[Derivation of the Thresholds of Available Concentrations of Heavy Metals in Soil Based on Agricultural Product Safety].

Based on the total and available concentrations of heavy metal elements in agricultural soil, and the concentrations of heavy metals in rice collected from Daye city, Hubei province, and the thresholds of available concentrations of heavy metals were derived by species sensitivity distribution (SSD). The over-standard rates of Cd and Cu in the soil were 90.7% and 42.6%, respectively, which indicates that agricultural soil in Daye city exhibits signs of Cd and Cu pollution. The rates of Cd and Pb were 50.9% and 89.8% in brown rice samples, respectively, which exceeds the safety standards of agricultural products. The SSD curves for Cd and Pb were fitted with BurrⅢ distribution based on the ratio of the concentration in brown rice and the available concentration in the soil. The hazardous concentrations (HC5) were derived inversely from the agriculture product safety standards. The thresholds of available Cd and Pb were 0.02 mg·kg-1 and 0.005 mg·kg-1, respectively. Compared with those of available Cd in other countries and studies, the threshold of available Cd is scientifically shown to be reasonable. Soil is not necessarily the main source of Pb in rice; thus, the rice species does not represent the derivation of the threshold of available Pb. Moreover, a lack of the accumulation data of Pb at low accumulation levels and multiple soil pollution levels leads to unreliable derivation. The results indicate that the threshold of available Pb does not have practical significance in soil pollution control.

[The Correlation of Fast-track Extubation Ultrasound Score and Clinical Multi-organ Information Indicators of Postoperative of Cardiac Surgery].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the correlation of Fast-track extubation ultrasound score (FTEUS) and clinical multi-organ information indicators in post-cardiac surgery patients. METHODS: prospectively recruit post-cardiac surgery patients who were about to extubating from Febuary 2019 to September 2019. A fast-track extubation ultrasound score protocol (FTE-USP) was developed on the basis of the conventional fast-track extubation standard precisely and individualized. Cardiac, pulmonary and inferior vena cava ultrasound examinations were performed by specially trained observers, video data were saved, FTE-USP was used for scoring, Kendall consistency coefficient was used to meature the interobserver consistency. The correlation between the FTEUS and the patients' clinical indicators was evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 207 patients were recruited in the study, including 89 males and 118 females, aged (54.63±11.80) years. The FTEUS was performed at bedside with a mean time of (8.23±2.08) min, Kendall consistency coefficient is 0.941. With the increase of the total score of FTEUS, the incidence of clinical adverse events increased (especially the arrhythmia), and there were significant changes in liver, kidney, heart, lung and other organ function indicators, among which serum creatinine level, serum cystatin C level, serum NT-pro-brain natriuretic peptide, length of stay in intensive care unit, non-invasive mechanical ventilation time after extubation, and incidence of arrhythmia were positively correlated with FTEUS (P < 0.05).With FTEUS increased to 5 points, the incidence of arrhythmia (14/24, 58.3%), cardiopulmonary resuscitation (2/24, 8.3%) and weaning failure (2/24, 8.3%) increased. CONCLUSION: FTE-USP integrates multi-organ informations, can be performed quickly at the bedside and alerts adverse events. It has the potential to be applied to assist clinical decision-making in post-cardiac surgery patients before extubation.

Changes in background parenchymal enhancement in HER2-positive breast cancer before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy: Association with pathologic complete response.

