[Primary adrenal NK/T cell lymphoma: a clinicopathologic analysis of six cases].

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathologic features of primary adrenal NK/T cell lymphoma (PANKL). Methods: Six cases of PANKL were collected at Henan Provincial People's Hospital from January 2000 to December 2021. The clinicopathologic features including morphology, immunophenotype, treatment and prognosis were retrospectively analyzed, and relevant literature was reviewed. Results: There were two males and four females. The median age was 63 years (ranged from 57 to 68 years). The tumors involved bilateral adrenal glands in 4 cases and unilateral adrenal gland in 2 cases. The main clinical symptom was low back pain without obvious cause. Serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is elevated in five cases. The imaging feature was rapidly enlarging mass initially confined to unilateral/bilateral adrenal glands. Morphologically, the lymphoid cells were mainly medium-sized with a diffuse growth pattern. Coagulative necrosis and nuclear fragmentation were common. Angioinvasion was seen. Immunophenotypically, the neoplastic cells were positive for CD3, CD56 and TIA-1 while CD5 was negative in 5 cases. All cases were positive for EBER by in situ hybridization with more than 80% proliferative activity by Ki-67. Four cases received chemotherapy, one case underwent surgery, and one case underwent surgery with chemotherapy. Follow-up was done in 5 cases; one case was lost to follow-up. Three patients died with a median survival of 11.6 months (3-42 months). Conclusions: PANKL is rare with highly aggressive clinical presentation and poor prognosis. Accurate diagnosis entails correlation of histomorphology, immunohistochemistry, EBER in situ hybridization and clinical history.

[Extranodal nasal type natural killer/T-cell lymphoma of the digestive system: a clinicopathological study of thirteen cases].

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological features, and diagnostic and differential diagnostic characteristics of extranodal nasal type natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (ENKTCL) of the digestive system. Methods: Thirteen cases of ENKTCL in the digestive system were collected at the Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China, from August 2000 to August 2020. The histopathological, immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization features were analyzed, as well as those of T-cell receptor (TCR) gene rearrangement in some cases. The patients were followed up. Results: There were 11 males and 2 females. The age ranged from 28 to 80 years (median=53 years). Seven cases were present in the colorectum, and 3 cases were present in the small intestine. The other three cases were in stomach, gallbladder and liver (one case each). The main clinical symptoms were fever, and abdominal pain, often accompanied by fatigue, diarrhea, hematochezia, elevated serum albumin, elevated lactate dehydrogenase, and increased peripheral blood EB virus DNA copy. Histologically, the tumor accompanied by a heavy admixture of inflammatory cells (small lymphocytes, plasma cells and histiocytes). There was diffuse dense tumor cell infiltrate, with prominent coagulative necrosis. The lymphomatous infiltrate had angiocentric and angio-necrotic changes. Immunohistochemically, lymphoid cells expressed CD3 in all cases. Some of them showed weakened/absent other T cell markers, while all of them expressed CD56 except 1 case. A few of the cases showed CD4-/CD8+ killer T cell phenotypes. In situ hybridization showed EB virus encoded RNA (EBER) was positive in all cases. Clonal TCR gene rearrangement was not detected in all 7 cases tested. The median survival time was 9 months. Conclusions: ENKTCL of the digestive system is extremely rare. It often predisposes the patients to acute abdomen such as perforation of the gastrointestinal tract. The treatment outcomes are dismal, and the prognosis is poor. Clinical and imaging studies are often non-specific. It is also easy to be misdiagnosed as non-specific ulcers. Combined with immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization and TCR gene rearrangement analysis and better understanding of this tumor's clinicopathological characteristics can help improve its diagnosis and early treatment.

Correlation of plasma soluble cluster of differentiation 40 ligand, alpha fetoprotein A, and pregnancy-associated plasma protein A with carotid plaque in patients with ischemic stroke.

