OBJECTIVE: To explore the genetic etiology for a pregnant woman with a history of multiple adverse pregnancies and assess the phenotype-genotype correlation of 22q11.2 microduplication syndrome in her family. METHODS: Amniotic fluid sample was taken from a pregnant woman for whom non-invasive prenatal screening indicated chromosome 22 abnormalities in the fetus. Peripheral blood samples from the woman, her brother and parents were collected for high-throughput low-depth whole genome sequencing (CNV-seq). A pedigree traceability analysis of the results was conducted in conjunction with analysis of clinical manifestation. Relevant literature (from establishment to March 2025) was systematically searched. This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Mianyang Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital (Ethics No.: Lun Shen [2024]009). RESULTS: CNV-seq revealed that the fetus had harbored a 6.02 Mb duplication at 22q11.21q11.23. Karyotyping confirmed it as 46,X?dup(22)(q11.2). Pedigree verification demonstrated that the pregnant woman, her brother and mother had all carried the same duplication. Phenotypic analysis of the affected family members showed classic features of 22q11.2 microduplication syndrome, including hypernasal speech, low nasal bridge, congenital heart disease, and cognitive impairment. A total of 44 cases with full information (including three patients from this pedigree) were included in the analysis. The penetrance of 22q11.2 duplication was approximately 29.5% (13/44), and 52.3% (23/44) of the cases had inherited the variant from a phenotypically normal parent. CONCLUSION This study has identified the genetic basis for the woman's recurrent adverse pregnancies and phenotypic abnormalities in her family members. The scoliosis identified in her younger brother has not been previously reported, thereby may enrich the clinical phenotype of this syndrome. For fetuses identified with a 22q11.2 microduplication, detailed fetal imaging is recommended, and genetic counseling should be provided to the couples.
Humans ; Female ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Diagnosis/methods* ; Chromosome Duplication/genetics* ; Male ; Pedigree ; DiGeorge Syndrome/diagnosis* ; Adult ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 22/genetics* ; Abnormalities, Multiple

Objective The aim of this study was to explore the acceptance and influencing factors of self-collected urine samples for human papillomavirus(HPV)testing in cervical cancer screening among eligible women,and to provide scientific evidence for promoting this testing in low resource areas.Methods A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 2022 to 2023 at the Maternal and Child Health Hospital in Shuangliu district,Chengdu City Sichuan Province.The study subjects were women aged 21 to 69 years old,and a customized questionnaire was used to conduct general information and acceptance surveys on the partic-ipants.Results A total of 2,062 women were included,with an average age of 51.58±9.34 years.Among them,1,501(72.79％)women believed that self-sampling urine was very easy.However,although 1,333(64.65％)women were still willing to accept doctor sampling as a cervical cancer screening method,only 729(35.35％)were more willing to accept self-sampling urine HPV testing.Age,educational level,annual household income,awareness of HPV,HPV vaccination status,and a sense of shame about the doctor's sampling process were all associated with the acceptance of self-collected urine HPV testing among women undergoing cervical cancer screening(P＜0.001).The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that older women(OR=0.965,95％CI:0.951-0.979)and those who were not familiar with HPV(OR=0.760,95％CI:0.602-0.961)were more likely to undergo self sampling urine HPV testing,while those with junior high school education(OR=1.330,95％CI:1.053-1.682),high school education or a-bove(OR=1.990,95％CI:1.401-2.827),and a sense of shame towards the doctor's sampling process(OR=2.314,95％CI:1.706-3.142)were more likely to undergo self sampling urine for HPV testing.Conclusions Most women believe that self sampling urine for HPV testing is very easy,but compared to doctor sampling,only some women choose to self sample urine for HPV testing.Key health education interventions should be carried out for older and lower educated populations to promote acceptance of urine HPV testing.

