A four-gene signature-derived risk score for glioblastoma:prospects for prognostic and response predictive analyses

Objective: Glioblastoma(GBM) is the most common primary malignant brain tumor regulated by numerous genes, with poor survival outcomes and unsatisfactory response to therapy.Therefore, a robust, multi-gene signature-derived model is required to predict the prognosis and treatment response in GBM.Methods: Gene expression data of GBM from TCGA and GEO datasets were used to identify differentially expressed genes(DEGs)through DESeq2 or LIMMA methods.The DEGs were then overlapped and used for survival analysis by univariate and multivariate COX regression.Based on the gene signature of multiple survival-associated DEGs, a risk score model was established,and its prognostic and predictive role was estimated through Kaplan–Meier analysis and log-rank test.Gene set enrichment analysis(GSEA) was conducted to explore high-risk score-associated pathways.Western blot was used for protein detection.Results: Four survival-associated DEGs of GBM were identified: OSMR, HOXC10, SCARA3, and SLC39A10.The four-gene signature-derived risk score was higher in GBM than in normal brain tissues.GBM patients with a high-risk score had poor survival outcomes.The high-risk group treated with temozolomide chemotherapy or radiotherapy survived for a shorter duration than the low-risk group.GSEA showed that the high-risk score was enriched with pathways such as vasculature development and cell adhesion.Western blot confirmed that the proteins of these four genes were differentially expressed in GBM cells.Conclusions: The four-gene signature-derived risk score functions well in predicting the prognosis and treatment response in GBM and will be useful for guiding therapeutic strategies for GBM patients.

Colorectal cancer screening: Comparison of transferrin and immuno fecal occult blood test

AIM: To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of transfesrrin dipstick test (Tf) in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening and precancerous lesions screening. METHODS: Eight hundreds and sixty-one individuals at high-risk for CRC were recruited. Six hundreds and eleven subsequently received the three fecal occult blood tests and colonoscopy with biopsy performed as needed. Fecal samples were obtained on the day before colonoscopy. Tf, immuno fecal occult blood test (IFOBT) and guaiac fecal occult blood test (g-FOBT) were performed simultaneously on the same stool. To minimize false-negative cases, all subjects with negative samples were asked to provide an additional stool specimen for a second test even a third test. If the results were all negative after testing three repeated samples, the subject was considered a true negative. The performance characteristics of Tf for detecting CRC and precancerous lesions were examined and compared to those of IFOBT and the combination of Tf, IFOBT and g-FOBT. RESULTS: A total of six hundreds and eleven subjects met the study criteria including 25 with CRC and 60 with precancerous lesions. Sensitivity for detecting CRC was 92% for Tf and 96% for IFOBT, specificities of Tf and IFOBT were both 72.0% (95% CI: 68.2%-75.5%; χ2 = 0.4, P > 0.05); positive likelihood ratios of those were 3.3 (95% CI: 2.8-3.9) and 3.4 (95% CI: 2.9-4.0), respectively. In precancerous lesions, sensitivities for Tf and IFOBT were 50% and 58%, respectively (χ 2 = 0.8, P > 0.05); specificities of Tf and IFOBT were 71.5% (95% CI: 67.6%-75.1%) and 72.2% (95% CI: 68.4%-75.8%); positive likelihood ratios of those were 1.8 (95% CI: 1.3-2.3) and 2.1 (95% CI: 1.6-2.7), respectively; compared to IFOBT, g-FOBT+ Tf+ IFOBT had a significantly higher positive rate for precancerous lesions (83% vs 58%, respectively; χ 2 = 9.1, P < 0.05). In patients with CRC and precancerous lesions, the sensitivities of Tf and IFOBT were 62% and 69% (χ 2 = 0.9, P > 0.05); specificities of those were 74.5% (95% CI: 70.6%-78.1%) and 75.5% (95% CI: 71.6%-79.0%); positive likelihood ratios of those were 2.5 (95% CI: 2.0-3.1) and 2.8 (95% CI: 2.3-3.5). Compared to IF-OBT alone, combining g-FOBT, IFOBT and Tf led to significantly increased sensitivity for detecting CRC and cancerous lesions (69% vs 88%, respectively; χ 2 = 9.0, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Tf dipstick test might be used as an ad- ditional tool for CRC and precancerous lesions screening in a high-risk cohort.

Influence of High Temperature on the Expression of Arabidopsis Heat Shock Transcription Factor AtHsfA1a

[ Objective] This study ~med to investigate the influence of high temperature on the expression of heat shock transcription factor AtHsfAla in different genotypes of Arabidopsis. [ Method ] Arabidopsis plants overexpressing heat shock transcription factor AtHsfA1 a were used as experimental materials and treated un- der high temperature at 39℃ for 1 rain and 5 min; total RNA of AtI-IsfAla was extracted, and the reverse transcription and amplification were conducted using RT- PCR technology, the amplification products were detected by electrophoresis. [ Result ] The expression levels of AtHsfA1 a in Arabidopsis plants overexpressing heat shock transcription factor AtHsfAla at high temperature and room temperature were higher than wild-type Arabidopsis; the expression levels of AtHsfAla in both wild-type Arab/dops/s and transgenic Arabidopsls plants overexpressing heat shock transcription factor AtHsfAla at high temperature of 39 ~C were higher than that at room temperature of 25 ~C, but the expression levels of AtHsfAla in wild-type Arab/dops/s and transgenic Arab/dops/s plants overexpressing heat shock transcription factor AtHsfAla varied little after high temperature treatment at 39 ~C for 1 rain or 5 rain. [ Conclusion] The expression of AtHsfAla is induced rapidly by high tem- perature, thus regulating the expression of early adversity-resistant genes. This study will lay the foundation demonstrating the mechanism of Arabidopsis heat shock transcription factor AtHsfAla.

