Deep learning identified genetic variants associated with COVID-19 related mortality

Analysis of host genetic components provides insights into the susceptibility and response to viral infection such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To reveal genetic determinants of susceptibility to COVID-19 related mortality, we train a deep learning model to identify groups of genetic variants and their interactions that contribute to the COVID-19 related mortality risk using the UK Biobank data. We refer to such groups of variants as super variants. We identify 15 super variants with various levels of significance as susceptibility loci for COVID-19 mortality. Specifically, we identify a super variant (OR=1.594, p=5.47x10-9) on Chromosome 7 that consists of the minor allele of rs76398985, rs6943608, rs2052130, 7:150989011_CT_C, rs118033050 and rs12540488. We also discover a super variant (OR=1.353, p=2.87x10-8) on Chromosome 5 that contains rs12517344, rs72733036, rs190052994, rs34723029, rs72734818, 5:9305797_GTA_G and rs180899355.

Genetic variants are identified to increase risk of COVID-19 related mortality from UK Biobank data

BackgroundThe severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is highly heterogenous. Studies have reported that males and some ethnic groups are at increased risk of death from COVID-19, which implies that individual risk of death might be influenced by host genetic factors. MethodsIn this project, we consider the mortality as the trait of interest and perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of data for 1,778 infected cases (445 deaths, 25.03%) distributed by the UK Biobank. Traditional GWAS failed to identify any genome-wide significant genetic variants from this dataset. To enhance the power of GWAS and account for possible multi-loci interactions, we adopt the concept of super-variant for the detection of genetic factors. A discovery-validation procedure is used for verifying the potential associations. ResultsWe find 8 super-variants that are consistently identified across multiple replications as susceptibility loci for COVID-19 mortality. The identified risk factors on Chromosomes 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 16, and 17 contain genetic variants and genes related to cilia dysfunctions (DNAH7 and CLUAP1), cardiovascular diseases (DES and SPEG), thromboembolic disease (STXBP5), mitochondrial dysfunctions (TOMM7), and innate immune system (WSB1). It is noteworthy that DNAH7 has been reported recently as the most downregulated gene after infecting human bronchial epithelial cells with SARS-CoV2. ConclusionsEight genetic variants are identified to significantly increase risk of COVID-19 mortality among the patients with white British ancestry. These findings may provide timely evidence and clues for better understanding the molecular pathogenesis of COVID-19 and genetic basis of heterogeneous susceptibility, with potential impact on new therapeutic options.

The timing and effectiveness of implementing mild interventions of COVID-19 in large industrial cities

The outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has spread around the world since it was detected in December 2019. The Chinese government executed a series of interventions to curb the pandemic. The "battle" against COVID-19 in Shenzhen, China is valuable because populated industrial cities are the epic centres of COVID-19 in many regions. We made use of synthetic control methods to create a reference population matching specific characteristics of Shenzhen. With both the synthetic and observed data, we introduced an epidemic compartmental model to compare the spread of COVID-19 between Shenzhen and its counterpart regions in the United States that didnt implement interventions for policy evaluation. Once the effects of policy interventions adopted in Shenzhen were estimated, the delay effects of those interventions were referred to provide the further control degree of interventions. Thus, the hypothetical epidemic situations in Shenzhen were inferred by using time-varying reproduction numbers in the proposed SIHR (Susceptible, Infectious, Hospitalized, Removed) model and considering if the interventions were delayed by 0 day to 5 days. The expected cumulative confirmed cases would be 1546, which is 5.75 times of the observed cumulative confirmed cases of 269 in Shenzhen on February 3, 2020, based on the data from the counterpart counties (mainly from Broward, New York, Santa Clara, Pinellas, and Westchester) in the United States. If the interventions were delayed by 5 days from the day when the interventions started, the expected cumulative confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Shenzhen on February 3, 2020 would be 676 with 95% credible interval (303,1959). Early implementation of mild interventions can subdue the epidemic of COVID-19. The later the interventions were implemented, the more severe the epidemic was in the hard-hit areas. Mild interventions are less damaging to the society but can be effective when implemented early. AMS 2000 O_SCPLOWSUBJECTC_SCPLOWO_SCPCAP C_SCPCAPO_SCPLOWCLASSIFICATIONSC_SCPLOW: Primary 00K00, 00K01; secondary 00K02.

