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This report describes a multicentric intermediate-size B-cell lymphoma with epitheliotropism in a Freiberger mare affecting multiple mucous membranes, skin and internal organs. The clonal neoplastic B-cell population was accompanied by numerous reactive polyclonal small T cells. Differential diagnoses for these unusual findings are discussed.

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PURPOSE: Thermal ablation is widely recognized as the standard of care for small-size unresectable colorectal liver metastases (CRLM). For larger CRLM safety, local control and overall efficacy are not well established and insufficiently validated. The purpose of this comparative series was to analyze outcomes for intermediate-size versus small-size CRLM. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients treated with thermal ablation between December 2000 and November 2021 for small-size and intermediate-size CRLM were included. The primary endpoints were complication rate and local control (LC). Secondary endpoints included local tumor progression-free survival (LTPFS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: In total, 59 patients were included in the intermediate-size (3-5 cm) group and 221 in the small-size (0-3 cm) group. Complications were not significantly different between the two groups (p = 0.546). No significant difference between the groups was found in an overall comparison of OS (HR 1.339; 95% CI 0.824-2.176; p = 0.239). LTPFS (HR 3.388; p < 0.001) and LC (HR 3.744; p = 0.004) were superior in the small-size group. Nevertheless, the 1-, 3-, and 5-year LC for intermediate-size CRLM was still 93.9%, 85.4%, and 81.5%, and technical efficacy improved over time. CONCLUSIONS: Thermal ablation for intermediate-size unresectable CRLM is safe and induces long-term LC in the vast majority. The results of the COLLISION-XL trial (unresectable colorectal liver metastases: stereotactic body radiotherapy versus microwave ablation-a phase II randomized controlled trial for CRLM 3-5 cm) are required to provide further clarification of the role of local ablative methods for intermediate-size unresectable CRLM.

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BACKGROUND: Appropriate size selection of transcatheter heart valves (THVs) is fundamental to reduce transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) related complications, particularly paravalvular aortic regurgitation, new permanent pacemaker implantation, and annular rupture. We sought to investigate the frequency of operator selection of intermediate-size balloon-expandable Myval THVs (Meril Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd., India) for TAVI in a real-world dataset. METHODS: In this retrospective survey of patients treated with TAVI using the Myval THV, 20, 23, 26, and 29 mm are conventional-size THVs, 21.5, 24.5 and 27.5 mm are intermediate-size THVs, and 30.5 and 32 mm are extra-large THVs. Operator size selection for implantation was based on multislice computed tomography (MSCT) derived aortic-root dimensions. RESULTS: A total of 1115 patients underwent Myval THV implantation in 27 countries worldwide. The Myval intermediate-size THVs were used in 468 (42.0%) patients. MSCT data were available in 562 patients. There was no statistical difference between the Intermediate/Upsized and Appropriately sized groups or Intermediate/Downsized and Appropriately sized groups in terms of different variables measured with MSCT except for annular dimensions and degree of calcification. CONCLUSIONS: Intermediate-size Myval balloon-expandable THVs are used in nearly half of all cases in contemporary real-world TAVI practice, addressing the unmet need of TAVI operators for a more calibrated THV choice. Our hypothesis should be tested in randomized prospective studies currently initiated in Europe, including clinical outcomes of patients treated with both conventional- and intermediate-size THVs.

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BACKGROUND: The majority of eukaryote genomes can be actively transcribed into non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), which are functionally important in development and evolution. In the study of maize, an important crop for both humans and animals, aside from microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs, few studies have been conducted on intermediate-size ncRNAs. RESULTS: We constructed a homogenized cDNA library of 50-500 nt RNAs in the maize inbred line Chang 7-2. Sequencing revealed 169 ncRNAs, which contained 58 known and 111 novel ncRNAs (including 70 snoRNAs, 27 snRNAs, 13 unclassified ncRNAs and one tRNA). Forty of the novel ncRNAs were specific to the Panicoideae, and 24% of them are located on sense-strand of the 5' or 3' terminus of protein coding genes on chromosome. Target site analysis found that 22 snoRNAs can guide to 38 2'-O-methylation and pseudouridylation modification sites of ribosomal RNAs and small nuclear RNAs. Expression analysis showed that 43 ncRNAs exhibited significantly altered expression in different tissues or developmental stages of maize seedlings, eight ncRNAs had tissue-specific expression and five ncRNAs were strictly accumulated in the early stage of leaf development. Further analysis showed that 3 of the 5 stage-specific ncRNAs (Zm-3, Zm-18, and Zm-73) can be highly induced under drought and salt stress, while one snoRNA Zm-8 can be repressed under PEG-simulated drought condition. CONCLUSIONS: We provided a genome-wide identification and functional analysis of ncRNAs with a size range of 50-500 nt in maize. 111 novel ncRNAs were cloned and 40 ncRNAs were determined to be specific to Panicoideae. 43 ncRNAs changed significantly during maize development, three ncRNAs can be strongly induced under drought and salt stress, suggesting their roles in maize stress response. This work set a foundation for further study of intermediate-size ncRNAs in maize.

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Birds and other nonhuman animals can choose the larger of two discrete or continuous quantities. However, whether birds possess the conceptual grasp and cognitive control to flexibly switch between relative more-or-less-than judgments remains elusive. We therefore tested carrion crows in a rule-based line-length discrimination task to flexibly select lines presented on a touchscreen according to their relative length. In the first experiment, the crows needed to discriminate a shorter from a longer line, and vice versa. In the second experiment, the crows were required to choose a medium long line among three lines of different length (intermediate-size task). The crows switched effortlessly between "longer than/shorter than" rules, showing no signs of trial history affecting switching performance. They reliably chose the relatively longer and shorter line length, thus demonstrating a concept of greater than/less than with a continuous magnitude. However, both crows failed to discriminate a line of 'medium' length embedded in longer and shorter lines. These results indicate that relational discrimination exhibits different cognitive demands. While a greater than/less than concept requires only one relational comparison (with the respectively greater or smaller magnitude), the discrimination of a 'medium' magnitude demands to relate two or more comparisons, which might overburden crows and maybe animals in general.

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Accumulating evidence suggests that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are both widespread and functionally important in many eukaryotic organisms. In this study, we employed a special size fractionation and cDNA library construction method followed by 454 deep sequencing to systematically profile rice intermediate-size ncRNAs. Our analysis resulted in the identification of 1349 ncRNAs in total, including 754 novel ncRNAs of an unknown functional category. Chromosome distribution of all identified ncRNAs showed no strand bias, and displayed a pattern similar to that observed in protein-coding genes with few chromosome dependencies. More than half of the ncRNAs were centered around the plus-strand of the 5' and 3' termini of the coding regions. The majority of the novel ncRNAs were rice specific, while 78% of the small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) were conserved. Tandem duplication drove the expansion of over half of the snoRNA gene families. Furthermore, 90% of the snoRNA candidates were shown to produce small RNAs between 20-30 nt, 80% of which were associated with ARGONAUT proteins generally, and AGO1b in particular. Overall, our findings provide a comprehensive view of an intermediate-size non-coding transcriptome in a monocot species, which will serve as a useful platform for an in-depth analysis of ncRNA functions.

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