[Impact of different types of heart failure on long-term renal prognosis in patients with renal insufficiency and heart failure].

Objective: To investigate the effects of different types of heart failure on long-term renal prognosis in patients with renal insufficiency and heart failure. Methods: The patients with renal insufficiency [baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 ml·min-1·(1.73 m2)-1] and heart failure followed-up for more than 2 years and hospitalized in Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University from January 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019 were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study. The patients were divided into three groups based on the baseline left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF): heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF, LVEF < 40%) group, heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF, 40% ≤ LVEF < 50%) group, and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF, LVEF ≥ 50%) group. Clinical data were collected and endpoint events (adverse renal outcome: the composite outcome of all-cause death or worsening renal function) were recorded through the electronic medical record system. Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to analyze the incidence of endpoint events of different heart failure subgroups. Cox regression model was performed to analyze the risk factors of endpoint events. Results: A total of 228 patients with renal insufficiency complicated with heart failure were included, with age of (68.14±14.21) years old and 138 males (60.5%). There were 85 patients (37.3%) in the HFrEF group, 40 patients (17.5%) in the HFmrEF group, and 103 patients (45.2%) in the HFpEF group. There were statistically significant differences in age, proportion of age > 65 years old, sex distribution, systolic blood pressure, pulmonary artery pressure, serum sodium, serum calcium, hemoglobin, serum cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, serum uric acid, troponin I, hypersensitive C-reactive protein, LVEF, ventricular septal thickness, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, B-type natriuretic peptide, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and proportions of using beta blockers, using spirolactone, myocardial infarction, hypertension, cardiomyopathy and atrial fibrillation (all P < 0.05). During the median follow-up of 36.0 (28.0, 46.0) months, 73 patients (32.0%) had adverse renal outcomes. The total incidences of adverse renal outcomes were 32.9% (28/85) in the HFrEF group, 35.0% (14/40) in the HFmrEF group, and 30.1% (31/103) in the HFpEF group. Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed that there was no significant difference in the incidence of endpoint events among the three groups (log-rank test χ2=0.17, P=0.680). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that HFpEF (HFrEF as reference, HR=2.430, 95% CI 1.055-5.596, P=0.037) was an independent influencing factor of endpoint events. Conclusions: The long-term renal prognosis of patients with renal insufficiency and heart failure is poor. Compared with HFrEF, HFpEF is an independent risk factor of poor long-term renal prognosis in renal insufficiency patients with heart failure.

[Treatment of recurrent retroperitoneal myxolipoma]. / Opyt lecheniya retsidiviruyushchei zabryushinnoi miksolipomy.

The problem of retroperitoneal neoplasm management is still relevant despite certain achievements in diagnosis, anesthetic care and surgical techniques. These patients often admit to specialized hospitals with a widespread malignant process and/or complications due to no specific symptoms. Resection is preferred for malignant inorganic retroperitoneal tumors. A feature of these neoplasms is frequent local relapses, which seriously limit the possibility of redo surgery. The authors report successful surgical treatment of recurrent malignant inorganic retroperitoneal myxolipoma with giant baseline dimensions.

Evaluation of SMAP downscaled brightness temperature using SMAPEx-4/5 airborne observations.

The Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP) mission, launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on 31st January 2015, was designed to provide global soil moisture every 2 to 3 days at 9 km resolution by downscaling SMAP passive microwave observations obtained at 36 km resolution using active microwave observations at 3 km resolution, and then retrieving soil moisture from the resulting 9 km brightness temperature product. This study evaluated the SMAP Active/Passive (AP) downscaling algorithm together with other resolution enhancement techniques. Airborne passive microwave observations acquired at 1 km resolution over the Murrumbidgee River catchment in south-eastern Australia during the fourth and fifth Soil Moisture Active Passive Experiments (SMAPEx-4/5) were used as reference data. The SMAPEx-4/5 data were collected in May and September 2015, respectively, and aggregated to 9 km for direct comparison with a number of available resolution-enhanced brightness temperature estimates. The results show that the SMAP AP downscaled brightness temperature had a correlation coefficient (R) of 0.84 and Root-Mean-Squared Error (RMSE) of ~10 K, while SMAP Enhanced, Nearest Neighbour, Weighted Average, and the Smoothing Filter-based Modulation (SFIM) brightness temperature estimates had somewhat better performance (RMSEs of ~7 K and an R exceeding 0.9). Although the SFIM had the lowest unbiased RMSE of ~6 K, the effect of cloud cover on Ka-band observations limits data availability.