COVID-Net: A deep learning based and interpretable predication model for the county-wise trajectories of COVID-19 in the United States

The cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the United States since January 2020. We propose a COVINet by combining the architecture of both Long Short-Term Memory and Gated Recurrent Unit. First, we use the 10-fold cross-validation to train and assess different prediction models for which all counties serve alternatively as the training and test counties. Then, we focus on the prediction for the 10 severest counties. We employ the Mean Relative Errors (MREs) to measure the performance of the COVINet in predicting confirmed cases and deaths. Two COVINet models with 26 and 19 input variables, respectively, are trained. We estimate their respective MREs in the last 30 days before January 23, 2021, by the 10-fold CV, which are 0.0898 and 0.1068 for the number of confirmed cases, and 0.0694 and 0.0724 for the number of deaths. The MREs are also small for all predictions of the events in the last 7 or 30 days before January 23, 2021. The COVINet uses features including workforce driving alone to work, traffic volume, income inequality, and longitude and latitude of infected counties to predict the trajectories of COVID-19 in counties of the United States. The increasing awareness of how predictors affect the pandemic helps policymakers develop plans to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Risk factors associated with mortality of COVID-19 in 2692 counties of the United States

BackgroundThe number of cumulative confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States has risen sharply since March 2020. A county health ranking and roadmaps program has been established to identify factors associated with disparity in mobility and mortality of COVID-19 in all counties in the United States. MethodsTo find out the risk factors associated with county-level mortality of COVID-19 with various levels of prevalence, a negative binomial design was applied to the county-level mortality counts of COVID-19 as of August 27, 2020 in the United States. In this design, the infected counties were categorized into three levels of infections using clustering analysis based on time-varying cumulative confirmed cases from March 1 to August 27, 2020. COVID-19 patients were not analyzed individually but were aggregated at the county-level, where the county-level deaths of COVID-19 confirmed by the local health agencies. Results3125 infected counties were assigned into three classes corresponding to low, median, and high prevalence levels of infection. Several risk factors were significantly associated with the mortality counts of COVID-19, where higher level of air pollution (0.153, P<0.001) increased the mortality in the low prevalence counties and elder individuals were more vulnerable in both the median and high prevalence counties. The segregation between non-Whites and Whites and higher Hispanic population had higher likelihood of risk of the deaths in all infected counties. ConclusionsThe mortality of COVID-19 depended on sex, race/ethnicity, and outdoor environment. The increasing awareness of the impact of these significant factors may lead to the reduction in the mortality of COVID-19.

Evaluate the timing of resumption of business for the states of New York, New Jersey and California via a pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic transmission model of COVID-19

The United States has the highest numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the world. The early hot spot states were New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The workforce in these states was required to work from home except for essential services. It was necessary to evaluate an appropriate date for resumption of business since the premature reopening of the economy would lead to a broader spread of COVID-19, while the opposite situation would cause greater loss of economy. To reflect the real-time risk of the spread of COVID-19, it was crucial to evaluate the population of infected individuals before or never being confirmed due to the pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic transmissions of COVID-19. To this end, we proposed an epidemic model and applied it to evaluate the real-time risk of epidemic for the states of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. We used California as the benchmark state because California began a phased reopening on May 8, 2020. The dates on which the estimated numbers of unidentified infectious individuals per 100,000 for states of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut were close to those in California on May 8, 2020, were June 1, 22, and 22, 2020, respectively. By the practice in California, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut might consider reopening their business. Meanwhile, according to our simulation models, to prevent resurgence of infections after reopening the economy, it would be crucial to maintain sufficient measures to limit the social distance after the resumption of businesses. This precaution turned out to be critical as the situation in California quickly deteriorated after our analysis was completed and its interventions after the reopening of business were not as effective as those in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Change and significance of coagulation function and von Willebrand factor antigen level in HELLP syndrome / 中华危重病急救医学

