The size diversity of the Pteridaceae family chloroplast genome is caused by overlong intergenic spacers.

BACKGROUND: While the size of chloroplast genomes (cpDNAs) is often influenced by the expansion and contraction of inverted repeat regions and the enrichment of repeats, it is the intergenic spacers (IGSs) that appear to play a pivotal role in determining the size of Pteridaceae cpDNAs. This provides an opportunity to delve into the evolution of chloroplast genomic structures of the Pteridaceae family. This study added five Pteridaceae species, comparing them with 36 published counterparts. RESULTS: Poor alignment in the non-coding regions of the Pteridaceae family was observed, and this was attributed to the widespread presence of overlong IGSs in Pteridaceae cpDNAs. These overlong IGSs were identified as a major factor influencing variations in cpDNA size. In comparison to non-expanded IGSs, overlong IGSs exhibited significantly higher GC content and were rich in repetitive sequences. Species divergence time estimations suggest that these overlong IGSs may have already existed during the early radiation of the Pteridaceae family. CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals new insights into the genetic variation, evolutionary history, and dynamic changes in the cpDNA structure of the Pteridaceae family, providing a fundamental resource for further exploring its evolutionary research.

Propagation thresholds and driving mechanism detection of karst meteorological- agricultural drought: A case study in Guizhou Province.

It is significant to systematically quantify the propagation thresholds of meteorological drought to different levels of agricultural drought in karst areas, and revealit's the propagation driving mechanisms. This can guide early warning and fine management of agricultural drought. In this study,we selected Guizhou Province as an example. The standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) and standardized soil moisture index (SSI) were used to characterize meteorological and agricultural drought. The run theory was used to identify, merge and eliminate drought events. The maximum correlation coefficient was used to capture the propagation time of meteorological-agricultural drought. The regression models were used to quantify the propagation intensity threshold from meteorological drought to different levels of agricultural drought. Finally, the propagation threshold driving mechanism was explored using geographical detectors. The results show that: (1) in terms of temporal variations during the past 21 years, regional meteorological drought had a shorter duration and a higher intensity than agricultural drought, Particularly, 2011 was a year of severe drought, and agricultural drought was significantly alleviated after 2014. (2) In terms of spatial variations, the "long duration area" of meteorological drought duration showed an "S" shaped distribution in the northeast, and the "short duration area" showed a point-like distribution. The overall duration of agricultural drought showed a spatial distribution of northeast to "medium-high in the northeast and low in the southwest. (3) The drought propagation time showed an alternating distribution of "valley-peak-valley-peak" from southeast to northwest. In terms of propagation intensity thresholds, light drought showed an overall spatial distribution of high in the east and low in the west. Moderate, severe, and extreme droughts showed a spatial distribution of low in the center north of southern Guizhou) and high in the borders. (4) There was a strong spatial coupling relationship between karst development intensity, altitude and meteorological-agricultural drought propagation thresholds. The interaction of different factors exhibited a two-factor enhancement and nonlinear enhancement on the propagation threshold. This indicates that synergistic effects of different factors on the propagation threshold were larger than single-factor effects.

IRIS® Registry (Intelligent Research In Sight) Analysis of the Incidence of Monovision in Cataract Patients with Bilateral Monofocal Intraocular Lens Implantation.