10 Gb/s InP-based Mach-Zehnder modulator for operation at 2 µm wavelengths.

We report on the first InP-based Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) employing quantum-confined Stark effect (QCSE) for operation around 2000 nm. The polarization sensitive device is based on 15 compressively strained quantum wells and achieves an electro-optic (EO) bandwidth of at least 9 GHz, with a DC extinction ratio of ~9 dB, and a V(π)L ~9.6 V.mm. We demonstrate back-to-back communication with a 10 Gb/s pseudo-random bit sequence (PRBS) of length 2(7)-1 at a wavelength around 2000 nm.

100 Gbit/s WDM transmission at 2 µm: transmission studies in both low-loss hollow core photonic bandgap fiber and solid core fiber.

We show for the first time 100 Gbit/s total capacity at 2 µm waveband, using 4 × 9.3 Gbit/s 4-ASK Fast-OFDM direct modulation and 4 × 15.7 Gbit/s NRZ-OOK external modulation, spanning a 36.3 nm wide wavelength range. WDM transmission was successfully demonstrated over 1.15 km of low-loss hollow core photonic bandgap fiber (HC-PBGF) and over 1 km of solid core fiber (SCF). We conclude that the OSNR penalty associated with the SCF is minimal, while a ~1-2 dB penalty was observed after the HC-PBGF probably due to mode coupling to higher-order modes.

Dense WDM transmission at 2 µm enabled by an arrayed waveguide grating.

We show, for the first time, dense WDM (8×20 Gbit/s) transmission at 2 µm enabled by advanced modulation formats (4-ASK Fast-OFDM) and the development of key components, including a new arrayed waveguide grating (AWGr) at 2 µm. The AWGr shows -12.8±1.78 dB of excess loss with an 18-dB extinction ratio and a thermal tunability of 0.108 nm/°C.

Metabolomics analysis of cervical cancer, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and chronic cervicitis by 1H NMR spectroscopy.

Metabolomics profiles of serum samples from women with chronic cervicitis, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), and cervical cancer were characterized by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR). These spectral profiles were subjected to partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), and good discriminations between cancerand non-cancer groups (chronic cervicitis and CIN) were achieved by multivariate modeling of serum profiles. The main metabolites contributing to these discriminations, as highlighted by multivariate analysis and confirmed by spectral integration, were formate, tyrosine, ß-glucose, inositol, glycine, carnitine, glutamine, acetate, alanine, valine, isoleucine, and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL). Metabolomics analysis for chronic cervicitis, CIN, and cervical cancer is significant, which give a systemic metabolic response of these female diseases. The systemic metabolic response may be used to identify the potential biomarkers for the diseases.

[CHANGES IN THE NUMBER OF REGENERATING MYELINATED FIBERS IN INJURED NERVE OF THE RAT AFTER ALLOTRANSPLANTATION OF THE DISSOCIATED CELLS OF THE EMBRYONIC CNS ANLAGES].

The study was conducted on 6 female and 36 male adult Wistar rats to compare the effects of dissociated cells derived from different embryonic CNS anlages, on the growth of regenerating nerve fibers in the damaged nerve of the recipient. After the sciatic nerve was damaged by ligation, part of the animals received the injection into the proximal portion of the nerve with a suspension of the cells obtained by dissociation of the fragments of spinal cord or forebrain vesicle taken from rat embryos at Day 15 of development. The analysis of transverse semithin sections of the distal part of the nerves was performed 21 and 60 days after surgery. It was found that the number of regenerating myelinated nerve fibers was increased 60 days after the injection of dissociated embryonic spinal cord cells, but not the neocortical cells into the damaged nerve of the recipient.

[PECULIARITIES OF BONE TISSUE MORPHOGENESIS DURING SHIN LENGTHENING USING THE METHOD OF TRANSOSSEOUS DISTRACTION OSTEOSYNTHESIS WITH THE INCREASED DAILY RATE].