Objective:To develop an artificial intelligence-based model for automated recognition of serum indices using machine vision and deep learning.Methods:This study was a cross-sectional study.Serum sample images were collected fromWest China Hospital of Sichuan University from September 21, 2020 to January 20, 2023 using the imaging device of the fully automated sample pre-processing system. A computer random number generator was used to randomly select one whole hour each day, and all serum sample images processed within that hour were included. After excluding samples with unqualified images and missing serum index results, a total of 5, 534 samples were included. These were divided into a training set and a test set in an 8∶2 ratio using Python random shuffle function, and 4, 458 samples were in the training set and 1, 076 samples were in the test set. After manual inspection, the serum regions were annotated using the MATLAB Image Labeler tool and converted into YOLO format, and a YOLO v5-based model was constructed for automatic serum region extraction. The actual values of lipemia index (L-index), hemolysis index (H-index), and icterus index (I-index) were measured using the automatic biochemical analyzerwith matched reagent kits. A serum index regression model was constructed based on the MobileNet v2 network using the PyTorch 1.10.0 framework. The grading performance of the model was evaluated using accuracy, Kappa coefficient, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value. Regression performance was assessed using root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), coefficient of determination (R2), and Bland-Altman analysis.Results:The overall accuracy rates for grading L-index, H-index, and I-index were 98.88%, 95.26%, and 92.47%, respectively, with Kappa coefficients of 0.72, 0.72, and 0.59. For L-index, MAE was 5.11, RMSE was 9.77, and R2 was 0.78. For H-index, MAE was 5.18, RMSE was 8.99, and R2 was 0.89. For I-index, MAE was 1.13, RMSE was 3.01, and R2 was 0.71. Bland-Altman analysis showed that 95.5%, 95.1%, and 95.7% of the data points fell within the consistency intervals for L-index, H-index, and I-index, respectively.Conclusion:The study developed an artificial intelligence-based serum index regression modelto estimate serum indices with high efficiency and accuracy. It shows great potential for reducing laboratory costs, improving clinical testing efficiency, and promoting intelligent development in laboratory medicine.

Objective The aim of this study was to explore the acceptance and influencing factors of self-collected urine samples for human papillomavirus(HPV)testing in cervical cancer screening among eligible women,and to provide scientific evidence for promoting this testing in low resource areas.Methods A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 2022 to 2023 at the Maternal and Child Health Hospital in Shuangliu district,Chengdu City Sichuan Province.The study subjects were women aged 21 to 69 years old,and a customized questionnaire was used to conduct general information and acceptance surveys on the partic-ipants.Results A total of 2,062 women were included,with an average age of 51.58±9.34 years.Among them,1,501(72.79％)women believed that self-sampling urine was very easy.However,although 1,333(64.65％)women were still willing to accept doctor sampling as a cervical cancer screening method,only 729(35.35％)were more willing to accept self-sampling urine HPV testing.Age,educational level,annual household income,awareness of HPV,HPV vaccination status,and a sense of shame about the doctor's sampling process were all associated with the acceptance of self-collected urine HPV testing among women undergoing cervical cancer screening(P＜0.001).The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that older women(OR=0.965,95％CI:0.951-0.979)and those who were not familiar with HPV(OR=0.760,95％CI:0.602-0.961)were more likely to undergo self sampling urine HPV testing,while those with junior high school education(OR=1.330,95％CI:1.053-1.682),high school education or a-bove(OR=1.990,95％CI:1.401-2.827),and a sense of shame towards the doctor's sampling process(OR=2.314,95％CI:1.706-3.142)were more likely to undergo self sampling urine for HPV testing.Conclusions Most women believe that self sampling urine for HPV testing is very easy,but compared to doctor sampling,only some women choose to self sample urine for HPV testing.Key health education interventions should be carried out for older and lower educated populations to promote acceptance of urine HPV testing.

