Objective To explore the application value of anhydrous ethanol as an alternative to methanol in the preparation of chromosomal specimens from peripheral blood lymphocytes, and to establish a set of quantitative analytical methods for objectively evaluating the effectiveness of specimen preparation. Methods Residual blood samples from routine laboratory slide preparation were used for lymphocyte culture. The standard slide preparation method was employed. The fixative in the control group was methanol and glacial acetic acid (3∶1). Four experimental groups were set up based on the ratio of anhydrous ethanol to glacial acetic acid in the fixative (volume ratios of 3∶1, 5∶1, 7∶1, and 9∶1 for experimental groups 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively). A chromosomal analysis was conducted using an automated chromosome scanning/image analysis system to evaluate the morphology and dispersion of metaphase chromosomes in both control and experimental groups. Comparisons were made between the control and experimental groups regarding the dic + r aberration rate, ace aberration rate, chromosomal aberration rate, chromosome dispersion index, chromosome overlapping ratio, and dispersion index/overlapping ratio. Results Microscopic evaluation revealed that the preparation quality of experimental groups 1 and 2 was comparable to the control group. No statistically significant differences were observed in dic + r aberration rate between each of the experimental groups and the control (P > 0.05). All experimental groups except group 4 showed no significant differences in ace aberration rate and chromosome aberration rate compared with the control group (P > 0.05). Experimental groups 1 and 2 showed no significant differences in chromosome dispersion index, overlapping ratio, and dispersion index/overlapping ratio compared with the control group (P > 0.05). Conclusion A mixture of anhydrous ethanol and glacial acetic acid at a 5∶1 ratio is recommended for use as a fixative in the preparation of chromosomal specimens from peripheral blood lymphocytes. A quantitative index system for assessing the quality of chromosomal specimens was established, enabling objective evaluation of slide preparation effectiveness.

Iron (Fe) is an important trace element involved in many important plant physiological and metabolic processes such as photosynthesis, respiration and nitrogen metabolism. Plants maintain iron homeostasis through absorption, transporting, storage and redistribution of iron. Iron metabolism is strictly regulated in plants. Iron regulatory transcription factors and iron transporters constitute the regulatory network of plant iron absorption and transport in plants. Ferritin and iron transporter jointly regulate the response to excess iron in plants. In recent years, important progress has been made in understanding how abscisic acid (ABA) regulates iron metabolism in plants. ABA may be used as a signal to regulate the absorption, transportation and reuse of Fe, or to relieve the symptoms of iron stress by regulating the oxidative stress responses in plants. In order to gain deeper insights into the crosstalk of ABA and iron metabolism in plants, this review summarized the mechanisms of iron absorption and transport and metabolic regulatory network in plants, as well as the mechanisms of ABA in regulating iron metabolism. The relationship between ABA and FER-like iron deficiency-induced transcription factor (FIT), iron-regulated transporter 1 (IRT1), and oxidative stress of iron deficiency were highlighted, and future research directions were prospected.
Abscisic Acid/metabolism* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Homeostasis ; Iron/metabolism* ; Plants/metabolism* ; Transcription Factors/metabolism*

Objective:To explore the application effects of standardized patient (SP) and breast visual palpation simulation system on clinical probation of breast surgery for medical students.Methods:A total of 110 students were randomly divided into experimental group and control group, and each group was further divided into 5 subgroups. In the experimental group, SP scripts of five common diseases in breast surgery department were designed according to the syllabus before probation, and the teachers were trained. During the probation, we first talked about the characteristics of disease diagnosis and treatment, and then the five subgroups collected the history of the disease according to the SP of different diseases mentioned above, and checked the corresponding lesions on the breast visual palpation simulation system. In the physical examination, SP responded to the students' questions. The control group also talked about the above-mentioned five diseases during the probation, and then the five subgroups carried out history collection and physical examination for specific patients in the hospital. Finally, the teaching effects were analyzed through medical record writing, theoretical examination, physical examination and student evaluation. SPSS 26.0 was used for chi-square test (or Fisher exact test) and Mann-Whitney U test. Results:There was no significant difference in the theoretical examination between the two groups. It was demonstrated that the correct rate of experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group in medical history collection, especially in the main symptoms, incentives, aggravation and remission factors, accompanying and differential symptoms and so on. And the positive results of breast, nipple and axillary lymph node palpation in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group through the physical examination operation of breast visual palpation simulation system. The analysis of students' evaluation showed that the teaching efficiency of the experimental group increased, and the students' satisfaction was improved (satisfaction rate: 92.73% vs. 76.36%).Conclusion:The application of SP and breast visual palpation simulation system in breast surgery probation teaching can not only protect the privacy of clinical patients, but also improve the teaching effects, which can be popularized in the clinical teaching of breast surgery.

