Whole-lesion histogram analysis of multiple diffusion metrics for differentiating lung cancer from inflammatory lesions

BackgroundWhole-lesion histogram analysis can provide comprehensive assessment of tissues by calculating additional quantitative metrics such as skewness and kurtosis; however, few studies have evaluated its value in the differential diagnosis of lung lesions.PurposeTo compare the diagnostic performance of conventional diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) in differentiating lung cancer from focal inflammatory lesions, based on whole-lesion volume histogram analysis.MethodsFifty-nine patients with solitary pulmonary lesions underwent multiple b-values DWIs, which were then postprocessed using mono-exponential, bi-exponential and DKI models. Histogram parameters of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), true diffusivity (D), pseudo-diffusion coefficient (D*), and perfusion fraction (f), apparent diffusional kurtosis (Kapp) and kurtosis-corrected diffusion coefficient (Dapp) were calculated and compared between the lung cancer and inflammatory lesion groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to evaluate the diagnostic performance.ResultsThe ADCmean, ADCmedian, Dmean and Dmedian values of lung cancer were significantly lower than those of inflammatory lesions, while the ADCskewness, Kappmean, Kappmedian, KappSD, Kappkurtosis and Dappskewness values of lung cancer were significantly higher than those of inflammatory lesions (all p < 0.05). ADCskewness (p = 0.019) and Dmedian (p = 0.031) were identified as independent predictors of lung cancer. Dmedian showed the best performance for differentiating lung cancer from inflammatory lesions, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.777. Using a Dmedian of 1.091 × 10-3 mm2/s as the optimal cut-off value, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 69.23%, 85.00%, 90.00% and 58.62%, respectively.ConclusionsWhole-lesion histogram analysis of DWI, IVIM and DKI parameters is a promising approach for differentiating lung cancer from inflammatory lesions, and Dmedian shows the best performance in the differential diagnosis of solitary pulmonary lesions

Attenuating effect of Polygala tenuifolia Willd. seed oil on progression of MAFLD

Introduction: Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a common chronic metabolic disease that seriously threatens human health. The pharmacological activity of unsaturated fatty acid-rich vegetable oil interventions in the treatment of MAFLD has been demonstrated. This study evaluated the pharmacological activity of Polygala tenuifolia Willd, which contains high levels of 2-acetyl-1,3-diacyl-sn-glycerols (sn-2-acTAGs).Methods: In this study, a mouse model was established by feeding a high-fat diet (HFD, 31% lard oil diet), and the treatment group was fed a P. tenuifolia seed oil (PWSO) treatment diet (17% lard oil and 14% PWSO diet). The pharmacological activity and mechanism of PWSO were investigated by total cho-lesterol (TC) measurement, triglyceride (TG) measurement and histopathological observation, and the sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP1), SREBP2 and NF-κB signaling pathways were evaluated by immunofluorescence and Western blot analyses.Results: PWSO attenuated the increases in plasma TC and TG levels. Furthermore, PWSO reduced the hepatic levels of TC and TG, ameliorating hepatic lipid accumulation. PWSO treatment effectively improves the level of hepatitic inflammation, such as reducing IL-6 levels and TNF-α level.Discussion: PWSO treatment inactivated SREBP1 and SREBP2, which are involved in lipogenesis, to attenuate hepatic lipid accumulation and mitigate the inflammatory response induced via the NF-κB signaling pathway. This study demonstrated that PWSO can be used as a relatively potent dietary supplement to inhibit the occurrence and development of MAFLD

Huangqi Injection (a Traditional Chinese Patent Medicine) for Chronic Heart Failure: A Systematic Review

Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a global public health problem. Therefore, novel and effective drugs that show few side-effects are needed. Early literature studies indicated that Huangqi injection is one of the most commonly used traditional Chinese patent medicines for CHF in China. As a large number of clinical studies has been carried out and published, it is essential to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Huangqi injection. Therefore, we carried out this systematic review under the support of the framework of the Joint Sino-Italian Laboratory (JoSIL).To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Huangqi injection for CHF according to the available scientific knowledge.An extensive search including PubMed, EMBASE, CBM, the Cochrane Library and Chinese literature databases was performed up to July 2008. Clinical trials regarding Huangqi injection for the treatment of CHF were searched for, irrespective of languages. The quality of each trial was assessed according to the Cochrane Reviewers' Handbook 5.0, and RevMan 5.0 provided by the Cochrane Collaboration and STATA 9.2 were used for data analysis.After selection of 1,205 articles, 62 RCTs and quasi-RCTs conducted in China and published in Chinese journals were included in the review. The methodological quality of the trials was low. In most trials inclusion and exclusion criteria were not specified. Furthermore, only one study evaluated the outcomes for drug efficacy after an adequate period of time. For these reasons and because of the different baseline characteristics we did not conduct a meta-analysis.Although available studies are not adequate to draw a conclusion on the efficacy and safety of Huangqi injection (a traditional Chinese patent medicine), we hope that our work could provide useful experience on further studies on Huangqi injections. The overall level of TCM clinical research needs to be improved so that the efficacy of TCM can be evaluated by the international community and possibly some TCM can enter into the international market

Thermal degradation and pollutant emission from waste printed circuit boards mounted with electronic components.