Objective:To develop an artificial intelligence-based model for automated recognition of serum indices using machine vision and deep learning.Methods:This study was a cross-sectional study.Serum sample images were collected fromWest China Hospital of Sichuan University from September 21, 2020 to January 20, 2023 using the imaging device of the fully automated sample pre-processing system. A computer random number generator was used to randomly select one whole hour each day, and all serum sample images processed within that hour were included. After excluding samples with unqualified images and missing serum index results, a total of 5, 534 samples were included. These were divided into a training set and a test set in an 8∶2 ratio using Python random shuffle function, and 4, 458 samples were in the training set and 1, 076 samples were in the test set. After manual inspection, the serum regions were annotated using the MATLAB Image Labeler tool and converted into YOLO format, and a YOLO v5-based model was constructed for automatic serum region extraction. The actual values of lipemia index (L-index), hemolysis index (H-index), and icterus index (I-index) were measured using the automatic biochemical analyzerwith matched reagent kits. A serum index regression model was constructed based on the MobileNet v2 network using the PyTorch 1.10.0 framework. The grading performance of the model was evaluated using accuracy, Kappa coefficient, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value. Regression performance was assessed using root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), coefficient of determination (R2), and Bland-Altman analysis.Results:The overall accuracy rates for grading L-index, H-index, and I-index were 98.88%, 95.26%, and 92.47%, respectively, with Kappa coefficients of 0.72, 0.72, and 0.59. For L-index, MAE was 5.11, RMSE was 9.77, and R2 was 0.78. For H-index, MAE was 5.18, RMSE was 8.99, and R2 was 0.89. For I-index, MAE was 1.13, RMSE was 3.01, and R2 was 0.71. Bland-Altman analysis showed that 95.5%, 95.1%, and 95.7% of the data points fell within the consistency intervals for L-index, H-index, and I-index, respectively.Conclusion:The study developed an artificial intelligence-based serum index regression modelto estimate serum indices with high efficiency and accuracy. It shows great potential for reducing laboratory costs, improving clinical testing efficiency, and promoting intelligent development in laboratory medicine.

Objective:To measure and analyze the occlusal force and contact in children with mixed dentition,and to preliminarily provide baseline data on the occlusion of individual normal occlusion children with mixed dentition.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted,including 20 children with mixed dentition and individual normal occlusion,consisting of 12 boys and 8 girls,aged 6.5-9.8 years.The Dental Prescale Ⅱ occlusal analysis system was used to measure the occlusal force and contact at the intercuspal position,including the maximum occlusal force(N)and the occlusal contact area(mm2)of the entire dentition,and the left and right sides,average occlusal pressure(MPa),maximum occlusal pressure(MPa),and to determine the position of the center of occlusal force.The gender differences in maximum occlusal force,average occlusal pressure,and occlusal contact area were ana-lyzed,the bilateral symmetry of occlusion in children with mixed dentition and individual normal occlu-sion was compared,and the correlation between occlusal data and age,height,weight,and body mass index(BMI)was analyzed.Results:(1)The average maximum occlusal force of the entire dentition in the 20 children with mixed dentition at the intercuspal position was(869.18±106.64)N,the average occlusal contact area was(25.19±2.89)mm2,the average occlusal pressure was(34.37±5.98)MPa,and the maximum occlusal pressure M(P25,P75)was 120(120,120)MPa;(2)There was no statistically significant difference in the maximum occlusal force,average occlusal pressure,maximum occlusal pressure,and occlusal contact area between the left and right sides(P＞0.05);(3)At the intercuspal position,the average occlusal contact area for 12 boys and 8 girls was(26.71±3.91)mm2and(21.62±3.08)mm2 respectively,and the average maximum occlusal force was(911.92±145.05)N and(769.47±116.45)N respectively,with statistically significant differences(P＜0.05),while there was no statistically significant difference in the average occlusal pressure between boys and girls(P＞0.05);(4)The maximum occlusal force at the intercuspal position was weakly correlated with age(r=0.219,P=0.046),and strongly positively correlated with the occlusal contact area(r=0.949,P＜0.001),while the average occlusal pressure,maximum occlusal pressure,and occlusal contact area were not correlated with age,height,weight,or BMI;(5)The center of occlusal force in the 20 children with mixed dentition and individual normal occlusion was located in the molar region,with 7 children having the maximum occlusal pressure point only in the first permanent molar region,10 children having it in both the deciduous molar region and the first permanent molar region,and 3 children having it only in the deciduous molar region.Conclusion:In children with mixed dentition and individual normal occlusion,the maximum occlusal force,occlusal contact area,average occlusal pressure,and maximum occlusal pressure at the intercuspal position show good bilateral symmetry;there are gender differences in the maximum occlusal force and occlusal contact area,with boys having greater values than girls;the maxi-mum occlusal force is positively correlated with the occlusal contact area.