Numerical study of influence of J×B force on melt layer under conditions relevant to ITER ELMs

The influence of the J×B force on the topographical modification of W targets during a type-I-like ELM in ITER has been studied numerically. A two-dimensional(2D) fluid dynamics model is employed by solving liquid hydrodynamic Navier-Stokes equation with the 2D heat conduction equation in addition to driving forces for surface topography, such as surface tension and pressure gradient, the J×B force is particularly addressed. The governing equations are solved with the finite volume method by adequate prediction of the moving solid-liquid interface. Numerical simulations are carried out for a range of type-I ELM characteristic parameters. Our results indicate that both the surface tension and the J×B force contributes to the melt motion of tungsten plates when the energy flux is under 3000 MW·m^(-2), the surface tension is a major driving force while the pressure gradient is negligible. Our results also indicate that the J×B force makes the small hills grow at different rates at both the crater edges under a type-I-like ELM heat load with a Gaussian power density profile.

Expression and mechanism of miR-122 in rats with acute myocardial infarction

Objective:To investigate the expression of miR-122 in acute myocardial infarction rats and its effect on cardiomyocyte apoptosis.Methods:80 male SD rats were randomly divided into Sham group, AMI group, empty virus group and virus group, and the rat model of acute myocardial infarction was constructed. The cardiac function index of rats was detected by echocardiography. The mRNA relative expression of miR-122 was analyzed by RT-PCR. The apoptosis of cardiomyocyte in rat was detected by TUNEL staining. The NC-shRNA and miR-122-shRNA stable cell lines were constructe, and the targeting relationship between miR-122 and XIAP was verified using luciferase reporter gene. Western blot was used to analyze the effect of down-regulation of miR-122 on the expression of XIAP, Caspase-3 and Caspase-7.Results:Compared with Sham group, the miR-122 mRNA expression, LVEDD and LVESD in myocardial tissue of AMI group and empty virus group was significantly increased,while the LVFS and LVEF decreased significantly(P<0.05). Compared with the AMI group, the expression of miR-122 mRNA, LVEDD and LVESD decreased, and LVFS and LVEF increased in the myocardial tissue of the virus group (P<0.05). TUNEL staining showed that the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes in AMI group and empty virus group was significantly higher than that in Sham group (P<0.05), whereas the apoptotic index of cardiomyocytes in the virus group was significantly decreased compared with the AMI group (P<0.05).The luciferase reporter gene showed that miR-122 can down-regulate the expression of XIAP. Western blot showed that compared with NC-shRNA cells, the expression of XIAP in miR-122-shRNA cells was significantly increased, while the expression of Caspase-3 and Caspase-7 was significantly decreased (P<0.05).Conclusion: The expression of miR-122 increased after acute myocardial infarction, and it may regulate the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes by targeting the expression of XIAP, Caspase-3 and Caspase-7.

Lgr5^+ intestinal stem cell sorting and organoid culture

Intestinal epithelial stem cells (IESCs) are one of the most rapidly self‐renewing and proliferating adult stem cells. The IESCs reside at the bottom of intestinal and colonic crypts, giving rise to all intestinal epithelial lineages and maintaining intestinal epithelial replenishment. The technique of three‐dimensional culture based upon intestinal stem cell biology has been recently developed to study gastrointestinal development and disease pathogenesis. Here, we summarize the techniques used to isolate Lgr5‐ positive IESCs to form the enteroids from intestine or colonoids from colon, and present the means to examine these organoid functions. This study will provide a simple and practical way for producing intestinal tissues in the laboratory.

Coping with the COVID‑19 pandemic:Strategies for controlling nosocomial infections in the observation area in a general hospital in China

This study shared experiences in implementing infection prevention and control strategies in an observation area to minimize nosocomial infections of COVID‑19 in a 3A‑level general hospital in China,including area division,human resources and teamwork,instructions for infection control,and the establishment of workflow management groups in the operation center.These experiences will be helpful to countries,especially developing countries,who are fighting against COVID‑19 now and other infectious diseases in the future to control nosocomial infections.

Preprocessing of Separating Leukocytes Based on Setting Parameters of Lightness Transformation

This paper proposed a new algorithm to separate leukocytes from cytological image by setting parameters of lightness transformation based on the RGB color space, which can make the targets’ color in different areas. In our procedure, an operator is employed in using color features. According to their histogram distribution of hue component in HSL color space after enhancing the contrast of image in RGB color space, the threshold of segmentation between leukocyte and erythrocyte could be achieved well. Especially, this algorithm is more efficient than monochrome for leukocyte segmentation, and the results of experiments show that it provides a good tool for cytological image, which can increase accuracy of segmentation of leukocyte.