Objective:To investigate the changes and clinical significance of blood coagulation function and von Willebrand factor antigen (vWF:Ag) in patients with HELLP syndrome (hemolysis, elevated liver function, low platelet count).Methods:The clotting data of patients with severe preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome (observation group) admitted to the department of critical care medicine of the Fifth Center Hospital in Tianjin from May 2015 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed, and normal late pregnancy women with the same period were enrolled as the control group. The coagulation indexes such as prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thrombin time (APTT), antithrombin (AT), fibrinogen (Fib), D-dimer and plasma vWF:Ag level were compared between the two groups, and among patients with HELLP syndrome with different disease degree.Results:① Sixty-five patients with HELLP syndrome and 65 normal pregnant women with third trimester were included. Both groups were women of childbearing age, and there were no significant difference in the baseline data. ② The levels of Fib, D-dimer in both groups increased, but they were significantly higher in the observation group than those in the control group [Fib (g/L): 4.94 (4.76, 5.85) vs. 3.58 (2.97, 4.14), D-dimer (mg/L): 3.34 (2.55, 4.32) vs. 1.72 (1.29, 2.08), both P < 0.05], the AT was obviously reduced [62.00 (49.00, 73.00)% vs. 97.50 (90.75, 107.00)%, P < 0.01], and both PT and APTT were in the normal reference range in the two groups. In addition, the plasma vWF:Ag level in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group [516.50 (467.20, 563.00)% vs. 246.45 (189.95, 274.10)%, P < 0.01]. ③ According to thrombocytopenia, among the 65 patients with HELLP syndrome, 26 cases were mild [platelet count (PLT) > 100×10 9/L], 22 cases were moderate [PLT (50-100)×10 9/L], and 17 cases were severe (PLT < 50×10 9/L). With the aggravation of the disease, the D-dimer, Fib, vWF:Ag levels in the mild, moderate, severe patients significantly increased, while the AT level significantly decreased, and there was statistically significant difference between the two groups [D-dimer (mg/L): 2.63 (2.60, 2.73), 3.15 (2.55, 3.73), 3.84 (3.52, 4.23); Fib (g/L): 4.23 (4.06, 4.47), 4.72 (4.34, 5.04), 5.43 (5.14, 5.76); vWF:Ag: 465.20 (437.20, 495.40)%, 500.10 (472.40, 534.50)%, 543.50 (521.30, 563.00)%; AT: 67.50 (61.60, 78.00)%, 63.70 (53.30, 70.40)%, 54.40 (44.00, 61.20)%; all P < 0.05]. Conclusion:Patients with HELLP syndrome may show hypercoagulability and excessive expression of peripheral blood vWF:Ag level, which can induce platelet aggregation, leading to thrombocytopenia and thrombotic microangiopathy, and the clinicians should pay attention to that.

Comparatively study of laparoscopic and open surgery for postoperative complications of acute gangrenous appendicitis / 国际外科学杂志

Objective To analyze and compare the incidence of postoperative complications of acute gangrene appendicitis after laparotomy and laparoscopic surgery.Methods This study retrospectively analyzed of 162 cases of acute gangrenous appendicitis treated in Xilin Guole Meng Hospital from January 2015 to January 2018.There were 96 male patients and 66 female patients;age (43.40 ± 16.21) years.According to different surgical methods,162 patients were divided into two groups:laparoscopic group (n =80) and open group (n =82).Laparoscopic appendectomy was performed in the laparoscopic group,and open appendectomy was performed in the open group.To compare the postoperative complications intraoperative and postoperative data between the two groups.It consists of tump fistula or bead inflammation,postoperative pneumonia,abdominal hemorrhage,deep venous thrombosis,incisional hernia,subcutaneous emphysema,incision infection,intestinal obstruction,celiac sepsis,complained of pain intensity classification method for pain score and antibiotic use time,postoperative extubation time,postoperative exhaust time,postoperative bed for the first time for the first time time,length of hospital stay.The measurement data were expressed by (Mean ± SD) and the t test was used with the groups.The counting data were expressed by the percentage or rate and the x2 test was used among the groups.When the number of single group cases was less than 10 cases,the Fisher exact probability method was used for the calibration test.Results The top three complications were incision infection,intestinal obstruction and empyema.The incidence of postoperative complications in open group and laparoscopy group was 65.9％ (54/82) and 8.8％ (7/80) respectively,and there was significant difference between the two groups (F =56.247,P=0.000).The VRS of the lapamscopic group and the open group were 53 points and 12 points for grade Ⅰ,18 points and 36 points for grade Ⅱ,and 9 points and 34 points for grade Ⅲ,The results showed that the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (x2 =2.45,P =0.01).The time of antibiotic use,postoperative tube extraction,postoperative first exhaust,postoperative first time out of bed and hospitalization in the laparoscopic group were respectively (61.2 ±24.2) d,(4.2 ± 1.2) h,(24.6 ±6.9) h,(4.6 ±2.2) h,(5.5 ±3.6) d and the open group were (72±72.6) d,(7.4 ±2.7) h,(52.2 ±4.8) h,(8.4 ±2.6) h,(13.5 ±8.2) d respectively,the differences were statistically significant (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion The postoperative complications in laparoscopic group were lower than those in open group,so the laparoscopic group was the first choice for the treatment of acute appendicitis,while the open group was another choice for some patients.

