[The Prognostic Value of Prognostic Nutritional Index Combined with D-dimer in Patients with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of prognostic nutritional index (PNI) combined with D-dimer on the prognosis of patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). METHODS: The clinical data of 73 DLBCL patients at initial diagnosis were retrospectively evaluated, and the optimal cut-off point of PNI and D-dimer were determined by ROC curve. The overall survival (OS) rate and progression-free survival (PFS) rate in different subgroups were compared using Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to identify the factors associated with OS. RESULTS: Compared with the low PNI group (PNI<44.775), the high PNI group (PNI≥44.775) had better OS (P =0.022) and PFS (P =0.029), the 2-year OS rates of the two groups were 55.6% and 78.3% respectively (P =0.041). Compared with the high D-dimer group (D-dimer≥0.835), the low D-dimer group (D-dimer<0.835) had better OS (P <0.001) and PFS (P <0.001), the 2-year OS rates of the two groups were 51.4% and 86.8% respectively (P =0.001). Meanwhile, patients in the high PNI+ low D-dimer group had better OS (P =0.003) and PFS (P <0.001) than the other three groups, the 2-year OS rate was statistically different from the other three groups (P <0.05). The multivariate analysis revealed that NCCN-IPI (HR =2.083, 95%CI : 1.034-4.196, P =0.040), PNI (HR =0.267, 95%CI : 0.076-0.940, P =0.040) and PNI+D-dimer (HR =9.082, 95%CI : 1.329-62.079, P =0.024) were the independent risk factors affecting OS in patients with DLBCL. Subgroup analysis showed that PNI, D-dimer, and PNI combined with D-dimer could improve the prognostic stratification in low and low-intermediate risk DLBCL patients. CONCLUSION: High PNI, low D-dimer and combination of high PNI and low D-dimer at initial diagnosis suggest a better prognosis in DLBCL patients.

[Prognostic Value of A New Risk Stratification Model (R2-ISS) in Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the significance of a new risk stratification model (R2-ISS) in evaluating the prognosis of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM). METHODS: Clinical data of 116 newly diagnosed MM patients admitted to Lanzhou University Second Hospital from June 2012 to March 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. According to R2-ISS, these patients were divided into four groups: low risk, low-intermediate risk, intermediate-high risk, and high risk. The significance of R2-ISS on prognosis of the patients was analyzed. RESULTS: Survival analysis showed that R2-ISS was associated with progression-free survival (PFS) (P=0.042) and overall survival (OS) (P=0.014). Cox univariate analysis showed that lactate dehydrogenase, serum calcium, serum creatinine, ß2-microglobulin, ISS, R-ISS, R2-ISS, t(4;14), and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (ASCT) were the influencing factors of OS in newly diagnosed MM patients (all P<0.05). Cox multivariate analysis showed that R-ISS, R2-ISS, and ASCT were independent risk factors affecting OS (all P<0.05). In addition, survival analysis of patients with different R2-ISS showed that ASCT improved PFS and OS. CONCLUSION: R2-ISS has prognostic value for newly diagnosed MM patients, while ASCT can improve the prognosis of patients with different R2-ISS.

BMPR-IB gene disruption causes severe limb deformities in pigs.

In an attempt to generate g.A746G substitution in the BMPR-IB gene, we unexpectedly obtained BMPR-IB homozygous knockout piglets ( BMPR-IB -/-) and heterogeneous knockout piglets with one copy of the A746G mutation ( BMPR-IB -/746G) via CRISPR/Cas9 editing. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing revealed complex genomic rearrangements in the target region. All BMPR-IB-disrupted piglets showed an inability to stand and walk normally. Both BMPR-IB -/- and BMPR-IB -/746G piglets exhibited severe skeletal dysplasia characterized by distorted and truncated forearms (ulna, radius) and disordered carpal, metacarpal, and phalangeal bones in the forelimbs. The piglets displayed more severe deformities in the hindlimbs by visual inspection, including fibular hemimelia, enlarged tarsal bone, and disordered toe joint bones. Limb deformities were more profound in BMPR-IB -/- piglets than in the BMPR-IB -/746G piglets. Proteomic analysis identified 139 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in the hindlimb fibula of BMPR -IB -/746G piglets compared to the wild-type (WT) controls. Most DEPs are involved in skeletal or embryonic development and/or the TGF-ß pathway and tumor progression. Gene Ontology (GO) and protein domain enrichment analysis suggested alterations in these processes. Of the top 50 DEPs, a large proportion, e.g., C1QA, MYO1H, SRSF1, P3H1, GJA1, TCOF1, RBM10, SPP2, MMP13, and PHAX, were significantly associated with skeletal development. Our study provides novel findings on the role of BMPR-IB in mammalian limb development.

Recognition efficiency of atypical cardiovascular readings on ECG devices through fogged goggles.

In their continuing battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, medical workers in hospitals worldwide need to wear safety glasses and goggles to protect their eyes from the possible transmission of the virus. However, they work for long hours and need to wear a mask and other personal protective equipment, which causes their protective eye wear to fog up. This fogging up of eye wear, in turn, has a substantial impact in the speed and accuracy of reading information on the interface of electrocardiogram (ECG) machines. To gain a better understanding of the extent of the impact, this study experimentally simulates the fogging of protective goggles when viewing the interface with three variables: the degree of fogging of the goggles, brightness of the screen, and color of the font of the cardiovascular readings. This experimental study on the target recognition of digital font is carried out by simulating the interface of an ECG machine and readability of the ECG machine with fogged eye wear. The experimental results indicate that the fogging of the lenses has a significant impact on the recognition speed and the degree of fogging has a significant correlation with the font color and brightness of the screen. With a reduction in screen brightness, its influence on recognition speed shows a v-shaped trend, and the response time is the shortest when the screen brightness is 150 cd/m2. When eyewear is fogged, yellow and green font colors allow a quicker response with a higher accuracy. On the whole, the subjects show a better performance with the use of green font, but there are inconsistencies. In terms of the interaction among the three variables, the same results are also found and the same conclusion can be made accordingly. This research study can act as a reference for the interface design of medical equipment in events where medical staff wear protective eyewear for a long period of time.