[Analysis of clinical phenotype and genotype of Chinese children with disorders of sex development]

Objective: To explore the heterogeneity and correlation of clinical phenotypes and genotypes in children with disorders of sex development (DSD). Methods: A retrospective study of 1 235 patients with clinically proposed DSD in 36 pediatric medical institutions across the country from January 2017 to May 2021. After capturing 277 DSD-related candidate genes, second-generation sequencing was performed to analyzed the heterogeneity and correlation combined with clinical phenotypes. Results: Among 1 235 children with clinically proposed DSD, 980 were males and 255 were females of social gender at the time of initial diagnosis with the age ranged from 1 day of age to 17.92 years. A total of 443 children with pathogenic variants were detected through molecular genetic studies, with a positive detection rate of 35.9%. The most common clinical phenotypes were micropenis (455 cases), hypospadias (321 cases), and cryptorchidism (172 cases) and common mutations detected were in SRD5A2 gene (80 cases), AR gene (53 cases) and CYP21A2 gene (44 cases). Among them, the SRD5A2 mutation is the most common in children with simple micropenis and simple hypospadias, while the AMH mutation is the most common in children with simple cryptorchidism. Conclusions: The SRD5A2 mutation is the most common genetic variant in Chinese children with DSD, and micropenis, cryptorchidism, and hypospadias are the most common clinical phenotypes. Molecular diagnosis can provide clues about the biological basis of DSD, and can also guide clinicians to perform specific clinical examinations. Target sequence capture probes and next-generation sequencing technology can provide effective and economical genetic diagnosis for children with DSD.

Note: Non-destructive measurement of thermal effusivity of a solid and liquid using a freestanding serpentine sensor-based 3ω technique

A non-destructive thermal effusivity characterization method described as a freestanding serpentine sensor-based 3ω technique was reported. This freestanding serpentine sensor was fabricated by the mature flexible printed circuit production technique. Expression for the temperature response of the freestanding serpentine sensor with respect to the thermal effusivity of the test sample was presented. The technique was further verified by measuring four kinds of standard samples at room temperature. Experimental results which well agree with reference values demonstrate the new technique is of great application value to thermal effusivity characterization of solids, liquids, and structures to which the conventional 3ω technique is not applicable, e.g., solids with porous surfaces.

The freestanding sensor-based 3ω technique for measuring thermal conductivity of solids: principle and examination

In recent two decades, the 3ω technique has been proven to be valuable for characterizing thermophysical properties of materials from nanoscale to bulk, but some inherent deficiencies in this technique such as laborious and repeated four-pad micro strip heater/sensor deposition process and flimsiness of the micro heater/sensor limit its practical applications. Here, the authors report a novel 3ω technique, based on a freestanding sensor replacing the conventional 3ω heater/sensor adjacent to the specimen surface. A zigzag temperature response curve of the new sensor instead of the classical straight line was observed and used to extract the specimen thermal conductivity. Experimental results which excellently agree with calculation values show that the new technique is of great application value to thermal properties characterization of amorphous bulks and hundreds of microns thick wafers.