Comparative study of laparoscopic and laparotomy surgery for postoperative complications of upper gastrointestinal perforation / 国际外科学杂志

Objective To analyze and compare the complications of laparotomysurgery and laparoscopic surgery for upper gastrointestinal perforation.Methods Retrospective analyzed the clinical data of 113 patients,including 100 male cases,13 female cases,aged 17 to 87 years old,mean (51.42 ± 17.11) years old,with perforation in stomach and duodenum at Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital from January 2008 to January 2017.The patients were divided into laparotomy group (64 cases) and laparoscopic group (49 cases) according to the operation mode,and the intraoperative blood loss and postoperative complications were compared.The measurement data were expressed by ((-x) ± s),and the t test was used between the groups.The count data were expressed by ratio or percentage,the chi-square test was used.Results The amount of bleeding in laparoscopic group was (51.90 ± 18.91) ml,was significantly less than that of laparotomy group (74.60 ± 10.23) ml (x2 =8.186,P =0.000).Postoperative complications occurred in 28 patients (24.8％) in 113 patients,and the top three complications were incision infection,pneumonia,and anastomotic or patch bleeding.The incidence of postoperative complications in laparotomy group and laparoscopic group was 29.7％ (19/64) and 18.4％ (9/49),respectively,and there was no significant difference (x2 =1.908,P =0.193).Conclusion The two kinds of operation methods of upper digestive tract perforation are similar,and the amount of bleeding in laparoscopic operation group is less than that in laparotomy group,at the same time,higher technical requiremnents are need to be completed by experienced doctors for minimally invasive surgery.

RNA-Seq for pathogenesis of Candida albicans / 中国人兽共患病学报

In the paper,we introduced the peculiarity of Candida albicans and the disease caused by it,expounded the complexity of the pathogenesis,enumerated the advantages of the RNA-Seq and reviewed its application to study on the pathogenesis of Candida albicans,found out some shortages in previous studies,and anticipated the possible trends of such study in future.In conclusion,some remarkable achievements will bring about by use of improved RNA-Seq for intensive researches on the pathogenesis of Candida albicans.

Relationships between functional genes in Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus isolates and phenotypic characteristics associated with fermentation time and flavor production in yogurt elucidated using multilocus sequence typing.

Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus (L. bulgaricus) is well known for its worldwide application in yogurt production. Flavor production and acid producing are considered as the most important characteristics for starter culture screening. To our knowledge this is the first study applying functional gene sequence multilocus sequence typing technology to predict the fermentation and flavor-producing characteristics of yogurt-producing bacteria. In the present study, phenotypic characteristics of 35 L. bulgaricus strains were quantified during the fermentation of milk to yogurt and during its subsequent storage; these included fermentation time, acidification rate, pH, titratable acidity, and flavor characteristics (acetaldehyde concentration). Furthermore, multilocus sequence typing analysis of 7 functional genes associated with fermentation time, acid production, and flavor formation was done to elucidate the phylogeny and genetic evolution of the same L. bulgaricus isolates. The results showed that strains significantly differed in fermentation time, acidification rate, and acetaldehyde production. Combining functional gene sequence analysis with phenotypic characteristics demonstrated that groups of strains established using genotype data were consistent with groups identified based on their phenotypic traits. This study has established an efficient and rapid molecular genotyping method to identify strains with good fermentation traits; this has the potential to replace time-consuming conventional methods based on direct measurement of phenotypic traits.