Histogenesis of bone tissue was studied in 25 adult mongrel dogs under conditions of automatic shin lengthening by the technique of transosseous distraction osteosynthesis with the daily rate of 3 mm in 120 repeats using the methods of light, scanning electron microscopy, electron probe microanalysis, immunohistochemistry and morphometry. During the distraction period, cellular heteromorphism and proliferative activity of the cells of connective tissue interlayer and periosteum were clearly detected in the interfragmental diastasis. In the post-distraction period, the reduction of cellular heteromorphism and the increase of the biosynthetic activity of the osteoblastic cells were observed while the provisional endosteal bone regenerate of normotrophic type with the signs of organotypic reorganization was formed. Intramembranous osteogenesis was noted at all the stages of the experiment. The organ-specific nature of the newly formed bone occured by 30 days after the apparatus removal. Bone tissue plasticity and the conditions of high-fractional distraction allow to increase the daily rate of leg lengthening up to 3 mm, as well as to provide the formation of weight-bearing bone part during 45 days, thereby reducing by 31% the duration of the period of fixator use for shin lengthening in comparison with that one adopted in classic technique with the daily rate not exceeding 1 mm.

[Structural reorganization of the dermis of dog tibia during its elongation by the method of transosseous distraction osteosynthesis].

Using the methods of light, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry and morphometry the status of the various components of the dermis was studied in the experiment performed on 16 adult mongrel dogs that had their shank extended by 17% of its original length using the method of transosseous distraction osteosynthesis with a daily rate of 1 mm for 4 steps. During the period of distraction, a reduction in the thickness of the dermis, change of the architectonics of its fibrous component, active collageno- and elastogenesis, cell proliferation, and the expressiveness of heteromorphism of fibroblast and macrophage cell populations were detected. In postdistraction period, all the indices were gradually approaching the norm. The data obtained may serve as criteria for the estimation of the stages of the reparative process developing under the created conditions and should be considered in the development of new technologies aimed at optimizing reparative-regenerative processes during tibial lengthening.

Validation of finite-element-simulated orthodontic forces produced by thermoplastic aligners: Effect of aligner geometry and creep.

PURPOSE: Finite element (FE) models for determining the orthodontic forces delivered by clear aligners often lack validation. The aim of this study was to develop and validate accurate FE models for clear aligners, considering the small but important geometrical variations from the thermoforming process and the creep behavior of the aligner material. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The tooth misalignment considered was a 2.4° torque aberration (rotation about the mesial-distal axis at the level of the center of resistance) of the maxillary left central incisor. FE models were created from Micro-CT scans of a model dental arch and five nominally identical aligners with the aforementioned misfit. Fitting of the aligners onto the dental arch was simulated using Abaqus's Interference Fit function, followed by surface-to-surface frictional interaction. Stress relaxation of the aligner material was measured using double-cantilever beam bending and modeled with a Prony series. The assembled FE models were validated by comparing the predicted forces and moments delivered to the maxillary left central incisor with experimental data, obtained with a custom-built but fully calibrated apparatus. RESULTS: Good agreement between prediction and measurement was obtained for both the short- and long-term forces and moments. In the short-term, i.e., after 30 s, the dominant force in the labial-lingual direction had a maximum difference of 2.9% between experiment and simulation, and the dominant moment about the mesial-distal axis had a maximum difference of 8.3%. In the long-term, i.e., after 4 h, the experimental and numerical forces had a maximum difference of 8.4%. There were statistically significant differences in the forces delivered among the nominally identical aligners, which were predicted by the geometrically accurate FE models and attributed to the variations in the points of contact between the aligners and the dental arch. The decay in force applied was affected by both the viscoelastic material behavior and friction between the aligner and arch. CONCLUSION: For accurate prediction of the forces and moments delivered by thermoplastic aligners, FE models that can accurately capture the point contacts between the aligners and the underlying teeth are essential. Stress relaxation of the aligners could be adequately modeled using the Prony series to represent the temporal changes of their elastic modulus.

Suppression of hepatoma tumor growth by systemic administration of the phytotoxin gelonin driven by the survivin promoter.