Purpose: To determine the incidence of pseudophakic monovision among patients bilaterally implanted with monofocal intraocular lenses (IOLs) and to characterize the distribution of myopic offsets achieved. Patients and Methods: This retrospective database study included data on patients receiving care from ophthalmologists who contributed to the Academy IRIS® (Intelligent Research In Sight) Registry. Anonymized data were collected, including patient age, ethnicity, procedure data (CPT code, date, laterality), and postoperative manifest refractive spherical equivalent (MRSE) in both eyes implanted with monofocal or monofocal toric IOLs. No data regarding IOL manufacturer, model, or power were collected. One primary outcome measure was the percentage of patients achieving monovision (defined as emmetropia within ±0.25 diopters [D] in one eye and a myopic offset of ≥0.50 D in the fellow eye) among all patients receiving bilateral monofocal IOLs at the time of cataract surgery between January 1, 2016, and September 1, 2019, with at least 90 days of follow-up. Other primary outcomes included the distribution and frequency of myopic offsets (anisometropia) between eyes. Results: Of the 16,765 people receiving bilateral monofocal IOLs within the study period, 4796 (28.6%) achieved emmetropia in at least one eye, as defined by an MRSE within ± 0.25 D. The incidence of monovision among these patients was 34.2% (1638/4796). One-quarter (24.7%; 405/1638) of patients who achieved monovision had a myopic offset between 0.50 and 0.74 D, with more than one-third (35.2%; 576/1638) falling within 0.75-1.24 D and 18.0% within 1.25-1.74 D. A myopic offset ≥1.75 D was observed in 22.1% (362/1638) of patients who achieved monovision. Conclusion: Pseudophakic monovision for presbyopia correction was achieved in ~34% of patients in the IRIS Registry bilaterally implanted with monofocal IOLs, with myopic offsets typically ranging from 0.5 to 1.24 D.

Adaptive evolution and co-evolution of chloroplast genomes in Pteridaceae species occupying different habitats: overlapping residues are always highly mutated.

BACKGROUND: The evolution of protein residues depends on the mutation rates of their encoding nucleotides, but it may also be affected by co-evolution with other residues. Chloroplasts function as environmental sensors, transforming fluctuating environmental signals into different physiological responses. We reasoned that habitat diversity may affect their rate and mode of evolution, which might be evidenced in the chloroplast genome. The Pteridaceae family of ferns occupy an unusually broad range of ecological niches, which provides an ideal system for analysis. RESULTS: We conducted adaptive evolution and intra-molecular co-evolution analyses of Pteridaceae chloroplast DNAs (cpDNAs). The results indicate that the residues undergoing adaptive evolution and co-evolution were mostly independent, with only a few residues being simultaneously involved in both processes, and these overlapping residues tend to exhibit high mutations. Additionally, our data showed that Pteridaceae chloroplast genes are under purifying selection. Regardless of whether we grouped species by lineage (which corresponded with ecological niches), we determined that positively selected residues mainly target photosynthetic genes. CONCLUSIONS: Our work provides evidence for the adaptive evolution of Pteridaceae cpDNAs, especially photosynthetic genes, to different habitats and sheds light on the adaptive evolution and co-evolution of proteins.

Generalizability and Diagnostic Performance of AI Models for Thyroid US.

Background Artificial intelligence (AI) models have improved US assessment of thyroid nodules; however, the lack of generalizability limits the application of these models. Purpose To develop AI models for segmentation and classification of thyroid nodules in US using diverse data sets from nationwide hospitals and multiple vendors, and to measure the impact of the AI models on diagnostic performance. Materials and Methods This retrospective study included consecutive patients with pathologically confirmed thyroid nodules who underwent US using equipment from 12 vendors at 208 hospitals across China from November 2017 to January 2019. The detection, segmentation, and classification models were developed based on the subset or complete set of images. Model performance was evaluated by precision and recall, Dice coefficient, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) analyses. Three scenarios (diagnosis without AI assistance, with freestyle AI assistance, and with rule-based AI assistance) were compared with three senior and three junior radiologists to optimize incorporation of AI into clinical practice. Results A total of 10 023 patients (median age, 46 years [IQR 37-55 years]; 7669 female) were included. The detection, segmentation, and classification models had an average precision, Dice coefficient, and AUC of 0.98 (95% CI: 0.96, 0.99), 0.86 (95% CI: 0.86, 0.87), and 0.90 (95% CI: 0.88, 0.92), respectively. The segmentation model trained on the nationwide data and classification model trained on the mixed vendor data exhibited the best performance, with a Dice coefficient of 0.91 (95% CI: 0.90, 0.91) and AUC of 0.98 (95% CI: 0.97, 1.00), respectively. The AI model outperformed all senior and junior radiologists (P < .05 for all comparisons), and the diagnostic accuracies of all radiologists were improved (P < .05 for all comparisons) with rule-based AI assistance. Conclusion Thyroid US AI models developed from diverse data sets had high diagnostic performance among the Chinese population. Rule-based AI assistance improved the performance of radiologists in thyroid cancer diagnosis. © RSNA, 2023 Supplemental material is available for this article.

