Synchronous Development of Acute Megakaryoblastic Leukaemia and Disseminated Melanoma following Treatment of a Germ Cell Tumour: A Case Report

Somatic malignant transformation of germ cell tumours is a well-described but poorly understood phenomenon. It is characterized by differentiation of pluripotent teratoma cells into somatic tumour cells. Following malignant transformation, the most common histologies are sarcomas and primitive neuroectodermal tumours; however, other subtypes have been recognized including melanoma, leukaemia, and renal cell carcinoma. We report a case of a 38-year-old male who had recently completed treatment for a mediastinal germ cell tumour with teratomatous components. He presented several months after completion of chemotherapy with metastatic lesions in his spine and liver accompanied with severe pancytopenia. He was subsequently diagnosed with acute megakaryoblastic leukaemia (AMKL), and a biopsy of a liver lesion was consistent with metastatic melanoma. This case illustrates the simultaneous development of 2 rare malignant entities: mediastinal germ cell tumour-associated AMKL and somatic malignant transformation to melanoma. It also highlights the importance of close surveillance to detect these metastatic sequelae and the emerging role of tumour sequencing to establish targetable pathways.

Empirical Study of the Coupling Relationship Between Biodiversity and Environmental Geology Under Different Ecological Status: Evidence From Five Typical Areas in Guizhou, China

Analyzing the coupling relationship between biodiversity and environmental geology and exploring the factors affecting the coupling degree are of vital significance for the protection and restoration of the ecological environment. In this study, we selected five typical areas (i.e., Caohai, Chishui, Fanjingshan, Maolan, and Guanshanhu) to represent the whole Guizhou Province, China. Based on the coupling coordination degree model, we analyzed their coupling coordination trend. The results showed that the coordinated development stages of the Chishui and Fanjingshan areas both could be categorized as the synchronous development type of primary coordination because of their excellent nature conditions; the Maolan area was categorized as having restrained environmental geology because of its weak environmental geology condition; and the Guanshanhu and Weining areas were strongly affected by human activities, and both could be categorized as having restrained biodiversity. In combination with practical situation, Guizhou province can be categorized into the following three zones: an original ecological zone, a zone with fragile ecological environment, and a zone affected by human activities. Biodiversity conservation measures should be proposed according to the specific ecological situation of these different zones. In this way, the harmonious coexistence of economic development and the ecological environment can be realized.

Synchronous development in open-source projects: A higher-level perspective

Mailing lists are a major communication channel for supporting developer coordination in open-source software projects. In a recent study, researchers explored temporal relationships (e.g., synchronization) between developer activities on source code and on the mailing list, relying on simple heuristics of developer collaboration (e.g., co-editing files) and developer communication (e.g., sending e-mails to the mailing list). We propose two methods for studying synchronization between collaboration and communication activities from a higher-level perspective, which captures the complex activities and views of developers more precisely than the rather technical perspective of previous work. On the one hand, we explore developer collaboration at the level of features (not files), which are higher-level concepts of the domain and not mere technical artifacts. On the other hand, we lift the view of developer communication from a message-based model, which treats each e-mail individually, to a conversation-based model, which is semantically richer due to grouping e-mails that represent conceptually related discussions. By means of an empirical study, we investigate whether the different abstraction levels affect the observed relationship between commit activity and e-mail communication using state-of-the-art time-series analysis. For this purpose, we analyze a combined history of 40 years of data for three highly active and widely deployed open-source projects: QEMU, BusyBox, and OpenSSL. Overall, we found evidence that a higher-level view on the coordination of developers leads to identifying a stronger statistical dependence between the technical activities of developers than a less abstract and rather technical view.

The World after COVID-19: the Necessity of Transition to a New Development Paradigm

This article is a continuation of a large-scale research devoted to the identification of patterns of human community development, which has been conducted by the author for many decades.Purpose: is to study the possible transformation of the world after the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of the need to switch to a new, crisis-free development paradigm, which is a logical continuation of the previous author's works.Methods: the study is based on the application of a complex of general scientific methods, including analysis, generalization, comparison, etc., and is based on an interdisciplinary approach. The results and conclusions of the work are based on the use of the author's methodological tools, which were formed within the framework of the general research direction.Results: the article analyzes the current state of the global world in the absence of effective ways out of the deepest crisis that has long gripped almost the entire world and has been multiplied by the COVID-19 pandemic. The study of the fundamental works of foreign scientists has shown that their main thesis is that the future of the world lies in the transition to a new development paradigm (NDP), but to fully understand it, it is necessary to develop a new scientific paradigm (NSP). Based on the use of the author's development of the NSP, it is demonstrated that the future of the world depends on the choice of a development model. The author has proved the necessity and possibility of transition to a new development paradigm based on the synchronous development and implementation of a single development strategy for the global world and each country separately.Conclusions and Relevance: after the COVID-19 pandemic, the world will change only if there is a transition to a new crisis-free paradigm for the development of the human system. The NSP developed by the author can become the tool that allows you to give a complete understanding of the NDP, and see what the world can and should be like after the coronavirus pandemic.

