics were well-balanced between the two groups. TACE-ICI-VEGF group exhibited a significantly improved median OS (22.6 months [95% CI: 21.2-23.9] vs 15.9 months [14.9-17.8]; P < 0.0001; adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.63 [95% CI: 0.53-0.75]). Median PFS was also longer in TACE-ICI-VEGF group (9.9 months [9.1-10.6] vs 7.4 months [6.7-8.5]; P < 0.0001; aHR 0.74 [0.65-0.85]) per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours (RECIST) version 1.1. A higher ORR was observed in TACE-ICI-VEGF group, by either RECIST v1.1 or modified RECIST (41.2% vs 22.9%, P < 0.0001; 47.3% vs 29.7%, P < 0.0001). Grade ≥3 adverse events occurred in 178 patients (22.2%) in TACE-ICI-VEGF group and 80 patients (18.1%) in ICI-VEGF group. Interpretation: This multicenter study supports the use of TACE combined with ICIs and anti-VEGF antibody/TKIs as first-line treatment for advanced HCC, demonstrating an acceptable safety profile. Funding: National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Jiangsu Provincial Medical Innovation Center, Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, and Nanjing Life Health Science and Technology Project.

Smart patterning for topological pumping of elastic surface waves.

Topological pumping allows waves to navigate a sample undisturbed by disorders and defects. We demonstrate this phenomenon with elastic surface waves by strategically patterning an elastic surface to create a synthetic dimension. The surface is decorated with arrays of resonating pillars that are connected by spatially slow-varying coupling bridges and support eigenmodes located below the sound cone. We establish a connection between the collective dynamics of the pillars and that of electrons in a magnetic field by developing a tight-binding model and a WKB (Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin) analysis. This enables us to predict the topological pumping pattern, which we validate through numerical and experimental steering of waves from one edge to the other. Furthermore, we observe the immune nature of the topologically pumped surface waves to disorder and defects. The combination of surface patterning and WKB analysis provides a versatile platform for controlling surface waves and exploring topological matter in higher dimensions.

CcRR5 interacts with CcRR14 and CcSnRK2s to regulate the root development in citrus.

Response regulator (RR) is an important component of the cytokinin (CK) signal transduction system associated with root development and stress resistance in model plants. However, the function of RR gene and the molecular mechanism on regulating the root development in woody plants such as citrus remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that CcRR5, a member of the type A RR, regulates the morphogenesis of root through interacting with CcRR14 and CcSnRK2s in citrus. CcRR5 is mainly expressed in root tips and young leaves. The activity of CcRR5 promoter triggered by CcRR14 was proved with transient expression assay. Seven SnRK2 family members with highly conserved domains were identified in citrus. Among them, CcSnRK2.3, CcSnRK2.6, CcSnRK2.7, and CcSnRK2.8 can interact with CcRR5 and CcRR14. Phenotypic analysis of CcRR5 overexpressed transgenic citrus plants indicated that the transcription level of CcRR5 was associated with root length and lateral root numbers. This was also correlated to the expression of root-related genes and thus confirmed that CcRR5 is involved in the root development. Taken together, the results of this study indicate that CcRR5 is a positive regulator of root growth and CcRR14 directly regulates the expression of CcRR5. Both CcRR5 and CcRR14 can interact with CcSnRK2s.

Engineering zero modes in transformable mechanical metamaterials.

In the field of flexible metamaterial design, harnessing zero modes plays a key part in enabling reconfigurable elastic properties of the metamaterial with unconventional characteristics. However, only quantitative enhancement of certain properties succeeds in most cases rather than qualitative transformation of the metamaterials' states or/and functionalities, due to the lack of systematic designs on the corresponding zero modes. Here, we propose a 3D metamaterial with engineered zero modes, and experimentally demonstrate its transformable static and dynamic properties. All seven types of extremal metamaterials ranging from null-mode (solid state) to hexa-mode (near-gaseous state) are reported to be reversibly transformed from one state to another, which is verified by the 3D-printed Thermoplastic Polyurethanes prototypes. Tunable wave manipulations are further investigated in 1D-, 2D- and 3D-systems. Our work sheds lights on the design of flexible mechanical metamaterials, which can be potentially extended from the mechanical to the electro-magnetite, the thermal or other types.