Waste printed circuit boards mounted with electronic components (WPCB-ECs) are generated from electronic waste dismantling and recycling process. Air-borne pollutants, including particulate matter (PM) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), can be released during thermal treatment of WPCB-CEs. In this study, organic substances from WPCB-ECs were pyrolyzed by both thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and in a quartz tube furnace. We discovered that board resin and solder coating were degraded in a one-stage process, whereas capacitor scarfskin and wire jacket had two degradation stages. Debromination of brominated flame retardants occurred, and HBr and phenol were the main products during TGA processing of board resin. Dehydrochlorination occurred, and HCl, benzene and toluene were detected during the pyrolysis of capacitor scarfskin. Benzene formation was found only in the first degradation stage (272-372 °C), while toluene was formed both in the two degradation stages. PM with bimodal mass size distributions at diameters of 0.45-0.5 and 4-5 μm were emitted during heating WPCB-ECs. The PM number concentrations were highest in the size ranges of 0.3-0.35 μm and 1.6-2 μm. The research produced new data on pollutant emissions during thermal treatment of WPCB-ECs, and information on strategies to prevent toxic exposures that compromise the health of recyclers

Organ-specific immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment in lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives Based on the acknowledged organ-specific immune microenvironment, little is known regarding the efficacy of immunotherapy in patients with lung cancer according to metastatic sites. This meta-analysis aimed to explore the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) vs chemotherapy in patients with lung cancer with liver metastases (LM) or brain metastases (BM).Design Meta-analysis and systematic review.Data sources We systematically searched in electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and Web of Science), up to 31 January 2022. We also reviewed the abstracts from major international conferences. Eligibility criteria were randomised controlled phase II or III trials reporting the overall survival (OS) or progression-free survival (PFS) of LM or BM subsets.Data extraction and synthesis Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs for OS and PFS were extracted and aggregated using a random-effects model.Results Twenty-four randomised controlled trials with available outcomes for patients with BMs or LMs were identified. A total of 1124 patients with BM and 2077 patients with LM were included in the analysis. The pooled OS HR of patients with LMs was 0.83 (95% CI 0.72 to 0.95), and that of patients without LM 0.73 (95% CI 0.69 to 0.79). LM was associated with less benefits from ICIs. In patients with BM treated with ICIs, the pooled OS HR compared with the control arms was 0.71 (95% CI 0.53 to 0.94). Subgroup analyses by histology suggested that only patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with BM could gain benefit from ICIs (HR 0.53, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.68). BM negatively influenced efficacy of immunotherapy in patients with small cell lung cancer.Conclusions Our results showed immunotherapy demonstrated efficacy in patients with lung cancer with LM and BM, survival benefits dominantly favoured patients with NSCLC. Patients with lung cancer with LM obtained less benefits from ICIs than those without. Therefore, organ-specific immunotherapeutic approaches should be considered.PROSPERO registration number CRD42020212797

Role of metasomatized mantle lithosphere in the formation of giant lode gold deposits: Insights from sulfur isotope and geochemistry of sulfides

The Wulong deposit is one of the largest quartz vein-type gold deposits with at least 80 tons of identified gold reserves in the eastern part of the Liaodong Peninsula. Gold orebodies are mainly hosted in the Late Jurassic gneissic two-mica granite and Early Cretaceous diorite dykes, and are structurally controlled by the NNE- and NW-trending faults. Gold mineralization mainly occurs as veins with lenticular shapes and is closely associated with sulfides and Bi minerals. Previous studies on the deposit mainly focused on its geological characteristics, fluid inclusions and the timing of gold mineralization. However, the extreme enrichment mechanism of gold, the geodynamic setting and ore source of the gold deposit remain equivocal. Here we present results from geochemical studies of pyrite and pyrrhotite at Wulong to address these issues. Pyrrhotite can be grouped into euhedral (Po1) and anhedral (Po2) varieties based on the textures. Four generations of pyrite were identified based on petrographic studies: Py1 is coarse-grained subhedral to euhedral crystal coexisting with milky quartz, and Au-depleted in composition; Py2 is represented by medium-grained, subhedral to anhedral pyrite coexisting with euhedral Po1, smoky quartz and minor chalcopyrite; Py3 occurs as fined-grained anhedral grains in the quartz-polymetallic sulfide veins; Py4 occurs as veinlets or aggregates in the quartz-calcite veins and contains the lowest Au concentrations. The time-resolved LA-ICP-MS ablation depth profiles of sulfides combined with detailed petrological observations indicate that gold mainly occurs either as invisible solid solution within the crystal lattice of sulfides, to some extent, or as small blebs of native gold and electrum. The close temporal and spatial relationships among native bismuth, native gold and Bi-Te-S minerals suggest that Bi-rich melts may have significantly sequestered gold from the hydrothermal fluids in the Wulong gold deposit. Sulfides from auriferous quartz veins have a restricted Δ33S range (−0.2‰ to +0.2‰) and a mean δ34S value of +1.25‰ with a feature of the mass-dependent fractionation (MDF) of sulfur isotopes, implying that the ore-forming materials were potentially derived from the mantle lithosphere that was metasomatized and fertilized by subduction-related fluids released from slab during the Early Cretaceous. This study demonstrates the Bi-rich melts as significant gold scavengers in As-deficient ore-forming fluid, and highlights the fundamental role of the metasomatized and fertilized mantle lithosphere in the formation of giant lode gold deposits in the eastern North China Craton at ca. 120 Ma