Chromosomal abnormalities in recurrent pregnancy loss and its association with clinical characteristics.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the distribution of chromosomal abnormalities in a recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) cohort and explore the associations between chromosomal abnormalities and clinical characteristics. METHOD: Over a 5-year period, fresh products of conception (POC) from women with RPL were analyzed by single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array at our hospital. After obtaining the information on clinical characteristics, we investigated the associations between the causative chromosomal abnormalities and clinical characteristics by the chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test and logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 2383 cases were enrolled. Overall, 56.9% (1355/2383) were identified with causative chromosomal abnormalities, of which 92.1% (1248/1355) were numerical abnormalities, 7.5% (102/1355) were structural variants, and 0.4% (5/1355) were loss of heterozygosity (LOH). The risk of numerical abnormalities was increased in women with maternal age ≥ 35 years (OR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.41-2.07), gestational age at pregnancy loss ≤ 12 weeks (OR, 2.78; 95% CI, 1.79-4.33), less number of previous pregnancy losses (twice: OR, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.84-2.94; 3 times: OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.23-2.05, respectively), and pregnancy with a female fetus (OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.15-1.62). The OR of pregnancy loss with recurrent abnormal CMA was 4.00 (95% CI: 1.87-8.58, P < 0.001) and the adjusted OR was 5.05 (95% CI: 2.00-12.72, P = 0.001). However, the mode of conception was not associated with the incidence of numerical abnormality. No association was noted between structural variants and clinical characteristics. CONCLUSION: Chromosomal abnormality was the leading cause of RPL. Numerical chromosome abnormality was more likely to occur in cases with advanced maternal age, an earlier gestational age, fewer previous pregnancy losses, and pregnancy with a female fetus.

[Risk factors for neonatal asphyxia and establishment of a nomogram model for predicting neonatal asphyxia in Hubei Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture: a multicenter study]. / æ¹–åŒ—æ©æ–½åœŸå®¶æ—è‹—æ—è‡ªæ²»å·žæ–°ç”Ÿå„¿çª’æ¯å±é™©å› ç´ åˆ†æžåŠåˆ—çº¿å›¾é¢„æµ‹æ¨¡åž‹çš„æž„å»ºï¼šä¸€é¡¹å¤šä¸­å¿ƒç ”ç©¶.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the risk factors for neonatal asphyxia in Hubei Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture and establish a nomogram model for predicting the risk of neonatal asphyxia. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted with 613 cases of neonatal asphyxia treated in 20 cooperative hospitals in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture from January to December 2019 as the asphyxia group, and 988 randomly selected non-asphyxia neonates born and admitted to the neonatology department of these hospitals during the same period as the control group. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify risk factors for neonatal asphyxia. R software (4.2.2) was used to establish a nomogram model. Receiver operator characteristic curve, calibration curve, and decision curve analysis were used to assess the discrimination, calibration, and clinical usefulness of the model for predicting the risk of neonatal asphyxia, respectively. RESULTS: Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that minority (Tujia), male sex, premature birth, congenital malformations, abnormal fetal position, intrauterine distress, maternal occupation as a farmer, education level below high school, fewer than 9 prenatal check-ups, threatened abortion, abnormal umbilical cord, abnormal amniotic fluid, placenta previa, abruptio placentae, emergency caesarean section, and assisted delivery were independent risk factors for neonatal asphyxia (P<0.05). The area under the curve of the model for predicting the risk of neonatal asphyxia based on these risk factors was 0.748 (95%CI: 0.723-0.772). The calibration curve indicated high accuracy of the model for predicting the risk of neonatal asphyxia. The decision curve analysis showed that the model could provide a higher net benefit for neonates at risk of asphyxia. CONCLUSIONS: The risk factors for neonatal asphyxia in Hubei Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture are multifactorial, and the nomogram model based on these factors has good value in predicting the risk of neonatal asphyxia, which can help clinicians identify neonates at high risk of asphyxia early, and reduce the incidence of neonatal asphyxia.

Research Progress of Near-Infrared Fluorescence Immunoassay.

Near-infrared fluorescence probes (NIFPs) have been widely used in immunoassay, bio-imaging and medical diagnosis. We review the basic principles of near-infrared fluorescence and near-infrared detection technology, and summarize structures, properties and characteristics of NIFPs (i.e., cyanines, xanthenes fluorescent dyes, phthalocyanines, porphyrin derivates, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), quantum dots and rare earth compounds). We next analyze applications of NIFPs in immunoassays, and prospect the application potential of lateral flow assay (LFA) in rapid detection of pathogens. At present, our team intends to establish a new platform that has highly sensitive NIFPs combined with portable and simple immunochromatographic test strips (ICTSs) for rapid detection of food-borne viruses. This will provide technical support for rapid detection on the port.

Identification of 12 animal species meat by T-RFLP on the 12S rRNA gene.

The verification of authenticity of meat products is relevant for economical, religious or public health concerning reasons. A molecular approach using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) was developed to distinguish 12 common economically important meat species. The partial 12S rRNA gene was amplified with double-fluorescently labeled primers. The amplified fragments were digested with two endonucleases and only the terminal restriction fragment containing labeled primer was detected on capillary electrophoresis system ABI3100. AluI and Tru9I generated differently-sized terminal fragments in different species. Pig and buffalo can be separated by 3'-terminal fragment of AluI digestion. Horse, turkey, goat, sheep, deer, and cattle can be further separated by 5'-terminal fragment of Tru9I digestion. Dog and chicken, sturgeon and salmon can finally be separated by 5'-terminal fragment of AluI digestion and 3'-terminal fragment of Tru9I digestion. Our results demonstrated the potential feasibility and applicability of T-RFLP method for rapid and accurate identification of animal species.

[Clinical observation of using composite resin to fill dental attrition on occlusal surface].

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical effect of using composite resin to fill dental attrition on occlusal surface. Whether the dental attrition had enough space to the material was determined first. Sometimes grinding the sharp and steep cusps or ridges of the opposite teeth was needed. Then the dental attrition was cleaned thoroughly, and finally filled with CLEARFIL bond and composite resin without preparing cavity. The follow-up period was 1 year. Out of 70 teeth from 25 patients, 52 were successful, 16 were curative, and 2 were failed. The curative rate was 97.14%. The method avoids endangering the dental pulp. It was easily accepted by the patients and operated by dentists, and can be widely applied in clinical cases.