Combined thoracic paravertebral block and interscalene brachial plexus block for modified radical mastectomy: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Modified radical mastectomy (MRM) is the most common surgical treatment for breast cancer. General anesthesia poses a challenge in fragile MRM patients, including cardiovascular instability, insufficient postoperative pain control, nausea and vomiting. Thoracic paravertebral block (TPVB) is adequate for simple mastectomy, but its combination with interscalene brachial plexus block (IBPB) has not yet been proved to be an effective anesthesia method for MRM. CASE SUMMARY: We describe our experience of anesthesia and pain management in 10 patients with multiple comorbidities. An ultrasound-guided TPVB was placed at T2-T3 and T5-T6, and combined with IBPB, with administration of 10, 15 and 5 mL of 0.5% ropivacaine, respectively. A satisfactory anesthetic effect was proved by the absence of ipsilateral tactile sensation within 30 min. Propofol 3 mg/kg/h and oxygen supplementation via a nasal cannula were administered during surgery. None of the patients required additional narcotics, vasopressors, or conversion to general anesthesia. The maximum pain score was 2 on an 11-point numerical rating scale. Two patients required one dose of celecoxib 8 h postoperatively and none reported nausea or emesis. CONCLUSION: This case series demonstrated that combined two-site TPVB and small-volume IBPB with sedation can be used as an alternative anesthetic modality for MRM, providing good postoperative analgesia.

Lignin-Based/Polypyrrole Carbon Nanofiber Electrode With Enhanced Electrochemical Properties by Electrospun Method.

Tailoring the structure and properties of lignin is an important step toward electrochemical applications. In this study, lignin/polypyrrole (PPy) composite electrode films with microporous and mesoporous structures were designed effectively by electrostatic spinning, carbonization, and in situ polymerization methods. The lignin can not only reduce the cost of carbon fiber but also increase the specific surface area of composite films due to the removal of carbonyl and phenolic functional groups of lignin during carbonization. Besides, the compact three-dimensional (3D) conductive network structures were constructed with PPy particles densely coated on the lignin nanofibers, which was helpful to improve the conductivity and fast electron transfer during the charging and discharging processes. The synthesized lignin carbon fibers/PPy anode materials had good electrochemical performance in 1 M H2SO4 electrolyte. The results showed that, at a current density of 1 A g-1, the lignin carbon nanofibers/PPy (LCNFs/PPy) had a larger specific capacitance of 213.7 F g-1 than carbon nanofibers (CNFs), lignin carbon nanofibers (LCNFs), and lignin/PPy fiber (LPAN/PPy). In addition, the specific surface area of LCNFs/PPy reached 872.60 m2 g-1 and the average pore size decreased to 2.50 nm after being coated by PPy. Therefore, the independent non-binder and self-supporting conductive film is expected to be a promising electrode material for supercapacitors with high performance.

Cooling Kinetic Characteristics of Temperature Difference between Cadaver Temperature and Ambient Temperature.

OBJECTIVES: To study the cooling reaction kinetic characteristics of the temperature difference between cadaver temperature and ambient temperature (hereinafter referred to as "cadaver temperature difference") according to the reaction kinetics method. METHODS: Thirty rabbits were randomly divided into 5 groups with 6 rabbits in each group. The rabbits were injected with 10% potassium chloride solution intravenously. After death, the rabbits were placed at 5 ℃, 10 ℃, 15 ℃, 20 ℃ and 25 ℃ environment condition, respectively, and the rectal temperature was measured every minute for 20 hours. The measured cadaver temperature was subtracted from ambient temperature, and the cadaver temperature difference data was calculated using the reaction kinetics formula. The linear regression equation was fitted for analysis, and the experimental results were applied to the temperature difference data of human body after death for verification. RESULTS: Under different environmental conditions, the linear coefficient determination of temperature difference -ln(C/C0) in rabbits was 0.99, showing a good linear relationship with time t. The application of human body temperature data after death was consistent with the results of animal experiments. CONCLUSIONS: Under stable conditions, the temperature difference cooling process after death in rabbits is a first-order kinetic response. The method can also be used to study the temperature difference in human body after death.

