Re-analysis of gene mutations found in pituitary stalk interruption syndrome and a new hypothesis on the etiology

BackgroundPituitary stalk interruption syndrome (PSIS) is a complex clinical syndrome characterized by varied pituitary hormone deficiencies, leading to severe manifestations across multiple systems. These include lifelong infertility, short stature, mental retardation, and potentially life-threatening pituitary crises if not promptly diagnosed and treated. Despite extensive research, the precise pathogenesis of PSIS remains unclear. Currently, there are two proposed theories regarding the pathogenic mechanisms: the genetic defect theory and the perinatal injury theory.MethodsWe systematically searched English databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase) and Chinese databases (CNKI, WanFang Med Online, Sinomed) up to February 24, 2023, to summarize studies on gene sequencing in PSIS patients. Enrichment analyses of reported mutated genes were subsequently performed using the Metascape platform.ResultsOur study included 37 articles. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed mutated genes were enriched in the Notch signaling pathway, Wnt signaling pathway, and Hedgehog signaling pathway. GO enrichment analysis demonstrated mutated genes were enriched in biological processes such as embryonic development, brain development, axon development and guidance, and development of other organs.ConclusionBased on our summary and analyses, we propose a new hypothesis: disruptions in normal embryonic development, partially stemming from the genetic background and/or specific gene mutations in individuals, may increase the likelihood of abnormal fetal deliveries, where different degrees of traction during delivery may lead to different levels of pituitary stalk interruption and posterior lobe ectopia. The clinical diversity observed in PSIS patients may result from a combination of genetic background, specific mutations, and variable degrees of traction during delivery

Locating the cortical bottleneck for slow reading in peripheral vision

Yu, Legge, Park, Gage, and Chung (2010) suggested that the neural bottleneck for slow peripheral reading is located in nonretinotopic areas. We investigated the potential rate-limiting neural site for peripheral reading using fMRI, and contrasted peripheral reading with recognition of peripherally presented line drawings of common objects. We measured the BOLD responses to both text (three-letter words/nonwords) and line-drawing objects presented either in foveal or peripheral vision (10 degrees lower right visual field) at three presentation rates (2, 4, and 8/second). The statistically significant interaction effect of visual field x presentation rate on the BOLD response for text but not for line drawings provides evidence for distinctive processing of peripheral text. This pattern of results was obtained in all five regions of interest (ROIs). At the early retinotopic cortical areas, the BOLD signal slightly increased with increasing presentation rate for foveal text, and remained fairly constant for peripheral text. In the Occipital Word-Responsive Area (OWRA), Visual Word Form Area (VWFA), and object sensitive areas (LO and PHA), the BOLD responses to text decreased with increasing presentation rate for peripheral but not foveal presentation. In contrast, there was no rate-dependent reduction in BOLD response for line-drawing objects in all the ROIs for either foveal or peripheral presentation. Only peripherally presented text showed a distinctive rate-dependence pattern. Although it is possible that the differentiation starts to emerge at the early retinotopic cortical representation, the neural bottleneck for slower reading of peripherally presented text may be a special property of peripheral text processing in object category selective cortex

Reverse atom-transfer radical polymerization at room temperature

peer reviewedThis paper aims at reporting on the living/controlled radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate initiated with the benzoyl peroxide (BPO)/CuIX (X=Br,Cl)/2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) redox system at room temperature. No control is observed for the polymerization conducted in bulk and in toluene, whereas a polymer with predetermined molecular weight and rather narrow molecular weight distribution is formed in butanone. The solvent has thus a decisive effect on the reverse atom-transfer radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate initiated with the BPO/CuIX (X = Br,Cl)/bpy ternary system at 25°C

Table_2_Re-analysis of gene mutations found in pituitary stalk interruption syndrome and a new hypothesis on the etiology.xlsx

BackgroundPituitary stalk interruption syndrome (PSIS) is a complex clinical syndrome characterized by varied pituitary hormone deficiencies, leading to severe manifestations across multiple systems. These include lifelong infertility, short stature, mental retardation, and potentially life-threatening pituitary crises if not promptly diagnosed and treated. Despite extensive research, the precise pathogenesis of PSIS remains unclear. Currently, there are two proposed theories regarding the pathogenic mechanisms: the genetic defect theory and the perinatal injury theory.MethodsWe systematically searched English databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase) and Chinese databases (CNKI, WanFang Med Online, Sinomed) up to February 24, 2023, to summarize studies on gene sequencing in PSIS patients. Enrichment analyses of reported mutated genes were subsequently performed using the Metascape platform.ResultsOur study included 37 articles. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed mutated genes were enriched in the Notch signaling pathway, Wnt signaling pathway, and Hedgehog signaling pathway. GO enrichment analysis demonstrated mutated genes were enriched in biological processes such as embryonic development, brain development, axon development and guidance, and development of other organs.ConclusionBased on our summary and analyses, we propose a new hypothesis: disruptions in normal embryonic development, partially stemming from the genetic background and/or specific gene mutations in individuals, may increase the likelihood of abnormal fetal deliveries, where different degrees of traction during delivery may lead to different levels of pituitary stalk interruption and posterior lobe ectopia. The clinical diversity observed in PSIS patients may result from a combination of genetic background, specific mutations, and variable degrees of traction during delivery.</p