Objective:To measure the retinal structural and functional parameters of adult Macaca fascicularis, and explore the similarity of the retinal structural and functional parameters between non-human primates and normal human retinas.Methods:Six eyes of 3 5-year-old adult Macaca fascicularis were examined by in vivo detection including color fundus photography, retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) and electroretinogram (ERG) to determine the thickness of the inner/outer retina at the fovea and 1 000/2 000 μm away from the nasal, temporal, superior and inferior regions of the fovea, the thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), the area of optic disc, the area of optic cup, the area ratio of cup to disc and the biological parameters of flash ERG.Differences in the above parameters between left and right eyes were analyzed.The similarity of parameters between Macaca fascicularis and human was compared with reference to published literature.The use and care of animals complied with the Regulation on the Management of Experimental Animals.The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Hubei Topgene Biotechnology (NO.IACUC-2019-012). Results:The foveal thickness, optic disc area, cup-disc area ratio, and average RNFL thickness in normal adult Macaca fascicularis were (252.31±4.79)μm, (1.89±0.05)mm 2, 0.14±0.01, and (103.53±0.58)μm, respectively.The b-wave amplitude of dark-adapted 0.01 ERG was (66.75±7.29)μV.The a- and b-wave amplitudes of dark-adapted 3.0 ERG response were (57.15±15.01) and (122.10±25.51)μV, respectively.The a- and b-wave amplitudes, the amplitude of oscillation potentials, and the latency of dark-adapted 10.0 ERG response were (72.98±20.14)μV, (131.67±13.78)μV, (49.98±10.08)μV, and (30.02±5.76)ms, respectively.The a- and b-wave amplitudes of light-adapted 3.0 ERG were (9.16±2.75) and (40.43±5.57)μV, respectively.The latency and the amplitude of the light-adapted 30 Hz flicker was (26.61±1.19)ms and (24.72±5.10)μV, respectively.There was no significant difference in the parameters between left and right eyes (all at P>0.05). The retinal thickness in central fovea, mean RNFL thickness, waveform and amplitude of ERG of Macaca fascicularis were similar to normal human. Conclusions:The structure and function of the retina of adult Macaca fascicularis are similar to those of normal humans.As a laboratory animal for preclinical drug research, in vivo studies of Macaca fascicularis can refer to normal human retinal parameters.

Objective To investigate the relationship between Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog(KRAS),neuroblastoma viral oncogene RAS homolog(NRAS),V-raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homo-log B(BRAF),human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER2)gene mutations and microsatellite instabili-ty(MSI)status and clinicopathological features in patients with colorectal cancer.Methods The clinical data of 226 patients with colorectal cancer treated in the hospital from October 2019 to March 2022 were collected.Next-generation sequencing technology was used to detect KRAS,NRAS,BRAF,HER2 gene mutations and MSI status.Immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate the mismatch repair system(MMR)status.Multiva-riate Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between KRAS,NRAS,BRAF,HER2 gene mutations and clinicopathological features.Results Among 226 colorectal cancer patients,the mutation frequencies of KRAS,NRAS,BRAF and HER2 were 54.89％,5.3％,8.4％and 1.8％,respectively.The fre-quency of KRAS mutation in mucinous adenocarcinoma was higher than that in common adenocarcinoma(P＜0.05).The risk of KRAS mutation in right colon cancer was increased(OR=2.145,P=0.012).NR AS gene mutation was more frequent in left colon and rectal cancer(P＜0.05).The frequency of BRAF gene mu-tation was higher in poorly differentiated and microsatellite instability-high(MSI-H)colorectal cancer(P＜0.05),and the risk of BRAF gene mutation in the right colon was increased(OR=2.844,P=0.042).HER2 gene amplification mutation showed distant metastasis(P＜0.05).KRAS mutations were mutually exclusive with NRAS,BRAF and HER2 amplification mutations(P＜0.05).MSI-H was more frequent in the right co-lon(P＜0.05).Of the 226 cases,10 cases were defective mismatch repair(dMMR)/MSI-H,8 cases were dM-MR/microsatellite stable,and 5 cases were proficient mismatch repair/MSI-H.There was a moderate agree-ment between dMMR and MSI-H(Kappa=0.575).Conclusion KRAS,NRAS,BRAF,HER2 and MSI sta-tus are associated with clinicopathological features in patients with colorectal cancer.Combined detection of KRAS,NRAS,BRAF,HER2 and MSI can provide more accurate and effective data to guide the treatment and prognosis of patients.