This study investigated the correlation of plama levels of inflammatory biomarkers [soluble cluster of differentiation 40 ligand (sCD40L), alpha fetoprotein A (fetuin-A), and pregnancy-associated protein A (PAPP-A)] with carotid plaque in patients with acute ischemic stroke. After undergoing color Doppler ultrasonography of the bilateral carotid arteries, 200 patients with acute ischemic stroke were grouped into plaque and non-plaque groups. The plaque group was further divided into stable and unstable plaque sub-groups by carotid plaque stability. Inter-group and -subgroup comparisons included demographic characteristics, current condition and medical history, and clinical laboratory and plama inflammatory biomarker data, and logistic regression explored the correlations between plama inflammatory biomarker levels and carotid plaques. Significantly higher sCD40L and fetuin-A levels were found in the plaque group than in the non-plaque group (all P < 0.05), with odds ratios (plaque vs non-plaque) of 6.372 and 4.101, respectively. Increased plama inflammatory biomarker levels were accompanied by a high risk of carotid plaque formation. Similarly, significantly higher plama sCD40L and PAPP-A levels were found in the unstable plaque subgroup than in the stable plaque subgroup (all P < 0.05), and the odds ratios (unstable vs stable) were 5.290 and 4.125, respectively. Increased plama inflammatory biomarker levels were accompanied by a high risk of carotid plaque instability. The study findings showed that plasma sCD40L, fetuin-A, and PAPP-A levels are associated with carotid plaque formation and instability. Fetuin-A and sCD40L might be predictors of carotid plaque formation, while PAPP-A and sCD40L might be predictors of carotid plaque instability.

Two rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) albumin genes are differentially regulated.

Two distinct albumin cDNAs (rtALB1 and rtALB2) were isolated from the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) liver cDNA library. The rtALB1 cDNA (2761 bp) contains a 69 bp 5' untranslated region (UTR), a 1821 bp reading region, and a long 3' UTR of 872 bp. The rtALB2 cDNA (2250 bp) contains a 78 bp 5' UTR, a 1824 bp coding region, and a 348 bp 3' UTR. The two albumins are 81.5% and 77.5% identical in their nucleotides and protein sequences, respectively. Both rtALB1 and rtALB2 genes are expressed only in the liver. The albumin mRNA was first detected in 5-week-old embryos and was tissue-specific. The two albumin genes were differentially expressed, with the rtALB1 transcripts being 3 to 10 times more abundant than the rtALB2 transcripts. This differential expression was partially regulated at the transcriptional level. Promoter analysis showed that the rtALB1 gene had a typical albumin promoter structure. However, the rtALB2 promoter was abnormal in the TATA box region and was less effective in activating the reporter gene in the mammalian cell lines. These variations in rainbow trout albumin promoter sequences might account for their differences in transcriptional efficiency.

[Study on the relationship between PMI and the concentration of zincum and nickel in the vitreous humor of rabbit after death].

OBJECTIVE: To seek a exact method of estimating postmortem interval (PMI). METHODS: This study detected the concentration of zincum(Zn) and nickel(Ni) in vitreous humor of rabbit at hour 96 after death and explored the relationship between their concentration and PMI using a method ICP-MS. RESULTS: The concentration of Zn and Ni in vitreous humor of rabbit at hour 24 after death were related to PMI significantly; The formulae of the relationship between PMI and Zn concentrations is y = 0.1404x2 - 1.3351x + 3.8298 (within 24 h; R2 = 0.9202). The formula of the relationship between PMI and Ni concentrations is y = 0.0043x2 - 0.0596x + 0.2665(within 24 h; R2 = 0.9103). CONCLUSION: The concentration of Zn and Ni in vitreous humor of rabbit may be a reference indicator to estimate early PMI.

[Study on the relationship between postmortem interval and the change of absorbance in vitreous humor of rabbit after death].

OBJECTIVE: To seek a exact method of estimating Postmortem interval (PMI). METHODS: This study was preformed to investigate the relationship between postmortem interval and absorbance in vitreous humor of rabbit after death. The absorbance in vitreous humor of 48 rabbits after death were investigated with Model 754 spectrophotometer in apt wavelength (420 nm). RESULTS: There exists positive linear regression association between postmortem interval (Y) and absorbance in vitreous humor (X) (r = 0.98327, P < 0.05), during rabbits after death 0 to 72 hours. The formula of linear regression is Y = 453.30 X + 0.75 (Y = postmortem interval = PMI, X = absorbance in vitreous humor). CONCLUSION: The absorbance in vitreous humor can be as reference indicator to estimate PMI within hour 72.