Expression of p16 and TLR3 in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical invasive carci-noma and their significance / 临床与实验病理学杂志

Purpose To investigate the expression and clinical significance of the cell cycle inhibitors p16 protein and specific recogni-tion of viral replication intermediate TLR3 in the cervical intraepithelial neoplasia ( CIN) and cervical invasive carcinoma. Methods Immunohistochemical stain was used to detect the expressions of p16 and TLR3 in 19 cases of normal cervical epithelium ( NCE) , 62 cases of CIN, and 17 cases of cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Results The positive rates of p16 protein were 0, 72. 5%and 100% in NCE, CIN and SCC respectively in which the difference among those groups were statistically significant ( P<0. 01 ) . Similarly, the positive rates of TLR3 protein were 26. 3%, 87% and 100% in NCE, CIN and SCC respectively and the difference a-mong those groups was significant (P<0. 01). Furthermore, there was a significant and positive correlation between the expression of p16 and TLR3 (rs =0. 538, P<0. 01). Conclusion Increased expression is observed in CIN and SCC compared with NCE and the expression of p16 and TLR3 is associated with level of CIN. Those could provide certain experiment basis for the pathologica diagnosis of early cervical cancer.

Clinicopathologic observation of 6 cases of differentiated-type vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia / 临床与实验病理学杂志

Purpose To investigate the clinicopathologic characteristics, differential diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of differentia-ted-type vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia ( dVIN) . Methods Clinicopathologic findings and immunophenotypes of 6 cases diagnosed as“dVIN” were retrospectively analyzed, and the relevant literatures were also reviewed. Results 6 patients were all female ranged 53~80 years old with mean age of 62 years old. Clinical aspects included leukoplakia vulvar, pruitis, irritation, pain, ulcer and so on. The histopathological features were hyperplasia of basal and parabasal layer with elongation and anastomosing reteridges. Cells were marked atypia with obvious nucleoli, atypical mitosis, and dyskeratosis. In the middle and surface layer, cells were well differentiated with pronounced intercellular bridges, and eosinophilic cytoplasm, hyperkeratosis and parakeratosis. Oedema and band of infiltration of chronic inflammatory cells of subepidermal could been seen. Immuohistochemistry showed the expression rates of p53 and p16 in totally 6 cases were 83. 3% (5/6), 0 (0/6), respectively. The Ki-67 index was more than 90% in basal and parabasal cells. Four patients were followed up ( mean follow-up 17 months, range 6~36 months) , one patient died at 9 months later after surgery, another patient recurred at 6 months later after surgery, both of the 2 cases were all with invasive lesions after resection, and the rest two cases had no recur in 18 months and 36 months after surgery, respectively. Conclusion dVIN is a high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions of vulvar with low incidence rate, but had more risk of progression. p53, p16 and Ki-67 stain were useful in the diagnosis of dVIN.

Experience in treatment of 326 patients with gallstones / 临床肝胆病杂志

Objective To investigate the feasibility of clinical staging and standardization of therapy for patients with gallstones.Methods The clinical data of 326 cases of gallstones treated in our hospital from January 2012 to December 2013 were collected.Appropriate surgical procedures were selected based on preoperative staging (stags Ⅰ -Ⅳ)that was conducted according to the degree of pathological damage in the gallbladder.Clinical efficacy was observed for assessment.Results Among 57 patients categorized as stage I,53 cases received chole-dochoscopy by small incision for preservation of the gallbladder,including 3 cases converted to cholecystostomy and 1 case of recurrent gall-stones one year later;laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed in the remaining 4 cases.A total of 152 patients were categorized as stageⅡ:122 cases received laparoscopic cholecystectomy,of which 2 cases were converted to open cholecystectomy,2 cases developed bile leak-age,and none suffered serious complication of bile duct injury;open cholecystectomy was performed in the other 30 cases in category II,2 of which had fat liquefaction at the incision,but complications of bile leakage and bile duct injury were not observed.There were 87 patients with stage Ⅲ disease:among 50 cases who received open cholecystectomy,3 cases developed fat liquefaction at the incision,but no bile leakage and bile duct injury were observed;in the remaining 37 cases who received open choledochoscope -assisted cholecystostomy,7 ca-ses developed fat liquefaction at the incision,and 10 cases eventually underwent open cholecystectomy three months after the operation due to cystic duct closure and opening abnormality detected by angiography.Thirty patients with stage IV disease underwent cholecystectomy and choledocholithotomy,of which 2 cases developed fat liquefaction at the incision,but no bile leakage and bile duct injury were observed.All 326 patients were cured without mortality.The incidence of adverse events was 6.75%.Conclusion The standardization of therapy for pa-tients with gallstones is an effective approach to ensure the clinical efficacy and to avoid or reduce postoperative complications.It should be promoted in clinical settings.

