Endothelial dysfunction in a child with Pearson marrow-pancreas syndrome managed with Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty using a suture pull-through techniqu

A 4-year-old girl with a history of Pearson marrow-pancreas syndrome presenting with severe, progressive photophobia was found to have bilateral, diffuse corneal thickening and peripheral pigmentary retinopathy. She underwent Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) surgery in both eyes using a modified suture pull-through technique. Postoperatively there was no evidence of cataract formation or graft detachment; her corneas thinned, and her photophobia improved dramatically

Influence of regional precipitation patterns on stable isotopes in ice cores from the central Himalayas

Several ice cores have been recovered from the Dasuopu (DSP) Glacier and the East Rongbuk (ER) Glacier in the central Himalayas since the 1990s. Although the distance between the DSP and the ER ice core drilling sites is only 125 km, the stable isotopic record (18O or D) of the DSP core is interpreted in previous studies as a temperature proxy, while the ER core is interpreted as a precipitation proxy. Thus, the climatological significance of the stable isotopic records of these Himalayan ice cores remains a subject of debate. Based on analysis of regional precipitation patterns over the region, we find that remarkable discrepancy in precipitation seasonality between the two sites may account for their disparate isotopic interpretations. At the ER core site, the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) precipitation is dominating due to topographic blocking of the moisture from westerlies by the high ridges of Mt. Qomolangma (Everest), which results in a negative correlation between the ER 18O or D record and precipitation amount along the southern slope of the central Himalayas in response to the “amount effect”. At the DSP core site, in comparison with the ISM precipitation, the wintertime precipitation associated with the westerlies is likely more important owing to its local favorable topographic conditions for interacting with the western disturbances. Therefore, the DSP stable isotopic record may be primarily controlled by the westerlies. Our results have important implications for interpreting the stable isotopic ice core records recovered from different climatological regimes of the Himalayas

Exceptionally Preserved Jellyfishes from the Middle Cambrian

Cnidarians represent an early diverging animal group and thus insight into their origin and diversification is key to understanding metazoan evolution. Further, cnidarian jellyfish comprise an important component of modern marine planktonic ecosystems. Here we report on exceptionally preserved cnidarian jellyfish fossils from the Middle Cambrian (∼505 million years old) Marjum Formation of Utah. These are the first described Cambrian jellyfish fossils to display exquisite preservation of soft part anatomy including detailed features of structures interpreted as trailing tentacles and subumbrellar and exumbrellar surfaces. If the interpretation of these preserved characters is correct, their presence is diagnostic of modern jellyfish taxa. These new discoveries may provide insight into the scope of cnidarian diversity shortly after the Cambrian radiation, and would reinforce the notion that important taxonomic components of the modern planktonic realm were in place by the Cambrian period

Spatial Organization and Molecular Correlation of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes Using Deep Learning on Pathology Images

Beyond sample curation and basic pathologic characterization, the digitized H&E-stained images of TCGA samples remain underutilized. To highlight this resource, we present mappings of tumorinfiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) based on H&E images from 13 TCGA tumor types. These TIL maps are derived through computational staining using a convolutional neural network trained to classify patches of images. Affinity propagation revealed local spatial structure in TIL patterns and correlation with overall survival. TIL map structural patterns were grouped using standard histopathological parameters. These patterns are enriched in particular T cell subpopulations derived from molecular measures. TIL densities and spatial structure were differentially enriched among tumor types, immune subtypes, and tumor molecular subtypes, implying that spatial infiltrate state could reflect particular tumor cell aberration states. Obtaining spatial lymphocytic patterns linked to the rich genomic characterization of TCGA samples demonstrates one use for the TCGA image archives with insights into the tumor-immune microenvironment