Focus: Rare Disease: Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor in a Pregnant Woman: A Case Report and Literature Review

Background: Desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) is an aggressive malignant tumor commonly found in young men; most occurs in the abdominal cavity. Here we conducted an in-depth analysis of a pregnant patient in our hospital and explored all the case information in the literature on small round cell carcinoma of women. Case presentation: A 27-year-old pregnant woman underwent tumor resection in our hospital at 29 weeks gestational age for a large progressive shoulder lump. The postoperative pathology showed that the mass was a DSRCT. Genetic testing found no fusion gene. At 36 weeks gestation, a painful mass was found in the breast and proved to be a metastatic focus of the desmoplastic small round cell tumor. Twenty days after a successful cesarean section at 40 weeks gestation, she received the VAC-IE chemotherapy regimen, successfully completed the first course, but when awaiting the next chemotherapy, unfortunately, the patient died during follow-up due to tumor recurrence and metastasis. Conclusion: The treatment of DSRCT in pregnant women requires a multidisciplinary consultation, and the treatment and examination during pregnancy are subject to many constraints, which may have a negative impact on the patient’s prognosis. Also, a review of the literature found that there is still no standard treatment protocol for DSRCT, and its prognosis in female patients is independent of age and tissue origin.     

铜离子胁迫对两种地衣细胞结构的影响

采用光学显微镜徒手切片技术和透射电子显微镜超薄切片制备技术,以两种叶状地衣即中国树花(Ramalina sinensis)和地卷(Peltigera rufescens)为实验材料,研究了不同浓度CuSO4(0、1、2、3、4mmol/L)处理24h后地衣体细胞的存活率以及Cu2+胁迫对细胞超微结构的影响。结果显示:(1)光学显微镜下可初步确定,Cu2+浓度越大中国树花共生藻细胞存活率越小,而同样处理条件下地卷共生藻细胞的存活率则基本保持不变。(2)低浓度Cu2+(1mmol/L)对中国树花细胞结构基本无影响,细胞壁、细胞膜及细胞内的线粒体、叶绿体完整;随着Cu2+浓度增加,当处理Cu2+浓度为2mmol/L时,细胞壁无损,但细胞膜开始破坏形成小空泡,线粒体嵴变凌乱,叶绿体也出现皱缩,类囊体膨胀,基粒排列紊乱;当Cu2+处理浓度大于2mmol/L时,共生藻的细胞膜和细胞器出现不同程度的损伤;当Cu2+浓度为3mmol/L时,细胞壁变薄,细胞膜形成的空泡变大,细胞内部结构变松散,蛋白核消失,叶绿体与细胞质混在一起,基粒片层扭曲,分布混乱,线粒体变形;当Cu2+浓度达4mmol/L时,细胞结构完全受到破坏。(3)不同浓度Cu2+处理对地卷共生藻细胞结构无明显的影响,在所有处理条件下地卷共生藻细胞壁、细胞膜都完整,且大多数共生藻细胞处于分裂状态。研究认为,中国树花对Cu2+胁迫较敏感,Cu2+耐受在1~2mmol/L之间,Cu2+浓度与中国树花细胞结构的损伤程度存在着明显的剂量效应关系,Cu2+浓度越高,其属于共球藻的真核共生藻细胞受损程度越大;地卷对Cu2+胁迫具有一定的耐性,Cu2+胁迫下地卷属于蓝藻的原核共生藻细胞仍能繁殖分裂产生子代细胞。     

Nitrogen fixing bacterial diversity in a tropical estuarine sediments

Microorganisms play a significant role in biogeochemical cycles, especially in the benthic and pelagic ecosystems. Role of environmental parameters in regulating the diversity, distribution and physiology of these microorganisms in tropical marine environment is not well understood. In this study, we have identified dinitrogen (N₂) fixing bacterial communities in the sediments by constructing clone libraries of nitrogenase (nifH) gene from four different stations in the Cochin estuary, along the southeastern Arabian Sea. N₂ fixing bacterial clones revealed that over 20 putative diazotrophs belong to alpha-, beta-, gamma-, delta- and epsilon- proteobacteria and firmicutes. Predominant genera among these were Bradyrhizobium sp. (α-proteobacteria), Dechloromonas sp. (β-proteobacteria); Azotobactor sp., Teredinibacter sp., Methylobacter sp., Rheinheimera sp. and Marinobacterium sp. (γ-proteobacteria); Desulfobacter sp., Desulfobulbus sp. and Desulfovibrio sp. (δ -proteobacteria); Arcobacter sp. and Sulfurospirillum sp. (ε-proteobacteria). Nostoc sp. was solely identified among the cyanobacterial phylotype. Nitrogen fixing Sulfate reducing bacteria (SRBs) such as Desulfobulbus sp., Desulfovibrio sp., Desulfuromonas sp., Desulfosporosinus sp., Desulfobacter sp., were also observed in the study. Most of the bacterial nifH sequences revealed that the identities of N₂ fixing bacteria were less than 95% similar to that available in the GenBank database, which suggested that the sequences were of novel N₂ fixing microorganisms. Shannon-Weiner diversity index of nifH gene ranged from 2.95 to 3.61, indicating an inflated diversity of N₂ fixing bacteria. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) implied positive correlation among nifH diversity, N₂ fixation rate and other environmental variables.     