Levels and ecological risk of heavy metals in the surface sediments of tidal flats along the North Jiangsu coast, China.

We investigated the contamination levels of nine heavy metals (Mn, Pb, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, and As) in 153 surface sediment samples collected along five tidal flats on the North Jiangsu coast, China. The spatial distributions of most heavy metals gradually decreased from the northern Sheyang region to the southern Jianggang region, while slightly increasing in the Rudong region. Principal component analysis indicated that Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, and As were mainly derived from the natural environment, V and Cr were mainly derived from human activities. Additionally, Mn and Pb influenced by both natural and human sources. The geo-accumulation index and the contamination factor indicated that heavy metal contamination in the sediments exhibited little to no pollution levels. The potential ecological risk index exhibiting low ecological risks. Meanwhile, the mean probable effect level quotient values indicating slight toxicity. Cr and Ni were the major contributors to toxicity.

Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition(EMT) Regulated by MicroRNA-429 in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of miRNA-429 in the pathogenesis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma(PDAC) and the potential mechanism of this procedure. Totally 95 consecutive patients with PDAC diagnosed by pathology were retrospectively collected from June 1st , 2015 to August 30th, 2019 in Department of General Surgery, Jingmen First People's Hospital. The human pancreatic cancer cell line Bxpc-3 and Panc-1 were used and the cell proliferation and migration were detected by MTT assays and Transwell assays, respectively. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was applied to evaluate the expression in RNA level. Our results showed that overexpression of miRNA-429 could suppress the cell invasion, proliferation and metastasis through regulating the process of EMT in PDAC cell line, while low expression of miRNA-429 had the opposite effects. We demonstrated that miRNA-429 had critical roles in the pathogenesis of PDAC. Clinically, we observed that tumor tissues from patients with PDAC exhibited significantly decreasing in miRNA-429 expression compared with the non-tumor tissues. Additionally, decreased expression of miRNA-429 in tumor tissues of patients with PDAC was associated with poorer prognosis and several clinical-pathological characteristics. In conclusion, miRNA-429 exerted anti-tumor functions in PDAC through the regulation of EMT process. The results of this study would provide a novel insight into tumorigenesis and the basis for the development of miRNA-targeting therapies against PDAC.

Characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome of the Yunnan endemic grasshopper Longchuanacris curvifurculus (Insecta: Orthoptera: Catantopidae).

Longchuanacris curvifurculus (L. curvifurculus) was once a dominating grasshopper in the Yunnan province (People's Republic of China) that occupy important ecological niche. However, its population has severely declined because of the deterioration of ecological environment. Identifying the species and source of L. curvifurculus is important for biodiversity conservation and ecological/environmental preservation. In the study, the complete mitochondrial genome of L. curvifurculus was assembled from high-coverage (36.8×) Illumina MiSeq sequencing data. The circular genome is 15,450 bp in length, harboring 37 typical mitochondrial genes and one control region. The nucleotide composition is asymmetric (43.0% A, 14.3% C, 10.5% G, and 32.2% T), with an overall A + T content of 75.2%. All the protein-coding genes (PCGs) are initiated with typical ATN start codons and terminated by the typical TAA codons or the incomplete T(aa) codon. The control region has a remarkably high A + T content (84.9%) and is located between genes rrnS and trnV.

An HMM-based recognition framework for endovascular manipulations.

Robotic surgical systems are becoming increasingly popular for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. However, most of them have been designed without considering techniques and skills of natural surgical manipulations, which are key factors to clinical success of percutaneous coronary intervention. This paper proposes an HMM-based framework to recognize six typical endovascular manipulations for surgical skill analysis. A simulative surgical platform is built for endovascular manipulations assessed by five subjects (1 expert and 4 novices). The performances of the proposed framework are evaluated by three experimental schemes with the optimal model parameters. The results show that endovascular manipulations are recognized with high accuracy and reliable performance. Furthermore, the acceptable results can also be applied to the design of next generation vascular interventional robots.

