Clinicopathologic characteristics, treatment, prognosis and pregnancy outcomes in rhabdomyosarcoma of the uterine cervix: a case series

Objectives: In this retrospective observational study, cases from our institution were included and the published literature reviewed to investigate the diagnosis and prognosis of cervical rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare group of tumours. Material and methods: The clinicopathological data of 12 patients with cervical rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) treated at the West China Second University Hospital of Sichuan University from January 2006 to May 2023 were collected, and their clinicopathological characteristics, diagnoses, treatments, prognoses and pregnancy outcomes were retrospectively analysed. Results: (1) Clinical characteristics: The ages of the 12 RMS patients ranged from 15 to 50 years, with a median age of 17 years. Five of the patients were adults, and seven were adolescents. The initial symptoms were vaginal bleeding in 5 patients, vaginal tissue prolapse in 6 patients, and abdominal pain and urinary frequency in 1 patient. Two patients were considered to have “cervical polyps” and underwent polypectomy at the other hospitals, but the cervical mass recurred soon thereafter. (2) Pathological features: The maximum tumour diameter ranged from 3 to 25 cm. The twelve cases of cervical RMS consisted of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS) in 7 adolescents, ERMS in 3 adults, and pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma (PRMS) in 2 adults. Immunohistochemical results showed the expression of one or more characteristic markers of RMS. We reclassified tumour stage according to the Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study (IRS) clinical group and tumour node metastasis (TNM) classification. (3) Treatment: Eight patients underwent radical surgery (66.7%, 8/12), including all 5 of the included adults and 3 of the adolescents, 2 of whom were treated 10 years ago. Conservative surgical resection was performed on four patients (33.3%, 4/12), all of whom were adolescents. Postoperative chemotherapy was given to all patients except one, but one patient who underwent radical surgery discontinued chemotherapy on her own without receiving a full course. Two of the ERMS patients underwent preoperative chemotherapy, and the lesions were significantly reduced. (4) Prognosis: One of the 12 patients with cervical RMS was lost to follow-up. Of the remaining 11 patients, 10 (including seven adolescents and three adults) survived tumour free (90.9%, 10/11), and 1 adult patient with existing pulmonary multiple metastases (IRS stage IV, T2N0M1) at the initial diagnosis survived 9 months with progression-free disease (9.1%, 1/11). The median survival time was 91 months (5 to 213 months). Among 4 patients receiving fertility-sparing management, 1 conceived and delivered successfully (25%). Conclusions: The treatment of cervical RMS must take the patient’s age and reproductive intent into account. The overall prognosis for cervical RMS in children and adolescents is good, and conservative surgical resection combined with chemotherapy is recommended to preserve fertility. The pregnancy outcome is also worth anticipating. For patients who have completed childbirth, radical surgery is preferred. Approaches to accurately assessing the patient's condition, grasping the indications and scope of surgery, and developing chemoradiotherapy regimens deserve further exploration

The Performance of Pleural Fluid T-SPOT.TB Assay for Diagnosing Tuberculous Pleurisy in China: A Two-Center Prospective Cohort Study

The performance of T-SPOT.TB (T-SPOT) assay in diagnosing pleural tuberculosis (plTB) is inconsistent. In this study, we compared the performance of peripheral blood (PB) and pleural fluid (PF) T-SPOT assay in diagnosing plTB. Between July 2017 and March 2018, 218 and 210 suspected plTB patients were prospectively enrolled from Wuhan (training) and Guangzhou (validation) cohort, respectively. PB T-SPOT, PF T-SPOT, and other conventional tests were simultaneously performed. Our data showed the performance of PB T-SPOT in diagnosing plTB was limited, especially with low sensitivity. However, the results of early secreted antigenic target 6 (ESAT-6) and culture filtrate protein 10 (CFP-10) in PF T-SPOT were significantly increased compared with those in PB T-SPOT in plTB patients. If using 76 as the cutoff value of MAX (the larger of ESAT-6 and CFP-10) in Wuhan cohort, the sensitivity and specificity of PF T-SPOT to diagnose plTB were 89.76 and 96.70%, respectively. The diagnostic accuracy of PF T-SPOT was better than other routine tests such as pathogen detection methods and biochemical markers. The diagnostic accuracy of PF T-SPOT in Guangzhou cohort was similar to that in Wuhan cohort, with a sensitivity and specificity of 91.07 and 94.90%, respectively. Furthermore, CD4+ T cells were more activated in PF compared with PB, and the frequency of mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific CD4+ T cells in PF was significantly higher than that in PB in plTB patients. In conclusion, the performance of PF T-SPOT is obviously better than PB T-SPOT or other laboratory tests, which suggests that PF T-SPOT assay has been of great value in the diagnosis of pleural tuberculosis

Frequent alterations in cytoskeleton remodelling genes in primary and metastatic lung adenocarcinomas