UNLABELLED: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide. However, there is currently no effective therapy strategy in the clinical practice. Recombinant phytotoxin gelonin fused to other factors have been used to treat different cancers. But there have been no reports of gelonin gene therapy. In this study, we have constructed a recombinant plasmid which contained a tumor-specific survivin promoter to drive phytotoxin gelonin (pSur-Gel). And the cytotoxicity effects of pSur-Gel in HCC were also validated both in vitro and in vivo. The expression level of survivin was detected in different liver cancer cell lines and normal liver cell lines by western blot analysis, and a survivin promoter-driven green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression vectors (pSur-GFP) was also tested in liver cancer cell line HepG2 and normal liver cell line LO2. Moreover, phytotoxin gelonin expression experiment and cytotoxicity experiment of pSur-Gel was performed in HepG2 cells and LO2 cells in vitro. Furthermore, anti-tumor effect of pSur-Gel against HepG2 xenografts and toxicity of this gene were evaluated in the mice model. Finally, LDH release assay, apoptosis assay and immunoblot analyse LC3 conversion (LC3-I to LC3-II) were tested. We found that the expression of survivin protein was higher in liver cancer cell lines compared with the normal liver cells. Further study showed that the pSur-GFP and pSur-Gel was expressed specially in liver cancer cell other than in normal liver cells. pSur-Gel plasmid could effectively inhibit the proliferation of liver cancer cells (*P<0.05), and significantly repress the growth of HepG2 xenografts via intravenous in vivo (*P<0.05). Otherwise, compared to cytomegalovirus promoter-driven gelonin expression vectors (pCMV-Gel), no significantly systemic toxicity or organ injuries had been observed in pSur-Gel treated mice. Further studies revealed that the phytotoxin gelonin induced cell death might be mediated by apoptosis and the damage of cell membrane. Taken together, treating hepatocellular carcinoma with the pSur-Gel may be a novel and interesting cancer gene therapy protocol and is worthy of further development for future clinical trials. KEYWORDS: liver cancer, gelonin, survivin promoter, gene therapy.

A minireview of analytical methods for the geographical origin analysis of teas (Camellia sinensis).

Chemical compositions in tea leaves are influenced by their growing surrounding, and the content of these components are related to the quality of teas. The determination of the concentration of chemical composition in teas will predict the ranking of teas and indicate the geographical origins. This overview concerns an investigation of analytical methods that are being used for the determination of the geographical origin of tea. The analytical approaches have been subdivided into three groups: spectroscopic techniques, chromatographic techniques, and other techniques. The advantages, drawbacks, and reported applications concerning geographical authenticity are discussed.

[Morphological changes of THP-1 tumor cells exposed to dopamine in vitro].

The effect of dopamine (DA) on the viability and morphology of cultured tumor THP-1 cells (human acute monocytic leukemia) was studied. DA in concentration of 10(-5) M had virtually no effect on the culture, while in concentration of 10(-4) M to 10(-3) M it stopped the growth and caused a sharp increase in cell death after 24 and 48 hours. Incubation with DA reduced the cell diameter, progressively increased their vacuolization and intensity of fluorescence after treatment by Falck method. Electron microscopical study has shown that cells exposed for 1 day to DA in the concentrations starting with 10(-4) M, demonstrated smoothing of their surface with the disappearance of microvilli and clasmatosis vesicles, actin filaments perforating the plasma membrane, the emergence of an increasingly dense network of filaments in the cytosole and karyoplasm and, finally, apoptotic cell death. It is suggested that the oncotherapeutic cellular target for DA is a cytosolic G-actin, which at a certain DA concentration, turns into filaments that damage the cells, break the cell cycle and cause cell death.

Validation of finite element models for orthodontic aligners.