Erythropoietin ameliorates renal interstitial fibrosis via the inhibition of fibrocyte accumulation.

Erythropoietin (EPO) is a hematopoietic hormone that protects against renal interstitial fibrosis in animal models; however, the mechanism underlying the anti­fibrotic activity of EPO has remained elusive. The present study aimed to elucidate this mechanism. Twenty­four male C57BL6 mice were randomly divided into four groups, each comprising six mice: (i) control group (Sh); (ii) unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) plus vehicle group (U+V); (ⅲ) UUO plus 300 U/kg body weight recombinant human (rh)EPO (U+E1) and (ⅳ) UUO plus 1,000 U/kg body weight rhEPO (U+E2). Seven days post­surgery, the mice were sacrificed for examination. UUO induced significant deposition of extracellular matrix, detected by picro­sirius red staining, which was decreased following rhEPO treatment. UUO also induced deposition of collagen I and fibronectin, rhEPO treatment was able to attenuate this effect at protein and mRNA levels. Compared with the control groups, UUO resulted in the accumulation of α­smooth muscle actin­positive cells in the interstitium, an effect which was ameliorated by rhEPO. Furthermore, rhEPO abrogated the UUO­induced increase in the number of bone marrow­derived myofibroblasts. Mechanistically, it was discovered that rhEPO decreased CXC chemokine ligand 16 (CXCL16) expression at protein level. However, treatment with rhEPO did not alter the protein expression of CC chemokine ligand 21 or CXCL12. These results suggested that rhEPO decreased fibrocyte accumulation via the suppression of renal CXCL16, which resulted in the attenuation of renal fibrosis.

Amyloid ß suppresses protein C activation through inhibition of the endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR).

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is known to be associated with microcirculatory injury, capillary blockage, and disruption of the blood-brain barrier. Endothelial dysfunction has also been reported to be associated with AD, but the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) is an N-glycosylated type I membrane protein that enhances the activation of protein C. However, the effects of EPCR and protein C in AD are still unknown. In this study, we found that the expression of EPCR was reduced in the brains of ß-amyloid precursor protein overexpressing Tg2576 transgenic mice at both the mRNA level and the protein level. However, levels of thrombomodulin (TM) did not undergo any changes. An in vitro study displayed that ß-amyloid (Aß) treatment led to suppression of EPCR along with reduction of protein C activation in mouse primary endothelial cells. Further study revealed that the induction of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)/c-Jun pathway plays a causal role in the inhibitory effects of Aß1-42 on the expression of EPCR. As a transcriptional factor, c-Jun was able to transinactivate the EPCR promoter. Finally, we found that c-Jun silencing or the use of a JNK inhibitor could attenuate the effects of Aß1-42 in the activation of protein C.

Interaction between methylene blue and calf thymus deoxyribonucleic acid by spectroscopic technologies.

Characterization of the interaction between methylene blue (MB) and calf thymus deoxyribonucleic acid (ctDNA) was investigated by UV absorption spectra, fluorescence spectra, fluorescence polarization and fluorescence quenching experiments by ferrocyanide. The above results indicated that the binding modes of MB to ctDNA were relative to the molar ratio gamma (gamma=[DNA]/[MB]). At low gamma ratios (gamma < 4), remarkable hypochromic effect with no shift of lambda(max) in the absorption spectra of MB was observed in the presence of increasing amounts of ctDNA, the fluorescence of MB was efficiently quenched by the ctDNA bases and the fluorescence polarization of MB was slightly increased, which indicated that MB cations bound to phosphate groups of ctDNA by electrostatic interaction and then stacked on the surface of ctDNA helix. While at high gamma ratios (gamma > 6), besides the fluorescence of MB was quenched efficiently by the ctDNA bases, a red shift (about 3 nm) in the absorption spectra of MB was observed and the fluorescence polarization of MB was obviously increased, which indicated the intercalation binding that MB molecules were intercalated into the space of two neighbouring DNA base pairs was the preferred mode. Effects of K(4)Fe(CN)(6) on the fluorescence quenching of the MB-ctDNA system at low and high gamma ratios were also performed. The results showed that at gamma = 1.7, the quenching effect by ferrocyanide was higher than that of pure MB, while at gamma = 13.6 a decreased quenching of the fluorescence intensity was observed as compared with that of pure MB, which further proved the above conclusion. In addition, the mechanisms of the hypochromic effect and the fluorescence quenching were also discussed in detail.