Table_1_Re-analysis of gene mutations found in pituitary stalk interruption syndrome and a new hypothesis on the etiology.docx

BackgroundPituitary stalk interruption syndrome (PSIS) is a complex clinical syndrome characterized by varied pituitary hormone deficiencies, leading to severe manifestations across multiple systems. These include lifelong infertility, short stature, mental retardation, and potentially life-threatening pituitary crises if not promptly diagnosed and treated. Despite extensive research, the precise pathogenesis of PSIS remains unclear. Currently, there are two proposed theories regarding the pathogenic mechanisms: the genetic defect theory and the perinatal injury theory.MethodsWe systematically searched English databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase) and Chinese databases (CNKI, WanFang Med Online, Sinomed) up to February 24, 2023, to summarize studies on gene sequencing in PSIS patients. Enrichment analyses of reported mutated genes were subsequently performed using the Metascape platform.ResultsOur study included 37 articles. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed mutated genes were enriched in the Notch signaling pathway, Wnt signaling pathway, and Hedgehog signaling pathway. GO enrichment analysis demonstrated mutated genes were enriched in biological processes such as embryonic development, brain development, axon development and guidance, and development of other organs.ConclusionBased on our summary and analyses, we propose a new hypothesis: disruptions in normal embryonic development, partially stemming from the genetic background and/or specific gene mutations in individuals, may increase the likelihood of abnormal fetal deliveries, where different degrees of traction during delivery may lead to different levels of pituitary stalk interruption and posterior lobe ectopia. The clinical diversity observed in PSIS patients may result from a combination of genetic background, specific mutations, and variable degrees of traction during delivery.</p

MU R-CNN: A Two-Dimensional Code Instance Segmentation Network Based on Deep Learning

In the context of Industry 4.0, the most popular way to identify and track objects is to add tags, and currently most companies still use cheap quick response (QR) tags, which can be positioned by computer vision (CV) technology. In CV, instance segmentation (IS) can detect the position of tags while also segmenting each instance. Currently, the mask region-based convolutional neural network (Mask R-CNN) method is used to realize IS, but the completeness of the instance mask cannot be guaranteed. Furthermore, due to the rich texture of QR tags, low-quality images can lower intersection-over-union (IoU) significantly, disabling it from accurately measuring the completeness of the instance mask. In order to optimize the IoU of the instance mask, a QR tag IS method named the mask UNet region-based convolutional neural network (MU R-CNN) is proposed. We utilize the UNet branch to reduce the impact of low image quality on IoU through texture segmentation. The UNet branch does not depend on the features of the Mask R-CNN branch so its training process can be carried out independently. The pre-trained optimal UNet model can ensure that the loss of MU R-CNN is accurate from the beginning of the end-to-end training. Experimental results show that the proposed MU R-CNN is applicable to both high- and low-quality images, and thus more suitable for Industry 4.0

Computer-aided automated flow chemical synthesis of polymers

Synthetic chemistry has played a vital role in miscellaneous fields of human civilization over the past century. The synthetic stage yet remains time-consuming and labor-intensive. To overcome these limitations, automation has been introduced to transform synthetic chemistry, leading to the development of high-throughput methods for molecular discovery. Automated flow chemical synthesis (AFCS) has recently emerged as a promising candidate, offering improved efficiency, scalability, and sustainability over the well-known automated solid-phase peptide synthesis. To further advance AFCS, elements like artificial intelligence-based computer-aided structure design and synthesis planning, autonomously assembled compatible synthesis with enhanced automated process control, and autonomous optimization can be considered. This review focuses on recent advances in computer-aided automated flow chemical synthesis (CAAFCS) of polymers in living polymerization and iterative synthesis strategy. The current challenges and outlook are finally discussed for developing more powerful CAAFCS systems and expanding their applicability across numerous fields, potentially providing brand-new perspectives and guidelines for future developments in this field

MOESM1 of Two conserved oligosaccharyltransferase catalytic subunits required for N-glycosylation exist in Spartina alterniflora

Additional file 1. In the Supplemental Material Section primers and the corresponding sequences used for gene cloning and plasmid construct are presented

Synthesis and Self-Assembly of Amphiphilic Aptamer-Functionalized Hyperbranched Multiarm Copolymers for Targeted Cancer Imaging

A novel targeting cancer imaging platform based on aptamer-functionalized amphiphilic hyperbranched copolymer conjugates, which can self-assemble into nanoscopic micelles with a core–shell structure and a narrow size distribution, has been designed and synthesized. The size, morphology, fluorescence performance, and cytotoxicity of micelles were studied by dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide colorimetric assay. The results indicate that these micelles have low cytotoxicity against MCF-7 cells and can be easily internalized by MCF-7 cells. In addition, they also exhibit enhanced cell uptake, excellent fluorescence properties, and smart targeting capability <i>in vitro</i>, indicating great potential to be promising carriers for bioimaging and cancer specific delivery