Analysis of characteristic features in ultrasound diagnosis of fetal limb body wall complex during 11-13+6 weeks

BACKGROUND Limb body wall complex(LBWC)is a fatal malformation characterized by major defects in the fetal abdominal or thoracic wall,visceral herniation,significant scoliosis or spina bifida,limb deformities,craniofacial deformities,and umbilical cord abnormalities(short or absent umbilical cord).Early diagnosis of this condition is of great clinical significance for clinical intervention and pregnancy decision-making.With the rapid development of fetal ultrasound medicine,early pregnancy(11-13+6 wk)standardized prenatal ultrasound examinations have been widely promoted and applied.AIM To explore the value of prenatal ultrasound in the diagnosis of fetal LBWC syndrome during early pregnancy.METHODS The ultrasonographic data and follow-up results of 18 cases of fetal LBWC diagnosed by prenatal ultrasound during early pregnancy(11-13+6 wk)were retrospectively analyzed,and their ultrasonographic characteristics were analyzed.RESULTS Among the 18 fetuses with limb wall abnormalities,there were spinal dysplasia(18/18,100%),varying degrees of thoracoschisis and gastroschisis(18/18,100%),limb dysplasia in 6 cases(6/18,33%),craniocerebral malformations in 4 cases(4/18,22%),thickening of the transparent layer of the neck in 5 cases(5/18,28%),and umbilical cord abnormalities in 18 cases(18/18,100%),single umbilical artery in 5 cases.CONCLUSION Prenatal ultrasound in early pregnancy can detect LBWC as early as possible,and correct prenatal evaluation provides important guidance value for pregnancy decision-making and early intervention.

Histology of the Body Wall of the Piscine Leech, Cystibranchus mastacembeli （Hirudinea： Piscicolidae）

The histology of the body wall of the fish parasitic leech, Cystibranchus masstacembeli Rahemo, 1989 collected from freshwater eel, Mastacembelus simach was investigated. The body wall found consists of five layers, namely： cuticle, epidermis, dennis, muscle layer and botryoidal tissue. Cuticle is very thin layer, casting was evident in some sections, annulation was also seen in longitudinal sections, some time with sensory structures inside the crypts. Epidermis with hammer-shaped ceils, these cells are broad towards the outer and narrower towards their inner ends. In some sections intensively stained haematoxylin-eosin granules from which neck-like tubes leads with filiform projections outward to open to the exterior by minute apertures. Dermis is thicker than epidermis, with distinct large cells connected by a connective tissue and some muscle fibers, also large vacuoles or empty vesicles were detected which are haemocoelomic capillaries, which along with those situated in the epidermis make a respiratory membrane of this leech. Muscle layer consists of outer circular and inner longitudinal, the later is more abundant and occupies more space than the circular. Botryoidal tissue fills the spaces between body wall and inner intestinal or crop diverticulae, its tissue is composed of more or less rounded cells, more eosinophilic cytoplasm but with dark nuclei, intermingled with small oblique or radial muscle fibers, haemocoelomic spaces were also evident in this layer.

Differential gene expression in the body wall of the sea cucumber(Apostichopus japonicus)under strong lighting and dark conditions

Sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus is very sensitive to light changes. It is important to study the influence of light on the molecular response of A. japonicus. In this study, RNA-seq provided a general overview of the gene expression profiles of the body walls of A. japonicus exposed to strong light（＂light＂）, normal light（＂control＂） and fully dark（＂dark＂） environment. In the comparisons of ＂control＂ vs. ＂dark＂, ＂control＂ vs. ＂light＂ and ＂dark＂ vs.＂light＂, 1 161, 113 and 1 705 differentially expressed genes（DEGs） were identified following the criteria of｜log2 ratio｜≥1 and FDR≤0.001, respectively. Gene ontology analysis showed that ＂cellular process＂ and ＂binding＂enriched the most DEGs in the category of ＂biological process＂ and ＂molecular function＂, while ＂cell＂ and ＂cell part＂ enriched the most DEGs in the category of ＂cellular component＂. And the DEGs were mapped to 214, 41 and229 pathways in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database, and 51, 2 and 57 pathways were significantly enriched, respectively. Light-specific DEGs identified in this study will be important targets for further investigation to establish the biochemical mechanisms involved in the adaption of this sea cucumber to changes in the level of environmental light.

Studies on the Tolerating Mechanism for Sulfide in Urechis unicinctus (Echiura: Urechidae) ──Cytological Observation on Urechis unicinctus in Different Hydrogen Sulfide Environment

This study on the cytological changes of the body wall,aspiratory intestine and crissal bursa in Urechis unicinctus by light microscope (LM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) showed that the difference between the body wall and the natural environment rich in H 2S was not obvious; that the wall color of the aspiratory intestine in H 2S rich environment changed from normal semitransparency to dark brown; that its epithelia were disassembled and the electron density of its cytoplasm matrix was lower; and that in H 2S rich environment many basophilic granules occurred in the epithelia of the crissal bursa. Granules with single membrane and myelinefingure were found with TEM.