PURPOSE: Clear thermoplastic aligners have become popular in orthodontics, but the biomechanics of these devices is not well understood. Neither is the tooth movement induced by such devices. The aim of this study was to develop and validate finite element (FE) models for clear thermoplastic teeth aligners for orthodontic force prediction. METHODS AND MATERIALS: FE models were created from Micro-CT scans of an aligner and a model arch of teeth with one of the incisors tipped buccal-lingually by 2.4°. The models were uniformly meshed with 0.3-mm long elements. Linear-elastic mechanical properties provided by the material manufacturers were used. Fitting of the two components was simulated using Abaqus's interference fit, followed by frictional surface-to-surface interaction. The assembled FE model was validated by comparing its prediction for the teeth-aligner gaps and aligner surface strains with experimental data. The experimental teeth-aligner gaps were obtained from the Micro-CT scans whereas the aligner surface strains were measured using a 2-camera digital image correlation (DIC) system. RESULTS: Good agreement between prediction and measurement was obtained for both the teeth-aligner gaps and aligner surface strains. The linear regression between prediction and measurement for teeth-aligner gaps sampled at different positions had a R2 value of 0.99. The mean difference between prediction and measurement for the aligner surface strains (von Mises) over 1544 nodes on the labial side and 1929 nodes on the lingual side was 0.07% and 0.01%, respectively, both being lower than the mean background noise. CONCLUSION: A FE model for clear thermoplastic teeth aligners has been successfully developed and validated. The model can therefore be used with confidence to predict the forces and moments applied to teeth by the aligners, thus improving our understanding of the biomechanics of such devices and the tooth movement they induce.

A Review of Mechano-Biochemical Models for Testing Composite Restorations.

Due to the severe mechano-biochemical conditions in the oral cavity, many dental restorations will degrade and eventually fail. For teeth restored with resin composite, the major modes of failure are secondary caries and fracture of the tooth or restoration. While clinical studies can answer some of the more practical questions, such as the rate of failure, fundamental understanding on the failure mechanism can be obtained from laboratory studies using simplified models more effectively. Reviewed in this article are the 4 main types of models used to study the degradation of resin-composite restorations, namely, animal, human in vivo or in situ, in vitro biofilm, and in vitro chemical models. The characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of these models are discussed and compared. The tooth-restoration interface is widely considered the weakest link in a resin composite restoration. To account for the different types of degradation that can occur (i.e., demineralization, resin hydrolysis, and collagen degradation), enzymes such as esterase and collagenase found in the oral environment are used, in addition to acids, to form biochemical models to test resin-composite restorations in conjunction with mechanical loading. Furthermore, laboratory tests are usually performed in an accelerated manner to save time. It is argued that, for an accelerated multicomponent model to be representative and predictive in terms of both the mode and the speed of degradation, the individual components must be synchronized in their rates of action and be calibrated with clinical data. The process of calibrating the in vitro models against clinical data is briefly described. To achieve representative and predictive in vitro models, more comparative studies of in vivo and in vitro models are required to calibrate the laboratory studies.

Assessment of the tritium distribution in the vegetation cover in the areas of underground nuclear explosions at the Semipalatinsk test site.

This paper provides results of assessment of the tritium distribution in the vegetation cover in the areas of underground nuclear explosions at the Semipalatinsk Test Site (STS). The research was conducted at the former "Degelen" test site along the streams that are one of the main channels of tritium migration from underground nuclear explosions epicenters. The dominant plant species Carex supine and Achnatherum splendens that belong to different ecological groups in relation to humidity were selected as representatives of the vegetation cover. The TFWT (tissue free water tritium) and OBT (organically bound tritium) activity concentrations in the vegetation cover were measurement. TFWT activity concentration in the samples of both plant species had high values with an average of up to 30 kBq kg-1. The OBT activity concentration was 1-2 orders of magnitude lower than the TFWT in all plant samples. The TFWT and OBT activity concentrations in vegetation samples are closely correlated (r = 0.75, p < 0.05). No statistically significant difference was found between the content of tritium in the samples of Carex supine and those of Achnatherum splendens taken at the same locations. OBT/HTO ratios for vegetation samples of both species were close to equilibrium ratio used in environmental transfer models. In some cases, OBT/HTO ratios were significantly lower than one, which indicates that simple environmental transfer models may not accurately predict the behavior of HTO and OBT in different environmental compartments. The average OBT/HTO ratio for soil samples (0.6 ± 0.1) close to the equilibrium value indicates the equilibrium condition at the research area. The obtained [OBT]plant/[OBT]soil ratios indicate that soil organic matter accumulates tritium from year to year. However, in some locations with high tritium contamination ratios [OBT]plant/[OBT]soil were more than one due to OBT activity in soils is almost the same as OBT activity in plants. It was found that the nature of the spatial distribution of tritium in the vegetation cover in the areas of underground nuclear explosions is complex, and obviously depends on the location of the tunnels in which nuclear tests were conducted, as well as on the peculiarities of the hydrological regime of underground and surface waters, which are the main channels of tritium migration in the research area. Thus, the vegetation cover reflects the spatial distribution of tritium contamination in the sites of underground nuclear explosions and can be used as an indicator of the radiation situation when monitoring radiation-hazardous areas.