Study on the driving mechanism of lagged effects based on different time scales in a karst drainage basin in South China.

Compared to earthquakes and volcanoes, drought is one of the most damaging natural disasters and is mainly affected by rainfall losses, especially by the runoff regulation ability of the underlying watershed surface. Based on monthly rainfall runoff data recorded from 1980 to 2020, in this study, the distributed lag regression model is used to simulate the rainfall-runoff process in the karst distribution region of South China, and a time series of watershed lagged-flow volumes is calculated. The watershed lagged effect is analyzed by four distribution models, and the joint probability between the lagged intensity and frequency is simulated by the copula function family. The results show that (1) the watershed lagged effects simulated by the normal, log-normal, P-III and log-logistic distribution models in the karst drainage basin are particularly significant, with small mean square errors (MSEs) and significant time-scale characteristics. (2) Affected by spatiotemporal distribution differences in rainfall and the impacts of different basin media and structures, the lag response of runoff to rainfall differs significantly among different time scales. Especially at the 1-, 3- and 12-month scales, the coefficient of variation (Cv) of the watershed lagged intensity is greater than 1, while it is less than 1 at the 6- and 9-month scales. (3) The lagged frequencies simulated by the log-normal, P-III and log-logistic distribution models are relatively high (with medium, medium-high and high frequencies, respectively), while that simulated by the normal distribution is relatively low (medium-low and low frequencies). (4) There is a significant negative correlation (R < - 0.8, Sig. < 0.01) between the watershed lagged intensity and frequency. For the joint probability simulation, the fitting effect of the gumbel Copula is the best, followed by the Clayton and Frank-1 copulas, and while that of the Frank-2 copula is relatively weak. Consequently, the propagation mechanism from meteorological drought to agricultural or hydrological drought and the conversion mechanism between agricultural and hydrological drought are effectively revealed in this study, thereby providing a scientific basis for the rational utilization of water resources and drought resistance and disaster relief in karst areas.

A Large Intergenic Spacer Leads to the Increase in Genome Size and Sequential Gene Movement around IR/SC Boundaries in the Chloroplast Genome of Adiantum malesianum (Pteridaceae).

Expansion and contraction (ebb and flow events) of inverted repeat (IR) boundaries occur and are generally considered to be major factors affecting chloroplast (cp) genome size changes. Nonetheless, the Adiantum malesianum cp genome does not seem to follow this pattern. We sequenced, assembled and corrected the A. flabellulatum and A. malesianum cp genomes using the Illumina NovaSeq6000 platform, and we performed a comparative genome analysis of six Adiantum species. The results revealed differences in the IR/SC boundaries of A. malesianum caused by a 6876 bp long rpoB-trnD-GUC intergenic spacer (IGS) in the LSC. This IGS may create topological tension towards the LSC/IRb boundary in the cp genome, resulting in a sequential movement of the LSC genes. Consequently, this leads to changes of the IR/SC boundaries and may even destroy the integrity of trnT-UGU, which is located in IRs. This study provides evidence showing that it is the large rpoB-trnD-GUC IGS that leads to A. malesianum cp genome size change, rather than ebb and flow events. Then, the study provides a model to explain how the rpoB-trnD-GUC IGS in LSC affects A. malesianum IR/SC boundaries. Moreover, this study also provides useful data for dissecting the evolution of cp genomes of Adiantum. In future research, we can expand the sample to Pteridaceae to test whether this phenomenon is universal in Pteridaceae.

Impact of Global Optimization of Lens Constants on Absolute Prediction Error for Final IOL Power Selection When Using Intraoperative Aberrometry.