Primary choledocholithiasis after cholecystectomy:a clinical analysis of 70 cases / 临床肝胆病杂志

Objective To investigate the relationship between cholecystectomy and the subsequent occurrence of primary choledocholithiasis and to review the surgical treatment of primary choledocholithiasis.Methods The clinical data of 70 patients with forward common bile duct stones after cholecystectomy who were admitted to our hospital from January 2007 to December 2013 were retrospectively analyzed.Results All 70 patients underwent open surgery for removal of common bile duct stones,which were identified as bile pigment calculi.The postopera-tive complications included incisional wound infection (8 cases)and lung infection (5 cases),and no severe complications as biliary leak-age or hematobilia were observed.All patients fully recovered at the time of discharge.Eight cases of recurrent common bile duct stones were found and surgeries were performed 2.5 to 4 years after the recurrence.All patients were cured by choledocholithotomy,common bile duct transection,and Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy.Conclusion Primary choledocholithiasis is an age-related disease,not a long-term complication of cholecystectomy.If no bile duct injury occurs during the cholecystectomy,the incidence rate of primary choledocholithiasis will not be increased.Surgical treatment is required for primary choledocholithiasis.For the cases of choledochectasia with the diameter of common bile duct greater than 2.5 cm or recurrent choledocholithiasis,the laparotomy with common bile duct transection and Roux-en-Y anastomosis is recommended.

Clinicopathologic characteristics and histogenesis of mucinous tumor of peritoneum / 中华病理学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the clinicopathologic characteristics, prognosis and histologic origin of the mucinous tumor of the peritoneum.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>According to 2010 WHO classification of tumours of the digestive system, 34 cases diagnosed as "pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) " were reevaluated and divided into low grade and high grade. Immunohistochemistry was applied to investigate the expression of SATB2 and the histologic origin of the mucinous tumor of the peritoneum, using antibodies against SATB2, CK7, CK20 and CDX-2. The relationship between clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis of the low grade and high grade tumors were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Twenty five patients had low grade mucinous tumors (two of them were no cell type), nine patients had high grade mucinous tumors. There was no significant difference between low grade and high grade mucinous tumors in age, sex, recurrence and organs involvement (P>0.05). Thirty patients were followed up, the overall survival rates of patients with low grade and high grade mucinous tumors were 13/21 (61.9%) and 3/9, respectively. The median survival time was 74 and 24 months in low and high grade patients, and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.002).Immunohistochemistry showed the expression rates of CDX-2, CK20, and CK7 in totally 32 cases (excluding 2 cases of no cell type) were 30/32(93.8%), 31/32 (96.9%), and 3/16, respectively; the expression rates of CDX-2, CK20, and CK7 in 16 cases with distinct primary site were 15, 16, and 1, respectively; fifteen of 16 cases of tumors of unknown primary site were positive for CDX-2 and CK20, two of the them were positive for CK7. There was no difference in the expression of CDX-2, CK20 and CK7 between tumors with distinct primary site and tumors with unknown primary site (P>0.05). The expression rate of SATB2 in the cases was 56.3% (18/32), excluding 2 cases of no cell type. There was no significant difference between low grade and high grade tumors in the expression of SATB2 [15/23(65.2%) vs 3/9, P=0.102], also SATB2 was not related to the prognosis of the tumor (P=0.786).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The prognosis of the mucinous tumor of the peritoneum was significantly different between low grade and high grade according to WHO 2010 classification, and most mucinous tumor of the peritoneum originated from the appendix.</p>

