[Clinical and genetic characteristics of patients with newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia: a single-center retrospective of 790 cases]

Objective: To retrospectively analyze the data of Chinese patients with newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) to preliminarily discuss the clinical and cytogenetic characteristics. Methods: From February 2004 to June 2020, patients with newly diagnosed APL aged ≥ 15 years who were admitted to the Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Science & Peking Union Medical College were chosen. Clinical and laboratory features were retrospectively analyzed. Results: A total of 790 cases were included, with a male to female ratio of 1.22. The median age of the patients was 41 (15-76) years. Patients aged between 20 and 59 predominated, with 632 patients (80%) of 790 patients classified as low and intermediate risk and 158 patients (20%) of 790 patients classified as high risk. The white blood cell, platelet, and hemoglobin levels at diagnosis were 2.3 (0.1-176.1) ×10(9)/L, 29.5 (2.0-1220.8) ×10(9)/L, and 89 (15-169) g/L, respectively, and 4.8% of patients were complicated with psoriasis. The long-form type of PML-RARα was most commonly seen in APL, accounting for 58%. Both APTT extension (10.3%) and creatinine>14 mg/L (1%) are rarely seen in patients at diagnosis. Cytogenetics was performed in 715 patients with newly diagnosed APL. t (15;17) with additional chromosomal abnormalities were found in 155 patients, accounting for 21.7%; among which, +8 was most frequently seen. A complex karyotype was found in 64 (9.0%) patients. Next-generation sequencing was performed in 178 patients, and 113 mutated genes were discovered; 75 genes had an incidence rate>1%. FLT3 was the most frequently seen, which accounted for 44.9%, and 20.8% of the 178 patients present with FLT3-ITD. Conclusions: Patients aged 20-59 years are the most common group with newly diagnosed APL. No obvious difference was found in the ratio of males to females. In terms of risk stratification, patients divided into low and intermediate risk predominate. t (15;17) with additional chromosomal abnormalities accounted for 21% of 715 patients, in which +8 was most commonly seen. The long-form subtype was most frequently seen in PML-RARα-positive patients, and FLT3 was most commonly seen in the mutation spectrum of APL.

[Deep Learning-Based Cardiac Imaging Data Measurement and Its Application in Diagnosis of Sudden Cardiac Death]

Abstract

In the field of forensic medicine, diagnosis of sudden cardiac death is limited by subjective factors and manual measurement methods, so some parameters may have estimation deviation or measurement deviation. As postmortem CT imaging plays a more and more important role in the appraisal of cause of death and cardiopathology research, the application of deep learning such as artificial intelligence technology to analyze vast amounts of cardiac imaging data has provided a possibility for forensic identification and scientific research workers to conduct precise diagnosis and quantitative analysis of cardiac diseases. This article summarizes the main researches on deep learning in the field of cardiac imaging in recent years, and proposes a feasible development direction for the application of deep learning in the virtual anatomy of sudden cardiac death at present.

Research Progress on Accumulated Degree Days for PMI Estimation

Abstract

Among many factors that affect postmortem interval （PMI）, temperature is undoubtedly the most important factor, but simply considering temperature in estimation of PMI has limitations. Accumulated degree days （ADD） is an important indicator related to biological growth and development, which considers two major variables, environmental temperature and elapsed time. Therefore, the establishment of mathematical model of ADD and some evaluation indicators to estimate PMI, is obviously better than single temperature variable. This article briefly describes the research history of ADD, its application in PMI estimation, and the problems it faces, to provide reference for the further development of ADD to improve the accuracy of PMI estimation.

Sequential Changes of Total Adenine Nucleotide and Adenylic-Acid Energy Charge in Muscles of Rats after Death

Abstract

Objective To determine the purine adenylate [adenosine triphosphate （ATP）, adenosine diphosphate （ADP）, adenosine monophosphate （AMP）] content in the muscles of both hind limbs of rats at different postmortem interval （PMI）, calculate the changes in the total adenine nucleotide （TAN） content and the adenylic-acid energy charge （AEC）, and explore their relationship with PMI. Methods Healthy rats were sacrificed by cervical dislocation and kept at 20 ℃. The muscles of their hind limbs were extracted at 0, 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144, and 168 h after death. Reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography was used to determine the content of purine adenylates, the TAN and AEC of the muscles of the both hind limbs were calculated, and the related regression equations of their relationship with PMI were established. Results Within 168 h of death of rats, the trend of ATP change was different from ADP, and the content of AMP continuously increased. The TAN value gradually increased with the extension of PMI, and the AEC showed a downward trend within 168 h after death. Among them, the patterns of AEC changes with PMI were obvious, the correlation coefficient was high （ R²=0.903）, and the curve fitting relationship was good; the fitting relationship between ATP, ADP, AMP, TAN and PMI was poor （ R²=0.198-0.754）. Conclusion The postmortem change patterns of AEC provide new research ideas for PMI estimation in the forensic field.

[Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation treatment for T cell lymphoblastic lymphoma]

目的

探讨自体造血干细胞移植（auto-HSCT）巩固治疗T淋巴母细胞淋巴瘤（T-LBL）的疗效及相关影响因素。

方法

对2006年4月至2017年7月在苏州大学附属第一医院血液科和北京大学肿瘤医院淋巴瘤科接受auto-HSCT的41例T-LBL患者进行回顾性分析。

结果

①41例T-LBL患者中，男30例，女11例，中位年龄24（11～53）岁，12例（29.3％）纵隔累及，20例（48.8％）骨髓累及，Ann Arbor分期Ⅲ期及以上33例（80.5％）；移植前疾病处于第1次完全缓解（CR₁）期26例（63.4％），非CR₁期15例（36.6％）；移植前国际预后指数（IPI）中低危组（<3分）29例（70.7％），中高危组（≥3分）12例（29.3％）。②移植后中位随访29（3～98）个月，全部41例患者的3年总生存（OS）率、无进展生存（PFS）率分别为（64.3±8.2）％、（66.0±7.8）％，3年累积复发率（CIR）为（30.7±7.4）％，3年非复发死亡率（NRM）为（4.8±4.6）％。③CR₁组、非CR₁组患者3年OS率分别为（83.4±7.6）％、（38.9±12.9）％（P＝0.010），3年PFS率分别为（83.8±7.4）％、（40.0±12.6）％（P＝0.006），3年CIR分别为（16.2±7.4）％、（53.3±12.9）％（P＝0.015），3年NRM分别为0、（14.3±13.2）％（P＝0.157）。④IPI中低危组、中高危组3年OS率分别为（76.9±8.4）％、（35.7±15.2）％（P＝0.014），3年PFS率分别为（77.4±8.2）％、（40.0±14.6）％（P＝0.011），3年CIR分别为（18.1±7.3）％、（60.0±14.6）％（P＝0.006），3年NRM分别为（5.6±5.4）％、0（P＝0.683）。

结论

auto-HSCT可显著改善T-LBL患者的预后，移植前疾病状态和IPI评分是影响auto-HSCT疗效的重要因素。

[Research Progress on Postmortem Interval Estimation by Vitreous Humor]

Postmortem interval （PMI） estimation is one of the most challenging problems in the field of forensic science. Vitreous humor is a hotspot which has been used for PMI estimation and postmortem chemical analysis in forensic pathology. In order to provide novel perspectives for the future research of PMI estimation using vitreous humor, the comparison between vitreous humor with other common body fluids, the effect of temperature on vitreous humor, vitreous humor detection method and data fitting method have been reviewed in this paper.

[Application of Mixed-effect Model in PMI Estimation by Vitreous Humor]

OBJECTIVES

To test the changes of the potassium （K⁺） and magnesium （Mg²⁺） concentrations in vitreous humor of rabbits along with postmortem interval （PMI） under different temperatures, and explore the feasibility of PMI estimation using mixed-effect model.

METHODS

After sacrifice, rabbit carcasses were preserved at 5 ℃, 15 ℃, 25 ℃ and 35 ℃, and 80-100 μL of vitreous humor was collected by the double-eye alternating micro-sampling method at every 12 h. The concentrations of K⁺ and Mg²⁺ in vitreous humor were measured by a biochemical-immune analyser. The mixed-effect model was used to perform analysis and fitting, and established the equations for PMI estimation. The data detected from the samples that were stoned at 10 ℃, 20 ℃ and 30 ℃ with 20, 40 and 65 h were used to validate the equations of PMI estimation.

RESULTS

The concentrations of K⁺ and Mg²⁺ [f（x,y）] in vitreous humor of rabbits under different temperature increased along with PMI （x）. The relative equations of K⁺ and Mg²⁺ concentration with PMI and temperature under 5 ℃~35 ℃ were f_K⁺（x,y）=3.413 0+0.309 2 x+0.337 6 y+0.010 83 xy-0.002 47 x² （P<0.000 1）, and f_Mg²⁺（x,y）=0.745 6+0.006 432 x+0.033 8 y （P<0.000 1）, respectively. It was proved that the time of deviation for PMI estimation by K⁺ and Mg²⁺ was in 10 h when PMI was between 0 to 40 h, and the time of deviation was in 21 h when PMI was between 40 to 65 h.

CONCLUSIONS

the ambient temperature range of 5 ℃-35 ℃, the mixed-effect model based on temperature and vitreous humor substance concentrations can provide a new method for the practical application of vitreous humor chemicals for PMI estimation.

