DNA methylation variations of DNA damage response correlate survival and local immune status in melanomas.

AIM: We aimed to explore the impact of DNA methylation alterations on the DNA damage response (DDR) in melanoma prognosis and immunity. MATERIAL & METHODS: Different melanoma cohorts with molecular and clinical data were included. RESULTS: Hierarchical clustering utilizing different combinations of DDR-relevant CpGs yielded distinct melanoma subtypes, which were characteristic of different prognoses, transcriptional function profiles of DDR, and immunity and immunotherapy responses but were associated with similar tumor mutation burdens. We then constructed and validated a clinically applicable 4-CpG risk-score signature for predicting survival and immunotherapy response. CONCLUSION: Our study describes the close interrelationship among DNA methylation, DDR machinery, local tumor immune status, melanoma prognosis, and immunotherapy response.

Two-dimensional and high-order directional information modulations for secure communications based on programmable metasurface.

Conventional wireless communication schemes indiscriminately transmit information into the whole space and pose inherent security risks. Recently, directional information modulation (DIM) has attracted enormous attention as a promising technology. DIM generates correct constellation symbols in the desired directions and distorts them in undesired directions, thus ensuring the security of the transmitted information. Although several DIM schemes have been reported, they suffer from defects of bulkiness, energy consumption, high cost, and inability to support two-dimensional (2D) and high-order modulations. Here, we propose a DIM scheme based on a 2-bit programmable metasurface (PM) that overcomes these defects. A fast and efficient discrete optimization algorithm is developed to optimize the digital coding sequences, and the correct constellation symbols can be generated and transmitted in multi-directional beams. As a proof-of-concept, three sets of constellation diagrams (8 phase shift keying (PSK), 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), and 64QAM) are realized in the multi-channel modes. This work provides an important route of employing DIM for ensuring physical-layer security and serves as a stepping stone toward endogenous secure communications.

Macroscopic model and statistical model to characterize electromagnetic information of a digital coding metasurface.

A digital coding metasurface is a platform connecting the digital space and electromagnetic wave space, and has therefore gained much attention due to its intriguing value in reshaping wireless channels and realizing new communication architectures. Correspondingly, there is an urgent need for electromagnetic information theory that reveals the upper limit of communication capacity and supports the accurate design of metasurface-based communication systems. To this end, we propose a macroscopic model and a statistical model of the digital coding metasurface. The macroscopic model uniformly accommodates both digital and electromagnetic aspects of the meta-atoms and predicts all possible scattered fields of the digital coding metasurface based on a small number of simulations or measurements. Full-wave simulations and experimental results show that the macroscopic model is feasible and accurate. A statistical model is further proposed to correlate the mutual coupling between meta-atoms with covariance and to calculate the entropy of the equivalent currents of digital coding metasurface. These two models can help reconfigurable intelligent surfaces achieve more accurate beamforming and channel estimation, and thus improve signal power and coverage. Moreover, the models will encourage the creation of a precoding codebook in metasurface-based direct digital modulation systems, with the aim of approaching the upper limit of channel capacity. With these two models, the concepts of current space and current entropy, as well as the analysis of information loss from the coding space to wave space, is established for the first time, helping to bridge the gap between the digital world and the physical world, and advancing developments of electromagnetic information theory and new-architecture wireless systems.

Clinical and pathological analysis of solitary fibrous tumors with portal vein widening: A case report.

RATIONALE: Solitary fibrous tumors (SFTs) are rare soft-tissue tumors characterized with spindle-cell, which occur more common in the chest and rarely seen in the abdomen. So far as we knew, SFTs accompanied with venopathy of portal vein has rarely been reported. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 36-year-old male presented with left-sided abdominal mass and portal vein expansion on ultrasound. DIAGNOSES: The post-operative histopathology confirmed the diagnosis of Solitary fibrous tumor. INTERVENTIONS: Laparotomy was performed and the mass was completely removed. OUTCOMES: Patients had no symptoms, recovered well without recurrence; the portal vein and splenic vein dilatation were alleviated and the symptoms of portal hypertension were relieved. LESSONS: SFTs presents with few symptoms in the early stage of the disease. A rich arteriovenous shunt is beneficial to the diagnosis of SFTs by B-ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) examinations. However, the diagnosis of SFTs must depend on histopathology.

