Incidental Diagnosis of Occult Maternal Malignancy With Routine Noninvasive Prenatal Testing During Pregnancy.

The noninvasive prenatal test (NIPT) for genetic screening has been adopted globally as an alternative to first-trimester and quad screening due to its high sensitivity and specificity. NIPT involves detecting and processing foreign fetal DNA in maternal circulation to screen for fetal aneuploidy. An incidental consequence of this process is the detection of foreign tumor cell DNA in maternal circulation in otherwise asymptomatic patients.

Design and Characterization of a Gene-Encoding DNA Nanoparticle in a Cell-Free Transcription-Translation System.

DNA nanotechnology has made initial progress toward developing gene-encoded DNA origami nanoparticles (NPs) that display potential utility for future gene therapy applications. However, due to the challenges involved with gene delivery into cells including transport through the membrane, intracellular targeting, and inherent expression of nucleases along with interference from other active proteins, it can be difficult to more directly study the effect of DNA NP design on subsequent gene expression. In this work, we demonstrate an approach for studying the expression of gene-encoding DNA origami NPs without the use of cells.

Range-wide understanding of genetic diversity and population structure of endangered Kashmir musk deer in North-Western Himalaya.

Background: The endangered Kashmir musk deer (Moschus cupreus), native to high-altitude Himalayas, is an ecological significant and endangered ungulate, threatened by habitat loss and poaching for musk pod distributed in western Himalayan ranges of India, Nepal and Afghanistan. Despite its critical conservation status and ecological importance in regulating vegetation dynamics, knowledge gaps persist regarding its population structure and genetic diversity, hindering effective management strategies.

Methods And Results: We aimed to understand the population genetics of Kashmir musk deer in north-western Himalayas using two mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) regions and 11 microsatellite loci.

Timing of Surgery and Postoperative Outcomes in Esophagectomy for Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Prospective Study in North India.

Purpose: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by esophagectomy is the usual approach to manage esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The optimal interval to operate after completion of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NACRT) still remains controversial.

Methods: A prospective study was conducted to observe and compare postoperative complications and pathological outcomes in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus who underwent NACRT followed by surgery within 8 weeks or after 8 weeks of NACRT completion.