Background and aims:Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),which is prevalent worldwide and has a high mortality rate,needs to be effectively diagnosed.We aimed to evaluate the significance of plasma microRNA-15a/16-1(miR-15a/16)as a biomarker of hepatitis B virus-related HCC(HBV-HCC)using the machine learning model.This study was the first large-scale investigation of these two miRNAs in HCC plasma samples. Methods:Using quantitative polymerase chain reaction,we measured the plasma miR-15a/16 levels in a total of 766 participants,including 74 healthy controls,335 with chronic hepatitis B(CHB),47 with compensated liver cirrhosis,and 310 with HBV-HCC.The diagnostic performance of miR-15a/16 was examined using a machine learning model and compared with that of alpha-fetoprotein(AFP).Lastly,to validate the diagnostic efficiency of miR-15a/16,we performed pseudotemporal sorting of the samples to simulate progression from CHB to HCC. Results:Plasma miR-15a/16 was significantly decreased in HCC than in all control groups(P＜0.05 for all).In the training cohort,the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC),sensitivity,and average precision(AP)for the detection of HCC were higher for miR-15a(AUC=0.80,67.3％,AP=0.80)and miR-16(AUC=0.83,79.0％,AP=0.83)than for AFP(AUC=0.74,61.7％,AP=0.72).Combining miR-15a/16 with AFP increased the AUC to 0.86(sensitivity 85.9％)and the AP to 0.85 and was significantly superior to the other markers in this study(P＜0.05 for all),as further demonstrated by the detection error tradeoff curves.Moreover,miR-15a/16 impressively showed potent diagnostic power in early-stage,small-tumor,and AFP-negative HCC.A validation cohort confirmed these results.Lastly,the simulated follow-up of patients further validated the diagnostic efficiency of miR-15a/16. Conclusions:We developed and validated a plasma miR-15a/16-based machine learning model,which exhibited better diagnostic performance for the early diagnosis of HCC compared to that of AFP.

Organic acids are organic compounds that can be synthesized using biological systems. They often contain one or more low molecular weight acidic groups, such as carboxyl group and sulphonic group. Organic acids are widely used in food, agriculture, medicine, bio-based materials industry and other fields. Yeast has unique advantages of biosafety, strong stress resistance, wide substrate spectrum, convenient genetic transformation, and mature large-scale culture technology. Therefore, it is appealing to produce organic acids by yeast. However, challenges such as low concentration, many by-products and low fermentation efficiency still exist. With the development of yeast metabolic engineering and synthetic biology technology, rapid progress has been made in this field recently. Here we summarize the progress of biosynthesis of 11 organic acids by yeast. These organic acids include bulk carboxylic acids and high-value organic acids that can be produced naturally or heterologously. Finally, future prospects in this field were proposed.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae/metabolism* ; Organic Chemicals ; Carboxylic Acids/metabolism* ; Metabolic Engineering ; Fermentation ; Acids