In situ study of mass transfer in aqueous solutions under high pressures via Raman spectroscopy: a new method for the determination of diffusion coefficients of methane in water near hydrate formation conditions

A new method was developed for in situ study of the diffusive transfer of methane in aqueous solution under high pressures near hydrate formation conditions within an optical capillary cell. Time-dependent Raman spectra of the solution at several different spots along the one-dimensional diffusion path were collected and thus the varying composition profile of the solution was monitored. Diffusion coefficients were estimated by the least squares method based on the variations in methane concentration data in space and time in the cell. The measured diffusion coefficients of methane in water at the liquid (L)-vapor (V) stable region and L-V metastable region are close to previously reported values determined at lower pressure and similar temperature. This in situ monitoring method was demonstrated to be suitable for the study of mass transfer in aqueous solution under high pressure and at various temperature conditions and will be applied to the study of nucleation and dissolution kinetics of methane hydrate in a hydrate-water system where the interaction of methane and water would be more complicated than that presented here for the L-V metastable condition.

[Studies on sultamicillin hydrolysis]

Sultamicillin is an oral mutual pro-drug composed of double esters of formaldehyde hydrate in which one of the hydroxyl groups is esterified with ampicillin and the other with sulbactam. It is hydrolyzed fast in neutral or weakly alkaline condition. When hydrolyzed, it forms ampicillin and hydroxylmethyl sulbactam or sulbactam and hydroxylmethyl ampicillin by different routes. Usually, the former has priority as the two ester bonds have different activities. The ratio of ampicillin to sulbactam in the products is about 3:1. Both the hydroxylmethyl sulbactam and the hydroxylmethyl ampicillin can be further catalyzed by esterase to produce formaldehyde.

Survey of public awareness, understanding, and attitudes toward epilepsy in Henan province, China

The awareness, understanding, and attitudes toward epilepsy in 1,278 men and women were surveyed in Henan, China in 1988. Results showed that 93% had read or heard about epilepsy; 77% knew someone who had epilepsy; 72% had seen someone who was having a seizure; 57% would object to having their children associate with persons with epilepsy in school or at play; 87% would object to having their children marry a person with epilepsy; 53% believed that epileptic persons should not be employed in jobs as other persons are; 16% believed that epilepsy was a form of insanity; 40% did not know the cause of epilepsy; 10% did not know what an epileptic attack was like; and 17% did not know what to recommend if their friends or relatives had epilepsy. The relationship between the responses and the respondents' age, sex, marital status, number of offspring, level of education, occupation, and residence was analyzed. Education reduced the respondent's prejudice against play and employment, but did not change their objection to marriage and appeared to have reinforced their linking epilepsy with insanity. As compared with the surveys conducted in Western countries, our survey showed that awareness of epilepsy in China was greater, if not the same, but the attitudes toward epilepsy were much more negative.

Reaction of Se with SH groups in spectrin is involved in the stabilization of erythrocyte membrane skeleton

Na2SeO3 supplementation in the dialysis medium could obviously prevent the dissociation of spectrin from the erythrocyte membranes. Such Se effect could be eliminated by pretreatment of erythrocyte membranes with a SH-blocking reagent, iodoacetamide(IAA) or addition of a SH-compound, dithio-threitol. The fluorescence intensity of erythrocyte membranes labelled with the fluorescent probe N-(3-pyrenyl)-maleimide decreased with increasing Na2SeO3 concentration used for pretreatment of ghosts. 31P-NMR spectra of erythrocyte membrane dialyzed in the presence or absence of Na2SeO3 concentration showed a difference in chemical shift anisotropy (delta sigma) between these two samples. These data suggest that the stabilization effect is based on changes in lipid-protein interaction and conformation of membrane skeletal components induced by reaction of their SH groups with Na2SeO3.

High frequency transformation ofKalanchoe laciniata

Leaf explants ofKalanchoe laciniata were cocultivated for different days (2, 4, 6 and 8 days) with disarmedAgrobacterium tumefaciens strains A208SE, GV3111SE and EHA101 carring a binary vector pROA93. The vector contains a cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promotor which drives the coding sequence of neomycin phosphotransferase II (NPT-II) in one direction and β-glucuronidase (GUS) in the opposite direction. Prolonged cocultivation (6 days) resulted in a marked increase of GUS gene transient expression, in terms of, the number of explants with transformed cells (up to 100%) and the percent area of transformed tissue (∼ 50%). Explants cocultivated for 6-7 days showed a dramatic increase in the frequency of stable transformation and 75-80% of the inoculated explants produced transgenic plants. Cocultivation with the nopaline strain A208SE for 7 days gave as high as 10 transgenic plants per explant.