[CT manifestation for excavated-type of rhomboid fossa of the clavicle].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the manifestation of CT for excavated-type of rhomboid fossa of the clavicle. METHODS: Nine cases with rhomboid fossaes of the clavicle of 8 patients accepted CT and 1 case added MRI together;all 8 patients were male who aged from 17 to 70 years old with mean age of 42.5 years old;three dimensional reconstruction of all CTs were made, the distance between focus and inside end of clavicle and the size of all focus were measured respectively, then the position, shape, margin of focus were analyzed. RESULTS: All focuses located near the inside end of clavicle and the distances between focus and inside end of clavicle were lower than 2 cm and the mean value was 1.3 cm, the size of all focuses was from 1.05 to 3.45 cm and the mean value was 2.18 cm. All 9 focuses of 8 patients located in the posterior and nether edge of inside end of clavicle, 5 cases located in right and 4 cases located in left side(both right and left side occurred in 1 patient. Seven focuses showed "fishhook sign" and the rest 2 focuses were small and without fishhook shape;the cortex of clavicle of all 9 cases showed local minus and nearly marrow showed integrated sclerotic margin. Regular soft tissue as strip can be seen in 7 focuses and the rest small focuses without the symptom. CONCLUSIONS: CT could show certain characteristics for excavated-type of rhomboid fossa of the clavicle and certain value for its diagnosis and identification.

[Evaluation of immunization protection efficacy of plague subunit vaccine].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the protective efficacy of plague subunit vaccine, BALB/c mice, guinea pigs and rabbits were used in this study. METHODS: Groups of mice (10 per group), guinea pigs (14 per group) and rabbits (6 per group) were immunized with F1 + rV270 vaccine, EV76 vaccine and alum adjuvant by intramuscular route, respectively. Serum antibody titres of mice, guinea pigs and rabbits were determined by ELISA and the immunized animals were challenged with 10(6) CFU of Y. pestis strain 141 at the 8th week after the primary immunization. RESULTS: The immunized mice, guinea pigs or rabbits with subunit vaccine developed anti-F1 IgG titre of 41 587.3 +/- 2.1, 11 543.7 +/- 2.1 or 522.4 +/- 22.4 and elicited statistical anti-F1 IgG titre difference among them (F = 17.58, P < 0.01). The immunized mice, guinea pigs or rabbits with subunit vaccine had anti-rV270 IgG titre of 15 748.7 +/- 1.6, 12.6 +/- 1.4 or 1648.0 +/- 5.0 and induced statistical anti-rV270 IgG titre difference among them (F value was 16.34, P < 0.01). There was significant anti-F1 IgG titre difference among mice, guinea pigs and rabbits immunized with EV76 vaccine that developed anti-F1 IgG titre of 913.4 +/- 4.5, 937.0 +/- 2.0 or 342.0 +/- 12.0 (F = 23.67, P < 0.01), whereas the immunized mice, guinea pigs and rabbits with EV76 vaccine developed anti-rV270 IgG titre of 12.0 +/- 1.0, 447.0 +/- 10.0, 40.0 +/- 11.0 and there was no anti-rV270 IgG titre difference between them (F = 2.20, P = 0.1314). The immunized mice with subunit vaccine developed significantly higher anti-F1 IgG titres than immunized guinea pigs and rabbits (q value was 30.57 and 19.04, respectively, P < 0.01), and there were no anti-F1 IgG titre differences between the immunized guinea pigs and rabbits (q = 0.04, P = 0.8485). The immunized mice with subunit vaccine developed significantly higher anti-rV270 IgG titres than immunized guinea pigs and rabbits (q value was 27.10 and 19.49, respectively, P < 0.01), and there were no anti-rV270 IgG titre differences between the immunized guinea pigs and rabbits with the subunit vaccine (q = 0.25, P = 0.6187). The immunized mice with EV76 elicited higher anti-F1 IgG titres than immunized guinea pigs and rabbits (q value was 40.67 and 29.10, respectively, P < 0.01), whereas there was no difference of F1 IgG titer between immunized guinea pigs and rabbits (q = 0.06, P = 0.8098). The immunized mice, guinea pigs and rabbits with subunit vaccine provided 100% (10/10), 86% (12/14) and 100% (5/5) protection against 10(6) CFU Y. pestis of challenge, respectively. The immunized mice, guinea pigs and rabbits with EV76 vaccine gave 100% (6/6), 93% (13/14) and 100% (6/6) protection against 10(6) CFU Y. pestis of challenge respectively. CONCLUSION: BALB/c mice is the best small animal model for valuation of protective efficacy of plague subunit vaccine. The guinea pigs showed a high individual variation for this purpose. The rabbits can be used as an alternative model for evaluating plague subunit vaccine.