This study aimed to analyze the relationship between pathologic complete response (pCR) and changes in background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) levels in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer and who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).The pre- and post-NAC magnetic resonance imaging results of 51 patients with confirmed unilateral HER2-positive breast cancer were retrospectively analyzed by 2 experienced radiologists. Pre- and post-NAC of contralateral BPE levels were classified into 4 categories (1 = minimal, 2 = mild, 3 = moderate, and 4 = marked). The 4 categories of BPE were defined by the visually estimated enhancement of fibroglandular tissue of the breast. Changes in BPE before and after NAC were compared between the premenopausal and postmenopausal groups and between the pCR and non-pCR groups. The associations between BPE and pCR and between BPE and tumor size were analyzed before and after NAC.Twenty-three patients achieved pCR, and 28 patients achieved non-pCR. Premenopausal patients had significantly higher baseline BPE levels than postmenopausal women (P = .023). The post-NAC BPE levels of premenopausal patients significantly decreased relative to those of postmenopausal patients (P = .027). The baseline BPE levels of the pCR group were not significantly different from those of the non-pCR group (P = .892). However, the decrease in BPE levels in the pCR group was more drastic than that in the non-pCR group (P < .001). Decreased BPE levels were directly associated with pCR and tumor size reduction (P < .05). Women with hormone receptor (HR)-negative tumors were more likely to exhibit pCR than those with HR-positive tumors (P = .007).Decreased BPE of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer may serve as an indicator of NAC effectiveness. Furthermore, women with HR-negative tumors were more likely to exhibit pCR than women with HR-positive tumors.

Evaluation of computed tomography vascular reconstruction for the localization diagnosis of perigastric mass.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of computed tomography (CT) vascular reconstruction in the localization diagnosis of perigastric mass. METHODS: Fifty-eight patients with pathologically detected perigastric mass underwent abdominal dynamic contrast-enhanced CT. CT vascular reconstructions were produced from arterial phase data using volume rendering (VR), multiplanar reconstruction (MPR), and maximal intensity projection (MIP). Image analysis was focused on the relationship between the mass, perigastric arteries, and the gastric wall. Localization diagnosis values were compared between CT vascular reconstruction and dynamic-enhanced CT images. RESULTS: Among the 58 cases of perigastric mass, 41 cases originated from the stomach, 7 cases from the left liver lobe, 6 from the pancreas, 2 from lessor omental bursa, 1 from transverse mesocolon, and 1 from left adrenal gland. The accuracy of CT vascular reconstruction images in the localization diagnosis of perigastric mass was higher than that of dynamic-enhanced CT images (98.3% and 86.2%, respectively, P = .04). On the reference level, 35 (35/41) patients with stomach-originated masses showed the mass adjacent perigastric arteries pushed away from the stomach (arterial displacement sign), and 15 (15/17) patients with nonstomach-originated masses showed perigastric arteries between the mass and the stomach (arterial entrapment sign). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the localization diagnosis of perigastric mass with arterial displacement sign were 85.4%, 100%, 100%, and 73.9%, respectively, and with arterial entrapment sign, 88.2%, 100%, 100%, and 95.3%, respectively. CONCLUSION: CT vascular reconstruction can clearly depict the relationship between perigastric mass and adjacent perigastric arteries, which may help us more accurately differentiate between stomach-originated and nonstomach-originated masses compared with original dynamic-enhanced CT images.

The imaging features of the meniscal roots on isotropic 3D MRI in young asymptomatic volunteers.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to describe clearly the normal imaging features of the meniscal roots on the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a 3-dimensional (3D) proton density-weighted (PDW) sequence at 3T. METHODS: A total of 60 knees of 31 young asymptomatic volunteers were examined using a 3D MRI. The insertion patterns, constitution patterns, and MR signals of the meniscal roots were recorded. RESULTS: The anterior root of the medial meniscus (ARMM), the anterior root of the lateral meniscus (ARLM), and the posterior root of the medial meniscus (PRMM) had 1 insertion site, whereas the posterior root of the lateral meniscus (PRLM) can be divided into major and minor insertion sites. The ARLM and the PRMM usually consisted of multiple fiber bundles (≥3), whereas the ARMM and the PRLM often consisted of a single fiber bundle. The ARMM and the PRLM usually appeared as hypointense, whereas the ARLM and the PRMM typically exhibited mixed signals. CONCLUSIONS: The meniscal roots can be complex and diverse, and certain characteristics of them were observed on 3D MRI. Understanding the normal imaging features of the meniscal roots is extremely beneficial for further diagnosis of root tears.

Impact of tumor size and cirrhotic background for differentiating HCC and ICC with CEUS: does it matter for patients undergoing hepatectomy?