The landscape of genetic alterations in lung adenocarcinoma derived from Asian patients is largely uncharacterized. Here we present an integrated genomic and transcriptomic analysis of 335 primary lung adenocarcinomas and 35 corresponding lymph node metastases from Chinese patients. Altogether 13 significantly mutated genes are identified, including the most commonly mutated gene TP53 and novel mutation targets such as RHPN2, GLI3 and MRC2. TP53 mutations are furthermore significantly enriched in tumours from patients harbouring metastases. Genes regulating cytoskeleton remodelling processes are also frequently altered, especially in metastatic samples, of which the high expression level of IQGAP3 is identified as a marker for poor prognosis. Our study represents the first large-scale sequencing effort on lung adenocarcinoma in Asian patients and provides a comprehensive mutational landscape for both primary and metastatic tumours. This may thus form a basis for personalized medical care and shed light on the molecular pathogenesis of metastatic lung adenocarcinoma

Effect of interference of Sema4D expression on cell biological characteristics in pancreatic cancer

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of interference of Sema4D expression on cell biological behavior in pancreatic cancer. MethodsSema4D-siRNA was designed, synthesized, and transfected into a human pancreatic cancer cell line. The cells were divided into siRNA transfection group, negative control group (nonspecific transfection group), and blank control group (untreated pancreatic cancer cells). RT-qPCR was used to measure the change in the mRNA expression of Sema4D at 48 hours after transfection, and Western blot was used to measure the change in the protein expression of Sema4D at 72 hours after transfection. MTT assay was used to observe the change in cell growth after transfection, Transwell chamber invasion assay was used to observe the change in tumor cell invasion after transfection, and flow cytometry was used to observe the change in the apoptosis of tumor cells. An analysis of variance was used for comparison between multiple groups, and the least significant difference t-test was used for further comparison between any two groups. ResultsAt 48 hours after Sema4D-siRNA transfection, the siRNA transfection group had significantly lower mRNA expression of Sema4D than the negative control group and the blank control group (F=421.990, P＜0.001). At 72 hours after Sema4D-siRNA transfection, the siRNA transfection group had significantly lower protein expression of Sema4D than the negative control group and the blank control group (F=27.074, P=0.002 3). At 48, 72, and 96 hours after transfection, the siRNA transfection group had a significantly lower cell growth rate than the negative control group and the blank control group (F=15.314, 62.255, and 223.493, P=0.004, ＜0.001, and ＜0.001). The siRNA transfection group had a significantly lower number of cells which crossed the membrane than the negative control group and the blank control group (42.0±5.9 vs 60.0±6.1 vs 61.0±4.6,F=37.21, P=0.000 4). The siRNA transfection group had a significantly lower apoptosis rate than the negative control group and the blank control group ［(16.57±0.31)% vs (9.50±0.45)% vs (9.90±0.61)%，F=2675，P=0.007 4］. ConclusionSema4D-siRNA can downregulate the expression of Sema4D in pancreatic cells and can inhibit the proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells and reduce their invasion ability and apoptosis

Explaining trade flows and determinants of bilaterial trade

This thesis provides the empirical analyses for international trade flows and the determinants of bilateral trade. The main modelling framework used in this thesis is gravity model, so firstly, a detailed literature review for the gravity trade model is given. The three empirical studies analyze the role of main determinants of international trade flows in details, including cultural similarities, geographical factors and trade costs. Our findings are summarized as follows. First, the gravity model works well with aggregate data as well as disaggregated data. The core gravity factors and the cultural similarities are the major determinants of China’s bilateral trade. Moreover, China has great export potential with its neighbour countries in Asia, and considerable import potential with most of its trade partners. On the other hand, China’s export potential is still in the labour and resource intensive, low- and middle-level skill-intensive product groups. Second, we combine log-linear and non-linear estimation techniques, including Tobit estimation to analyze the role of geographical distance on trade. The findings indicate that the absolute value of the distance coefficient decreases over time, which give a reasonable explanation for “missing globalization puzzle”. Finally, by estimating a modified gravity equation of panel data for China, Japan and Korea over 16 years, we find that transport costs have a significant influence on regional trade flows in Northeast Asia

Clinicopathological features of pancreatic mucinous cystic neoplasm and influencing factors for its malignancy

