Lung cancer diagnosis with quantitative DIC microscopy and support vector machine

We report the study of lung squamous cell carcinoma diagnosis using the TI-DIC microscopy and the scattering-phase theorem. The spatially resolved optical properties of tissue are computed from the 2D phase map via the scattering-phase theorem. The scattering coefficient, the reduced scattering coefficient, and the anisotropy factor are all found to increase with the grade of lung cancer. The retrieved optical parameters are shown to distinguish cancer cases from the normal cases with high accuracy. This label-free microscopic approach applicable to fresh tissues may be promising for in situ rapid cancer diagnosis. © (2017) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only

1,4-Bis(dimethyl­silyl)-2,5-diphenyl­benzene

The mol­ecule of the title compound, C22H26Si2, is centrosymmetric. The dihedral angle between the central benzene ring and its phenyl substituents is 67.7 (2)°. The crystal packing is stabilized by van der Waals forces

The Energy Crisis in CPT II Variant Fibroblasts

Carnitine palmitoyltransferase II (CPT II) deficiency is one of the most common causes of fatty acid oxidation metabolism disorders. However, the molecular mechanism between CPT2 gene polymorphisms and metabolic stress has not been fully clarified. We previously reported that a number of patients show a thermal instable phenotype of compound hetero/homozygous variants of CPT II. To understand the mechanism of the metabolic disorder resulting from CPT II deficiency, the present study investigated CPT II variants in patient fibroblasts, [c.1102 G>A (p.V368I)] (heterozygous), [c.1102 G>A (p.V368I)] (homozygous), and [c.1055 T>G (p.F352C)] (heterozygous) + [c.1102 G>A (p.V368I)] (homozygous) compared with fibroblasts from healthy controls. CPT II variants exerted an effect of dominant negative on the homotetrameric proteins that showed thermal instability, reduced residual enzyme activities and a short half-life. Moreover, CPT II variant fibroblasts showed a significant decrease in fatty acid β-oxidation and adenosine triphosphate generation, combined with a reduced mitochondrial membrane potential, resulting in cellular apoptosis. Collectively, our data indicate that the CPT II deficiency induces an energy crisis of the fatty acid metabolic pathway. These findings may contribute to the elucidation of the genetic factors involved in metabolic disorder encephalopathy caused by the CPT II deficiency

Case report: Conservative treatment for fertility preservation in a woman with hemoperitoneum due to an invasive mole

BackgroundInvasive moles are a subtype of gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) that usually develops after hydatidiform molar pregnancies. Uterine rupture in high-risk GTN is a rare and potentially catastrophic event. The treatment of invasive mole perforation with uterine rupture is particularly challenging in young women who desire fertility preservation.Case presentationWe present the case of a 22-year-old woman with a rapidly transformed invasive mole after two evacuations for a complete molar pregnancy. Within 21 days of the second molar evacuation, the serum β-hCG level surged from 5,718 mIU/ml to 444,617 mIU/ml. An ultrasonography examination showed the uterus was 9.2×8.9×7.8 cm in size with an uneven echo area of 6.9×5.2 cm near the fundus of the uterine cavity; the convex anterior wall had no normal muscle layer, and the outer margin was about 0.24 cm from the serosal layer. The patient was diagnosed with an invasive mole. Since she desired fertility preservation, we proposed a methotrexate (MTX) chemotherapy regimen. Before the planned chemotherapy, she experienced sudden abdominal pain accompanied by a blood pressure of 76/48 mmHg and a pulse rate of 116 bpm. An emergency abdominal ultrasound scan showed acute intra-abdominal bleeding (approximately 2,000 ml), and blood tests showed a hemoglobin concentration of 7.9 g/dL. Immediate uterine artery embolization was performed, and 35 mg MTX was administered bilaterally through the uterine arteries. The next day, the serum β-hCG decreased to 83,530 mIU/ml, and the vital signs remained stable. Seven days later, the patient received a combination of etoposide, methotrexate, dactinomycin, cyclophosphamide, and vincristine (EMACO), and the serum β-hCG level normalized after cycle five. At the 13-month follow-up after therapy completion, the woman was disease-free with a normal β-hCG level.ConclusionOur experience highlights the potential feasibility and efficacy of conservative treatment for fertility preservation in such scenarios

Data Processing Pipeline for Pointing Observations of Lunar-based Ultraviolet Telescope

We describe the data processing pipeline developed to reduce the pointing observation data of Lunar-based Ultraviolet Telescope (LUT), which belongs to the Chang'e-3 mission of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. The pointing observation program of LUT is dedicated to monitor variable objects in a near-ultraviolet (245-345 nm) band. LUT works in lunar daytime for sufficient power supply, so some special data processing strategies have been developed for the pipeline. The procedures of the pipeline include stray light removing, astrometry, flat fielding employing superflat technique, source extraction and cosmic rays rejection, aperture and PSF photometry, aperture correction, and catalogues archiving, etc. It has been intensively tested and works smoothly with observation data. The photometric accuracy is typically ~0.02 mag for LUT 10 mag stars (30 s exposure), with errors come from background noises, residuals of stray light removing, and flat fielding related errors. The accuracy degrades to be ~0.2 mag for stars of 13.5 mag which is the 5{\sigma} detection limit of LUT.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables. Minor changes and some expounding words added. Version accepted for publication in Astrophysics and Space Science (Ap&SS

Predicting land use changes in northern China using logistic regression, cellular automata, and a Markov model

Abstract(#br)Land use changes are complex processes affected by both natural and human-induced driving factors. This research is focused on simulating land use changes in southern Shenyang in northern China using an integration of logistic regression, cellular automata, and a Markov model and the use of fine resolution land use data to assess potential environmental impacts and provide a scientific basis for environmental management. A set of environmental and socio-economic driving factors was used to generate transition potential maps for land use change simulations in 2010 and 2020 using logistic regression. An average relative operating characteristic value of 0.824 was obtained, indicating the validity of the logistic regression model. The logistic–cellular automata (CA)–Markov model..

Practical and stereoselective electrocatalytic 1,2-diamination of alkenes.

The 1,2-diamine motif is widely present in natural products, pharmaceutical compounds, and catalysts used in asymmetric synthesis. The simultaneous introduction of two amino groups across an alkene feedstock is an appealing yet challenging approach for the synthesis of 1,2-diamines, primarily due to the inhibitory effect of the diamine products to transition metal catalysts and the difficulty in controlling reaction diastereoselectivity and regioselectivity. Herein we report a scalable electrocatalytic 1,2-diamination reaction that can be used to convert stable, easily available aryl alkenes and sulfamides to 1,2-diamines with excellent diastereoselectivity. Monosubstituted sulfamides react in a regioselective manner to afford 1,2-diamines bearing different substituents on the two amino groups. The combination of an organic redox catalyst and electricity not only obviates the use of any transition metal catalyst and oxidizing reagent, but also ensures broad reaction compatibility with a variety of electronically and sterically diverse substrates