Efficacy and safety of 1 % terbinafine film-forming solution in Chinese patients with tinea pedis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter, parallel-group study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Superficial fungal skin infections are treated using topical antifungals. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the efficacy of a single application of 1 % terbinafine film-forming solution (FFS) versus placebo for the treatment of tinea pedis in the Chinese population. METHODS: Six centers in China randomized 290 patients in a 1:1 ratio to receive either 1 % terbinafine FFS or FFS vehicle (placebo) once on the affected foot/feet. Efficacy assessments included microscopy and mycologic culture, and assessing clinical signs and symptoms at baseline, and at weeks 1 and 6 after the topical treatment. All adverse events were recorded. RESULTS: At week 6, 1 % terbinafine FFS was superior to placebo for effective treatment rate (63 vs. 8 %); clinical cure (30 vs. 6 %); mycological cure (86 vs. 12 %); negative microscopy (90 vs. 24 %); and negative mycological culture (90 vs. 27 %): all p ≤ 0.001 and clinically relevant. At week 6, 1 % terbinafine FFS was clinically superior to placebo for the absence of: erythema (69 vs. 29 %); desquamation (33 vs. 8 %); and pruritus (70 vs. 30 %): all p ≤ 0.001 and clinically relevant. At week 6, differences in the average total signs and symptoms scores were significantly lower for 1 % terbinafine FFS versus placebo (p ≤ 0.001). Both 1 % terbinafine FFS and placebo were safe and well tolerated based on adverse events and investigator and patient assessments. CONCLUSIONS: This double-blind, randomized, multicenter study demonstrated one single topical application of 1 % terbinafine FFS was safe and effective in the treatment of tinea pedis in the Chinese population.

Selective adsorption of Mycobacterium Phlei on pyrite and sphalerite.

The adsorption of Mycobacterium Phlei cells on the surfaces of pyrite and sphalerite was studied as functions of time and pH. The results indicated that a higher amount of cells adsorbing onto pyrite compared with that onto sphalerite under neutral and alkaline conditions, and it was also observed from photographs of scanning electron micrograph. To gain a better insight into the mechanisms of differential adsorption, the functional groups on cell surfaces and the chemical states of each element on mineral surfaces before and after interaction with bacterial cells were investigated. The results showed that many groups presented on cells surface, such as C-O-H, C-O-C, C=O, C-N, N-H and P=O. The change in state of each element on pyrite and sphalerite surfaces after interaction with bacterial cells revealed that there were chemical reactions between metal ions and S on mineral surface and atoms like N, O, P, etc. on cell surface, and the shifts in binding energy of each element on pyrite surface is larger than that of sphalerite. Possible mechanisms for selective adsorption of bacterial cells onto pyrite and sphalerite were discussed in the latter part of this paper.

Bulk isolation and identification of fish genes by cDNA clone tagging.

The fish has long been a popular research model for various disciplines in the life sciences, but its molecular biology remains largely unexplored, and the number of fish genes identified at present is still limited. To increase the repertoire of fish genes to facilitate further research, we have embarked on cDNA clone tagging studies in several teleosts. The basic procedure is partial sequencing of randomly selected cDNA clones by a single sequencing reaction to obtain nucleotide sequences of about 200 to 300 bp for each clone. These partial DNA sequences can be used as tags to identify fish homologous genes by searching for sequence similarity in DNA databases. By this method, we have sequenced a total of 265 clones from pituitary and liver cDNA libraries from five species of fish and identified 83 clones encoding 55 different genes. These 55 genes are described for the first time in their species, and 37 of them are described for the first time in fish. These preliminary data indicate that cDNA clone tagging is useful for rapidly increasing the number and availability of genes in teleosts. Several applications of these tagged random clones are discussed.