ObjectiveTo investigate the clinicopathological features of pancreatic mucinous cystic neoplasm (MCN) and influencing factors for benign and malignant MCN. MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 43 patients with pathologically confirmed pancreatic MCN who were treated from January 2013 to December 2015, and according to the results of pathological diagnosis, the patients were divided into benign group (mucinous cystadenoma and pancreatic MCN with low/middle-grade dysplasia) and malignant group (MCN with high-grade dysplasia and MCN with invasive carcinoma). The clinicopathological features and radiological features were summarized, and the risk factors for malignant transformation of pancreatic MCN were analyzed. The independent samples t-test was used for comparison of continuous data between groups, the chi-square test or Fisher's exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups, and a multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors. ResultsThere were 14 male and 29 female patients aged 22-81 years (median 58.53 years). Of all patients, 30 (69.8%) had clinical symptoms. The maximum tumor diameter was 4.8 cm (range 1.2-16 cm). Of all patients, 18 (41.9%) had MCN in the head of the pancreas, 3 (7.0%) had MCN in the neck of the pancreas, 20 (46.5%) had MCN in the body and tail of the pancreas, and 2 (4.6%) had multiple MCNs. There were significant differences between the two groups in age, tumor nature, tumor location, texture, tumor markers, heterogeneous enhancement of the cyst wall, heterogeneous enhancement of solid components, and cyst wall thickness ＞0.2 cm. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age and increased tumor markers were independent predictive factors for malignant pancreatic MCN (P ＜0.05). ConclusionAge, tumor nature, tumor location, texture, increased tumor markers, heterogeneous enhancement of the cyst wall, heterogeneous enhancement of solid components, and cyst wall thickness ＞0.2 cm are important features of malignant pancreatic MCN, and age and increased tumor markers are risk factors for malignant pancreatic MCN

IFFMStyle: High-Quality Image Style Transfer Using Invalid Feature Filter Modules

Image style transfer is a challenging problem in computer vision which aims at rendering an image into different styles. A lot of progress has been made to transfer the style of one painting of a representative artist in real time, whereas less attention has been focused on transferring an artist’s style from a collection of his paintings. This task requests capturing the artist’s precise style from his painting collection. Existing methods did not pay more attention on the possible disruption of original content details and image structures by texture elements and noises, which leads to the structure deformation or edge blurring of the generated images. To address this problem, we propose IFFMStyle, a high-quality image style transfer framework. Specifically, we introduce invalid feature filtering modules (IFFM) to the encoder–decoder architecture to filter the content-independent features in the original image and the generated image. Then, the content-consistency constraint is used to enhance the model’s content-preserving capability. We also introduce style perception consistency loss to jointly train a network with content loss and adversarial loss to maintain the distinction of different semantic content in the generated image. Additionally, we have no requirement for paired content image and style image. The experimental results show that the stylized image generated by the proposed method significantly improves the quality of the generated images, and can realize the style transfer based on the semantic information of the content image. Compared with the advanced method, our method is more favored by users

Passenger Flow Prediction of Scenic Spot Using a GCN–RNN Model

The prediction and control of passenger flow in scenic spots is very important to the traffic management and safety of scenic spots. This study aims to predict the passenger flow of a scenic spot based on the passenger flow of the bus and subway stations around the scenic spots. We propose a passenger flow prediction model based on graph convolutional network–recurrent neural network (GCN–RNN). First, a “graph” is constructed according to the geographical relationship between the scenic spot and the surrounding bus and subway stations. Then, characteristics of surrounding areas of bus and subway stations are constructed based on the crowd behavior analysis, and these are then used as the node-information of the “graph”. Last, the GCN–RNN model is used to extract the temporal and spatial characteristics of the passenger flow data of the scenic spot to realize the prediction. The experimental results show that the proposed model is effective in passenger flow prediction in scenic spots

Passenger Flow Prediction of Scenic Spot Using a GCN–RNN Model

The prediction and control of passenger flow in scenic spots is very important to the traffic management and safety of scenic spots. This study aims to predict the passenger flow of a scenic spot based on the passenger flow of the bus and subway stations around the scenic spots. We propose a passenger flow prediction model based on graph convolutional network–recurrent neural network (GCN–RNN). First, a “graph” is constructed according to the geographical relationship between the scenic spot and the surrounding bus and subway stations. Then, characteristics of surrounding areas of bus and subway stations are constructed based on the crowd behavior analysis, and these are then used as the node-information of the “graph”. Last, the GCN–RNN model is used to extract the temporal and spatial characteristics of the passenger flow data of the scenic spot to realize the prediction. The experimental results show that the proposed model is effective in passenger flow prediction in scenic spots

Investigating the Functions of Particles in Packed Aggregate Blend using a Discrete Element Method

In asphalt mixture, aggregates account for up to 90% of the total volume and play an important role in the mechanical characteristics of asphalt mixture. The proportions of fine and coarse aggregates in gradation, as well as the function of aggregate particles, are important factors for the skeleton structure performance of asphalt mixtures. However, the existing asphalt mixture design methods are mostly based on empirical methods, where the non-uniformity and complexity of the composition of asphalt mixtures are not fully studied. In this study, the skeleton structure of aggregate mixture and function of aggregate are studied and analyzed using the Discrete Element Method (DEM). The Particle Flow 3D (PFC3D) DEM program is used to perform the numerical simulation. The average contact number and interaction forces by aggregate particles of different sizes are obtained and studied. The skeleton structure of aggregate mixture and function of aggregate particles are further analyzed from the meso-structural perspective