[Expression and function of toll-like receptors in B lymphocytes].

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are widely expressed in the innate and adaptive immune system. They initiate host defense against endogenous and exogenous pathogens containing conserved pathogen associated molecular patterns. TLRs are critical bridges between the innate and adaptive immunity, especially the cellular immunity mediated by T cells. Emerging evidence indicated that B cells express almost all subtypes of TLRs. TLRs play critical role not only in regulation of proliferation, maturation and function of B cells, but also in pathogenesis of diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Targeting TLRs of B cells is a promising therapeutic strategy for these disorders.

Synchronous fluorescence determination of DNA based on the interaction between methylene blue and DNA.

The fluorescence intensity of methylene blue (MB) quenched by DNA in the pH range of 6.5-8.0 was studied with synchronous fluorescence technology. A novel method for detecting single-stranded and double-stranded DNA was developed. The decreased fluorescence intensity at 664 nm is in proportion to the concentration of DNA in the range of 0.28-11.0 micromol L(-1) for ctDNA, 0.14-8.25 micromol L(-1) for thermally denatured ctDNA and 0.28-8.25 micromol L(-1) for hsDNA. The detection limits (S/N=3) are 0.11, 0.04 and 0.04 micromol L(-1), respectively. The method is rapid, selective, and the reagents are lower toxic. It has been used for the determination of DNA in synthetic samples with good satisfaction. In addition, the interaction modes between MB and ctDNA and the mechanism of the fluorescence quenching were also discussed in detail. The experimental results from absorption spectra and fluorescence polarization indicate that the possible interaction modes between MB and DNA are the electrostatic binding and the intercalation binding.

Enoxacin-Tb3+ complex as an environmentally friendly fluorescence probe for DNA and its application.

The fluorescence intensity of the enoxacin (ENX)-Tb(3+) complex enhanced by DNA was studied. On the basis of this study, an environmentally friendly fluorescence probe of enoxacin-Tb(3+) for the determination of single-stranded and double-stranded DNA was developed. Under the optimal conditions, the enhanced fluorescence intensity was in proportion to the concentration of DNA in the range of 2.0x10(-8) to 2.0x10(-6)g mL(-1) for hsDNA, 1.0x10(-8) to 1.0x10(-6)g mL(-1) for ctDNA and 5.0x10(-9) to 1.0x10(-6)g mL(-1) for thermally denatured ctDNA. The detection limits (S/N=3) were 5.0, 9.0 and 3.0ng mL(-1), respectively. The interaction modes between ENX-Tb(3+) and DNA and the mechanism of the fluorescence enhancement were also discussed in details. The experimental results from UV absorption spectra, fluorescence spectra and the competing combination tests between the ENX-Tb(3+) complex and EB probe indicated that the possible interaction modes between enoxacin-Tb(3+) complex and DNA had at least two different binding modes: the electrostatic binding and the intercalation binding. Additionally, this fluorescence probe was used to study the interaction between heavy metals and DNA.

[A DNA duplication at chromosome 10q24.3 is associated with split-hand split-foot malformation in a Chinese family].