Manipulating ZmEXPA4 expression ameliorates the drought-induced prolonged anthesis and silking interval in maize

Drought poses a major environmental threat to maize (Zea mays) production worldwide. Since maize is a monoecious plant, maize grain yield is dependent on the synchronous development of male and female inflorescences. When a drought episode occurs during flowering, however, an asynchronism occurs in the anthesis and silking interval (ASI) that results in significant yield losses. The underlying mechanism responsible for this asynchronism is still unclear. Here, we obtained a comprehensive development-drought transcriptome atlas of maize ears. Genes that function in cell expansion and growth were highly repressed by drought in 50 mm ears. Notably, an association study using a natural-variation population of maize revealed a significant relationship between the level of α-expansin4 (ZmEXPA4) expression and drought-induced increases in ASI. Furthermore, genetic manipulation of ZmEXPA4 expression using a drought-inducible promoter in developing maize ears reduced the ASI under drought conditions. These findings provide important insights into the molecular mechanism underlying the increase in ASI in maize ears subjected to drought and provide a promising strategy that can be used for trait improvement.

WESTERN GEORGIA AS A TRANSITIONAL ZONE IN MIGRATION OF THE PROTONEOLITHIC GROUPS TO EASTERN EUROPE

The issue of studying the global migration of the population of the Near and Middle East to the territory of Eastern Europe at the end of the Pleistocene and at the beginning of the Holocene is analyzed in the paper. At the turn of Pleistocene-Holocene the stone industries with similar characteristics in Iran, Iraq, Georgia and Ukraine one can observe. These industries are called M’lefaatian, Kobuletian, Kukrekian. These industries were characterized by using the pressing technique to produce blades, bladelets and microblades; using bladelets with abrupt retouch to make complex bone arrowheads. At the very end of the Pleistocene, the migration of the M’lefaatian population began. The stone industry of the first wave of migrants was associated with elements of the Zarzian industry. In the future, waves of M’lefaatian migrants poured innovative technologies related to the production of stone vessels, grooved tools, pottery into the territory of Western Georgia and Ukraine. The most important role in the development of Eastern European culture was the change in the funeral rite at the Boreal-Atlantic border, when the funeral traditions of M’lefaatian fell into the territory of Ukraine. The migration process ends with the transition to the Neolithic and to farming in the second half of 7th thousand BC. Analysis of the synchronous development of M’lefaatian, Kobuletian, Kukrekian allows us to conclude that the migration of the M’lefaatian population has been permanent in nature for 3—4 thousand years. Small population groups created a constant influx of population into the territory of Georgia and Ukraine. Some groups made shuttle migrations. All this created the conditions for a constant exchange of innovative technologies for the population of the Northern Black Sea Region and the Middle East. The result of this process was the transition of M’lefaatian migrants to a Neolithic lifestyle. The study of M’lefaatian migration creates the conditions for studying the patterns of transition to the Neolithic in the South Caucasus and Eastern Europe.

Concurrently Presenting Endometrial And Ovarian Endometrioid Adenocarcinomas- A Clinicopathologic Study Of 52 Cases

Introduction/Objective Concurrent presentation of endometrioid adenocarcinomas in endometrium and ovary is uncommon, but oft-noted. They may arise from ovarian metastasis of endometrial carcinoma, endometrial metastasis of ovarian carcinoma, or synchronous development of independent primary lesions. Scully and Young criteria have been widely used to differentiate the site of origin.1 Role of a field effect in the genesis of synchronous carcinomas is supported by increasing evidence that endometrioid ovarian carcinomas arise from endometriosis. 2–5 Methods All cases of concurrent endometrioid adenocarcinomas of the endometrium and ovary between 2002 and 2019 in the Mount Sinai health system New York were included, using pathology database (Powerpath) and EMR database (Epic). Results 52 cases of concurrent endometrioid adenocarcinomas of endometrium and ovary were identified between 2002 and 2019. Mean age at presentation was 54.07 years (24–80). 69.2% had synchronous origin, 21.15% had endometrial primary and 3.8% had an ovarian primary. Ovarian endometriosis was identified in 51.9% and complex atypical hyperplasia in 26.9%. Lower uterine segment involvement was seen in 26.9%, bilateral ovarian involvement in 40.3%, fallopian tube involvement in 23% and lymphovascular space invasion in 25%. Different histologic grade of ovarian and endometrial counterparts was noted in 25% cases. Synchronous endometrioid carcinomas had the following characteristics: mean age at presentation 50.6 years, associated with CAH in 33.3% and endometriosis in 66.6%, presentation at stage 1 in 63.8% and lower grade of differentiation (grade 1/2) in 80.5% cases. Conclusion In majority of cases, synchronous endometrioid carcinomas have a younger mean age at presentation, are lower grade tumors, present at stage 1 and have associated endometriosis. It can be inferred that the percentage of synchronous tumors with endometriotic foci would be even higher (with extensive sampling & assuming that the neoplastic process has replaced native benign endometriotic foci) – pointing towards the likely role of endometriosis in the genesis of these tumors.