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ObjectiveTo investigate the efficiency of transient elastography (TE) in the diagnosis of liver fibrosis in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection. MethodsThe patients with HIV/HCV co-infection who were hospitalized in The Sixth People’s Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from January 2013 to December 2018 were enrolled and related indices were collected, including routine blood test results, liver function, renal function, coagulation, biochemical parameters for liver fibrosis, and viral load of HIV and HCV. Noninvasive models for liver fibrosis ［aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) and fibrosis-4 (FIB-4)］ were calculated, and liver biopsy was performed for all patients. TE was performed within 3 days before biopsy, and the results were expressed as liver stiffness measurement (LSM). A one-way analysis of variance or the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison between multiple groups; a Spearman correlation analysis was used to investigate the correlation of LSM, APRI, FIB-4, biochemical parameters for liver fibrosis, HCV RNA quantification, and liver biopsy results with the stage of liver fibrosis; the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the efficiency and cut-off value of LSM in determining the stage of liver fibrosis. ResultsA total of 76 patients with chronic HCV/HIV co-infection who underwent liver biopsy and were diagnosed with liver fibrosis were enrolled. The correlation analysis showed that LSM had the best correlation with the stage of liver fibrosis (r=0.526, P＜0.001) and had a better correlation than APRI (r=0.403, P＜0.001) and FIB-4 (r=0.441, P＜0.001), and among the biochemical parameters for liver fibrosis, only type IV collagen was correlated with the stage of liver fibrosis (r=0.339, P＜0.05). HCV RNA quantification had no correlation with the stage of liver fibrosis. For marked liver fibrosis, LSM had an area under the ROC curve of 0.809, 0.929, and 0906, respectively, in the diagnosis of S2, S3, and S4 liver fibrosis at the optimal cut-off values of 11.6 kPa, 12.7 kPa, and 14.5 kPa, respectively. ConclusionTE can accurately determine the stage of liver fibrosis in patients with HCV/HIV co-infection, which might help to avoid liver biopsy and provide a more reliable basis for developing antiviral regimen and judging the progression of liver fibrosis, and therefore, it holds promise for clinical application.

Xuanwei County in Southwest China shows the highest incidence and mortality rate of lung cancer in China. Although studies have reported distinct clinical characteristics of patients from Xuanwei, the molecular features of these patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remain unclear. Here, we comprehensively characterised such cases using next-generation sequencing (NGS). Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumour samples from 146 patients from Xuanwei with NSCLC were collected for an NGS-based target panel assay; their features were compared with those of reference Chinese and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohorts. Uncommon EGFR mutations, defined as mutations other than L858R, exon 19del, exon 20ins, and T790M, were the predominant type of EGFR mutations in the Xuanwei cohort. Patients harbouring uncommon EGFR mutations were more likely to have a family history of cancer (p = 0.048). A higher frequency of KRAS mutations and lower frequency of rearrangement alterations were observed in the Xuanwei cohort (p < 0.001). Patients from Xuanwei showed a significantly higher tumour mutation burden than the reference Chinese and TCGA cohorts (p < 0.001). Our data indicates that patients from Xuanwei with NSCLC harbouring G719X/S768I co-mutations may benefit from treatment with EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Our comprehensive molecular profiling revealed unique genomic features of patients from Xuanwei with NSCLC, highlighting the potential for improvement in targeted therapy and immunotherapy.

The production of lily bulbs and flowers is under serious threat from basal rot of the bulbs caused by the soil-borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lilii. Oriental lily hybrid ‘Casa Blanca’ resistant clones to Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lilii was available by toxin screening. To explore disease-resistance based on the cytology, colonization processes in the resistant oriental lily clones following inoculation with Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lilii were studied prepared by transmission electron microscopy for ultra section preparation. Samples of susceptible clones and selected resistant clones were collected before inoculation and 3–6 days after inoculation and processed following conventional procedures. Before inoculation, from the ultrastructure of the cells and tissues, more starch grains in selected resistant somaclones and less starch grains in susceptible somaclones. After inoculation, from the ultrastructure of the cells and tissues, selected disease-resistant clone mainly in terms of resistance to extension mechanism is better than susceptible somalclones. Less number of hyphae found in disease-resistant clone cells. Resistant clone cells have a large number of degradable material and secretion, thus preventing fungus extension ability stronger. All of these results showed that Fusarium oxysporum after the invasion of disease-resistant clones is greatly hindered further expansion of the process.