Study of siRNA EGFR on the enhanced radiosensitivity of esophageal squamous cells / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

Objective To explore the influence of EGFR gene interfering on the radiosensitivity of esophageal squamous cells.Methods Three kinds of siRNAs including three random sequences of positive EGFR siRNA (EGFR siRNA1、EGFR siRNA2、EGFR siRNA3),random sequence of negative EGFR siRNA,and blank control were transfected into Eca109 cells by lipofectamine.Cell proliferation was detected by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay.Protein and mRNA expressions of EGFR were detected by Western blot and RT-PCR,respectively.The ability of cell clone formation was used to evaluate the combination effect of X-rays and EGFR siRNA on the radiosensitivity.Results The positive expression rate of the EGFR mRNA in the Eca109 ceils transfected with EGFR siRNA1,EGFR siRNA2,EGFR siRNA3 was 26.74％,9.52％,4.61％,respectively,which was significantly lower than 42.44％ in the control cells transfected with blank siRNA (F =112.11,P ＜ 0.01).Meanwhile,the EGFR protein expression was reduced by 72.84％,53.01％ and 56.21％ after interfering of siRNA1,siRNA2,and siRNA3,respectively.CCK8 assay showed that the proliferation of Eca109 cells was decreased by 28.2％ since the siRNA interference.Moreover,the D0,Dq and SF2 of the combined treatment group were lower than those of irradiation alone group and the sensitization enhancement ratio was 1.50.Conclusions EGFR siRNA can effectively inhibit EGFR gene expression and enhance the radiosensitivity of Eca109 cells.

Application of epidermal growth factor receptor for radiotherapy of esophageal cancer / 国际肿瘤学杂志

Epidermal growth factor receptor ( EGFR) express highly or mutant in esophageal cancer,which causing tumor resistance to radiotherapy and leading to poor radiotherapeutic effects.Treatment with antiEGFR can get radiosensitization.There are three main types of molecular targeted research for EGFR:synthetic monoclonal antibody,small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors,and other.strategies modulating EGFR biosynthesis based on RNA interference.

Survey on Control Status and Knowledge Level about Disease in Asthmatic Patients in Region Level Cities of Shaanxi Province / 中国呼吸与危重监护杂志

Objective To evaluate the control status and knowledge level about disease in asthmatic patients in region level cities of Shaanxi province for effect appraisal of patient education.Methods Eight hospitals were selected from six region level cities, where questionnaire survey was completed in out-patients with asthma (≥ 14 years old).Results A total of 523 patients completed the questionnaire with a ratio of male to female of 1: 1.14,and an average age of (44.3±15.5) years old.The percentage of controlled, partly controlled and uncontrolled by self-evaluation was respectively 26.4%, 52.4% and 11.1%.48% insisted on using inhaled corticosteroids (ICS).The average score was 17.88±4.43 by asthma control test (ACT).The first three medicines used daily were ICS (26.6%), sustained-release theophyline (25.2%) and combination ICS/long-acting β2-agonists (21.8%).12.6% had no medicine and 5.2% used non-orthodox medicines.68.6% patients had omen before exacerbation, and those were sneezing, chest distress and cough.73.6% knew asthma is a disease of airway inilammatian,and 33.3% selected ICS as the leader medicine.Only 32.1% attended the lecture about asthma in hospitals and 85.0% longed for such education.Conclusions The control status and knowledge level about disease in asthmatic patients in cities still need to be improved in Shaanxi province, and too much work need to be done in order to realize the total control in all patients.

[Progress on the genomics of lactic acid bacteria--a review].

With the advances and cost reducing of DNA-sequencing, genome determination for many microorganisms becomes available. For the research of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), this progress will not only facilitate to understand their nature of hereditary constitution, but also gradually leads to the possibility for analysis and further control of their biological functions. At present, the whole genome for 22 strains of LAB have been completed and published, at least another 12 strains of LAB are under sequencing. Based on the published data, we described the research progression of LAB genomics from four aspects, including general features, diversity of metabolism, evolution and colinearity.