OBJECTIVE: To identify the disease-causing genetic alteration of split-hand/split-foot malformation (SHFM) in a Chinese family. METHODS: Three of the 5 affected individuals from a four-generation Chinese SHFM family were examined physically and radiologically. Peripheral blood samples were collected from Digital photographs of the malformed hands and feet were taken. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 2 affected individuals, and lymphocytes were isolated to undergo high resolution G-banding. Genomic DNA was extracted from the whole blood samples of 4 available family members, including the 3 affected individuals. All 16 exons and their flanking intronic sequences of the TP63 gene were amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequenced directly. Microsatellite markers from the five SHFM loci were analyzed in the available family members by PCR, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and silver staining. For semi-quantitative determination of the allele copy number, the polymorphic PCR-amplified fragments representing genetic markers from the SHFM3 locus at chromosome 10q24.3 were sequenced in the affected individuals using normal individuals with identical genotypes as controls. RESULTS: All 3 existing affected individuals showed absence of 3 radial fingers, 2 affected individuals had a deep central cleft and central ray deficiency in the feet, and 1 affected individual had a fibular monodactyli, all limb malformations being bilateral and consistent with the phenotype of typical SHFM. G-banding showed normal karyotypes in the 3 affected individuals and no visible cytogenetic abnormality was found. Moreover, no mutation was identified in the TP63 gene. While no haplotype sharing was observed in the markers from loci SHFM1, SHFM4 and SHFM5, potential haplotype sharing was detected in the markers from two loci, SHFM2 and SHFM3, indicating possible causative mutation at SHFM2 or SHFM3. Furthermore, obviously biased silver density toward the allele fragments shared by the 3 affected individuals was observed in the markers from the SHFM3 locus. Comparative sequencing showed roughly one-fold increase of fluorescent signal of the shared fragments in the affected individuals. These results suggested a large-scale DNA duplication within the SHFM3 locus. CONCLUSION: A large-scale DNA duplication within the SHFM3 locus at chromosome 10q24.3 has been identified as the pathogenic genetic change in Chinese patients with SHFM.

Sensitive determination of DNA based on the interaction between norfloxacin-Tb3+ complex and DNA.

The fluorescence intensity of the norfloxacin (NFX)-Tb3+ complex enhanced by DNA was studied. Therefore, a sensitive fluorescence method for the determination of DNA was developed. The optimal conditions of the method were as follows: the hexamethylenamine (HMA)-HCl buffer was adopted for adjusting the pH to 6.5 +/- 0.1, the concentrations of NFX and Tb3+ were both fixed in 1.0 x 10(-6) mol L(-1), and the excitation and emission wavelengths were selected at 290 and 545 nm, respectively. Under the optimal conditions, the enhanced fluorescence intensity was in proportion to the concentration of DNA in the same range of 5.0 x 10(-9) - 1.0 x 10(-6) g mL(-1) for hsDNA and thermally denatured ctDNA. The detection limits (S/N = 3) were 0.9 and 0.6 ng mL(-1), respectively. In addition, the interaction between NFX-Tb3+ and DNA was discussed in detail. The experimental results from UV absorption spectra, fluorescence spectra, and the salt effect study indicated that the interaction between norfloxacin-Tb3+ complex and DNA had at least two different binding modes: the electrostatic binding and the intercalation binding. The mechanism of the fluorescence enhancement effect was also discussed.

[One family investigation and pathogeny research on ectrodactyly, absence of radius side part palm and split foot malformation].

OBJECTIVE: The paper is a study on the clinical symptoms and pathogeny of ectrodactyly and absence of radius side part palm and split foot malformation of some patients in one family. METHODS: Based on the patient family investigation,a normal control group and a patient group were established. Then, polymerase chain reaction technique was used for DNA sequencing and analysis of the two groups for their exons 5-8 gene group DNA of P63 gene. RESULTS: The medical examination found that the patients' upper bilateral limbs are short of thumbs, forefingers and middle fingers, and have radius side part palm and double lower limbs foot clefts malformation. The pathogeny research revealed that the PCR expansion pieces of the exons 5-8 of P63 are 284 bp, 259 bp, 245 bp and 259 bp respectively, and the size of the expansion piece of the patients was the same as that of the normal people group. However, a respective comparison between the DNA serial of the expansion piece of the patient and that of the normal people group and that of the P63 gene in the human gene bank showed that mutation occurs at the number 665 base pair of exon 5 of P63, namely a mutation from G to A. CONCLUSION: The ectrodactyly, absence of radius side part palm and split foot malformation are caused by the mutation of base pair at number 665 of the exon 5 of P63.