Purpose: To evaluate absolute prediction errors following phacoemulsification with implantation of a multifocal toric intraocular lens (IOL) using intraoperative aberrometry for IOL power selection and to compare findings with the globally optimized and manufacturer's recommended lens constants and regression coefficients. Methods: Data from the Optiwave Refractive Analysis (ORA SYSTEM) were analyzed retrospectively. Absolute prediction errors from surgeries performed before and after the first optimization of the manufacturer's recommended lens constant and non-optimized regression coefficients for the multifocal toric IOL (SND1T3-6) were compared. Optimization was based on outcomes of procedures performed using the ORA SYSTEM and archived in its database (AnalyzOR). Outcome measures included the proportion of eyes with absolute ORA SYSTEM prediction errors ≤0.25 D and ≤0.5 D and the mean and median absolute prediction errors. Results: The pre-optimization group included 1027 eyes operated on by 184 surgeons, and the optimized group included 419 eyes operated on by 143 surgeons. The proportions of eyes achieving absolute ORA SYSTEM prediction errors ≤0.25 D (52.5% vs 35.0%, p < 0.0001) and ≤0.50 D (83.1% vs 66.2%, p < 0.0001) were significantly higher in the optimized than in the pre-optimization group. The mean ± standard deviation (0.30 ± 0.25 D vs 0.43 ± 0.32 D, p < 0.0001) and median (0.24 D vs 0.36 D, p < 0.0001) absolute ORA SYSTEM prediction errors were significantly lower after than before optimization. Prediction errors following optimization were reduced more in eyes of average than of long and short axial lengths. Conclusion: Global optimization of the manufacturer's IOL lens constants and regression coefficients resulted in lower absolute prediction errors when compared with the initial manufacturer labeled lens constants and non-optimized regression coefficients. Reductions in absolute prediction error can result in lower postoperative residual refractive error, which can improve post-operative uncorrected visual acuity and provide the potential for greater patient satisfaction following cataract surgery.

Changes in Levels of Homocysteine and C-Reactive Protein in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease and Their Correlation with Cognitive and UPDRS Functions.

Objective: To investigate the changes in the levels of homocysteine (Hcy) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and analyze their correlation with cognitive and UPDRS functions. Methods: A total of 50 patients with AD admitted to our hospital from January 2020 to March 2022 were selected into the research group, and 50 healthy subjects were selected as the control group. The levels of Hcy and CRP of the two groups were analyzed, and the patients' cognitive functions were evaluated with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score and UPDRS function scoring. The correlation between the changes in levels of Hcy and CRP, and cognitive and UPDRS functions in the two groups was compared and analyzed. Results: The levels of Hcy and CRP of the research group were higher than those of the control group, with statistical significance (P < 0.05). The following were evaluated for the scoring of patients' cognitive functions in the research group: orientation, attentional computation, short-term memory, language ability, visuospatial ability, instant memory, and MMSE total score, all of which were lower than those in the control group, with statistical significance (P < 0.05). UPDRS I, UPDRS, UPDRS, and total UPDRS score in the research group were higher than those in the control group, with statistical significance (P < 0.05). In the research group, the higher the Hcy level, the lower the MMSE score, with a negative correlation (P < 0.05), and the higher the Hcy level, the higher the UPDRS score, with a positive correlation (P < 0.05). And, the higher the CRP level, the lower the MMSE score, with a negative correlation (P < 0.05); the higher the CRP level, the higher the UPDRS score, with a positive correlation (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Compared with the health subject group, the levels of Hcy and CRP were higher in patients with AD, and their changes had a negative correlation with cognitive functions in patients with AD, and a positive correlation with UPDRS in patients with AD, with high clinical values in evaluating cognitive and UPDRS functions.

