Individualized leukemia cell-population profiles in common B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients.

Immunophenotype is critical for diagnosing common B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (common ALL) and detecting minimal residual disease. We developed a protocol to explore the immunophenotypic profiles of common ALL based on the expression levels of the antigens associated with B lymphoid development, including IL-7Rα (CD127), cytoplasmic CD79a (cCD79a), CD19, VpreB (CD179a), and sIgM, which are successive and essential for progression of B cells along their developmental pathway. Analysis of the immunophenotypes of 48 common ALL cases showed that the immunophenotypic patterns were highly heterogeneous, with the leukemic cell population differing from case to case. Through the comprehensive analysis of immunophenotypic patterns, the profiles of patient-specific composite leukemia cell populations could provide detailed information helpful for the diagnosis, therapeutic monitoring, and individualized therapies for common ALL.

Sensitivity analysis of thin-film thickness measurement by vertical scanning white-light interferometry.

The spectral nonlinear phase method and the Fourier amplitude method have been applied to measure the thin-film thickness profile in vertical scanning white-light interferometry (VSWLI). However, both the methods have their disadvantages, and accordingly their applications are limited. In the paper we have investigated the dependence of the sensitivities of both the methods on the thin-film thickness and refractive index, the objective numerical aperture, and the incident light spectral range of VSWLI. The relation of the Fresnel reflection coefficients on the wavelength effect is also discussed. Some important research results reveal that the combination of both Fourier amplitude and nonlinear phase methods may provide a new approach to improve the VSWLI measurement sensitivity for thin-film thickness profile.

Achromatic phase shifter with eight times magnification of rotation angle in low coherence interference microscopy.

An achromatic phase shifter with a rotating half-wave plate (HWP) used at the input and output of the low coherence interference microscopy is presented. This novel achromatic phase-shifter configuration is first investigated, and then its performances are compared with those of traditional phase shifters theoretically by means of Jones matrices. It is evident that the achromatism and the variation of the amplitude ratio of the proposed achromatic phase-shifter configuration is much better than other traditional phase-shifter configurations, and it can provide a phase shift of eight times the rotation angle of the HWP, which is the largest magnification achieved by far. A low coherence interference microscopy system based on the proposed achromatic phase-shifter configuration is also established to confirm the eight times relation between phase-shift and rotation angle of the HWP experimentally. At last, the three-dimensional profile and the groove depth of a step height calibration standard are obtained by using the traditional four-step algorithm to illustrate the capability and the accuracy of the low coherence interference microscopy system based on the proposed achromatic phase-shifter configuration.

Screening for ZNF230 gene mutation and analysis of its correlation with azoospermia.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the possible association between ZNF230 gene and azoospermia. METHODS: Screening for mutation of all 6 exons of ZNF230 gene was performed by denaturing high performance liquid chromatography(DHPLC) in 99 patients with azoospermia and in 115 healthy men as controls. RESULTS: An A-->G transition at nucleotide 316 in exon 6 was identified. There were significant differences in the distribution profiles of both allele and genotype frequencies between patient group and control group (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). In addition,there was a statistically significant difference in the serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) level between the patients with GG/GA genotype and those with AA genotype (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: ZNF230 gene may be associated with azoospermia, and the A316G mutation may be correlated with the serum FSH level.

[Relationship between the R219K polymorphism of ATP-binding cassette transporter 1 gene and coronary heart disease].

To study the distribution of R219K polymorphism in ATP-Binding Cassette Transporter 1 (ABCA1) gene in Chinese Han population and the association of this polymorphism with coronary heart disease (CHD) . Genotypes were determined by PCR-RFLP approach in 417 unrelated healthy controls and 396 CHD patients. The frequencies of K allele and KK genotype for controls (0.465, 0.228) were significantly higher than those (0.381, 0.162) for patients (P<0.05). When the patients were divided into two subgroups by onset-age, the frequencies of K allele and KK genotype for early-onset patients (0.34, 0.111) were lower than those (0.419, 0.205) for late-onset patients and those for controls (P<0.05) , while there were no such differences between late-onset patients and controls. Patients with RR genotype had a higher plasma concentration of triglycerides (TG) when compared with that of KK genotype (P<0.05) . No significant differences of plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level were observed among patients with different genotypes. These data suggest that the R219K polymorphism in ABCA1 gene is correlated with CHD, and the ABCA1 gene KK genotype may has a function against atherosclerosis without detectable change of plasma HDL-C level in Chinese Han population.