Objective:To explore the distribution of pelvic lymph node (PLN) metastasis and the correlative dangerous factors in early cervical cancer patients.Methods:The medical records of 508 patients who underwent extensive hysterectomy and lymphadenectomy for International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage Ⅰb-Ⅱb cervical cancer in Guizhou Provincial People`s Hospital were reviewed retrospectively.Results:There were 278 patients with stage Ⅰb cervical cancer, 204 patients with stage Ⅱa cervical cancer and 26 patients with stage Ⅱb cervical cancer; the positive rate of lymph node metastasis was 16.7%(85/508), and obturator lymph node metastasis was the most common (56.6%); there were 19 patients with bilateral lymph node metastasis, accounting for 22.35%(19/85); lymph node metastasis occurred 104 times (two times for bilateral simultaneous transfer), and jumping lymph node metastasis accounted for 37.5%(39/104); common iliac lymph node metastasis accounted for 18.3%(19/104). The metastasis rate of patients with stage Ⅱa and Ⅱb (including parametrial, lymph node, ovarian and oviduct metastasis) was higher than that of patients with stage Ⅰb, and the odd ratio ( OR) was 2.30 and 2.48 respectively ( P<0.05); the metastasis rate of patients with moderately differentiated tumors was significantly higher than that of patients with well differentiated and poorly differentiated tumors ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the positive rate of pelvic lymph node metastasis among patients with different ages and histological types ( P>0.05); the positive rate of pelvic lymph node metastasis in patients with stage Ⅱa and Ⅱb was higher than that in patients with stage Ⅰb with statistically significant difference ( P<0.05); the positive rate of pelvic lymph node metastasis in patients with moderately differentiated tumors was higher than that in patients with well differentiated and poorly differentiated tumors, with statistically significant difference ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Obturator lymph node metastasis is the most common in cervical cancer. The risk of lymph node metastasis is increased in patients with stage Ⅱa or moderately differentiated tumors. Jumping metastasis is also a common way of metastasis, which suggests that standard and complete lymph node resection is an important measure to ensure the curative effect.

China ; Humans ; Lenalidomide/therapeutic use* ; Multiple Myeloma/drug therapy* ; Thalidomide ; Therapeutic Equivalency

Objective:To investigate the morphological feature and clinical significance of MRI around tumor after drug-eluting bead transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) of primary hepatocellular carcinoma.Methods:We reviewed and analyzed the data of hepatocellular carcinoma patients admitted from January 2017 to December 2018 in the Department of Radiological Intervention of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University. A total of 42 patients were enrolled, including 35 males and 7 females, aged (57.0±11.9) years. For the first time after operation, MRI enhancement showed peri-tumor margin enhancement as the starting point of follow-up. Follow-up and measure enhanced edge thickness, delayed enhancement, progression or remission data.Results:A total of 49 tumors and 84 peritumoral enhancement margins were included in 42 patients, with 30 sharp type , 40 rough type and 14 nodular type. The thickness of sharp type is less than that of rough type and nsodular type, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). The sharp type is the majority of the tumors with maximum diameter <5 cm, rough type and nodule type are the majority of tumors with maximum diameter ≥5 cm. Most of the sharp type are continuously enhanced, while the rough type and nodular type are not. Most sharp type relief (93.3%, 28/30), while rough type (80.0%, 32/40) and nodular type ( n=12) are mostly of deterioration, the differences are statistically significant (all P<0.05). Conclusion:Compared with the rough type and nodular type, the sharp type usually occurs in smaller tumors and more prone to local mitigation in the enhanced morphology around MRI after DEB-TACE in primary hepatocellular carcinoma.

We report a case of primary thyroid leiomyosarcoma and review the progression, treatment and outcome of the case. Clinicopathological features of primary thyroid leiomyosarcoma combined with a review of literature were discussed, in the hope of providing reference to the clinical work.