Overexpression of NIMA related kinase 2 in multiple myeloma and its relevance with disease features and prognosis to bortezomib treatment.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: NIMA related kinase 2 (NEK2) promotes the malignant transformation and enhances the chemoresistance to proteasome inhibitor in multiple myeloma (MM) cell lines. The current study aimed to further investigate its correlation with clinical features and responsiveness to bortezomib treatment in MM patients. METHODS: Totally, 76 MM patients and 30 health donors (HDs) were enrolled to collect bone marrow plasma cells for NEK2 detection using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Meanwhile, NEK2 siRNA was transfected into the RPMI-8226 and KMS-11 cells, subsequently their cell viability was evaluated using Cell Counting Kit-8 reagent after treatment with different doses of bortezomib. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: NEK2 expression was higher in MM patients compared with HDs (Z = -5.123, p < 0.001). Besides, elevated NEK2 expression was associated with the occurrence of the bone lesion (χ2  = 4.610, p = 0.032) and t (4; 14) (χ2  = 3.971, p = 0.046). Additionally, elevated NEK2 expression was correlated with declined objective response rate (ORR) (χ2  = 4.808, p = 0.028), but not with complete response (CR) (χ2  = 2.341, p = 0.126). More importantly, elevated NEK2 expression was correlated with shorter progression-free survival (PFS) (χ2  = 8.352, p = 0.039), but not with overall survival (OS) (χ2  = 5.624, p = 0.131), What is more, NEK2 silence decreased the cell viability under bortezomib treatment and the inhibitory concentration (IC50 ) value of bortezomib in RPMI-8226 and KMS-11 cell lines (all p < 0.05). WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: NEK2 overexpression links with occurrence of bone lesion, t (4; 14), and poor prognosis to bortezomib treatment in MM patients.

Academy IRIS® Registry Analysis of Incidence of Laser Capsulotomy Due to Posterior Capsule Opacification After Intraocular Lens Implantation.

Purpose: Academy IRIS® (Intelligent Research in Sight) Registry was used to determine the incidence of postoperative neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet laser capsulotomy (Nd:YAG) and time to posterior capsular opacification (PCO) diagnosis based on intraocular lens (IOL) type and brand. Methods: This retrospective analysis included eyes implanted with 1 of 2 IOL brands, with ≥365 days of follow-up available in the IRIS Registry, and ≥2 visits within 180 days of surgery. Analyses included Nd:YAG incidence due to PCO within 1 year after surgery by IOL type and brand, mean time to PCO diagnosis, and mean time to Nd:YAG. Results: Of 89,947 eyes after cataract surgery, 24,834 (28%) had PCO diagnosis within 365 days, and 9262 (10%) underwent Nd:YAG; 4.1% of 57,523 eyes with monofocal and 21.2% of 32,424 eyes with diffractive multifocal (MF) or diffractive extended depth of focus (EDOF) IOLs had Nd:YAG. Nd:YAG was 3.2 times more likely in eyes with diffractive MF or diffractive EDOF IOLs versus monofocal. For monofocal IOLs, 3.2% of eyes with AcrySof® and 8.1% of eyes with Tecnis® had Nd:YAG (P<0.0001). For diffractive MF or diffractive EDOF IOLs, 13.0% of eyes with AcrySof and 21.7% of eyes with Tecnis had Nd:YAG (P<0.0001). Nd:YAG risk was 2.4 times higher in eyes with Tecnis versus AcrySof IOLs. Overall, mean time to PCO diagnosis and Nd:YAG was 150.7 and 180.7 days. Mean time to PCO for monofocal versus diffractive MF or diffractive EDOF IOLs was 165.3 versus 139.7 days (P<0.0001). Mean time to Nd:YAG for monofocal versus diffractive MF or diffractive EDOF IOLs was 196.4 versus 175.3 days (P<0.05). Conclusion: Real-world data for AcrySof and Tecnis IOLs revealed lower Nd:YAG rates and longer time to PCO diagnosis and Nd:YAG after monofocal versus diffractive multifocal or diffractive EDOF implantation. Nd:YAG rates were significantly lower with AcrySof versus Tecnis IOLs.

Assessment of the temporal variability and health risk of atmospheric particle-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in a northeastern city in China.