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in differentiating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) vs. intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) and primary liver cancer vs. benign liver lesions for surgical decision making. METHODS: Data from 328 patients (296 primary liver cancer patients: 232 HCC and 64 ICC patients and 32 benign hepatic lesion patients) who underwent hepatectomy at our center were retrospectively collected from 2010 to 2015. Conventional ultrasound (US) and CEUS were performed for all patients before hepatectomy. Enhancement patterns in CEUS were classified and compared for HCC vs. ICC and for primary liver cancer vs. benign lesions. RESULTS: Primary liver cancer and hepatic benign lesions could be distinguished by CEUS in different phases. The most obvious differences were in the portal and delayed phases, in which benign lesions could still show hyperenhancement (46.9% vs. 0.0% and p < 0.001 in the portal phase; 43.7% vs. 0.0% and p < 0.001 in the delayed phase). For differentiating HCC and ICC, our results revealed that HCC and ICC displayed different enhancement patterns in the arterial phase (p < 0.001) and the portal phase (p < 0.001). In the subgroup analyses, both HCC and ICC showed a high rate of homogeneous hyperenhancement during the arterial phase when tumors were ≤5 cm (87.2% vs. 64.0% and p = 0.008) or the Ishak score was ≥5 (75.8% vs. 42.9% and p = 0.023), although there was statistical difference. However, during the portal phase, ICC > 5 cm showed significantly more frequent hypoenhancement (92.3% vs. 54.5% and p < 0.001) and less isoenhancement (7.7% vs. 45.5% and p < 0.001) than HCC; additionally, during the portal phase, there was no statistical difference in the enhancement patterns of ICC with different hepatic backgrounds. CONCLUSIONS: Tumor size and hepatic background should be taken into consideration when distinguishing HCC and ICC before surgery. However, CEUS is a helpful tool for differentiating malignant and benign hepatic lesions. For patients who require surgical treatment, CEUS may help with surgical decision making.

[Exploration of Renal Microcirculation Perfusion During Cardiopulmonary Bypass with Contrast-enhanced Ultrasound].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the alteration of renal microcirculation perfusion during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in adult patients with contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEU). METHODS: Six patients undergoing cardiac surgery with CPB and twelve patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery were enrolled and classified into CPB group and control group. CEU images of kidney were collected at the point of 30 min after CPB or 5 min after anesthesia induction respectively. Time intensity curve (TIC) was derived from three regions of interest (ROD. superficial cortex, deep cortex and medulla. Parameters including wash in slope (a), area under curve (AUC), peak intensity (PI) and time to peak (TTP) were calculated based on gamma-variant function. RESULTS: CEU showed a significant reduction of AUC in all three regions (superficial cortex, deep cortex and medulla) during CPB, compared with anesthetic condition. Ultrasound contrast agent-related adverse reactions were not occurred in all enrolled patients. CONCLUSION: Renal microcirculation perfusion was dramatically reduced during CPB, especially in the medulla. CEU could be detected the renal microcirculation perfusion in the perioperative period of cardiac surgery.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound: Improving the preoperative staging of hepatocellular carcinoma and guiding individual treatment.