Purpose: Real-time detection and intervention can be used as potential measures to markedly decrease breast cancer mortality. Assessment of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) may offer great benefits for the management of breast cancer over time. However, the use of ctDNA to predict the effectiveness of neoadjuvant treatment and recurrence of breast cancer has rarely been studied. Methods: We prospectively recruited 31 breast cancer patients with 4 subtypes. Three time points were set in this study, including before any therapy (C1), during surgery (T), and six months after surgery (C2). We collected peripheral blood samples from all 31 patients at C1, tumor tissue from all 31 patients at T, and peripheral blood samples from 25 patients at C2. Targeted 727-gene panel sequencing was performed on ctDNA from all blood samples and tissue DNA from all tissue samples. Somatic mutations were detected and analyzed using a reference standard pipeline. Statistical analysis was performed to identify possible associations between ctDNA profiles and clinical outcomes. Results: In total, we detected 159, 271, and 70 somatic mutations in 30 C1 samples, 31 T samples, and 12 C2 samples, respectively. We identified specific genes, such as PIK3CA, TP53, and KMT2C, which were highly mutated in the tissue samples. Furthermore, mutated KMT2C observed in ctDNA of the C2 samples may be an indicator of breast cancer recurrence. Conclusion Our study highlights the potential of ctDNA analysis at different timepoints for assessing tumor progression and treatment effectiveness, as well as prediction of breast cancer recurrence.

Objective To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii infection among key populations in Wuxi City,Jiangsu Province,so as to provide evidences for developing preventive and control interventions for T. gondii in-fection. Methods A questionnaire was designed to conduct face-to-face interviews to HIV/AIDS carriers/patients,tumor pa-tients,pregnant women and pet breeders. The blood samples were collected to test anti-Toxoplasma IgM and IgG antibodies by using ELISA method. Results Totally 404 participants were investigated,and 38 were positive in testing T. gondii antibodies (9.4%),and among these,37(97.4%)were IgG positive and 1(2.6%)was IgM positive. The multivariate logistic regression indicated that age,regularly contacting cats/dogs and being HIV positive were associated with the infection of T. gondii(OR=2.1,2.6 and 2.3,all P < 0.05). Breeding pets,being HIV positive and being tumor patients were more likely to infect T. gondii than being pregnant(OR = 1.5,8.1 and 2.8,all P < 0.05). Conclusion The high infection rate of T. gondii is observed among key populations in Wuxi City,so that the effective measurements should be taken to enhance the intervention among key popula-tions including immunocompromised people,pet breeders or people having bad dietary habits of eating raw food.

Objective To investigate the effect of sensory and motor nerve homogenates at different concentrations on the proliferation and osteogenesis differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in rats.Methods The saphenous nerve and the muscle branch of the sciatic nerve in rats were extracted surgically as sensory and motor nerve tissues,respectively.The primary nerve homogenates (10 mg/mL) were prepared as per 10 mg tissue with 1 mL osteoblast inducing conditional media,and 10 times diluted after filtration purification to prepare sensory and motor nerve homogenates at concentration gradients of 1.0,0.1,0.01,0.001 and 0.0001 mg/mL.Cultivation GFP ± rat pups BMSCs in vitro were trained to P3 generation.The experiment was carried out in 3 groups.The sensory and motor nerve homogenates of 500 μL at the above 6 concentration gradients were added during cultivation respectively in the sensory nerve group (n =18) and the motor nerve group(n =18) while 500 μL of osteoblast inducing conditional media was added in the control group(n =3).Cell proliferation quantity detection and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining were used to assess the proliferation and differentiation of BMSCs after 14 days.Results According to the results of CCK-8,the cellular absorbance values at concentrations of 1.0 and 0.1 mg/mL homogenate in the sensory nerve group (1.957 ±0.065 and 1.751±0.073) were significantly greater than in the control group (1.145±0.087) while the cellular absorbance value at concentration of 10.0 mg/mL homogenate in the motor nerve group (0.304 ± 0.619) was significandy smaller than in the control group (1.145 ± 0.087) (P ＜ 0.05).According to the ALP staining,the amounts of cellular calcium nodules in the sensory and motor nerve groups (2.667 ± 0.816 and 3.000 ± 0.632,respectively) were significantly smaller than in the control group (11.833 ± 1.471) (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Sensory nerve homogenate is different from motor nerve homogenate in that it may promote proliferation of BMSCs and inhibit osteogenesis differentiation of BMSCs in a certain rage of concentrations.