In this study, we examined the sources and temporal variability of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) found in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in a typical industrial city in northern China. We also evaluated the incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) from the inhalation of these PAHs. Atmospheric PM2.5 samples were collected for 7 consecutive days each month from 2014 to 2019, and the 16 PAHs were measured using multiplex gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The carcinogenic risk of PAH exposure was assessed using the inhalation unit risk (IUR) and cancer slope factor (CSF) methods. The annual average concentrations of PM2.5 for each year from 2014 to 2019 were 102.87±55.25, 86.92±60.43, 69.17±37.74, 58.20±59.15, 56.01±34.52, and 52.54±58.15 µg m-3, and the annual average ΣPAH concentrations were 56.03±81.09, 47.99±79.30, 40.41±57.31, 33.57±51.79, 43.23±74.80, and 25.20±50.91 ng m-3, respectively. Source identification, using diagnostic ratio analysis, indicated that the major PAH sources were coal/biomass combustion, fuel combustion, and traffic emissions. A health risk assessment showed that the ILCR from PAH inhalation decreased throughout the study period and varied with age. The IUR and CSF methods both showed that the adult ILCR exceeded 1.0×10-6. These findings demonstrate the importance of addressing the carcinogenic risk of PM2.5-bound PAHs, particularly in adults.

Real-world incidence of monofocal toric intraocular lens repositioning: analysis of the American Academy of Ophthalmology IRIS Registry.

PURPOSE: To determine the 12-month incidence of reoperation to realign 2 commercially available types of implanted monofocal toric acrylic intraocular lenses (IOLs). SETTING: American Academy of Ophthalmology IRIS (Intelligent Research in Sight) Registry. DESIGN: Registry retrospective study. METHODS: Eyes that underwent cataract extraction and were implanted with a TECNIS or AcrySof monofocal toric IOL in 2016 and 2017 were identified. The rate of reoperation for IOL realignment (Current Procedural Terminology code 66825) within 365 days of implantation was determined for each IOL group. Risk factors for repositioning were evaluated using logistic regression modeling. RESULTS: A total of 6482 eyes were implanted with a monofocal toric IOL, including 2013 (31.06%) with a TECNIS and 4469 (68.94%) with an AcrySof IOL. During the first postoperative year, 87 (1.3%) eyes underwent surgical IOL repositioning. The incidence of repositioning was significantly higher (P < .0001) for TECNIS-implanted (3.1%, 62/2013) than for AcrySof-implanted (0.6%, 25/4469) eyes (odds ratio [OR] 5.6; 95% CI, 3.5-8.9). Younger age (OR 0.76; 95% CI, 0.67-0.86 per 5-year increase) was associated with a higher risk for IOL repositioning. CONCLUSIONS: Real-world analysis of U.S. patients in the IRIS Registry revealed that the rate of surgical IOL repositioning was 5 times higher in eyes implanted with TECNIS than with AcrySof monofocal toric IOLs for astigmatic correction at the time of cataract surgery. These findings should be considered when selecting a toric IOL for correction of astigmatism in cataract patients, particularly in younger patients with a higher risk for misalignment requiring repositioning.

Probe Request Based Device Identification Attack and Defense.

Wi-Fi network has an open nature so that it needs to face greater security risks compared to wired network. The MAC address represents the unique identifier of the device, and is easily obtained by an attacker. Therefore MAC address randomization is proposed to protect the privacy of devices in a Wi-Fi network. However, implicit identifiers are used by attackers to identify user's device, which can cause the leakage of user's privacy. We propose device identification based on 802.11ac probe request frames. Here, a detailed analysis on the effectiveness of 802.11ac fields is given and a novel device identification method based on deep learning whose average f1-score exceeds 99% is presented. With a purpose of preventing attackers from obtaining relevant information by the device identification method above, we design a novel defense mechanism based on stream cipher. In that case, the original content of probe request frame is hidden by encrypting probe request frames and construction of probe request is reserved to avoid the finding of attackers. This defense mechanism can effectively reduce the performance of the proposed device identification method whose average f1-score is below 30%. In general, our research on attack and defense mechanism can preserve device privacy better.