术前/输血前筛查血源性传播疾病风险检测方法比较的多中心研究

目的对医院术前/输血前患者开展血源性传播疾病筛查方法比较的多中心研究,以探索更优的临床血源性传播疾病筛查方案。方法收集2021年7月至2021年12月10家医院拟进行术前/输血前血源性传播疾病检测的入院患者血浆样本,进行横断面研究。采用核酸检测技术检测乙型肝炎病毒(HBV)DNA、丙型肝炎病毒(HCV)RNA和人类免疫缺陷病毒(HIV)(1+2)RNA,并同时与参与医院现行的免疫血清学检测方法的结果进行比较,用χ^(2)检验和Kappa检验统计分析核酸检测和免疫血清学这2种方法的差异。结果10家医院共收集到有效样本8655例。在HCV的检测中,2种方法的阳性检出率差异有统计学意义(P<0.001);在HBV和HIV的检测中,2种方法的阳性检出率差异无统计学意义(P>0.05),但HBV DNA和HIV RNA检出的阳性例数(分别为238、4例)均多于相应的血清学检测结果(分别为216、2例)。HBV、HCV和HIV的免疫血清学均存在漏检情况,其中,HBsAg阴性、HBV DNA阳性28例,HCV抗体阴性、HCV RNA阳性2例,HIV抗原/抗体阴性、HIV RNA阳性2例。在2种检测方法结果不一致的66份样本中,年龄>45岁、肿瘤、外科、男性患者分别占83.3%(55/66)、68.2%(45/66)、63.6%(42/66)和62.1%(41/66)。结论核酸检测相对于免疫血清学检测,能及时检出HBV、HCV、HIV感染者,减少漏检。45岁以上、肿瘤患者等进行术前/输血前免疫血清学筛查的同时,用HBV、HCV、HIV核酸检测筛查可降低传播风险。

核酸检测在入院患者乙型肝炎病毒筛查中的应用

目的探讨核酸检测在入院患者乙型肝炎病毒(HBV)筛查中的应用。方法横断面研究。收集2021年7月至2021年12月,国内10家医疗机构入院患者血浆样本,采用血清学免疫法和核酸筛查的方法,分别检测乙型肝炎标记性指标如乙型肝炎表面抗原(HBsAg)、乙型肝炎表面抗体(HBsAb)、乙型肝炎e抗原(HBeAg)、乙型肝炎e抗体(HBeAb)、乙型肝炎核心抗体(HBcAb)及HBV DNA,对不同方法学检测结果阳性数及患者临床信息进行统计学分析。结果8655例患者样本中,血清学免疫法检出HBsAg阳性者216例(2.50%),核酸筛查出HBV DNA阳性者238例(2.75%),差异无统计学意义(P>0.05);其中,HBsAg、HBV DNA均阳性者210例(2.43%),HBsAg阴性、HBV DNA阳性者28例(0.32%),HBsAg阳性、HBV DNA阴性者6例(0.07%)。结论对入院需行乙型肝炎病毒筛查患者开展HBV DNA检测,可与现行的血清学免疫法同样有效且能提高HBV的检出率。

中国住院患者乙型和丙型肝炎核酸筛查的成本效果分析

目的比较中国住院患者采用乙型和丙型肝炎核酸筛查、免疫学筛查和无筛查策略时不同支付意愿(WTP)下的成本效果,探索最优策略。方法以核酸筛查、免疫学筛查和无筛查为研究策略,2021年我国国内生产总值(GDP)80976元为WTP阈值,构建马尔可夫模型。引入住院患者乙型和丙型肝炎诊断治疗相关参数后,采用TreeAge Pro 2021软件创建以10万例住院患者作为模拟队列的决策树模型,计算不同筛查策略的总成本、总效果、增量成本效果比和平均成本效果比,进行成本效果比较和评估。采用单因素和概率敏感性分析用于评估参数不确定性对最终结果的影响。结果相对无筛查策略,对队列患者乙型肝炎免疫学筛查策略增量总成本为11049536元,增量成本效果比为24762元/质量调整寿命年(QALY),而核酸筛查获得增量总成本19208059元,增量成本效果比为29873元/QALY;核酸与免疫学筛查比较增量成本效果比为45834元/QALY。相对无筛查策略,丙型肝炎免疫学筛查策略增量成本效果比为5731元/QALY,核酸筛查策略增量成本效果比为8722元/QALY,核酸筛查与免疫学筛查的增量效果比为45591元/QALY。概率敏感性分析结果显示,当核酸检测费用超过214.53元时,在1倍GDP的WTP值下进行乙型肝炎核酸筛查不具有成本效果。当核酸检测费用超过132.18元时,在1倍GDP的WTP值下进行丙型肝炎筛查不具有成本效果。结论核酸筛查策略能获得更多的成本效果。与对住院患者乙型和丙型肝炎无筛查策略比较,无论是核酸筛查还是免疫学筛查策略均具有成本效果。