LncRNA LINC01278 accelerates colorectal cancer progression via miR-134-5p/KDM2A axis.

OBJECTIVE: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play vital roles in the pathogenesis and development of multiple cancers, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Nevertheless, the regulatory mechanisms of LINC01278 in CRC remain unknown. Our research aims to identify the regulatory mechanisms of LINC01278 in CRC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The expression of LINC01278 was examined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). StarBase and TargetScan websites were used to predict the interaction between miR-134 and LINC01278 or KDM2A, which was further confirmed by Dual-Luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay. Cell viability, migration, and invasion were detected by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and transwell assays. RESULTS: LINC01278 was upregulated in CRC tissues and cell lines, and knockdown of LINC01278 suppressed CRC cell progression. In addition, LINC01278 inhibited miR-134 expression by direct interaction, and the inhibition of miR-134 abolished the suppressive effects of LINC01278 knockdown on viability, migration, and invasion of CRC cells. Furthermore, KDM2A was confirmed to be a target gene of miR-134. Overexpression of KDM2A facilitated the tumorigenesis of CRC, while this effect was reversed by the upregulation of miR-143. Finally, it was demonstrated that miR-134 inhibitor reversed the shLINC01278­mediated inhibitory effect on KDM2A expression. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that LINC01278 upregulated KDM2A to promote CRC progression by interacting with miR-143, suggesting that LINC01278 might be a new therapeutic target of CRC.

Comparison of the postoperative and follow-up accuracy of articulator model surgery and virtual surgical planning in skeletal class III patients.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the postoperative and follow-up accuracy of using an intermediate occlusal splint between articulator model surgery (AMS) and virtual surgical planning (VSP) in double-jaw operations. Thirty skeletal class III patients were randomly allocated to have AMS or VSP. In the AMS group surgical planning was done through conventional articulator model surgery, and an intermediate occlusal splint made of acrylic resin was used. In the VSP group the surgical simulation was done virtually, and the same intermediate splint was used in the software and then fabricated using rapid prototyping technology. Preoperatively, one week postoperatively, and 1∼2-years later we obtained follow-up cone-beam computed tomographic (CT) images of each patient. Absolute linear differences between planned and actual outcomes, as well as planned and follow-up outcomes, were evaluated. There was no significant difference in either postoperative accuracy or follow-up accuracy between the methods, and there was no significant difference in the rate of skeletal relapse. Planning transfer by intermediate splint might therefore be the dominant factor in the final inaccuracies. The potentially greater accuracy of VSP may be realised with the help of new positioning devices instead of an intermediate splint.

The male sterility and histoincompatibility (mshi) mutation in mice is a natural variant of microtubule-associated protein 7 (Mtap7).

Males homozygous for the mouse male sterility and histoincompatibility (mshi) mutation exhibit small testes and produce no sperm. In addition, mshi generates an "antigen-loss" histoincompatibility barrier, such that homozygous mutants reject skin grafts from wild type co-isogenic BALB/cByJ donors. To facilitate the molecular characterization of the pleiotropic mshi mutation, we genetically mapped mshi into a 0.68 megabasepair region which contains fewer than 10 candidate genes. Complementation testing showed that one of these, Mtap7, is disrupted in mshi mice. Sequence analysis has revealed a 13 kilobasepair deletion in BALB/cByJ-mshi/J mice that begins in Intron 10-11 of Mtap7, and ends less than 2000 base pairs downstream of the wild type gene. Analysis of the mutant cDNA predicts that Mtap7(mshi) encodes a 457 amino acid protein, the first 423 of which are identical to wild type, and the last 34 of which are due to aberrant mRNA splicing with two cryptic exons in the Mtap7 to P04Rik intergenic region. This molecular assignment for the mshi mutation further supports an essential role for microtubule stabilization in spermatogenesis and indicates a new role in allograft transplantation.