Pattern recognition of head movement based on mechanomyography and its application.

The first part of this study investigated pattern recognition of head movements based on mechanomyography (MMG) signals. Four channel MMG signals were collected from the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscles and the splenius capitis (SPL) muscles in the subjects' neck when they bowed the head, raised the head, side-bent to left, side-bent to right, turned to left and turned to right. The MMG signals were then filtered, normalized and divided using an unequal length segmentation algorithm into a single action frame. After extracting the energy features of the wavelet packet coefficients and the feature of the principal diagonal slices of the bispectrum, the dimension of the energy features were reduced by the Fisher linear discriminant analysis (FLDA). Finally, all the features were classified through the support vector machine (SVM) classifier. The recognition rate was up to 95.92%. On this basis, the second part of this study used the head movements to control a car model for simulating the control of a wheelchair, and the success rate was 85.74%.

[Recent Progress of Molecular Genetic Characteristics and Prognosis of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma--Review].

Lymphomas are traditionally divided into Hodgkin's lymphoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma(NHL), the NHL is a common hematological cancer, which represents a wide spectrum of illnesses from the most indolent to the most aggressive malignancies, and the detection of related molecular targets will be needed for diagosing each subtype of NHL. Advances in understanding the pathogenesis of NHL have improved the precision of diagnosis and the prognosis evaluation of patients with this disorder, such as chromosomal translocation leading to the up-regulation of oncogene expression. Besides, the deletion of several tumor suppressor genes may cause excessive proliferation in tumor cells, and the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) determines the differences of susceptibility, drug-resistance and prognosis of NHL. In addition, DNA methylation, histone modification, non-coding RNA and other epigenetic phenomena play an increasingly important role in the diagnosis, selection of clinical drugs and evaluation of prognosis of NHL. In this review, the recent progress of researches on chromosome translocation, deletion of tumor suppression genes, gene poly-morphism and epigenetics are summarized.

Serum CXCL12 Levels as a Novel Predictor of Future Stroke Recurrence in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Previous studies had shown that CXC chemokine ligand-12 (CXCL12) plays a significant role in animal models of ischemic stroke, but its role in human stroke is unclear. The aim of this study was to test the relationship between elevated serum circulating CXCL12 levels and the 1-year stroke recurrence in Chinese patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). All consecutive patients with first-ever acute ischemic stroke from January 2011 to September 2013 were recruited to participate in the study. Serum levels of CXCL12 and National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) were measured at the time of admission. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the stroke recurrence according to serum CXCL12 levels. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the accuracy of serum CXCL12 in predicting stroke recurrence. Clinical follow-up was performed at 1 year. In our study, 248 patients finished the 1-year follow-up. At 1-year follow-up, 31 patients had a recurrence ischemic stroke. The median CXCL12 levels were significantly higher in those who sustained a recurrence ischemic stroke compared with those who did not [24.2 ng/mL (IQR 15.4-33.7) vs 6.5 ng/mL (IQR 3.4-10.2); Z = 8.258, P < 0.0001]. In multivariate analysis, there was an increased risk of stroke recurrence associated with serum CXCL12 levels ≥12.15 ng/mL (OR 9.122, 95 % CI 6.103-15.104) after adjusting for above possible confounders. The time to recurrence stroke distribution between patients with baseline CXCL12 levels ≥12.15 ng/mL and those with baseline CXCL12 levels <12.15 ng/mL were significantly different (P < 0.0001, log-rank test). Elevated circulating CXCL12 levels at admission are strongly associated with the future recurrence of ischemic stroke in Chinese patients with AIS. Further studies are warranted to confirm this association and define the role for CXCL12 as a novel predictor biomarker for stroke recurrence.

Nogo-A expression dynamically varies after spinal cord injury.