Characterization of actinomycetes isolated from the indoor air of the church of Saint Katherine Monastery, Egypt

Actinomycetes were isolated from the indoor air of the church of Saint Katherin Monastery during different visiting hours. Fifty air samples collected over one year by using automated air sampler were plated on four different media. The low nutrient-content medium 1/10 SC was significantly effective in recovery of actinomycetes compared to the other formula of rich media. Average counts of bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi were 487, 65 and 90 cfu/m³, respectively. Fifty-six morphologically different actinomycetes isolates were recovered during this study assigned into five different genera, in addition to three unidentified isolates. Tentative identification of the isolates indicated predominance of genus Streptomyces, representing 59% of the isolates. Isolates were screened for resistance to 11 antibiotics, antimicrobial activities towards seven microbial strains, Growth on 12 different carbon source, acid production and pigmentation. About 77% of actinomycete isolates were resistant to the antibiotics with different resistance patterns. 12.5% of the airborne actinomycetes exhibited antinmicrobial activities. The isolates showed wide variation in carbon source usage. Forty percent of the isolates were able to utilize all tested carbon sources while 80% were acid producers. Melanin production was produced by 34% of the isolates. While 45% of the isolates were able to produce other diffusible pigments, the majority of the pigments were brown in color however; yellow, orange and green pigments were produced by a number of isolates. The impact of these activities on the historical objects of the church and the tourist’s health is discussed.     

Bioweathering and Biotransformation of Granitic Rock Minerals by Actinomycetes

Actinomycetes inhabiting granitic rocks at St. Katherine, Egypt were investigated for their bioweathering potential. Actinomycete counts ranged between 174 and 360 colony forming units per gram. Counts were positively correlated to rock porosity (r = 0.65) and negatively correlated to rock salinity (r = −0.56). Sixty-six actinomycete isolates originating from rocks could be assigned into eight genera, with a high frequency of Nocardioides and Streptomyces. Organic acids were produced by 97% of the isolates. Strains belonging to Actinopolyspora, Actinomadura, Kitasatospora, Nocardioides, and Kibdelosporangium showed the highest acid production indices. Representatives from all eight genera could precipitate metals Cu, Fe, Zn, Cd, and Ag up to concentrations of 2.5 mM each. An actinomycete consortium of two Nocardioides strains and one Kibdelosporangium strain was studied for its potential to cause rock weathering in batch experiments. Results indicated a high ability of the consortium to leach the metals Cu, Zn, and Fe up to 2.6-, 2.1-, and 1.3-fold, respectively, compared to the control after 4 weeks. The pH significantly decreased after 1 week, which was parallel to an increased release of phosphate and sulfate reaching a 2.2- and 2.5-fold increase, respectively, compared to control. Highly significant weight loss (p = 0.005) was achieved by the consortium, indicating a potential multiple role of actinomycetes in weathering by acid production, metal leaching, and solubilization of phosphate and sulfate. This study emphasizes the diverse and unique abilities of actinomycetes inhabiting rock surfaces which could be of potential biotechnological applications, such as in the bioremediation of metal-contaminated environments and metal biorecovery.     

新疆拟橙衣属地衣研究

报道新疆拟橙衣属地衣的6个分类单位。其中南方拟橙衣Fulgensia australis,荒漠拟橙衣F.desertorum和苔生拟橙衣F.schistidii为中国新记录种。在形态学、解剖学、化学及生态学方面对它们进行了简短的论述。此外,还提供了形态特征和内部解剖特征照片以及新疆种类的分种检索表。研究所用的标本采自托木尔峰、铁力买提达坂、阿尔金山和准葛尔盆地等,保存于新疆大学生命科学与技术学院地衣标本室。     

Extracellular Secretion of Phytase from Transgenic Wheat Roots Allows Utilization of Phytate for Enhanced Phosphorus Uptake

A significant portion of organic phosphorus comprises of phytates which are not available to wheat for uptake. Hence for enabling wheat to utilize organic phosphorus in form of phytate, transgenic wheat expressing phytase from Aspergillus japonicus under barley root-specific promoter was developed. Transgenic events were initially screened via selection media containing BASTA, followed by PCR and BASTA leaf paint assay after hardening. Out of 138 successfully regenerated T_o events, only 12 had complete constructs and thus further analyzed. Positive T1 transgenic plants, grown in sand, exhibited 0.08–1.77, 0.02–0.67 and 0.44–2.14 fold increase in phytase activity in root extracts, intact roots and external root solution, respectively, after 4 weeks of phosphorus stress. Based on these results, T2 generation of four best transgenic events was further analyzed which showed up to 1.32, 56.89, and 15.40 fold increase in phytase activity in root extracts, intact roots and external root solution, respectively, while in case of real-time PCR, maximum fold increase of 19.8 in gene expression was observed. Transgenic lines showed 0.01–1.18 fold increase in phosphorus efficiency along with higher phosphorus content when supplied phytate or inorganic phosphorus than control plants. Thus, this transgenic wheat may aid in reducing fertilizer utilization and enhancing wheat yield.