AIM: To investigate the clinical role of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) combined with contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT) or magnetic resonance imaging to improve the preoperative staging of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and guide surgical decision-making. METHODS: Sixty-nine patients who underwent liver resection for HCC in our center were enrolled prospectively in the study. CEUS and CE-CT/MRI were performed before surgery. Intraoperative ultrasound (IOUS) was carried out after liver mobilization. Lesions depicted by each imaging modality were counted and mapped. To investigate the impact of tumor size on the study, we divided the patients into two groups, the "Smaller group"(S-group, ≤ 5 cm in diameter) and the "Larger-group" (L-group, > 5 cm in diameter). The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of CE-CT/MRI, CEUS, IOUS, CEUS+CE-CT/MRI and the tumor node metastasis staging of tumors were calculated and compared. Changes in the surgical strategy as a result of CEUS and IOUS were analyzed. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty-seven nodules, comprising 94 HCCs confirmed by histopathology and 33 benign lesions confirmed by histopathology and follow-up, were identified in 69 patients. The overall diagnostic sensitivity rates of CE-CT/MRI, CEUS, IOUS and CEUS+ CE-CT/MRI were 78.7%, 89.4%, 89.4% and 89.4%, respectively. There was a significant difference between CEUS + CE-CT/MRI and CE-CT/MRI (P = 0.046). Combining CEUS with CT or MRI increased, the diagnostic specificity compared with CT/MRI, CEUS and IOUS, and this difference was statistically significant (100%, 72.7%, 97.0%, and 69.7%, P = 0.004, P = 0.002, P = 0.002, respectively). The diagnostic accuracy was significantly higher for CEUS + CT/MRI compared with CT/MRI (92.1% vs 77.2%, P = 0.001). The TNM staging of tumors based on CEUS + CE-CT/MRI approximated to the final pathological TNM staging (P = 0.977). There was a significant difference in the accuracy of TNM staging when comparing CEUS + CE-CT/MRI with CE-CT/MRI (P = 0.002). Before surgery, strategies were changed in 15.9% (11/69) of patients as a result of CEUS. Finally, only 5.7% (4/69) of surgical strategies were changed because of IOUS findings. In the S-group, CEUS revealed 12 false positive lesions, including seven false positive lesions that were diagnosed by preoperative imaging examinations and five by IOUS. In contrast, in the L-group, IUOS revealed eight new malignant lesions; six of these lesions were true HCCs that were also identified by preoperative CEUS. CONCLUSION: CEUS combined with CT or MRI improves the accuracy of preoperative staging for hepatocellular carcinoma and may help to guide individualized treatment for patients with HCC. CEUS may better identify non-malignant lesions in patients with small tumors and discover new malignant lesions in patients with large tumors.

[Monitoring renal microcirculation perfusion alteration with contrast-enhanced ultrasound during cardiopulmonary bypass].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the monitoring of renal microcirculation perfusion alteration with contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEU) during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). METHODS: Renal microcirculation perfusion before and during CPB was assessed by CEU. Time-intensity curve (TIC) were derived from three region of interest (ROI) using QLAB post-analysis software. Parameters such as TIC curve wash in slope (A), area under curve (AUC), peak intensity (DPI) as well as time to peak intensity (TTP) were then calculated. RESULTS: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound showed a significant reduction (or elongation) of perfusion parameter (A, AUC, DPI, TTP) in all three regions (superficial cortex, deep cortex and medulla) during cardiopulmonary bypass in comparison with normal cardiac cycle. CONCLUSION: Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) has a dramatic impact on renal microcirculation in pediatric patients which manifest as global reduction in renal perfusion as well as significant region perfusion difference. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEU) could detect the renal microcirculation alteration during CPB.

Role of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in decision support for diagnosis and treatment of hepatic artery thrombosis after liver transplantation.

OBJECTIVE: To assess role of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in decision support for diagnosis and treatment of hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT) after liver transplantation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 2005 and January 2011, 605 patients underwent liver transplantation in our medical center. All the liver transplant recipients received Doppler ultrasound scanning and CEUS examination was performed in 45 patients with suspected HAT on Doppler ultrasound. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predict value and negative predictive value of CEUS in diagnosing HAT were determined based on the results from angiography, surgery and clinical follow-up. RESULTS: Fourteen HATs, including one late HAT, were diagnosed by CEUS. Twelve HAT cases were confirmed by angiographic and/or surgical findings, while the late HAT and other 31 patients with negative CEUS finding were confirmed by the clinical follow-up. There was a false positive HAT diagnosed by CEUS in which angiography revealed a patent hepatic artery. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predict value and negative predictive value of CEUS in diagnosing HAT were 100%, 96.9%, 97.8%, 92.9% and 100%, respectively. In our series of 605 liver transplants, the incidence and mortality of HAT was 2.2% (13/605) and 53.8% (7/13), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates the important role of CEUS in decision support for diagnosis and treatment of HAT after liver transplantation. When HAT is suspected by Doppler ultrasound, CEUS shall immediately be performed to elucidate its nature. A negative CEUS finding shall avoid invasive angiography. Such as, CEUS may alter the clinical workflow on HAT detection after liver transplantation.