The mechanism involved in neural regeneration after spinal cord injury is unclear. The myelin-derived protein Nogo-A, which is specific to the central nervous system, has been identified to negatively affect the cytoskeleton and growth program of axotomized neurons. Studies have shown that Nogo-A exerts immediate and chronic inhibitory effects on neurite outgrowth. In vivo, inhibitors of Nogo-A have been shown to lead to a marked enhancement of regenerative axon extension. We established a spinal cord injury model in rats using a free-falling weight drop device to subsequently investigate Nogo-A expression. Nogo-A mRNA and protein expression and immunoreactivity were detected in spinal cord tissue using real-time quantitative PCR, immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis. At 24 hours after spinal cord injury, Nogo-A protein and mRNA expression was low in the injured group compared with control and sham-operated groups. The levels then continued to drop further and were at their lowest at 3 days, rapidly rose to a peak after 7 days, and then gradually declined again after 14 days. These changes were observed at both the mRNA and protein level. The transient decrease observed early after injury followed by high levels for a few days indicates Nogo-A expression is time dependent. This may contribute to the lack of regeneration in the central nervous system after spinal cord injury. The dynamic variation of Nogo-A should be taken into account in the treatment of spinal cord injury.

Serum adiponectin levels may be associated with the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

The aim of the meta-analysis described below was to investigate the correlation between serum levels of adiponectin (ADPN) and the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Relevant studies about serum ADPN levels and the pathogenesis of HCC were identified by searching electric databases and by manual search. The included studies were selected in strict accordance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Detailed criteria were described in "Materials and methods" section. Statistical analyses were conducted with the STATA 12.0 statistical software (StataCorp, College Station, TX, USA). A total of nine studies were incorporated into this meta-analysis after careful consideration, including 705 HCC patients and 1390 healthy controls. This meta-analysis demonstrated that the serum ADPN levels in HCC patients were significantly higher than those in healthy controls (standard mean difference (SMD) = 0.97, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 0.02∼1.93, P < 0.05). The result of subgroup analysis by ethnicity revealed that serum ADPN levels in Caucasians and Asians were both obviously higher than those in healthy controls (Caucasians: SMD = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.30∼0.73, P < 0.001; Asians: SMD = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.06∼0.91, P < 0.05), but in Africans, the differences between HCC patients and controls had no statistical significance (SMD = 2.64, 95% CI = -3.01∼8.30, P = 0.36). The evidence obtained by this meta-analysis suggests that serum ADPN levels are associated with the pathogenesis of HCC. Further conclusion might be that increased serum levels of ADPN can inhibit tumor growth and play a protective role in the development of HCC.

[Dynamic changes of sciatic nerve conduction velocity in rats infected with Toxoplasma gondii].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the dynamic changes of sciatic nerve conduction velocity of Toxoplasma gondii-infected rats at different time points. METHODS: Twenty SD rats were randomly divided into control group and Toxoplasma gondii infection group. Rats in T. gondii infection group were intraperitoneal injected with 4x10(7) T. gondii tachyzoites, while those in control group were given equivalent normal saline. Motor and sensory nerve conduction velocities (MNCV, SNCV) in sciatic nerve were measured by Medtronic Keypoint4 Workstation electromyography at pre-infection, and 2, 4, 8, 12 months post-infection. RESULTS: Within two months after infection, there was no difference in SNCV and MNCV between control group and infection group (P>0.05). From 4 months after T. gondii injection, infected rats began to show the slowness of SNCV and MNCV, which progressed with the course of infection. At 4, 8, and 12 months after infection, SNCV and MNCV of infection group were (35.26±3.02) and (25.94±3.20) m/s, (33.57±2.27) and (22.75±2.31) m/s, and (32.38±2.38) and (22.03±2.08) m/s, respectively. Compared with control group, SNCV and MNCV of infection group reduced by (7.47±2.11)% and (12.57±1.89)%, (8.92±2.64)% and (13.72±2.65)%, and (12.18±1.94)% and (15.46±2.37)%, respectively (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: From 4 months after infection, Toxoplasma gondii-infected rats show a slowness of motor and sensory nerve conduction velocities in sciatic nerve.